As I write this article, it is the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the 2023 Israel-Hamas War. Having read numerous articles, op-eds, and policy papers exploring the conflict, it has long been evident to me that there are no means by which this conflict can be viewed without the rising of fierce emotions.
Israel and Palestine have been locked in a state of conflict, open or passive, for the last three-quarters of a century. Throughout those last 75 years, an American and Canadian student movement has coalesced around support for the establishment of a Palestinian state, and UBC Okanagan has been but one of countless campuses witness to this movement. This movement was most recently buoyed by discontent at Israel's disproportionate response to Hamas' initial incursion. Since then, national media attention to these protests has greatly decreased, but the movement is still very much alive.
To get a better idea of where the movement is now, I reached out to a student activist who, for the sake of anonymity, will go unnamed.
Quinlin Osadczuk: How has the movement evolved since October 7th?
“I was involved in the online spaces before October 7th,” they said, constantly stressing that they were not representative of the whole movement, and only became involved in direct action after last year. “[B]ut one of the ways it's definitely changed has been that more and more people are starting to recognize that this is a liberation that needs to happen in order for other liberations to happen. You can see that through things like the encampments spread across America and Canada.”
Over the course of the last year, participation had skyrocketed, they explained. “It’s crazy to me how the movement has moved from online activism and years and years of resistance, and then [almost suddenly in] universities, encampments are coming up. That’s a shift in the culture.” Over the course of the last year, students flocked to the various campus Palestinian movements, looking to protest what they saw as a continuation of a genocidal war against Palestine.
“It’s just funny, because we’re watching history unfold as a resistance movement,” they said. “People are starting to realize it’s a big deal.”
QO: And what of the summer encampment on UBCO? What did that represent to you?
“Being in those liberated spaces, and being in movements like that make me feel like I don’t have to explain myself. They make me feel really good about our future generation. Being in those activist spaces makes me feel like the ‘cultural theory’ or the ‘critical lens theory’ or whatever — it makes me feel like all the theory that I’ve learned in my major is being acted on, is being addressed in real time.
“It’s satisfying to me because it’s challenging the institution that is putting forth these theories as if, like, these theories are not meant to be acted upon. That’s what this [theory] is for, what else is this for? I think it’s really special when you get to be a part of that. But it’s also really hard when you don’t see change and you really want to see change, and the university is not willing to make that change— it’s really hard, in that sense.”
QO: So, where does the movement go from here?
“Divestment from companies investing in Israel [and their] illegal occupation and genocide against Palestinians. But also, the goal is to get the government to divest and to free Palestine, that is the goal.”
The Canadian government has held a policy of supporting a two-state solution, though has not taken any non-rhetorical actions towards facilitating such an eventuality.
“The other goal is education — not for protestors to educate people, but to get people in power and institutions to educate people that a genocide is happening. […] For me that’s really important, because I don’t want to push forward the colonial ideals that I was born into. […] In university, we’ll learn about decolonization, liberation movements, gender inequality, and that institutions are inherently oppressive. But then, that will all be taught to us under an oppressive institution, and so I think that’s also the goal: to make decolonization a real thing, and not just a metaphor.”
Q: Any closing thoughts?
“I think the most special thing you can experience as a non-Palestinian person is when a Palestinian person tells you: ‘Hey, when Palestine is free, you can come have dinner with my family’. That is so special, and I’ve had that said to me a few times. I’m not bragging and saying ‘I’m this ally’, it’s just this thing that is so special to me … We believe in this movement so much so that we make these connections and really believe that we will — we really believe that they will be free.”
This war has continued for the past 75 years. Time will tell if it will continue for 75 more, or if this spiral of violence shall prove the death knell of war in the Levante. Perhaps there will be peace, and perhaps there will be war, but one thing is for certain: the campus movement is staying, and it still dreams of sharing supper.
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