While engagement with the Israel-Palestine conflict has increased dramatically since the Israel-Hamas war started on Oct. 7, 2023, it is far from a new topic at Tufts University. The Daily’s website includes articles on the subject dating back to 2000, and I am sure that many more exist in the physical archives of the Daily and other Tufts publications. Since at least 2000, the terms “pro-Palestine” and “pro-Israel” have graced the pages of the Daily and existed within the discourse on our campus.
With only two options, people tend to align themselves in favor of one side and against the other. This same “us vs. them” mentality has led to increased polarization between Republicans and Democrats in the United States. Heightened levels of Islamophobia and antisemitism show the tangible effects of this polarization and the dehumanization that stems from it. At Tufts, students who sympathize with both perspectives have been invalidated by their peers. One Jewish student noted on Sidechat that they could not express worry for their family in Israel without their comments being construed as “supporting genocide.” Meanwhile, a comment on the Muslim Students Association’s Vigil for Palestine post states “How about the hostages?” which implies that Muslim students cannot or should not mourn the deaths of Palestinians without referencing the Israeli hostages.
But pro-Palestine and pro-Israel platforms are not mutually exclusive — depending on the definition you have for each. “Pro-Israel” can include those who unequivocally support the military actions currently being waged in the Gaza Strip, where over 34,000 Palestinians, the majority of whom are women and children, have been killed. These actions have been taken by a government that has dehumanized Palestinians by deriding them as “human animals” and wants to erase “the Gaza Strip from the face of the Earth” — rhetoric that has been used to argue that Israel is committing genocide. Meanwhile, “pro-Palestine” can include those who would like to see all Israelis removed — through unclear and possibly violent methods — from the whole of modern Israel, along with the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. Many positions lie between these, from calls for a ceasefire to those still hoping for some version of a two-state solution.
Even in Israel and Palestine, opinions vary much more widely than these two phrases suggest. Palestinian support for Hamas has dropped sharply from 46% in December of last year to 34% as of this March. In Gaza, support for “armed struggle” has dropped sharply, and many more Gazans are now in favor of a two-state solution. Meanwhile, though most Israelis continue to support the war, approval of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and its policies is dwindling, as many blame him for prioritizing his own power over negotiating a ceasefire deal to get the hostages released. At a rally of around 50,000 in Jerusalem in early April, calls rang out for Netanyahu’s resignation.
Now more than ever, our campus is deeply divided. Of course, many students remain uninvolved, but the most vocal on both sides of the issue — claiming the aforementioned labels — have driven the discourse. As I see it, the pro-Palestine and pro-Israel camps have largely been identified by their most extreme voices. That’s not to say that Tufts students don’t hold some of the more extreme views on the conflict — many do. But by pushing this binary, both sides lose support for their most popular goals.
At this point, a majority of Americans disapprove of Israel’s military actions in Gaza and oppose sending more military aid to Israel. Yet, many students, Jewish and otherwise, feel alienated from “pro-Palestine” groups on campus that they feel have been antisemitic and have expressed support for the violent destruction of Israel. Some students have made antisemitic statements on Sidechat, including one post, which reads, “If you support Israel you’re a nazi.” This is not to mention the email from Students for Justice in Palestine, which made national news for praising the “creativity” of the Oct. 7 attacks. Some Tufts students have indicated that, though they consider themselves broadly “pro-Palestine,” they feel that the only space to express that at Tufts is through Students for Justice in Palestine, an organization they feel uncomfortable with for the aforementioned reasons.
Meanwhile, “pro-Israel” students have been calling for the administration to do more to combat rising antisemitism. Antisemitism has certainly increased, and working against it is something many Tufts students value. Yet, some have weaponized claims of antisemitism, weakening our ability to effectively combat it, as argued in a Harvard Crimson op-ed by Bernie Steinberg, former executive director of Harvard Hillel. He argued that there is a “cynical weaponization of antisemitism by powerful forces who seek to intimidate and ultimately silence legitimate criticism of Israel and of American policy on Israel.” Steinberg’s statement referred to how “pro-Palestine” protesters at Harvard were doxxed for being antisemites, with some receiving death threats and losing job offers after several student groups released a statement holding Israel responsible for the Oct. 7 attack. Many of those doxxed were only tangentially affiliated with the groups involved and played no part in the statement. Additionally, here at Tufts, “pro-Israel” students have called Jewish students protesting in support of Palestine “self-hating” Jews or otherwise tried to invalidate their Jewishness. This is inherently antisemitic, and this hateful rhetoric must also be combatted.
Ultimately, I am certain that “pro-Israel” does not define my views on this issue — I could never be in favor of a state that is causing the scale of death and destruction we see in Gaza. Yet, the “pro-Palestine” movement at Tufts is not one I’m comfortable with either. Many of my peers feel the same. As the conflict worsens and the death toll mounts, I urge the Tufts community to stop restricting itself to an alienating binary in order to do more — through discourse, advocacy or donation — to aid those suffering in Gaza right now.
