The talk on Monday night was both what I expected, and not. Having two, such different individuals on stage together discussing a topic as divided as this one was very fascinating to watch. A lot of why this conflict can not be resolved it because of the lack of trust between the two sides and the inability to form a relationship across sides; but Omar and Mira proved that it is possible. It is important to acknowledge though that these two individuals are not as immersed in the conflict as those living on the ground and so bridging the gap between the oppressed and the oppressor is not as easy.

One thing I do wish more from the talk was that it went more in depth into the conflict and got a little more real than it was. Some of the conversation felt a little bit on the surface and would touch on the topics that make individuals “uncomfortable”. But I think that is very important. The only way that we can start to move towards a path forward is to have those “uncomfortable” conversations and discuss the injustices or the misconceptions, whatever it may be, so that they can be corrected. This is the most important part of the discussion that people are so scared and hesitant to get into. But why? Why is this such an untouchable subject that most do not want to touch with a ten foot pole? We can not neglect a group of suffering people because of a stereotyped narrative our world has come to believe. Palestinians deserve us to at least have these conversations, to raise awareness, and make necessary changes. I will say that this moment is one that I am seeing the most attention and interest in this conflict than any time before in my life time; it is just sad to have a genocide be the reason why.

I found myself in a conversation with Omar, Professor Rangel, and two women who attended the talk and from what I was able to catch, discussed the usage of the word genocide and how it would’ve outraged some of their other friends if they were at the talk, to the point where they would have left. And in my mind I thought, this is the problem. We are not willing to listen to one another; and we walk away the moment someone says something that we don’t like. This can not be the case in this conflict. The sides are so polarized that if this is the case, then people are going to continue dying because of people’s sensitive, ill feelings.

Overall I think the talk was interesting, a good starting point. With the complexity of the issues I think it is important for individuals who may not be well versed on it to know that there is much more to unpack. Omar and Mira brought really interesting perspectives; and showed that a relationship and a conversation between people on opposite sides is possible, and necessary.