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WHO IS MOSTLY TO BLAME IN THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT?

...AND SHOULD THE U.S. CONTINUE THE "SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP" WITH ISRAEL?

INTRODUCTION:

With the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas driven by the massacre of Israeli civilians on Oct. 7th, I figured it was worth having a discussion to put this into the larger context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and US-Israel relationship.

Polls conducted over the last several years reveal a growing partisan divide in support for Israel, with Republicans' support for Israel growing while Democrats' support for the Israel declines. There's also generational, gender & racial gaps in Americans' support for Israel, with Boomers, men, and whites being more supportive of Israel but Millennials, women, and minorities showing less support. Interestingly, Americans of both parties report a more favorable view of the Israeli & Palestinian peoples than they do of their governments.

Unfortunately, polls of Americans that try to assess how much Americans know about the history of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, or even just the geography of the Middle East, suggest that most Americans' opinions are uninformed & shaped mostly by half-remembered facts from history classes and the occasional news coverage, as well as their general feelings about Jews & Muslims.

So how can we develop an informed opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and decide whether or not the U.S. should continue its "special relationship" with Israel? We'd need to refresh our memory on the history of the conflict, but we'd also need to understand the philosophical underpinnings of international relations concepts like self-determination, sovereignty, just war theory, good faith negotiation, etc. And we'd have to define US national interest in the Middle East & assess if/how the alliance with Israel furthers it.

However, even if we attained expert knowledge of both the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the relevant concepts from the field of international relations (IR), the existence of different schools of thought within IR suggests we might still differ in our views. I looked at the College of William & Mary's TRIP program which regularly surveys American IR scholars, but unfortunately they haven't asked them about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Nevertheless, by understanding how the different schools see the world, we can imagine what they might say:

(1) Neorealists tend to see geopolitics in terms of zero-sum interactions in an anarchic "state of nature", and thus they think long-lasting peace is unlikely and armed conflict is normal. They see debates over human rights as just a way to exercise "soft power". In the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they would expect both sides to follow their national interest, and they would expect the US & other nations to do the same if/when they decided to intervene.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neorealism_(international_relations)

(2) Neoliberals focus more on the possibilities for positive-sum interactions between states and see war as a "bargaining failure" but also as a failure of the international community to prevent it. Neoliberals' view on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would tie into their support for the "liberal international order" which involves promoting democracy & human rights, international peacekeeping efforts, and international law. Thus, they'd have a conflicted view of Israel as both a product of Jewish national self-determination and only democracy in the Middle East but also a repeated violator of international law, and they'd view illiberal monarchies & dictatorships in the Arab world as a related problem that exacerbates the wider Arab-Israeli conflict.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neoliberalism_(international_relations)

(3) Constructivists see the norms of international relations as social constructions can change over time, and they tend to think culture has a bigger effect than the "rational unitary actor" models & game theory used by neorealists & neoliberals suggest. Right-wing constructivists might conceive of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as part of a larger "clash of civilizations" between the Western & Islamic worlds, whereas left-wing constructivists could point to the long period of relatively peaceful coexistence of Jews & Muslims under the Ottoman Empire to suggest that cultural & geopolitical shifts (e.g. decline of Islamism, Arab-Israeli rapprochement vs. Iran & its proxies) could reframe & ameliorate the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivism_(international_relations)

(4) Neomarxist/Critical IR scholars see geopolitics in terms of conflict, rejecting the "liberal international order" as a mask for Western hegemony, but unlike neorealists they explicitly side with poor nations & landless or oppressed peoples. They would almost inevitably see the wealthy state of Israel backed by the U.S. as oppressive and side with the Palestinians in their struggle for national liberation, but they would also be quite critical of the surrounding Arab states for their treatment of the Palestinian refugees, as well as for their abuses of other ethnic & religious minorities.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marxist_international_relations_theory

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DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO PREPARE FOR OUR DISCUSSION:

The videos & articles you see linked below are intended to give you a basic overview of some of the major debates over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and how this relates to US-Israel relations. As usual, I certainly don't expect you to read all the articles I've linked. The easiest way to prepare for our discussion is to just watch the numbered videos linked under each section - the videos come to about about 45 minutes total. The articles marked with asterisks are just there to supply additional details. You can browse and look at whichever ones you want, but don't worry - we'll cover the stuff you missed in our discussion.

