BEYOND HUMANITARIAN OUTRAGE

The Israel-Lebanon conflict continues to dominate headlines and stir public debate, yet for all the volume of commentary there is very little depth. Coverage and criticism has emphasized humanitarian arguments about tactics over political arguments about power and responsibility. Defenders of Israel’s incursion of Lebanon have focused on Hezbollah’s indiscriminate targeting of Israeli civilians, and have argued that Hezbollah endangers Lebanon’s own civilians by intermingling with the non-combatant population. They have also argued that Israel does not intentionally target civilians, whereas Hezbollah does. Critics of Israel have pointed to the fact that Israel has killed far more civilians than Hezbollah, has used disproportionate force, and has reduced whole neighborhoods to rubble. On both sides of the argument, the critique tends to revolve around who is creating the most victims, or who most profoundly violates broad humanitarian impulses. Many argue that both sides are creating victims, and that the international community is needed to bring peace. But is this right? Are humanitarian debates about tactics really a way of developing a critical position on this conflict? Is the international community the solution? This Friday, Against the War on Terror will be holding following event to address these pressing questions:

BEYOND HUMANITARIAN OUTRAGE: ASSESSING THE ISRAEL-LEBANON CONFLICT

Beyond platitudes about victims on both sides, are there more substantial issues raised by Israel's incursion into Lebanon?
Why is the debate dominated by arguments about whose tactics are worse?
Is 'who started it?' an analytical dead-end?
Is a third-party really required to bring peace? Does America have all the answers?
Can we discuss the 'ends' rather than the 'means' of this war?

Come for an informal discussion about these questions. Introductory remarks will be given by
- Nicholas Frayn, of Against the War on Terror www.againstwot.com
- Guy Grossman, Ph.D student in political science at Columbia University and a founder of the Israeli refuser's movement
- Ramzi Kassem, who was born in Beirut, and is now a practicing lawyer in New York City, focusing on civil rights litigation relating to wrongful conviction cases and an adjunct professor at Fordham Law School.

Opening remarks will be short, and there will be plenty of time for open discussion.

The event will take place at 6:30pm., Friday, August 11, in the Lindsay Rogers Room, 7th floor of Columbia University's International Affairs Building (corner of Amsterdam and 118 th St.). FREE PIZZA will be available.