A texting hotline is helping students form their own opinions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Since Hamas terrorists attacked Israel a month ago and Israel continues its ongoing siege and bombing of Gaza, it's hard to avoid the swarm of headlines, social media posts, think pieces and commentary that's flooded the gates of our attention. 

With that onslaught of information comes the inevitable rise of mis- and disinformation—an obstacle to any path of meaningful dialogue. That kind of dialogue is a necessity in places like college campuses, where students should be encouraged to explore different points of view and challenge their own thoughts and beliefs. 

But this current war feels different. Supporters of both sides feel unsafe and students who want to even ask questions about the conflict are afraid of being labeled antisemitic or Islamophobic. 

Shira Hoffer, a junior at Harvard University—which is no stranger to the hostile dialogue—decided it was time to create an environment where students can participate in a meaningful dialogue about the conflict and learn more about a nuanced topic. 

She launched the Hotline for Israel/Palestine, an international open educational texting hotline promoting dialogue for peace. Shira joined All Things Considered host Arun Rath to discuss her effort and the student-led initiative. What follows is a lightly edited transcript. 

Arun Rath: Tell us a bit about how this got off the ground. I can definitely see the need for what you're doing, but at what point did you realize you really needed this?

Shira Hoffer: I was asked by some friends to send out President Claudine Gay's second statement about the events of October 7th. I was afraid that if I just sent it with no explanation, people might incorrectly label me as some, you know, right-wing fanatic. So, I put at the bottom of the email, "I'm a mediator in small claims court and I do dialog work. I know a lot about this conflict. Feel free to text me if you have any questions." And I left my number.

To my great excitement, I was really glad to see that a lot of people took me up on that offer and actually texted me with questions, and that kind of tipped me off that maybe there's a need here for a place where people can ask questions without feeling judged by what they want to know.

Rath: Give us a sense of the questions that you're receiving.

Hoffer: The first question we got, I think, is a really good illustrative example, which is: What is the best solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?

It's obviously a huge question with huge implications. The way that our hotline would answer a question like that—and the way that we have when we've gotten similar questions—has been to say, "You know, that's a really good question. Here's some historical background that you might want to know. Here are some definitions of terms you might be familiar with. Some people are in favor of a one-state solution, and here's an article about that. Some people are in favor of a two-state solution, and here's an article about that."

So, we'll never come out and say, "This is the best solution." We want to give people the tools to come to those conclusions themselves.

Rath: I have two teenagers in my house, and they're pretty smart and plugged in. But, you know, they don't read newspapers. They get a lot of this from social media. And, I'll mention, two Jewish teenagers. What is out there, both in terms of the hate and the misinformation—it makes your head spin.

Hoffer: It certainly does. People who are trying to sort through all of the inputs of news that they're receiving might benefit from texting the hotline and asking their questions because we're able to kind of lay out, "Here's what this side might say. Here's what this side might say. Here's some context for you to understand the bigger picture."

The other goal of the hotline is to promote dialogue, right? So, we always say, "Take a look and feel free to ask us questions. We're always here to have a conversation."

And I think that's a rarity these days too. Is that openness for dialogue across differences? So, that's the second mission of this hotline that we're really trying to emphasize.

Rath: And this began as a student-led effort, but it's gone much broader since then, right?

Hoffer: Yes. It's still student-led insofar as I'm still a student.

Rath: But it's not just students asking the questions.

Hoffer: That's definitely true. We've gotten questions from all across the country and even questions from different countries across the world. And our volunteers, as well, come from, I think, at this point, six different countries.

Rath: Talk about that—how it is spread and have the questions changed? Are they still pretty much the same thing?

Hoffer: It's been really inspiring to see the group of volunteers that we've put together who really have different backgrounds and different perspectives but are united by the goal of promoting education and dialogue for peace.

We've seen, I would say, three different types of questions. The first type is factual: "When did this happen? What is this organization?

The second question has been more analytical: "Why are people saying this? What is the best solution to this?” And from those we kind of abstract and say, “You know, we can't analyze ourselves—we're not political analysts—but here's some information you might want to know."

And then the third type, which I think has been really interesting, has been relational questions: "My friend asked me this. How do I relate to them on the topic, or how do I have a conversation with my kids about such a challenging topic?"

So those, I think, are the three types that we've received.

Rath: What are the kinds of things that you're correcting the most in terms of misinformation that's out there, whether it be about history or what's going on right now?

Hoffer: I don't think that correcting is exactly the right word because there isn't a narrative that we're trying to promote.

A common question that we receive is, "Is Israel committing a genocide in Gaza?” And to that, we won't respond yes or no. We'll say, "Here's the UN's legal definition of genocide, and here are some policies that are going on in the region. Here are a couple of articles that suggest that Israel is committing a genocide, and here are a couple that suggest that they're not. Feel free to take a look and we're happy to discuss further."

Rath: Wow, so you go in-depth, which I guess you kind of have to.

Hoffer: Yeah, I think having the context there for people to look at is really important because all of the events that are happening today, whatever they are, are coming from a long history. The country of Israel is obviously very young. It's been around only for 75 years, but the history goes back way further.

Rath: This is kind of a question from a biased place, but I think it's okay because journalists should be biased in favor of getting, you know, truth out to people. So, my question is: How do we make this trend? How do we get this out to more people?

Hoffer: I think the best way to spread the word is by word of mouth, telling people, "Hey, you have a question, this resource exists."

I think one goal that we have is to spread the resources to high schoolers, whether that's partnering with teachers or partnering with different educational organizations to just show people that this resource exists. And, if you have questions, you don't have to fear judgment or any type of pushback from asking the hotline.

The more people know about it, the more people we can help understand such a complicated issue.