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The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

The Student Newspaper of DePaul University

The DePaulia

Political organization promotes discussion on foreign conflict

DePaul University is now one of the many colleges across the country with a JStreet U chapter, and they have senior Cole Eastman to thank. Eastman is the student responsible for taking on the difficult task of bringing a JStreet U to DePaul.

JStreet U is a political organization that discusses the Israel Palestine conflict, as well as other broad issues in the Middle East. Their mission statement, according to Eastman, is to “change the political discourse regarding the conflict on campus and therefore hopefully change American foreign policy toward it in some fashion…what we are trying to do is moderate the conversation about how to actually create peace.”

Eastman has been interested in the Israel Palestine conflict for several years, and was disappointed with the discussion on campus about the conflict.

Eastman believes that the discussion has either been about being pro-Israel and anti-Palestine, or pro-Palestine and anti-Israel. He feels that it is important for there to be a middle ground when it comes to this topic.

“It really irked me that there wasn’t somebody who was talking about it in more of a logical and moderate fashion,” Eastman said. He feels that Israel has a right to exist, but it does not have a right to occupy Palestinian lands in the West Bank.

After Eastman came to this realization, he discussed it with one of his professors at DePaul, who told him to attend an event with John Ging, a worker for UNRWA, the United Nation Relief Workers Association.

The event, in which Ging gave a speech about educating children in Gaza about creating healthy economic transactions between Israel and Palestine, inspired Eastman to learn more and he later introduced himself to Daniel May, the director of JStreet U.

Eastman began talking to May, who eventually, threw out the idea of bringing a JStreet U group to DePaul.

“It just kind of snowballed from there,” Eastman says.

Starting the DePaul chapter of JStreet U has allowed Eastman to travel and experience things he believes he would never have been able to before. Earlier in the school year, he traveled to New York for a leadership conference, which was for all leaders of different JStreet U organizations to come together and discuss their strategy for how to approach bringing JStreet to campus and how to expand and reach out to new people.

He has also attended conferences in Washington D.C. where he and fellow leaders discussed some of the radical rhetoric that has taken place on campuses across the country.

Eastman’s only connection to the Jewish faith is through his father so he is not technically Jewish, however, as he grew up, that half of his family was highly influential towards his religious beliefs.

“I think I speak for my brother and myself when I say our religious upbringing was complicated. I had the option of being bar mitzvah’d or confirmed at 13, and ended up doing neither,” Eastman said.

Eastman, however, feels a strong connection to the conflict and helping resolve it. “It’s weird it’s like in my blood,” said Eastman.

While Eastman enjoys discussing the conflict and hopeful resolutions because of his background and connection, he still admits that leading the JStreet U can be very time consuming. Eastman spends half of his time on JStreet U and the other half is spent on work for his classes, leaving not a lot of time for social activities.

Zack Eastman, 25, Eastman’s brother says, “Cole’s always so busy that I barely ever see him anymore, but I’m glad that he got the opportunity to be a leader of a group like this because for as long as I can remember he has always been interested in politics.” Zack continued by saying, “in fact, all he ever talks about is politics, I can’t get him to shut up about it.”

Eastman is planning on graduating next fall with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. He hopes to build a career in politics, specifically having to do with conflicts in the Middle East, and he hopes that his involvement and all of his work that he put into the DePaul chapter of JStreet U will help him to achieve his goal.

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