Professional Documents
Culture Documents
6. Describe in detail your idea for a viable, practicable solution to the conflict.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been a conflict that started with the
distribution of land but today has turned into much more than just that. It has
become a clash over religions, ethnicities, and power. Jews and Muslims have
had a history of peace and tolerance, and I feel in the future these people will find
their way back to this peaceful union. Even today signs of co-operation between
the Palestinians and Israelis exists, “ In the cities there is a certain amount of
economic co-operation, but less than there used to be, and there would be much
more under settled political conditions” (Buber, Arab-Jewish Unity, 11). This is
why if I were to propose a solution for the conflict I would base it around a one
state solution. People have been focusing on two state solutions for so long and
yet no agreement has been reached. The more the world tries to think of a way
to separate these two groups the more they start to view themselves as enemies
and find it more impossible to coexist. The Israelis and Palestinians need to start
realizing all the things they have in common rather than the differences that have
surfaced since the existence of Israel. One may think it is impossible for these
people to start getting along and share this land with all the deaths and
destruction that has taken place in the past few decades, and this is why it is
unrealistic to think that this plan would work out perfectly from the start. However,
if we were to set in a basis for a future union between Palestine and Israel then in
the future the idea of a peaceful state will be attainable. There are many
countries accept some fault for the deaths that have occurred on both sides.
Israel refuses to admit they have fought the Palestinians with disproportionate for
force even though the international court of law has accused them of this. In
order for both countries to begin negotiating, Israel would have to admit that
building the settlements was wrong. There would have to be some group that ran
comprised of any American politicians. This reason for this is that America has
tried to head these negotiations in the past and nothing has come of it, so we
need a new start. Also it is clear that America is a bit biased in this case, they do
after all fund most of is not all of Israel’s army. If we were to put European Union
think things would run more smoothly and there would be more of a neutral
The most important issue has always been borders, but of course one of
the advantages of a one-state solution would be that we would not have to worry
about this problem as much. I believe it would be impossible to run Palestine and
Israel as one entity with laws and budgets that apply for all the people. This is
why my solution would propose that the land be divided up into separate states
much like in the United States. This would mean there would have to be
politicians on both a state level and a federal level. Meaning there would be
many more politicians in charge of making decisions than there are now. I would
make sure each state has a board of politicians comprised of both Palestinians
and Israelis so that the power is split up evenly throughout the country. There
important to get women involved in politics and have them run for these positions
or even appoint them for certain positions. With women having a voice in their
communities it will allow more stability and less struggle for power. There are
already several activist groups comprised of women that are of both backgrounds
and strive for peace, so finding women that are willing to make decisions for their
communities should not be too difficult. After all, the first intifada had a lot of
support from female groups and women played a large role in this uprising but
were not really given much credit. The settlements would be their own states and
reputation they have now. In order to encourage blending the government could
offer cheap housing or less taxes to people that wish to move there, this is similar
to what Israel currently does to get people to live on the settlements even though
the risk of attack is higher. Therefore, “some of these (states) will be mainly
Jewish, some mainly Arab, and some mixed.” (Buber, Arab-Jewish Unity, 34)
The Palestinian refugees would have the right to return to the lands they used to
live on, however many of them have started new lives in neighboring countries so
if they choose to stay where they are they could be compensated for the homes
they lost. Jerusalem could be a sort of religious capital where people of all
ethnicities and religions are free to visit, and it would not have any political
significance.
The moderators of this plan would have to assure the Palestinian people
that the Israeli army would no longer exist and all weapons previously owned by
them would be used for the safety and protection of all Israeli and Palestinian
people. Each province or state would have a budget for their own police force but
there would only be one military. Yet even with united military force there is still
the fear that violence will continue, but in order for the pattern of violence to end
in this region we would need to find a new way to educate the youth. Education is
the best way to create change. Schools would be run by state funding, but the
curriculum would have to be the same across the country in order to prevent any
sort of bias teaching. I think it is important to make sure that schools are strictly
secular. If people wish to educate their children on religion then they can do so in
their homes or places of worship. It is crucial for both Israeli and Palestinian
children are taught in Hebrew, whereas Palestinian children are taught in Arabic.
learn to be fluent in both languages. This would make it easier to merge the
students in the later grades. Universities in the future could offer courses in both
languages.
In order for this solution to work properly there would have to be a lot of
supervision at first, but I feel we have to be optimistic and believe that these two
countries will eventually have to think of some way to compromise because they
are running out of time. As one time peace was possibly between these two
groups, “Jews and Arabs stuck together because the interests of their life
required it” (Buber, Towards Union in Palestine, 19) one day they will come this
realization again. Just as they have in the past eventually The international
community will have to step in at some point, especially with Israeli war crimes
assure that this plan will not end up being a failed attempt at peace much like the
attempts in the past there would have to be goals made to reach at certain time
periods. The first decade would be highly supervised and if by the end of then
things have worked out as planned then the United Nation moderators could
more loosely follow the progress of the country. Funding for this would have to
funding this country as they do with Israel today then that should help pay for