In terms of the discussion format, my general idea is that we'll address the topics in the order presented here. I figure we'll spend about 30 minutes on each section.

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I. IS ISRAEL MORE A PRODUCT OF JEWISH COLONIALISM & LAND THEFT OR LEGAL LAND PURCHASES, HOMESTEADING & SELF-DETERMINATION?

  • DOES WRITTEN HISTORY, ALONG WITH GENETIC & ARCHEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE, SUGGEST THAT MOST ISRAELI JEWS AND/OR MOST PALESTINIAN ARABS TODAY ARE DESCENDED FROM THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF THE LEVANT?
  • IS OCCUPANCY OF THE LEVANT IN ANCIENT TIMES RELEVANT TO WHO HAS A MORAL CLAIM TO ISRAEL'S LAND TODAY, OR IS THERE A "STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS" THAT INVALIDATES THE CLAIMS OF THOSE WHOSE ANCESTORS LEFT THE LEVANT?
  • HOW DENSELY POPULATED WAS THE AREA OF PALESTINE IN THE LATE 19th CENTURY WHEN ZIONISM BEGAN, AND WHAT WAS THE ETHNIC MAKEUP? WAS MUCH OF THE LAND BARREN & ABANDONED, SO THAT IMMIGRANTS COULD CLAIM IT VIA "HOMESTEADING"?
  • HOW MUCH OF THE LAND OF PALESTINE WAS LEGALLY PURCHASED BY JEWS FROM OTTOMAN & ARAB LANDLORDS PRIOR TO WWII?
  • DID THE WORK OF JEWISH SETTLERS ENRICH THE LOCAL ECONOMY OF PALESTINE, LEADING ARABS TO MIGRATE THERE FOR WORK?
  • DID THE ARABS COMMIT WARS OF AGGRESSION AGAINST ISRAEL IN 1948, 1967 & 1973? IF SO, IS ISRAEL JUSTIFIED IN CLAIMING THE LANDS IT OCCUPIED AFTER THESE WARS THROUGH "RIGHT OF CONQUEST"?
  • IS THE LOSS OF LAND BY PALESTINIAN ARABS IN THE 1948 WAR MORALLY BALANCED BY THE LOSSES OF MIZRAHI JEWS WHO WERE EXPELLED OR FLED TO ISRAEL FROM SURROUNDING ARAB NATIONS?
  • IS "NATIONAL SELF-DETERMINATION" A WORTHY GOAL? IF SO, DOES ISRAEL OFFER THIS TO THE MIZRAHI JEWS WHO HAD LIVED AS DHIMMI UNDER MUSLIMS RULERS FOR CENTURIES?
  • ARE PALESTINIANS A UNIQUE ETHNIC GROUP THAT DESERVES SELF-DETERMINATION, OR ARE THEY MERELY LEVANTINE ARABS WHO CAN & SHOULD LIVE & ASSIMILATE IN OTHER ARAB COUNTRIES?
  • WOULD IT HAVE BEEN MORE FAIR IF ASHKENAZI JEWS GOT LAND IN GERMANY IN COMPENSATION FOR THE HOLOCAUST RATHER THAN BEING ENCOURAGED TO EMIGRATE TO PALESTINE?
  • IF ASHKENAZIM DON'T HAVE MUCH HISTORICAL CONNECTION WITH ISRAEL AND ARE DEEMED "COLONIZERS", SHOULD THEY BE FORCED TO LEAVE, OR WOULD THIS BE IMPRACTICAL?

1a) Roy Marsden, "Land without a People (4 of 12)" (video - 8:16 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAUdAleRD9Y

1b) Dumisani Washington, "Why Are There Still Palestinian Refugees [But Not Mizrahim Refugees]?" (video - 4:22 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sY0FOPa-j-E

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II. IS ISRAEL AN APARTHEID ETHNO-STATE & WAR CRIMINAL OR HAS IT MERELY ACTED IN SELF-DEFENSE?

