Activist speaks on Israeli travels

Growing up as a Jewish-American, Anna Baltzer didn’t really understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

“I thought Israel was this small victimized country that wanted to make peace, but no one wanted to let them be peaceful,” Baltzer said.

It wasn’t until she met some Palestinian refugees while traveling in Lebanon after college that her perspective began to change.

On Sunday night Baltzer spoke to about 70 people at the Missouri United Methodist Church about her experiences in the West Bank.

In 2005, she spent five months in the town of Haris as part of the International Women’s Peace Service, supporting what she called the nonviolent Palestinian movement against Israeli settlements and documenting violations of human rights against Palestinians.

The presentation was the first of four presentations Baltzer is giving in Columbia this week.

For the past five months, Baltzer has been traveling around the U.S. and sharing her experiences in the Middle East. Baltzer said she feels compelled to speak up because of her background.

“Jewish people should be the ones speaking out against it because it’s being done in our name,” she said. “Judaism itself is rooted in social justice.”

Although Baltzer has received some negative feedback on her presentation, she has been surprised by the number of positive responses. Her goal is not to convince people to believe something, she said, but to get them to research and learn more about what is going on in the region.

“I try not to make my talks about politics but just laying out what’s happening and letting people draw their own conclusions,” she said.

As Baltzer gave her presentation she was met by some gasps in the audience as she talked about human rights violations she had seen.

“It’s not right what’s going on there,” said Jack Huggans as he left the event. “We never hear any of this. We always hear the Israeli side.”

The Columbia Peace Coalition and 17 other groups will sponsor three more presentations in Columbia this week: 7:30 tonight in Ellis Library Auditorium at MU, 7 p.m. Tuesday in Charter Auditorium at Stephens College and 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Islamic Center of Central Missouri. For more information visit www.annainthemiddleeast.com.