Afrasianet - Imran Abdullah - By overwhelmingly voting in favor of the proposal and a score of 278 to 59, the prestigious Oxford Union Assembly (founded in 1823) settled a controversial debate over a proposal that states that "Israel is an apartheid state responsible for genocide," according to the Oxford Union magazine.
The tumultuous debate followed the International Criminal Court's issuance of arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Galant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel is also under investigation by the International Court of Justice for genocide, as well as being accused of apartheid by leading human rights organizations such as B'Tselem, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International.
The Oxford Union magazine reported that the speakers in favor of the proposal in the debate were: Palestinian writer and poet Muhammad al-Kurd, president of the Oxford Union Ibrahim Othman Muwafi, Israeli-American activist and writer Miko Peled, and Palestinian-American writer Susan Abu al-Hawa.
American political scientist Norman Finkelstein was due to speak in favor of the proposal, but withdrew before the debate.
Speakers against the proposal (pro-Israel) were: British journalist and broadcaster Jonathan Sasserdotti, Israeli and former IDF soldier (of Arab origin) Yousef Haddad, defender of Israel and its policies Musab Hassan Yousef, and British lawyer and legal commentator Natasha Hausdorf.
Founded in 1823, the Oxford Debating Association is one of Britain's oldest university associations and one of the most prestigious private student associations in the world. It operates independently of the university and differs from the Oxford Consortium.
The Oxford Union has a tradition of hosting some of the world's most prominent figures from politics, academia and culture, such as Albert Einstein, Michael Jackson, Winston Churchill, Ronald Reagan, Queen Elizabeth II and Mahathir Mohamad.
Atrocities
Mohammed al-Kurd opened the debate in favor of the proposal, focusing on the atrocities committed by Israel. He said, according to the Oxford Union magazine: "Personally, I don't think there's room for discussion with human flesh burning. I don't think there's room for dialogue while people are burned alive."
He accused the Kurds of complicity of "this same empire" in "financing and facilitating" the genocide, pointing to the empty promises they make to the Palestinians: "They tell us, if the Palestinians lay down their arms, there will be peace, but if we lay down our weapons, we will be killed," calling these claims "simplified, stupid, ridiculous propaganda" and "repeated colonial ideas."
"There is absolutely nothing the Palestinian people can do that justifies genocide," Kurd said, criticizing the claim that Hamas was using people as human shields.
Before ending his speech, al-Kurd addressed his speech directly to the opposition platform: "In the past two days, I have been told to add a new speaker to the opposition... I refuse that." "I think it insults me to share space with someone who has cooperated for decades with Israeli intelligence agencies that have killed Palestinians, besieged them, given their information and addresses and had a lot of blood on their hands," he said, referring to opposition spokesman Musab Hassan Yousef.
After that, the Kurds exited the debate and walked out of the Union Hall. The Kurds then spoke to the protesters outside the building, saying that he appreciated the risks they face to their safety and careers, and stressed that standing for the people of Palestine makes an impact.
Some students protested the debate outside the building, with one saying the Oxford Union believed "people's lives are debatable," and demonstrators chanted "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."
Inside the building, Jonathan Sasserdotti began his speech by criticizing "the organization and nature of this debate", calling the title "terrible". Saserdotti strongly defended Israel's innocence, asserting that "there is no policy of racial discrimination, no intention of destruction" in Israel's actions. He claimed that "Israel is making extraordinary efforts to avoid civilian casualties," adding that "it is Hamas that hides its weapons and control centers in schools, mosques, universities and hospitals."
In an unusual gesture, Union President Ibrahim Osman Mowafi stepped down from chairing the session to deliver a speech in support of the proposal, calling Israel's war on Gaza a "holocaust." He replaced prominent American academic Norman Finkelstein, who was due to speak but was unable to attend.
