Political Science 1G06:

Tensions Between Arabs and Jews

Name: Mobeen Abdulla Student Number: 0968458 Date: March 21/2011 Instructor: Dr. Alway Teachers Assistant: Laura Settani

Throughout the course of history, there has been much conflict over land rights in many parts of the world. Along with land rights, individuals feel a sense of nationalism and pride towards the land that is owned or given to them. One of the most controversial conflicts of all time refers to the Palestine and Israeli battle over the land. The conflict is over land and boundaries, statehood and national identity, and the tangible intermingles with the symbolic in most issues under dispute, such as Jerusalem and the holy sites or the right of return of Palestinian refugees into Israel (Sagiv-Schifter & Shamir, 2006).The conflict did not only affect the people living in Palestine, but affected both cultures worldwide. The Palestine and Israel conflict also known as the Arab-Israeli conflict has been going on for over a century and is still present in contemporary politics. The basis of this conflict refers to the concept of nationalism and political tensions between the two nations, which has created grudges on both ends. According to an introduction to government and politics textbook, nationalism is defined as the feeling of loyalty and attachment to ones nation or nation-state, and strong support for its interests(Dickerson & Flanagan, pg. 183). This definition illustrates that both Palestinians and Israelis had strong feelings of nationalism, which ultimately created this war. The most obvious tension that has resulted from the conflict is the tension between Arabs and Jews; more importantly, Palestinians and Israelis. Another consequence of the conflict has produced an economic gap and segregation. The most important tension that has resulted from the war is the religious divide between the Jews and Muslims. This has an immediate effect on the political spectrum and demographics in Palestine, which is now Israel. The conflict between Palestine and Israel has created tensions between the two cultures and within the modern state of Israel. There are many opinions about this topic, but it is morally incorrect to take something that is not owned by an individual, which is the case in this conflict.

In earlier times, nationalism was used to capture other lands. Palestine was once a dominating country in the Middle East, but that was taken away when Israel became an independent state, destroying the existence of Palestine and creating a burden between the two cultures. The issue arose in the late 19th century when the Zionist movement and Anti-Semitism caused the two states to merge. Palestine was an established state before it was put under mandate by the British who had favoured the Israelis over the Palestinians. The rising Jewish refugees in the population were rapidly growing and both states declared their desire for an independent state. The British declared that Palestine would now be a nation home for the Jewish community; this made the Palestinians angry. This was soon after the League of Nations which is now the United Nations partitioned for a divided state of Israel and Palestine. On May 14th, 1948, Israel was established an Independent state and took over Palestine. Israel was responsible for the Arab-Israeli conflict and Palestine should have the right to their land.

Demographic statistics have been changing ever since the war started and continues today. One of the main occurrences for this conflict was the sudden increase of Jewish immigration in 1946. This was seen as the main root for the conflict because if the Jewish people had chosen to reside somewhere else there would be no problem. The Jewish population was spread out all over the world in different communities; there was no problem until they started invading this Holy Land as Palestine was known. Some 33% of Palestinians in Jerusalem have changed their place of residence, with 54% of these changing their residence for the first time.(Shabaneh, 2007). This was essentially the reason that upset the Arabs and a matter of fact, any country that was being invaded by another culture and forcing them to move. Jews were entering Palestine as refugees due to ant-Semitism which was seen as a threat to the Palestinian

nation, which surely it was because it was altering the demographics of what once was Palestine. The Jewish people could have migrated to other surrounding cities which would have avoided the clash of the two cultures. It is unethical that the Jewish people would do that to the Palestinians. Although the Palestinians had no choice but to let them in, they did not expect the Jews to create a nation of their own. If a person was to seek refuge into another persons home, it is immoral to basically kick them out of where they once lived. The Israelis unwillingly entered the Palestinian territory, which was seen as a threat to their nation. The wall that has been created in modern Israel aims to create isolation rather than a solitary physical structure (Shabaneh, 2007). The wall was built in order to separate the Palestinians and the Israelis which modifies the demographics of the country, but has the inverse effect. The invasion has caused demographic tensions between the two cultures as they have migrated to avoid each other.

