Asaf Romirowsky's Talk

I remember sitting in the airport when I saw it announced on the news that Hamas had won the election. I remember having heard about this election when I had visited Israel so few weeks prior, and I remember knowing that this was a huge step backwards for Israel and its hopeful peace. I remember the people sitting around, some of them looking at the television, others not paying any attention. But most of all, I remember feeling like nothing was ever going to change. The fued between Israel and Palestine has existed for longer than anyone can remember, and the ups and downs have been endless. From countless attempted peace talks to hundreds of elections and every bomb in between, a solution to this conflict is getting to a point where it seems impossible. And I believe the only reason is ignorance.

So many of the worlds problems could be solved if we all just took the time to learn about them. How is it that the fued between the Palestinians and the Israelis actually began? Why is it that the Palestinians do not recognize Israel as a state? Why do they hate the United States so much? How is it that a terrorist organization came to be the majority party in Palestine? Where exactly are we now, and what are some of the solutions to this problem? Obviously, Mr. Romirowsky began to teach us about some of these issues, but there is still so much that I don't know. There is still so much that many of the people working on this issue don't know, let alone the general public. People blame one side or the other based on the easiest way of attaining information, the media, but never take time to truly find out for themselves. I'm just as guilty of this, and I don't even have a good reason for it. I'm almost embarrassed to say that I don't know so many things about Israel right now. I don't even know the name of the Prime Minister off of the top of my head. But it's true, and I bet if you asked much of the Jewish population, even just on this campus, they would find themselves in the same situation as me. Be it a 2 state solution, a 3 state solution, or even something else entirely, education is the place to start. And I know it sounds silly, but after feeling so lost during a simple one hour presentation on the current issues between Palestine and Israel, I find myself finally being frustrated enough to want to learn. It's unfortunate that sometimes frustration must act as a motivator, but whatever it takes, more and more people need to start learning about what is behind the headlines. For Palestinians, Israelites, and Americans alike--without knowledge of what we are facing, there is no hope.