Following the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attacks that occurred on Oct. 7, 2023, The Cardinal Times reached out to several students and asked them to reflect on their connections to the conflict.
For more extensive history and context, read The Cardinal Times article Students grapple with issues raised by war written Dec. 18, 2023 by reporter Addison Locke.
Jewish Student Union (JSU) co-president Ben Luria believes that it is important to listen to all perspectives.
“I [understand] a different side than most people [at Lincoln]. I have uncles, aunts and cousins who are all [in Israel] right now dealing with this. It’s just given me the perspective that this is not as simple as I’ve seen a lot of people make it out to be, and it’s a really multifaceted issue that requires a lot of education, ” said Luria.
Luria says that the issue shouldn’t be resolved through fighting.
“The main thing [to prioritize] is just compassion and education and realizing that this can’t be split up simply into oppressor and oppressed. This can’t be split up into enemy and enemy. This has to have [a solution] that we work towards together [without] fighting each other.”
Sophomore Siddharth Modha is a member of South Asian Student Union (SASU).
According to Al Jazeera, the first independent news channel in the Arab world, “the latest death toll stands at 43,362 Palestinians and 1,139 people killed in Israel since October 7, 2023.” This was updated on Oct. 20, 2024.
Modha believes that this number is shocking and difficult to comprehend.
“[The death toll is] rising at such an unfathomable rate,” said Modha. “It’s a wake-up call for a lot of people, but for [others], the number is just too high for them to really visualize how big it is.”
Modha also wants to see more attention on the humanitarian aspect of the war, which they feel is not frequently addressed in conversations surrounding the conflict.
“I just feel like instead of focusing on the humanity of Palestinians, Israelis and everybody in that area, we’re thinking a lot about numbers, statistics, who has the right to own what land and all of that, and I think it’s just detracted so much from what could solve the conflict,” said Modha.
Freshman Nasser Alqassem, a member of Arab Student Union and The Student Union has a personal connection to this conflict. His extended family resides in occupied Palestine.
“[The part of the conflict that affected me the most] was when my family members had to rush out of Palestine,” said Alqassem. “It was when everything started happening, and I think that affected them because it was sudden. Some of them are even homeless right now.”
Alqassem aspires to see a peaceful outcome to this conflict.
“Just call a truce and just stop killing innocent people. And honestly, that is for both sides. I just don’t want the genocide to keep happening,” said Alqassem.
Junior Ruby Berman, another leader of Jewish Student Union (JSU) believes that there is an absence of recognition and resources for students at Lincoln who have been affected by the conflict.
“I think the level of awareness at Lincoln is, quite frankly, lacking. There was no mention of anything on October 7 to help [students’ mental health]. I’ve talked to the Arab Student Union and Students for Justice in Palestine, and they feel the same way. Regardless of who you support, there needs to be more said at Lincoln about the conflict to support families,” said Berman.
Student Unions continue to be a place for students to gain support from peers. A directory of student union, club and affinity group meeting times can be found on the Lincoln High School website.
Other mental health resources are available to students at Lincoln, including the counselors, social workers and the school psychologist who can be found in the counseling center.