Topic of Discussion

Today in Journalism the topic of discussion was 9/11 and the fact that the American media failed in answering the "why" leaving Bush to answer it for the public with an oversimplified and ideologically beneficial explanation.
Terrorists are evil. They hate our freedoms, so they attacked us. We need to go into Iraq, kill the terrorists, and free the people.

The professor argued that maybe if America had dealt with relations in the Middle East better that it could have prevented the attack. An example of a poorly handled issue was our relationship with Israel; the fact that we ignore the illegal actions they take against the Palestinians. He argued our support of Israel was one of the many things that ticked off the terrorists and caused 9/11.

It was sooooo strange for me to sit listening to a professor speak out against Israel in any way. Every teacher, every adult, and nearly every peer I've had in life so far (excluding one Fairhaven student and one Palestinian girl I went to school with) have been either pro Israel, or didn't know enough to have an opinion. Plus, I experienced the other side when a terrorist set off a bomb in Haifa, where I lived. Our city was always known as the safe city, so when it happened there I actually begun having fears of riding on public buses or waiting in any public space. Then for a period we had to carry gas masks around with us on the daily and have a safe room with plastic covered windows and syringes that would save our lives in case of a chemical attack.

So, after speaking with him in his office about the recent project, I brought it up. I told him exactly what I felt...that it was strange for me. I told him I generally consider myself open-minded but that today's lecture made me stretch a little further. I told him that there really are two sides to it and that I lived on the other side of the conflict. He agreed and went into detail about all the intricacies and the possible solutions. Luckily I didn't come off as offended that he had spoke out against Israel's policies. I wasn't. I actually just felt odd hearing it. I feel like I could sympathize with either side because clearly both have been wronged.
At the end of the conversation he thanked me for sharing.

I guess I realized those five years in Israel made me a little patriotic for that country. It was home.