It is a
significant time to be here. For the
last three years there have been no face-to-face negotiations between Israel
and the Palestinians. Believing it was
futile to pursue, both entities have buttressed their positions through
increased occupation on the part of the Israelis and heightened violence on the
part of beleaguered and increasingly frustrated Palestinians. Now, due to the
efforts of John Kerry and courageous leaders on both sides, these critical
conversations will resume.
Of course,
there are legitimate interests, which each carry, and Americans have a
propensity to over-simplify the many layers of complexity. Yet America can play
a vital role in strengthening this pursuit.
I am prayerful that incremental steps, at least, can strengthen the
interests of both Palestinians and Israel; each has much to gain in ensuring
the internecine destruction cease. Because the partners in negotiation are not
equal in strength and resources, America’s role can raise the level of
state-craft.
The recognition that neither can
lay claim to the whole of this land is very hard for each side. One rabbi described the potential loss of
Hebron, that great historic site for Jews, as an “amputation.” The loss of Jaffa for Palestinians would be
comparably heart-rending. The willingness to relinquish sovereignty over
treasured sectors evokes grief and loss; it will be the steep, but necessary price
for normalizing relationships within this small span of territory.
One of the great strengths of our
study program is that we get to hear perspectives not only from Israeli Jews,
but also from representative Palestinian voices. Of course, it is heavily
weighted with Jewish presentation, but that is the mission of the Institute and
AJC. The partnership between these two
entities grants a more encompassing vista for our cohort.
Our study has evoked deep emotion
as we consider how joyous and difficult life can be in this land. The passion to build the modern state of
Israel and the concomitant pathos experienced by Palestinians is palpable, and
an outsider needs to listen carefully to this protracted conflict.
I will be watching with great
interest and with great hope as the parties return to the table in
Washington. America’s project of
democracy, though flawed in its own execution, does provide a constructive
context for these talks. Surely it is
better to be talking than targeting the enemy, better to be contracting claims
to land than conquering those who also hold legitimate assertions to ownership.
Molly T. Marshall
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