“I feel very helpless.”
Hillel Campus Director Sara Frost, like many others on campus, is having trouble coping with the loss and trauma of the Israel-Hamas War. She has family in the war zones.
“It’s really taken a toll on me because I have all these students that are all also very much affected by it with all their friends and family there,” Frost said. “I’m trying to be strong and it’s very difficult when I’m also going through a hard time as well.”
For Rabbi Arnold Samlan, chief Jewish education officer at the Jewish Federation of Broward County, this conflict brings back memories of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
“When I was in Israel in 1973, there was a song that became very popular. Translated from the Hebrew, it was called ‘The Last War.’ It was a father singing to his child that ‘I promise you, my little one, this will be the last war,’” he said. “And 50 years later, to see that that war was not the last is very disturbing.”
This map illustrates the areas of conflict.
Cassidy Zangwill, senior biology major and member of the NSU Progressives Club, a politically oriented group supporting social justice, is Jewish and has family and friends living in Israel.
“I was raised very culturally Jewish, but, on the other hand, I’m a pretty staunch leftist, and so I have been in support of Palestine since the beginning,” Zangwill said. “I don’t necessarily agree with Hamas either. I think the idea of decolonization is a good thing, but the way that Hamas is going about it is completely unethical.”
Zangwill has seen some tension between students concerning the war.
“The NSU Sharks for Israel [Club] was arguing with our NSU Progressives Instagram, and there was a conflict going on between the two pages with people with different opinions,” she said. “So, there’s been internet discourse, even locally, at NSU about it.”
Lior Zeitoun, senior biology major and co-president of Sharks for Israel, a Jewish organization standing up against antisemitism, said the discussion was less effective than she would have liked.
“We have had a conversation with NSU Progressives and, to be honest, that conversation was not really helpful,” she said.
Zeitoun also said she has seen antisemitic content on social media.
“Students that are not 100% informed of the conflict post things that they have seen, which, if you post something, you really do need to do research before you post it,” she said.
Many students disagree with choosing sides.
“I think the idea of coming to America builds the promise that there will be no hatred because that’s what we all want. We’re all Americans at the end of the day. We don’t look at each other as ‘Oh, you’re from this place, so I should not like you.’ At least the majority of us believe that,” said Adam Tamsis, junior legal studies major.
Ava Pollac, sophomore psychology major, agreed that placing blame causes more turmoil.
“There are people in Palestine who are obviously also being hurt, and they’ve been hurting for such a long time,” she said. “What Hamas is doing is not okay at all, but for everyone to just keep taking a side and not show sympathy to both sides, I think that’s also adding to the violence.”
Amanda Furiasse, assistant professor in the Department of Humanities and Politics, said the conflict has little to do with the religion of each side.
“I’ve been seeing a lot of people blame religion for the conflict, which I think is wrong. There’s nothing inherently here that is the result of religion, and we need to push back and challenge those arguments,” she said. “When you look at the history of that region, Jews, Muslims and Christians lived together in peace for thousands of years.”
Mary Hope Schwoebel, associate professor in the Department of Conflict Resolution Studies, agrees.
“We all believe that human rights apply to both sides. If it doesn’t apply to both sides, it isn’t human rights. So as for conflict resolution, we’re going to be as concerned about what Israel does to Palestine as to what Hamas did to Israel,” Schwoebel said.
Schwobel said that this conflict is not about Jews versus Arabs or Jews versus Muslims.
“This is not a religious conflict. It’s an identity-based conflict, a political and economic conflict. It’s really about territory and land,” she said.
Furiasse also expressed the need to consider the larger global context of the conflict.
“What I think we need to resist and push back on [are] those reductionist arguments that leave out these larger political, geographical, economic issues and the idea that this region is inherently prone to conflict,” she said.
Hillel, Sharks for Israel and Chabad at NSU collaborated for a vigil on Oct. 9, lighting candles for those killed in Israel. These clubs also collaborated with the Jewish Law Students Association, the Jewish Association of Health and Medical Students, Mishelanu, Delta Phi Epsilon, Sigma Delta Tau, Phi Sigma Sigma and the Marriage & Family Therapy Club to host a fundraiser for Magen David Adom, Israel’s national medical emergency, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service.
“I’m doing the best that I can to help as a club,” Frost said. “We [Hillel] have done a vigil, we’re going to be doing a walk, we’re doing a fundraiser. So, we’re trying the best that we can.”
Som Khesav, senior biology major, grew up with both Israeli and Palestinian friends and said that peace seems distant.
“I think that both sides should try to come to a compromise. But seeing as how the historical events led up to now, I don’t see that happening anytime soon,” he said.
Samlan said it’s important for everyone to remain educated on the conflict in the meantime.
“People need to rely on information that is historical, that’s accurate,” Samlan said.
He hopes for a better future.
“All people in the Middle East, all people in the world, deserve peace and deserve to live in a peaceful world,” Samlan said.
Furiasse is also optimistic.
“Peace will return to that region,” she said.
Milani Wetjen contributed to this report.
History of the Israel-Hamas conflict
On Oct. 7, the Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an attack on Israeli civilians, with hundreds of gunmen infiltrating communities by land, sea and air. Israel declared war and began retaliatory attacks shortly after.
This unprecedented attack was not the beginning of the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Muslims, Jews, Christians and other populations shared the currently contested land in relative peace until the early 1900s, when Britain took control of the region. This “British Mandate for Palestine” contained many populations, including Mizrahi Jews (of North African/Middle Eastern descent), who had historically lived there, according to Amanda Furiasse, assistant professor in the Department of Humanities and Politics at NSU.
At this time, Zionism, the movement to form a Jewish state, particularly containing Jerusalem, was gaining traction. Between the 1920s and 1940s, especially during the Holocaust, Jewish migration to the Arab land grew. This led to Arab-Jewish tensions in the region, according to ABC.
Tensions and violence culminated with the Arab-Israeli War in 1948, when Israel officially declared statehood. Israel won this war, creating a massive Palestinian refugee population. Palestinians call this event Al Nakba, or “the Catastrophe.” The land was divided into three parts— Israel, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Palestinians mostly lived in the West Bank and Gaza, according to BBC.
In 1967, Israel and the neighboring Arab states fought the Six-Day War, after which Israel occupied Gaza and the West Bank. In 1987, a group came together in Gaza to fight against the Israeli occupation and establish an independent Palestine. This group was named Hamas, and it often targeted civilians, according to George Nelson Bass III, assistant professor in the Department of Humanities and Politics at NSU.
After Palestinian revolts, Israel sought to control the Palestinian population and put Gaza under a heavy blockade. Violence on both sides has deterred negotiations and peace . Now, Israel and Hamas are in the midst of their deadliest battle yet.
Compiled by Nicole Shaker
For a more detailed timeline, scan this:
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