Conner Taylor, the vice president of programming for J Street U, is a sophomore in the Elliott School of International Affairs, and Matt Gang, the co-campaigns chair for J Street U, is a freshman in the Elliott School.
We are writing in response to “An ancient debate comes to campus,” by Claude Khalife, (Jan. 22, online).
Khalife correctly observes that open discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been sorely lacking. With an issue this polarized, it makes sense that some would feel that there is no place to express non-extreme opinions. He highlights one of the most frustrating characteristics of dialogue around Israel: Anyone who brings up any criticism of the Jewish state, no matter how accurate, runs the risk of being labeled an anti-Semite.
Like him, we have been targets of these allegations. At the Jewish high school from which GWU J Street U board member Matt Gang graduated, he was called a “self-hating Jew” when he questioned Israel’s behavior in the Gaza flotilla raid. When he criticized the continued building of settlements in the West Bank, a fellow classmate recommended that he become “a spokesperson for Hamas.”
Not only does this kind of ad-hominem attack degrade the nature of the discussion, it is insulting to those of us on the Jewish left who are both proud Jews and unapologetic Zionists. This behavior actually stands in direct opposition to Jewish values.
In the Talmud, a sacred text which is a central foundation of Jewish law, there is a concept called Machloket l’shem shamayim – argument for the sake of heaven. It is a call upon all who debate to disagree without being disagreeable and to be tolerant of opposing opinions. Unfortunately, on this issue, both sides often fail to live up to this standard.
Khalife tells us to stay vigilant against the genuine threat of anti-Semitism. It would be dangerous to ignore the fact that anti-Semitism frequently clothes itself in anti-Zionist garb. We condemn anti-Semitism, but we also reject the notion that critique of Israeli policy is uniformly anti-Semitism. We critique Israeli policy out of a place of love and concern for the nation we consider our home.
The author is absolutely right that an open and free-flowing exchange of ideas about Israel is essential. Luckily, space on campus for this exchange to occur does exist: Our organization, J Street U, is the home for Pro-Israel, Pro-Palestinian, Pro-Peace GW students advocating for a two-state solution.
During our two years on campus, students have lobbied our congressmen and women to support a two-state solution. We have hosted many leaders of the Israeli and Palestinian political establishment, often under the same roof. Last semester we hosted a diplomat from the Palestinian Authority. This semester we will host the director of policy and government relations for Americans for Peace Now.
We call on students who feel that there is no forum for respectful yet critical dialogue, to seek out the already established avenues for balanced discussion on campus. Don’t sit back and let the broken conversation on Israel unfold.
