In these troubled times, with constant warnings from the government concerning terrorist threats, the United Nations bracing for conflict with Iraq, and calls by President Bush for strengthened security and increased defenses, the anti-war movement is sometimes lost in the crowd. But over the past few weeks, a group of RPI students have begun to organize anti-war protests, demonstrations, and forums. The latest of this series showcased Noa Simone, an Israeli conscientious objector, and Hossein Alizadeh, who until recently worked in the Iranian Foreign Ministry.
The two have been sponsored at area colleges and religious organizations by local groups and the Fellowship of Reconciliation, a worldwide anti-war organization. Raised in the Middle East, they have been speaking on the topic of a peaceful alternative to war, and on the misunderstandings that are at the heart of international conflict.
Of late, the FOR has been focusing on the situation in the Middle East as part of their “Campaign of Consciousness,” which started after UNICEF reported in 1998 that more than five million Iraqi children had died of starvation as a result of the sanctions on that state. They work to end the conflict in Iraq, and bring swift stop to the embargoes.
The event drew close to two dozen, a feat for an event of this nature, especially considering the fact that it was late on a Friday afternoon. It was organized on campus by members of RPI SPEAK and the 9-11 Open Response Committee.
Raised in Israel, Simone recalls being told many times that the Palestinians were her enemy. “If the Palestinians were to lay down their arms today, there would be peace; but if the Israelis were to lay down their arms today, there would be no Israel,” was a commonly heard phrase.
When she realized that the Palestinians were just like her and that the true differences between them were actually small, she experienced a “wondrous feeling,” Simone said. She also added that the conflict between them was just “one big misinterpretation.”
Hoissein described his childhood in Iran, being told that America hated him and that it was “the great Satan,” and was quite shaken when he arrived in the United States. “My parents would not believe me,” he said with a smile, “when I would call home and say ‘Americans are some of the kindest people I have ever known.’” He continued by saying that as a result of relationships between governments, people’s views of each other oftened become polluted.
The Fellowship of Reconciliation is the “nation’s oldest and largest interfaith pacifist organization.” The Fellowship works for non-violent solutions to international conflicts and tries to educate the public on the peace and love taught in the traditions of every religion of the world.
