CARTER USING NOBEL $ TO SEND BRANDEIS STUDENTS TO "PALESTINE"

Campus club organizing trip to Palestinian territories in February (Brandeis Univ. Justice)
Almost eight months after former President Jimmy Carter encouraged Brandeis students to visit the Palestinian territories in his address to the campus last January, a group of students is making that idea a reality.

A weeklong trip initiated by campus club Students Crossing Boundaries will send a delegation of eight to 10 students to the Palestinian territories during February break. Carter, the 39th United States president, offered $25,000 of the his 2002 Nobel Peace Prize money to help defray the costs of the trip, Carter Center spokeswoman Deanna Congileo wrote in an e-mail to the Justice Monday.

It hasn't been determined yet whether the students will also visit Israel, said Justin Kang '09, who is organizing the trip. SCB, which is made up of 13 students, wants to document Palestinian life through this trip, Kang said. He explained that the initiative is an academic endeavor without a political goal.

"We want to make sure that people understand that this isn't a political thing, but a personal and an academic thing to explore for ourselves," he said.

"We want to see and understand the living conditions in socioeconomic Palestine," Deborah Laufer '08, another SCB member, said.

Carter encouraged students to visit the Palestinian territories during his speech on campus last January, when he discussed his book on Middle Eastern politics, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid. A group of students headed by Kevin Montgomery '07 tried to take Carter's lead by organizing a trip at that time, but the initiative ultimately failed after support from the administration fell through.

"This was entirely unexpected," Kang said about the smoothness of planning the trip. "I just followed through to see what would happen and what could be accomplished."

The money for the trip is coming from Carter personally, Kang emphasized. The Center will advise on the trip's logistics. Carter wants his gift to serve as a motivation to other donors, Congileo wrote in the e-mail.

The trip isn't affiliated with the University, Kang said. "We are all proud Brandeis students, but the University has no affiliation with this trip," he said.