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This week, the final week of our trip, has unfortunately ended in an interpersonal disaster. Tensions have been building up for a while and people have been tolerating each other, but with the recent COVID-scare, and the accusations and counter-accusations that have followed, its becoming more clear how emotional arguments can devolve into mud-slinging shouting matches and reprehensible statements and actions from all involved. For Israelis and Palestinians, the political issue of Palestinian peace is a very emotional and personal problem for them. This seems to really be a good teaching moment for how two sides can fall into war. However, we are trying to learn negotiations, and this was a good opportunity to try and resolve a real and emotional conflict. I am sad to say that my own performance at this live-test of skills we’ve been trying to build in the short time that we were here was disappointing, to put it lightly, but while we may not have joined hands and become best friends forever, I believe that we have at least restored civility, which is at least some victory. Perhaps one day, all of Israel and all of Palestine can at least achieve that much, as many of them already have, and from that point, I would be very optimistic about negotiations towards a final deal.

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Israel has been in a political tight spot for a few years and has continued to be there since we’ve been here. Israeli politicians are facing the problem that they cannot govern effectively due to fractured politics where it is so hard to form a governing coalition, that even when there is one, it is hard to do anything productive policy-wise. Because of this, the current government is Lapid’s caretaker government since his coalition collapsed. Given how hard it is to effectively run Israel as a caretaker government (with much precedent, unfortunately), these challenges, such as Hezbollah and settlers—which are long-standing major problems and have been for years, are an even bigger problem. This is really all to say that the future under the current government is unclear in terms of how it will have affected Israeli politics come November.

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One of the things we’ve been touched on in our class is the idea that Iran and the groups they fund are a big motivator for the current peace and stability in this region, and that the order of operations here dictates that the Palestine problem is the last thing to solve, and then we will face Iran & co. as a united Middle Eastern front, Arab and Israeli alike. However, it seems like it has been lost on us, especially as this is somewhat exterior to our studies, that this is not some distant, looming danger, akin to the USSR in the Cold War. Rather, this is an active war against their militants today, so much of the security doctrine that we have to get past with Israel is necessary and must remain not strictly because of Palestine. There are clear and present threats to Israel today that more than justify their militarism in defending against external threats, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, which is part of the reason Israel is so hesitant to deescalate military tensions with Palestinians even as many from both sides push for peace.

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There have been a lot of tensions with the expansion of Israels populace due to both natural growth, where some of Israel’s communities score among the highest, and large numbers of immigrants. This means that Israeli settlements in the West Bank also grow fast, increasing tensions in the region. This push for doctors and engineers among other professions needed in these uncontested, yet sparsely populated regions may push immigration towards these areas and may help establish regions where Israel could resettle small communities that may be needed for a peace deal creating a two-state solution. Granted, this is a push for communities that already exist and are underserved, but increasing quality of life increases the attractiveness to immigrants.

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To me, it’s hard to see this as a real step forewords or backwards. It will certainly be of some help to those who are receiving the new permits and help, but many Palestinians see this as an attempt to normalize the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. It is possible that these gestures were meant to quiet the loud objections some Palestinians ahead of President Biden’s visit, however there seems to have been some backfire. Hopefully, the attempts Israel is making to try and have the visit go well do end up working, but the sides seem to be set here at the 11th hour prior.

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The accelerating Russian crisis, as marked by the war in Ukraine, has marked a significant problem for all minorities in Russia. The actions of the Kremlin belie a very ethno-nationalist perspective, where they want to have and control ethnic Russians, and suppress all other groups. They are also very authoritarian, as emphasized by another name for the Ukraine War: Putin’s War, because instead of Russia wanting to go to war, Putin said to go to war, and so it was done, and the people should be convinced that they also wanted this invasion. Under previous authoritarian regimes, Russian Jews suffered heavily. One cannot help but think of the pogroms. The fact that Russia is trying to hide information about its Jewish population is concerning to me, because it might be an early indication that they are doing or plan to do something reprehensible to suppress Russian Jews. Hopefully, the Jewish Agency Han help those who are trying to immigrate to Israel sooner rather than later despite the tensions with the Kremlin.

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Biden’s visit to Israel and Palestine is a huge international event, and as such, is bound to stir up feelings towards America, both good and bad. While this visit may lead to increased peace in the area and the formation of stronger ties against Iran as hoped, it is also stirring up negative feelings towards the US which means protests and more vocal opposition to American policies. Given the history that Israel has of very close ties to the US, America is not seen as a friend of Palestine, but although there will likely be even more turmoil than just this protest, hopefully the aftermath will be better rather than worse.

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The work that the US is putting into creating allies among the arab states in the Middle East is really good news for Israel, as instead of finding themselves surrounded by bitter enemies, they can start seeing their neighbors more as friends yet to be made. Israel has had a long history of violence with the Arab states in its vicinity, and that has created some of the fear and military culture present in Israel today. With the US worming its way into the Arab League nations and starting to form close relationships, this could open even more doors for Israel to cement itself as a state among peers and can fully focus on its internal conflict with the Palestinians. They would also face pressure to create a good and lasting peace which could also lead to more normalized relationships with the Saudis, Jordan, etc. Being able to use ties in the Middle East through the US could end up being a step towards the end of the conflict between Israel and Palestine, or at least the de-escalation thereof.

