The Israel-Hamas war has hit home with millions of Americans, many of whom have relatives and friends personally affected. As the conflict worsens, polarization has increased tremendously. As pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protests clash in crowded Metropolitan areas, history teacher Sari Beth Rosenberg was asked by her students to choose between “Team Israeli” and “Team Palestinian.”
Her answer? “Team Humanity.”
Rosenberg teaches history at New York City’s High School for Environmental Studies (HSES). She has worked there for the past 22 years, after spending a brief period student-teaching at LaGuardia High School and Stuyvesant High School. Despite being an avid history buff, she hadn’t always planned to teach history. She came to the classroom after careers in book publishing and music entertainment. “It felt like a really nerdy move to then teach history. [I do it] because it was a passion of mine. I love history.”
Teaching in a time of intense political turmoil, Rosenberg says it is crucial that students understand history to dissect current events.
“I love when kids can link what’s going on [in class] to current events,” Rosenberg said. She emphasizes teaching what she calls an “honest history,” allowing students to engage in complexity and the ugly truths of our past.
“Young people are capable of learning about things like slavery,” she said, “but still not completely hating this country and not wanting to invest in making it a better place.”
When approaching controversial topics, however, Rosenberg aims not to promote senseless argumentation or polarization. She favors civil discourse based in thoughtfulness and understanding. “The goal of civil discourse is not to get into some kind of competition and tension, but it’s to promote a mutual understanding.” That’s doubly important when discussing hot-button current events.
“It’s not necessarily that we’re all going to agree on what’s going on in Israel and Gaza,” Rosenberg explained. “It’s that we can come to some sort of mutual understanding so we can learn to live together.”
When Rosenberg returned to her school building after the Oct. 7 attacks in Israel, she sat in on a Feminist Club conversation about the Israel-Hamas War. She was impressed by the civility the students showed, all as teenagers from different backgrounds. “Muslim students, Jewish students, Christian students, students who didn’t know what was going on at the time were having such a balanced, nuanced, and respectful conversation,” Rosenberg described. “Even though they clearly had certain opinions, they were having such a beautiful conversation.”
With a rigorous AP curriculum that left little room for additional material, and the fear of amplifying harmful discord, Rosenberg was unsure whether she should address the topic in her classes. “I was scared to talk about it. Of all things people can’t agree on, it’s like ‘peace in the Middle East!’ so I was definitely hesitant.”
Rosenberg, who also writes for the education news outlet Chalkbeat, was asked by her editor to write a piece on the topic. She was hesitant to approach it on the page as well.
However, when a student asked Rosenberg to choose Team Israeli or Palestinian, Rosenberg was shocked. “Why are we picking teams here? We have to choose between Israeli babies and Palestinian babies. This is horrific that we’re even having this conversation.” The class had gone silent. “The class wanted to hear. I think it was because teachers hadn’t been talking about it, and I don’t blame them, because you don’t want to do it wrong.”
In response, Rosenberg said Team Humanity, explaining that she believes that Hamas’s attack on Israel was horrific, but she felt the same grief for the Palestinians who were killed. However, she made sure not to bring her own political beliefs into the conversation. “It’s not about you, it’s about the classroom,” Rosenberg said. Rather than giving personal opinions, she told her class that she was “more curious about what [they] all think and what [they]’re hearing.”
While these conversations were risky, and Rosenberg was concerned about how her students would react, the open conversation allowed the students to learn and grow. Rosenberg played referee, stepping in when the conversation got too heated.
Ultimately, Rosenberg addressed the Israel-Hamas War because she feels a responsibility to make sure her students feel safe in class. While many organizations have received backlash for not supporting certain sides, Rosenberg believes her focus on humanity was meaningful for students and peers of all different beliefs. However, she emphasized that teachers who do not feel comfortable with approaching controversial topics shouldn’t address them. “If you don’t feel comfortable doing it, don’t do it. Because you don’t want a kid leaving the class feeling worse than when they walked in.”
Along with promoting civil discourse in class, Rosenberg also has a large social media presence, with 20,000 followers on TikTok and nearly 35,000 followers on Instagram. While she had always been outspoken about her beliefs, the Israel-Hamas War has made her cognizant to addressing things more civilly and avoiding the tribalism present with contentious topics. “We need to be having these conversations off-line,” Rosenberg asserted. “If your goal is to actually have a conversation and see where the other side is coming from, it’s not going to happen online.”
Inspired by her conversations with students, Rosenberg hopes that adults can respect the younger generation more. “I’m very sick of older people making these statements that young people who have always known the internet can’t decipher fact from fiction,” she said.
Teachers don’t always know the impact they have, and Rosenberg doesn’t know if the conversations she promotes are helpful. However, she hopes that they were meaningful to at least someone, inspiring them to engage more civilly in the future. “Sometimes you never know your impact, but maybe in five years they’ll remember that conversation and think maybe there’s a better way to discuss this.”
