Hi Imaan, I am an Israeli Columbia student. I enjoyed your piece. I come from a pro-Palestinian family; we always voted far-left in Israeli elections, one of my first memories is a peace protest, and conversations among my friends and cousins since October 7 has been centered on how do we solve this issue and build the best future possible for Palestinians. But I’ve been incredibly baffled by the conversation on campus, which seems nothing like the reality I know on the ground. Like, try to tell the Arab Jewish side of my family, who are still bitter about being expelled from Iraq, that they’re colonizers, and see how far you get. I think you captured an important aspect of that. If you want to positively change reality you have to have an accurate model of it. I’d love to talk to you one day, I also think we’ll have plenty to debate.
Hi Imaan, I am an Israeli Columbia student. I enjoyed your piece. I come from a pro-Palestinian family; we always voted far-left in Israeli elections, one of my first memories is a peace protest, and conversations among my friends and cousins since October 7 has been centered on how do we solve this issue and build the best future possible for Palestinians. But I’ve been incredibly baffled by the conversation on campus, which seems nothing like the reality I know on the ground. Like, try to tell the Arab Jewish side of my family, who are still bitter about being expelled from Iraq, that they’re colonizers, and see how far you get. I think you captured an important aspect of that. If you want to positively change reality you have to have an accurate model of it. I’d love to talk to you one day, I also think we’ll have plenty to debate.