The day I have anxiously been waiting for all Summer is finally here! I am about to embark on my three week long journey to Washington D.C., Israel, The West Bank, and Jordan. I will be closely studying the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that has not only defined my personal life as an Israeli-American, but has also defined a great deal of my academic interests and future aspirations. I will be meeting with politicians, diplomats, NGOs, community leaders, religious leaders, as well as every day citizens whose lives have been shaken up by this conflict. The goal is to learn a multitude of perspectives and to truly be enlightened to all of the issues that help shape the conflict that are rarely reported on or displayed by the media. While the organization I am going with (The Olive Tree Initiative) is non-partisan, I feel that at an individual level it is impossible to not take a political stance on such a tumultuous conflict that has shaped two groups of peoples identities for so long. My blog will follow my journey and will without a doubt be coming from a liberal pro-Israel perspective.
What does a "liberal Israel perspective" entail? Well Israel is a democracy, and I am a firm believer that all democracy's are imperfect (yet I fully believe democracy is the best form of government, no I am not some crazy socialist). All democracy's have structural and state practice problems, and Israel is by no means an exception to this. I believe that Israel must concentrate more on human rights internally and externally within the Palestinian territories, Israel must stop building more and more settlements in the West Bank at an alarming rate, and Israel must cut down the extent and intensity of its overwhelming brute force. I am stating my personal beliefs on how Israel can improve as a democratic state and in my wildest dreams a peaceful two state solution could potentially emerge. I state this as a disclaimer because I am sure many might see some of my criticism as rather scathing, but I think harsh criticism is absolutely the fundamental basis for change, and due to the fact Israelis and Palestinians have suffered an astronomical amount of blood shed and instability since even before 1948, I think anything that could lead to change in discourse, relations, and state practice is worth a shot.
This blog will not only highlight the diverse people I will be meeting with as I represent UCLA as a Student Diplomat on the Olive Tree Initiative trip. I will also place a great deal of emphasis on personal growth and how my amazing group composed of roughly 30 students from different UC's responds to the conflict zones and at times harsh images and narratives we will all be exposed to. Anyway's, anyone who knows me knows that I am a politics junkie and specifically have an intense passion for the Middle East, so being ecstatic does not even begin to put how I am feeling right now into words. On that note I am D.C. bound, and will start updating this blog tomorrow!
