A True Test of Diversity

The past month has been a grueling and tragic one for Israelis, Palestinians, and those across the world who have witnessed horrible images of fear, hatred, and destruction in Israel and Gaza. The loss of human life is utterly devastating and heartbreaking.

For many people, particularly on this campus, there are clear sides of this conflict, clear white and black depictions of the political landscape, and clear rights and wrongs. But for many, assessing the conflict itself and the methodologies in which it was carried out is not so clear-cut. Rather, it is a struggle. Within the Jewish community specifically, individual opinions on the subject are widely diverse.

Among the Jewish population within Israel as well as within Columbia, there is a wide array of nuanced opinions. At the outset of the war, for example, an Israeli pacifist organization, Peace Now, maintained that Israel had “a basic right to defend itself” but criticized the idea of a military operation. Similarly, Meretz, Israel’s leading left-leaning party, endorsed the idea of an air campaign but publicly denounced the ground operation. As far as the Columbia Jewish community is concerned, Hillel, philosophically, is “steadfastly committed to the support of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state with secure and recognized borders and as a member of the family of free nations.” That said, supporting Israel’s right to exist and being “pro-Israel” does not necessarily mean agreeing with any one method of maintaining such existence. Some may feel that the only legitimate way for Israel to achieve secure borders is through political negotiations while others may hold that force is necessary as a short-term measure to underscore political negotiations.

Within Columbia at large, Hillel welcomes powerful debate and diversity of opinion. In the coming weeks, we hope that comes through interpersonally and programmatically through serious learning on the subject as well as providing forums for multiple views to be expressed and heard. It is important, however, to differentiate between those expressions of opinions that are legitimate and those that are rooted in hatred. Since the beginning of Israel’s attack on Hamas, there have been an alarming number of deplorable acts of anti-Semitism perpetrated throughout the U.S. and Europe in response to the war. England has seen several of its synagogues defaced, two Jews in Denmark were shot, and at least 55 anti-Semitic acts, including the throwing of Molotov cocktails at a synagogue in a town north of Paris, have been reported in France. No matter what, attacking innocent individuals of one ethno-religious group merely because of actions committed thousands of miles away by individuals of the same group is racism, and in this case, anti-Semitism.

On the same note, allusions of this war to the Holocaust are also hurtful and unproductive. On Dec. 30, one Florida demonstrator at a Gaza rally shouted for Jews to go “back to the oven.” While perhaps not physically inflictive, such expression also breaches the line of acceptability.

Moving forward, it is our great hope that there will be challenging and thoughtful dialogue and debate across campus when it comes to discussing the Middle East. Such debate, however, must be careful so as not to devolve from legitimate discussion to hateful slurs.

Sarah Brafman is a Columbia College junior majoring in history. She is the president of the Columbia/Barnard Hillel. Brandon Hammer is a Columbia College junior majoring in film. He is the Israel Coordinator of the Columbia/Barnard Hillel.