June 2024
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Where We Stand
10 Ways to Side with Humanity
Who Lit the Fire?
They didn’t start the fire,
It was always burning since their world’s been turning.
They didn’t start the fire,
Without a will to fight it, or an impulse to right it,
The flames will go, on, and on, and on, and on…
Straight From the Heart
The Alienation I Feel
Message from a Gazan to Campus Protesters
In the News
Why the Campus Protests Are so Troubling
Protesters Can Help
Palestinians
Horizon of Hope
Atidna: A Different Campus Story
Unapologetic: A Palestinian Israeli Podcast Amplifying a Message of Peace
New Committee Members
Tamera Drozd
Kareem Al Fadi
Maia Rachel Klara Assaf
Caleb Levine
Yara Huleihel
Tomer Donde
Max Webb
Amal Buqai Kayal
Stav Schnarch
Ariel Burger
Where We Stand
Letter to Concerned Students: 10 Ways to Side with Humanity
The campuses on which you live, learn, and strive to become the people you want to be, have turned into battlegrounds…
As a passionate Muslim and a passionate Jew, we have come together to humbly share a path forward for how to transcend the construct of “us vs. them” and side with humanity instead.
Who Lit the Fire?
Campus Pyre Didn't Ignite Itself: Generation Z Was Born in Strife
Inspired by Billy Joel
Lyrics by Jonathan Kessler
Sorted by Chat GBT
(Verse 1)
9/11, empty skies, Iraqi people’s ceaseless cries, anti-war, voices rise, US soldiers last goodbyes;
Alt-Right’s growing clout, fiscal markets sudden rout, Trump’s tweets, a global stage, Fox News in constant rage.
(Chorus)
They didn’t start the fire,
It was always burning since their world’s been turning.
They didn’t start the fire,
No, they didn't light it, far too young to fight it.
(Verse 2)
Cyberspace, less real life, dating apps, online strife, social media takes the stage, aging boomers never age;
iPhone-ubiquity, TikTok-iniquity, street empowered, Arab Spring, anger spreads, down with kings.
(Chorus)
They didn’t start the fire,
It was always burning since their world’s been turning.
They didn’t start the fire,
No, they didn't light it, way too numb to fight it.
(Verse 3)
Climate crisis, ice caps crash, volcanos spew their toxic ash, storms turn to hurricanes, Weather Service short on names;
Corporate villains cop their plea, eternal plastics in the sea, oceans rise, deserts form, higher temps are now the norm.
(Chorus)
They didn’t start the fire,
It was always burning since their world’s been turning.
They didn’t start the fire,
No, they didn't light it, why don’t others fight it.
(Verse 4)
Tea Party, angry shouts, tiki torches all about, Bernie Madoff’s giant scam, Wall Street occupiers takes a stand;
Black Lives Matter seize the street, those in blue feel the heat, mass shootings, heartbeats cease, all the moms march for peace.
(Chorus)
They didn’t start the fire,
It was always burning since their world’s been turning.
They didn’t start the fire,
No, they didn't light it, were too stunned to fight it.
(Verse 5)
COVID sweeps, masks on faces, workers toil in far-off places, children forced to learn online, kids know they’re now behind;
Test kits, mailed for free, vaccine deniers hit Fauci, supply chain cut, blockchain dashes, Crypto soars and then it crashes.
(Chorus)
They didn’t start the fire,
It was always burning since their world’s been turning.
They didn’t start the fire,
No, they didn't light it, too fraught to fight it.
(Verse 6)
Cosby roofies, Weinstein's cam, Epstein’s island dark and damned, #MeToo on the rise, illuminating traumatic ties;
Women marching in the streets, history sees repeat, Roe v. Wade, rights capsized, Trump’s Supreme Court nominees lied.
(Chorus)
They didn’t start the fire,
It was always burning since their world’s been turning.
They didn’t start the fire,
No, they didn't light it, were too pained to fight it.
(Verse 7)
Stolen ballots mobs insist, Trump incites, thugs resist, QAnon has its day, faithless electors fail to sway;
Proud Boys trained, chaos reigned, Hill stormed, defenders cried, democracy dazzed, almost died.
(Chorus)
They didn’t start the fire,
It was always burning since their world’s been turning.
They didn’t start the fire,
No, they didn't light it, were too scared fight it.
(Verse 8)
October’s fury lit a spark, Kaplan silenced, Israel dark, Zion raged, Pals bled, Hamas hid and violence spread;
Burning with primordial rage, Gen Z has come of age, student campers demand their say, campus admins start to flay, born aflame, all a glow, fanning ambers, demos grow!
(Final Chorus, At Least For Now)
They didn’t start the fire,
It was always burning since their world’s been turning.
