Joe Goodner joked he has a favorite type of tear-gas canister — the kind that hurt least when it struck him in the head.

The former UI student spoke to dozens of people at the Iowa City Public Library on Tuesday evening about the five weeks he spent traveling through Palestinian land in the midst of a long-standing and volatile conflict.

The controversies that consume the region were exemplified by the small cluster of people in the back who challenged Goodner on his views.

After seeing the lecture’s recent publicity, three students set up a table in a conference room next to the lecture, handing out fliers showing the Israeli side of the issue.

Goodner, who graduated from the UI in May, had no set itinerary during his time in the Palestinian Territories. Rather, he and other members of the International Solidarity Movement volunteered wherever they were needed. The group has apartments in 10 towns, and different group members traveled all over the territory.

Though the Solidarity Movement had 50 to 60 people in Palestine at the time, Goodner’s small group continually alternated membership.

Emil Rinderspacher, Goodner’s stepfather, said he supported Goodner’s work, but he was concerned and always anxious for e-mail updates.

Probably because Goodner didn’t just observe.

He stood with Palestinian protesters and lived with Palestinian families. He stood at the infamous wall between Palestinian and Israeli territory as demonstrators attempted to tear sections of it down; Goodner and the demonstrators knew the presence of internationals in the group would diminish the Israeli army’s response, he said.

“They fired live ammunition at us,” he said. “I was a little upset by that.”

A host family he lived with was evicted from their home soon after he left.

“They were an absolutely beautiful family,” he said. “Now, they sleep across the street under olive trees as protest.”

On Tuesday evening, Goodner — dressed casually in ripped jeans, a T-shirt and baseball cap — refused to engage in policy debate.

“I don’t have a solution,” he told one audience member.

Still, he said he believes the first step is the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Palestinian Territories. He also had sharp words against the wall being built between the Israelis and Palestinians.

An audience member had strong feelings on both these issues.

“He didn’t talk about the oppression of women or homosexuals [in Palestine],” said Margot Lurie, a second-year student in the Writers’ Workshop. “And the wall, really just wires in most places, has virtually stopped terrorism.”

California-native Lurie lived in Jerusalem for a year and returned for three subsequent summers.

The night’s most contentious moment came when someone in the audience asked a question about allegations that the Israeli army is harvesting organs from dead Palestinians.

“You should investigate our matzoh, too,” the audience member said as he walked out of the room. “I’ve heard we put blood in it.”