New Brunswick, September 18th: Last night, Natan Sharansky, Minister without Portfolio in the Israeli Government, was scheduled to speak at Rutgers University as part of Rutgers Hillel's "Israel Inspires" campaign. A member of the right-wing Likud party, Sharansky is known for his opposition to the internationally-backed Roadmap to Peace, and for approving the construction of more than 800 illegal settlement units in the West Bank, in violation of Israel's obligations under the Roadmap. Sharansky's appearance drew protests from a wide variety of individuals and organizations, and one Jewish student is accused of throwing a pie at the Minister before being tackled and assaulted by members of Sharansky's security team.

Organizations protesting Sharansky's appearance included New Jersey Anti-Racist Action, New Jersey Solidarity, and two Jewish organizations: Central Jersey Jews Against the Occupation and Neturei Karta. The demonstrations were attended by roughly 30 to 40 protestors, with many others inside the building to observe the lecture. Jewish student Abe Greenhouse is alleged to have thrown what is reported to have been a kosher cherry cream pie at Minister Sharansky. He was escorted from the scene by Rutgers University police, who charged him with disorderly conduct before sending him to Robert Wood Johnson Hospital for medical treatment. Greenhouse received a black eye, swollen lip, and broken nose in the assault through blows delivered after he was already lying on the floor with his hands held in the air.

Although Sharansky is widely known for his earlier, commendable struggle for the rights of Soviet Jewry, Sharansky currently represents the far-right wing that perpetuates the cycle of violence that has killed too many innocents on both sides. In addition to opposing various manifestations of the peace process, from the 1993 Oslo Accords to the current "Roadmap for Peace", Sharansky has also provoked the Palestinian populace at the crucial moment in the fragile peace process by supporting new settlement construction. He has been quoted as saying, "I support the existence of Jewish settlement in Hebron and in all the territories" and that "the Jewish people must refuse to divide Jerusalem", referring to any and all peace plans that would place Arab East Jerusalem under Palestinian control.

Greenhouse, the alleged pie-thrower, has recently returned from a five-week fact-finding trip in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. There he met with Israelis and Palestinians, bearing witness to the suffering of both peoples. He was an eyewitness to the tragic bus bombing in Jerusalem on August 16th, and was also arrested on August 4th, with 46 other activists, while attempting to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home which lay in the path of the wall Israel is currently constructing inside the West Bank. He is a member of New Jersey Anti-Racist Action and Central Jersey Jews Against the Occupation.