Conversation not conflict

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Hello and welcome to campus

We hope you are looking forward to a fantastic term and that you will get involved with the diverse and dynamic programmes on offer from your J-Soc and UJS.

It is possible that following the summer conflict between Israel and Hamas, there may be some increased activity on some campuses that Jewish students and J-Socs would want support with responding to. With that in mind, as well as our current student mandated policy of supporting those that want to combat the BDS movement and attempts to delegitimise the State of Israel, we have prepared some information and materials for you.

We are confident that J-Socs and Jewish students will continue to thrive on campus this year, and that’s down to the hard work that UJS and J-Soc officers put in to building the best possible campus experience.

From everyone at the UJS team, we hope you have an amazing year ahead and should you need us, you can always give us a call.

Speak soon,

UJS Team

Important contact details:

UJS Office: 0207 424 3288 / advice@ujs.org.uk

Police emergency: 999 / Non-emergency: 101

Community Security Trust (CST)

London: 020 8457 9999 / Emergency London: 07659 101668

Manchester: 0161 792 6666 / Emergency Manchester: 0800 9800668

To report online hate crime: http://www.report-it.org.uk/your_police_force

Support available on campus

Over the next few months, campus may at times be a challenging environment in light of Operation Protective Edge. Often, debates around Israel-Palestine are highly contested and can at times result in a deterioration of good and healthy campus relations. Dialogue is the best way to solve conflict on campus and J-Socs, students’ unions and NUS play a vital role in creating a safe space for dialogue and discussion.

Three things you can do on your campus:

1) Take an active interest in your Student Union affairs. The only way to change something you are unhappy about is to get involved and change it.

2) Take action in a group of friends and peers. It’s always easier, and more fun, to be active and engaged on difficult issues like Israel-Palestine debates when you do it in a group, and one of the best ways of doing this is by getting involved in your local J-Soc.

3) Start projects, build up campaigns, and create change. Whether it’s submitting a policy to your students’ union council, or attending NUS events, it’s up to you to put forward an alternative debate. UJS and your local J-Soc are there to support you to do this and offer you training in how to do this in the most effective way possible.

Many students’ unions including the NUS, form their position on Hate Crime from the Macpherson report of the Lawrence Inquiry’s final report where it is stated that “a racist incident is any incident which is perceived to be racist by the victim or the other person”. With this in mind, you should feel confident that should you, your friends, or members of your J-Soc feel threatened or upset from perceived anti-Semitism, your sabbatical officers will work to support you. Find them online or in the students’ union.

Students’ unions can seem daunting at times especially in the midst of a policy discussion on Israel-Palestine. Have your voice heard by attending General Meetings, voting online, or participating in student affairs. If you want to foster balanced and fair debate but feel like this is not happening, you should bring this up with your Welfare Officer, and of course your UJS Campaigns Team will be there to support you.

Your university will also have a students’ services department which exists to support students throughout their degree and this can be utilised if you feel you require additional assistance. Pastoral care and support is also available from your local J-Soc and University Jewish Chaplain.

What Happened This Summer

The first section of this briefing offers an overview of Operation Protective Edge, including information, statistics, and short explanations. The next section will provide a more analytical, critical approach to questions of identity, societal responses and the nature of war itself. The material has been collated using a range of sources from BBC, BICOM, the Israeli Embassy in London and various others.

UJS has compiled this publication as we anticipate that the recent conflict may lead to some heightened tensions on some campuses. We want to ensure that Jewish students are prepared, informed and supported to respond to any arising situations, should they choose to do so.

It is important to highlight this section offers a fair hearing to the Israeli perspective within the context of attempts to delegitimise the State of Israel. This information does not represent the views of UJS nor does it seek to suggest that there is a uniform position on the summer’s conflict held by Jewish students.

We very much encourage Jewish students to continue exploring the wider issues surrounding the conflict and strongly advise that this first section of selected information is read alongside the second section offering critical analysis from a range of perspectives.

