I have found that Middlebury College is a wonderful place to be Jewish. Since my sophomore year, I have been actively involved in Hillel on campus, where I have not only met great people and had a lot of fun, but also engaged meaningfully on issues facing Jewish students and the Jewish people more generally. I know that Hillel on some campuses, especially those with larger Jewish populations, can dominate Jewish dialogue in a way that might alienate some, but I am proud that the identity of our Hillel dynamic, attempting to incorporate the diverse views of our membership. My conversations within Hillel both formally and informally have been open and respectful, based on thoughtfully-informed opinions. I appreciate such maturity, especially when issues are divisive and contentious.
One such issue came up this past week. After our weekly board meeting, we all got an e-mail from one of our members which voiced her concern about an Israeli flag that we hang outside our space. Her argument was that this flag is a symbol which does not represent our members nor our mission on campus, which is to support the campus’ vibrant Jewish community. In response, some argued in favor or taking it down. Our experiences as Jews in America have informed us that the Israeli flag is hardly a benign symbol. If such a politically–charged symbol is the only one visibly representing Hillel to the campus, then perhaps it denotes that our organization accepts too narrow of a view of Judaism, one which isolates those who do not support Israel or who don’t want it to be associated with their Jewish identity. They also argue that it makes it more difficult to hold interfaith events, as this symbol to some people denotes a very specific set of political views that may be antagonistic to their own. In certain respects, I find this convincing: I want Hillel to be open to all kinds of Jewish identities. However, allow me play the devil’s advocate. I propose that our Jewish center should be a safe space for Jews to express support of and pride in Israel; some Jewish students may not have any other semi–public spaces where they can express these beliefs openly. Taking the flag down might therefore alienate Jewish students with these views who feel like they cannot come to Hillel to talk about them. Moreover, I believe that any meaningful interfaith discussion on these issues should accept that some people are proud of and support the existence of the state of Israel. Having these opinions does not translate into unwillingness to re–evaluate beliefs or accept alternative narratives as legitimate. If an Arab or Muslim student group were to invite Jewish students with these opinions to an interfaith discussion, they should also feel free to put out a Palestinian flag. Instead seeing these flags as hostile symbols, I challenge students to evaluate them more thoughtfully, understanding that discussion of controversial issues is meaningful and productive if they accept the validity of a multiplicity of differing opinions.
I look forward to a robust debate at our next board meeting.
