Mock Elections and Coalition Building

     With so many different political parties that are active in Israeli government today, I had no idea how I was going to memorize them all and their specific ideologies.  Reading about them in Freedman’s book was definitely helpful, but the party assignment and mock elections were very effective in giving me a solid overall knowledge of many of the parties.  Being able to choose our partners and the party that we would research made it not only educational, but also fun!  I learned so more about the Yesh Atid party that I ever thought possible in the short amount of time here on study abroad.  It was so interesting to be able to research a party that was so successful in the last Knesset election, but also one of the newest parties, being founded just last year in April of 2012.

     The actual mock election was such a creative way to get everyone interested in each party’s presentation, since we were actively involved in choosing how many seats each party received.  Not to mention that I think each group did an excellent job of holding the audiences’ attention and describing their main focuses of their platforms.  Although the presentations and election were fun and interesting, the coalition building process was even more entertaining and really gave us a feel for what it might be like for party leaders of the Knesset to have to compromise in order to be awarded certain ministries.  Admitteditly, it was a bit chaotic and loud at times when each party was trying to persuade Meretz why they should get a certain ministry, but I’m sure it is not any less chaotic when it comes to the actual coalition building and ministry assignments of the Israel Knesset!  I was especially satisfied that Yesh Atid, received the ministries of education, religious affairs, and deputy of the Interior.  All in all, this experience was not only enjoyable for me, but helped me learn about many of the parties in a hands-on way. 

Peres Center for Peace

     Visiting the Peres Center for Peace made me feel hopeful about the chance for peace among Israelis and Palestinians.  I remember taking a taxi a few days prior and talking with the taxi driver about his views on politics and the Arab-Israeli conflict overall.  He admitted that he was much more hawkish than doveish, and he even bluntly stated that “The only good Arab is a dead Arab”.  While I appreciated his honesty, I was disheartened hearing this and wondered how many other adults share his views.  It seems to me as though that once somebody reaches a certain age, they have already accumulated many prejudices and are set in their ways with their harsh opinions.  It is important to try and promote peace and get through to all age groups, but I really found it clever that many of the programs that the Peres Center for Peace runs are grassroots type strategies that focus on debunking prejudices and stereotypes that children hold against “the other”.   Naturally, children are more open-minded and therefore targeting the young age groups could prevent the expansion of prejudice and eventually lead to a more tolerant and peaceful environment among Israelis and Palestinians. 

     They talked briefly about the many programs and opportunities they provide such as putting on skits for children that display the similarities between the two groups and advocate for intermingling and providing healthcare and surgeries for both Palestinian children in the West Bank and Israelis.  The program that caught my attention the most, however, was the soccer league they made for Palestinian and Israeli children.  Not only does this program bring together children from both groups, but it also gives children the chance to play a sport when they might not otherwise have the means to do so.  I really liked hearing that they always intermix Palestinians and Israelis to be on the same team because then they have to work together instead of just compete against each other.  It was heartwarming to hear that many of the children go home to their families and tell them about the new friends they made that are from “the other” group.  As a result of this, not only do the children learn to put aside their prejudices, but their parents and family members are also exposed to the positive outlook of seeing “the other” as fellow human beings rather than enemies.    

The Parent's Circle

     My first reaction to the personal stories of tragedy told by The Parent’s Circle” was that they were so brave in opening up to a roomful of strangers, and apparently this is something they do often.  I could not imagine re-telling the stories of the death of one of my family members, especially when the stories may not be so well received depending on the school they are out and the audience that they are talking to.  It was extremely heartbreaking to hear the story of how the woman’s husband was shot down, and how a suicide bomber killed the man’s fourteen-year-old daughter.  Despite the grief they endure every day, they are striving to reach out to Israelis and Palestinians from all over to promote peace and mutual respect between the two peoples, and I cannot express how much I admire them for their efforts.  I do believe, however, that at times during their presentation they both let their emotions and anger get the best of them.  As a result, some issues were blown out of proportion and some of their comments contradicted their intent of discrediting stereotypes and prejudices.  For example, when the man over generalized and stated that the IDF is a terrorist organization, it stereotyped the majority of Israeli people as terrorists since it is a requirement for them to join the military after high school.  Also, the woman made it seem as if the Israeli government is constantly shutting off the water supply to the West Bank.  Regardless of these few rants that the two of them went on, I think their overall message prevailed and I hope that it prevails for at least some of the local students that they visit.  They may have overgeneralized a bit, but they are right in the sense that we all as human beings need to evaluate our actions because each and every one of us is capable of great harm and evil.  I do believe that their message would be much more effective if they focused on specific events of wrong done by individuals rather than overgeneralizing and scapegoating an entire people. 

