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Interfaith vigil mourns lives lost in Gaza conflict

Danielle McFeah (CAS '16) holds a candle at the Interfaith Peace Vigil for the Middle East at Marsh Plaza Monday, where students from various faith groups came together to pray for peace, mourn loss and stand as a symbol of unity and compassion for the violence in Gaza and Israel. PHOTO BY SARAH SILBIGER/DAILY FREE PRESS CONTRIBUTOR
Danielle McFeah (CAS ’16) holds a candle at the Interfaith Peace Vigil for the Middle East at Marsh Plaza Monday, where students from various faith groups came together to pray for peace, mourn loss and stand as a symbol of unity and compassion for the violence in Gaza and Israel. PHOTO BY SARAH SILBIGER/DAILY FREE PRESS CONTRIBUTOR

About 50 students gathered at an interfaith vigil held at Marsh Plaza on Monday to commemorate the lives lost in Gaza due to the violence in the region during summer 2014. The vigil was organized by several faith student groups and was lead by the Rev. Brittany Longsdorf, university chaplain for international students.

BU Hillel, the Interfaith Council, the Islamic Society of Boston University, Marsh Chapel and J Street U BU organized the vigil. The commemorative ceremony featured a moment of silence for the lives lost during the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, readings of religious texts from different faiths and a solemn candle lighting ceremony.

Over the summer, several religious student groups decided the best way to address the conflict would be to hold one, all-inclusive vigil as opposed to a variety of individual ceremonies, said Emily Singer, president of Interfaith Council and a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Rebecca Fleischer, president of the student board at BU’s Hillel and a senior in Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, said the vigil brought different student groups on campus together to show that everyone believes the violence in the Middle East is a tragedy.

“It’s important because it’s a humanitarian issue, and it’s something that most students here on campus can agree that we just want to end violence in the Middle East for the people who are living there,” she said. “It goes beyond different sides and who’s right and who’s wrong — let’s just look at this from a humanitarian level. Let’s not fight. Let’s just make sure that people are okay.”

CAS sophomore Solomon Tarlin, president of J Street U BU, a political student group committed to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, said the status quo in the Middle East needs to change in order to ensure a secure and democratic future for the region.

“We really want to get people intrigued at the complexity and nuisances to this debate,” he said. “We also want to bring it down to one factor, which is that we all want peace, and we all want this to stop.”

Vigil attendee Nadeem Istfan, a senior in CAS, said the number of students who came out to show solidarity from different student groups impressed him.

“Our campus is generally very polarized on the issue of Israel-Palestine,” he said. “This was a good opportunity for everyone of different backgrounds to come together and mourn on something that we can all mourn on together.”

CAS sophomore Victor Vuong said it was important for groups on campus with divergent views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to come together at this vigil, as students rarely have the chance to collectively mourn for those who have died in the Middle East.

“It’s just a way to show unity and mourn loss,” Vuong said. “It’s a way to recognize the reality and to establish responsibility and to move forward and get something good out of what happened.”

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  1. While Saudis repress all their people (other than the royal family whom have private $500 million dollar private airplanes) we focus our angst on Israel for deep down we are really just anti-Semites pretending to be humanitarians.

    While Pakistanis ethnically cleanse that once Hindu country of its remaining Hindus we focus our angst on Israel for deep down we are really just anti-Semites pretending to be humanitarians.

    While Egyptians ethnically cleanse that country of its ancient Coptic community we focus our angst on Israel for deep down we are anti-Semites masquerading as humanitarians.

    While Mali Islamists turn Mali into the next Sudan we focus our angst on Israel for deep down we are really anti-Semites dressed up in humanitarian’s clothes.

    While Yemenis turn that bread basket of the Arabian Peninsula into a place of starvation we focus our crocodile tears on Israel for deep down we are really anti-Semites dressed up in fancy humanitarian clothes.

    While Islamists in Southern Thailand kill off over 5,000 Buddhists in the span of a few years we ignore their plight and turn our focus on Israel for we are anti-Semites pretending to be concerned humanitarians.

    While Hezbollah kills off what remains of the Christian leadership in Lebanon we turn the spotlight on Israel for they are just Jews and we all know nobody has ever defended the Jews. They’re easy pickings and we are really just Brown Shirts pretending to be humanitarians.