University of Virginia Library

Palestine Organization Stirs Debate

By David Giltinan
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

A bi-partisan audience of fifty people,
kept the first meeting of the Americans
Friends of Free Palestine packed with
emotion Tuesday night as ordinary students,
Palestinian natives and government
professors contributed to the uproar.

The meeting began with a brief sketch
of "the history of the Palestinian People"
as presented by Hanan Mikhale, a graduate
English Student and former representative
of the General Union of Palestinian
Students in Beruit.

Miss Mikhale declined to discuss differences
between various organizations in the Palestinian
Liberation Movement, as it is called, saying that
all were concerned with the same thing, which
is "the return of the Palestinian People to their
homelands."

Specifically referring to the Palestinians as a
people, not a nation Miss Mikhald claiming that
none of the Arab Nations, with "their traditional
reliance on the strong leader only" were
presently 'allies of' the Palestinian Movement,
whose leadership "just from the Palestinian
People's experiences as refugees."

The goal of this movement is the De-Zionization,
as opposed to destruction, of the
present state of Israel, Miss Mikhale said.

Her thesis was attacked by Asst. Professor of
Government Joseph Goldberg, who labeled her
analyses of Middle Eastern history 'unbalanced'

A student who claimed that his family had
lived in Jerusalem for 800 years "before the
Six-Days War" proceeded to denounce the
entire concept of historical arguments regarding
Palestine as "sickening", and "useless".

Another student, who said he didn't "want
to get too historical" then accused "representatives
of the Zionist Movement" of plotting with
representatives of the Nazi Government in 1944
to move massive numbers of European Jews to
Madagascar without "any consideration for the
people living there". The "negotiations" involved,
according to the student, broke down
and nothing became of the project.

A member of the audience wanted to know
if Al Fatah. a major force in the Liberation
Movement, had gone on record as willing to
"start World War III" in order to regain their
homes. Miss Mikhale replied by pointing out
that Al Fatah had little to lose in such an
eventuality.

A member of the 'Virginia Weekly' staff
insisted that Al Fatah has no atomic bombs and
only American or Russian interest in the Middle
East could lead to a World War.

A rather tense fifteen minutes passed with
the Palestinians being accused of machine-gunning
school buses and bombing Swiss Airplanes
while the Israelites were charged with murdering
the entire populations of villages, systematically
misrepresenting the history of the Middle East
and relegating non-Jewish citizens of Israel to
"second-classhood".

Finally, Charles Finn, one of the organizers
of the meeting, called for a "work session" to
involve only those people interested in supporting
Palestine Liberation Movement, and about
half the audience left, including Mr. Goldberg
who continued to argue just outside the door,
for another fifteen minutes.

Those remaining made plans to sponsor a
showing of the movie "The Battle of Algiers"
which, according to Mr. Finn, concern terrorism
and "counter-terrorism" and the idea that
Algeria, not Cuba or Vietnam, is a "model for"
the Palestinian nation.