Bearing Witness Or Bearing A Higher Moral Ground?

Any reference to conflict turns history into a reservoir of blame. In the presence of conflict, narratives differ and multiply to delegitimize the opponent and to justify one’s own action. Narratives shape social knowledge. The Israeli Palestinian conflict, both Jews and Muslims, view the importance of holding the territories through religious, ideological, and security lenses, based on belief that Palestine was given by divine providence and that the land belongs to either the Israelis or Palestinian’s ancestral home. Understanding these perspectives is required for understanding Palestinians’ and especially Israel’s strategy and role in entering the Oslo peace process. Despite

Everyday problems are occurring in the middle east. Millions of refugees are being displaced and ISIS is gaining land. Many Americans do not care about these conflicts but we should if we are the cause of them.America grants Israel more foreign aid than any other country mostly in arms and weapons. The foreign aid America gives to Israel is clearly unlawful and inhumane. The United States should stop this program immediately because it goes against many government policies preventing the formation of militaristic countries and giving arms to Israel will help them commit more human rights violations against the Palestinians that the United Nations already

Perfection in many cases is unobtainable: this case is no exception. The author's rhetoric contains many facts, examples, and quotes adding complexity to his argument; however, it contains many unsubstantial arguments lacking enough information to prove some points. Overall, the author delivers a decent paper on anti-Semitism; however it contains a various amount of flaws. The author states, “Anti-Semitism is not a mysterious “disease,” and as history shows, what is often called anti-Semitism is the natural and understandable attitude of people toward a minority with particular loyalties that wield greatly disproportionate power for its own interests, rather than for the common good.” The author uses many facts backed up with evidence supporting

Israel has used tactics to defend itself, and to get the international “right to exist”. Israel has used security tactics to feel safe, but these tactics are endangering the civil and human rights of the citizens of Israel. “...No country has a recognized God-given or otherwise right to exist, only responsibilities under international law and moral responsibilities…”

Chapter three of Eyal Press’ Beautiful Souls follows Avner Wishnitzer, an Israeli combat soldier serving in the occupied territories during the Second Intifada. In the 6-Day War of 1967, Israel captured the West Bank and the Gaza Strip and has since kept the land under an Israeli military occupation. In 1987 to 1991, a Palestinian uprising involving resistance and civil disobedience, known as the First Intifada, occurred in the occupied territories. Consequently, Israel deployed many soldiers into the occupied territories, and an estimated 1,674 people were killed in total. The Second Intifada, a much more violent Palestinian uprising in the occupied territories, transpired from 2000 until 2005. In response, Israel enacted Operation Defensive Shield, a large-scale military operation, in 2002 to stop the terrorist attacks and suicide bombings of the Second Intifada. An approximate 4,426 people were killed in the Second Intifada. Avner Wishnitzer’s public refusal to serve in the occupied territories was worth getting kicked out of Sayeret Matkal and being disgraced by Israeli society because it made people question the occupation and the treatment towards Palestinians. Even if Avner had been my father, I would have condoned his choices because I could create my own reputation in the military. Additionally, the current controversy over the Israeli occupation legitimizes his stance and actions for many Israeli citizens.

Europe’s Growing Anti-Semitism is written by Mike Ross, and was published on October 20, 2014. In this article, Ross explains the disturbing anti-Semitic acts that are taking place in Europe and the effects it is having on Jewish communities. For example, in France three Jewish children and a rabbi were murdered in a Jewish school, four people were shot in a Jewish museum in Brussels, and violent riots have emerged outside numerous synagogues in Europe. Due to these

“Words of Fire,” by Anthony Collings, details the lives of different journalists in regards to free press and covering potentially dangerous stories. Anthony Collings is a former CNN reporter who shifted his focus from reporting to telling the story of journalists who have come under fire in a power struggle between government and free press. Collings puts free press into a spectrum, on one side there is the United States, where the press is largely free, and on the other side there are places like North Korea or China where press is largely restricted by the government. Collings does not focus on these extremes, but rather the places in the middle where there is an ongoing struggle between state power.

