More than 100 people filtered into the Gallery of the Memorial Union Monday to learn about the history of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Palestinian students in charge of organizing the event were pleased with the turnout.

“The reactions have been very good, very positive,” said Raza Ul-Mustafa, graduate student in computer engineering. “It’s very impressive.”

Muhannad Suleiman, graduate student in civil engineering, said the event accomplished the goal of exposing people in the Ames and ISU communities to the Palestinian side of the conflict.

“We are here to show the truth to people,” he said. “[The showcase] helps people to understand, we think. The reactions have been positive, and they are open to listening to other points of view.”

Ul-Mustafa said the exhibit allowed people to see the many sides to the conflict.

“Many people are used to looking at one side of the picture,” he said. “It’s very important to look at the other side. It helps one to have a balanced view of the whole crisis.”

The showcase combined photographs, political cartoons, poetry, a slide show and traditional Palestinian clothes to present Palestinian lifestyle and viewpoint in the conflict.

Christine Notis, senior in botany, called the photographs “mouth-dropping.”

“They really make you think,” she said.

Notis said she came to the showcase because she felt she didn’t know enough about the conflict.

“I was ignorant of the whole situation, and I wanted to learn,” she said. “I didn’t know the extent of what’s going on.”

Patience Opiyo, senior in architecture, also attended the event. Unlike Notis, Opiyo said she wasn’t shocked by the pictures because she had seen them before. However, she agreed with Notis about the importance of the event.

“We ignore a lot of things that go on in the world,” she said. “We also ignore the firsthand information that we have available.”

Ben Riggs, sophomore in physics, said although the information was important, he wasn’t impressed with the presentation.

“They go overboard with the shock value,” he said. “There were very well-illustrated views of issues, but they do more than present facts. The language is clearly designed to infuriate.”

Riggs said he has spent 12 days in Israel and visited several of the Palestinian refugee camps. He also said he has been following the situation “very closely” but still learned some new information from the display.

“There were lots of early aggressions by Israel I didn’t know about,” he said.

While the event achieved its purpose, Notis said she would like to see more students participate.

“It’s all about becoming aware,” she said. “As a world, we need to be unbiased and figure out some solutions.”