  • DOES THE RELIGIOUS BASIS OF ISRAEL'S "RIGHT OF RETURN" MAKE IT AN ILLIBERAL "ETHNO-STATE" AS MANY OF ITS CRITICS CLAIM?
  • ARE PALESTINIANS TREATED AS "SECOND-CLASS CITIZENS" IN ISRAEL? IS THIS EQUIVALENT TO HOW WHITES TREATED BLACKS IN APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA, OR DOES THIS POSIT A RACIAL DISCRIMINATION THAT DOESN'T EXIST IN ISRAELI LAW?
  • DO POLLS OF THE PALESTINIANS & SURROUNDING ARAB NATIONS SUGGEST THERE'S A HIGH LEVEL OF SUPPORT FOR HONOR KILLINGS, DEATH FOR APOSTATES, SUICIDE BOMBINGS, ETC, THAT SUGGESTS THEY'RE TOO VIOLENT TO REASON WITH?
  • ARE THE SECURITY FENCES & CHECK POINTS ISRAEL BUILT AROUND THE WEST BANK & GAZA STRIP EQUIVALENT TO THE BERLIN WALL, OR DO THEY DIFFER BECAUSE THEY'RE MEANT TO KEEP TERRORISTS OUT OF ISRAEL AS OPPOSED TO PREVENT THE PALESTINIANS FROM EMIGRATING?
  • DOES THE FACT THAT ISRAEL HAS BEEN CHARGED WITH MORE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS BY THE U.N. THAN ANY OTHER NATION PROVE IT'S A UNIQUELY BAD "ROGUE STATE"? OR IS THIS FOCUS ON ISRAEL'S ALLEGED MISDEEDS MERELY DUE TO THE INFLUENCE THE OIL OF MUSLIM STATES BUYS FROM OTHER COUNTRIES IN THE U.N.?
  • HAS ISRAEL COMMITTED NUMEROUS WAR CRIMES IN ITS CONFLICTS WITH THE PALESTINIANS, OR DOES IT MAKE EVERY EFFORT TO AVOID CIVILIAN CASUALTIES, ONLY TO BE FOILED BY THE USE OF "HUMAN SHIELDS"?
  • HAVE ANY ISRAELI POLITICIANS VOICED SUPPORT FOR "GENOCIDE" OF PALESTINIANS OR MUSLIMS IN GENERAL? HOW DOES ISRAELI RHETORIC COMPARE TO THAT OF MUSLIM LEADERS TOWARDS ISRAELIS OR JEWS IN GENERAL?

2a) Marc Lamont Hill vs Alan Dershowitz, "Israel, Hamas comments ignite explosive debate" (video - 4:00 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dQ4H7xi9CJc

2b) Elias Khoury vs Richard Kemp, "Is Israel The World's 'Most Moral Army'?" (video - 9:52 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOEVpnSOK5U

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III. WHAT IS THE BEST SOLUTION TO THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT & WHOSE FAULT IS IT THAT IT HAS NOT YET BEEN SOLVED ?

  • WAS THE BRITISH PEEL COMMISSION'S PROPOSAL THAT GAVE JEWS 20% OF THE LAND OF THE PALESTINE MANDATE FAIR?
  • WAS THE UN PARTITION PLAN IN 1947 THAT DIVIDED THE LAND INTO JEWISH & ARAB STATES UNFAIR, SINCE IT GAVE 56% TO 650K JEWS & 44% TO 1.3M ARABS? OR IS IT FAIR BECAUSE THE PALESTINIANS EFFECTIVELY GOT JORDAN, A MUCH LARGER AREA?
  • WHY DID THE PLO TRY TO OVERTHROW THE JORDANIAN MONARCHY IN 1970-71, ONLY TO FAIL & BE EXPELLED, AND THEN FOMENT A CIVIL WAR IN LEBANON (1975-1990) THAT LED TO THEM LOSING & BEING EXPELLED AGAIN? ARE THE PALESTINIANS TO BLAME FOR NOT PEACEFULLY ASSIMILATING IN JORDAN & LEBANON?
  • DO ARAB HOST COUNTRIES KEEP PALESTINIANS IN REFUGEE CAMPS TO KEEP PRESSURE ON ISRAEL, TO PREVENT ATTEMPTS AT REVOLT, OR MERELY TO EXPLOIT THEM?
  • WERE THE CAMP DAVID ACCORDS (1978) DOOMED BECAUSE THEY ONLY INCLUDED THE US, EGYPT & ISRAEL AND DIDN'T INCLUDE THE PALESTINIANS OR JORDAN?
  • WERE THE OSLO I & II ACCORDS (1993 & 1995) A MODEST SUCCESS SINCE THEY GOT ISRAEL TO NEGOTIATE WITH THE PLO & ENDED THE 1st INTIFADA? WHY DIDN'T THE YASSER ARAFAT ACCEPT EHUD BARAK'S OFFER IN 2000? WHY DID THIS LEAD TO THE 2nd INTIFADA?
  • WAS EHUD OLMERT'S PROPOSAL TO MAHMOUD ABBAS IN 2008 FAIR? DID IT BREAK DOWN BECAUSE OLMERT WOULDN'T LET ABBAS KEEP THE MAP THAT SHOWED LAND EXCHANGE PROPOSALS, OR MERELY BECAUSE ABBAS DIDN'T WANT TO SETTLE?
  • HAVE CONTINUED ISRAELI SETTLEMENTS IN THE WEST BANK MADE A TWO-STATE SOLUTION IMPOSSIBLE, OR COULD SETTLERS BE RELOCATED TO DENSER HOUSING IN JUST 2% OF THE AREA?
  • HAS PALESTINIAN DEMOGRAPHIC GROWTH MADE A ONE-STATE SOLUTION UNACCEPTABLE FOR ISRAELI JEWS, SINCE THEY WOULD SOON BECOME MINORITIES IN A MUSLIM-MAJORITY STATE?

