Guest Column | A statement of principles

On Monday, the David Horowitz Freedom Center took out a full-page advertisement in The Daily Pennsylvanian and college newspapers around the country. It was an ad full of dehumanizing hate speech about the Palestinian people particularly and the Muslim, Arab and pro-Palestinian communities generally. We, as leaders of the Jewish and Muslim communities and as leaders of the pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups on campus, are joining together to collectively condemn such hateful and inflammatory rhetoric and those who espouse it.

We believe that the publication of this horrifying and divisive document is an opportunity to come together as one community and address the status quo that has gone unchallenged for too long. We are exasperated by the oversimplification of an issue that deeply affects millions of human lives. We reject the idea that there is no alternative to this fruitless, polarizing antagonism. We are deeply disappointed by the fact that both sides have convinced themselves that they have nothing to learn from the other and nothing to say that the other will respect. We reject the extension of this attitude to our campus.

We are no longer satisfied with a world in which Muslims, Jews and Christians, as well as those who identify as pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian, are compelled to suffer silently every time extremists perpetrate hate in the name of the convictions we hold most dear. We recognize that these attacks and libels de-humanize not only those they target but also those in whose name they claim to speak — the individuals whose peaceful voices and opinions are drowned out in a sea of discrimination and hatred. We refuse to be complicit in destructive ignorance.

We propose that we, as Israeli and Palestinian advocates, bring the same level of open-mindedness and intellectual rigor to our advocacy as we do to our studies. When discussing this issue, we resolve not to check our inquisitiveness or our tolerance at the door. We should be able to view each other’s efforts not as incitements that require either response or dismissal but as invitations to expand our understanding of the issues and each other.

Today and going forward, we stand united in our suffering and against our suffering. We are united in the conviction that this moment of hate will serve as the catalyst for us to come together and learn from each other. These conversations will not be easy, but they are essential in the process of reconciliation between our communities and the development of a shared vision for the future.

We all dream of peace, but we also recognize that in our dreaming we must not fall into complacent slumber. We must remain alert to the hatred and intolerance that surround us and guard ourselves — and each other — against them. Our generation has not inherited an easy task, but we resolve that those who see enmity as inevitable, or hatred as natural, will never go unchallenged. By our unity, commitment, action and friendship we vow to build and defend a new framework of respect, humility and constructive creativity.

This guest column was written by: Besan Abu-Joudah, College and Wharton junior, former Penn Arab Student Society vice president Logan Bayroff, College sophomore, Forum for New Israel Dialogue president Ariel Fisher, College senior, former Hillel Education chairman Elisheva Goldberg, College senior, Kedma editor-in-chief Sarah Shihadah, College freshman, Penn for Palestine, Penn Arab Student Society

The following people are signatories: Maryam Alireza, Penn Arab Student Society president Humna Bhojani, Penn for Palestine president Sarah Ijaz, Muslim Students Association president Tamar Karpuj, Hillel Israel Sector chairwoman

Elisheva Goldberg can be contacted at nelis@sas.upenn.edu.

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