Month: December 2022

With the results of the 2022 Israeli elections released, the PSC invited Professor Bernard Avishai for a discussion about the significance and implications of Netanyahu's new government. After reviewing the basic structure of the Israeli government and Knesset, we discussed the far-right nature of this new coalition, which includes extremists like Ben-Gvir and Smotrich. As a club, we had a thoughtful and engaging discussion with Professor Avishai, whose perspectives on the long-term conservative drift in Israeli politics were insightful and important to consider with this new government, which is the farthest right in Israel's modern history. How this will affect the already alarming levels of anti-Arab racism and Palestinian repression in the country is unknowable, but as a club we were able to make some predictions for the future.

The cartoons of Naji al-Ali are famous for their political messaging and no-holds-barred criticism of both Israel and Arab governments. They are also known for Handala, the famous symbol of Palestinian resistance.

In this meeting, the PSC reviewed his life, work, and the legacy that his cartoons have left behind. We started by discussing his biography and going over a few examples of his work, highlighting elements of his style that set him apart from other cartoonists of his day. We then watched a short film, Naji al-Ali: An Artist With Vision, that went more in depth about his life and eventual assassination by a Mossad-affliated agent. Watch the film here.

The PSC met on the Green for a combined picnic/poetry reading, with Palestinian snacks and other refreshments provided! After spreading out blankets with all of our food, we reviewed a total of 8 poems by various Palestinian poets, including Mahmoud Darwish, Fadwa Tuqan, and Kamal Nasser. After reading each one aloud, we discussed the meaning and structure of each one as a group, taking into account the individual authors' background and story. Our discussions went on until sunset, when it got too dark to read the handouts in front of us.

See below a copy of the handout below!

We began this meeting by going over some current events in Palestine, including:

• the killing of two civilians and the wounding of 11 innocents by Israeli soldiers in a raid which journalists were prevented from covering. Journalists were shot at with live ammunition by soldiers
• the recent finding by a Israeli human rights organization that over 800 Palestinians are currently being held as prisoners without knowing the charges/evidence against them, a violation of their due process
• the release of a 300 page dossier covering British war crimes in Palestine, including torture, the use of human shields, and punitive raids on civilians
• the blockade and shutdown of the Shuafat refugee camp by the IDF, which interrupted the daily lives of over 100,000 Palestinian refugees

We also began the planning of a movie night, discussing three movies as potential options: Gaza (2019), Mo (2021), and 5 Broken Cameras (2012). The conversation about Palestinian media segued into a reading of Ghassan Kanafani's short story, Letter from Gaza, which we analyzed as a club. Before leaving, we distributed a link to the PSC virtual library of ebooks about Palestine, which can be found here.

At our first meeting, we introduced ourselves to each other and talked about the urgency of the Palestinian situation and the need for activism. We discussed the role America plays in supporting the occupation, and how billions of American tax dollars go every year to funding the repression of Palestinian human rights. We also went over the significance of the keffiyeh and handed out 10 of them, to be worn on Thursdays as a show of solidarity. Before we finished the meeting, the PSC went over some club plans for the year, including movie nights, poetry picnics, and demonstrations.