Occupying the Old Theatre

Student occupiers take the Stage of the Old Theatre while a lecture goes on around them.

Student Response to the Massacre in Gaza

Before I get into this, let me explain that I'm NOT anti-jewish in any way. I'm not even entirely sure I'm anti-Israeli, as I don't know enough about the history of the conflict to really choose one side or the other in an ancient and complex dispute.

What I am sure about is that what Israel did to the people of Gaza throughout December and early January was unacceptable from any humanitarian position. I know Hamas agents were lobbing rockets at Israel, creating continuous psychological trauma for Isrealis and even killing a few Isrealis, but the death of 10 is not an excuse for the death of 1000, 410 of which are women and children (315 children.. are you kidding me?). Isreael claims that Hamas agents are using children and women as human shields. I'm not so sure that explains the number of women and children killed.

please see: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jan/14/gaza-city-fighiting-israel-un

The subject troubled me only vaguely during my stay in the US, where popular sentiment, dominated by the way the media presents the information, was heavily skewed toward Israel. I understand this. We watched images of rockets going into Gaza, and I think the average American really didn't care too much, desensitized to the whole thing as (s)he is. Moreover, Israel did not allow any foreign correspondents into Gaza during the 'siege,' so all information presented to the American public was official correspondence from the Israeli media machine. To be honest, I really didn't care about Gaza at all, until I arrived back at LSE, and watched the students demonstrating in the street.

Because LSE is so wonderfully cosmopolitian, humanitarian concerns cannot help but be voiced by a student population representing 160 countries- that's more countries than the United Nations officially recognizes!! There are many muslim peoples on campus, from disparate places such as Greece, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, etc.. a lot of these people are my friends, as I find them very agreeable and easy to get along with.

Interested LSE Students look on during the Union Meeting
in which an initiative to Condemn Israel was discussed.

Thus when I saw some of my friends marching and passing out flyers I was interested- why was this so important to them? I went to a meeting about Gaza, and was presented with images ENTIRELY DIFFERENT from those we get in the USA. The focus was on the children- personal interviews with the children, with mothers, with sons and fathers living in a cramped, 25 mile strip of land, 750,000 strong. The message: as soon as Israel started dropping bombs (phosphorous bombs meant to burn human flesh), the people had nowhere to go, and could only suffer through the shelling.

Why have so many children and women died? Because no refugees can get away. Gaza is LOCKED. In other conflicts of this nature, there is always somewhere to which the women and children can escape. Not so in Gaza.

Things move quickly in the LSE. The same week I saw those images and listened to testimonials from impartial spectators (one of whom was a Jewish professor at the LSE), a student initiative was drawn up to condemn the Gaza situation. I attended the Union meeting where the initiative was presented, and listened to speeches from both sides (one student told us we had no right to voice our political opinions in an instituation like the LSE, to which I have to counter- what else is the LSE for?). I voted along with others that an issue of condemnation be made, not because Palestine or Israel is right in the conflict, but because Israel went too far.

The LSE Union Meeting in the Old Theatre:
The audience was packed (a rarity for these meetings) with concerned students.
Pictured is Mr. Fisher (I believe), the LSE Student President, of sorts.

A Pro-Israel Speech.
Zev (the Human Rights Chair and more or less organizer
of the whole condemnation effort) stands by on the right.

Students Line up to vote. Final was 230 to 150 I think,
in favor of Gaza.

For more information on the offical LSE initiative, click Here

The metaphor for me is like a barfight. Palestine slaps Israel, and so Israel takes a bottle and smashes it over Palestine's head, and then starts kicking Palestine, lying dazed on the floor.

Again, I'm totally pro-Jewish. I have nothing against the Jewish people, but these crazy Israeli militants must be condemned, and they must work toward some other sort of solution to the problem.

Apparently I' not the only one who feels this way. The next day we were shocked to discover that a number of students had decided to OCCUPY the Old Theater in the center of LSE's main building. This is the hall here all important dignitaries and scholars lecture, and indeed lectures continued to commence, with the occupying students sitting peacefully on the stage while talks went on around them. I have lots of cool pictures of this whole event, as I was intrigued by it. What a wonderful way to protest!

Occupation picture; a lecture has just ended.

The occupyers demanded that the LSE condemn the Israeli Massacre as inhumane, and immediately withdraw all LSE investments that might be related to Israeli companies. They also demanded a number of smaller initiatives including scholarships for under-represented Palestinian students, and donation of old computers/ supplies from the LSE to the people of Gaza in the future.

The Occupation included speeches by numerous Rights Activists,
including this one who noted that the LSE theatre was occupied
in the 1980s as well.

I felt the demands were too strong, until I started talking to one of my friends from Rosebery who was an Occupier. As we talked, I realized I was truly interested in the stance the people were taking, and so on the 5th day of the occupation, I joined in and slept in the Old Theatre for a night with the occupiers. The night was incredibly interesting, as I got to listen to the perspectives of the students who'd been there all week, and discuss various aspects of the issue with them.

The Occupation at night.. a little more relaxed, as we hang around,
play poker, discuss politics, and write essays.

We all ended up agreeing at one point that it is a shame that a people as persecuted as the Isreali Jews could be so agressive toward another peoples, the Palestinians. I personally am reminded of a pattern throughout history where one displaced people displaces (and usually horribly mains) another people- for example, Puritan colonists in America who slaughtered Native Americans; Boer Colonists in South Africa who slaughtered Native Africans; French Colonizers in Indochina; Australian Colonizers in Australia, etc.. There seems to be a psychological mechanism of abuse that winds its way througout the world. Only by condemning it and working together can we recognize it and hope to stop it.

At the point of my joining in, the LSE was solidly against the occupiers, as students were becoming more and more polarized around the Gaza issue. There have been a few instances of people shouting racial slurs, and some hateful interactions that must be halted and that students are working with eachother to get around.

Over in the Old Theatre, the Occupiers listen to a meeting
discussing various strategies to keep the initiative moving,
as well as how to respond to school officials in meetings
the next day.

Meanwhile, on the other side of campus, Hundreds of students
and professors coagulate into the Zayed Theatre to hear the lecture
that was originally planned to be in the old Theatre.
The Lecture was on Economic Growth in the EU.

I am happy to say that the occupation ended a few days later, and that the school ended up meeting most of the demands of the occupants. What the occupants did that was most important is that they made us all aware of the situation. Whether we decided to favor Israel and Palestine as a result is beside the point- it is important that we remain aware of the events that transpire around us, and recognize that we are part of a world community.

The Face of Those Who are Against demonstrations of this kind.
This Gentleman was quite peeved, and let everybody know how he
felt about demonstrators 'soiling the good name' of the LSE.

This sort of awareness is precisely what I came to LSE for, and it was an honor to spend a night of uncomfortable sleep on a cold floor with those people who are more aware than I, and who were willing to share and debate their perspectives with me.