By Alex Serratelli ’12, Staff Writer

Since 2008 Newark Academy has hosted a Global Speaker program to expose the community to different philosophies  from around the world. To begin this year’s Global Speaker Series, Newark Academy hosted Faraj Faraj, a Palestinian refugee who addressed NA about his experiences in the Middle East on Thursday, November 11th.

In his opening remarks, Global Speakers Series coordinator and Mathematics Department Chairperson Mr. Kanarek stated that Faraj was the “ideal speaker to jump start the year.” Head of School Mr. Austin also announced that Faraj was invited to give “perspective and inspiration” to students and to “develop globally-minded citizens.”

To the majority of those students who have taken the ninth grade course “Ancient World,” Faraj’s is a familiar face. He is the star of B.Z. Goldberg’s award winning documentary Promises,which follows several Israeli and Palestinian children in their day-to-day lives. Humanities teacher Mrs. Schottland met Faraj last spring at Madison High School and invited him to speak at our school. At twenty-five years of age and five foot three, Faraj recounted touching anecdotes about life in Palestine and reflected on possible solutions to the conflict.

One day, while playing outside with his friend Vasaam despite the curfew, Faraj “heard a woman screaming,” and “couldn’t ignore it,” so they ran to the voice.  Faraj and his friend discovered a woman in front of a hospital, holding her newborn baby, being beaten by soldiers because, in trying to return home to see her husband, she had broken the curfew. The boys distracted the soldiers by hurling rocks and pebbles at them and then fled to avoid punishment.

Hiding behind a wall, they “knew that [they] might die.” As Faraj waited, he turned to his friend and realized that he had been shot. “Was it the right thing to do,” Faraj asked the NA community, “trading my friend’s  life for a woman that we didn’t know?” He reflected that at this point in his youth, his anger towards Israel truly began.

Faraj overcame that animosity.  He now demands that those who are victims of Israeli aggression “turn [their] frustration into something good.”  He further explained to NA students how “there are many in the world who would love to have a seat in [this auditorium]”, so “show [them] that you want to keep it forever,” thus echoing what Global Speaker Arn-Chorn Pond movingly advised two years earlier.

Responding to Senior Jake Zack’s question regarding a possible solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Faraj said, “There is no way both states can make it. The two-state solution will not work, there must be a one-state solution.” One secular state. He noted that  in New York City, “if so many different people live in one building, why can’t two kinds of people live in one country?” He stressed the urgency of implementing a one-state proposal, explaining that the fighting there cannot continue as if it were “September 11th every day.”

When prompted by The Minuteman on the proposed Park 51 Islamic Community Center, Faraj conveyed his belief that Muslim-Americans “have the right to build the center,” but that they “should not do it.” He further revealed, for the first time at a school in which he has spoken, that his own uncle, the Vice President of Palestine, does not approve of his views.

When asked about the United States’ unwavering military and financial support of Israel, Faraj claimed that the support makes the conflict “much worse.” If the United States “stops supplying Israel, the fighting stops.”

In breakout sessions throughout the day, Faraj reiterated that immediate peace is the only solution. He conjured up images of Vietnam War protests, describing how “if I can hold a machine gun, I can hold a flower.”   He suggested that the U.S. give financial aid to both sides of the conflict to attain peace.

Junior Leila Hariri does note, however, that during a sixth period class, “it seemed as though Faraj began directly pointing fingers at the U.S. as a whole…[incorporating] things like Hurricane Katrina and 9/11 into his argument, which made many people feel uncomfortable and offended.”

Although Senior Jason Diamond, President of the Jewish Club, “enjoyed listening to Faraj” since he “stayed away from politics” during the school assembly, Diamond hopes that “the other side of an issue can be heard as well.” Hopefully, with this opening, Newark Academy can continue its progress in finding and introducing varying and credible viewpoints through the Global Speakers Series.

Read: Uncovering the Israeli’s Right to Jerusalem