How did this most recent escalation start?

The EU, US and other democracies designate Hamas as a terrorist organisation with the declared goal of destroying Israel. Following their election victory the previous year, in 2007, Hamas violently seized control of the Gaza Strip and have since been the ruling power.

After many years of rocket fire, between 12 June and 7 July, Hamas and other terrorist organisations in the Gaza strip, intensified its activity, firing approximately 300 rockets at Israeli civilians. Hamas continued to fire indiscriminately at Israeli towns and cities. After three weeks of restraint against incessant rocket attacks, Israel responded in order to protect its civilian population.

What was Israel’s objective?

The main objective of Operation Protective Edge was to provide the sustained peace and security the citizens of Israel deserve. Israel cannot accept a reality in which millions of its civilians are subject to the whims of a radical Islamist terrorist organisation; live under constant threat with as little as 15 seconds to find shelter from incoming rockets; nor the existence of cross-border attack tunnels, which could be used to murder and kidnap Israeli citizens.

A closer look at Hamas:

According to the Hamas charter, Israel has no place in the world and their declared goal is the destruction of the Jewish state, as stated: “Hamas strives to raise the banner of Allah over every inch of Palestine” [meaning all of Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip].” In addition, the organisation promotes an antisemitic ideology that glorifies jihad [holy war] and the killing of Jews. Hamas’ indiscriminate rocket fire is consistent with its ideology, with the intent to cause widespread fear and political gain.

Hamas’ tactic of firing rockets at Israeli civilian communities did not end when Israel left Gaza completely in 2005, but rather intensified. In recent years, Hamas invested heavily in offensive weapons, bringing the number of rockets aimed at Israeli towns to around 12,000.

Operation Protective Edge and International Law

Pnina Sharvit-Baruch, former head of the International Law Department of the IDF and now a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) at Tel Aviv University, highlights the following:

“…from a legal point of view, proportionality is not measured by comparing the number of casualties from each side. In asymmetric conflicts it is not uncommon to have higher casualties on one side than on the other. In the NATO operation in Kosovo for example almost all the casualties were on the one side while the NATO forces operated largely from the air…

What must be stressed is that there are no alternative military targets for Israel to engage. All the targets, all the operatives, the firing and the weapons are entrenched within the civilian population. That is where we have to fight. In order to minimise the harm to civilians, Israel has issued warnings in advance. The laws of armed conflict require giving notice in advance to civilians so they can leave the area and protect themselves in order to minimise harm to civilians…

The fact that Israel abides by the rules of armed conflict has never changed. When talking to Israelis I say that we abide by these rules not to avoid another Goldstone Report, but because this is part of our being a democratic state which abides by the rule of law. If our soldiers come back from Gaza having disregarded the law or acted immorally, that is more frightening to me than any report…”

The tragedy of civilian casualties

Many civilian casualties in Gaza are a direct result of the Hamas tactic of using the Palestinian civilian population as human shields. The placing of rockets, rocket launching pads, weapons caches and tunnel openings in private homes, UNRWA schools, hospitals and mosques has been well documented, including by foreign correspondents reporting from Gaza. Attacks on Israeli soldiers have also been deliberately launched from within or next to civilian installations in order to draw return fire.

In order to increase Palestinian casualties, Hamas’ Ministry of Interior has instructed the residents of Gaza not to heed Israel’s warnings about impending attacks. Hamas also urges residents to actively form human shields, exposing them to grave danger.

Arguably, by embedding weapons, leaders, operatives and infrastructures around non-involved Palestinian civilians whilst targeting Israeli civilians, a double war crime is committed.

The following excerpts from “Caution Needed With Gaza Casualty Figures” (BBC) highlight the complexity of ascertaining casualties in Gaza and advise deliberation when stating the numbers of civilian and combatant deaths.

