Non-violence advocate stirs attendees with comments on Israel

Mubarak Awad, founder and director of Nonviolence International, set out last night to speak about adopting nonviolent strategies for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. But while Awad spent the majority of his speech advocating peaceful solutions for the Middle East, he interspersed it with comments about the Jewish people many students said they considered offensive.

"I feel very strongly that there is a way out and the way out is an important aspect that has to be in our thinking and our thoughts of what kind of future we as Palestinians want, not only for ourselves but also for the generation and the Middle East," Awad said.

He began the talk with a personal story about witnessing his father's murder.

"My mother always, always would say 'Don't kill any person because the one who killed your father did not know he left a widow with seven children to feed and make life miserable for all of us.' "

A Palestinian Christian, Awad emphasized the Arab people's inherent non-violent nature.

The Arab people invented cushions for people sit on, glasses for people to drink from, and mascara for women use, not guns for people to shoot with, Awad said.

"We do not know how to fight. We can convince ourselves that we are not violent."

In contrast, Awad accused the Israelis of ruining the Palestinian way of life.

The history of the Jewish religion has contributed to the Israeli-Palestinian problem and Israel cannot continue to exist, Awad said.

"Our culture has been deprived and destroyed by Israel," Awad said. "We have been deprived of our land, our land has been taken from us."

Awad urged the use of nonviolent, yet forceful tactics for fighting the Israelis.

He suggested Palestinians "make life miserable for every Israeli," by not paying taxes, refusing to eat or drink Israeli products and returning any letters written in Hebrew.

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"If they want to speak to me, let them speak or write to me in my language."

Awad said he saw Israel's existence as a conflict in itself.

"I am telling you loud and clear there can not be a Jewish state in the Middle East," he said. "It is impossible."

Awad also questioned the Jewish peoples' right to have their own state.

"Jews have been a little late to colonize," said Awad. "Israel and Jews wanted a land of their own, so they took Palestinian land."

Students reacted strongly to the lecture — the question and answer session turning at one point into an argument.

President of the Princeton Israel Public Affairs Committee Leo Lazar '05 called the lecture "outrageous."

"It is unacceptable to bring racist leaders to speak at Princeton," Lazar said. "It is a complicated issue, and it is counterproductive and a disservice to the students."

Vincent Lloyd '03, a member of Students for Progressive Education and Action — which co-sponsored the event with Jews for Justice and Peace — stressed that Awad's main message was promoting nonviolence as an alternative solution to suicide bombings.

"It is important to hear from real Palestinians and a diversity of voices and put this issue in the forefront of people's minds," he said.

Elliot Ratzman GS, a member of Jews for Justice and Peace, said he was surprised by some parts of the speech but agreed with his co-sponsor that Awad's perspective was important.

"It is important to get tough ideas, maybe wrong ideas, to get out there, so we can talk about it," he said. "This stuff needs to be talked about," he said.