Israel and Palestine

Hi Friends!
Welcome to Issue 30 of this newsletter! Today I’m sharing resources in regard to the current conflicts between Israel and Palestine. In this moment, I want to be clear that it would be inappropriate for me to center myself and my opinions. My goal is to share resources and amplify those that know more than me in this area. Above all, my goal is to continue to encourage each and every person to actually take time to learn before you talk about a topic as if you have all of the information. An Instagram infographic doesn’t have all of the answers. A soundbite from the news doesn’t have all of the answers. Like all things, it’s going to take time, effort and some discomfort, to grapple with realities that are complex and nuanced. I will never be silent in the face of oppression, but I will also never jump on a bandwagon without doing my best to fully break down the historical, cultural, economic and political backdrop of a conflict. Do I feel like I have the clearest idea about what is transpiring in the Middle East? No. But I have a greater sense of understanding and I have some very clear tips on how you can do your best to be an ally. Let’s get into it!

Key Terms

Israel: The nation of Israel—with a population of more than 9 million people, most of them Jewish—has many important archaeological and religious sites considered sacred by Jews, Muslims and Christians alike, and a complex history with periods of peace and conflict.

Palestine: Palestinians, the Arab population that hails from the land Israel now controls, refer to the above mentioned territory as Palestine, and want to establish a state by that name on all or part of the same land. The history of Palestine has been marked by frequent political conflict and violent land seizures because of its importance to several major world religions, and because Palestine sits at a valuable geographic crossroads between Africa and Asia. The people of Palestine have a strong desire to create a free and independent state in this contested region of the world.

Gaza Strip: A piece of land located between Egypt and modern-day Israel.

Golan Heights: A rocky plateau between Syria and modern-day Israel.

West Bank: A territory that divides part of modern-day Israel and Jordan.

Jerusalem: Both Jews and Muslims consider the city of Jerusalem sacred. It contains the Temple Mount, which includes the holy sites al-Aqsa Mosque, the Western Wall, the Dome of the Rock and more.

Jewish: Any person whose religion is Judaism. In the broader sense of the term, a Jew is any person belonging to the worldwide group that constitutes, through descent or conversion, a continuation of the ancient Jewish people, who were themselves descendants of the Hebrews of the Bible (Old Testament).

Muslim: 98% of Palestinians identify as Sunni Muslims. The definition of Muslim varies depending on which criteria you use. Most textbooks give a definition based on practice of the “five pillars” of Islam, so that Muslims are those who give the profession of faith, pray five times a day, fast during Ramadan, give charity to the needy, and make the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during their lifetimes.

Arab: Arab is an ethno-linguistic category, identifying people who speak the Arabic language as their mother tongue (or, in the case of immigrants, for example, whose parents or grandparents spoke Arabic as their native language). Arabic is a Semitic language, closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. While Arabs speak the same language, there is enormous ethnic diversity among the spoken dialects.

Semitic: Relating to or denoting a family of languages that includes Hebrew, Arabic, and Aramaic and certain ancient languages such as Phoenician and Akkadian, constituting the main subgroup of the Afro-Asiatic family.

Anti-Semitism: Anti-Semitism is hostility toward or discrimination against Jews as a religious or racial group. The term anti-Semitism was coined in 1879 by the German agitator Wilhelm Marr to designate the anti-Jewish campaigns under way in central Europe at that time. Although the term now has wide currency, it is a misnomer, since it implies a discrimination against all Semites. Arabs and other peoples are also Semites, and yet they are not the targets of anti-Semitism as it is usually understood. Nazi anti-Semitism culminated in the Holocaust.

Hamas: The Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza.

Zionism: Zionism is a religious and political effort that brought thousands of Jews from around the world back to their ancient homeland in the Middle East and reestablished Israel as the central location for Jewish identity. While some critics call Zionism an aggressive and discriminatory ideology, the Zionist movement has successfully established a Jewish homeland in the nation of Israel.

Let’s Get Into It

This conflict is complex. Every group can explain why they feel that this land belongs to them and every group has historical, religious and emotional ties to that land. It’s not my place to say who is or isn’t deserving, but I think it’s everyone’s job to understand why folks feel the way they do. Nothing ever justifies bloodshed, displacement or violent. Period. But nonetheless, it is enacted every day around the world. A great place to start finding a solution is understanding the cause. Below is an outline of how I researched this topic. First, I went straight for a historical timeline to understand the background. Then, I checked out some lightly opinionated pieces. Then, I spent a lot of time reading some widely conflicting pieces to get a sense of various perspectives and personal opinions. Below are some of those resources.

Resources

• I started my research with these basic timelines of Israel and Palestine.

• This video from HISTORY is two years old, but breaks down how the Israel-Palestine conflict began in a relatively neutral way.

• I moved into some lightly opinionated pieces from NPR and VOX.

• Next, I read a wide range of articles from varied perspectives. Without an entire community of folks for me to interview and learn from personally, I felt like this was the best way for me to understand some conflicting, opposing and complex viewpoints. My goal was overall not to read anything that seemed like propaganda, but to read the most opinionated pieces I could find, within reason.

  • Many articles like this one from The New York Times describe an internal conflict for the young Jewish community in America being torn between their support of Israel or Palestine. “Many young American Jews are confronting the region’s longstanding strife in a very different context, with very different pressures, from their parents’ and grandparents’ generations.”

  • This article by The Anne Frank House discusses if all criticism of Israel is anti-Semitic. “Criticism of Israel or of the policies of the Israeli government is not automatically antisemitic. For example, anyone is free to reject or criticise the Israeli government's policy regarding the Palestinian territories. This happens in Israel, too…But it is increasingly difficult to have a proper discussion about 'Zionism' or a normal, critical debate about Israel.”

  • This article from Yahoo News talks about why “young left-leaning Americans are increasingly using social media to urge more support and aid for Palestinians, framing it as a human rights issue that echoes the antiracism movement from this past year.” It also talks about how “young people are also susceptible to peer pressure to post online about issues to prove that they are engaged.” One opinion in this article states: “On social media, nuanced topics like the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are reduced to “shallow, facile” content rather than seriously explaining the issues.” Another states: “When we’re talking about Israeli violence against Palestinians, it’s not complex at all…Ultimately it’s a cause about total freedom, justice and equality for all people." This article attempts to share varying perspectives and is the most opinionated piece in this line up.

• These live updates from The New York Times seem to have the most current information, including the most recent cease fire.

What To Do Next

• If you say you’re taking this time to learn, actually learn something about the history of Israel and Palestine.

• Slow down the reposts and the likes and fact check what you’re posting. It might take more than one Google search, and that’s okay.

• This conflict isn’t the same as #BlackLivesMatter. Neither situation is the same as #StopAsianHate. Not every movement has the same social, historical, political and economic implications and there’s no reason to conflate them. Yes, there are similarities in various systems of oppression, but not all systems operate and exists in the same way.

• Whatever your opinion, continue to denounce violence, racism, anti-semitism and hatred of every kind, always.

Friends, this is where I am at thus far with my learning. Have something else to share or a better resource? Send me an email. This was a lot to learn and unravel in a weeks time and there are plenty of areas I’m not knowledgeable of just yet, so let me know what I missed! Next week, we bring it back to the series on Stereotypes. See ya there!

“We are the ones we’ve been waiting for, we are the change we seek” — With love and light, Taylor Rae