“An analysis by the New York Times looked at the names of 1,431 casualties and found that “the population most likely to be militants, men ages 20 to 29, is also the most over represented in the death toll. They are 9% of Gaza’s 1.7 million residents, but 34% of those killed whose ages were provided.”

“At the same time, women and children under 15, the least likely to be legitimate targets, were the most under represented, making up 71% of the population and 33% of the known-age casualties.”

Jana Krause, from the war studies department at Kings College London, says: “A potential explanation other than combatant roles could be that families expect them to be the first ones to leave shelters in order to care for hurt relatives, gather information, look after abandoned family homes or arrange food and water…”

Measures Israel has taken to minimise civilian casualties in Gaza

Israel endeavours to reduce the harm caused to non-involved civilians in Gaza. It has done so by employing stringent target selection procedures, by warning residents about impending strikes using phone calls, text messages and leaflets, and by firing warning shots.

Israel does so despite significant tactical costs, foregoing operational opportunities and refraining from attacking known terrorist hideouts and weapons caches located in dangerous proximity to civilians.

Why have there been fewer Israeli civilian casualties?

67 Israeli soldiers lost their lives since 8th July in a military operation aimed at saving Israeli civilians from the rocket threat, and there were five civilians killed in rocket and mortar attacks. The primary reason for the lower number of Israeli casualties despite approximately 4382 rocket attacks is Israel’s defensive measures. Israel has invested huge resources in establishing a two-fold system to protect its citizens against rocket attacks:

1. Israel developed the Iron Dome missile defense system, which throughout this confrontation has provided outstanding protection to Israeli civilians, saving the lives of countless Israeli civilians.

2. Israel constructed a vast infrastructure of shelters and set up an early warning system enabling its civilians to find quick cover when terrorists launch their rockets.

Were it not for the effective deployment of the Iron Dome and shelters, the number of Israeli civilian casualties in this conflict would be higher.

Aid and assistance for the civilian population of Gaza

Israel maintained their efforts to enable the continued passage of goods and aid into Gaza despite the fighting. It facilitated the entry of approximately 2,000 truckloads carrying some 40,000 tons of food, medical supplies and essential goods during 50 days of fighting.

Despite continuous attacks, including more than a hundred rockets fired at the primary crossing for goods at Kerem Shalom, Israel kept the land crossings into Gaza operating.

Israel and Hamas agreed to numerous humanitarian lulls in fighting to allow civilians in Gaza to shop for supplies, receive humanitarian aid and move to safer areas. These humanitarian ceasefires were broken by Hamas and other groups in Gaza.

Humanitarian Aid Figures During Operation Protective Edge (Source: COGAT)

- 997 tons Medicines and Medical Supplies have entered Gaza since July 8th 2014.

- Since July 8th, a total of 5,779 trucks entered via the Kerem Shalom crossing.

- Since July 8th, there were 4,243 trucks entries into Israel and 3,044 truck exits to Gaza via the Erez crossing.

- Energy entries into Gaza: 4.58 million liters of diesel for the power station,1.73M liters for UNRWA. 9.8 M liters of fuel and 4.26 M liters of benzene for transportation. 4,843 tons of gas for domestic use.

Hamas’ Tunnel Network

Hamas’ tunnel network has dozens of access points located throughout Gaza, and these tunnels are used as weapons caches, bunkers, command centres and a concealed transportation artery for terrorists and weapons, including rocket launchers. Some of these tunnels lead directly from Gaza to Israeli communities near the border, enabling terrorists to infiltrate, kidnap and attack Israeli civilians.

Many tunnels’ access points are hidden between schools, mosques, hospitals and other civilian buildings. Hamas deliberately embeds its terrorist infrastructure inside civilians neighbourhoods, knowing that the IDF is reluctant to strike civilian areas.

