Student organizations are teaming up to build a 30-foot wall in front of the Russell House on Tuesday to raise awareness about conflict in the Middle East.
The Muslim Student Association will assist the Carolina Peace Resource Center in bringing the Stop the Wall Tour, a human rights campaign in response to Israel's decision to build a wall around the West Bank.
The tour started in July and runs through November, stopping in different cities to build replicas of the Israeli wall.
After hearing about the tour, Michael Berg, co-director of the Carolina Peace Resource Center, contacted the Muslim Student Association, and the two groups worked together to bring the tour to USC. The tour will come to the Russell House Tuesday and build a 30-foot replica wall in front of the Russell House from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The wall will stand from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Along with the replica wall, a map showing the Palestine-Israel boundaries and where the wall is now will be set up for students to look at.
Khalidah Ali, vice president of the Muslim Student Association, said she's excited about the potential impact of the replica wall on USC students. Ali, a second-year nursing student, said she hopes that when USC students stand next to the wall, they will realize the enormity of the issue and the wall's presence in the lives of Palestinians.
Berg said, "It's not a Muslim-Jewish issue, but a human rights issue." The wall blocks access to water, work, school and more, he said. "It's unconscionable to support such a wall in such a place."
He said he hopes the Stop the Wall Tour will bring awareness to the USC campus of what is going on.
Suzanne Fraij, first-year pre-pharmacy student, agrees. A Palestinian member of MSA, Fraij said the replica will, "inform the public, at least USC, about the wall and what it means to people there," which she says means destruction and occupation. On a larger scale, she noted the focus on the Palestinian suicide bombings and how most do not know why there is so much hatred between Palestine and Israel.
"The wall represents hate," Fraij said.
Ali, Berg and Fraij said they see the replica wall as only a positive experience for the USC campus, bringing attention to the troubles in the Middle East. Since Israel is an ally of the United States, Congress is supporting the building of the wall. With the election this year, Fraij hopes the awareness raised by the replica will influence voting on the issue.
For his part, Zach Bracchitta, vice president of Hillel, a Jewish organization on campus, agreed that the replica will be good for USC. Bracchitta, said,
"First and foremost, it will serve to get some USC students interested in finding out what's going on," said Bracchitta, a third-year English student. He said he sees nothing negative coming out of the Stop the Wall Tour coming to campus.
For more information on the Stop the Wall Tour, visit the Web site at www.stopthewall.us.
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