The Israeli Palestinian Conflict

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.

Map showing the West Bank and Gaza Strip in relati...

English: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, U.S...

English: Map of West Bank and Gaza Strip

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...