Conversation rather than Confrontation: Campaign Update

Some of your comments:

'UJS handing out Palestinian flags is 'ignorant' and 'painfully naive'

'we must note that if we believe in a 2 state solution and peace, we must recognize the flag of the other state...'

'I agree with UJS in that previous advocacy attempts on campus haven't worked...I tried on my campus and it was awful, no one will listen to u if you don't recognise Palestinians as a nation!'

'UJS are in pure self-denial.'

'I hadn't heard about this until now, and unable to find out any more info other than a JC article on the subject...UJS have made a radical and bold step...and i believe credit is due to them for going through with this, and making a bold statement...we might actually be onto something, and see some much needed reconciliation on university campuses, where it is desperately needed.'

'I hope that this gesture is notice by the Palestinian Societies and Islamic societies out there--and I hope that they reciprocate by showing their support for a 2-state solution, a recognition of the good that Israel does, and perhaps finally we can start to put aside the needless conflict that has besieged university students for decades.'

'The concept of 'Am Yisrael' blindly supporting something is quite naive. Since when are Jews ever united on something? If Jews cannot be tolerant of other strands of their own religion within their own people, it seems absurd to expect them to take a single line with regard to anything else.'

'Nobody's coercing Israel into a two-state solution. Israel has repeatedly reiterated its commitment to the two-state solution and that is the official line from the Israeli government on resolving the conflict. The same goes for the US, UN and PA. There is practically nobody out there who is gunning for a one-state solution...there are people who do support a one-state solution, but-like it or not- that position has become increasingly marginalised and is not the mainstream view of world Jewry, and indeed Israel, towards resolving the conflict.'

'Probably the aim of UJS- to support peace and equality for all. I believe strongly in the idea of a two-state solution whether it is idealistic or not is another matter, but i think what UJS have done is good in a way because it shows a commitment in getting both Jews and Muslims, on campus talking, which is a very important thing to do!!'

'It seems to me that the UJS approach is basically, 'if you can't beat them, join them.' You are essentially allowing the Jewish student body (who are supposed to represent) to be bullied into taking a particular position, which many if not most do not support.'

Our response to your comments:

One of the key aims of this campaign was to get people talking, and there is no doubt that it has done exactly that.

As the range of comments above shows, the views expressed are simply a microcosmic reflection of the Jewish community as a whole: there are as many views expressed above as individual comments.

Fundamentally, we are campaigning for the freedom, justice, and equality for Israelis and Palestinians through two states for two peoples.

UJS has advocated supporting a two-state solution since the 1970s and represents the view of 78% of Anglo-Jewry.

Why have we decided to do this?

The tone of the conversation about Israel within the Jewish community is something which we have found deeply troubling. It is not an issue that unites Anglo-Jewry, but an incredibly divisive issue.

There is an enormously wide spectrum of views which range from how the conflict should be solved (i.e.one state or two) to the detail of how we talk about Israel. It is clear that we support a 2-state solution, but we do think that how we talk about Israel on campus is in need of reassessment.

'Hasbara', from the Hebrew verb 'to explain'- has been the way that Jewish students have traditionally engaged with debates with regard to Israel. This approach does not win the debate on campus, or make a dent in changing the conversation in that forum. It needs to be challenged on two counts: firstly, It offers a one-size-fits all Zionism, and secondly, it means that students do not have the tools that they need to engage with campus debates as they now stand. With this verdict, it has been sentenced by UJS, to having its stronghold over the minds of our students overturned by our new campaign on Israel.

As in any conversation, there has to be an exchange of views from both sides.

Every week across university campuses, people are- either through ignorance or malice- suggesting the de-legitimisation of Israel. Zionism, it needs to be remembered, was and is the liberation movement of the Jewish people and in order for the space on campus to change from one of confrontation to conversation, we would do well to remember this.

There needs to be a distinction between fair criticism and those that simply wish to bring down Israel and disregard both sides of the story.

Our campaign aims to start a new dialogue on campus and within the Jewish student community, foster an understanding of both Israeli and Palestinian narratives, and offer positive, pro-active ways for students to invest in a two-state solution. We want to start the conversation, broaden our tent and get our community properly engaging with and discussing Israel.

Our central concern is always to ensure that Jewish students are free from hatred on their campuses, and are able to express their identity in the way that they choose, including their views on Israel.

Point of clarification:

With regard to the Palestinian flag issue we would like to say that we are not just handing out flags. There will be one Israeli flag and one Palestinian flag as part of the 'campaign kit' which can be optionally used on a campus who decides to accept the campaign. This is not a campaign which we are enforcing across all UK campuses; it is just our ideas on how to change the confrontational nature of campus discussion on Israel to a conversation. The flags are simply decoration to resemble the two states. To complete this clarification, this is not the same as the freshers' packs, which are entirely different. The campaign has not yet even come to campus and freshers' fayres are currently underway. These are two very distinct things for those of you who have expressed concerns.

You may not agree with it...but you can't deny that it has managed to get the conversation started......

Keep watching this space for new news on how the campaign is developing throughout the term.