As with every piece of writing, this one is written with a pre-standing bias, and in order to be fair, I should disclose mine before I begin. I’m a Jew and many would consider me a Zionist. I don’t mean this in the traditional sense, but in that I think it likely that I will move to Israel and become a citizen, as is every Jew’s right—and guarantee—since 1948. I’m also an adamant liberal, albeit a cynical one, and have long supported Students for a Free Tibet and other such causes. However, I identify more and more with Judaism than with any other group. I’m not religious by nature, but like many American Jews, I still am very much Jewish.

Since the Diaspora, the exile of Jews from Israel, Judaism has undergone major change. Its followers, originally centralized around one temple, have scattered around the globe. In order to maintain a Jewish identity in exile, the early rabbis of the Diaspora made the focus of Judaism the return from exile: the return to Jerusalem. In fact, the most practiced part of Judaism, the Passover Seder, the telling of the Jewish people’s exodus from Egyptian slavery and migration to Israel, ends with the phrase, “Next Year in Jerusalem.”

This exile lasted for literally thousands of years until the mid-twentieth century, when a man named Hitler came to power. Nothing has defined the Jewish struggle more than the idea, the reality, that time and time again people have tried to kill us, to convert us, or to wipe us off the face of existence. And every time, the Jewish people have survived, but every time we have been passive.

But after Germany, and Hitler, Judaism made a decision. Never again. Never again will we stand by passively while yet another people tries to wipe us off the face of the earth. Never again will we allow ourselves to be persecuted. The result of this sentiment was Israel, a small piece of land that nobody cared about until the Jewish people decided they wanted it back. In fact, the only people fighting for independence from Britain were Jews, not Arabs.

From here, I think most Macalester students know the story, or at least seem to. I say this because I felt more alone at the end of last year than I have at any other time in my life. I constantly felt attacked by the vast majority of Macalester students, who, it seemed to me, unquestioningly sided with the Palestinian argument. There seems to be a misguided liberal notion that the weaker side in a conflict is intrinsically morally superior. People like Dan Feidt, in his constant blind barrage of criticisms directed toward Israel, and his misconceptions about the meanings and sentiments of “Eretz Yisrael,” seem to be doing just this. In labeling Israel the “big dog” in the area, and the only “modern western nation” in an area surrounded by less industrialized nations, he conveniently ignores the fact that “Eretz Yisrael” is a nation of 12 million Jews surrounded by 200 million Arabs. I could go into detail about what it’s like to live in a westernized, modern world where innocent civilians are daily targeted in bombings, but that is not what this piece is about. This piece is about understanding, and today, for the first time in a long time, I began to understand that. The Palestinian people are living in some of the worst conditions in the world. They’re required to carry identification with them at all times, their travel is limited within their own country, and they live in constant fear. At any time, a soldier could come and tear down their house, search their property, humiliate them, or even hurt them while they make a mad dash to get food to feed their family.

If I were forced to live that life, I could imagine supporting almost anything that would give me the life that every human being deserves. And if I were an Israeli mother who worried everyday about putting my children on a school bus, I could imagine supporting almost anything to protect my children and my way of life.

It’s a circle. Both peoples have sinned, and both have been sinned against. People like Dan Feidt who question whether Israel should exist, and people like Sharon, who question whether Palestine should exist, are not living in this world. The reality of the situation is that they both do exist, and we must move forward from there. Blaming one side or the other, like the man who stood up during the recent speech by an Ethiopian Rabbi and verbally assaulted him, does nothing to move toward peace. It is only when we stop blaming and start forgiving that we will find not only peace, but redemption. My prayer for peace is in Hebrew, but it is for all people. It’s for the Israeli, afraid to go to a cafeteria for fear of being blown up, and for the Palestinian who wants nothing more than the dignity of a home, a homeland, and freedom from fear. Shalom Aleichem.