"The biggest challenge [for Palestinians] is national unity and ending division, and we will work to achieve it by all means. The second challenge is the Judaization of Jerusalem as the capital," Shtayyeh said.
The trip was part of Harvard Israel Trek, an annual subsidized trip to Israel and the territories during spring break.
Despite the students being exposed to unfettered Palestinian propaganda, BDSers on campus try to dissuade students from going:
HOOP's problem isn't with "balance." It is that they do not want any student to ever hear what any Zionist ever has to say. They want their propaganda to be the only thing Harvard students ever hear about the region.Harvard Out of Occupied Palestine hung flyers across campus last week (February 25) urging undergraduates to boycott Harvard Israel Trek, an annual subsidized spring break trip to Israel and the West Bank.Organizers for HOOP — a student group spearheaded by the Palestine Solidarity Committee that calls on Harvard to divest holdings linked to Israel’s presence in Palestine — posted flyers with QR codes linked to a document that alleges trip-goers are “complicit in apartheid and settler colonialism.”In 2019, the PSC distributed a petition urging undergraduates to boycott Israel Trek, which was ultimately canceled due to Covid-19.Applications for this year’s trip closed last October. According to Israel Trek student leader Ty L. Geri ’23, more than 450 students applied for just 100 spots.The trip includes a visit of the West Bank and discussions with high-ranking Israeli and Palestinian officials. In emails about the trip sent last semester, organizers say the trip provides participants an opportunity to explore “unique and nuanced realities at the core of Israel’s geopolitical landscape.”HOOP organizer Christian B. Tabash ’21-’22 said he rejects the idea that the trip can provide a balanced perspective on the conflict between Israel and Palestine despite including the West Bank on its itinerary.“It doesn’t matter if you spend a few hours in the West Bank, a day in the West Bank, a few days in the West Bank, or if you talk to a Palestinian,” Tabash said. “That is irrelevant, because power is unequal and Palestinians exist as the colonized.”
And, to be honest, they probably look at Shtayyeh as a sellout for not being directly connected to terror.
