Have you ever found yourself being accused of being “one sided”? It happens all the time. When it comes to one of the global community's seemingly intractable disputes, the so called “Palestine / Israel Problem” it can often seem that being “one sided” depends on what side you're on. If you attempt to voice your concerns over the poverty, deprivation and incarceration of Palestinians under Israel's illegal occupation, you will soon find that accusations of being “one sided” fly thick and fast. On the other hand, if you support the so-called “security” arrangements that the Israeli government says it must maintain, you might well find yourself being described as a “friend of Israel”. But what about Jews who disagree with their government? Or Jews who do not live in Israel but see only more harm, dislocation and potential loss of life, on both sides, as being the inevitable outcome of the severe conditions imposed on the Palestinian communities in Israel? The late Edward Said once said “I have been unable to live an uncommitted or suspended life. I have not hesitated to declare my affiliation with an extremely unpopular cause.” But he is not alone. Many Jews, both inside Israel and without, have aligned themselves with this same “extremely unpopular cause”. For their efforts, many have been shunned by their own community and many more are not given space in the mainstream media to put forward their arguments. It seems, they, like Edward Said, are too “one sided” to be allowed to speak. Sara Roy is one such Jew who has found herself muzzled by vested interests. However, the renowned Harvard Scholar refuses to accept that there are “sides” among those who are victims in this conflict. Ms Roy maintains that "Judaism has always prided itself on reflection, critical examination, and philosophical inquiry". She argues that unless Israeli Jews and those of the Diaspora reflect on their own history, critically examine their own morality and attempt to change the current Middle East paradigm, then their beloved Israel will fail.

Sara Roy has written extensively on the Palestinian economy and has authored numerous books, journal articles and commentary pieces on the impact of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. She serves on the Advisory Boards of American Near East Refugee Aid and the Centre for American and Jewish Studies at Baylor University. She delivered the 2008 Edward Said Memorial Lecture at Adelaide University on the 11th October, 2008

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