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see these values practiced by the cur-
rent leadership in Israel. The image
of Israel they received as children in
Sunday school has been tarnished by
the reality of West Bank occupation,
settlements and the Gaza war.
In response, Jewish students divide
into four groups. At the extremes are
left-leaning students who support the
BDS movement (e.g., Jewish Voice
for Peace) and right-leaning students
who unyieldingly defend Israel and
the actions of its government (e.g.,
StandWithUs). In the middle of these
extremes (e.g., J Street U) are those
who walk a tightrope combining affin-
ity for Israel with support for a two-
state solution, criticism of settlements,
and concerns for discrimination
against Arabs and Palestinians, wel-
coming dialogue with students holding
diverse opinions as long as the conver-
sations can be civil.
A fourth group simply doesn’t want
to engage — they don’t participate in
activist organizations, steering clear of
involvement with Israel and even with
Judaism.
Sadly, Jewish community leaders
often act in ways that exacerbate the
divisions in the community and make
students’ political situations more dif-
ficult than they need be.
The desire of Jewish students on
some campuses to participate in events
where pro-Palestinian groups and
voices are included have been frus-
trated in some cases by Hillel policies.
That has led some students to create
parallel “Open Hillel” organizations
free of these imposed restraints.
As J Street activists have pushed
Jewish organizations toward transpar-
ency with respect to funds support-
ing the settlement enterprise, they
have been told by some leaders that
while they personally are supportive
of the students’ goals, they are fearful
of dividing their constituents if they
express these views openly. Students
also suspect that threats by major
Jewish donors to cut funding are cur-
tailing the kind of open discussion of
conflicting views that is the essence of
the college experience.
These students, who make up the
next generation of Jewish Americans,
deserve our support for their expres-
sion of pride in their Jewish identity
and their love of Israel, even as they
often criticize actions of the current
Israeli government. We need to sup-
port them by:
• Encouraging open dialogue, not
only on campus but also within our
own communities, respecting differing
opinions and not taking “official” posi-
tions unrepresentative of community
consensus or using threats to cut off
donations in an attempt to curtail open
dialogue.
• Supporting the desire of those
Hillel chapter leaders (including the
leadership of University of Michigan
Hillel) who encourage inclusiveness
and foster cross-campus dialogue.
• Supporting our students who
reflect their Jewish values by empathiz-
ing with the situation of Palestinians
in the West Bank and Gaza and Arab
Israelis.
• Supporting positions that further
the possibility of a two-state solution
and opposing Israeli government actions
that make a solution less possible.
Let’s be thankful for our Jewish
youth’s continued pride in being Jewish
and for the desire of many of them to
express their Jewish values through
campus activism. As they cope with
the political crucible in which they find
themselves, we should provide encour-
agement for their activism and not
make their efforts more difficult.
*
Toby Citrin is co-chair of J Street, Ann Arbor.