A variety of workshop discussions at the Freeman Center for Jewish Life Saturday offered a wide range of pro-Israeli opinions. Students mingled with each other and the speakers at the teach-in, which many people said fostered serious debate.
Topics ranged from the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the weight of anti-Semitism through the ages and in the present. Much of the event was educational, but speakers also instructed people about how to react to discrimination and how to advocate for Israel.
Many speakers acknowledged the difficulty of the Palestinian situation, and a call to end the violence echoed throughout the day.
“The Israeli leaders tried to compromise, to divide the city of Jerusalem, but they were using political plans to solve a nonpolitical problem,” Mitchell Bard, executive director of the American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise, said in one panel. “It’s not about politics. It’s about history; it’s about ideology, it’s about geography.”
The teach-in was grounded in religion, and Jewish services started and ended the day’s events. About 125 people walked through metal detectors to attend the events. Security was present, but no protesters came and no incidents occurred.
The teach-in was organized, in part, as an alternative to the Palestine Solidarity Movement’s conference, which many people viewed as anti-Semitic.
“Protests are not constructive,” sophomore Vivian Futran said. “The pro-Israel community has taken a clear stance that dialogue—constructive dialogue—should come above all else this weekend.”
Organizers and panelists emphasized the need to explain Israel’s situation and Jewish history.
“You must first educate people and teach them the importance of respect,” Martin Cominsky, the regional director for the Anti-Defamation League in Houston, Texas. “Help them see and appreciate the differences in cultures.”
Many students said they came away with a better sense of the way the problems in the Middle East personally affect them.
“I’ve never experienced anti-Semitism at all, even though I am Jewish,” freshman Megan Zweig said after one panel. “I will probably be more aware of it in the community in the future.”
Lindsey Lapin and Emily Rotberg contributed to this story.
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