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2009-10-13, 10:38 p.m.

An email I sent out to some friends today- a lot of people at school kept hearing about this protesting I was going to do in response to an olmert event, so as an update . ..

"I just wanted to let everyone know that I did not get arrested, and that I am ok! The event tonight was incredibly intense. I wrote this whole rant and thought not everyone actually would want to read it, so I left it below in case you're up for it. Otherwise, suffice to say I did not need bailing out tonight : ) I hope the Monroe trip goes well, and that everyone has a good rest of your week!! I'll be back in town Sat. and will probably start studying for Behavior directly if anyone wants to join (Berre might want to get in on some of that action, revisit the good old days). Best, Shereen Begin rant: So basically, Ehud Olmert, an Israeli politician, was brought to speak on campus, which is upsetting considering his recent role in Operation Cast Lead, an attack made against Gaza by Israel that started December 27th, 2008 and ended on the 18th of January with the death of over 1,400 Palestinian civilians. http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1115240.html http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/news/israeli-armys-use-white-phosphorus-gaza-clear-undeniable-20090119 His visit was of major concern to professors at Tulane, students such as myself, and many in the New Orleans community. We could not let his visit come and go without him knowing there are people here that do not welcome a war criminal. Tonight, our protest included three parts; 1) A group of people inside the event that wore red tape over their mouths with different war crimes committed by Israel on them (use of white phosphorus in the last devastation of Gaza), then walked out towards the end, while Olmert was spouting bull about why Palestinian refugee families should not be allowed to unite (apparently there's just too many of us, so we're better left as refugees) 2) A group of protesters outside of McCallister auditorium (started out in front of stern, some of you might have seen them there at first) 3) a "die-in"; This was a street theater piece in which members of our group had blood all over them and laid down in front of the auditorium, pretending to be victims of the Israeli occupation. Around them we had R.I.P. signs with the number dead in Gaza in 2006 and this past December, and in Lebanon in 2006, etc. My main job was to work with the police to make sure there were no misunderstandings and to monitor those who were participating in the die-in to make sure they didn't get stepped on, spit on, etc (At one point I had to go talk to a kid who was trying to get his friend to take a photo of him peeing on them- the reaction from these kids was absolutely immature and ridiculous). I also was inside, and was one of the people who wore red tape on my mouth and participated in the walk out. Now, the event was only open to those with Tulane, Loyola, UNO and Xavier ID's, and I would say 90% of the attendees were Tulane undergrads. We expected vitriol, and immaturity, but I don't know if I was prepared for the extent of immaturity these kids displayed. Anger, yes, frustration, yes. Questions, hurt- yes. The immaturity coming out of these kids though was unreal. As I was sitting with the tape on my mouth, those next to me kept snickering, and trying to take photos . While I was outside watching over our 'actors' I got yelled at multiple times. One guy with an English accent started getting in my face, calling me names of course, and told me to check my facts, and that I was 'fucking insane' and that this was a 'masquerade against open discourse' (much like Olmerts Q&A session- all the questions were fielded, and while I wasn't there, I heard no questions remotely controversial or thought provoking were asked. And of course nevermind the people we had standing by to discuss whatever people wanted to discuss, and the fliers with tons of info we were handing out). He pointed his finger right in my face and told me not to be proud of myself. The frat boys behind him starting cheering him on. I simply smiled, and nodded. I thought he was going to hit me, he got so red and started making fists. I had so much that I wanted to say, but at this point I was also watching a girl rip up one of the fliers and start throwing it at our actors, so I decided to let it go- just smiled and nodded. He fumed something or another and walked off. And so it went pretty much all night. I can't tell you how many times I heard " fuck palestine" Of course Israel's already doing that. . . http://ifamericansknew.org/ Also got pushed by a policeman. Is that legal? I wasn't sure if he was allowed to be touching me at all actually. Anyways, enough ranting. That wasn't my intention! Really I should be channeling these energies into my personal theory paper. Just wanted to update everyone. P.S. The Goldstone report was written after an investigation of Operation Cast lead, and notes that both Israel and Palestinian militants are responsible for war crimes during this event, though the disproportionality of Israel's response (Gaza and Lebanon 2006 as well) is dually noted. It's a 600 page document which I'm sure none of you actually want to read, but in short- http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=32057&Cr=palestin&Cr1 P.S.S. (and then I really need to get to my paper) Olmert reported "with pride" that Israel, as a country that is intimately bound with the U.S., was not as affected by the global economic downturn, and in fact, is experiencing growth in 2009. Anything to do with the 3 billion dollars a year in American tax money they receive?"