Today, my college sociology course went to shit over the I/P conflict.

While it wasn’t really the fault of the group that was presenting, they unwisely brought up an incident in the West Bank and wanted the class to compare 2 different news articles (to talk about the role of mass media, etc).

The second they said the topic, I knew I was for a rough ride. The girl next to me, who’s Jewish and Israeli was also bracing herself. The group presenters had the class anonymously list words that they felt encapsulated the incident, and to no surprise, “colonizers, genocide, and imperialism” were among the most popular.

“Conflict” was used a fair amount, which I think is accurate. But then, one girl went on a rant about how “conflict” isn’t the right word, because Israel is committing genocide and colonizing Palestine. She also said it would be like calling the war in Ukraine a conflict, basically saying Israel’s actions are equivalent to Russia.

I was livid. The israeli girl called her out and asked what she meant by genocide, and the other girl kept on spewing bullshit. The Israeli girl stormed out of class, and so did I a few minutes later. Thankfully, The professor did address what the person was saying and gently called her out, but when the student kept saying it was colonization, that was when I left.

Me and the other girl who left have been talking it over and supporting each other through it. It’s so hard to describe how horrific that experience was. I was shaking and thought I was going to be sick. The other girl had a panic attack later. We both felt unsafe it that classroom. My friend who’s also in that class has been so supportive, and I’m grateful.

We’ve both emailed the professor about the situation and are trying to find a way to prevent what happened in class from happening again. I’m just so glad the professor is supportive.

I’m so tired of the bullshit people pull with their “anti-Zionist not antisemitic” arguments. I feel so betrayed by my fellow leftists at times. I’m so tired.