This past week, the Arabic Club of Georgetown and its external supporters hosted a series of events on campus which dealt with the subject of Palestinian home dispossession. In doing so, the Arabic Club raised an important issue which certainly merited a forum for enlightened discussion. Unfortunately, the forum had its fair share of flaws. First and foremost, I am curious as to who exactly determined the speaker list. More importantly, however, I was disappointed that the week long series failed to address the issue of Palestinian home destruction on a constructive level.
Emotional testimonials are important.
However, it would have been more useful and certainly more interesting if even one of the presenters were to have challenge this particular policy of Israel's on an intellectual level. For example, as fighting terrorism is concerned, destroying the family homes of Palestinians who carry out suicide bombing missions may be justifiable on the logic that it provides a powerful disincentive to future suicide bombers. Of course, on the surface this policy is inherently unjust because it targets relatives who usually have no connection to the evil which their kin commits. These are hard questions. However, they are questions which an institution like the Arabic Club and the larger university community should not have been afraid to confront in a more credible manner.