Yasser Arafat

The west had been essential to the nation’s creation, and exerted its power in Israel. Israel’s leaders developed allegiances with western countries which had been essential in the formation of their country. Tension in the area grew, both inside and outside of the state, and violence was used against both sides. However, measures were not taken to undue the problems that had arisen from the unfair nature of the agreement. “Palestinians had been branded as ignorant, hostile, and violent” and non-Jewish groups found it difficult to practice their religion as they had before. Despite the obvious inequities that were growing, the west did little to alleviate the pain that it played a large part in creating. It seemed as if “People in the west seem so taken with material things, It’s as if they have nothing in their spirit, so they need to surround themselves

Within the span of a few years, the political, social, and cultural climate in Palestine was whiplashed from being under the control of the Ottoman Empire, to colonization and state building by Jewish immigrants from the diaspora, to British rule through mandate, and finally the establishment of the Israeli state. The rhetoric that was used in both Zionist and Arab Palestinian propaganda created a situation that was very complex under the surface, and needs to be approached with delicate care. Taking this into consideration, as historians it is important to remain as objective as possible when reading documents from both the Jewish and Arab side because they both will show a view of the conflict that will benefit them most. As situations change, so will these views and the tone of newspapers and consumerism will change along with it.

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

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.

On Friday night, the University of Washington played host to three of today’s greatest historians concerning the Israel/Palestine issue. Professor Anita Shapira, known for her contextual history of Israel ignited the room with her powerful comments about the circumstances for Arab removal from Israeli lands. Professor James Gelvin tiptoed on several touchy subjects, reiterating his concentration with causality history, nevertheless his historical background gave insight to nationalistic movements both groups have. The third historian, Professor Ilan Pappe concentrated the bulk of his talk on explaining the movement of Palestinian refugees while advocating for the acknowledgement of Israeli brutality in some Arab villages. Naturally, as it was the first time all three sides had come head-to-head, the debate got heated. This was especially true when comparing ideas of what the occupied territory should be described as. History of Modern Israel/Palestine student Erika Arias was able to mediate the debate, defuse tensions and at times draw laughs from the audience.

This essay will focus on how theorists of peace and conflict have analysed the conflict in recent history. Especially, the peace process after the first Palestinian intifada and the 1993 Oslo-agreements will be analysed. In addition, this essay will shed light on the involvement of the United States in the

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

Initially, Gordon H. McCormick and Lindsay Fritz, introduce Hanadi Jaradat and her suicide attack during the Second Intifada (140). Jaradat was a law student with great potential however she resorted to detonating 22 pounds of explosives in an Israeli dinner. Her drive to do this heinous act was later explained to be retaliatory, her ”brother and fiance had been shot by an Israeli assassination squad” (145). This introduces that terrorism can be used in two strategic ways, political coercion and political mobilization, the intifada being an example of the latter. In the first, the audience being the state, terrorism is used to enter negotiations. In the second, the audience being constituents, terrorism is used to rally popular support.

Avi Schlaim traces the debate between new and old historians of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, by identifying six contentions apparent on both sides. He sorts through and debunks several myths that have become natural to the history of the founding of the State of Israel. Although many of these myths are not new, Schlaim argues access to archival documents, beginning in 1978, now provides the new historiography a backing by hard documentary evidence. On top of this new hard evidence, Israel’s political climate also changed with the shocking invasion of Lebanon in 1982, which ended the image of Israel as “peace lovers.” Prime Minister Menachem Begin admitted the invasion was a “war of choice,” resulting in the downfall of the national consensus

Life or Land? A Critical Review of Gershom Gorenberg’s A Bitter Prize: Israel and the Occupied Territories.

For many centuries, Judaic and Arabian societies have engaged in one of the most complicated and lengthy conflicts known to mankind, the makings of a highly difficult peace process. Unfortunately for all the world’s peacemakers the Arab-Israeli conflict, particularly the war between Israel and the Palestinian Territories, is rooted in far more then ethnic tensions. Instead of drawing attention towards high-ranking officials of the Israeli government and Hamas, focus needs to be diverted towards the more suspect and subtle international relations theory of realism which, has imposed more problems than solutions.

The Middle East has been the center of attention in the world and the theater of many important events. Over the past thirty yeas, people in the Middle East have experienced all kinds of wars, hunger, devastation and brutal dictatorships. Now, after Arab Spring, some of those dictators are gone, and in countries like Tunisia and to a lesser degree Egypt, there are attempts to establish democracy. In his book, The New Middle East: The World After the Arab Spring (2013), Paul Danahar writes that the changes brought by Arab Spring will lead to greater freedom for people in the Middle East, and that even the relationship between Israel and Palestine will be impacted (especially because secular and religious Jews in Israel are debating and conducting a "quiet revolution" that, according to Danahar, might lead to a solution). Although there 's much consensus that the Middle East will be greatly impacted if the Israel-Palestine issue is resolved, there 's also the belief that such a resolution won 't happen soon. For instance, in his book, Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. has Undermined Peace in the Middle East, Rashid Khalidi writes that the United States has and continues to act as Israel 's lawyer and that therefore it has undermined a real attempt to arrive at a peace accord. That peace accord is a major issue in the changes the Middle East has and continues to experience, and now with the U.S. 's attempt to normalize relations with Iran, there is much to consider

The graphic novel Palestine, published by Maltan journalist Joe Sacco in the early ‘90s, is a journalistic piece that represents his recollections of two months spent talking to and living with Palestinians in the Occupied Territories. The casual narrative style, which some might say is too shallow for such heavy subject matter, in fact allows Sacco to avoid many of the pit falls that have made Western reporting on non-Western conflicts unhelpful at the very least and more often incredibly damaging.

I grew up in a world with little insight into the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. I knew that it was an issue emblazoned in thousands of years of history and that, for the most part, each side blamed the other side for the conflict. However, rom what I did know prior to the panel, I had been unable to view the conflict in the Middle East from either a pro-Israel or a pro-Palestine light—both groups have committed atrocities, and both groups have been the targets of said atrocities.

After more than 50 years of war, terrorism, peace negotiation and human suffering, Israel and Palestine remain as far from a peaceful settlement as ever. The entire Middle Eastern region remains a cauldron waiting to reach the boiling point, a potent mixture of religious extremism, (Jewish, Christian and Islamic), mixed with oil and munitions.