Robert Mendel

Sandra Laub (Aug. 21, 2025) : "My play “Picking Up Stones: An American Jew Wakes to a Nightmare” dramatizes what this man says so succinctly. "  

(click this title to view his video:) - It Is Time to Take the Palestinian Narrative More Seriously

Transcript: "Some may feel that if you acknowledge Palestinian claims, you risk fueling anti-ionism.

But our Zionism shouldn't be so fragile,it can hold multiple perspectives at once. 

While many Palestinians view Israel as illegitimate, we often ignore Palestinian experiences.

But this binary is a trap. 

When education excludes Palestinian voices, it leaves us unprepared. Zionism thrives on truth, not selective history. 

Reading Rashid Khaledi's Palestinian identity or watching the present doesn't make you less Zionist. 

It makes us more informed.

Acknowledging Palestinian laws doesn't mean we agree with their claims or change our position. 

Instead of trying to keep the Palestinian narrative out of our institutions, we should introduce it in a way that will strengthen rather than weaken our goals and values. My own Zionism has been transformed and strengthened by moving beyond the us versus them dominant narrative. 

I've become a more knowledgeable thinker, a more credible analyst, and a more influential proponent of policy ideas intended to safeguard Israel and its future without trampling the future of those on the other side of the conflict.

By engaging with Palestinian stories, we develop a resilient Zionism, unafraid of the other side's perspective.

Ultimately, challenging narratives don't break us, they build us. 

For my more in-depth analysis of this topic, check out the latest edition of Sources, a journal of Jewish ideas from the Shalom Hartman Institute, where you'll also find other insightful pieces on the issues that matter most to the Jewish community."