Sophomore transfer student and Israeli national Adi Timor found herself in an uncomfortable situation last month at a dinner party. At the event, hosted by George Mason University's Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, she found herself sitting across a dinner table from a Palestinian man.
Timor was surprised to hear the man, Rawhi Afhagani, refer to her home country as Palestine.
"I'm used to people saying Israel. I kept nudging my friend at the table and saying, 'Did you hear that? He called it Palestine.' I started to think we shouldn't be sitting there with him," Timor said.
Later in the evening, Timor and Rawhi met personally while smoking cigarettes and began what has so far been a quality friendship, despite their differing nationalities.
"Yesterday, for the first time, (Rawhi and I) talked about the (Israeli-Palestinian) conflict," Timor said this week. "We were able to do so because we're aware of the fact that we are friends."
Timor said this unexpected encounter and friendship was one important factor that led her to establish a new student organization at GW, The Middle Eastern Peace Group. She started the group with senior Mohammad Khateeb, whom Timor calls her "Palestinian counterpart."
MEPG was created as an opportunity for peaceful student discourse about issues that affect the Middle East, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, she said. The group plans on having its first meeting later this month, and Timor said she already has students interested in joining.
"When I got here I was warmly welcomed by the Jewish organizations, and they do a great job at what they do," Timor said. "But at a school like GW, with the Elliott School, one of the best international affairs schools in the country, there was no organization putting Jewish and Muslim students together."
Timor said she hopes to facilitate friendly and open discussion among students who join her organization by utilizing a three-step process.
Timor was surprised to hear the man, Rawhi Afhagani, refer to her home country as Palestine.
"I'm used to people saying Israel. I kept nudging my friend at the table and saying, 'Did you hear that? He called it Palestine.' I started to think we shouldn't be sitting there with him," Timor said.
Later in the evening, Timor and Rawhi met personally while smoking cigarettes and began what has so far been a quality friendship, despite their differing nationalities.
"Yesterday, for the first time, (Rawhi and I) talked about the (Israeli-Palestinian) conflict," Timor said this week. "We were able to do so because we're aware of the fact that we are friends."
Timor said this unexpected encounter and friendship was one important factor that led her to establish a new student organization at GW, The Middle Eastern Peace Group. She started the group with senior Mohammad Khateeb, whom Timor calls her "Palestinian counterpart."
MEPG was created as an opportunity for peaceful student discourse about issues that affect the Middle East, including the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, she said. The group plans on having its first meeting later this month, and Timor said she already has students interested in joining.
"When I got here I was warmly welcomed by the Jewish organizations, and they do a great job at what they do," Timor said. "But at a school like GW, with the Elliott School, one of the best international affairs schools in the country, there was no organization putting Jewish and Muslim students together."
Timor said she hopes to facilitate friendly and open discussion among students who join her organization by utilizing a three-step process.
