The Accent Speaker’s Bureau hosted “A Conversation with Former Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren and Journalist Rula Jebreal” Tuesday.
It was its second attempt at addressing the Israeli-Palestinian issue, after having to cancel a similarly themed event last Spring.
At that event, Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was to be interviewed by journalist Rula Jebreal.
Olmert canceled his appearance at UF and was subsequently convicted of receiving bribes.
Delayed but undeterred, Accent brought us the sequel to the Olmert event — not an interview, but a conversation between Jebreal and Oren. Representatives from the event also invited Students for Justice in Palestine to participate.
Although its offer may have been well-intentioned, Accent’s behavior indicates a pretty deep misunderstanding of Palestinian issues on the parts of Accent and the Jewish Student Union.
The Oren-Jebreal conversation misrepresents the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a dispute between two groups with equal grievances on either side.
It mimics past attempts that Americans have made to coerce Palestinians and Israelis to have discussions and meetings, predicated on the assumption that the two just need to “work things out.”
This approach not only ignores the underlying issue — Israel’s occupation in the region — but also trivializes the grievances of the Palestinian people, who have been bombed, displaced, constrained, jailed and occupied.
Furthermore, it creates a false image of inclusiveness and diversity.
By inviting a Palestinian to a public forum, Accent pretends to represent both sides of the conflict. It is clear, however, that no such balance exists.
Jebreal’s role at Accent is similar to Juan Williams’ position at Fox News — she may belong to a minority group, but she’s been placed in an environment in which she serves the majority’s purpose.
We do not wish to be involved in such a thinly veiled display of favoritism for a modern-day colonialist government.
SJP says “no, thank you” to being Accent’s token Palestinian group.
Doing so would further subjugate the Palestinian people, which Accent has done enough of already.
Amanda Nelson is the secretary of the UF branch of Students for Justice in Palestine.
[A version of this story ran on page 7 on 9/19/2014 under the headline "Oren-Jebreal Discussion: Accent’s done enough to offend Palestinians"]
