We don’t need to agree on Israel/Palestine to work well together.

In my last newsletter, I highlighted the extreme polarization between certain factions of Zionist and anti-Zionist Jews on college campuses. The examples were intense. Each side literally thought the other side was trying to kill them. 

We see this polarization in the Jewish community outside of college campuses as well. On the extreme ends of the debate, one side thinks Israel can do no wrong, and the other side thinks Israel is a scourge on the Jewish people and the world at large. 

I’d venture to say that most of us fall between these poles. I certainly do. But we don’t need to fall in the same place on the Israel/Palestine Opinion Spectrum (™) to be a good match for college counseling. 

Wherever you stand, and wherever your teen stands, my job is to listen and understand. We have a diversity of viewpoints and opinions within the Jewish community, and I am eager to get to know your student and see what they think and how they feel about this stuff. What they need and want from their college experience will follow from there.

In addition to the spectrum of opinions, there is a spectrum of intensity. Some Jewish students feel strongly about Israel/Palestine and how it will affect their college experience, and for other Jewish students, it is low on their list of priorities.

Wherever your student stands, and however intense their feelings are, I am ready to listen.