Teaching critically about politically charged topics in an affluent, suburban middle school requires a careful approach. Grounded in critical pedagogy theory and historical literacy pedagogy, the inquiry-based project described in this article is an attempt to help seventh-grade students analyze and understand the historic and modern conflict between Israel and Palestine. Questions framed the inquiry to help students go beyond the dominant narrative and analyze the topic from multiple perspectives. Students then applied their new understanding by generating solutions for peace rooted in justice. The culmination of the project was a student-led discussion focused on their collective analysis and individual solutions. After the discussion students connected back to the original questions and reflected on how their thinking evolved from the start of the project. Samples of students' discussion comments and writing reveal the extent to which it is possible to effectively confront dominant narratives and teach critically about contemporary issues in a time when such teaching is being widely challenged.