Carl Smith Lecture

Regarding the origins of the Arab-Israel conflict I was confused. Carl Smith's lecture that we watched in class on Thursday helped me understand it better and I was glad we watched it. From listening to him I was able to understand all the things that i found difficult to understand while I was trying to read his book. I liked how he explained everything as if it was a story and did not at all make the conflict seem like one side was more at fault than the other. He simply told the facts and I was able to listen to him talk and get a better picture of the whole development of the state of Israel from its origin.
What I was thinking while listening to his lecture was how this conflict is still going on, and how from the beginnings of it, it just seems so hopeless. Like there is no solution to this land situation regardless of all the aspects of influence that have been applied to it from the start in order to calm it. If one side gets what they wanted its never enough or than the other side is unhappy and vice verse. And in regards to such a dispute over land and religion I feel like until one side completely collapses, this conflict will just continue.
I found it interesting how Carl explained the strength of the Zionists during the early years of the conflict. When learning about them in class and the development of the movement, I imagined them as a group of people who would struggle greatly against the rest of the Arab nation and those opposed to the Zionists and their intentions. I was honestly surprised when Carl explained the military strength of these people. I guess I should have considered it common sense that they would be so powerful, especially considering that they were able to establish their own state eventually. That's got to take a lot of military tactics to throw the Arabs off their land like the did.
I feel like this conflict is really complex and there are still aspects of it that I have been reading about to further understand the entire issue and though Carl definitely helped me obtain a better visual. I think it is important for me to continue to grasp the whole weight of this conflict because it is such a huge issue in the middle east today and because, as shown from the video we watched in the beginning of the semester, America has much involvement in the conflict. Knowing more about the origins of the conflict leads me to view the current situation slightly different than I had previously although for the most part I still view it without bias, like Carl does.