3a) David Brog, "Why Isn't There a Palestinian State?" (video - 5:04 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76NytvQAIs0

3b) Haaretz, "The Israeli-Palestinian conflict: One state, two states and other possible solutions" (video - 3:53 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpBHYkra_qs

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IV. DOES SUPPORTING ISRAEL HELP OR HURT U.S. NATIONAL INTEREST?

  • WHAT SHOULD BE THE U.S. NATIONAL INTEREST AS FAR AS ISRAEL & THE MIDDLE EAST IS CONCERNED? DOES IT OVERLAP SIGNIFICANTLY WITH BROADER GOALS LIKE THE "LIBERAL INTERNATIONAL ORDER" & REGIONAL STABILITY?
  • DOES THE U.S. GIVE TOO MUCH TO ISRAEL, A WEALTHY COUNTRY, IN FOREIGN AID, OR DOES THE U.S. GET A GOOD "RETURN ON INVESTMENT"? OR IS THE WHOLE QUESTION MOOT SINCE FOREIGN AID OCCUPIES LESS THAN 1% OF THE FEDERAL BUDGET?
  • DOES THE FACT THAT ISRAEL OUTRANKS ITS ARAB NEIGHBORS ON ALL THE "FREEDOM INDICES" MEAN THAT IT CONTRIBUTES MORE TO THE MAINTAINING THE "LIBERAL INT'L ORDER"? OR IS THIS UNDERCUT BY ITS NUMEROUS VIOLATIONS OF INT'L LAW?
  • HAVE ISRAEL'S RELATIONSHIPS WITH ITS ARAB NEIGHBORS NORMALIZED ENOUGH THAT IT'S NO LONGER A THREAT TO REGIONAL STABILITY? IS THIS BECAUSE SAUDI ARABIA & TURKEY FIND ISRAEL TO BE A USEFUL FOIL AGAINST IRAN & SYRIA?
  • DOES ANTI-WESTERN SENTIMENT IN ARAB COUNTRIES PRIMARILY STEM FROM THE PLIGHT OF THE PALESTINIANS? IF SO, DOES THIS PLAY A ROLE IN IMPEDING THE GROWTH OF ARAB DEMOCRACY, OR ARE DEMOGRAPHIC, ECONOMIC & CULTURAL FACTORS THE BIGGER HURDLE?
  • DOES ISRAEL'S OVERTURES TO RUSSIA & OTHER ILLIBERAL REGIMES MEAN IT'S ABANDONED "LIBERALISM" OR IS IT JUST BEING REALISTIC?
  • SHOULD THE U.S. MAINTAIN ITS CURRENT "SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP" WITH ISRAEL, REMAIN NEUTRAL IN THE ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT, OR SANCTION ISRAEL UNTIL IT GIVES PALESTINIANS A STATE?

4a) Chuck Wald, "Why Does America Spend So Much on Israel?" (video - 5:12 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxE_UUrbMNA

4b) Noam Chomsky, "Why Does the U.S. Support Israel?" (video - 7:40 min.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUQ_0MubbcM

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