Two student groups at the University of Oklahoma are joining forces to raise money for landmine clearing in Lebanon. The issue here is not their cause but which two groups are behind the event:

The Lebanese Student Association and the Hillel Jewish Student Association will co-host a charity dinner to raise awareness and money for the landmine crisis in Lebanon.

Of course, at first, their were reservations:

Breidy, an international student from Lebanon, said he was originally wary of joining with the Jewish Student Association, who so avidly support Israel.

But Breidy said he couldn’t turn down an offer to join forces in such a noble cause.

“At the beginning we had some points to agree on — like no politics whatsoever,” Breidy said.

No politics? I wonder how long that is going to last. I mean I really see one issue of contention:

The dinner will feature authentic Israeli and Lebanese food…

So what is authentic Israeli food and what is authentic Lebanese food? That’s the LBP1,000,000 [ILS2,711] question. Plus there is already a food fight raging on the issue, it might be a necessary to keep politics as a side order.

Update – March 5, 2008: Lebanese, Jewish students unite to defuse mines, tensions