They didn’t start the fire,
Without a will to fight it, or an impulse to right it, the flames go, on, and on, and on, and on…
Straight From the Heart
The Alienation I Feel
by Committee Member Steve Sheffey
Many of us feel alienated from these campus protests--including some of the pro-Israel protests and counter-protests--because they fail to acknowledge the humanity of the other side. Where are the protests with Israeli and Palestinian flags?
…
Where are the protests acknowledging that Jews and Palestinians have legitimate claims on the same land, that millions of Jews and Palestinians are not leaving, and that while neither side has to give up their narrative, both sides have to give up their claims on some land that they think is rightfully theirs?
Message From a Gazan to Campus Protesters
by Hamza Howidy
Protests are spreading across the United States at college campuses, where university students are gathering in the name of Palestinian rights and occupying campus spaces with tents. Sadly, not everyone who purports to support Palestinians is truly interested in safeguarding our rights.
It pains me to say this as a Palestinian from Gaza. As my home is destroyed and too many killed, I never thought I would find myself criticizing those speaking up. And yet, I cannot be silent about what I am seeing. The truth is that the manner in which many gather to voice their support for Palestinians does more to hurt our cause than help it.
In the News
Why the Campus Protests Are so Troubling
by Thomas L. Friedman
What Palestinians and Israelis need most now are not performative gestures of divestment but real gestures of impactful investment, not the threat of a deeper war in Rafah but a way to build more partners for peace.
Protesters Can Help Palestinians
by Nicholas Kristof
A thought: Humility is an essential tool in persuasion. The challenge is to take an unflinching moral stance while acknowledging that one may eventually be proved wrong. Holding onto that contradiction curbs the tendency toward self-righteousness and the impulse to shout down others — both of which have persuaded exactly zero people ever.
Horizon of Hope
Atidna: A Different Campus Story
At a time when college campuses have become a battleground between Jewish and Palestinian students and their sympathizers, University of Texas students Elijah Kahlenberg and Jadd Hashem are eager to talk about their identities. And each others.’
Unapologetic: A Palestinian Israeli Podcast Amplifying a Message of Peace
Ibrahim Abu Ahmad and Amira Mohammed host 'Unapologetic,' a new podcast that aims to amplify the voices of Palestinians in Israel who are seeking peace. They explain why the peace camp in the Middle East needs a sense of urgency.
New Committee Members
Tamera Drozd
Tamera Drozd serves as the Director of International Outreach for Challenge - An Organization for Conflict Transformation. She has more than 20 years experience in international youth empowerment focusing on conflict regions of the world.
Kareem Al Fadi
Kareem Al Fadi is a native of Gaza and a dedicated advocate for peace between Israelis and Palestinians. He has been actively engaged in dialogue and reconciliation efforts since participating in a year-long exchange program in the US sponsored by the State Department.
Maia Rachel Klara Assaf
Maia Rachel Klara Assaf was raised in New York City and embodies multiple identities as a Jewish, American, and Israeli high school student. Maia is deeply committed to fostering understanding and reconciliation and is a member of a peace writing group made up of Israeli Palestinians and Jews.
Caleb Levine
Caleb Levine attends Harvard College, where he is pursuing an honors degree in Social Studies and is active in on-campus Israel-Palestine dialogue. He is an alumnus of the Israel Policy Forum's Atid Policy Fellowship and the Bronfman Fellowship.
Yara Huleihel
Yara Huleihel is a Palestinian Arab teen from Jerusalem who embodies the spirit of change-making, equality, and freedom. She has a passion for writing which she uses as an effective tool for expression and advocacy.
Tomer Donde
Tomer Donde is an Israeli Jewish high school student whose academic and extracurricular activities focus mainly on Arabic, Diplomacy, and International Communication. He also studies economics and political science, with a focus on comparative politics.
Max Webb
Max Webb serves as the IPF Atid Coordinator of Leadership Initiatives at Israel Policy Forum. Prior to that, he worked on the project on Arab-Israeli relations at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and as a research aid at Reut in Tel Aviv.
Amal Buqai Kayal
Amal Buqai Kayal lives in Judeida-al-Makr and teaches high school in the Druz village of Yarka. She received her academic degrees at Hebrew University and Haifa University and sees education as a special calling.
Stav Schnarch
Stav Schnarch serves as the co-founder and vice president of IDI - International Diplomacy Initiative - a global organization working to educate future policy-makers and diplomats. Stav, a graduate of governance and sustainability from Richman University in Israel.
Ariel Burger
Rabbi Dr. Ariel Burger is the founder of The Witness Institute. A scholar, teacher, and artist, Ariel integrates deep knowledge of the world's wisdom traditions with practical methods.
