Amidst the heated debate surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, members of ASU's J Street U — a student organization focusing on discussing solutions to the conflict — hope to provide a space where students can comfortably debate without facing extreme polarization.
There are more than 80 chapters nationwide, and the organization is a branch of the larger, lobbying organization known as J Street.
The organization supports a two-state solution, meaning they want Israel and Palestine to exist independently with permanent borders.
Justice studies senior Emma Hobbs, the organization's vice president, interned at the J Street national office this summer in Washington D.C. She said she hopes the club will promote discussion about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on campus.
"We work on moving campus dynamics to take more responsibility in the things we do to perpetuate conflict and taking steps to end the conflict," Hobbs said. "A lot of times right now on campus it is not a really politicized issue. It's about having it be politicized but not a political divide."
Three students founded the club last school year after a group of them went to a J Street national conference in D.C. in March 2014.
Computer science senior Jonathan Wasserman, J Street U's president, was one of the club's three founding members. He attended the conference with a group of students who were mutually interested in the organization.
He said he became involved in the Israeli-Palestinian debate after his sister moved to Israel and served in the Israeli military. Wasserman said that as a Jew who has a personal history with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, building his club's presence on campus is important to him.
"Hearing what she was going through and experiencing this war and conflict ... really made me start asking questions about what we can do to move toward something that is better for Israelis and Palestinians," Wasserman said. "J Street came into my life as an organization that is trying to support that and build activism, and that is really appealing to me as an American Jew."
However, not every member is Jewish, and club officials said the club welcomes all students. Out of the seven current members, Hobbs said only three are Jewish.
Members hold regular meetings and large events, such as an annual introductory event called "WTF is J Street U," in an effort to increase student awareness of the club and Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Cameron McAllister, the club's events organizer, said he and a small group of local activists met with Rep. Kyrsten Sinema this summer to discuss Jewish representation.
"She's a really important lawmaker and is known as a bipartisan," McAllister said. "It was really cool to get to meet someone that cares about our community. It was good to hear other people's perspectives and how other people described various legislation and other stuff regarding J Street."
Reach the reporter at Garrison.Murphy@asu.edu or follow @Garrison_Murphy on Twitter.
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