To faculty, students, and all members of the Wesleyan community:
At 2 AM last Friday night, as he crossed the street at Brown, my wonderful friend Avi was killed by a drunk driver. Avi was a twenty-one year old freshman; he arrived at Brown this fall after having moved to Israel and served in the Israeli Defense Forces for three years. After he finished his service last summer, we all let out a sigh of relief that he was safe- which makes his dying in Providence all the more painful. Yet despite the gnawing “what ifs” that understandably surface in these situations, I am glad that Avi chose to attend Brown. He arrived at Brown motivated to make tangible changes to the way campuses treat the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict.
Avi believed that resolution is only possible through multi-voiced dialogues in which both sides feel represented. He was working with a Palestinian student to create a new course at Brown about conflict narratives. He wanted to unlock the two-side-divide; with an open mind and a lot of passion, he attempted to truly communicate, to truly listen. After only five months at Brown, Avi propelled forward a conversation that often results in a standstill. He was already making waves, and I truly believe he would have followed through on his projects at Brown until he changed the nature of this discourse.
As I sat at Avi’s funeral just yesterday, I found my sadness only slightly overwhelming my growing sense of inspiration. My own commitment to Wesleyan’s Israel/Palestinian dialogue has always wavered; even after starting the Pro-Israel Advocacy Group this fall, I quickly shied away from responsibility. The campus’ response to the group – animosity, skepticism, attack – exhausted me. When I told Avi about this just a month ago, he was disappointed, reminding me that this work is never easy, but it’s important. I wanted to do something, to show this campus that I care about peaceful, two-sided dialogue, but didn’t quite have it in me. Yesterday at the funeral, though, I realized that the best way to honor Avi now is by trying to continue what Avi started.
I propose a new method of conversation about the Israel/Palestinian conflict at Wesleyan. ALL are invited to participate, no matter what your opinion is on the issue. There will be an open meeting next Wednesday, February 24th at 7:00, in Usdan 110, where all are welcome to share personal stories: Why do you care about Israel/Palestine? Where do you stand on the issue? How have your opinions changed? What would you like to see happen on this campus? We will listen to each other generously and empathically in order to further dialogue, not obstruct it.
I believe that in hearing others’ stories, we will better understand how we can improve Wesleyan’s engagement with Israeli/Palestinian activism. By meeting others who care about this issue, we will open the opportunity to form meaningful relationships. By listening to other’s opinions, we will better acquaint ourselves with the nuances of this deeply personal and complicated conflict, allowing for more powerful action and more successful work.
This meeting has no political agenda and is not affiliated with any pre-existing groups on campus; it is simply a venue for open conversation unassociated with any one side. I aim to create a space for mutual sharing, because only through working together will we enact any change on our campus. If we can accomplish this here, it will have impact far beyond Wesleyan. As Avi’s father taught him, “an enemy is only someone whose story you haven’t heard yet.” So, Wesleyan, it’s time to listen.
(For some of Avi’s words, please look at http://www.standwithus.com/app/iNews/view_n.asp?ID=1218)