Protest • Sanna
Zaheen, a junior English major, and Amna
Ikram, a Cal State Long Beach graduate,
protested Beach Hillel’s celebration
of Israel’s birthday by holding up
educational signs. Erika Jones / Online
Forty-Niner
MSA
opposes Beach Hillel birthday celebration
By
Katie Plourd
Online Forty-Niner
Managing Editor
A group of students from the Muslim Student Association (MSA) silently protested
a celebration hosted by Beach Hillel to celebrate Israel’s independence
and its sovereign statehood Wednesday.
Beach Hillel gathered in the central quadrangle with cake, popsicles and astro
jumps to celebrate Israel’s independence day, according to Beach Hillel
adviser Rachel Bookstein. They also had educational information about Israeli
culture and issues.
“
We’re celebrating not just because there is a homeland, but a democratic
country,” Bookstein said.
Israel gained independence 58 years ago after the United Nations recognized
the establishment of the land of Israel.
Bookstein knew the MSA students were going to be protesting during the event.
“
They have every right to be here,” she said.
MSA students held signs protesting the celebration, citing Israel is killing
and displacing the Palestinian people.
The signs had slogans from www.freepalestine.com, informing students of the
injustices that occur in the region between
Israel and Palestine. One sign read, “A rock in the hand of a Palestinian
is considered to be a weapon of mass destruction while the Zionists are armed
with tanks and nuclear weapons.”
Nadia Patel, a senior biochemistry major and event coordinator for MSA, said
the group decided to peacefully protest as part of a campaign to educate people
about the human rights struggle of the Palestinian people.
“
We oppose it because the state is actually killing innocent people and displacing
innocent people,” Patel said.
According to Patel, campus police intervened in the protest when someone complained
the group was blocking the sidewalk.
Patel claims the group was not doing so. She also said a few students from
Beach Hillel engaged in conversation with the students who were protesting.
Obi Adisa Asad, a senior English major, handed out flyers to educate students
on the results of Zionism such as the displacement of millions of Palestinians.
He said his reason for protesting is to educate people because the issue is
not brought up in the American media.
“
This country keeps silent because we’re allies to Israel,” Asad
said.
Asad does not support the celebration of independence because he feels it is
supporting the decline of the Palestinian state.
“
The birth of Israel is like the death of Palestine,””he said. “They
don’t have a’‘We’re Sorry Palestine’ sign up
over there.”
Bookstein, who lived in Israel for three years, said Beach Hillel is not a
political organization and does not take a stance on political issues, such
as the withdrawal, nor advises members to take a particular stance. She also
said Israel has a lot of beneficial values that get ignored because of these
political issues.
“
I’m sad the situation has gotten so volatile because when it come to
the politics and fighting for power is when people get hostile,””she
said.
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