By Christina Jenkins
DAILY BRUIN CONTRIBUTOR
cjenkins@media.ucla.edu
A panel of academics exchanged ideas about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict Monday, marking the first time this year UCLA professors have gathered to discuss the conflict in a public forum.
The colloquium at the Faculty Center featured six speakers – three from the history department and three visiting from other universities. All six had personal and scholastic ties to the Middle East.
Speaking on the need for “a quick and reliable political solution” and an “immediate humanitarian presence” in the region, Issam Nassar – visiting from Al Quds University in Jerusalem – opened the forum by calling for the implementation of a two-state solution.
Yoav Peled, visiting from Tel Aviv University, echoed this sentiment, calling it the “only viable solution.”
The two-state system involves the organization of separate states for Israelis and Palestinians.
But history professor Gabriel Piterberg said the situation may be “beyond the point” where the two-state solution is feasible.
“(It) may already be behind us. What may emerge will be a more explicit apartheid,” Piterberg said.
Being the sole speaker to suggest that the only possible solution might be an Israeli-Palestinian bi-national state, Piterberg’s remarks elicited strong response from the panel.
Saul Friedlander, a professor in the history department, expressed sadness, for Piterberg’s suggestion instills a sense of hopelessness.
“Ultimately, all of these colleagues are for the two-state solution,” Friedlander said.
Piterberg acknowledged that he and others on the panel differ in their understanding of the situation.
“I think analytically – regardless of what I would or would not like – I don’t see how the two-state solution is actually happening,” he said.
Addressing the psychological ramifications of the conflict, history professor David Myers strayed from the strict discussion of policy.
Myers implored both sides to “cease and desist from demonizing the other.” Applying this strategy to UCLA, he said he hoped to see “members of both groups walking across the line … to form a common space in the middle.”
With many students leaving before the forum ended, one person observed that apathy might be responsible.
“UCLA in general, it’s pretty hard to get people involved, pretty much in any political event. That goes for the city as well,” said Ayana Haviv, a second-year graduate student in history and anthropology who helped found the L.A. chapter of “Women in Black,” a worldwide organization pushing for the establishment of an independent Palestine alongside Israel.