A former U. Iowa student who just spent two weeks in Israel and Palestine says she brought back with her more than just souvenirs.
Lara Elborno, a Palestinian-American who graduated from the UI in 2009, said she left understanding that it’s not just Palestinians protesting Israel military occupation — Israelis are also involved.
“I learned that Israel’s occupation of Palestine is worse than I imagined,” she said in a Google chat message.
The trip, sponsored by Interfaith Peace-Builders — a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. — provides a firsthand look at Israel’s military occupation of Palestine.
“[There are] Israelis traveling to the West Bank to stand side by side with Palestinians,” said Jacob Pace, the communications and grants coordinator for the program.
Particularly on the West Bank, he said, there are nonviolent demonstrations nearly every day.
However, Elborno said, these demonstrations can be met with violent military responses using tear gas and rubber bullets.
Elborno spent two weeks in Israel and Palestine with Interfaith Peace-Builders and two more weeks with a family in Palestine. She is now in Lebanon for two weeks as an intern for a human-rights lawyer and will attend law school at Loyola University in Chicago this fall.
After the Israel attack on Gaza aid ships carrying prohibited goods on May 31, she said, she spent the next week protesting.
“It was a very unfortunate event,” said Jerry Sorokin, director of the local Hillel Foundation..
Elborno said she learned the rights of Palestinians differ from those of Israelis.
Palestinians on the West Bank must have permission to build on their own land, Elborno wrote via e-mail, and Israelis often move to the area to build illegal settlements.
Roughly 500,000 Israelis were living on the West Bank and East Jerusalem in 2009, according to the State Department.
Elborno said she found movement for Palestinians in the West Bank is difficult, and Israel requires them to pass through military checkpoints every day.
She experienced the hurdles firsthand when traveling with her host family.
“I decided to go to Jerusalem for lunch,” she said. “The family couldn’t come because Israel doesn’t permit any Palestinians from the West Bank to enter Jerusalem.”
Sorokin, who lived in Israel from 1996 to 1998, said the country was often hit by suicide bombers, and the number has declined since the checkpoints have been implemented.
Elborno pointed out Israel is the No. 1 recipient of U.S. foreign aid money, receiving an average of $3 billion annually.
“As Americans, we are responsible for this,” she said.