How the War on Gaza is disconnecting Carver Students 

Tensions are rising among teenagers in America about the war between Gaza and Israel, leading to increased arguments and hostile feelings towards friends. For some, friendships have ended over their disagreements.

“Amnesty International’s report demonstrates that Israel has carried out acts prohibited under the Genocide Convention, with the specific intent to destroy Palestinians in Gaza. These acts include killings, causing serious bodily or mental harm and deliberately inflicting on Palestinians in Gaza conditions of life calculated to bring about their physical destruction. Month after month, Israel has treated Palestinians in Gaza as a subhuman group unworthy of human rights and dignity, demonstrating its intent to physically destroy them,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International.  

Three high school students at Carver are focused on  promoting understanding and addressing issues related to Zionism and imperialism. Ahmed Ali, E&S Senior,  wants more people to understand the importance of educating people about history to foster a cohesive society.  

“I think that the American people are in a state of trust with the country of Israel. Obviously, it's very dangerous to say you should not trust the country, because that is something that you know leads to mistrust. And you know, mistrust breeds hatred. So that's not something I want to come out of my mouth. However, I think that, you know, as an American, you should take a step back, have a little bit of critical thinking and just figure out, why is this agenda being pushed on me so much, and why is this, you know, anti Islamist, anti Palestinian agenda being pushed so strongly upon us as American citizens, and hopefully that, you know, you could just take a step back and figure why there's actually a connection and not a disconnect." 

If we simply just take a step and figure out ways that we can maintain peace within a region with history and all the context within those regions put asidemore students can understand the importance of having a voice and making a change in this world.

and conservative mindset. 

Another E&S student, Balsam Adam, emphasizes understanding and educating others with differing beliefs before distancing herself. She highlights the significant loss of Palestinian lives, with over 45,000, including many women and children,  and one who advocates for global solidarity and criticizing restrictions on studentactivism, citing instances of expulsion and violence against students protesting for Palestinian rights.

 “I feel like as students, we need to use our voices more, and especially us, since we're seniors, we're going into higher education. There's a lot of restrictions, especially in some colleges. For example, last year in Swarthmore, students were getting expelled, and they're being expelled even now for even speaking about Palestine. If people bring up Gaza or Palestine, they're automatically labeled as anti semitic when they're only looking at what's going on from one side. And even last year, in Colombia, where they were going on mass protests, students were literally getting pepper sprayed and sprayed by Zionist officers who aren't even like Americans. And they got away with that. And then on top of that students are getting expelled for just speaking out and it's literally your first amendment right so it doesn't make sense. If we were all to change our actions, the world could actually change to be a better place, and I envision myself doing this for the rest of my life.” she stated.

Educating people on the true history of this conflict, and having an open mind with your friends and family. Understanding one another’s perspective and different beliefs is important in making this world a better place. It’s important to encourage a better sense of critical thinking and break away from American propaganda and the desensitization and impact of social media.

"I think that if you educate people on the true history and how things have led up to this point in the world, you're going to have, a more cohesive society where people can speak to each other on a much more understanding basis, rather than just, believing what we want to believe or what we see on the news.”