Peace Activists Discuss Security, Equality, and Justice for Israel and Palestine

Rotem Levin and Osama Iliwat (on stage, from left) spoke about the crisis in Israel and Palestine at the Student Activities Center, in a talk moderated by Sarah Baxter (right), director of the Marie Colvin Center for International Reporting.

The devastating escalation of violence in Israel and Palestine has left many in the area feeling powerless, angry, and hopeless, while people in other parts of the world struggle to get accurate news and a better understanding of a complex conflict.

Despite this, activists Rotem Levin and Osama Iliwat, who form the duo "Salt of the Earth," believe in the possibility of a shared future of security, equality, and justice for all people. In an intimate lecture that took place in Stony Brook's Student Activities Center, Levin and Iliwat shared their personal stories of transformation, lessons learned, and the vastly different realities they face in the same land.

The October 22 event was hosted by the Office of the Provost, the Islamic Society, the Division of Student Affairs and the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives (DI3). It was hosted by Sarah Baxter, director of the Marie Colvin Center for International Reportingand visiting professor in the School of Communication and Journalism.

"Marie Colvin was a friend and colleague and a great journalist who was killed on the job in Syria in 2012, and I know that she would be proud of this dialogue taking place here," said Baxter. "Stony Brook is a major hub for solutions journalism and this conversation of trying to find solutions to long-standing issues aligns with the mission of the school."

Rotem Levin

Levin, a peace activist and doctor, described growing up in a small village near Tel Aviv, and not knowing any Palestinians as a child.

"The first time I heard about Palestinians I was maybe 10 years old," he said. "It was around 2000, the second Intifada, and I heard about suicide attacks every week, again and again and again. Buses were being blown up, and I didn't understand what was happening. And I was terrified because they don't teach Arabic in the Israeli school system and I couldn't understand a word."

Levin said he'd be so scared that if someone spoke Arabic on the bus, he would get off before his destination. But his views changed after his mandatory military service, during which he questioned his responsibilities after he was asked to bomb a civilian area in which there was no fighting.

After his service, he participated in a transformational dialogue program in Germany, where he got to know Palestinians on a personal level. This instigated a change in perspective, and he later began organizing similar programs for other post-military Israelis.

"Luckily, I didn't have to fight or to shoot anyone, and I wasn't traumatized," he said. "But I was very much programmed to be the best soldier and follow orders the best way I can, not to question. And something inside didn't feel good. I felt disconnected, and I wanted to somehow let go of the mindset of a soldier."

As Israelis have much more freedom to travel than Palestinians, Levin took his passport and left the country for a year to self-reflect.

Iliwat, a Palestinian, recounted his family's displacement during the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian Arabs in 1948,and the ongoing struggles faced by Palestinians under Israeli occupation. He described the fear and violence he experienced as a child, including the closure of schools and nightly curfews.

Osama Iliwat

He has been a peace activist for more than 15 years, touring Palestinian and Israeli schools to talk about non-violent resistance and helping Palestinians keep their land, rebuild their homes and cope with trauma.

"My grandparents were expelled when the Jews came," he said. "They were displaced and had to leave their village. They left everything and we still are not back."

Iliwat noted that Jerusalemite people are not citizens of Israel, but are given residency by Israel.

"When I started to go to school, I saw armed soldiers in front of my school, and all that I knew about these soldiers was that they were Jews," he said. "They didn't speak my language, they didn't look like me, they didn't talk to us. For me it was like Western people controlling my life, and I was always terrified of them. I was always trying to get to the backyard to avoid them."

Iliwat detailed his involvement in resistance activities, such as painting anti-occupation messages and hanging a homemade Palestinian flag, which was and still is frowned upon in Israel. As he grew older, his journey evolved from one of anger and violence to one of peace, leading to collaboration with like-minded Israeli activists like Levin. He has dedicated his life to nonviolent resistance, speaking regularly on peacebuilding at organizations and universities around the world.

Both Iliwat and Levin believe the U.S. government is complicit in the devastation and hope to inspire Americans to demand a ceasefire. By supporting Israel in its retaliation against Palestine, they said, the U.S. is contradicting its own values of freedom and democracy. Iliwat added that only with a complete ceasefire can the liberation of Palestinians and the safety of Israelis be achieved.

"You can't keep people under occupation and discriminate against them and kill them when they raise their voice, and in the end say, 'they don't accept us, they support resistance and violence.' They see violence every single day, children dying every single day," he said. "Ignoring this is a big problem. If I did the same, I would never see a partner on the Israeli side. They still control my city. There are official gates and they control Palestinians' lives every single day. But I choose to see beyond that. When you feel your pain, you are alive; when you feel otherpeople's pain, you are human."

- Robert Emproto

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