April 20, 2020
By Sumaia Safi
Staff Writer
Most students have heard about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but few know anything more about it.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict, which is rooted in a fight for territory, dates back a century. After the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the Holy Land was divided into three parts: the State of Israel, the West Bank of the Jordan River and the Gaza Strip.
History teacher Mr. Spence said since he is of neither Palestinian or Israeli heritage, he approaches the subject neutrally. Spence said he learned about the conflict in an elective class he took at Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill.
“I look at the conflict from the perspective of how can we find a solution to eliminate violence and future conflict. Because the conflict is so grounded in culture and heritage, it is hard to see a singular solution solving the problem. However, I do believe that it is important for both sides to be heard,” Spence said.
Spence said he often refers to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in his Advanced Placement Human Geography class when he is teaching about cultures in conflict. He said conflicts like the Palestinian-Israeli conflict are more common in history than people realize.
“I think these types of conflicts impact people’s global understanding. The more people know about what is going on in the world around them, the more they can understand the value of culture and heritage,” Spence said.
The Palestinian-Israeli conflict was heavily impacted by Western civilizations such as Britain and the U.S. According to the U.S. State Department, in 1917 the British government decreed that the Palestinian government must carve out a section of its land and give it to the Israeli people so they can have a state for themselves. This is called the 1917 Balfour Declaration. Immediately after the end of the British Mandate of Palestine on May 14, 1948, the State of Israel was proclaimed, and the U.S. recognized Israel that same day.
“The more people know about what is going on in the world around them, the more they can understand the value of culture and heritage.”
U.S. History teacher Mr. Marcus, who is Jewish, said, “Unfortunately, the ‘strong-man’ politics on both sides of the conflict caused disruptions to the peace process, which ultimately led to a hardening of ideals desired politically on both sides. This led to hardened stances in other ways too.”
He said the conflict should have already ended, especially because of the Oslo Accords of 1993.
According to the U.S. State Department, the Oslo Accords of 1993, established an important new approach for achieving a peaceful resolution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict by initiating open, direct talks between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization.
Marcus said he grew up learning that Israel was the land of his ancestors and the sovereignty of Israel should be protected as a refuge and home.
Marcus said his ideas have been informed by a Birthright trip—a sponsored education trip for young adults of Jewish heritage to Israel—that he took when he was 23 years old.
Recalling his Birthright trip, Marcus said, “I learned Israel should remain to be a state that protects the Jewish people, but Palestinians also deserve and need a land of their own with the ability to self-determine their own path much like Israelis have had in the past.”
Marcus said he thinks people should educate themselves about the history of both sides of the conflict to fully understand why each side struggles to make peace in the region.
“I am sympathetic to both on some level, plain and simple. Nobody should feel dehumanized or made unwelcome in one’s country,” Marcus said.
He said his connections to Israel has led him to be more keenly aware of what immigrant Israelis go through and endure. Marcus said he is deeply sympathetic to the younger generations of Palestinians who inherited a world that could have been better if previous generations had acted differently.
“Unfortunately, both sides [Britain, America and the countries in the Levantine region] dropped the ball and led people in this conflict to believe that it could be ended with only one side as the winner when, in reality, both sides need to stay for everyone to win,” Marcus said. “Had other countries in the Levantine region worked closely in accepting Israel being formed and knew of the rationale why it was and still is needed, that would have helped things tremendously. Simultaneously, if Western countries helped create this new understanding, that would have been tremendously helpful.”
