The plight of Palestine is a matter “that affects every student,
every citizen and every taxpayer,” said Zeina Kiblawi, president of
the recently founded Saint Louis University Solidarity with
Palestine group.

Kiblawi, a first-year medical student and SLU graduate, wants
the mission of the group to get people educated on the situation,
and to give the Palestinians a human face, not to establish
Palestinian superiority.

“The group does not condone acts of violence against innocent
civilians, whether they be by suicide bombers or the IDF (Israeli
Defense Force),” Kiblawi said. “We believe in Israel’s right to
exist and the existence of an independent Palestinian state.”

While the Muslim Student Association and Amnesty International
both deal with Palestinian issues, SLU Solidarity will focus only
on the Palestinian situation.

The group will deal with many timely issues, such as the wall
that has been erected in Israel and the destruction of Palestinian
settlements.

It will also join other solidarity groups from college campuses
nationwide in an attempt to get U.S. corporations to quit funding
the Israeli government in what some view as Israel’s illegal
occupation of Palestine.

The goal of suspending investment is similar to what was done in
the 1980s to combat apartheid in South Africa.

The group will participate in the National Day of Action against
Caterpillar on April 23 (Caterpillar bulldozers are used to destroy
Palestinian homes.) The suspension of investment will in theory,
bankrupt Israel’s apartheid measures.

“Israel is not a true democracy, Arabs are treated as B-class
citizens in Israel,” Kiblawi said.

Kiblawi feels that the group is an important addition to campus
life next to MSA because the group has many people who are of
Palestinian descent or from other Middle Eastern countries. Some
members of the group have experienced what life is like in
Palestine first hand, whether it is from being raised there or
through trips to the region.

“It is important that there is an outlet for these people,”
Kiblawi said. She believes that witnesses’ accounts will help
people understand the situation better, because the U.S. media
usually tend to take a pro-Israeli stance, or only focus on suicide
bombers.

“The U.S. has to be neutral when discussing a peace with
Palestine and Israel, they cannot contribute billions of dollars to
Israel and be fair.”

Kiblawi added that over the next few months and next year the
group will be able to develop more of a dialogue between
students.

Its members have not had much time to discuss their separate
views on the situation yet, but hopefully, according to Kiblawi,
they will be able to provide an area for open, honest debate, no
matter what position anyone takes.

“The important thing is that people become educated on the
situation, and then they become active,” Kiblawi said.

The group has many activities coming up to spread their message.
On March 23, Mark Chmiel, Ph.D., of the theology department and
senior Safi Eid will speak on their experiences of their time spent
in Palestine.

The group will have a table at MSA’s Social Justice Symposium on
March 26 along with a table at the Atlas Week’s World Fair on April
2. It will also have a Caf� Intifada Hookah fund-raising
night around the end of March.

SLU Solidarity with Palestine meets every Tuesday night at 7 in
Ritter Hall, Room 200. More information on the group is available
by e-mail at [email protected].