Hamas invests millions of dollars and other resources in building and operating its vast tunnel network. Since January 2014, 4,680 trucks carrying 181,000 tons of gravel, iron, cement, wood and other supplies have passed through the Kerem Shalom Crossing from Israel into Gaza. These materials are co-opted by Hamas for tunnel construction. Since 2007, 1,370 tunnels were built costing $1.25 billon.

The Ceasefire

On 26th August 2014 at 7pm, the Egyptian Foreign Minister announced a ceasefire. It was a difficult process for both Israel and Hamas to come to a ceasefire agreement, causing greater damage to civilian life.

If both parties are able to honour the ceasefire, then within a month indirect negotiations will begin, at which point Israel will raise the issue of the demilitarisation of Gaza.

Other agreements reached included the fact that reconstruction equipment and supplies will be transferred to Gaza. The transfer will be subject to an oversight mechanism between Israel and the international organisations operating in Gaza. The fishing zone will be restored to its previous 12km and in the future, the possibility of its expansion will be evaluated.

Complexity & Conversation

In the next section, you will find a cross-section of perspectives, opinions and voices. UJS encourages genuine conversation where a multitude of views can be expressed. For the online version of this briefing, click on article titles for links to the full articles.

The excerpts below have been included in the hope that they prompt students to explore the recent conflict from various perspectives. This section aims to serve as a starting point for nuanced conversation that challenges us all to question what we believe, what we hear, and develop our positions.

We encourage you to use this briefing as a starting point for further conversations with your J-Socs and friends. As always, your UJS sabbatical team is also available for additional questions and support.

Contact: advice@ujs.org.uk

Two pieces challenging some of how the conflict has been addressed in some media coverage:

It’s time to bust the ‘Israeli blockade led to Hamas Rockets’ myth, Professor Alan Johnson

The fallacy distorts our understanding of why these escalations keep happening and what will make a durable peace possible. The fallacy frames the Israeli blockade of Gaza as motiveless and cruel at best, demonic at worst, while it presents the firing of Hamas rockets on Israeli civilians as acts of resistance. The fallacy makes us think that if only Israel “lifted the blockade” then peace would break out. The fallacy spreads because of ignorance.

The one piece of ‘what aboutery’ that Israel-Bashers have no answers to, Brendan O’Neill

If these protesters truly were consistent in their loathing of war, especially wars contributed to by our governments, then they would have marched and tweeted and shouted about Ukraine as much as they have done about Israel. But they haven’t. There’s something different about Israel, something which gets leftists’ blood pumping in a way that no other war or state or crisis on Earth does. Anti-Israel campaigners can’t be surprised by all the speculation about their true motives when they have singularly failed to explain why the militarism of the Jewish State makes them weep and wail more than the militarism of any other state, including other states

Two articles encouraging Jewish people and Israeli citizens to consider the longer term questions arising from choosing to go to war and its impact on Israeli society:

War is not always the answer, Jonathan Freedland

“For one thing, strained though these times are, we are not the main victims here. That unwanted distinction belongs to the dead and wounded, some of them Israeli, the overwhelming majority Palestinian, with vast numbers of the latter civilians. Anxious though we are, and vigilant as we must be, about antisemitism, we should not delude ourselves that we are the main story. We are not.”

When the guns fall silent, Daniel GordisThis is an earthquake, let there be no doubt. When the guns go silent, we’re going need to renew a vision that blends resolve with tolerance, strength with utter decency, individual freedom coupled with a sense of serving something greater than ourselves.

A selection of soundbites that, whilst succint, cut through the often simplistic understanding of the situation. The full articles offer further inisght that can engage us with clear thinking AND complexity on this conflict:

We have been here before, Daniel GordisMoral equivalency makes a mockery of truth, but moral superiority makes a mockery of responsibility.

Israel and Gaza: Just and Unjust War, Leon Wieseltier

It is not sickening that Israel is defending itself—it is, by the standard of Jewish historical experience, exhilarating; but some of what Israel is doing to defend itself is sickening. Is our identity so infirm that such complication cannot be introduced?

