Gaza Rallies Span College Walk

As a series of demonstrations motivated by the military action in Gaza began Monday afternoon, two campus coalitions rallied separately at the Sundial and on the Low Library steps.

While LionPAC, a pro-Israel student group, held its University-sanctioned “Rally of Solidarity and Peace for Israel and its Neighbors” at the Sundial at noon, members of another group known simply as The Columbia Community in Standing with Gaza stood silently on Low Library steps as part of what the group called a “silent hour for Gaza.” Both groups called for “constructive debate,” yet there was no interaction between them during the hour-long event. A third group, representing opposition to the two rallies themselves, placed itself between the two factions.

The Columbia Community in Standing with Gaza, a newly formed coalition consisting of undergraduates, graduates, and faculty, had originally planned to have a “speak-out event” yesterday at noon on the Sundial but were denied access because the Department of Public Safety already granted LionPAC permission to use the space. Members of the Gaza group claimed they did not have prior knowledge of LionPAC’s plans.

Though the Gaza group will hold its “speak-out event” this afternoon, it also elected to hold the “silent hour” yesterday, in which members held posters and wore tape over their mouths. In spite of this last-minute demonstration, LionPAC continued with its own rally, which featured speakers from a variety of political backgrounds, a moment of silence to remember victims of both sides, and a prayer.

“Our community is not interested in an ‘us and them’ debate,” LionPAC president Jacob Shapiro, CC ’10 said, referring to the misconception that the group is anti-Palestinian. “LionPAC does not believe that being pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian are mutually exclusive. We’ve been working very hard to achieve that. We’ve really been diligently working towards coming to an understanding, maybe doing an event together.”

Yet some participants in the day’s activities were not so optimistic, asserting instead that the two campus groups might never successfully engage in dialogue.

“During war, you have three choices,” said Maher Awartani, SIPA ’09, one of the chief organizers of the Gaza group. “One, you can protest. Two, you cannot do anything. And three, you take it to the extreme and support the war. This group [LionPAC] supports option three. They’re going to be very difficult to have a dialogue with.”

Others present at LionPAC’s event also acknowledged the difficulties of bringing these two groups together.

“They [the Gaza group] have signs, but there are no specific groups or names on them,” said Columbia/Barnard Hillel Israel coordinator Brandon Hammer, CC ’10. “Having a dialogue requires some sort of name. It’s very disheartening because we really want to have a discussion.”

The group silently rallying between these two coalitions came as a surprise to many students, who were unaware that a third party would be involved. Leo Goldberg, CC ’11 and Eliana Horn, CC ’11 conceived the idea last Saturday to form a coalition in opposition to the rallies and reached out to members of other campus groups. Students from groups such as LionPAC, the Columbia University College Democrats, the Progressive Jewish Alliance, and Habonim Dror held posters that members said conveyed messages which they believed the two other groups would advocate, such as “we condemn the killing of Palestinian civilians by the Israeli military.”

“Rallies force you to put yourself in a box,” Horn said. “We’re hoping to find an alternative way of communicating. What do you achieve from having a rally that supports one statement when there are so many beliefs within it?” Horn asked.