Anyone who has been reading the news media and social media may get the sense that the majority of Americans believe there’s really only one group of people and only one point of view that matters when it comes to Israel and Gaza. There are Good People and Bad People, and you’re on one side or the other.
But when you talk to people on the street, as I did in Brooklyn last week, you come away with a more complicated picture. Said one Sudanese Muslim immigrant shopkeeper, “I deal with Jewish people and Muslims every day. Shia Muslims, every day. No problem. Jewish are our neighbors. But we need a solution for our brothers in Palestine.”
I heard some extreme views, too. I heard more empathy for one side or the other. I heard young people and old people expressing little sympathy and even wishing harm to the other side. And I found disturbingly strong support for censorship.
