*[Editor's Note: The UWM Post hereby retracts an Oct. 12, 2009 article entitled “Middle East forum ignites controversy”. The article did not contain adequate sourcing, as fact-checking of quotes in the story were not possible. The Post sincerely apologizes for the mistake.]*
“They are so goddamn stupid,” Othman Atta said of Israeli-Jews that live in constant fear of Palestinian terrorism.
Atta was one of four guest speakers at the End the Occupation Tour that began its Milwaukee campaign last Wednesday, Oct. 7th at 7:30 p.m. in the UW-Milwaukee Union Ballroom. The theme of the evening focused on comparing South African apartheid with the occupation of the Palestinian Territories by the Israeli government.
The End the Occupation campaign aims to persuade universities around the country to end support of Israel by boycotting Israeli goods, among other methods.
Concluding his remarks, Atta responded to an audience member who voiced personal concerns of terrorism in Israel by waving his hands and yelling, “Terrorism! Woo-hoo! The big boogie man is coming!” The audience was split between disbelief and applause at his remarks.
While Atta’s attitude towards concerns of terrorism was discomforting to many in the audience, the evening promised more attendees shifting in their seats after remarks by Marquette professor Robert Ashmore.
“Jews have no monopoly on the Holocaust,” Ashmore said. The audience was clearly divided by the brazen statement.
Ashmore described the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza as equivalent to the atrocities that Jews and many other minorities suffered under Hitler’s Nazi regime.
Ashmore further stated that the Jews, in reference to their experience during the Holocaust, “can’t use it as a blank check.” After quoting the Bible, Ashmore concluded by saying that there is no need for a two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians and no need for a Jewish state at all.
“I don’t know why Israel should be a Jewish state any more than the U.S. should be called a Christian state,” Ashmore said.
Other guest speakers at the event were Ziad Abbas, a Palestinian, and Katherine Fuchs, an American active in the U.S. Campaign to End Israeli Occupation. Both speakers discussed personal experiences they had while visiting the region. They expressed annoyance at the inconvenience of check-points and Israeli security measures in the area. Fuchs was noticeably upset and frustrated by these seemingly unnecessary and extreme measures.
Fuchs went on to express her confusion at witnessing a Palestinian protest being met with Israeli security. She then proceeded to compare Israeli security measures with apartheid rule in South Africa.
The evening concluded with questions from the audience. One member of the audience asked about suicide bombings and the reality of terrorist threats from the Palestinian Territories. Atta answered the question by saying that “people have the right to resist.”
An audience member voiced the opinion that the speakers were, “uneducated and misinformed of the reality of the situation.”
Although the advertised theme for the evening was divestment from Israel, what seemed to be the focal point of the speakers’ lectures was the incrimination and demonization of the Jewish state.
“I felt uninformed of why they want divestment rather than another form of intervention. Their argument was more accusative of Israel instead of describing how divestment improves the Palestinian movement” one audience member said.
Hi People
How are you doing?
I can’t believe the campus that I attend would bring in speakers who are so ignorant. To compare terrorism to the boogie man in down right embarrassing. Who is this guy and where does he live? I’m completely ashamed of this campus and cant believe my money goes to support an event of this nature. Maybe the students would be better of deciding where their money goes rather than the campus!
I can’t believe the campus that I attend would bring in speakers who are so ignorant. To compare terrorism to the boogie man in down right embarrassing. Who is this guy and where does he live? I’m completely ashamed of this campus and cant believe my money goes to support an event of this nature. Maybe the students would be better of deciding where their money goes rather than the campus!
I can’t believe the campus that I attend would bring in speakers who are so ignorant. To compare terrorism to the boogie man in down right embarrassing. Who is this guy and where does he live? I’m completely ashamed of this campus and cant believe my money goes to support an event of this nature. Maybe the students would be better of deciding where their money goes rather than the campus!
I can’t believe the campus that I attend would bring in speakers who are so ignorant. To compare terrorism to the boogie man in down right embarrassing. Who is this guy and where does he live? I’m completely ashamed of this campus and cant believe my money goes to support an event of this nature. Maybe the students would be better of deciding where their money goes rather than the campus!
I can’t believe the campus that I attend would bring in speakers who are so ignorant. To compare terrorism to the boogie man in down right embarrassing. Who is this guy and where does he live? I’m completely ashamed of this campus and cant believe my money goes to support an event of this nature. Maybe the students would be better of deciding where their money goes rather than the campus!
I can’t believe the campus that I attend would bring in speakers who are so ignorant. To compare terrorism to the boogie man in down right embarrassing. Who is this guy and where does he live? I’m completely ashamed of this campus and cant believe my money goes to support an event of this nature. Maybe the students would be better of deciding where their money goes rather than the campus!
I can’t believe the campus that I attend would bring in speakers who are so ignorant. To compare terrorism to the boogie man in down right embarrassing. Who is this guy and where does he live? I’m completely ashamed of this campus and cant believe my money goes to support an event of this nature. Maybe the students would be better of deciding where their money goes rather than the campus!
I can’t believe the campus that I attend would bring in speakers who are so ignorant. To compare terrorism to the boogie man in down right embarrassing. Who is this guy and where does he live? I’m completely ashamed of this campus and cant believe my money goes to support an event of this nature. Maybe the students would be better of deciding where their money goes rather than the campus!
I can’t believe the campus that I attend would bring in speakers who are so ignorant. To compare terrorism to the boogie man in down right embarrassing. Who is this guy and where does he live? I’m completely ashamed of this campus and cant believe my money goes to support an event of this nature. Maybe the students would be better of deciding where their money goes rather than the campus!
I can’t believe the campus that I attend would bring in speakers who are so ignorant. To compare terrorism to the boogie man in down right embarrassing. Who is this guy and where does he live? I’m completely ashamed of this campus and cant believe my money goes to support an event of this nature. Maybe the students would be better of deciding where their money goes rather than the campus!