Continuing to Learn and Educate for Shared Humanity: Day 1

Conversations between Jews and Palestinians for a Better Tomorrow

By: Sophie M

Since this event, I have been thinking even more than I had previously about the horrors occurring in Palestine. I follow independent journalists on the ground in Gaza named Bisan Owda and Motaz Azaiza, and I have been more frequently watching their videos. I find their journalism especially impactful because it is not filtered through American news sites with biases etc. I have been, but every day I become more appalled, disgusted, saddened, angry, and shocked. I don’t personally know anyone in the area of the conflict, but I couldn’t imagine how I’d feel if I did. I have so much empathy for those with loved ones in Israel-Palestine. I just felt it was right to start off with some of my feelings on the issue. I struggle to figure out how to word any of my opinions and feelings, or even format this piece of writing. I have no authority on the topic, and I think that the best thing for me to do, generally, is step back and support those who are affected and more educated than I am. 

I agreed with my classmates’ critiques of the talk from the brief conversation we had in class; I wish that Omar Dajani and Mira Sucharov had talked more in detail about what “shared humanity dialogue” looks like in practice. I really appreciated when they walked the audience through how they worked out their conflicts with the NYT sexual violence article. I agree with others that I wish they did more of this, because I think what students really need to learn during this issue is how to move forward in conversations with loved ones and friends, where there might be differing opinions and backgrounds. I know I have personally experienced this with friends and family, and I could use the advice on how to navigate these kinds of conversations. 

 From a peace studies perspective, something that stood out to me from the talk was the two speaker’s views on the call to “globalize the intifada”. I thought it was very interesting to hear about what each of them thought of this phrase and how they took it, given their cultural backgrounds. Hearing their differing perspectives, and in detail, was very interesting, especially when it is difficult to find and verify information on the issue as the conflict progresses. Dajani spoke about how the “intifada” (translating to “resistance” or “shaking off”), for him, means resistance, at its core. He said that as a Palestinian, he sees the call as a push for an expansion of the resistance against the horrors currently occurring in his home. Sucharov, however, had different views as someone who identifies as Jewish. She saw this phrase as more intimidating, and as encouraging the commission of violence against Jews, all over the world.

Something else I also liked that Sucharov mentioned was the different definitions of Zionism, and the perspectives Jewish people have on the concept when presented with the differing definitions. She spoke about how the majority of Jewish people support the theoretical, more idyllic definition of Zionism; a safe place for Jewish people. But, when given the definition of Zionism as it functions now, as the preference and privilege of Jewish people over other peoples, the vast majority of Jews are not in support. I had never really thought about these different definitions and their implications, and it’s interesting to read the news from the multiple sources I consume in this context now.