Archaeology as Politics

Click on the YouTube links below to get a glimpse of how archaeological excavations in and around Jerusalem/Al-Quds have the ability to reveal past peoples... and to provoke present ones...

A Palestinian view (AlJazeera)

An Israeli view (Davidson Archaeological Park)

Your thoughts about such projects, and their political & religious ramifications?

Handala

Click here (handala.org) to view the political artwork of Naji Al-Ali, a (deceased) Palestinian refugee who lent his pen and brush to creating 'Handala', a character that remains iconic for many of his people...

Elephant in the Room?

Click here (WallStreetJournal) to read an opinion piece by Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney on Middle East policy...

What does Romney say (and not say) with regard to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? How does this compare/contrast with what President Obama said (and did not say) at the United Nations last week? (see Sept 25th, below)?

Walking A Fine Line

Click here (haaretz) to read about how one tour company tries to strike a delicate balance between competing historiographies involving Jerusalem and the Holy Land...

Do you think that efforts like this are effective? or naive?

Bansky Strikes Again!

 

Click here (BBC) to view some of the whimsical yet politically charged graffiti by Bansky on the 'Israel-West Bank Separation Barrier'... (and click here for Bansky's website).

Does this kind of activity make light of the conflict? Or does it amplify/clarify it for a larger audience?

Reading Between the Lines

Click here (from whitehouse.gov) to browse President Obama's speech today to the UN General Assembly. Note especially the highlighted section discussing the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict...

What are your thoughts/observations about what the President did (and did not) say? About the terminology he did (and did not) use? About the location and extent of this material within the overall speech? About the implications for America's potential (non-)involvement in the foreseeable future?

Indepenence and Catastrophe

Click on the links below to view the human repercussions of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War...

Palestinian Arab refugees (PalestineSpring, YouTube)

Middle Eastern Jewish refugees (DavidProject, YouTube)

What are your observations/reactions about the historiographic and ideological perspectives of these presentations? About their respective production values? About their intellectual and emotional impacts?

The 'Other' Abrahamic Faith

Click here (UKTelegraph) to learn about recent escalating tensions between some Jewish and Christian populations in Israel and the Palestinian Territories...

UPDATE (10/2/12): yet another incident...

Is this a harbinger of more trouble to come? Do you think these types of incidents might affect attitudes of Christians who support a strong Israeli state?

The Lobbyists

Click here (AIPAC) to visit the official website of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, a very influential political lobbying organization...

Notice what's included under the 'Why Israel Matters' section... your thoughts/observations about the contents and tones of the video? of the writing?

Also, click here (Jstreet) for a more recently founded Israeli lobby, with a notably different approach...

Romney re: Ramallah

Click here (ChristianScienceMonitor) for just one of many takes on the Republican Presidential candidate's comments about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict...

Beyond the partisan-election hype, what (if any) aspects of these comments do you find persuasive? What (if any) do you find misguided? How much power can/does/should the USA exercise regarding this conflict?

The Ghosts of Sabra & Shatilla

Click here (NewYorkTimes) to read an opinion piece about the massacres that happened 30 years ago this week at two Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon...

Do you think that catastrophes such as this (as well as the 1929 Hebron & 1948 Deir Yassin massacres) can ever be 'defused' politically and diplomatically? Or will the pain and outrage surrounding the events drive the conflict forward?

UNmoved

Click here (BBC) to read about the latest (non)developments regarding Palestine's bid for full recognition at the United Nations...

Do you think recognition would help or hinder Palestinian-Israeli relations? Why so?

Stirring the Hornets Nest

Click here (Ynetnews) to learn about possible repercussions of this week's Muslim protests for Jerusalem...

Is the Holy City fated to be a magnet for such disputes? Justifiably so, or not?

Zionism Puts Down Roots

Click on the links below (YouTube) to continue viewing a short history about early Zionism in the land of Palestine...

Part 3 (Great War & End of Ottoman Empire)
Part 4 (The British Mandate)

Spring in Palestine?

Click here (NewYorkTimes) to read about recent and ongoing violence in the West Bank (also check out this photo-blog @NBC)...

How does this differ from the 'usual' history of violence in Israel/Palestine? Where do you imagine it might lead? Has the spirit of the Arab Spring arrived in the Levant? If so, what are its prospects?

Not Enough Shekels

Click here (Examiner) to learn about a newly issued United Nations report detailing the economic and social challenges facing the residents of the Palestinian Territories...

Do you think greater economic prosperity might lead to greater political stability with Israel? Why or why not?

Unconventional?

What happened in Charlotte this week with the Democrats and Jerusalem? (which both Israelis and Palestinians claim as their rightful capitol)

Click here (FoxNews) for a take from the right.
Click here (MSNBC > thinkprogress) for a view from the left.

Your thoughts about this affair? Is it a tempest in a teapot? Or something more?

Roots of the Disputes

Click on the links below (YouTube) for succinct and informative overviews of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict's origins and early years...

Part 1 (Antisemitism and Zionism)
Part 2 (Palestine and the Ottomans)

What are your thoughts/reactions about these videos? Do you think they are reasonably objective? Why or why not?

Entering the Conflict's Second Century

Click here (Economist 1/09)...


Will it ever end? Can it? What are your initial thoughts/opinions?