The Center for Contemporary Arab Studies brought Palestinian politician and member of the Israeli Knesset, Haneen Zoabi, to campus on October 4, 2017. Zoabi is the first Arab woman to serve as a member of the Knesset for an Arab party. During the talk, she spoke on her position as a policymaker and how that is a representation of Israeli democracy. Zoabi emphasized Palestinian desires for dignity and human rights. However, she argued that parliament is not the most important tool for justice. Rather, Palestinians must raise awareness to their people through public activism.
“We must be in the streets. We must have passive demonstrations in the streets. This is the most efficient and raising awareness, and to boot as an alternative, the option of boycotting,” said Haneen Zoabi.
Following the talk, students engaged in discussion with Zoabi about terrorism, reconciliation and the Israeli Right.
