Israeli Students Reflect on a Speech

Obama's Challenge

By Mohammed Khalaily

Mr. Khalaily, 23, is an Arab medical student at Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba. Originally from Sakhnin in northern Israel, he is involved with the Peres Center for Peace.

Obama mainly discussed three topics in his speech: security, peace and prosperity. When he started talking about security I felt as if [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu had disguised himself as Obama and was giving the speech. Obama repeated the same old statements that we're used to hearing from Netanyahu on a daily basis. I would have preferred not to hear that part of the speech.

After that first tedious and dull part, Obama started talking about peace and prosperity. It was surprising, to say the least: the president of the United States using the word "occupation," a term so controversial to use in the context of describing Israel's policy in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a word that Netanyahu doesn't want to hear.

Moreover, he stated that peace is necessary not only because it benefits the people of Israel, but also because the Palestinians deserve to live in a better reality. I definitely wasn't expecting that from the president of the United States, the country that was Israel's ally for decades and supported its occupation policies constantly. I did not expect Obama to be that courageous to speak the truth that the Israeli leadership was afraid to hear. Obama knows that Netanyahu couldn't care less about resuming the negotiation process with the Palestinians. Thus, it was brilliant of him to state that it is the people's job to demand that their politicians achieve peace.

The occupation will not end and peace will never be achieved by only declaring statements. It takes more than that. The saga between the Palestinian people and the American government that suppressed them for decades, along with the Israeli government, will continue. Obama must prove that he's different from his predecessors. He must compensate the Palestinian people for turning his back on them and not recognizing the state of Palestine as an observer state in the United Nations. As long as he doesn't do so, he will be remembered as just "another" president of the United States.

A Call to Our Leaders

By Jonathan Helderen

Mr. Helderen, 25, is a mechanical engineering student at Ben-Gurion University. He served as a combat soldier in the Israel Defense Forces.

I came with no expectations. I thought we were going to hear the same old song, only this time from an excellent rhetorician. I wasn't entirely wrong, but I was definitely in for a big surprise. Instead of speaking as usual about the Israeli and Palestinian governments and what the leaders on both sides should or should not do, President Obama talked to me. He talked to my friends beside me. He talked to the young, motivated Middle Eastern students who wish to finish school, find a good job and start a family. It doesn't matter where these students are from, Ramallah or Tel Aviv. At the end of the day, we all want the same basic thing — to live our lives in peace and to prosper.

President Obama told us that the next chapter of our story as a nation is in our hands. "You — the young people of Israel — must now claim the future," he pleaded. He is right. Now, with a new Israeli government and with a strong American administration, more supportive than ever, we have to make the change. I call on my leaders: use this window of opportunity that is filled with renewed hope in the light of this inspiring speech. Listen to your people, to the young generation. Help us write a better future.

A Window of Opportunity

By Moshe Ashkenazi

Mr. Ashkenazi, 28, is a law student at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem who was raised in the ultra-Orthodox sector of Judaism known as Haredi in Elad, in central Israel.

Barack Obama's decision to give his main speech to students in Israel created quite a storm in all the country's student associations. The long-awaited speech became the most popular show in town. Whoever was lucky enough to obtain a ticket to the event felt like they'd won the lottery. It's hard to describe what it's been like this past week; unprecedented excitement that peaked during tonight's speech.

We got hit so hard with "Obamania" for many reasons. Obama is inspiring and a role model for many youths internationally, and we Israelis are no exception. His personal story and being the first black American president still amaze and arouse a sense of "touching history." His charisma and phenomenal rhetorical ability only add to his halo.

Strong as they are, these reasons alone do not explain the enormity of this visit's effect. The secret is the precise timing – the beginning of Obama's second presidential term and the establishment of a new Israeli administration. A "window of opportunity" seems to be in the air, something we haven't experienced in a long time and certainly not during Obama's first term, during which all critical subjects for Israel and the region stagnated.

Obama decisively delivered the goods we were waiting for. Like the Obama who managed to sway millions of young people in the U.S., tonight he also spoke the language of the young and infused them with spirit and hope, this time in Israel. Will this hope be fulfilled? Time will telll.

