In order to narrow the gap between the Palestinian students and international students, Zajel Youth Exchange Program organized a video conference with undergraduate and post graduate students of Monash University in Australia. Students from both sides got the opportunity to discuss the political and human dimensions of the Israeli occupation as well as the prospects for peace. Some of the topics that were discussed included the impact of roadblocks, siege, incursions, the apartheid wall and curfews on the Palestinian people.

The conference started with a brief introduction about Palestine since the war of 1948 till the current uprising or “Intifada”. Some international volunteers of Zajel participated in answering questions. They explained their own perspective toward the concept “terror” and other controversial concepts.

The Australian students asked their Palestinian fellows questions about the peace process negotiations, Camp David Negotiations, Oslo Agreement, the right to education and the current Intifada.

It is worthy to mention that Zajel has organized many video conferences with American, Belgian, Spanish and British universities in the past few years. The idea behind this project is to overcome the obstacles imposed against Palestinians as a result of the siege that prohibits Palestinians to have normal face to face interaction with international students. Such events allow Palestinian students to express their feelings and their points of view regarding the Palestinian/Israeli conflict.

The Palestinian students expressed their gratitude toward Monash University and the Australian students who made this conference possible. Zajel Youth Exchange Programme hopes many more positive interactions with Australian students will be possible in the future.