HIS 5004 Arab-Israel Conflict
This course is designed for rabbinic, cantorial and education students studying in Israel during the spring of 2022. An initial class will examine the nature of the conflict. Is this a religious, national, regional, superpower by proxy war, or is this a confrontation between a colonial-settler movement and an indigenous Palestine-Arab population? The course is intended to give students tools by which to understand the evolution of the conflict from competing claims of Allied war time promises regarding the future of Palestine (1915-1917) until more recent times, including a discussion of the Oslo process, the Second Intifada and Israel's unilateral withdrawal from Gaza. Students are encouraged to read Benny Morris's, Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist - Arab Conflict, 1881-2001 (Vintage Books, NY 2001). Class will take the format of presentations, reading of primary sources, the occasional film, and where possible class discussion. The requirements for this course include active participation, one short mid-term assignment and a final paper or take-home test. Core.