The conflict between Arabs and Jews has created economic tensions in Israel today. Statistics show that there is an economic gap between Arabs and Jews. There is a segregation of income between Israelis and Palestinians. 43.5% of Palestinian workers receive less than minimum wage - more than four times that of Israelis (10%)(Shabaneh, 2007). Due to the Israelis dominating the land, there is a majority of Jewish people that have work available for Palestinians. Due to the tension, Israelis are able to pay Palestinian workers less than minimum wage because Arabs are restricted from education, community centres and other employment opportunities. Moreover, there are not a lot of jobs available for an Arab living in Israel, which leaves the individual no choice. Arabs living in Israel that get paid less than minimum wage do not have disposable income to spend on things other than their needs. This creates a low standard of living among the Palestinians but a high standard of living for Israelis. Individuals do not want

have a low standard of living, so Palestinians are forced to migrate to areas of higher Arab concentration or possibly migrate internationally.

More tensions arise as the conflict impacts the economy as a whole. Unemployment in the West Bank rose to 26.8% in 2005, up from approximately 11% in 2000. This high rate is largely due to the closure policy that Israel has imposed on Palestinian population centers since the end of 2000(Shabaneh, 2007). Events in September 2000 called Al-Aqsa Intifada also known as the second Intifada have adversely affected the Israeli economy. It started when Ariel Sharon visited the Temple Mount in Jerusalem where the site of Al-Aqsa mosque is located and is considered the third holiest site for Muslims (Sagiv-Schifter & Shamir, 2006). This event caused war between Arabs and Jews as the religions clash in order to establish a sense of identity and territory through political elections. The battle between the two sides resulted in a high toll in human life and economic damage on both sides. This war is fuel to the fire between Palestinians and Israelis that already existed.

The main concern about the conflict refers to the religious aspect, which has created hatred towards both religions worldwide. The majority of the population residing in Palestine was mostly Arab people; either Christian or Muslim, and they had no problem with different religion and shared the same culture. Both religions had no problems and were living as a nation that shared the same culture, until the Jews came changing these conditions. When Palestine was created Britain in 1917, 90% of the population was Arabs with no more than 56,000 Jews.(Ross, pg 13). This proves that Palestine was established for the Arabs; Palestine mostly consisted of Arabs when it was first established. It had a significantly more Arabs than Jews;

those Jews that were living there were either recent immigrants or people that were working in Palestine. It could be clearly seen that Israel drove Palestine out so they could call the land their own; Palestine was there first and the land rights should be possessed by Palestine. Palestine originally existed with an Arab population and a lack of Israelis proving the land was in possession of the Arabs.

The media has only exposed viewers to the violent side of the conflict and has neglected the peaceful side of the conflict. External figures can only base their opinion based on what kind of information is available but cant have a first person opinion. Many people would argue that people living in Israel are not concerned about the conflict that has happened in the past and happening now. Individuals do not feel obligated to continue the war in day-to-day matters, rather to move on with life and deal with individuals equally regardless of ethnicity. There were two beautiful ladies representing their country: Jewish singer Noa (known as Achinoam Nini in Israel) and the Christian Arab singer and actress Mira Awad (Lindquist). Instead of fighting and hating one another, the singers decided to put their differences aside and try to create a positive impact in order to bind the two cultures together. This duo teamed up to create a song called There Must be Another Way, was special not only due to its political, non-violence message in a competition where any political message is utterly forbiddenthe lyrics spoke clearly against the preference both by Hamas and, at the time. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government for violent solutions to the conflict(Lindquist) This shows that there are some positive relationships between Arabs and Jews in Israel. Moreover the song is main stream therefore it is spreading the word about the new attitude

towards the conflict. These acts intend on lowering the tensions between the two cultures and create peace in the state of Israel.

Another example of Arabs and Jews working together occurs on daily events. Instead of dreading about events that happened in the past that did not include modern day citizens, Palestinians and Israelis work hand in hand on a daily basis. Many examples of people working or studying together as human beings rather than as Jews or Christians or Muslims or Druze, such as Arab doctors or patients in Israeli hospitals or vice versa (Lindquist, 2010). These events happen every day and individuals private religion is out of the equation as they interact with one another. Moreover, Israel has two official languages; Arabic and Hebrew, which enables individuals to interact in both languages. Hebrew and Arabic text is found in public situations such as TV, currency, road signs etc. On the contrary, Israel does not have a clear sense of nationalism as there is a split between the two cultures, which is a big part in being part of a nation.

