Ex-Deputy Head Adam Narrates The Palestinian Narrative of The Middle Eastern Conflict To ISoc

At lunchtime on Tuesday 3rd March, ISoc had the pleasure of hosting Adam Ellis, former Deputy Head Boy of Immanuel College, from StandWithUs. Adam presented a thought-provoking session on the ‘Palestinian Narrative of the Middle Eastern Conflict’. Adam started the session explaining how the Palestinians, in a similar way to Jewish Israelis, insist that their nationhood did not begin in 1948, but actually existed many years beforehand, starting at the time of the Ottoman Empire. Adam continued to explain how, in the eyes of the Palestinians, the Balfour Declaration, which promised to establish in the Land of Israel a national home for the Jewish people, failed to also address the Palestinian people who had already been living there for hundreds of years. Fast-forwarding to the creation of the State of Israel, Adam spoke about the War of Independence, which led to hundreds of thousands Palestinians either fleeing their homes or being forced out and as a result becoming refugees; this war is referred to by the Palestinians as their Nakba, their catastrophe. Adam explained how, following the War of Independence and the Six Day War, the Palestinians formed the argument of their Right of Return to their land. The Palestinians claim that this right should be applied to all the original refugees and their descendants, whose number is currently around 7 million in total. Responding to a question from the audience of why the Palestinians cannot become citizens in any of the neighboring Arab countries where they reside, Adam answered that these countries, too, do not wish to allow the Palestinians to settle, hence making them stateless. The narrative continued with UN Resolution 242, which has been interpreted differently by the Palestinians and Israelis, the occupation of Judah and Samaria from 1967 until today, the failure of the Oslo Accords and the checkpoints at the borders, all showing how the  Palestinian narrative of the Nakba continues to prevail. The session reached its end with Adam explaining about the BDS movement, which the Palestinians describe as a modern, non-militant movement dedicated to the Palestinian cause. ISoc is very grateful to Adam for his eye-opening and extremely informative session and looks forward to welcoming him back in the near future.