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REQUIRED:  Choose one of the two perspectives to read.  On a sheet of paper, write a paragraph expressing your views regarding the perspective you chose.  Cite evidence from all of the readings from this lesson and explain why you chose that perspective.

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REQUIRED:  Choose one of the two perspectives to read.  On a sheet of paper, write a paragraph expressing your views regarding the perspective you chose.  Cite evidence from all of the readings from this lesson and explain why you chose that perspective.

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by BY ALON BEN-MEIR
The Jewish experience throughout the Diaspora was one filled with discrimination, persecution, anti-Semitism, and expulsion culminating in the Holocaust. The genocide perpetrated during the Holocaust was surely something new in history: never before had a powerful state turned its immense resources to the industrialized manufacturing of corpses; never before had the extermination of an entire people been carried out with the swiftness of an assembly-line. The fact that many Jews were prevented from avoiding death camps by immigrating to Palestine added yet another layer to the horrific experiences of the Jewish people. The Jews have carried the scars of this past with them and still hold to the view that it can happen again unless they remain vigilant and relentless in protecting themselves at any cost. With this past in mind, the establishment of the state of Israel was seen not only as the last refuge to provide protection for the Jewish people but also the realization and hope of both secular Zionism and biblical prophecy (i.e. the return of the Jews to their ancient homeland). Thus, religious and non-observant Jews believe this trust must be guarded with absolute and unwavering zeal.  Yet, this historical sense of victimization and injustice has served to nurture the allegiance that each Israeli feels towards the state and each other with naturally-engendered, negative emotional sentiments towards the enemy. From the Israeli perspective, the establishment of Israel on the heels of the Holocaust was seen (and continues to be viewed) as the last chance to create a refuge; they must therefore remain on guard to protect Jews’ welfare and wellbeing wherever they may live and at whatever cost. This sense of being victimized resulted from an intentional infliction of harm in the past, universally viewed as utterly unjust and immoral. Yet, it has led to a lack of empathy towards perceived enemies; for example, it manifested itself in Israel shirking responsibility for the Palestinian refugee problem and violating human rights, all the while promoting self-righteousness.

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REQUIRED: Read the 2 Claims to Land.  Answer the following questions.  

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REQUIRED: Read the 2 Claims to Land.  Answer the following questions.  

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1.What claims are being made by each party and how do they justify them?
2. What is your opinion on the issue?
Palestinian Claims to Land:
Palestinians’ claims to the land are based on continuous residence in the country for centuries and the fact that they were the majority. They reject the idea that a kingdom in biblical times can be the basis for a valid modern claim. They do not believe they should give up their land and homes to compensate Jews for Europe's crimes against them.
Israeli Claims to Land:
Jewish claims to the land are based on the biblical promise to Abraham and his descendants and on the fact that this was the historical site of the Jewish kingdom of Israel (which was destroyed by the Roman Empire). They see a homeland for the Jews as the only possible haven from European anti-Semitism after world war 2.

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Photo Analysis: Choose one of the images and answer at least 4 of the following questions. Discuss within your groups. `

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Photo Analysis: Choose one of the images and answer at least 4 of the following questions. Discuss within your groups. `

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1. What is happening in the picture?

2. Who are the more powerful people in the picture?  How can you tell? (If they are not in the picture, how can you see their effects even if you cannot actually see them?)

3. Who are the less powerful people in the picture?  How can you tell?

4. How do you think the more powerful people are feeling?

5. How do you think the less powerful people are   feeling?

6. How do you think this affects the daily lives of the Palestinians in a practical way?

7. Do you think the situation that the Palestinians are in affects them psychologically?

8. Do you think the situation that the young Israeli soldiers are in affects them psychologically?

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by Nizar Farsakh
Occuption at 50   I was born and raised in Dubai, not Palestine. Yet my father's stories of olive groves, simple lives, and rich, colorful histories permeated my life in Dubai. I would lay next to him in bed after he came back from work and he would tell me about my grandfather taking him to Jaffa when he was ten. "We would sell our grapes to the orange merchants of our splendid port city," he would say. He told me how in awe he was in the presence of larger-than-life merchants who'd drown him with their generosity and enchant him with their intellect. The place shined of stature and pride. But, in the winter of 1948, he saw those same proud men broken and defeated. Their backs bent from the weight of the belongings they were carrying, pleading with people from our village to "rent" them space under a tree. My father was 14 at the time. He told me, "At that moment, I promised myself that my generation will not make the mistakes of my father's." That day he joined the Palestine chapter of the Baath party, ushering in a life of political activism. He would later join Fateh and fight alongside Arafat, intent on transforming his people from refugees to freedom fighters.Alas, on the 5th of June 1967, he found himself in his father's 1948 shoes. He had been working in Jordan at the time and was conflicted over whether to go fight, even die, for what remained of Palestine or take my mother's suggestion: "What if you stayed to bring up smart educated Palestinian children with even more zeal and passion for Palestine? Wouldn't you be doing more for Palestine that way?" He opted for that route and from that point on our family thought, talked, breathed, and dreamt Palestine all the time. While I was only half Palestinian (my mother was Italian), my sister and I became deeply involved in the cause in ways our purebred cousins were not. I studied politics, was active in campus, worked in civil society, and then in negotiations—always looking for new ways, more impactful ways to achieve Palestinian liberation. The five years I spent with the negotiating team jaded me as I quickly got disillusioned with the process and, more importantly, shell-shocked by internecine Palestinian fighting. I felt we had totally lost our way and had a bigger problem on our hands than the Occupation. At my friend's counsel, I went to Harvard to join a mid-career program focusing on leadership. Two of my professors, both Jewish, got me reflecting on the water I was carrying and my purpose. I found myself asking fundamental questions about my identity and what Palestine means to me; a diaspora who chose to go back and then left again. It was then that I made object that to which I was subject. I finally could see the Occupation and not be subsumed by it. I started seeing new routes for my destination.

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REQUIRED: Read and anwer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.

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REQUIRED: Read and anwer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.