The political aspect of the conflict has forced individuals out their original home as well as separating Arabs and Israelis from one another. A political movement has been created in order to separate the two cultures for their own safety by putting up walls and fences that distinguish boundaries. In the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Palestinians have been subjected to sieges and blockades since 2000, which separates West Bank from the Gaza Strip from East Jerusalem, and to ethnic cleansing. In addition, they have had to put up with the separation wall and the Jewish settlement expansion, paralleled by their confinement in

restricted areas in the Palestinian towns and villages in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip( Salem, 2008)

These boundaries were created to give both cultures a community with a shared identity where the Arabs were separated from the Jews. The Israeli government was able to govern the parts of Israel that were predominantly Israeli, and the Palestinian Liberation Organization could govern within their boundaries. This political movement has created grudges around the world as Palestinians are only entitled to part of the land that was once theirs. This creates tension between the two groups because Palestinians only own a small proportion of the land compared to the Israelis who dominated the land.

As more and more refugees resided in Palestine, Israelis started ruling the land and outnumbered the Palestinians. The Israelis were cruel and illegitimate towards all Palestinians. These populations included some of 120,000 of the people (or their descendants) who had fled Israeli-controlled areas in 1948-49. Many of them still lived in camps, in effect as refugees (Harris, pg. 28) As a result of Israel gaining independence, they were proven to be cruel and harsh on the previously upset Palestinians. Many Palestinians lived in refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. They denied Palestinians the right to return to their respective homes in the new state of Israel. If they attempted to go home, they were either killed or abused. To this day, many Palestinians hold keys to their homes but will never return because of the brutality of the Israeli people. It was very unfair to drive them out of their own country and then in return not even allow them back in. 700,000 800,000 Palestinians left the country in 1947 because of fear. The Israelis began to remove signs of Arab life by separating Jews and Arabs, destroying

Palestinian homes that were occupied by Israelis.(Mueller) The treatment on Palestinians was inexcusable and dishonourable as they took away the rights of a human and the right to life. Thus due to the cruelty of the Israelis they had begun over powering the nation, and outnumbering the Palestinians

For many of the reasons stated, tragic events do have consequences moving forward. The conflict between Palestine and Israel affects people of that culture worldwide as well as perceptions of others. The war has created tension and hatred between Arabs and Jews as well as created many views on the topic. The conflict has an immediate effect on the economy and infrastructure. Tensions arise in politics and demographic arrangements within the boundaries of specific areas. Moreover it has created a tension between Palestinian and Israeli cultures. The Israeli people were harsh and cruel to the Palestinians even in the aftermath of the conflict, which had created many bitter feelings around the world. People should care about this issue because it derived from political tensions and nationalism, which drove people out of their country and caused war; this can be seen in many cases worldwide. The Arab-Israeli conflict can be an influence on many countries in becoming multi-culturist in order to avoid any ideas of nationalism.

Works cited
Dickerson, M. O., & Flanagan, T. (2002). An introduction to government & politics: a conceptual approach (6th ed.). Scarborough, ON: Nelson Thomson Learning. Harris, Nathaniel. "Palestinian response." Israel and the Arab Nations in Conflict (New Perspectives). New Jersey: Hodder Wayland, 1998. 28, 29. Print Lindquist, T. (2010). Arabic language and culture in Israel could be an object of pride but Is not. Palestine-Israel Journal of Politics, Economics & Culture, 15(1-2), 129-134. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from the EBSCOhost database. Ross, Stewart. "Two Peoples, land." Causes and Consequences of the Arab-Israeli Conflict Salem, W. (2008). Palestinian contemporary political performance: A bitter harvest. PalestineIsrael Journal of Politics, Economics & Culture, 15(1-2), 70-77. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from the EBSCOhost database. Schnell, I., & Kartin, A. (2005). Demography and politics in the Palestinian authority. PalestineIsrael Journal of Politics, Economics & Culture, 15(1-2), 109-117. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from the EBSCOhost database. Schnell, I. (2008). The hidden teasure of the Palestinian economy: The economic implications of refugee compensation. Palestine-Israel Journal of Politics, Economics & Culture, 15(12), 195-202. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from the EBSCOhost database. Shabaneh, L. (2007). Jerusalem's economic shift and the gap between the city's Arabs and Jews. Palestine-Israel Journal of Politics, Economics & Culture, 15(1-2), 102-107. Retrieved November 22, 2010, from the EBSCOhost database. Shamir, M., & Sagiv-Schifter, T. (2006). Conflict, Identity, and Tolerance: Israel in the Al-Aqsa Intifada. Political Psychology, 27(4). Retrieved March 19, 2011, from the EBSCOhost database. Tragedy in the Holy Land - The Second Uprising. Dir. Denis Mueller. Perf. n/a. Mpi Home Video, 0. VHS.)