The lesson of this summer’s awful war, David HorovitzAt the end of an awful summer, after 50 days of war between Israel and Hamas, the need for a viable Israeli-Palestinian partnership could not be clearer.

There are only two sides in the conflict: Moderates and Extremists, Achinoam Nini (Noa)

I want to stand in the middle of the rink and speak my truth. There are only two sides, and they are not Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Arabs. They are moderates and the extremists.

Four pieces offering an insight into the relationship between Israelis and Palestinians and between Israel and Hamas:

Israelis and Palestinians are Brothers in pain, Rami Elhanan and Mazen Faraj (Quote itself from Mazen Faraj)

“Together we can listen to each other’s pain, narrative and fear, and together we can overcome these stumbling blocks. If we, who have lost our loved ones, can talk and work together for peace, surely everyone else can.”

The one place where Israel and Hamas are communicating: how the evening news became a forum for (bizarre) dialogue, Debra Kamin

“Israeli and Palestinian television stations routinely tap into each other’s transmissions and broadcast them to their viewers....Occasionally, the voyeurism becomes even more surreal. Yaari, one of Israel’s most respected Arabists, often tries to strike up a conversation with the anchors in Gaza. Sometimes he succeeds. On July 12, however, he was rebuffed. “Can we talk?” he said in Arabic into the camera, moments after announcing the Hamas threat on Tel Aviv. In Gaza City, the anchor sneered. “There can be no dialogue between Palestinians and the Zionist occupier,” he responded in Arabic.

Lose- lose situation for Israel, Interview with Amos Oz

Absolutely, I believe the majority of the Palestinians are not in love with Israel, but they do accept with clenched teeth that the Israeli Jews are not going anywhere, just like the majority of Israeli Jews - unhappily and with clenched teeth - accept that the Palestinians are here to stay. This is a basis not for a honeymoon, but perhaps for a fair divorce...

The present hostilities will only stop, unfortunately, when one of the parties or both of them are exhausted… I have been a man of compromise all my life. But even a man of compromise cannot approach Hamas and say: ‘Maybe we meet halfway and Israel only exists on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.’

Israel and Hamas need each other, Aaron David Miller

It’s perfectly reasonable to assume that if Israeli and Hamas leaders had one wish, it would be to destroy the other. But in the practical world of Israeli-Palestinian politics…it’s not an option, Israel and Hamas have not only made do with each other’s existence, they have tried to figure out how to derive the maximum benefit from one another.

Taking a step back to consider the Israeli communities on the Gaza border and a view on why this conflict generates the attention it does with regards to press reporting:

10 things you probably didn’t know about the border Kibbutzim that starred in Gaza War, Judy Maltz and Danna Harman

The residents of these border communities have invented a new code word for going away – and that’s to avoid the awful term “evacuation.” The Hebrew word for “break” is “hafugah.” The residents of the Gaza border community prefer a term that sounds similar but has a bit of a different meaning: It’s “hafagah.” The difference is that unlike a “hafugah,” a “hafagah” is not for the purpose of rest and relaxation and not for a predetermined amount of time. After all, when war is waging, how can you know when you’ll be back home, and how can you really rest and relax?

An insider’s guide to the most important story on earth, A former AP correspondent explains how and why reporters get Israel so wrong, and why it matters, Matti Friedman

Israel is not an idea, a symbol of good or evil, or a litmus test for liberal opinion at dinner parties. It is a small country in a scary part of the world that is getting scarier. It should be reported as critically as any other place, and understood in context and in proportion. Israel is not one of the most important stories in the world, or even in the Middle East; whatever the outcome in this region in the next decade, it will have as much to do with Israel as World War II had to do with Spain. Israel is a speck on the map- a sideshow that happens to carry an unusual emotional charge.

Notes:

For more information, please contact Maggie Suissa or Russell Langer

on maggies@ujs.org.uk or russelll@ujs.org.uk

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