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In this engaging piece, we will delve into the thought-provoking article titled “The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: A Personal Perspective” by a retired professor of philosophy and former representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Jerusalem. Through his personal experiences and insights, the author provides a unique perspective on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Section 1: Childhood Beliefs and Surprising Discoveries
As someone who grew up in Jerusalem and is a year younger than Israel, the author shares the initial alienation he feels due to the suffering of Israeli civilians and the devastation in Gaza. He reflects on his belief that Palestinians had lost their land to Jewish settlers due to plots and betrayals, rather than force or planning. However, discovering Israel’s capability in the 1967 war shattered this perspective.
The author sets out to understand the secret power possessed by Israel, leading him to observe the frugal lifestyle of its leaders and the government’s commitment to the welfare of its people. The sense of unity and care amongst Israelis leaves a lasting impact on the author, leading him to contemplate the possibility of Palestinians and Israelis building a mutual future together.
His curiosity about the Israeli perspective deepens as he accepts a teaching position at Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank. Interacting with Palestinian students who had experienced time in prison for resisting the occupation, the author explores various topics, including the Melian dialogue and the question of power versus justice.
In response to the growing nationalism in the occupied territories, Israel sought to close universities in the region. However, the resolve of the Palestinians only grew stronger, leading to a popular eruption against the occupation in the late 1980s. The political nature of the conflict became apparent, and Israeli leaders, including Yitzhak Rabin, recognized the need for negotiation rather than crushing the Palestinians.
Section 2: The Deterioration of Peace Prospects
Over time, the prospects for ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state at peace with Israel have deteriorated rapidly. The author suggests that this deterioration stems from a clash between two irreconcilable doctrines: prioritizing Israel’s “security, then freedom for the Palestinians” versus “our freedom, then security for the Palestinians” of Israel.
While this clash may hide a deeper denial of the reality of two peoples sharing the same land, the author questions whether the exclusive prioritization of security ultimately destroyed the possibilities for peace. This paralysis in the negotiation process has reinforced the radicals and skeptics on both sides.
In Israel, extremism favoring a “take it all” approach has gained ground, evident in the fight for judicial reforms and its impact on democratic values. In Palestine, the failed project of the Palestinian Authority struggles to counter growing disillusionment with peace and the resurging appeal of military struggle, particularly in the form of Hamas-controlled Gaza.
Section 3: Reflections on Shared Dreams and Tragedy
Reflecting on former students, colleagues, and friends who believed in peace with justice, the author laments that their collective dream has become the betrayed victim of this ongoing tragedy. The coverage of the conflict oversimplifies the complex dynamics, reducing everyone to perpetrators and victims without acknowledging the shared human tragedy that has plagued the region since 1948.
The significance of building alliances, understanding diverse perspectives, and seizing opportunities to work together for an ideal future emerges as a central theme in the author’s account. He remembers the Israeli academics who protested against separation barriers, the allies along the Gaza borders, and colleagues supporting harassed communities. These examples signify the untapped potential for collaboration and the urgency of acknowledging the shared humanity between Israelis and Palestinians.
Summary: A Personal Journey Towards Understanding
As a retired professor of philosophy and former representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization, the author reflects on his personal journey of understanding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Growing up believing in Palestinian loss and Israeli weakness, the author’s worldview shifted as he discovered Israel’s hidden power during the 1967 war.
His exploration of Israeli society highlighted the frugal lifestyle of its leaders and the government’s dedication to the well-being of its people. Inspired by the sense of unity and care he observed, the author relegates the Palestinian tragedy of his upbringing to the past and envisions a future of mutual cooperation between Palestinians and Israelis.
Accepting a teaching position in the occupied West Bank, the author engages with Palestinian students who had experienced imprisonment for resisting the occupation. Their discussions center around the Melian dialogue and the ongoing struggle between power and justice.
The deterioration of peace prospects becomes evident as the author examines the clash between two irreconcilable doctrines: prioritizing security versus prioritizing freedom. This clash has paralyzed the negotiation process, reinforcing radicalism on both sides.
The author reflects on the shared dreams of peace and justice held by former students, colleagues, and friends who have worked tirelessly to build bridges between Israelis and Palestinians. However, he laments that this collective dream has become the victim of an ongoing tragedy that reduces everyone to perpetrators and victims.
Throughout his personal journey, the author emphasizes the importance of building alliances and understanding diverse perspectives. He believes in the potential for Israelis and Palestinians to work together towards an ideal future that respects the shared humanity between both peoples.
