One primary reason why I am so interested in
traveling to Israel-Palestine is because of how much time I have spent studying
the conflict in this region through my majors. As an outsider, I have struggled
to fully understand all of the roots of the conflict, as well as which party I
personally leans towards more. I have also found it difficult to think about
how the conflict might be solved justly and peacefully in the future. I think
the book Israeli and Palestinian
Narratives of Conflict: History's Double Helix, by Robert Rotberg, has
helped me to organize at least some of my thoughts on this matter, and it has
most definitely prepared my mind to use this trip as an opportunity to analyze the
Israeli – Palestinian conflict from a much more critical yet empathetic lens.
Rotberg starts off by placing emphasis on the power
and influence of history, as well as personal experience and perspective, in
discerning between truth and opinion. This definitely relates back to finding
the roots of the conflict; the amount of history – religious, political, and
otherwise – that must be taken into account for both Israelis and Palestinians
is astronomical. Another point that Rotberg seemed to be trying to make is that
both peoples have created their truth claims based on all of this history and
the sense of self-identity and even nationalism that they have developed over
the centuries; as a result, it is not so easy to simply trust one side or the
other when they argue about who “owns” the most rights to this piece of land.
One thing that is interesting about this book is that
Rotberg does not do all the explaining/arguing; instead he has compiled works
from a variety of authors from several varying perspectives in order to explain
the overall conflict. I personally enjoyed this because while there was factual
information given, certain biases were also highly evident in some cases, which
helps demonstrate to an outsider like me how colorful and complex the whole
situation is. After these introductory chapters, Rotberg evenly broke the
different works up by showing the Israeli viewpoint on the situation followed
by the Palestinian viewpoint. Perhaps more importantly, he also dedicates chapters
to how exactly both sides have acted and reacted in this conflict, where the
reader can see both positive and negative aspects. For me, this is another area
where the conflict gets extremely complicated; while in some instances they may
have been justified in their actions, (i.e. for the sake of defense) both sides
are also guilty of actions that were reckless, violent, unjust, and/or simply
unnecessary. Some similarities that I noticed between the two sides’ arguments
are perceptions of being victims, concerns somewhat bordering paranoia that the
other side is a serious security threat, and sometimes subtle, sometimes
blatant nationalism.
While the first parts of the book sound more
negative/depressing/confusing, the last handful of chapters offer some hope and
possible solutions. These authors place huge emphasis on the power of
education. It is noted throughout the book that schools and teachers on both
sides have sometimes tried to push highly skewed educations upon their students
that completely discredit the other side. However, it has also sometimes been
observed that the students themselves seem to desire more perspectives and
fairer understanding of the other. The authors seem to see this desire as an
opportunity to push for more dialogue between both sides, and I definitely
agree because if the upcoming generations who will eventually take on the reins
of leadership have already fostered personal relationships of understanding and
compassion for the other, the probability of a more peaceful future greatly
increases.
This book was written in 2006; I would love to see
Rotberg and the other authors’ viewpoints on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
now. The violence and hatred has seemed to increase greatly, and some of the
tactics of the governments of both sides are becoming dangerously extremist. I
tend to think it is these governing bodies that are fueling the conflict the
most, as they seem to be mostly driven by their own agendas and not the needs
or wishes of their peoples. I’m not sure if this trip will give me any kind of
epiphany about how this conflict might be solved; however, I will be able to
witness at least part of the history and culture that both sides embrace. More
importantly, I know I will see equal human beings on both sides who both
deserve respect, justice, and reconciliation from past tragedies.
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