UJS Op-Ed RE JLC Trip to Ramallah

By Carly McKenzie 

This December UJS organised its first Jewish student visit to Ramallah since the Oslo Agreement. The trip formed part of a 10 day programme in Israel and the Palestinian Territories focusing on Israeli history, advocacy and conflict education facilitated by a broad range of opinions including those on the extreme left and far right.

I was pleased to hear that the JLC chose to follow UJS’ lead and was planning a trip to the West Bank this February. It is important from the position of Jewish students on campus that the leadership of our community is seen to be intent on developing its knowledge and understanding of the current situation, challenging expectations and taking reasonable and mainstream positions on the Middle East on behalf of the community that reflect the realities on the ground.  

There were tangible benefits to the JLC’s programme. The NGOs that the group were due to engage with often provide the fuel and rhetoric that drive the campaign of hate on UK campuses that our members have to deal with. Positive engagement with groups outside of the camp we deem as ‘safe’ and ‘pro-Israel' would have been an excellent tool in the battle against the delegitmisation of Israel.

The postponement of the JLC trip is disappointing but not surprising. Legitimate debate is often stifled by certain quarters of our community too intent on trotting out the same tired arguments which do nothing to help Israel’s cause or capture the minds of students both Jewish and non-Jewish. Ensuring only their voices are heard has built a false impression of what is, in reality, a broad range of views held by UK Jews. If students are able to see the benefits of honest education, by truly engaging with the narratives of the conflict then are our supposed elders and representatives unable to do so?

Furthermore, the actions of those involved in the creation of a UK version of J Street to publish a petition attacking the Board of Deputies’ position on a two-state solution are well-meaning but clearly irresponsible.

Making the two-state solution argument a left-wing narrative forces people to pick a side when really, it is the only realistic and just solution to a divisive and destructive conflict. This reflects the desires of residents in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank as well as UK Jews as recent reputable polls have shown.

I very much hope that the JLC trip will go ahead. Not because it is supposedly left-wing and not to allow its participants room for self-congratulation but because as campus shows, engagement with the other side of this conflict makes the most effective and informed advocates for Israel.