Fall 2023
By Alejandro Moro-Araujo ’24 and Shane McCauley ’24
In the past few months, the conflict between Israel and Hamas has dominated the political landscape. At school, we acknowledge the conflict’s existence in numerous “check-in” conversations, but it’s rare to see students participate. Conversations that do take place often involve generalizations recognizing the tragedy of terrorism rather than discussions of the conflict itself. Though it is important to ensure the safety and mental health of all community members, we must foster a productive, open discourse around the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, like any other one.
In order to have a meaningful and thoughtful conversation, one must first understand the conflict. Currently, many simply don’t. Scrolling through social media, one often sees numerous posts recognizing the deaths of Israelis and Palestinians. Most of the time, these posts are captioned “Stand with Israel” or “Free Palestine.” However, one rarely sees someone post simple, unbiased information about the conflict. Often, users only use news from horrific events to back up their claims about what one side is doing to the other. It is important to remember this is a war, and so we must recognize the tragedy of its mere existence. Condemning Israel’s human rights violations and condemning Hamas’ human rights violations are not—and should not be treated as—mutually exclusive.
Students are afraid to share opinions about the conflict due to a tendency to conflate the positions of governments with the positions of people. Those who criticize Israel are often accused of being antisemitic, while those who criticize Hamas are often accused of opposing self-determination for Palestine as a whole. This environment is toxic to productive discussion. Israel does not represent the position of all Jews, nor does Hamas represent the stance of all who support Palestinian sovereignty. This inaccurate discourse also arises from using incorrect terms. One should not oversimplify the war as a conflict between “Palestine” and “Israel” as the situation is much more complex; Hamas does not embody the beliefs of all Palestinians, just as the Israeli government doesn’t reflect the views of all Israelis. This issue is deeply personal to many in our school community. But that is exactly why we should be able to talk about it—we simply need to do so accurately and thoughtfully. Our goal is not to choose a side; it is to stress the critical importance of creating a space for discourse driven by facts. In fact, most of the articles in this issue of the Point of View predate the conflict. But it remains our mission to create a space where students can freely, authentically, and sensitively share their opinions—which is why we find it essential to address this issue in the editor’s note. Reading the articles to follow, we hope you have moments where you question, reconsider, or learn something new about an issue. In a political climate that often lacks nuance, that’s more important than anything.