In the article "New Hope for Israel as Hamas Falters," Danny wrote that "Hillel and its spectrum of political groups should respond by co-sponsoring discussions with Al-awda and the Muslim Students' Association. Events like these take place every week at college campuses across America, and the university must support programming that encourages respectful debate on current events." I am a member of an organization called Kavanah. Kavanah is a group of people that is dedicated to peaceful dialogues, to promoting co-existence, and to educating ourselves and others about what is really going on within the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.

As Danny hinted at, Kavanah falls within Hillel's spectrum of political groups on campus. For this reason, it is often assumed that we, as a group of mostly Jewish students, are not going to be open-minded about many issues. In the case of Kavanah, this assumption is completely false. I am writing to the paper to inform the students at this university that we, Kavanah, are looking to find a group to sit down and talk to us. We are looking for open-minded, respectful people-whether they be Muslim, Christian, or simply people who are dedicated to trying to find a peaceful solution to the conflict and to improving the lives of ALL the people who live in that region. If anyone at this university is ready to take on this challenge with us, if anyone is willing to work on educating both our group and themselves, and if anyone is willing to dedicate themselves and their time to this critical issue, then please contact me at [email protected] I am both ready and willing to set up a diverse group of students to discuss these important issues, and I am excited and hopeful that someone will respond to this letter.

Thank you, Jodie Honigman Member of Kavanah