This letter intends to depolarize the recent conversations in the Andover community sparked by new advances in the Israel and Palestine Conflict. We, Muslim Student Association (MSA), Southwest Asian and North African Society (SWANA), and Jewish Student Union (JSU) Co-Heads are here to declare our unity and support for each other, and our hopes for the Andover community.
The conflict between Palestine and Israel stretches across decades of history. It is rooted in the responses to anti-semitism and genocide of the Holocaust. It is rooted in the subsequent attempt to overtake Palestine and the displacement of Palestinians to Gaza and the West Bank. More so, neighboring countries, such as Egypt and Syria, have too been impacted. Broader powers, such as the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, often have additional political interests in this quarrel for diplomatic and material benefits.
Our initial silence within the school stems from fear of how we would be perceived and the challenges of lacking a large student-affiliation with our spaces. With an absence of Arab and Muslim faculty and minimal courses on this important, global region, Andover has not been a place to facilitate conversation about these identities. We want to garner action throughout campus—with power and reach to inform the student body.
We condemn the violence on all fronts: the humanitarian crisis, the families being forced to flee, and all the people suffering in the face of this politically charged conflict. We hope to push for critical inquiry, rather than be divided by binary perspectives. If an individual supports Palestinians, that does not mean they support Hamas’s actions. Similarly, the support of Israeli citizens does not equate to supporting Israel’s military occupation of Palestine. It is important to make distinctions between the People of Palestine and the Hamas terrorist group, and the People of Israel and the Israeli Government.
We ask the Andover Community to lead with openness and sensitivity as we navigate this humanitarian conflict. We want to express our solidarity towards all groups on campus that are hurting by opening up to the community to have opportunities for an inclusive and informative dialogue. We acknowledge that this is a challenging conflict to understand, and our unity is crucial in facilitating education towards our communities. Per Andover’s values, we ultimately ask that you all lead with global understanding, humility, and compassion towards others. We are stronger as one.
