A Dickinson College Jewish organization made calls to Israeli consulates in an effort to prevent Israel from demolishing a Palestinian village.

“We believe that the demolition of Susya [the Palestinian village] is both ‘a’ immoral and ‘b’ would hinder the prospect of… a peaceful solution to conflict…” said Noah Frank ’20, the president of J Street U, the student organizing branch of J Street, which is an organization for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans, according to their official website.

Dickinson College’s chapter of J Street U hosted the call-in on Britton Plaza on Sept. 29, to encourage students to call Israeli consulates around the U.S. and urge them to show support for Susya, said Laura Zwerling ’18, a member of J Street U. The organization also posted photos on social media using the hashtags #Susya and #WontLookAway.

Susya is in the West Bank. Since J Street supports the two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which would create two different states for Israelis and Palestinians, the safety of Susya holds significance for the organization.

“Susya has become a symbol in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and its demolition would further undermine confidence in Israel’s commitment to peace,” explained J Street’s official website.

When the organization heard “reports that the Israeli Defense Ministry…[was] plan[ing] to ask Israel’s High Court of Justice for permission to demolish Susya within the next two months,” they began to try to “ensure that the US reaffirm[ed] its opposition to [Israeli] settlement expansion and Palestinian dispossession by standing up for Susya,” said their official website.

If Susya is demolished, the “350 people [who live there] will be evicted from their homes which is technically [a] war crime because it is occupied territory and the expulsion of a population from an occupied territory is considered a war crime,” said Frank.

For more information, feel free to contact Dickinson J Street U at [email protected].