OXFORD UNIV. HOLDS "APARTHEID ISRAEL" WEEK

Oxford holds 'Apartheid Israel' week (JPost)

Oxford University is this week holding an "Israeli Apartheid week." Hosted by the Palestinian Society, and sanctioned by the university's student union, flyers state it is to commemorate the "30th anniversary of the international convention on the suppression and punishment of the crime of apartheid."  Fliers show a caricature of two Israeli soldiers beating a Palestinian man with maps of Israel, stated as Palestine, and South Africa. The conference's themes are apartheid and Zionism, divestment and resistance.

Ilan Pappe from Haifa University, an advocate of a one-state solution and boycott of Israeli institutions, will speak on "Resisting Apartheid: Divestment and Solidarity" on Friday. Chairing the meeting is Prof. Steven Rose, a major supporter of an academic and cultural boycott of Israel.  Other speakers include Prof. Gabi Piterberg from University of California at Los Angeles, who spoke on Monday night on "Zionism and Apartheid." Piterberg, an Israeli anti-Zionist, added his signature to a petition in 2003 calling for divestment from Israel.

On Wednesday, Karma Nabulsi, a politics fellow at Oxford and former PLO representative, will talk about "Palestinian Resistance." In a recent article, Dr. Nabulsi's accused Britain and Europe of "funding Israel's occupation and expansion."  On Tuesday night participants saw a film about an Israeli activist who married a Palestinian and founded a theater group in Jenin, where she taught children to express anger, bitterness and fear through acting and art.  "Arna's Children" recounts the story of her son returning to Jenin, after Arna's death, to find out what happened to the children.

Jewish students voiced their concern by writing to the university's vice chancellor and are attending the talks to hand out literature and engage with other attendees.