YES, we do!
And down the rabbit hole I go….
I start first with Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict
I know this is a debatable source for some but I feel that it gives an overview of the conflict. I would not use this for a formal research paper obviously- but the sources at the bottom may or may not be helpful.
I find this quote key: “Within Israeli and Palestinian society, the conflict generates a wide variety of views and opinions. This highlights the deep divisions which exist not only between Israelis and Palestinians, but also within each society. A hallmark of the conflict has been the level of violence witnessed for virtually its entire duration. Fighting has been conducted by regular armies, paramilitary groups, terror cells, and individuals. Casualties have not been restricted to the military, with a large number of fatalities in civilian population on both sides. There are prominent international actors involved in the conflict.”
This quote explains that this is a complex situation and there are many viewpoints. This isn’t a talk show where people yell and scream at each other one day and then the next day they are okay… this is a large multi-dimensional, historical, real conflict with real victims- many of them are civilians. This is not a war
I clicked on one of the sources: http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/features/just-another-forgotten-peace-summit-1.235013
I looked at the article but before analyzing it I decided to go to their facebook page and see what they had to say about themselves in their “about” section:
“Haaretz is Israel’s leading daily newspaper and the oldest daily in Hebrew. It is generally considered one of the most respected newspapers in the world.Founded in British Palestine in 1918, Haaretz grew to become the most influential newspaper in Israel under the leadership of its iconic publisher and editor Gershom Schocken (1939-1990). It has a current circulation of about 70,000 copies in its Hebrew edition, while its English website draws more than 2.5 million unique visitors monthly.Currently led by editor-in-chief Aluf Benn and publisher Amos Schocken, Haaretz has more than 2,000 employees on its payroll, among them 600 in the editorial department. Haaretz has more reporters per readership than any newspaper in the world, producing a first class news daily in broadsheet format.”
Seems like a legitimate source right?
Now back to the article….
Did you notice it’s written by two professors? So it’s not a random letter to the editor. It’s written by people who know what they are talking about (at least I hope so) (Am I putting too much faith in academia?)They cite several sources and statistics that seem legitimate. This article seems to give a Jewish view of the conflict, but I must keep in mind this was written 7-8 years ago.
I return to Wikipedia and I see a PDF file from PBS that I click on that gives us a nice history lesson condensed to a 10 page timeline which gives us both the Israeli and Palestinian view of history: http://pov-tc.pbs.org/pov/pdf/promiese/promises-timeline.pdf
Yay for PBS! From what I understand, this is kind of Britain’s fault for getting involved in the Middle East and dividing up land haphazardly. Colonialism at it’s best!
I want to look at one last source, one that is more recent and shows how America is involved in this mess: http://www.jpost.com/Video-Articles/Video/Obama-at-UN-declares-no-shortcuts-to-peace
A small piece of President Barrack Obama’s speech I want to look at cuts right to the core and does not beat around the bush. I also feel that it takes America out of “police state mode” and instead acts as the old school gym teacher between two fighting boys saying “duke it out yourselves”
“Peace will not come through statements and resolutions at the UN – if it were that easy, it would have been accomplished by now,” Obama said. “Ultimately, it is Israelis and Palestinians who must live side by side. Ultimately, it is Israelis and Palestinians – not us – who must reach agreement on the issues that divide them: on borders and security; on refugees and Jerusalem.”Peace, he said, “depends upon compromise among peoples who must live together long after our speeches are over, and our votes have been counted.” Does this give everyone a better understanding of a small part of this long intense history?