Heartache and Hope

By Maria E. M. Naser

Ms. Naser, 23, is a Palestinian student. Having completed her English studies at Tel Aviv University, she is now studying gender and women's studies.

I closed my eyes after 10 minutes of President Obama's speech hoping that when I opened them the next time, I'd see and hear a different story. I was wishing to hear someone who was aware of both sides — the Israeli and the Palestinian, someone who would address me when speaking to the audience, someone who would say Jews and Arabs, not only Jews.

I had a heartache: as an Arab sitting in the third row, after spending seven hours driving on the roads and waiting under the burning sun to attend his address and aspiring to find peace in his word; coming to Jerusalem with great effort to give Mr. Obama a chance to prove that he is the man who might bring change to this country. While listening to the first 15 minutes of his speech, on how the Jewish people suffer and how they always lent a helping hand with no one to appreciate it, when we all know this is not the whole truth.

My ache was eased when eventually he revealed the ugly truth: of how both peoples are suffering; how the Palestinians' right to live life has been stolen from them, knowing that the parties that rule them don't represent them. He shared with us mesmerizing moments he spent with Palestinian girls and young people. The applause was a bit lower, but there is still hope, since both Arab and Jewish youngsters gathered today with aspiration to make a change and to make peace.

He spoke of peace, of how it's possible, how we, the future leaders of tomorrow, can make it happen. We have to speak louder in order to affect the people with authority.

His address got me into swinging moods; first I felt humiliated and disappointed, then I left the hall with some hope that maybe, after all, tomorrow can be a better day.

A Renewed Sense of Potency

By Nimrod Ben-Zeev

Mr. Ben-Zeev, 27, is a master's student in Middle Eastern and African history at Tel Aviv University and is involved with the Peres Center for Peace.  Born in Jerusalem, he has lived in several cities in Israel and spent three and a half years as a child in Canada.

President Obama did yesterday in Jerusalem what he does best — he stirred up a vital commotion of hope and a sense of agency, which many of us Israelis have been lacking, certainly when it comes to what is termed here as "politics" – war and peace. He energized the room with his presence and his words, even when they were harsh, because he spoke to the defining elements of our (still) mostly secular identity. By reiterating the story of Passover and the miraculous successes of Israel, he won over the room, and when he flipped the mirror and shined the light of those foundational myths on the lives of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza, many were unable to resist. He managed to make us see ourselves in the Palestinians, disarming, if only briefly, the dehumanization of conflict. He spoke of "justice," a term avoided like the plague by most Israeli politicians, those who still discuss "peace" at all, and received applause, not scorn.

What's more, he managed to make us, the young people sitting in the room, lose our self-image as victims, nurtured by Israeli politics and politicians, and replace it with one of capacity and capability – to effect change, not be fearful of it. We regained our ability to hope, and with it came a sense of our responsibility and potency that many of us have been shunning for too long, including vis-à-vis our political leadership. Now it's our duty to deliver.

Peace Is Made by People

By Tal Cohen

Ms. Cohen, 23, is a student in the Marc Rich Honors Program in the Humanities and Arts at Tel Aviv University who lives in Modiin. Born in Jerusalem, she has also lived in Turkey and participated in an exchange program in the United States.

President Obama did his homework, managing to master nuances in the Israeli culture — historic and contemporary. He began the speech mentioning the "Israeli SNL," commenting that the tension between Netanyahu and him was all staged for them to use. For me, this wasn't just a gag. It seemed that since Wednesday there was nothing but smiles and a close friendship between the leaders, while their problematic relationship is known to all. Acknowledging the tension allowed me to listen to his address with more ease, not feeling I was being fooled.

Obama spoke of "the strong bipartisan support for Israel in America" repeatedly, receiving loud applause every time. I became worried. What was the purpose of this recognition? Israel and the U.S. have been strong allies for years now. Is he trying to gain the trust of doubtful Israelis? Or is this addressed to our enemies? I was getting uncomfortable. Then it came.

