As college students across the US continue to be indoctrinated to hate the West and Israel, it is heartening to see stories like this of those who buck the trend, and learn to think for themselves.
Political science and international security & conflict resolution senior Erin Gonzalez spent some time in Israel, with a Fact Finders program hosted by SDSU Hillel. She said the goal of the trip is to allow SDSU students to personally experience Israel and learn about the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.
“We met with various government officials, grassroots activists, and average citizens from both sides of the conflict who shared their personal narratives with us,” she explained. “Their narratives helped me and my fellow students to come to our own conclusions and form our own perspectives about Israel, the Palestine Authority, and the conflict.”
She said there were several things that surprised her. Before visiting, she believed she was entering something akin to “an ‘apartheid state’” but soon after landing she found religious, cultural, and ethnic diversity.
The trip also changed some of her opinions.
“Another thing that surprised me about Israel is how my perspective on the Israeli settlements in the West Bank completely changed,” she said. “Although the global community, and recently the United Nations have condemned the Israeli settlements as both internationally illegal and an impediment to peace, I no longer see it that way.”
Gonzalez said her group visited various settlements throughout the West Bank and she was surprised to see how many Palestinians she saw benefitting from aspects of the settlements, including employment opportunities and social benefits.
“Throughout the entirety of our trip we encountered so many people, both Israeli and Palestinian, who were so genuinely grateful to us for visiting their homelands,” she said. “Their gratitude was largely for us taking the time to experience their cultures and lifestyles, and not being afraid to enter the world that they live in.”
According to The Algemeiner, who brought this story to my attention:
Jackie Tolley, the director of SDSU Hillel, told The Algemeiner that a total of 42 students have gone on the two Fact Finders trips that have taken place so far, and that the “feedback has been extremely positive.”
“We hoped that by walking on the land, meeting with people and hearing their stories, participants would return to campus with a wealth of new knowledge,” Tolley said. “It was clear that few participants had even a cursory understanding of the history of the conflict. The trip gave them new insights and understandings, and they came away with a sense of empathy for all parties to the conflict, along with a new appreciation for its complexity.”
In addition, Tolley said, “They learned just how misleading and one-sided the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign is.”
The best antidote to the lies these students are being fed is the truth. But they need to see it for themselves.
