New Thoughts About My Project- What Do I Know About The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict?

I decided to make a list of things that I know about this conflict. The reason for that is the following: I noticed that when I think about this conflict it's sort of feels like a great big cloud in my mind, there is a feeling that it's too complicated for me to talk about and that I don't know enough to have an opinion. I know many Israeli's and American Jew who have the same feeling which makes me think that it's part of how the media and the ruling classes manage to keep this conflict going; by making us feel small and uninformed. Or as Lederach might say "we lost our voices".
So right now I am just gonna write what I know, it might be a mess sometimes , or too general but this is the beginning. The lines that I highlighted are fact that I want check and get more information about.
And so this is what I know so far:
1. Before 1948 there both Palestinians and Jews living in Israel. This has been the case for hundreds of years. Through different empires that rolled the land and colonialism both of these people hang on to this land.
2. The Jews have strong religious ties to this land, sacred sites, biblical stories that took place in Israel and a particular story that says that this land was specifically promised by god to the Jewish people.
3. Palestinians, both Christians and Muslims, also have strong religious ties including sacred sites and also the deep ties people make with the earth after living of it for generations.
4. Israel has a very diverse population of Jews: secular Jews, religious Jews that among them there are many different sects- reform , orthodox, etc, Jews of color, Ashkenazim, Sephardi, Jews from different class background most of them working class or poor.
5. Israel has a diverse population of Arabs: Christians, Muslim, Druze. Sometimes, depending on where they live, Arabs define themselves or are being defined by the state of Israel as Arab- Israeli or as Palestinian.
6. Were it stands right now: Israel is a recognized state, we have a strong military (every young person has to go to the military unless they have some special circumstances). Since the establishment of Israel we have had several wars with or neighboring states. During these wars we concord some of their land, so far we gave back some of the concord territories and some not- like the Golan Heights for example.
7. Some of the conflict about giving back territories is about water. The Sea of Galilee is in the Golan Heights and it is one of Israel's only water sources.
8. About 20-30 years before the declaration of Israel as a state, Jews started to gather from all different places in the world and settle in Israel. They did so because of the raising antisemitism around the world , because of their religious belief that Israel is the promised land for the Jews and also because of the historical ties with Israel- Jews have been living there for a long time until they were driven away by numerous empires that rolled the land.
9. During the Holocaust more and more Jews sought a new life and a sanctuary in Israel which was then referred to as Palestine by many people. Their numbers were increasing, they started buying land from Palestinians and perhaps also just taking over land?
10. Violence started breaking out between the Jewish and Palestinian Population. The Palestinians resisted the new comers that were growing rapidly in numbers and the Jewish people were determined to settle the land which they viewed as theirs and create a new state.
11. There were all these different proposals regarding how to divide the land between the two people . One is especially famous as the division plan offered by the UN. In that original plan the land was divided more or less equally between the people and Jerusalem was to be an international city. This proposal was not excepted by the Palestinians and the neighboring Arab nations. Did the Jews except it?
12. What do I know about the situation today?
I know that after the deceleration of Israel as a new state a war broke out between the Jewish population and the Palestinians+ neighboring Arab countries (Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Egypt).
During that war about 700,000 Palestinian people were displaced and became refugees either inside Israel or in Refugee camps in Lebanon and Jordan. These Palestinians fled or were forced to leave their home and their property. They were never allowed back.
This is one of the cor issues of the conflict. It is referred to as Zchut Hashiva (the right to return). I think that many Palestinians still have hopes to return to their homes, or to their grandparents home. Maybe its more about having a home and not living in a damn refugee camp..I am not sure.


13. I also know that in the last 62 years Israel have been systematically taking more and more land from the Palestinians. Today their territories are divided by many road blocks and military presence. The military presence in and around the Palestinian territories is very disruptive to their lives. It prevents them from making a living and developing a better economic situation. It prevents people from getting a dissent education or any education. There is allot of poverty and basic human rights are not being met like freedom of movement, freedom to make a living, freedom  to hold on to apiece of land that was an inheritance or was legally purchased by one.



14. There are many psychological implications of the occupation both on Palestinians and on Israeli Jews.



15 On the other side, the Jewish people in Israel suffer from a militarization of society, since so many people go through the army and are educated from early on that participating in the army in the moral and necessary thing to do. Further more, because our army in mainly dealing with civilian population in the up keep of the occupation what happens is that 18-20 year old boys and girls are put in  a position of power , a position of an oppressor.  I think this corrupt and confuses and hurts many Jewish young adult people. 
When your job is to stand at a check point for 5-8 hours and determine who looks dangerous to you and whether people will get to their work/school today it is a huge challenge to keep your humanity. 


TO BE CONTINUED...