He did not spare the Israeli government from criticism, and firmly pointed out that there needs to be change. He made it clear that peace was needed and that it was the only option. Besides encouraging Israel to pursue diplomatic resolutions, rather than defensive reactions, Obama indicated that he understood the complexity of the process, and assured his support.

Addressing a crowd of mostly students, the president inspired the understanding that peace is to be made by people, as well as by governments, and that we, the students, have a major role in making it possible. There is hope.

Obama Takes the Easy Route

By Kevin Rosenblum

Mr. Rosenblum is an M.B.A. student at Tel Aviv University who moved to Israel from Belgium nearly 10 years ago. He and his wife have a 2-year-old son.

It is often doubted by Israelis how sincere President Obama's support for the Israeli cause truly is, especially when compared with his predecessor. However, the audience's enthusiasm prior, during and after the president's speech revealed that he is, nevertheless, immensely popular.

He attempted to gain the confidence of the crowd by persistently showing to what extent he understands what we are going through, and this was very much appreciated. Only after appeasing us with the two issues that people here are generally most concerned about, the nuclear threat from Iran and the explosive situation at our northern border, did he reach the point where it became clear why he wished to address Israeli students in particular.

He wanted us, the young generation, to pressure our government to make concessions in order to attain peace with the Palestinians, Arab Spring style. But Jerusalem is not Cairo, and Israel is no autocracy. The Israeli people have just elected their leaders, and none of them deny the right of Palestinians to self-determination. So if no negotiations are going on, and if no up-to-date road map for peace is brought forward, to what end should we exactly push our government? President Obama has stated that politically, the easiest thing to do would be putting this issue aside. By not detailing how Israel's interests would be safeguarded in case of an agreement, and by delegating this task to us, he has done exactly that.

The Power of Language

By Nana Ariel

Ms. Ariel, 27, is a graduate student and a lecturer in arts and humanities at Tel Aviv University. She lives in Tel Aviv with her partner and their 5-month-old daughter.

Obama's speech in Jerusalem can teach the Israeli leaders a thing or two about public speaking. A politician addressing the public directly, clearly and eloquently is not a common occurrence in the Holy Land. Obama presented an inspiring idealistic vision, bravely related to the immorality of the continuing Israeli occupation, and called for a deep change of consciousness, yet avoided any explicit criticism.

The expectation of many for Obama to be our rescuer from a leadership of peace refusers, to re-earn his Nobel Prize in the Middle East, is a false one. Obviously constrained by multiple interests, among them the bear hug of the Jewish American lobby, Obama can't, not now, maybe not ever, break the limits of polite diplomacy. The Israeli public could save itself only by actively and stubbornly demanding social and political justice. As Obama said himself, it is the public's responsibility to push its politicians to take risks.

Obama can't save the inhabitants of this land from self-destruction, but he can demonstrate, and did so in his speech, the power of language to build dialogue. It is the power to unite the people not on the basis of the victimizing collective memory of the Jewish past, but on hope for a better future. Obama called on the Israeli public to write its own history using empathy and identification with the suffering of others, to soberly see that peace is necessary, just and possible. The future will tell whether Obama's exiting rhetoric could be transformed into significant civil actions.

A Future Without an Army

By Ron Fain

Mr. Fain, 31, a graduate student at Tel Aviv University, is from Raanana, Israel.

A few short days ago, I got the e-mail notifying me that I would get to meet President Obama. Tiring long lines and tight security procedures didn't spoil my excitement. As a young kid growing up in Israel, I learned through books and movies about the American people, culture and history. Not so long ago, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. stood proud against discrimination and oppression. President Obama, and the fact that he was chosen by the American people to lead them, symbolize a new and modern meaning of the phrase "the right to freedom and the pursuit of happiness."

Seeing and hearing the American president up close and personal led me to believe that the same astonishing change that Obama made in the United States can be achieved in the Middle East. After hearing Obama's speech, I am sure that he will try to put his mark and make a change in the Middle East.

There is an old Israeli saying that parents say to their young children: "When you will grow up, there will be no need for you to go to the army." Mr. Obama, please make it so. Please help the Israeli parents fulfill their promise to their young children.

I'm excited to take even the smallest part in the change I so hope Obama will bring to the conflicted Middle East.

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