By Susan Schwartz, TMO

Radio station KPFK through one of its divisions, Middle East in Focus, presented last week a discussion titled: “Peace in Israel/Palestine – What should Americans’ Role Be?” The event was held at the Culver Palms United Methodist church in the Los Angeles area.

Co-sponsors were Jewish Voice for Peace – LA (JVP-LA) and the United Methodist Holy Land Task Force. Five speakers addressed the audience in turn. An interactive session followed the final speaker.

The session began with David Suissa, President of the Tribe Media Corp. He said that he was an Arab Jew who was born and spent the early part of his life in Morocco. He said that when he attends a mosque, he feels familiar and at home.

Mr. Suissa continued by saying that the Jews have never given up the idea of a homeland. He referenced his grandfather who left Morocco and a full life behind him to take up permanent residence in Israel when the Jewish state was born. Jews and Arab had a great life in Morocco and got along very well together. The birth of Israel, Mr. Suissa continued, was a difficult birth.

He wanted to talk about Palestinians who suffered in refugee camps. Mr. Suissa talked about the freedoms that Arabs enjoy in Israel that is a greater freedom than they would enjoy in any other country in  the Middle East.

“I am most against the Arab leaders. They are corrupt.” He called for people in Palestine and Israel to rise up against their own leaders and not let them stand in the way of peace.

The next speaker was Amos Buhai, the Southwest Regional Director of J Street. He said that the J Street position was pro Israel, pro peace, and pro a two state solution. A Palestinian state would be next to Israel which would be Jewish and democratic. A two state solution would mean pre 1967 borders – that is a necessity.

What is the role of the United States? There is no military solution. HAMAS is stronger than ever in the aftermath of the war in Gaza. Continued aid to the Palestinian Authority is vital. The United States should put forth its own game – we must decide the end game.

He ended his presentation by saying it is “always easier to make war than peace.”

M. Theresa Basile was the third speaker. Ms Basile is on the Steering Committee of the United Methodist Kairos Response. She said “I am speaking as an American and as a Christian”. She said it was a tenet of the Christian faith that we are all called upon to be peacemakers. To further that quest we must all engage in justice making. We have to conclude who is wrong and who is right.  The United Methodist Church opposes Israeli occupation in Jerusalem as well as elsewhere in the oPt. We oppose any vision of a greater Israel. What action should we take to back this up? We should oppose Israeli settlements.We should continue interfaith dialogue. We should invest in the Palestinian economy – we go to them and they lead us – otherwise it is arrogance.The Palestinians have been and are being oppressed. Their infrastructure is being destroyed. Their children are being detained. Their land is being colonized.The United Nations and the United States should go to the Palestinians and ask “what should we do?” We must support the BDS movement that Palestinians have called for. We must resist the evil of Israeli aggression.

Ms Basile’s presentation drew a positive response from the audience.

“She is so right in what she says” said one young women among the attendees.

Josh Ruebner, the Policy Director of the US Campaign to End the Occupation, took the podium next. Prior to speaking,  Mr. Ruebner autographed copies of his book Shattered Hopes: Obama’s Failure to Broker Israeli-Palestinian Peace.

Mr. Reubner began his address by speaking of his trip this past May with peace activist, Noura Erekat, to the oPt. They went to Bilin and listened to the stories told by the villagers. Israeli acted there with violence against peaceful demonstrators. He told also of finding in Bilin spent high velocity tear gas canisters made in Pennsylvania. The United States does not want a Palestinian state. We want to impose a Bantu type state against the Palestinian people. Massacres, blockades, besieged Gazans – and Israel gets 3.1 billion dollars in weapons.We provide more than 800 million weapons. When Israel attacked Gaza it was with our weapons – F-16s, Apache helicopters and Hellfire missiles.

The opposition of Palestinians has been ongoing since 1948. We must end our support for Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people before we can act as an honest broker.

The final speaker was Taher Herzallah, the National Campus Coordinator of American Muslims for Palestine. Mr. Herzallah was one of the Irvine 11, unjustly prosecuted for exercising their first amendment rights during a speech by then Israeli Ambassador, Michael Oren, in 2010.

He began by saying “We must stop being part of the problem.” Justice comes before peace, he continued. Netanyahu has said he does not envision a Palestinian state – he is not looking for a partner. He is looking for a slave, and as Americans we must talk about justice. Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people is ongoing.

Some Israelis, he continued, should be tried in international court, not wined and dined. Israel presents itself as a beleaguered entity, surrounded by enemies. There are no shots being fired at Israel from Jordan or Egypt. Bashar Assad of Syria is too busy protecting his position to make war on Israel. It is Israel that is the destabilizing influence in their part of the world.

The United States should join BDS, and there should be an academic and consumer boycott in addition. We must stop dehumanizing the Palestinian people. If children grow up with hate, it is because of what the Israelis do. All of us should hate Israel. We should end all aid to Israel. We have to stop telling Palestinians what to do.We cannot demand that the Palestinians accept Israel’s right to exist. Palestinians should not be forced to recognize the theft of land and occupation.

We would not ask a woman who has been raped to sit down and talk with her rapist, he concluded.

Mr. Herzallah was interrupted a number of times by favorable responses from the audience.

The presentation was an enormous success. After the event people spoke with each other dissecting the speeches they had heard.