Last week, I travelled to Washington D.C., to attend the fifth annual J Street National Conference. I attended the conference because J Street represents my values of a democratic Jewish state, which is committed to pursuing a two-state solution.
Growing up, I spent 13 years at the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy, 10 years at a Zionist summer camp in Wisconsin, and four years heavily involved in the Midwest Region of United Synagogue Youth. {mprestriction ids="1,3"}Until I graduated from high school, I had a one-sided view of Israel.
During my gap-year program in Israel, I was exposed to what I would describe as the -real Israel. That program, known as Kivunim, took us into the West Bank and along the Gaza border, exposed us to the Palestinian and Israeli narratives through guest lecturers, and showed us both sides of the conflict through visits to settlements and Palestinian communities.
When I arrived at Clark University in the fall of 2012, my observant Jewish upbringing led me to Hillel. But I struggled to understand the conflict and tried to find a group that shared my love for a democratic Jewish Israel. A fellow Clark student told me about a club she had joined called J Street. I went to the first meeting and within a semester was a part of its board.
At the same time, I was continuing my involvement in Hillel. The following semester, the news about Open Hillel began circulating and I found myself stuck between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand, I loved being a leader in Hillel as well as the Clark Jewish community. On the other hand, I was disappointed that our Hillel could not co-sponsor a particular event with J Street because the program was co-sponsoring with Students for Justice in Palestine, a pro-BDS group. When I was elected president of Hillel last March, one of my goals was to create a space where all Jews could feel welcome, regardless of their views on the conflict.
This brings me to the most powerful moment of the recent J Street Conference. Eric Fingerhut, president and CEO of Hillel, had accepted an invitation to speak at the conference. This was an important moment for students across the country who were involved with both organizations. As Hillel president, I was thrilled that the head of Hillel was going to speak. However, Mr. Fingerhut withdrew from the conference at the last minute. It seems that the voices of funders are more important than the voices of the students for whom the organization was created. In reaction, the 1,100 students in attendance at the conference walked from the convention center to Hillel’s headquarters. We had all signed letters to Eric Fingerhut asking him to sit down with leaders of J Street U, the student branch of J Street. After a few student leaders spoke, each of the 1,100 students placed a sticky note on the window of the building that read, “Dear Mr. Fingerhut, you cancelled on ____” with the student’s name. We hoped to show Hillel that there is a large constituency of their students who are involved in both Hillel and J Street.
During the conference, I heard the following: “We are calling for the end to the occupation and the establishment of a Palestinian state not because we hate Israel but because we care so deeply about Israel.” I want to be proud of the democratic, Jewish homeland. Like so many, I want peace between Israelis and Palestinians. I am sad that some within the Jewish community and in Israel do not see peace as possible and have given up hope. I know that education is critical because ignorance fuels much of the hate in this world. We must become better informed about all sides of the conflict so that we can work for peace and maintain the hope — Hatikvah — that has been a hallmark of our people for thousands of years.
Jonathan Edelman is 2011 graduate of the Hyman Brand Hebrew Academy. A junior at Clark University, he is the immediate past president of its Hillel and the son of Alan Edelman and Debbie Sosland-Edelman.{/mprestriction}