Last night, about 15 protesters gathered outside of a Hillel-Steinhardt conference room that was hosting a dinner and discussion with the two former Israeli soldiers who have put on a controversial exhibition of photographs about the Israeli occupation.
Mostly members of the Zionist Freedom Alliance, the protesters sang Jewish songs and refused to join the discussion going on inside, citing philosophical differences with the exhibit, called Breaking the Silence.
"We take issue with some of the policies of [the exhibit], and as such, we are not interested in hearing them out," said College junior Brad Rubin, who is vice president of the ZFA.
Breaking the Silence, a collection of photographs and interviews from former Israeli soldiers who served in occupied areas, is now on display at the Rotunda.
"We want to provide a venue for people who feel that this event is not an appropriate one," Rubin said of the discussion at Hillel.
The protest began 15 minutes before the dinner and discussion, which was attended by around 20 people, and the protesters and attendees briefly exchanged words.
One of the Israeli soldiers who served in the occupied territories, Arnon Degani, tried to reconcile with the protestors.
"I want to apologize," he said. "If I offended you, I apologize."
The protesters did not join the talk. Still, the discussion inside included debate about Breaking the Silence's role and objectives, said College freshman Elisheva Goldberg, who helped plan the event.
Reporters were not allowed to enter the dinner and discussion because some of the attendees said they felt uncomfortable, according to Hillel director Jeremy Brochin.
Goldberg helped plan the event after Breaking the Silence officials contacted her about organizing a discussion.
Goldberg saw the exhibition at the Rotunda and took a tour of Hebron, Israel with Breaking the Silence.
She said she believes the dinner and discussion served an important purpose.
"This is an open conversation," she said. "I am a Zionist who plans to move to Israel but we shouldn't support Israel blindly."
Though the event was held at Hillel, it was paid for entirely by the two soldiers, Goldberg said.
