Try more research on the Middle East

On Tuesday, the Times Colonist published five letters disparaging the protest encampments of university students — and not one in support. I hope this letter will spell a change in that trend.

As a professor emerita of community health with a long history of teaching students the importance of democracy to a healthy society, I fully support students’ protests that ask our public universities to divest from companies that arm Israel, a state that the International Court of Justice is investigating for committing genocide. I am heartened that young people from across North America are taking the risk of being involved to try to end a horrible war.

I am troubled by letter writers who appear to be poor students of history and poor readers of political realities. Most troublesome in these letters is the evident intolerance and dehumanization of student protesters, who are young, passionate, intelligent people. There is obviously much to be done to educate the public — perhaps starting with basic lessons on the difference between antisemitism and anti-Zionism, the importance of protest for a health democracy, and perhaps a history of Palestine, commencing with a time before Israel was created.

It is by demonizing people rather than engaging in intelligent dialogue and critical education that democracy dies and civil unrest grows.

Perhaps the letter writers would do well by sitting down and discussing with the students why they are there, rather than assuming they know by sitting in front of their computers, engaging with media that supports their own views, and being annoyed.

And just maybe they should pick up some books, preferably written by Arab authors, to round out their views.

Lori Hanson professor emerita University of Saskatchewan Shawnigan Lake