Hillel hosts consul

Regarding the conflict in Gaza, the Israeli Consul General to the Mid-Atlantic United States has… Regarding the conflict in Gaza, the Israeli Consul General to the Mid-Atlantic United States has three things to say to college students. ‘There was no alternative; Israelis entered into this with a heavy heart. Second, the objective was to bring peace to Israel,’ said Daniel Kutner, Monday during a talk at Hillel, the Jewish University Center of Pittsburgh. ‘ ‘ ‘ The third point he tried to get across to the audience was that ‘the enemies are Hamas, not Palestinians in the Gaza strip.’ Kutner spoke to a group of college students who hailed primarily from Carnegie Mellon University and Pitt about the situation in the Middle East, as well as the reasons behind Israel’s attack on Gaza and its current cry for peace. Kutner said the majority of students aren’t educated about the situation in Gaza. ‘It’s an uphill task to show the context of why [the attacks] happened; to show that Hamas is’ taking fighting to the heart of civilization.’ ‘ Kutner also spoke about the recent agreement to ‘declare the end of hostilities and withdraw from the strip.’ ‘I’m not sure we destroyed the Hamas world view, but their capabilities were destroyed,’ said Kutner about the effectiveness of the attacks. ‘ The talk followed a meeting held on Hillel last Wednesday, where student leaders in the Jewish community at CMU and Pitt spoke about their stance on the conflict and how to respond to the protests for Palestine supporters. ‘ ‘It started as a discussion,’ said Carly Adelmann, president of Hillel at Pitt. ‘Students were unsure how they were feeling themselves, they all had different perspectives, some students were rallying, and others weren’t.’ ‘ Aaron Weil, executive director of Hillel, said the discussion provided ‘the context students needed to converse about a wider, global issue.’ ‘ Although there have been loud protests on both sides of the conflict, ‘Students for Justice in Palestine and Hillel have much more that unites them rather than divides them,’ said Weil.