Map Courtesy of Mideastweb.org

In week seven of the Summer Institute, we returned to the Middle East, this time moving our sights away from the Arab Spring protests engulfing the region to an even more complex and controversial issue: Israeli/ Palestinian conflict. Since the 1967 Six Day War, in which Israel found itself at war with all of its Arab neighbors, it has taken a much greater foothold in the Palestinian territories through blockades in Gaza and settlement construction in the West Bank.

We ultimately decided to tackle the first of these problems in our activity for the day, a crisis simulation entitled “Overcoming the Blockade.” In the fictional situation, the Gaza Strip faced a severe drought, and the Israeli government faced extreme international and domestic pressure to ease its blockade of goods to the Gaza Strip. To learn more about the conditions Gaza faces, please visit this link.

In order to combat the crisis and attempt to improve relations, the students were split into four different teams, comprising Hamas, Fatah, Yisrael Beiteinu and Likud. The first two are the Palestinian-led groups who govern the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, respectively, while the latter two are the Israeli political parties who form the governing coalition.

Right from the start, the differences between the groups were clear: Yisrael Beiteinu and Hamas refused to speak, largely because of their radical stances.  Hamas refuses to recognize Israel while Yisrael Beitenu supports settlement activity and views Hamas strictly as a terrorist organization.

The crisis, however, evolved quickly, forcing the groups into action. First, a spat between North and South Sudan over their co-managed pipeline caused the price of oil to skyrocket, forcing the Israelis to abandon any aid in the form of heating oil. Then a group of Palestinian terrorists in the West Bank took an Israeli family hostage, killing one.

Intelligence and public sentiment also played a role: the groups were forced together by hostile Gazans, who began protesting Hamas’ irreverence in the discussions, and Israelis, who had hoped the talks would lead to more substantive debate over a two-state solution.

As pressure grew for both sides, a shaky ceasefire and peace agreement was drawn up. A prisoner exchange was set up to secure the release of Israeli hostage Gilad Shalit, the Israeli blockade was partially lifted (with plans for it to be fully lifted in the coming years), and the Palestinians agreed to recognize Israel’s right to exist. However, due to Hamas’ failure to maintain control in the Gaza strip, rocket fire into Southern Israel led the Israeli’s to walk away from the peace deal.

Although the students weren’t able to bring peace to the region (perhaps next time), this exercise highlighted the multifaceted, emotional and complicated issues deterring peace in the region.

Public Program

After another short activity, the students joined the sold-out public program to hear Jeremy Ben-Ami speak. As President of J-Street, a liberal pro-Israel lobbying organization, Mr. Ben-Ami spoke about the role of US Jews in promoting the peace process, the Arab Spring, and the Israeli/ Palestinian conflict. He also promoted his new book, A New Voice for Israel.

If you are interested in checking out the World Affairs Council’s program with Jeremy Ben-Ami, please click here.