by: Emma Helmick
On October 7th, another war between Israel and Palestine broke out.
They have one of the biggest and longest-lasting feuds in the world. The tension between the two countries has been increasing over the years and many events have led to this.
Many American students know little to nothing about what is going on, unaware that the United States is getting more involved every day.
A map of Israel that shows the Gaza Strip.
Photo courtesy of: iStock Images.
“While I know some information on it, I don’t think I have nearly enough knowledge to come to a conclusion on it yet,” junior Elanor Swanson said. “I know it has been going on for years and is a very heavy topic to discuss.”
Schools are not required to cover the situation; if teachers are talking to their students about the conflict, it is their choice.
Unless the content of it applies to the course, teachers will most likely not get their classes involved with it and that leaves many students uneducated on the situation.
“I know some people who haven’t heard anything about it before,” Swanson said. “It is important to know what’s going on in the world around us and it is the school’s job to educate us, so I think if it can apply to a course, then it should be taught in class.”
The feud between Israel and Palestine has been going on for decades and the arguments between them have been piling up over time.
For many young US citizens, this is the first time learning the history of the two places. The war is being mentioned all over the news and on social media.
“I got most of my information about the war from social media and the news,” sophomore Landen Mahkovic said.
Some students do not understand the reasoning for the war. It is most likely due to the lack of information they have about the history of it, and it is difficult to find an unbiased explanation online.
“I would say I know little about what is going on, I try not to pay much attention,” Mahkovic said. “None of my teachers have talked about the war; I think they just don’t want to worry the students.”
The United States military is not yet directly involved, so people do not pose this as a “threat” because it does not affect them.
“So far, the only class where it has been addressed is my International Studies class,” Swanson said. “Every week we have to write about a current event going on somewhere in the world, and lately there has been a lot about the war. So, because of this, I’ve been hearing about all the bombings, countless deaths and conditions the Israeli and Palestinian people are in.”
As of this writing, over 1,400 Israelis and over 10,000 people in Gaza have been killed since the attacks started. These numbers are approximately 70% innocent women and children; at least 30 Americans have been killed as well.
“I have not mentioned it in any of the classes simply because it’s not part of the curriculum,” History teacher Mr. Brandon Roberts said. “When we get to the part in the curriculum and we start to mention the Middle East, I will mention what is going on currently. We’ll talk about what’s going on there with terrorism in general.”
Some teachers may steer away from having this conversation because of the controversy surrounding it and all the background information, but in some cases, it may be necessary for the subject of discussion.
There are many layers to the situation and the history between Israel and Palestine. The conflict started mainly because of territory, but other things go into it such as culture, politics, religion and more. Over the years they have gone back and forth with wars putting many innocent civilians in danger.
“I think the average American does not know much about the true terrors of the war because we have only seen pictures and videos and that’s nothing like actually being there,” Mahkovic said.
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