Blanket generalizations detrimental to creating productive on-campus dialogue
Mar. 8, 2015When J Street U at UF was asked to endorse the vigil in memory of three Muslim students murdered at UNC Chapel Hill, our Executive Board unanimously gave its support. As an organization which supports a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — one Israeli, one Palestinian — we were shocked to find ourselves accused of supporting the “systematic murder of Muslims in Palestine and the Middle East” and as an organization that “actively perpetuates Islamophobia,” as Students for Justice in Palestine’s op-ed accused last week. Those hurtful statements reflect a deep misunderstanding of the principles for which J Street U stands. The piece also made a number of blanket statements that fail to distinguish the nuances between different Jewish and pro-Israel organizations, which have different strategies and missions. Our organization, J Street U, is the student organizing arm of J Street. We strongly support the well-being and self-determination of the Palestinian people, as well as Israel’s future as a Jewish, democratic state.
