Although the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict may seem far removed from our community, which is nearly halfway across the world from the Gaza strip, senior Oliver Silver, who is Jewish, says our community should “absolutely” care about the conflict.
“Jews have not been killed on this scale since the Holocaust. Thousands of people including Americans have been murdered by Hamas and taken hostage, it has now escalated to a full on war in the Middle East that could have global ramifications,” he said.
On Oct. 7, militants from Hamas – a Palestinian political group in the Gaza Strip – invaded Israel and killed more than 1,400 people. Israel has responded with weeks of bombings that have killed more than 5,000 Palestinians, according to the United Nations.
This is the most significant recent attack in a much larger, years-long conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Silver noted mixed reactions among the student body and said seeing a lack of support towards Israel has been “disheartening.”
“We have some students here who are very connected to the Jewish community in Israel. We also have multiple students who identify as Muslim, I imagine those students might feel nervous right now,” said AP Comparative Government Teacher Mrs. Cheryl Kyrias. “The North Shore has large percentages of both Jewish and Muslim people so we are more connected to the issue than some may think.”
Jewish and Palestinian students and alumni are not the only ones affected by the conflict in our community. The tragedy has sparked important humanitarian discussion in households, classrooms, and more recently, student organizations.
The Human Rights Club discussed the crisis in their Oct. 12 meeting. Club members watched a neutral video to gain unbiased background information on the situation before diving into discussion.
“It is important to set boundaries before a conversation like this. With both Jewish and Muslim students sharing conversation in the room, it was important to create a safe and respectful environment,” said President of the Human Rights Club Sophia Zar.
Among other topics, the biggest takeaway the club had from the conversation was the importance of media literacy.
“A big issue with crises like these is that our first thought is often to repost the first thing we see on social media platforms,” said Zar. “When major world events break out, students tend to be immediately bombarded with information. We discussed that when the goal is to spread education, it’s imperative to decide what exactly that helpful information is. Being intentional with what we repost and share online is crucial to
being responsible members of society – especially in this digital age.”
As the capabilities of AI technology grows by the day, thousands of artificially produced videos have been cycling through the media, spreading false information and making it even more difficult to decipher reliable information. LFHS alum and 2023 graduate Alia Attar recently attended three protests in New York City. An Arab-American, they have strong ties to the conflict and agrees that consumers of news must apply media literacy in situations such as these.
“Those in Gaza are asking people to make noise and share their pain to bring awareness. It is crucial that we apply media literacy in a time where so much intentional misinformation is spread through technology like AI,” said Attar.
According to an article recently published by The New York Times, Hamas is believed to be holding at least 200 people hostage in Gaza.
One of them was a recent graduate of Deerfield High School, a short drive from the West side of Lake Forest. 19 year old Natalie Raanan was visiting family in Israel at the time of the weekend attacks and was reported missing along with her mother, according to a letter sent to the school community by principal Dr. Kathryn Anderson.
The Israeli government confirmed Oct. 20 that Rannan and her mother were released but are reportedly facing medical issues.
The United Nations and other international organizations have expressed concern about a deepening humanitarian crisis. The tragedy has sparked conversation about fundamental human rights, a conversation that has stretched across the world to the community of Lake Forest.
“I think the only stance the HRC [Human Rights Club] can possibly take is the unconditional condemnation of senseless killing of civilians, and the unconditional support of human life,” said Zar. “If anything positive can come from this, within our community, I hope it’s unity.”
