A quiet, attentive crowd of close to 150 persons gathered at the steps of the Eisenhower Library on the Johns Hopkins University campus in midtown Baltimore, Wednesday, April 10th, for a mini teach-in and rally on the Middle East conflict. John Olson, a graduate student in political science, opened the rally: "We are here to protest the occupation and condemn the violence and the terror inflicted on Israelis and Palestinians."
The organizers of the teach-ins described themselves as an informal coalition of graduate students. They were responding to the past 13 days during which 30,000 soldiers and 2,000 tanks of the Israeli Defense Force invaded the cities of Ramallah, Beit Jala, Nablus, and Bethlehem among others.
History Professor, Paul Kramer, called for "a new politics" starting with "a politics of mourning" for all of the victims of the war. "We need to prioritize peace with justice over the war on terrorism." He continued by emphasizing a "politics of security" which would grant Palestinian sovereignty, self-expression, and human rights.
Kramer also asked for the United States to step up the pressure for an immediate cease fire and for trade and economic sanctions be brought to bear on Israel. He stressed the need for the Secretary of State Powell to meet with Arafat.
Standing a respectful distance from the rally and flying Israeli flags, were a group of 15 students calling themselves the Coalition of Hopkins Activists for Israel. Erin Sadownik and Yonit Golub described their two-year-old organization as a pro-Israel voice on campus "educating people as to what's going on." Sadownik said that they had asked the rally organizers if they could speak, but were refused.
The refusal and the distance between the groups seemed almost prototypical of the war they were both protesting.

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