Emory Advocates for Justice in Palestine’s “International Week Against the Apartheid Wall” concluded last night with a lecture by Associate Professor of Sociology Hassan El-Najjar from the University of Georgia.

The week kicked off on Monday with the raising of a symbolic wall to demonstrate against the Israeli West Bank barrier. Although the wall became the target of vandalistic acts when it was first erected, the atmosphere at last night’s speech remained civil, said College junior Karim Tabbaa, a member of EAJP’s coordinating committee.

Tabbaa said the lecture was attended by an audience of approximately 75 and included mostly students and a few administrators. The week also featured a movie screening of “Iron Wall” on Tuesday.

College sophomore Sarah Green, a member of Emory Students for Israel and a Grinspoon Israel Advocacy Intern, said the ESI put up posters, many with non-political themes, around campus last night to “promote the positive things that Israel has done.”

Acting independently of any campus group, pro-Israel students had set up four posters explaining Israel’s reasons for putting up the security fence on Monday. More than a hundred students also wore Israel-themed T-shirts on Monday, and more than 300 signed a petition supporting Israel.

Tabbaa said he hopes in the future both sides will try to “understand and address” each other’s grievances and work towards a peaceful resolution.

—Contact Tiffany Han