Israeli journalist Gil Hoffman yesterday afternoon offered a positive take on Israel's future in a discussion that addressed the Israeli−Palestinian conflict.
Hoffman, a political correspondent and analyst at The Jerusalem Post, delivered his lecture, titled "Reasons For Optimism: Why Americans Should Be Confident About Israel," in Eaton Hall. In front of a full classroom, Hoffman praised the achievements of the Jewish state, criticized U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and offered a positive outlook for Israel's future.
"I'm proud to be here in a liberal atmosphere on a college campus," Hoffman said. "More than ever, being a liberal American today means being pro−Israel."
Tufts Friends of Israel hosted the talk, which was co−sponsored by Emerson College Students for Israel and the Hagshama Department of the World Zionist Organization.
In his talk, Hoffman praised the values shared by the United States and Israel, adding that the latter may have a leg up in certain areas.
"Israel takes pride in empowering its minorities, in being the only country in the Middle East with full women's rights, with rights for gays," Hoffman said. "America is in many ways a generation behind Israel when it comes to these kinds of things."
The journalist rejected the notion that Israel must choose between Jewish and democratic identities.
"In the Knesset, they're working to make Israel more democratic all the time, but they're trying to have this balance between Israel being a democratic state and being a Jewish state," Hoffman said. "Those things don't have to contradict each other, though they're constantly redefining how they fit together."
Hoffman termed the United States' actions in the Middle East a "mishandling" of the situation.
"Barack Obama has admitted he has made mistakes in how he has handled the Israeli−Palestinian conflict," he said.
Hoffman criticized the U.S. president for not visiting Israel when he delivered his Cairo address to the Arab world and for comparing the plight of Palestinians to the Holocaust. Obama also accused Israelis of being responsible for the loss of American lives in the Middle East, according to Hoffman.
"That was a statement so offensive to Israelis," he said.
Above all, Obama's insistence on resolving the status of Jerusalem has hamstrung peace talks, Hoffman said. "The one issue that's really prevented things from moving forward is that Obama has put such an emphasis on the Jerusalem issue," he said.
Despite these missteps, Hoffman said the Americans must still play a critical role in the peace process. "It's up to the Americans to make sure the Palestinians come back to the table," he said.
On the subject of the Iranian nuclear program, Hoffman detailed four methods of engagement with Iran — political, diplomatic, economic and military. The first two approaches have failed, and the third is currently being pursued, according to Hoffman.
"The United States and Israel are on the same page regarding how to handle Iran. That's something that definitely gives hope for the future," Hoffman said.
"Obama realizes that you cannot allow [Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad] to get the bomb. He's starting to think about his legacy," Hoffman said. "If Iran gets the bomb, that's what people are going to remember … that it happened on his watch. But if he succeeds in preventing the nuclearization of Iran, then he might even be worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize that he's already won."
Hoffman praised Israel's performance in the face of perpetual regional tensions.
"What makes me optimistic about Israel's future is that even though we don't know where our final borders are going to be, and even though we're still facing the existential threat that's being developed in Iran, that Israel's accomplished so much, in spite of it all," Hoffman said.
Students in attendance had differing perspectives on Hoffman's remarks.
"It's always nice to hear a refreshing voice, and I thought that obviously he was representing the Israeli perspective," freshman Erica Feldman said. "But I like how he accounted for the Palestinian perspective, too, and how he was positive about both ends of the spectrum. That's the only way to make progress — to be aware of both sides."
Senior Tala Kayyali, who asked Hoffman a question about the rights of Palestinians living in areas controlled by Israel, felt that the presentation did not provide a multifaceted view of the conflict.
"The presentation had some good things and, in my view, some bad things about it," Kayyali said. "Obviously, it's clearly one−sided. It's basically an act of propaganda stating how Israel's the most fantastic thing in the world, and it didn't really go into the politics of the other side as much as I had hoped."
"Students here are brilliant," Hoffman said in an interview after the lecture. "They are eager to find out what's really going on behind the scenes in the Middle East. They don't take for granted what they read in American media, which might be a little bit shallow."
"My job as a political correspondent for The Jerusalem Post is to inform people around the world about what's going on in Israel, and this is part of it," Hoffman said. "I've seen colleges that have a little more tension between Jews and Muslims. Here, I saw a Palestinian student sitting next to an Israeli, and that gives hope for the future, doesn't it?"
