Let's Solve This Thing.

Despite the fact that most of you reading this post may not click on them, I'm including a couple of links here and here to some short essays that I have written regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and ways to resolve it.

Anyways.

     Remember that crazy study put out by some big scientific organization a while back that said that men think about sex every three seconds? That's me with this conflict. Needless to say I've gone through quite a number of opinions on how to bridge the Palestinian-Israeli divide, and still today my views are being shaped by conversations and experiences that I have, things I read in the news, or stories I hear about peacemaking in other regions. I expect my participation in this class will inspire still more changes, but I hope to communicate my current mindset in this post.
   
     It's incredibly difficult to even know where to begin when conceptualizing a possible solution to this conflict. To start off, do we look at where, when, and how this all started (and what that even means)? Do we draw up who-started-what charts complete with every war and rocket attack and civilian casualty on each side? Do we get intimidated by the heavy history books and the messy past of the region and just focus on what's happening at this very moment? And once we get past that part, let's address the question of who the "we" is that we're talking about. Who can actually make this happen? Who is able to most effectively broker a peace deal, or coax the Israeli and Palestinian populations into wanting to make peace with each other and believing that it's possible? As you can already see by the way I'm already tripping over my many thoughts regarding this issue, it's complicated. However, through the fog of unhelpful skepticism and the unreasonable, naive optimism and the damaging fundamentalism and radicalism that one is bombarded with when diving into the pool of information about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, one vision remains in perfect view: peace is possible.

     There are parts of my mind that are drenched in Mediterranean sunshine and strewn with festive wreaths of olive branches when thinking about the future of Israel and Palestine because of the many formal and informal diplomatic initiatives going on currently, attempting to create the desire and motivation for peace on the person-to-person level as well as on a governmental level. There has been a growing trend over the past three decades or so in the area of grassroots peacemaking, using community building programs between Israeli and Palestinian youth to hopefully instill a sense of partnership and cooperation in the future leaders of the two nations.

     The more somber parts of my mind are littered with dust and rubble from the enormous security wall and splattered with blood of all those who have died as a result of this stubborn conflict. There have been studies done on the attitudes of the youth in Israel and Palestine that have reported the increasing stubbornness on either side and the lessened motivation for and belief in a future resolution. Even without these surveys it is possible to observe the belligerent attitudes of both populations, their deeply rooted anger fueled by each subsequent Israeli settlement built or rocket launched from within Gaza or the West Bank.

     I do not believe that it is realistic to expect the Israeli and Palestinian people to come to the unanimous decision that enough is enough any time soon. I believe that, despite the incredible importance of popular opinion & national attitudes, that formal governmental peace agreements are just as important. You just can't have one without the other in this situation. I also believe that the actions of both Israeli and Palestinian leaders do not always (or even often) demonstrate what they say is a genuine desire for peace. So what is to be done?

     On the road to reconciliation, the peace train is going to have to make a few stops (roll your eyes, see if I care--I love Cat Stevens).
     The first stop (step? stop? so confusing.) will have to be at the grassroots level. The attitudes of both nations must be more optimistic, more trusting, and more inclusive before the next step of progress can be taken. Why? Because of the children! No matter how cliche it is, it is true that the children of today are the leaders (and the voting constituents) of tomorrow, so I see it necessary to focus on improving conditions for more peaceful mindsets in each population right now, right at this very minute.
     Next comes the guys in suits (this masculine language has a purpose--I'll address the issue of women in government in just a minute). Right now they're not doing their jobs. They're just not. Words mean nothing without action, and when action is lacking, the citizens need to rise up and demand it. I understand that this is easier said than done (remember five seconds ago when I said that talk is cheap?), but once the populations each become more strongly devoted to the pursuit of peace(which was stop #1 on the peace track), they will elect leaders who are, as well.
     In the past, a cheap, shiny tourist attraction on the path to peace has been *women*. Women's involvement in this particular region of the world has ranged from UN-appointed commissions/teams to tiny, independent, citizen-driven community development programs trying to create peace between Israelis and Palestinians. No matter how effective these programs had the potential of being, we never found out because they have always been nothing more than side projects to the formal process of peacemaking--a process from which women have been routinely and systematically (and shamefully) excluded.

I will continue to write more about this as the semester progresses, adding on as more ideas come to me. Thank you all for bearing with me as my mind races from one idea to the next--the bottom line is we can do this.