A lovely afternoon spent in Los Angeles listening to ANSWER'S Palestine Public Forum & Teach-In

Today I went to a fascinating lecture on the Palestinian titled "The U.S./Israeli War on Gaza & the 'Ceasefire': The Real Aims Behind the Media Lies." The speakers were Dr. Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian (a law professor and activist who lives in Jerusalem), Yousef Abdayyeh (a founding member of the National Council of Arab Americans who lives in San Diego) Muna Coobtee (a writer for Liberation newspaper and anti-war activist), and Rana Sharif (a member of the PAWA Executive Board and graduate student at UCLA). Dr. Shalhoub-Kevorkian was especially brilliant. Some main points that she made:
-Israel's use of biopolitics in the area. I was not quite clear on what the term meant, but I Wikipedied it and it seemed to make absolute sense. It says, and I quote: "the style of government that regulates populations through biopower (the application and impact of political power on all aspects of human life)."
-Dr. Shalhoub-Kevorkian used to be a psychologist dealing in trauma and she described how Palestinians are not only traumitisized through the violence and killings they witness on a daily basis but also as seemingly simple as the shame one individual felt when being forced to, in the presence of about seven other people including his seventeen-year-old son have to bark before being allowed to cross the checkpoint to get to work.
-The gate allowing people to cross opens at 8:00 a.m. and closes at midday for a break. Like she said, a "woman having a baby has to make sure she times the delivery right."
-Also, she mentioned how she would see these Palestinian children who would be so much in despair after suffering all they have suffered that when she would ask them what they wanted to do when they got older they would say, "We want to be freedom fighters; we want to blow ourselves up." What other option could they possibly have in that kind of desolate situation?
-She called for a boycott for Israeli academia. She said the professors there were studying theories of "anti-terrorism" while she was studying "anti-anti-terrorism."
-Also, she mentioned how, as a feminist, she was offended when casualties were constantly being referenced as "women and children. "As if the men don't count." Of course, we must remember this. Since when is not sad for a man to be killed in an attack?
-She also quoted "A master's tools could never demolish a master's house." (Re: the more "moderate" aka Israel-sympathizing organizations in relation to the Israeli apparatus.)
-Finally, another thing I think she said that rung true with me was that "Israel is reaching its climax," just as South African apartheid reached its climax before it disintegrated.

Of all of the speakers, Dr. Shalhoub-Kevorkian was definitely the most articulate and well-spoken, although I listened to all of the speakers with interest. Mr. Yousef Abdayyeh made a comment expressing his request to boycott all Israeli products, specifically naming olive oil and any other products with the label "Israel" on it. He suggested to buy the one on the shelf next to it that comes from a country other than Israel instead and said "And if you don't like it, call me and I'll pay for it for you." Although I respect Mr. Yousef Abdayyeh's opinion, I think the idea is a bit farfeched personally because 1) I don't think the IDF is going to collapse because less people have stopped buying olive oil that says "Made in Israel" on it. I realize that every bit counts, but Israel primarily gets money from donations, (particularly those from the U.S. government!) tourism, software, and similar things. It's a heavily industrialized country, not a country that relies on food exports like many poor countries do. I support the boycott but I don't think that is the most important method by any means to ending Israeli apartheid. 2) I haven't seen very many Israeli products to boycott in any case! I don't know how it is in other stores but here in Southern California I have never seen a label that says "Made in Israel." I'm sure they exist, but I don't think store shelves are heavily stocked with Israeli foodstuffs. Also, more important than boycotting products that merely have the Israeli label on it, the boycott would have to also boycott the companies that support and fund Israel (like McDonalds, for example).

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the discussion and highly recommend to anyone in the U.S. that wants to help the Palestinian people to go to meetings like these if they are held anywhere near where you live. The sense of solidarity one gets from these get-togethers is exhilerating.