Six months after heated clashes brought the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to the forefront of campus dialogue, student groups are planning to bring speakers to campus aiming to promote the objective debate that many students feel is lacking at Cornell.

“Things became too polarized [last semester],” said Cornell Israel Public Affairs Committee President Jennifer Fishkin ’10. “It’s never been our goal to polarize the campus in a Pro-Israel or Anti-Israel setup.”

Following the Gaza War that ended in January, a display was erected to memorialize lives lost in Gaza on the Arts Quad. Subsequently, campus-wide debate ensued and the display was vandalized. In addition, CIPAC put up a display of its own and held a rally.

Fishkin noted that traditionally, CIPAC and other student groups take a passive and objective approach to addressing the conflict.

“What happened last semester was really out of the ordinary for this campus,” she said. “Cornell as an institution is devoted to understanding cultural norms and narratives, and this is evident in every department and course of study.”

In this spirit, Fishkin claims CIPAC is open to students of varying backgrounds and opinions who self-identify as Pro-Israel.

“As a student group, every member of CIPAC has a different point of view on the issues,” she said. “Our aim is to educate students and foster an understanding of the complexities of the region and the many Pro-Israel and Israeli perspectives.”

Mandy Kain ’10, president of United for Peace and Justice in Palestine, said that education is the primary prerogative of her organization and that presenting an objective viewpoint is essential.

“Calm, collective dialogue is much more effective at moving forward than just yelling at each other,” she said. “Last semester’s dialogue wasn’t constructive because it was heated and focused on emotions rather than the facts.”

Kain also stressed the importance of facilitating open debate on campus in order to galvanize students.

“A combination of academic and more active approaches is necessary in order to stimulate discussions and make students aware of the facts and statistics they don’t know,” she said.

She cited panel discussions, speakers and meetings as effective tools that could be followed by open discussions.

Both the CIPAC and United for Peace and Justice in Palestine have plans to bring engaging speakers to campus this semester.

UPJP will bring Netta Mishly to campus on Sept. 29. Mishly, an Israeli refusenik, chose to go to prison rather than enlist in the Israel Defense Forces. She will speak about her refusal and the refusenik movement.

“Netta Mishly will present facts and show how many Israelis are opposed to the occupation,” said Kain.

On Oct. 5, CIPAC will co-sponsor a lecture by Jared Cohen on his travels and meetings with youth in the Middle East. Cohen, a member of the State Department Policy Planning Staff, will be speaking in his personal capacity as author of Children of Jihad, discussing how youth are affected in the region by extremism.

“It is our prerogative to promote an academic dialogue on campus, and speakers such as Jared Cohen do just that,” Fishkin said.

Despite the supposed efforts of these student groups, many feel constructive dialogue has yet to take place on campus.

“I have yet to see any open dialogue on campus about this issue,” said Josh Schwartz ‘13. “It seems to me that the students who care are polarized and not open to different viewpoints.”

Adina Rubin-Budick ‘13 is one of many students seeking a forum to openly discuss both sides of the conflict. As a member of Hillel, she regularly attends Shabbat dinners and other functions.

“I feel really uncomfortable discussing politics at Friday night dinner,” she said. “I want to be able to actually discuss viewpoints and put things on the table without having to feel guilty.”

Rubin-Budick, who is double-majoring in Psychology and Near-Eastern Studies, sees the value of objectively looking at and discussing both sides of the issue.

“We need to be able to have constructive debate without resorting to senseless arguments and hatred,” she said. “I hope to find a place on campus where this is possible.”