Essay About Israeli Palestinian Conflict And Nature Of Government

The Isreali Conflict
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Israeli Palestinian Conflict The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
is a dangerous and volatile situation that has attracted
American attention for some decades. The conflict is a
sensitive subject that produce strong emotions in people. This
conflict deals with Jewish nationalism, distribution of
resources, and politics. About a hundred years ago, Jews
underwent a drastic change in their view of themselves. At
first a few, and then more, began to call themselves Zionists.
Zionism is a term that in its broadest and early sense meant
simply the “return” of Jews to their ancestral homeland. That
homeland was called Zion (or Israel) and its heart was
Jerusalem, known as the “City of Zion.” Early Zionists were
simply pious, nonpolitical, religious Jews who thought they
could best practice their faith in the Land of Zion. Some went
primarily to pray, to study their religious books, and to
await the arrival of the Messiah. Politics played a
influential role in their thinking. By the beginning of the
20th century, however, Zionism came to have a political
meaning: that Jews were not just a religious or ethnic group
but were a nation of people who should have their own state.
Today Zionism is the term for Jewish nationalism. Not all Jews
agree upon what Zionism is, but to a point there is agreement,
it is upon three things: there should be a Jewish state; it
should be permanent, independent, and secure; and Jews who are
threatened anywhere in the world should be able to go there to
be safe. All other issues–the boundaries of the state, the
nature of government, relations with the Palestinians,
relations with American Jews, religious law–are in dispute.
It is important to understand the Palestinian views . Keep in
mind two points. First, people respond to the circumstances in
which they live. If one is rich, one sees problems one way; if
one is unemployed, one sees it a second way; if one owns a
small shop, one sees it a third way. One must understand the
circumstances in which Palestinians live if we are to
understand their positions and actions. Second, there are
about five million Palestinians. Like Americans, they disagree
on political issues. They also change their minds as new
circumstances develop. It is wrong to think Palestinians have
a common view that remains unchanged. Their view changed
considerably over the years. They view that the Israelis are
taking the land rightfully theirs, and are being ” bullied” by
Israelis. They are the ones who had their land taken away from
them and are left with no where to live. In 1948, there were
approximately 860,000 Palestinians inside todays Israel.
About 700,000 were driven out or fled during the fighting that
followed the declaration of Israeli statehood. The Palestinian
population of Jerusalem went from 75,000 to 3,500; of Jaffa
from 70,000 to 3,600; of Haifa from 71,000 to 2,900; of Lydda-
Ramle from 35,000 to 2,000; of Tiberias from 5,300 to zero.
All refugees lost their property (about 800,000 acres were
taken for Israeli use.). The 160,000 Palestinians still in
Israel in 1949 when the fighting stopped lost another 250,000
acres. The Palestinians in Israel were left without resources
or strong leaders. When the Likud Party took power in 1977, it
intensified colonization, pouring some $1 billion into
settlement building over the next seven years. Today, land
taken from the Palestinians and earmarked for military
purposes or Jewish settlements amounts to