On Feb. 5 Pitzer College’s Presidential Initiative on Constructive Dialogue hosted two speakers for the event “How do we talk about Israel and Palestine?” The speakers, Salam Al-Marayati, president and co-founder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council and Daniel Sokatch, CEO of the New Israel Fund led their discussion on Zoom, due to weather conditions moving the meeting from its original in-person location, the Benson Auditorium.
The initiative was created last December by Pitzer President Strom C. Thacker with the goal of encouraging productive conversations regarding controversial topics among students and faculty at the 5Cs.
“We as a society and a college need to be able to engage each other in constructive dialogues,” Thacker said, opening the talk. “Especially when we disagree.”
Throughout the talk, both Al-Marayati and Sokatch advocated for nonviolence. Al-Marayati argued that war does not pave a viable path towards peace.
“We should be against war as the way to resolve issues in the Middle East,” Al-Marayati said. “There is no military solution.”
Sokatch and Al-Marayati have worked together on encouraging discourse between those who disagree. Sokatch highlighted the nuance that comes with the wide array of perspectives present within both communities, whom he noted have both been historically oppressed groups.
“Part of what Salam [Al-Marayati] and I have tried to do over the almost quarter century that we’ve worked on these issues together is to … develop the ability to listen,” Sokatch said. “These are two peoples who have been victims of the world, victims of each other and victims of themselves; they are both righteous so far as those claims are legitimate.”
He continued on to the topic of having difficult conversations amongst parties that disagree, emphasizing the importance of this dialogue in times of instability.
“When it is hardest, when fears are strongest, these are the times when you have to do the uncomfortable thing,” Sokatch said. “You have to continue to build bridges.”
During the talk, Al-Marayati and Sokatch both emphatically called for a ceasefire and highlighted key points they agree on.
“I would very proudly stand alongside [Al-Marayat] in calling for a ceasefire, a return of the hostages and critically, a return to a search for a diplomatic political resolution to the conflict that recognizes both peoples rights to self-determination,” Sokatch said.
Permeating much of the talk was the theme of nonviolent resistance. Both speakers referenced Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., referencing that despite being nonviolent, he was a profoundly impactful figure and threatened the status quo. However, Al-Marayati laid out his terms for peace.
“When we talk about nonviolent resistance, it is not just saying ‘let’s have peace,’” Al-Marayati said. “Of course we want peace, peace is the outcome. But peace is not to be under enslavement.”
Bella Jacobs PZ ’24 said she appreciated the speakers’ shared sentiments surrounding nonviolence.
“It was powerful that they both said they were in support of nonviolent resistance,” Jacobs said. “And it was really powerful that Salam Al-Marayati publicly endorsed suspending Pitzer Haifa as an important part of nonviolent resistance.
Jacobs made reference to Pitzer’s study abroad program with the University of Haifa in Israel and the ongoing campaign pushing for its suspension. The Pitzer Student Senate will vote on a resolution in support of its suspension on Sunday.
In relation to nonviolent resistance, Al-Marayati expressed support for the Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) movement and said he believes the program to be a way to achieve peace through nonviolent opposition.
While Sokatch emphasized that he does not support the BDS movement, citing a lack of clarity surrounding its end goals, he also stated his belief in people’s freedom to support it.
“I, to-date, have not agreed with it in total because of some of the ambiguities around what it says it stands for,” he said. “But I, as well as the [CEO of the] Israel Fund, am a firm defender of people’s right to support the BDS movement.”
Willa Umansky PZ ’27 expressed that she had hoped the talk had focused more on practical advice on how to talk to people with different views from one’s own.
“That would be more useful for college students to build their tool belt,” she said.
Despite the speakers disagreeing on multiple topics, two things were clear: Both presenters had tremendous respect for the other and each sought justice and truth through difficult situations.
“It is very hard to reach out your hand to the other,” Sokatch said. “But what you find is that you become more human in doing it.”
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