Little can be added to the narrative of nearly nine months of war between Israel and Hamas from the K-12 world, but one thing is sure: the war weighs heavily on many students’ minds, especially those with family in Israel, reports Daniella Froimzon in the student newspaper at Dr Michael M Krop Senior High School in Miami, Florida.
(school website)“Every day I get more and more calls and texts with bad news,” she quoted one senior as saying. “Just the other day, I was on the phone with one of my best friends, sobbing as we got news his young cousin was killed.”
The Israel-Hamas war is not an easy subject to talk about, whether you’re a parent talking to a child, a teacher talking to a student, or a young adult talking to a friend. It shouldn’t be easy, and it’s made worse by the increased polarization among Americans in general, which makes conversations about any controversial topic more complicated.
“This toxic situation leads to all sorts of issues being greatly oversimplified as if they could be decided with a single click, for or against,” writes Luke Berryman, the founder of The Ninth Candle. This Chicago-based nonprofit organization works with schools across the United States to improve Holocaust education. “Democrat or Republican? Black Lives or Blue Lives? Team Gomez or Team Bieber? … Discussions about something as complex as the Israel-Hamas war are practically doomed before they begin.”
So what should you do? First, any discussion has to start from a position of respect for the vast achievements of all cultures involved: art, literature, math, philosophy, and science. Second, even the Israel-Hamas war has opportunities for agreement, such as condemning the killing of children and other civilians. Finally, just because someone has a personal connection with one side of the war doesn’t mean they hate the other or the people on the other side.
For more student quotes, refer to Daniella’s article.
