Recently, the Israeli American Club (IAC)—of which I’m a member—and the Critical Issues Club (CIC) at my high school debated the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Three members of the IAC took the pro-Israel side, and three members of the CIC took the pro-Palestinian side. During the debate, a film made by each club was shown. The films stated both sides’ main points regarding the conflict, plus their conclusions about rightful land ownership. After the films, the debate teams exchanged questions and rebutted one another’s responses.

During the debate, the Palestinian team used victimization to make its point. Members tried to make the audience feel badly for them; they rebutted almost everything by saying that when bombs go off in their territory, Israel doesn’t let ambulances in, and that’s why so many people are dying. But this isn’t true. Israel doesn’t block ambulances or other emergency vehicles, but they do stop to search them. In the past, Palestinians have smuggled arms inside ambulances, so it’s completely understandable that these vehicles need to now be searched. The IAC spoke mostly of the U.N. partition that offered a land grant to the Palestinians in 1947. But they chose to deny the partition, so why do they deserve the land now? Didn’t they have their chance?

The mediator of the debate was the school principal. In the week following the debate, we had discussions in class about the debate topics. During these discussions, many arguments broke out school-wide on the topic of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and most of the arguments sounded the same. Many people felt the Palestinian side was misrepresented because there aren’t many pro-Palestine teens in my community. Others thought the Palestinian side tried to present itself as being victimized and continually restate the same arguments over and over.

In one of my classes, the question of whether it was “politically correct” to even hold the debate was brought up. We discussed whether the topic is too controversial to be aired in a high school forum. But in my opinion, school is the perfect place to talk about this; school is supposed to be a safe environment where teens can express their opinions and explore intellectual boundaries. There are adults on hand to ensure students’ safety and make sure the forum is conducted fairly. It’s unfortunate that many at my school didn’t see it this way.

The room was almost split. Like me, half thought that having this discussion in school could be an eye-opener for those who are ignorant to what’s going on in the world. The other half thought the topic was a little too touchy and would encourage heated arguments. Unfortunately, my own teacher wasn’t shy in expressing his strong opinion that teens aren’t mature enough to comprehend the “complex” facts of life, and should therefore be sheltered for as long as possible to protect them from reality.

War isn’t a pretty thing; everyone knows that. But to hide it from teens because it’s not exactly politically correct or safe? That’s ridiculous! Parents send their kids to school so they can learn and grow, right? Is hiding the facts going to protect them? I don’t think so. Exposing teens to global topics can only help them learn and grow. To build strength, you need experience. Hiding “politically incorrect” topics is only going to make young adults afraid when they see what the world is really all about.

There was an attempt to silence our opinions as young adults because of the questionable nature of the discussion. As members of the IAC, we wanted to show the student body what we thought about a topic that hits us close to home as Jews, but many didn’t appreciate what we were trying to do. Sheltering teens does nothing to prepare them for a future they’ll inherit in a few short years. We need to learn more than math and English to help us be better people. To effectively learn life’s important lessons, we need to be exposed to the world around us. We need the facts to help mold us into the leaders of tomorrow.

Gabbie Wynschenk is a sophomore at Amity High School. She’s the social events coordinator of BBYO’s Connecticut Valley Region. She loves singing, drawing, painting and writing.