"We all have to recognize that the nature of war is that there are incidents that occur [that] no one wished would have happened," HSI Vice President Myles S. Brody '01 wrote in an e-mail message. "However, the State of Israel is committed to reducing the amount of casualties in this unfortunate conflict, and we are proud of this commitment. This came shining through when the Israelis gave the [Palestinian Authority] three hours notice before they bombed Ramallah and Gaza City so that they could defend Israel's safety with minimal loss of life."

On the other end of Hillel's spectrum of belief stands its Interethnic Committee, which has reached out to HIS and SAS in pursuit of understanding.

"A lot of people definitely want to see joint programming with the SAS," Beller said. "Some others have reservations about it and wonder how effective or helpful it would be, but I am very optimistic about the upcoming program."

Some of Harvard's Jews said they felt their relative sympathy for the Palestinian cause was mistaken as anti-Israeli sentiment.

"I am in favor of the state of Israel, but that does not mean that I support every action of the Israeli military," Sternin said. "If you're in favor of rights for Palestinians, that does not mean you're anti-Israeli or anti-Semitic. People tend to set up a false dichotomy there."

While members of the Arab and Muslim community hold an equally wide range of views, the groups' relatively small size make it easier for it to find common ground.

Though most estimates peg the College's Jewish population at one-quarter of the student body, Yasin estimates that the aggregate Muslim and Arab community at Harvard only numbers between 100 and 150 people.

Because of the community's small size, HIS and SAS do not have separate committees or subgroups representing different ideologies, Yasin said.