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Chicago Hearing

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Chicago Hearing

On Sunday, April 18, 2010, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) initiated an event titled "The Chicago Hearing: Does U.S. Policy on Israel and Palestine Uphold Our Values?" The event was hosted by the University of Chicago and was held on their Hyde Park campus in Ida Noyes Hall. More than 200 people attended the event in person, and more than 600 watched via a live webcast.

The event was modeled after a meeting of a United States Congressional Committee. The AFSC stated that the hearing "highlighted voices of those on the other end of the pipeline of U.S. aid to Israel."[1] Discussion was moderated by Helena Cobban, a journalist and owner of the "Just World News" website as well as "Just World Books" publishing.

Resources exist on the Chicago Hearing's website for those interested in holding their own Mock Congressional Hearings.

Context

The American Friends Service Committee describes itself as a "Quaker organization that includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace and humanitarian service."[2]

The AFSC began working in the Middle East in 1949. The organization, along with the International Committee of the Red Cross and the League of Red Cross Societies, was asked by the United Nations to organize relief work for Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip.[3]

Witnesses

The hearing heard testimony from four "witnesses" to U.S. Policy in Israel and Palestine.

  • Jeff Halper is an anthropologist and Coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions (ICAHD), a "non-violent, direct-action organization"[4] which he helped to establish in 1997. The ICAHD's stated goal is to resist Israeli demolition of Palestinian homes in the Occupied Territories.

Listener Panel

A panel of academics and religious leaders heard the testimony of the witnesses, and afterward asked questions.

  • Yali Amit is a professor in the Department of Computer Science and Statistics at the University of Chicago. He is also a Coordinating Committee Member for the Arab-Jewish Partnership.
  • John J. Mearsheimer is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago.

Testimony

The testimonies of the witnesses and the subsequent questions fell into three categories: Property Rights; Freedom of Movement, Association and Speech; and Military Aid and Armaments.

A speaker explained the context of each topic and introduced the speaker(s).

Property Rights

This issue was introduced by Mezna Qato, a Palestinian-American and human rights activist completing her doctorate at Oxford University.

Jeff Halper of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions spoke extensively about the property right issues which came into being following the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

"In 1948, 94 percent of the country that was called Palestine...was owned by Palestinians. By the end of 1949...94 percent of the land that became Israel was now in Israeli Jewish hands."[6]

Freedom of Movement, Association and Speech

Lisa Kosowski, daughter of a Holocaust survivor and a board member of the Arab-Jewish Partnership, introduced this topic.

Jad Isaac gave testimony, stating that Palestinians had far more restricted movement in Israel-Palestine than Israelis.

He used as a case example the time it takes to travel between the cities of Jenin and Hebron in Israel-Palestine, a distance of about 80 miles. For an Israeli, Isaac said the trip would take about an hour. For a Palestinian, who must travel on separate roads and go through many more security checkpoints, the trip would take about four hours, said Isaac.

Military Aid and Armaments

The witnesses were introduced by Josh Ruebner, National Advocacy Director for the U.S. Campaign to End the Israeli Occupation.

Cindy Corrie and Amer Shurrab both gave their personal testimonies on this issue.

Shurrab told the panel that IDF soldiers had fired, unprovoked, on a vehicle containing his father and two brothers, leading to the death of the brothers. He also described how the IDF would not allow an ambulance to enter the area for 11 hours after the shooting, leading to one of his brothers dying from blood loss due to a non-fatal leg wound.

Corrie related the story of her daughter's activism in Gaza. Rachel Corrie stood in front of a Caterpillar bulldozer in order to prevent it from demolishing a Palestinian home. The bulldozer continued on its path, crushing Rachel to death.

Findings and Conclusions

The Chicago Hearing's Organizing Committee published a 28-page Final Report that includes summaries of the testimony, information on U.S. policy, maps, and statistics regarding the impact of closure policies and military aid in Israel.

References

  1. ^ The AFSC's description of the event
  2. ^ The AFSC's About page"
  3. ^ United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees FAQ
  4. ^ The Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions About page
  5. ^ Fast for Gaza
  6. ^ YouTube video of Part 3 of the hearing: "Property Rights & Land"
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