ALEX MORRISON/ THE ITHACAN ASSISTANT PROFESSOR BETH HARRIS, politics, speaks to a full crowd in Textor 101 Tuesday. Harris was one of five people who presented issues surrounding the current conflict in the Middle East.

Dispelling myths portrayed by the media about the current conflict in Israel was the focus of a teach-in Tuesday sponsored by the Department of Politics.

About 120 students gathered in Textor 101 during the lunch hour to listen to five presenters share their knowledge of ongoing hostilities in the Middle East as part of the teach-in “Explosion in the Holy Land: Stories Behind the Headlines.”

Assistant Professor Chip Gagnon, politics, opened the forum by giving background information on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians that he said is not presented in the media.

Gagnon said the media often falsely attribute the violence to “ancient hatreds” between the two groups, while he said the actual causes of violence are never really explained to the U.S. public.

Gagnon said in 1948, 750,000 Palestinians were expelled from their homes in present-day Israel. The conflict in Israel is understandable — not irrational violence as it is often portrayed in the media — because there are two different claims for the same territory, he said.

Associate Professor Asma Barlas, politics, delivered a Palestinian viewpoint, which she said is largely absent in the mainstream media.

“I bring perspective not brought in mainstream media,” Barlas said.

Barlas listed a number of concessions that Palestinian Prime Minister Yasser Arafat has made that she said have not been made known to the public in mainstream media such as allowing Israeli military presence in certain territories, and agreeing to not having a Palestinian army.

She said the peace process is portrayed as whatever policy the United States is currently pursuing. Israel receives more aid from the U.S. than any other country, she said.

Students also joined faculty on the panel. Aron Gutman, who lived in Israel for seven years and is the program director of Hillel, spoke of the different viewpoints among the Jewish population in Israel. Gutman said the Israeli government has the expectation that the Jewish community will unite and support the government in all that it does, but said that is not necessarily true.

Gutman spoke about Peace Now, the largest of the Israeli peace groups, which calls for “just peace” in Israel and withdrawal from occupied territories.

Gutman later gave his ideas as to why many of the views discussed in the teach-in are often not present in the mainstream media.

“The media looks at sensational things like violence, and it does not look at the historical sense,” he said.

Gutman said the media tend to deliver issues the way the government wants the issue to be portrayed.

“I hope students keep an open mind and that this stimulates public discussion on campus,” he said.