In the documentary “America and the Holocaust”, the view learns that anti-Semitism was prevalent in America. Many are unaware that

Judy Rebick, in the newspaper The Globe and Mail which provides information for people across North America, wrote an article called Victims must speak out first (December 21, 2002), that suggests that after the Holocaust, mistreatment of Jews receded, but now that the horrors of the Holocaust are not as present as they were in the past, Anti-Semitism is re-emerging. Rebrick supported this assertion by revealing to readers that this ethnic hatred has returned after a long time without it, saying “There has been more discussion of anti-Semitism in Canada in the past two weeks than I can remember in my adult life. Earlier this month, three respected men on the left accused the Canadian left of anti-Semitism. And this week, a previously respected

And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must — at that moment — become the center of the universe. “ This quote is by Elie Wiesel in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech. Elie has devoted his life to helping oppressed people all around the world. However, Elie focuses most of his attention on the Jewish problems around the world because he is Jewish and their problems are his problems. He was not always like this, Elie remained silent about his experiences during the Holocaust for many year after until he decided to write the book Night. Elie has done a lot to help with Israel and the Jewish problems there. The latest Elie has done to help with the problem was mid 2014. He had a campaign to spread Jewish media, culture, and values. He also wanted to defend the State of Israel. He is trying to help stop Hamas, which is an Islamic terrorist group that is trying to take power. Elie wants to end child sacrifices which the Hamas has done in the past. Elie

During World War II, the Jews were the primary victims of Germany’s most atrocious act, the Holocaust, where thousands of Jews were senselessly slaughtered in the name of Nazism. Countless innocent Jews perished in concentration camps, while the majority of the Nazis watched and did nothing. To them, the Jews were not human beings, but rather mere animals, who deserved concentration camps. This reasoning baffled the Allied countries, as they understood that regardless of race and religion, no one should be subjected to concentration camps. Yet, the Nazis completely disregarded and violated the basic rights of humankind. The Nazis successfully propagated this anti-Semitic mentality because ordinary Germans were consumed by their ignorance

John Pilger’s ‘The War You Don’t See’ promotes many strong ideas, with a strong focus on the value of honesty and the lack of it. Raising the issue of when the media do not do their job, the public is manipulated as we are not told the whole truth therefore are not aware of the horrific and

Dan Michman focuses on ?? in “Jewish Leadership in Extremis” published in The Historiography of the Holocaust. Michman opens his discussion by challenging a few preceding notions that historians broadcasted. He begins by talking about the public discussion among Jews – survivors and others – during the first decade in 1945. He explains that the Judenräte were condemned as collaborators that were responsible for the whole debacle and at that time were dominated by enormous criticism.. By shining light on the views of the Judenräte in the 1940’s, Michman proves a point that in time, historical viewpoints change. To further his credibility of giving his readers a thorough background concerning the Jewish councils, he speaks Raul Hilberg and Hannah Arendt. These scholars published studies in the 1950’s and 1960’s and their research greatly influenced future discussions concerning

In the essay “Censoring Myself” author Betty Shamieh discusses the difficulties she has confronted as a Palestinian-American Christian playwright living and working in New York after the events of September eleventh. Shamieh enlightens the reader about the censorship she has faced as a professional and graduate of Harvard and Yale. Shamieh even describes her own self-censorship, due to her own preconceived fears or what she describes as being an Uncle Tom. Shamieh believes that the views of irrational people, along with the continued censorship of these Palestinian works of art, perpetuate keeping the Palestinian perspective from reaching the public eye. Ultimately Shamieh believes that this will stymie America’s growth toward a better

His article argues that the Israelis won the Arab- Israeli War of 1948 and therefore were able to shape its history through their lens, but their version of the conflict is flawed and the information now available undermines what they claimed to be true. He stated that the Zionist version of the truth is just propaganda, spread in a way to make them look like innocent bystanders and the victims and the Arabs as the