Haredim

     Reading about the Haredim was extremely interesting, but having the opportunity to visit a Haredi neighborhood in Jerusalem was an experience that helped me understand their lifestyle and culture even greater.  Before visiting their neighborhood, I knew many of their strict values and rules that they abide by, such as having the men remain jobless in order to study the Torah in depth, dressing conservatively, and marrying only within their own communities.  However, I did not realize to what extent they followed all of these rules and how these rules affected their daily lives.  I was surprised to see a sign when walking down their streets that stated “We beg you with all our hearts, please don’t pass through this neighborhood in immodest dress.  Modest dress includes closed blouse, long sleeves, skirts – no pants”.  The sign asking to dress modestly did not bother me at all.  I respect different cultures and I respect their religious beliefs.  Nevertheless, I cannot condone the intolerance that I observed when viewing the vandalized section of a street sign that was in Arabic.  I tried to keep in mind that not just the Haredi have prejudices against Arabs, but many other Israelis do as well, and I also tried not to generalize that all Haredi are intolerant.

     Despite our entire group being modestly dressed, glares from the Haredi were frequent and the overall atmosphere did not feel welcoming at all.  I can tell that they are trying to isolate themselves from modern society and that our being in their safe haven made them feel very uncomfortable and possibly even threatened.  Even the small children stared at us and one young boy even spit towards our direction as if to tell us that we should not be there.  It was apparent that this neighborhood was very poor, most likely due to the fact that they strictly adhere to rule of the husband not working.  Each family seemed to consist of many children, a few of which seemed to have rashes or other health concerns.  This really saddened me that these families cannot even afford proper care for their many children.  This experience overall made me realize that although it is important to respect other cultures and ways of life, disagreeing with certain things is normal and okay, and I do not agree with the Haredim continuing to have children when they cannot afford any more.

Counter terrorism conference

     Attending the conference on Israel's conflict with the Gaza Strip was not only a great experience, but it also raised many questions and challenged me to create an opinion of where to draw the line when it comes to human rights issues.  My first impressions of the panel was that it was not as diverse as I expected it to be. There was only one person representing a human rights organization while the other panelists consisted of officers of the IDF, a spokesperson for the IDF, a journalist that mostly supports the actions of the IDF, and other Israelis mostly in support of the IDF.  Because of this apparent disadvantage on the human rights side of the debate, I especially tried to have an open mind when the human rights activist spoke.

     Despite having an open mind and giving the human rights activist a fair chance at persuading me, I ultimately decided that her requests that the IDF perform an investigation on every civilian death is unreasonable, and that in order for Israel to effectively protect its own citizens against the Hamas terrorists, regulations cannot be so strict (they already have very strict regulations in comparison to other countries).  I thought that Professor Schmidt from the United States Naval Academy made an intriguing response to the human rights activist by bringing to everyone's attention that despite that Israel is so often terrorized by the Hamas, their military force still continues to be more cautious than any other country when it comes to the possibility of civilian death and he stated that because of this the IDF deserves an award.  Furthermore, I believe that the human rights organizations would be much more successful and useful if they focused their efforts on a case by case basis instead of making the unreasonable request that the IDF investigate every case.  The IDF is dealing with a complex type of warfare, a war on terrorism, which requires that certain measures be taken in order to protect its citizens  This needs to be put into perspective when deciding where to draw the line on human rights and how tediously these civilian casualties need to be investigated.