UCSB’s Students for Justice in Palestine is hosting a series of events this week, including an educational lecture and art display, in honor of this year’s Palestine Awareness Week.

The campaign began last night with a lecture on Palestine’s journey toward self-determination, featuring adjunct global and international studies research professor and United Nations appointee Richard Falk. SJP will display a wall of artwork representing conflict within the Palestinian region near the Arbor today, followed by Palestine Culture Night tomorrow from 8 to 11 p.m. in the Student Resource Building.

UCSB alumnus Omid Niroumandzadeh, who collaborated with SJP to organize the week’s events, said Falk’s lecture also included a question-and-answer session and touched on issues within the overall Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

According to Niroumandzadeh, Falk explained that creating separate regions for Palestinian and Israeli people does not address internal issues of human rights and equality to the extent that a one-state solution would.

“Falk talked about his experience in international law dealing with the issue and he was very critical of the two-state solution,” Niroumandzadeh said. “He just talked about the facts on the ground and how it’s really difficult for Palestinians [and] how, despite the ‘peace process,’ no politician really has the courage to confront the status quo.”

Niroumandzadeh said yesterday’s lecture generated productive dialogue between Falk and the audience, with many attendees providing perspectives from both sides of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Falk taught international law at Princeton University as a professor emeritus, served a six-year term as the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the U.N. Human Rights Council, served on the United Nations Human Rights Inquiry Commission, authored or co-authored over 20 books and currently teaches in UCSB’s Global & International Studies Department.

—Staff ReportUCSB’s Students for Justice in Palestine is hosting a series of events this week, including an educational lecture and art display, in honor of this year’s Palestine Awareness Week.

The campaign began last night with a lecture on Palestine’s journey toward self-determination, featuring adjunct global and international studies research professor and United Nations appointee Richard Falk. SJP will display a wall of artwork representing conflict within the Palestinian region near the Arbor today, followed by Palestine Culture Night tomorrow from 8 to 11 p.m. in the Student Resource Building.

UCSB alumnus Omid Niroumandzadeh, who collaborated with SJP to organize the week’s events, said Falk’s lecture also included a question-and-answer session and touched on issues within the overall Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

According to Niroumandzadeh, Falk explained that creating separate regions for Palestinian and Israeli people does not address internal issues of human rights and equality to the extent that a one-state solution would.

“Falk talked about his experience in international law dealing with the issue and he was very critical of the two-state solution,” Niroumandzadeh said. “He just talked about the facts on the ground and how it’s really difficult for Palestinians [and] how, despite the ‘peace process,’ no politician really has the courage to confront the status quo.”

Niroumandzadeh said yesterday’s lecture generated productive dialogue between Falk and the audience, with many attendees providing perspectives from both sides of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Falk taught international law at Princeton University as a professor emeritus, served a six-year term as the United Nations Special Rapporteur for the U.N. Human Rights Council, served on the United Nations Human Rights Inquiry Commission, authored or co-authored over 20 books and currently teaches in UCSB’s Global & International Studies Department.