Posted April 6th, 2005 at 1:16PMIt’s already Wednesday, and much of my busy week is behind me. Someone I know once said that, in High School, Wednesdays are the worst. You’re still in the middle of the week, the weekend seems like an eternity away. But in college, by the time Wednesday rolls around, the stress slips away and it seems like the weekend is within reach. And I totally agree with this. It’s odd but true.
Ali Abunimah talked at Ithaca College on Tuesday, the 4th. This was one thing that seemed to be at the back of my mind for some time now, adding stress. It went off without a hitch. I’ll get to his lecture in a moment.
Today I had a presentation in my Enviro. Ethics class, which I had been dreading. Debating why we should ban genetically-modified foods. It went OK. And it’s over, which is all that really matters to me. Monday I had to write a five page brief to go along with this presentation. I also had a German test today, which actually seemed to go alright. Probably passed. Tomorrow I have a rough draft due for my Persuasive Argument class, but I’m not too worried about that. And Friday seems pretty clear.
Thus, my week is beginning to get better. Writing about it, it doesn’t seem a whole lot. But.. It was… I swear.
Ali Abunimah has effectively convinced me that a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is unworkable. I had been teetering on this conclusion for awhile, he finally pushed me over the edge. However I’m still struggling to articulate a one-state, or binational, solution. I’m still struggling with it personally.
The bulk of Abunimah’s talk was on how the current peace process is a sham, and the inability for a two-state solution to work. He cited the continuous building of Israeli settlements in the Occupied Territories all throughout the peace process, including the optimistic times of the 90s. He went on to show how, although roughly two thirds of both Israelis and Palestinians support a “two-state solution,” once one starts talking about specifics, like concessions that both sides would need to make, support declines rapidly. He said that there are no boundaries that could be drawn on a map that would satisfy a majority of both sides. This seems to be true.
A binational state would solve all of the problems that currently plague the two-state solution, although it does create a whole host of new problems, which I wish he had spent a bit more time on. But he was a very effective speaker. The Q & A period went smoothly enough. He spent about an hour speaking and then another forty-five minutes answering questions. There were no pointed or hostile questions asked, I assume that the person / persons who were defacing our posters up to the event did not bother to see what they were protesting. I was expecting a few. Park Auditorium wasn’t completely at capacity, but the crowd was a great size. Overall a great success.
The only mistake I made was in bringing my digital camera. I was sitting in the third row, and the flash still didn’t produce enough light. It might be because I’m using some ancient rechargable batteries, but that’s the last time I try using it for important events. This makes it certain that my film camera won’t go unused. The pictures may be salvagable, if I convert them to black and white and boost the contrast and brightness drastically. Poor quality, but what else can I do.
The weather today is absolutely beautiful. I’m wearing shorts, and we have both the windows completely open along with our door, creating a nice draft. Airing out the place after the winter. I’m in better spirits because of the weather (as well as getting some of my classwork over and done with). I have this odd pain in my side when I breathe in deeply, it’s particularly bothersome. If it doesn’t go away I will have to get it checked, but I’m sure it’s nothing.
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