metro TOO Margot Gardner Special to the Jewish News S tandWithUs-MI presented a conference titled "Israel in the College Classroom: Challenges and Solutions" at the Holocaust Memorial Center in mid-April. Co-sponsors were the Zionist Organization of America-Michigan Region and the Holocaust Memorial Center. Drs. Yael Aronoff from Michigan State University, Edith Covensky from Wayne State University and Jeff Haus from Kalamazoo College spoke about their experiences in teaching Israel-related Yael Aronoff classes. Because the three schools differ significantly and the pro- fessors do not teach the same courses, they each came at the topic some- what differently. Aronoff said she has encountered some trends Edith in her classes on Israeli Covensky foreign policy, politics and society in which the existence of Israel is still often questioned. Although most of her students don't have strong feelings about Israel, some are predis- posed to question the Jeff Haus need for nation states in this global world. Students' attitudes toward Israel also are affected by their esteem for the United Nations, where a majority of members disproportionately pass resolutions con- demning Israel; in this context, the stu- dents tend to believe the majority can't be wrong, she said. Students also are exposed to lectures and classes that suggest the U.S. needs to distance itself from Israel to become more popular in the Middle East. Several MSU student organizations con- cern themselves with Israeli-Palestinian- Arab issues, Aronoff said. While Hillel and the Student Interfaith Council still co-sponsor organizations like One Voice, which advocates for a two-state solu- tion, other student organizations whose members largely advocate for a one-state solution refuse to co-sponsor with such organizations. Aronoff believes the job of a teacher is to teach students how to think critically rather than to tell them what to think. The 8 May 24 2012 professor should help the student see the complexity of a situation and get rid of simplifications. A specific situation needs to be put into a broader context, allowing a comparison to similar situations. For example, when students question the Jewish national symbol on Israel's flag, Aronoff said she shows them 50 national flags, many with religious symbols. She asks students whether all 50 flags should be changed because they are not inclusive of 100 percent of the populace, or whether it is legitimate for the majority in each country to use symbols that privilege the culture or religion of the majority. Role - Playing Helps Students Aronoff also uses simulation or role- playing in which a student has to represent a viewpoint opposite of the one he or she supports; this bolsters understanding of and empathy for a multiplicity of views. She has used the 1967 War, Israeli elections and Israeli/Palestinian peace negotiations as the contexts for such role-playing. In class, Aronoff said she also discusses how students can differentiate legitimate criticism and debate over Israeli policies from demonization of the country. She explained that there is a trend toward students being taught that Jews have too much influence in the United States (through lobbies, in the government and in the media) and that this has a negative influence on U.S. foreign policy. Students are unaware of the historical anti-Semitic roots of such assumptions, she said. In connection to this, she mentioned Stephen Walt and John Mearshimer's pub- lication, The Israel Lobby, is now standard reading in many courses. She said stu- dents often are not presented with any of the many scholarly critiques of this book that blames the Israel lobby for the United States war in Iraq, among other policies. She said students also need to read these critiques to be truly critical thinkers. Covensky spoke next about her experi- ences at WSU. A poet, she teaches courses in Hebrew language, literature, Israeli culture and film. She also is involved in a study abroad program, "The Middle East Experience which takes students to Israel and the West Bank. In the years since 1987, when she started teaching, she has experienced many events in Israeli history such as the first and second intifadas and Operation Cast Lead in Gaza in 2009, and she sees the influence of these events on the American campus. Yet throughout all this, Covensky's courses have been accepted and embraced consistently by her very diverse students. She said she has had this positive effect Michigan college professors discuss the challenges of teaching about Israel. by working hard at making her classroom "a neutral zone,' one in which learning takes place in an atmosphere of mutual respect. She adheres to creating interesting and stimulating courses with no political agenda, and teaching with honesty and enthusiasm. As a result, students of all backgrounds take her literature classes, reading writers like Bialik, Tchernichovsky and Amichai, and her Israeli culture course to learn about the kibbutz, the Israeli press, tech- nology and education. She gave several positive student reactions: the Palestinian student who minored in Hebrew and continues her studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem; the Arab student who now understands how his neighbors were affected by the Holocaust; the American Christian and Palestinian Muslim students who joined an archeological expedition to Israel; the African American students who identify with the Jewish Ethiopian plight and are amazed that there are black Jews; and the Hebrew class of seven Jewish and seven Arab students that has become a model of coexistence. Smaller Campus, Less Strife Haus from Kalamazoo College said of the school's 1,400 students only 50-100 are Jewish. Many students who take courses in the Jewish Studies Program come from the unaffiliated and secular community, from mixed marriages or have learned about an unknown Jewish relative. Unlike MSU and WSU, the Israel-Palestinian-Arab conflict is not an issue on campus. Both Jewish and non-Jewish students go on Israel pro- grams, and One Voice, a moderate organi- zation, is on campus. Historian Haus teaches the course "Zionism: From Idea to State," which starts with biblical texts and ends with the founding of modern Israel in 1948. He teaches Zionism as a social, political and historical phenomenon, tackling tough subjects such as Zionist views on deal- ing with Arabs in pre-state Palestine. He said he asks his students to read closely in class, focusing on the historical context of the ideas because nothing happens in a vacuum. Putting a troubling text into a broader context makes for a constructive rather than a divisive exercise. Haus said he also works hard to estab- lish his own credibility on the subject. Some students might think that because he's Jewish he will favor Israel. But he said he wants to be viewed as a neutral facilita- tor, believing the goal of the teacher is not to be a propagandist, but to enable stu- dents to intelligently form their own opin- ions. He presents all sides and challenges students to support their views. He said he wants students to engage history critically and constructively. He also tries to achieve an emotional detachment. As an historian, he tries to restrain his own passion in favor of work- ing to convey the passion of historical figures like Theodor Herzl and David Ben- Gurion. Passion comes from the learning process, he said, from looking at the world through the eyes of historical figures to understand why these people felt the way they did. Questions, Answers In tie eventquestion-and-answer period, the professors were asked what advice they would give to students wanting to take action when faced with an anti-Israel teacher. Haus answered that he would encourage students to learn the facts as best they can, and to engage the opinion with which they disagree: Why do they disagree with it? Where do they see the bias? The goal is to engage the ideas, to think about the issue and form one's own informed opinion. Aronoff also stressed the need for students to have enough knowledge and enough self-confidence before questioning a teacher they believe is presenting dis- torted, biased information. The question- ing should be done in a respectful manner. It is important that the student not only expresses a dissenting opinion, but also is able to flesh out his or her argument. To the question about whether or not professors are objective in teaching about the Arab-Israeli conflict, and if not, how the panelists respond to these colleagues, Aronoff said that some are not and, for example, use only textbooks that discuss a one-state solution to the conflict. She sug- gests different texts to them that present a number of possible solutions. When asked how high school students can be better prepared to be activists for Israel, Haus reiterated the importance of their knowing historical facts — "the best antibodies to anti-Israel propaganda. Israel is not the entire story of Jewish his- tory, but kids must be educated to see how Israel fits into the broader picture' Aronoff advised parents to check their children's textbooks for accuracy and bal- ance, to know what their they are reading. After the program ended, the lively con- versation continued as the three panelists were joined for dinner by StandWithUs- MI supporters. ❑ Margot Gardner is vice president of StandWithUs-Michigan.