Afterwards, the president of the union, Ibrahim Osman Mowafi, said: "I put before you tonight the reality that [Palestinian civilians] have been killed by a partner state that intends to commit genocide." He noted that "the Israeli leadership on every occasion acknowledged its intention and then followed up with clear indiscriminate bombing campaigns," adding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had called Gaza a "city of evil" and framed Israeli attacks as a battle against "monsters."
He referred to the incident of a 19-year-old who was burned alive in October after an Israeli airstrike on al-Aqsa Hospital in northern Gaza, describing his death as part of Israel's "holocaust" against Gaza.
The debate also witnessed moving moments, with a Palestinian student from Gaza and another Palestinian student giving impromptu speeches that received standing ovations from the audience.
Expulsion from the hall
Israeli activist Yosef Haddad began his speech by playing an audio recording of a Palestinian admitting "that he just killed 10 Jews with their blood on his hands." He said the recording was "one of many videos that Hamas has published, and they were proud of it." Haddad spoke about his participation in the Israeli army, stressing his pride in his service.
Middle East Eye reported that Haddad wore a T-shirt bearing a picture of the late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah with the words: "Your terrorist hero is dead. We did it." After a verbal confrontation with a Palestinian student, Haddad was expelled from the debate hall.
According to the Oxford Union magazine, activist Miko Peled began his speech by focusing on moral values, asking: "Does [that] justify harming a child? Does it justify killing a civilian?", describing Gaza as "a concentration camp... Palestinians have been living for more than 7 decades." He described the October 7, 2023, attacks as "heroic," causing an uproar among speakers opposed to the proposal and some attendees.
Musab Hassan Yousef began his speech with an emotional declaration: "I am sentenced to death by my father." He challenged Palestine's apparent support in the room, saying that "Hamas is a terrorist organisation in the UK, the US and the European Union." Yousef insulted the Palestinians, calling them "the most miserable people on earth." He added that he was no longer Palestinian, that Palestinians did not exist, and that the Oxford Union had been "kidnapped by Muslims."
The speech continued by criticizing the idea of Palestinian national identity, concluding by emphasizing that Palestinian identity is an idea that fosters "violent indoctrination" and expressing hope for a region where "Arabs and Jews can coexist. I have faith in that."
Connection to the Earth
Suzanne Abu al-Hawa concluded the debate in favor of the proposal, delivering an impassioned speech in which she emphasized the historical and ongoing struggles suffered by the Palestinian people, and argued that the discussion revolves around "the value of Palestinian lives," highlighting issues of displacement, oppression and cultural heritage.
She asked the public to think about the world's reaction if the situation is upside down and "Palestinians have spent the last eight decades stealing Jewish homes, expelling them, oppressing them, imprisoning them, poisoning, torturing them, killing and raping them."
Abul Hawa emphasized the Palestinians' deep attachment to the land: "We are the soil of this land. We are the rivers, their trees and their stories." She concluded her speech by envisioning a future in which Palestine would return to its "diverse, multi-religious and multi-ethnic glory."
Natasha Hausdorf criticized the proposal for "supporting groups like Hamas." She accused them of silencing Palestinian voices blaming Hamas for their suffering, stressing that "Israel has 20 percent of its population of Arabs, and they are the only free Arabs in the Middle East who enjoy full rights."
After the debate, the Oxford Union Journal spoke to several students, most of whom expressed disappointment with the event. One student described the debate as "chaos," noting that "opposition (to the proposal) showed... Lots of malice." Some said the atmosphere was tense and that there was "hostile and sometimes threatening behaviour" from some opposition spokesmen. One student concluded his interview by saying, "Chaos is a humble expression. It was a farce."
The debate ended with a landslide vote in favor of the motion by 278 to 59, according to the Oxford Union magazine.
It should be noted that this debate comes in the historical context of discussions on Israel in the Oxford Union. In 1962, the Union debated whether "the creation of the State of Israel was one of the mistakes of the century," and in 2008 it questioned Israel's "right to exist."
The debate and subsequent voting reflect a marked shift in public opinion, especially among youth and academia, toward the Palestinian cause and Israel's policies.