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Palestinian and Israeli youth leaders promoted a civil two-state solution to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict at a panel discussion at the Elliott School Thursday.
The event was sponsored by the Students for Justice in Palestine and the OneVoice Movement, an international conflict resolution grassroots organization. The discussion featured Palestinian representative Antwan Saca and Israeli representative Ari Eitan who travel to universities across the country to discuss the conflict from their respective points of view.
The speakers heavily promoted a two-state resolution, and said that there must be dialogue between the two nations in order to achieve peace. Both said that they reached their ideological convictions after witnessing the results of the conflicts in their home countries.
Eitan, a youth leader from Jerusalem, became an activist after witnessing a shooting outside a Jerusalem nightclub. He and Saca have traveled globally, participating in conferences, workshops and delegations.
The student audience also participated in the discussion, posing questions about current events and U.S. policy. Senior Taylor Mohylsky, an international affairs major, asked the speakers about the Israeli and Palestinian reactions to President Barack Obama's June speech in Cairo.
"Muslims wanted to hear that," Eitan said. "I printed the speech and read it, and now is the time for Obama to address the Israelis and make people feel that he is not anti-Israeli."
Mohylsky, who serves as the treasurer of Students for Justice in Palestine, said he enjoyed the speakers because of the their strong encouragement for dialogue and their ability to represent two different backgrounds.