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The writer is a retired professor of philosophy and served as representative of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Jerusalem.
As someone who is a year younger than Israel and lived in Jerusalem for most of my life, the horrors now being broadcast about the suffering of Israeli civilians and the devastation of entire homes in Gaza make me feel alienated from myself.
I grew up believing that we Palestinians had lost most of our country to Jewish settlers in 1947-48 due to plots and betrayals, rather than force or planning. So I was devastated. in 1967 when I discovered that what I had believed to be a weak Israel largely dependent on foreign powers turned out to be capable of crushing the forces of three major Arab countries in six days.
My surprise quickly turned into a question about what secret power Israel had. I took it upon myself to look inside the enemy, in case I could discover what that secret was. One thing that immediately caught my attention was the frugal way even their leaders lived. Another discovery was the government’s care for its people (including health, housing and national insurance from the beginning), as well as a proud self-identity as Jews who cared for each other.
I spent time on a kibbutz listening to young and old, hearing their pristine love for what they believed would be the ideal state of the future. I couldn’t help but feel intimidated. My enemy was a human experiment worthy of admiration. I decided to relegate the Palestinian tragedy I grew up with to an irredeemable past in my mind, one that must be replaced by Palestinians uniting with Israelis to build a mutual future together.
Eventually, I accepted a teaching position at Birzeit University in the occupied West Bank. He was full of hope and resolve. My students at the time – all Palestinians – came from all over Gaza, the West Bank and Israel itself. Many were not much younger than me and had already spent time in prison for resisting Israel’s occupation.
One of the favorite topics of discussion was the Melian dialogue: the difficult choice that the Athenians imposed on the islanders between submitting or dying. Is history on the side of those in power or those whose cause is just? It was not difficult for most students to find their own formula: to fight however they could for justice.
As Israel saw it then, universities in the occupied territories became “hotbeds of nationalism” that needed to be closed (interestingly, recent Israeli bombings in Gaza have also affected centers of learning). But the resolve only grew stronger. In the late 1980s, there was a popular eruption against the occupation, planned by those same students and colleagues as the fight for freedom and independence.
Israeli intelligence services quickly saw that this was a political fight that required a political solution, as did many who believed in a two-state solution. In the end, Israeli leaders, including Yitzhak Rabin, were persuaded to negotiate with the Palestinians, not crush them. This ended with the establishment of a Palestinian Authority as a potential government for a Palestinian state about 30 years ago.
Since then, the prospects for ending the occupation and establishing a Palestinian state at peace with Israel have deteriorated rapidly. The real cause was a clash between two irreconcilable doctrines: a twisted version of the horse-and-cart dilemma over which horse to put in front: Israel’s “security, then freedom for the Palestinians,” or “our freedom, then security for the Palestinians.” Palestinians” of Israel. all”.
Did this clash hide a deeper denial of the reality that two peoples must share the same land, of the basic formula that 1+1 = 2? Maybe. Is it accurate to say that the exclusive prioritization of security destroyed the possibilities for peace? Maybe. In any case, it paralyzed the negotiation process, reinforcing the radicals and skeptics on both sides.
In Israel, this was expressed in a tectonic shift in favor of extremists bent on “taking it all,” which has reared its head in the fight for judicial reforms (and democratic values). In Palestine, it took the form of a failed project of Authority struggling against a growing disillusionment with peace and a losing competition with the long-abandoned option of military struggle, now embodied in a Hamas-Government-run pressure cooker called Gaza. Therefore, last Saturday was not a shock of “if,” but of “when” and “how.” It will remain so if that basic formula is not yet understood.
This week my mind has reviewed the long list of former students and colleagues who committed themselves to the perspective of peace with justice, and the long list of friends and acquaintances in Israel who shared the same dream and worked hard to achieve it. I remember those allies along the Gaza borders who shook our hands in the early 1980s. I remember the Israeli academics who joined the protests against another separation barrier on the al-Quds University campus. I remember colleagues spending their Shabbat driving to the hills south of Hebron to support a herding community that was being harassed by Israeli settlers.
I think of good people from all walks of life on the other side of the divide who believed that we could and should work together to build an ideal future for both people, and I can’t help but feel that it is our dream that is the betrayed victim of this tragedy. . Once again, the coverage reduces us all to perpetrators and victims, and the endless switching from one to the other reflects a blindness to that unresolved and shared human tragedy that was born in 1948 and that seems determined to continue tormenting us.
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