The Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion hosted another edition of its Spring Community Conversation events on Tuesday, March 11. This event featured two SUNY Brockport professors discussing the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Palestine.
History Professors Dr. James Spiller and Dr. Carl Davila gave a presentation on the conflict’s history dating back to the late 1940s, all the way up until current day events. A group discussion took place after the presentation between the attending members.
Davila said that genuine conversation around tough subjects like this is something that is needed more often.
“I think it’s always important to talk and have the opportunity to speak your mind and or hear from other people,” Davila said. “It’s always important, and we don’t do enough of it in this country; we spend too much time shouting at each other.”
Although conversation may be rare in present conditions, Spiller believes that it can provide valuable insights and increase the spread of knowledge surrounding conflicts. “It’s also important to learn more about the complex factors behind this terrible conflict so that we can challenge ourselves to better understand and be more constructive participants in solving the problems that beset humanity nearby and far away,” Spiller said.
Regardless of if the conflict occurs within a close geographical range, oftentimes larger scale events and wars have lasting impacts across the world.
“People in Brockport are like people everywhere, people of conscience, and they care compassionately about others as such. Even if something seems far away, we, especially as Americans, who have the most powerful country that has ever existed, are empowered stakeholder citizens of it,” Spiller said. “It’s our responsibility to know, and it’s not so far away, because there are people from that region who live among us as either immigrants or refugees or long term. What has happened there affects our economy, our politics, our social fabric, and to not know about it, to close your eyes is to see the direct impacts on our own community.”
Faculty and staff from the English and History departments were in attendance for the event as they felt this subject of Middle Eastern conflict was timely and an integral part of U.S. foreign affairs.
Spiller emphasized the importance and the need to be informed as a student about worldly issues.
“We live in an age of heightened passion and anger, and we live in an age of more and more misinformation and disinformation. As students at Brockport, we’re among the best educated and privileged people in the world. It is our opportunity and it’s our privilege to try to learn about consequential issues of our time because we have the privilege and obligation of trying to contribute to the solutions,” Spiller said.
Both professors highlighted the upcoming Diversity Conference on April 2, 2025, as an important event with further discussion on the Isreal and Palestine clash, as families from each side of the conflict will be in attendance as part of the event. The presentation will take place from 1:30 to 3 p.m. in the Seymour Union Ballroom.
The Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion has created these Community Conversation events in an effort to have students and faculty engage in dialogue about important topics such as the Isreal-Palestine conflict so they may become more educated on civil discourse, with the ultimate goal of creating a sense of belonging for everyone.
The next Community Conversation event is set to be held on April 22.
