Intense debate flared last night when Third Reich survivor and current member of the International Solidarity Movement with Palestine Hedy Epstein spoke in the Busch Student Center.

Epstein, who spoke to a gathering of approximately 50 people, shared her experiences on living under Hitler and her subsequent travels to Palestine as part of the solidarity movement.

The event was co-sponsored by SLU Solidarity with Palestine and the Muslim Student Association.

It was after Epstein's speech when the question-and-answer session turned into a full-fledged debate about Israel and Palestine.

Epstein, who is Jewish, shared her experiences of being a small child during the Kristallnacht, or "night of broken glass," when on Nov. 9 and 10, 1938, Nazi storm troopers broke the windows of Jewish businesses and arrested any male over the age of 16.

Speaking about Kristallnacht, Epstein said, "I learned more and more what it meant to live under the Nazi regime."

It was during this time that Epstein was kicked out of her class for being a Jew, and as she walked home wondering what she was going to tell her parents, she came home to find her mother missing. She found the nearest Nazi soldier and asked him if he knew where her mother was.

"If I find her, I'm going to kill her," the soldier spit back.

Epstein found her and they went on to live at her aunt's house after she finding her father had been arrested. After he was released, the family attempted numerous times to leave the country, but could not because of immigration restrictions. Epstein had to leave on her own for London, and later found out that most of her family had perished at the Auschwitz concentration camp.

Epstein related her experiences of living under Nazi rule to the ongoing struggle between Palestine and Israel.

In December 2003 and June 2004, Epstein visited Palestine to protest Israeli occupation as part of the International Solidarity movement.

"Nothing Israel does or anywhere Israel operates makes sense," Epstein said.

Even though she is Jewish, Epstein shared stories of being fired at by Israel Defense Force soldiers and being separated from her travel companions and strip-searched by soldiers who would not reveal their identities to her.

'They were trying to take away my dignity," Epstein said. "But I wondered how the people who were doing it were feeling."

Epstein closed her speech with an account of a young Palestinian man, who she asked if he ever had nightmares.

"I don't have daydreams, and I wish I had nightmares so I wouldn't have to wake up to a nightmare," the man said.

"This shows what life is like for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation," Epstein said.

The question-and-answer session began with a woman from the audience accusing Epstein of being unsympathetic to Israeli security concerns.

"When the occupation ends there will be no more terror," Epstein said.

The exchange started a debate about the necessity of the Israeli security wall, which has been installed to make it harder for Palestinian terrorists to infiltrate Israeli soil.

Many members of SLU Solidarity began exchanging words with some adults in the audience, who felt that the wall was necessary for maintaining Israel's security.

"They have the right to build [the wall], but build it on their own land," said a member of Solidarity, who was upset with Israel for encroaching on Palestinian soil to build to the wall.

He added, "What if the [United States] built a wall in Tijuana [Mexico] for security purposes?"

Epstein's final comment at the end of the night was a suggestion for what the catalyst for peace could be.

"I am shocked by the silence of the American government, European countries and the world," she said. "Things could be different," she continued, if the world began to pay more attention to the situation.

SLU Solidarity President Sarah Gwitar said that Epstein's appearance meant a lot to the group because of Epstein being Jewish.

"It reaches out more if it comes from her," Gwitar said. "This has nothing to do with ethnicity, it was just to bring a different perspective."

Gwitar said that the debate that took place among audience members was healthy and that people in the audience could learn a lot about each other's viewpoints.

She said that she "kind of expected it" and that "it wasn't any surprise" that the debate happened, but, overall, the event "went well."