In the Aftermath – The Israel/Gaza Conflict

On November 14th, Israel launched an air campaign against the Gaza strip with the

intention of targeting Hamas. A “hardline party” that has ruled Palestine since

2007, Hamas is the largest militant movement in the area. It was founded in 1987,

a “US-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization violently opposed to the state

of Israel.” The outbreak lasted for 7 days, culminating in a ceasefire after peace

talks between Israel, Palestine and Egypt. Notes CNN reporter Erin Burnett, this

agreement marked the first time that Israel had successfully negotiated with an

Islamist government. Over the course of the week, an estimated 142 people were

killed in Palestine and 5 in Israel, including many civilians and small children.

 

How does this affect our campus? Says Sami Isman ’15, “My family lives close

to Tel Aviv, near the border of the West Bank…the threat of terrorist attacks is

always there.” For Isman, Israel represents a home in many senses of the word. “I’ve

never lived there, but it’s a very special thing for me to go. I’m not sure if every

Jewish person feels that, but to me it feels like going home; this is the country for my

people.” According to Lani Wenger, a junior currently studying abroad in Tel Aviv,

everything feels relatively safe, though she notes that this kind of activity is nothing

new for Israel. This month’s crisis threw Birthright into question for a number of

Jewish American Brown students, including Ali Murphy ’14: “I know that

Birthright’s number one goal is safety, and that this isn’t the first time the country

has been in conflict in the program’s 13 years, but they’ve never had to cancel a trip

before. They sent us regular emails, and at first offered the chance to get your

refund deposit back… I think during that time when we weren’t sure of whether it

would happen or not all of us felt more connected to the events. When you can

imagine yourself there, you start to understand more of the human impact of these

things.”

 

Although both sides consented to a ceasefire, there was no signed ‘pen to

paper’ agreement. According to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “…I

agreed with him [US President Barack Obama] that we should give the cease-fire a

chance in order to enable a lull in the situation and allow for the citizens of Israel to

return to routine. However, Israel obviously cannot sit idly while our enemy

reinforces itself with weapons of terror.” Netanyahu’s statement does not inspire

much confidence that the ceasefire will have a lasting impact. Given the long and

contentious history between Israel and Palestine, the events of last week testify to

the continued relevance of the issue. “Israelis are better off than the Palestinians,”

says Isman, “but neither group should be suffering.”