Dear Shalom,

Thank you for posting the response by Sylvia Barack Fishman, Steven Cohen and Jack Wertheimer to Michael Chabon’s recent commencement address. I think that it is important to note that aside from the response by professional educators, not all of the HUC students were willing to sit through Chabon's speech. One student, Morin Zaray, has published an explanation about why she walked out entitled: Why I walked out on my graduation.

An excerpt:

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For someone who presents himself as an intellectual steeped in nuance, Michael Chabon has a remarkable ability to present a one-dimensional reality in which the Jews are evil oppressors and the Palestinians are powerless victims, with no agency, no responsibility and no blame.

Such a careless disregard for depth and complexity dishonors an institution of higher learning — particularly a Jewish one and particularly on a graduation day. I wish we would have heard from someone such as Yossi Klein Halevi, who, in my opinion, best captures the complexity of an intractable conflict and makes me think rather than just react.

In recent years, watching the same caricature that Chabon painted displayed across the global media has only renewed my determination to share the story of the country I love, with all its challenges.

In June, I begin my career in the Jewish nonprofit field, guided by two truths: To live as a Jew at a time when there is a Jewish state is an incredible miracle, and this miracle is not the black-and-white narrative people like Michael Chabon would have us believe but is full of complicated, challenging and fascinating colors.
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[atlantajewishtimes.timesofisrael.com]

It appears that some students have a more nuanced view of the Israeli reality.

Alyssa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/13/2018 07:09AM by mlb.