Today we sat down with a Palestinian Israeli who shared his point of view on the conflict and what life is like during the occupation. He spoke about Jaffa before 1940’s and how it was thriving economy relying largely on the exports of oranges. Next he talked about the Israelis wanting to build a Jewish state and this led to the three catastrophes, as he called it. The first catastrophe was in 1948 when the Palestinians were suddenly considered minorities in their own homes or “born the wrong race”. Then the second catastrophe, the Absentee Law came about, which was after Israel expelled 800,000 Palestinians , there was property left unowned or “neglected. The law stated that if no one was found inside the property when it was counted then it would go to the Israelis. Lastly, the third catastrophe is the co-existence. This called for a demographic balance which called for the immigration of Jewish people. Because of this segregation is very apparent, particularly in the education system. Schools are divided into Secular Jewish, Orthodox Jewish, and Arab. Because of this discrepancy in education, people who live next door to each other could live completely different lives.
I found this talk to be fascinating because it was a different point of view from one that I’ve heard. Coming from the United States I have many Jewish friends who have strong ties to Israel. They constantly tell me about the history of Israel and how they view the current divide in the country. Something that I think is very important to reiterate is that it is important to have an open mind and fact check! Sometimes when I listen to people I take it verbatim and tell others what I’ve heard. Coming to Israel it is very important for me to understand that everyone is going to feel strongly about what they’re talking about but their sole opinion is not going to shape what I believe. I’m coming into this trip with an open mind and eager to visit all the different cities and sites that will help develop my understanding of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
P.S. my pictures don’t pertain to what I talk about but I thought they were interesting to post.
Israeli Hall of Independence
A Memorial located where Israeli Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated by and radicalized right wing Israeli Jew