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This past week we visited a few important sites to modern Israeli history, those being the Yad Vashem holocaust memorial and Ammunition Hill. These trips were enlightening in how the Israeli people have been shaped through violence and how militarism has become ingrained in the culture. There were groups from the IDF in both sites going through the tours and you also see them in many places around. In Israel, there is a policy of mandatory service in the IDF (with some leniencies and exceptions) for Israeli citizens. Throughout its history, Israel was on the back foot—the underdog. This helped foster the mentality of security in Israel, where they don’t trust their neighbors unless they can assure their own security through firepower. This helps understand the motive to build walls, borders, and guardhouses all over Jerusalem, where the Israelis and Palestinians are large in number and close in proximity because Israel is so afraid in their hearts, that they cannot trust a Palestinian to behave among Israelis without guns trained on them “just to make sure”. Of course, violence among certain Palestinian groups only reinforces this image that any Arab might be coming into Israel to kill people. This has helped me to come closer to an understanding of how peace can only exist if we can form the bonds of trust necessary to put down the rifles in order to shake hands. This is something that would be arduous from dismantling Palestinian and Israeli extralegal militant groups to repainting the images that these groups have of each other, but some of the stories that I have heard while visiting show that there are places to start from, that there is some cooperation that could foster future peace.

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A word about my own stereotypes:

Coming to Jerusalem, I had many preconceptions. I thought of the Jews in Israel as mostly Europeans and/or ultra-orthodox. I also thought of the Palestinians as being like just another radical middle-eastern militant Islamic group that posed and continuous danger to the Israelis who are now reflexively violent themselves. I also had the impression that Israelis were united politically and socially, and the Palestinians were also well-connected amongst each other, although not through any great political apparatus. Therefore it was easy to imagine this place as just one large dichotomy: Jewish Israelis and some minorities on their side (Christians, etc.) vs the (mostly traditional/radical) Muslim Palestinian Arabs. What I have learned is that the complexity that this view brushes over is very important, and when examined, betrays it as false and unusable to truly examine the conflict between the peoples here.

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In the US there is a trend going on that teenagers will dress up in suits and go to the new minion movie. This led to mosh pits and people being escorted out of the theater. I find it interesting how small/globalized our world is in the sense that an American tend can make its way to Israel and cause havoc. Just like the author, I have no idea how this trend arose but it did. I think it’s funny how the TikTok app is loved by students all over the world. I am a little surprised that TikTok exists in Isreal due to their lack of digital security.

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This was really hard to read. On Thursday, we were right there at the site of this disgrace to the Jewish people and cause. This shows how much further the Jewish people still have to go, being dividend and turned against itself. This kind of outward display of aggressive factionalism and fanaticism is what I have come to understand is one of the root causes for the continual violence and suffering in this region. It is common among some, especially War on Terror-era Americans, to ascribe religious fanaticism and violent zealotry to the Muslim Palestinians in this region, but this shows us how much Israel still is made up of its own aggressive Judaic cults. However, if the more secular movements can stay strong and push through the backwards bigotry and hate among its own people, that may be promising president that moderates and secular movements still have a place in this region and can survive amongst fanatical groups in their politics. Fostering more moderate liberalism amongst both sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict could then lead to a more promising future of peace. However, the history as it stands paints a different picture. Both sides of this conflict have come to rely on their own religious principles and sectarianism more as the conflict has dragged on through the decades, not less.

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Since the death of Shireen Abu Akleh, there have been waves of conflicting reports about whether she was killed by an Israeli or a Palestinian. She was covering an armed firefight, so it is reasonable, the Israelis say, to conclude that a stray bullet, likely Palestinian, hit and killed her. The Palestinian story, however, accuses the Israeli military of a targeted strike against an outspoken critic of the Israeli government. Since then, Israel has admitted that a start bullet could have come from either side. It seems good that at the very least, both sides can work in some sort of unison through America to find the facts of what happened that day. From the conflicting narrative of Palestinians relenting to an American analysis with Israelis present and Israel saying it is their investigation and the Americans are the ones on the sideline, it is clear that they still publicly refuse to agree, but being able to cooperate through a third party in an investigation of this importance is a good sign that in the background, there are forces that are moving to try and abate the armed conflict.

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This week, we started to overview the history as we know it of the Israel-Palestine conflict as far as we can objectively and reasonably tell, and we also took a high-level overview of what we speculate regarding the rest, as well as the positions of the two sides. Generally, I found that there was some that I did know, some that I didn’t, and some that I was wrong about. The experience of being at odds with myself and my classmates as well was certainly enlightening, as was trying to hold a classroom debate *before* we had really learned about the topics we were discussing and then learning our own biases as we discovered what the situation really is like. Overall, I would say that this has only increased my desire to keep learning and understanding the forces at play here.

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It is unfortunate that the current government couldn’t sustain itself, which seems to be a depressingly repeating pattern that may have or is likely to increasingly destabilize Israeli politics as the parties are constantly hyped up for elections and can’t take the time to simmer down and start to re-form general term-long relationships and build the kinds of intricate and important legislation that takes time. However, the words that Bennett, a member of a right party, to Lapid, who is more left wing, hints that Israeli politics can still function into the future, unlike American politics which are increasingly divided along party lines. It is now a question of how the caretaker government’s performance may influence the November elections, although it is unlikely to influence that much, unless things go very wrong.

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It’s possible that what may be a new wave will be worse for Israel, given that it’s kicking off right during the summer tourist season. A few weeks ago, Israel began to drop it’s requirements to enter the country vis a vis COVID testing. This was likely aimed to bolster tourism in the summer months, but also increased the risk of outbreaks being worse and more widespread, given how tourists tend to travel, and therefore carry the disease, all over the country and to many of the highly populated areas, such as Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, although the two cities are in close contact anyways. If these new numbers do indeed lead to a true wave, there will have to be many tough decisions in the government about how to balance health with the tourism economy. The entire world has suffered since the onset of the pandemic, and Israel has been no exception, so it’s really unclear to me what health measures will be returning or newly implemented in the coming weeks.