Palestinian politician suggests Yale students’ anti-Israel ideological crusades are counterproductive to peace

Anti-Israel platitudes may be catchy, but they will not bring about peace in the Middle East. 

Yale University students inspired by their will to oppose Israel got that message Wednesday night from an unlikely source: a Palestinian politician. 

Nasser al-Qudwa, former Foreign Affairs Minister of the Palestinian Authority, critiqued an overly ideological approach to arriving at a peace deal between Israel and Palestine while speaking to students at Yale University during his virtual appearance at the Yale Political Union (YPU). 

“The issue lies in the fact that you discuss ideologies,” he told the students, emphasizing the difference between the students’ eager ideological fervor and the realities of finding a practical, political solution. 

In 2024, al-Qudwa co-wrote a peace plan with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert who appeared in person at Yale as part of the pair’s ongoing string of appearances on college campuses.  

Last night, following a moderated discussion between the two politicians, al-Qudwa and the rest of the YPU audience endured student speakers who mused about everlasting peace, “radical love,” Thomas Jefferson, James Baldwin, and “48 hours” of intense contemplation about the over-two-thousand-year-old conflict. 

Olmert was physically present for the main discussion, while al-Qudwa joined via Zoom on a large screen located on center stage. Al-Qudwa positioned himself very close to the camera, with his face filling the majority of the screen.

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 Avi Rao, chairman of the Independent party of the YPU, said that the event fostered surprisingly respectful dialogue. Rao, who described himself as “zionist and conservative,” spoke about an appetite for peace amongst both speakers. Rao told Campus Reform he saw the YPU event as being part of Olmert and al-Qudwa’s “kumbaya tour of universities.” 

The entire event was heavily monitored by security. Each individual was screened upon entry and reentry into the venue, and no bags were allowed. 

“We’ve invested pretty heavily in security especially after the Charlie Kirk assassination. We’ve gotten a lot of support from the Leadership Institute, and we’re in conversation with trying to get the Yale administration to help us out a bit more with security costs,” Roshan Dhital, the junior treasurer of the YPU told Campus Reform. 

“I would like to see more administrative support in funding our security costs. Especially because the President of Yale, Maurie McInnis, recently made a speech to parents and alumni during parents weekend, speculating that Yale hasn’t gotten federal funding taken away because it emphasizes free speech, citing the YPU and the Buckley institute as examples” Dhital said. 

Tomer Mendler, an alumnus of Yeshiva University, said the evening evoked “mixed emotions” in him. Mendler said the evening featured “great representations” from both sides on a highly difficult issue. But Mendler, who is Israeli, also expressed reservations over Jews’ and Israelis’ safety on American college campuses. 

The anti-Israel protests showed “people’s true colors regarding the conflict,” Mendler said, contemplating how much his colleagues comprehensively understand the issue. 

Hassan Qadir, a moderator of the event, told Campus Reform that the most “tricky, disappointing” aspect of the evening was the peace proposal put forth by Olment and al-Qudwa. 

“They have this grand peace plan, but it is similar to all other recent peace plans,” Qadir said. “I was hoping that they would have at least ‘one weird new trick’, one concession, one new idea, something to give me hope.” 

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For al-Qudwa, the path forward lies not in passion but in political action.

With comic irony in his voice, al-Qudwa gave a final gesture to the eager energy of students in the room. “But you are a very prestigious university—you are going to be lawyers, most of you, expensive lawyers—and we will rely on you to find us a good ideology and a political solution.” His comment was by the audience with hesitant laughter.

Al-Qudwa and Ohmert reminded students that lasting peace will come not from ideology, but from the hard work of political pragmatism.

Campus Reform is a project of the Leadership Institute, which funded this event.