PLO activist Ashrawi discusses human rights in Middle East

Ashrawi began her speech by briefly recalling the life and career of Edward Said, the founder of Orientalism and a literary theorist at Columbia who was a lifelong advocate for Palestinian rights. She then transitioned into a discussion of Palestine’s current plight, focusing on the violations of human rights and the basis for Palestine’s recognition as a state.

“We are actually in a unique state in Palestine of post-neocolonial colonialism,” she said. “The creation of the state of Israel, with all its subsequent ramifications, has functioned and continued to act as the critical and decisive cause of this dislocation. It is this cataclysmic shift that has persistently created the persistent Palestinian vulnerability.”

The peace process, said Ashrawi, has become something of a joke. Attempts to make peace have long ceased to be effective, she said, and have “outlived their usefulness.” She added that they have become an active evil, “another instrument of Israeli power.” She explained that Israel has exploited its supposed engagement in peace negotiations as a political tool, using it to provide itself with “legal immunity” and “economic privilege.”

The real tragedy of the failure of the peace talks, though, she said, was the loss of peace as a fundamental human right.

“Rather than recognizing peace itself as the most basic human right and value, the peace-brokers have transformed it into a power commodity and an instrument of domination and control,” she said. “In the process, the Palestinians’ human and legal rights ... have all been held captive by an anachronistic and malevolent occupation whose time should have run out a long time ago.”

Ashrawi was also harshly critical of the United States’ role in the conflict. “The U.S. has persistently misread the undercurrents and human dynamic throughout the Arab world,” she said.

She added that “cultural astigmatism is a main characteristic of American foreign policy decision-making” and also highlighted the ways in which the U.S. “actively betrayed” the Palestinians.

Despite the politics surrounding the matter, though, Ashrawi stressed that Palestine’s freedom is more a question of justice than anything else. “We deserve our freedom. We deserve our state. We’re not using the one-state solution as a threat,” she said.

“We need intervention before it is too late, to give the Palestinians the right to live normal lives.”

Ashrawi concluded by reaffirming Palestine’s commitment to obtaining its freedom.

“Despite the pain of our current dislocation, we still insist on being right there, at the right time, and in the right place,” she said.

Student response to the lecture was positive.

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“It was great ... That was the only time in my academic career that I really heard the Palestinian side,” Jihad Al-Jabban ’14 said.

Muhsin Usman ’12 echoed Al-Jabban’s thoughts. “I thought it was very well presented,” he said. “Her appeal to humanity is something that should be heard more often.”

Ashrawi holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in English literature from the American University of Beirut as well as a Ph.D. in medieval and comparative literature from the University of Virginia.

A personal friend of Edward Said, Ashrawi played a large role in the First Intifada, a Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, and has served multiple terms on the Palestinian Legislative Council.

She is currently a member of the International Human Rights Council as well as the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development.