Our own quasi-Gaza conflict which has been going on in the Arts Quad ‘strip’ the past few weeks, as well as in our classrooms and panel ‘discussions,’ (see here) has continued yet again this week.
Today on the Arts Quad, where the controversial and allegedly one-sided signs and black flags once spanned the lengths of the walkways, there is a counter-display which advocates the Israeli side of the conflict, and condemns the existence and actions of the Hamas terrorist organization. The demonstration is in the form of a little over twenty tall white signposts and the statements are backed by statistics. Walkers entering the Quad from Goldwin Smith are first greeted by a sign which says “This exhibit is dedicated to the memory of all the innocent lives lost in the Israel-Gaza conflict.” Immediately after this non-partial statement stand the rest of the signs, which clearly demonstrate an opposing standpoint to the earlier views expressed on the signs which accompanied the black flags.
The current signs generally reinforce the idea that Hamas’ battle tactics are inhumane and that the organization has no problem throwing away the lives of Palestinian citizens in order to put Israel in a negative light among the global community. According to the signs, Hamas has done this by gathering civilians at targeted areas to serve as human shields, launching rockets from residential areas, relocated military command stations into Mosques, and hiding militants in Palestinian hospitals.
On the other hand, the signs display statistics regarding Israel’s notification process used to warn Palestinian citizens of potential bombardment sites. One sign lists the number of fliers distributed and has a copy of what appears to be a text message or a phone call transcript warning Palestinians to evacuate their homes.
It appears the demonstration was sponsored in part by CIPAC, the David Project, and Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity, among two others. Other than the logos of supporting organizations, most of the signs do not indicate the source for each of the statements.
Stay updated for any new information as the Cornell Insider keeps you updated. Given the apparent short life-span of these types of demonstrations, we will updating continuously.
