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The actions of these instructors show that the discussion around the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not really a discussion; instead, it is always a question of whether Israel should be treated in the same way as other countries. In September, I asked Radhika Sainath, a senior lawyer at Palestine Legal, who was then informing Cheney-Lippold, if the professor had previously refused to write a letter of recommendation for political reasons or to be sure. he refused to write a letter of recommendation for any other country. She replied that he would have refused to write a letter "intended for a student student in South Africa in apartheid, at a university reserved for whites or at a male-only university in Saudi Arabia. – or any other discriminatory study abroad program where other students were unable to attend. But she did not cite any example that he had actually refused to write such a letter, and the examples she gave – a government that no longer exists, and the other particular types of institutions – only underscores Cheney-Lippold's refusal to accept Israel's legitimacy as a state.*
In the eyes of critics, college campuses are often caricatured as they strive to give students the feeling of being comfortable and safe. I do not think that creating an inclusive university environment is worthy of criticism, but the same courtesy must be extended to all students, including those who support Israel.
Read: How not to measure the support of Americans to Israel
Last week, after the story of Cheney-Lippold went out and before Peterson appeared, a Michigan student told a mandatory lecture for his big illuminated social media. According to her, the speaker claimed that both Benjamin Netanyahu and Adolf Hitler were "guilty of genocide".
Opponents of Israeli colleges describe the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in black and white: Palestine, good; Israel, bad. Someone who believes that Israel has the right to exist? As bad.
This broad tactic encompasses the full range of political experiences and perspectives of Zionists, the most progressive Zionists who wish to end the occupation, and denounce the unequal treatment of Netanyahu by Arabs, women and lay Jews. to their far right party. their counterparts, who view the expansion of Israeli settlements as a biblical imperative, are placed under the same umbrella normative: the bad. Unacceptable. Inapt to dialogue.
Serious conversations about real challenges in Israel (and there are many – just talk to any Israeli, or read the editorial pages of Israeli newspapers) do not occur on American college campuses because students pro-Israelis must spend all their time and energy making the fundamental argument that Israel has the right to exist.
The most depressing thing about studying abroad as the last battleground of the conflict is that living in Israel offers American students the best chance to develop a sophisticated understanding of the country and its politics.
