Thursday, March 5, 2009
The Isreali/ Palestine Conflict... could it lead to the genocide of the Palestinians?
This morning in class we elaborated one some of the issues regarding Palestine and Israel. After watching "To Die in Jerusalem", and then discussing it in class, my opinion slightly changed. I found it hard to decide who to sympathize with, but now that I have had a few days to think about the video and now then discuss it in class, I am sure that there is a clash of civilizations. This conflict between Palestine and Israel has been going on for 60 years with no conclusion. It was mentioned in class that some have theorized that Israeli occupation in Palestine is leading in the direction of genocide. Although I don't think it is quite at that point yet, I do think that this situation could lead to that conclusion. These to civilizations can not get along what so ever, even in "To Die in Jerusalem" for example, a conversation between two mothers who have both lost their daughters as a result of this conflict cant even speak to each other with out engaging in a debate about politics and arguing over who is right and what truly matters in the over all picture. Some citizens of Israel such as Abigail in the film might not look at the issue as a political issue because she is blind sided by the fact that she lost her daughter, but in reality, what the Israeli's have been doing to the Palestinians for the past 60 years has seriously taken a tole on the young minds in both civilizations, and since the conflict shows no signs of stopping, or even slowing, I truly believe that the Israeli's will eventually engage in the genocide of the Palestinian people. Their persistence, and insistence that the land is rightfully theirs and could very possibly lead to that conclusion.
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I think that the conversation we had in class today was really helpful as well. I myself was a little confused about issues in the Middle East and was glad that we clarified it. My opinion of whom to side with or feel sorry for slightly changed too. Although I strongly feel for the victim, it is defenitely sad that the suicide bomber teenager commited the diar crime for something she thought she should believe in and to me that is very sad as well.
ReplyDeleteConversations on genocide are always confusing, since many people usually get caught up in the death toll and at what number it adds up to our idea of genocide. I always find this frustrating, as people try to decide how many lives really make it important enough to be labeled this. We were discussing the possible intent of genocide by the Israelis (which is more important than the death toll), and I agree that the Israelis are not committing genocide but are in a land dispute and want to force more Palestinians off their land. This is a serious issue, and I believe the U.N. has constantly said Israel is in violation of the Geneva Convention, etc.
ReplyDeleteI agree that genocide can be a very frustrating concept. I find it frustrating that there is even such a worry these days. I see history repeating itself in this situation with the Palestinian's and Israeli's. It is reminding me of the conflict that occurred in 1915 with the Armenian Genocide which we also discussed in class the other day after reading "The Bastard of Istanbul". I think it is a shame that the term even come up so often throughout history. I agree with you that people get caught up in the death toll, its almost like an event needs a label and in order to be labeled genocide one must calculate a number.
ReplyDeleteAs per Lauren's comment: after reading The Bastard of Istanbul and learning about events such as the Armenian Genocide and even to relate it to the present day conflict in Israel,the issues became clearer to me. I too was having difficulty deciding who to side with when watching To Die in Jerusalem because in that case the side that i might normally thought was wrong was the main focus of the video and it was clear that she was in pain. However in The Bastard of Istanbul, it is easier to side with the Armenians after learning everything the Turks put them through. This was probably because of the way the book was presented and how the characters related to each other. I wonder, is the Israeli occupation in Palestine going to become a forgotten event? Will people a hundred years from now no longer discuss this event but rather let it god unrecognized? Only time will tell.