Jewish Studies/Political Science 328—The Arab-Israeli Conflict
Professor David Brusin -- Fall 2016
(414) 962-9212
How can we explain the persistent and relentless antagonism between Jews/Israelis and Arabs, both in Palestine and in neighboring Arab countries, whose roots go back to medieval times—if not before?
Though we will begin our study in ancient times, the focus of this course will be the 20th century and our own. In addition to trying to understand the ongoing conflict from both the Arab/Palestinian and Jewish/Israeli perspectives, we will frame our discussions around a handful of interconnected central questions or issues:
- Is it a religious conflict between Islam and Judaism in which both sides are motivated by deep-seated suspicions and hatreds that ultimately rest on divine mandates, revelations or sacred scriptures?
- Is it an ethnic conflict between competing groups reflecting constantly changing demographic patterns?
- Is it a conflict motivated by nationalist desires in which rival armies want to establish a state in the same geographic location?
- Is it a war of self-defense in which a new state is defending itself against its neighbors whose objective is to destroy it?
- Is it a war of territorial expansion in which one state seeks to expand its borders at the expense of its neighbors?
- Is it an imperial war that reflects the rivalries and colonial aspirations of several European countries in the 19th and 20th centuries—and more recently the United States and Russia—in the Middle East?
- Is it the inevitable consequence of the difficult transition from traditional societies to modern states, all moving at different speeds, aiming at different targets, and hence on a collision course at the outset?
- Is the conflict in essence the collision of two sets of historic and moral rights to the same land? And, if so, does this mean the conflict will never be resolved?
Not all these questions can be answered. But understanding their role in events unfolding in the Middle East is crucial if we are to find a way to bring some measure of peace and stability to the region and to the Israelis and Palestinians in particular.
To get a broader perspective on the conflict, we’ll be viewing several films throughout the semester.
REQUIRED BOOKS [Books Available Only At the Panther Bookstore—formerly the Neebo Bookstore, 3132 N. Downer--on the corner of Hampshire and Downer]
Eric Gartman, Return to Zion: The History of Modern Israel, Philadelphia: The Jewish Publication Society, 2016 [Used copies available on Amazon]
Sami Adwan, Dan Bat-On, and EyalNaveh, editors, Side by Side: Parallel Histories of Israel-Palestine, New York: The New Press, 2012, paperback
Walter Laqueur and Barry Rubin, editors, The Israel-Arab Reader: A Documentary History of the Middle East Conflict, Penguin Books, Seventh Revised and Updated Edition, 2008, paperback.
GER Humanities Course criteria and UW System Shared Learning Goal:
Humanities are the academic disciplines that investigate human constructs and values. The humanistic disciplines – such as art history, history, language and literature, philosophy, religious studies, film and media studies – are concerned with questions, issues, and concepts basic to the formation of character and the establishment of values in a human context. They also provide literary, aesthetic, and intellectual experiences that enrich and enlighten human life. In these courses, students will use humanistic means of inquiry, such as: the critical use of sources and evaluation of evidence, the exercise of judgment and expression of ideas, and the organization, logical analysis, and creative use of substantial bodies of knowledge in order to approach the subject of study.
Written assignments [Reflection Papers and Final Paper] will address the University of Wisconsin System Shared Learning Goal of Critical and Creative Thinkingin the broadest sense of the term, including the ability to question, address, challenge, investigate, problem solve and explore the issues of culture and civilization, religion and politics in ways that highlight the complexity and multifaceted nature of these domains.
Study Group Presentations and In-Class Small Group Activities will address the University of Wisconsin System Shared Learning Goal of Effective Communications Skill including listening, speaking, reading and information literacy in terms of the student’s ability to interact with and respond to one another’s understanding and reaction to material studied and presented.
Course Learning Goals:
This course meets the criteria for GER in Humanities at UWM by engaging students in the study, analysis, and comprehension of one of the most persistent and ongoing political struggles in the last hundred years: the Arab/Palestinian-Israeli Conflict. Understanding this conflict will provide students with a foundation for engagement in the future with issues arising in many disciplines, including political scienc, philosophy, history, religion and ethics.
Specifically, a student completing this course will be able to:
--Critically compare and contrast the two competing narratives and the values and history that underly these opposing perspectives;
--Decide whether the Arab-Israeli Conflict is essentially about religion or politics and what that means for our understanding of other national conflicts that end in violence;
--Understand the orgins of the Arab-Israeli Conflct from both the Israeil and Palestinian perspectives and draw conclusions about what that means for understanding our complicated world;
--Decide if the conflict is in essence the collision of two equally legitimate sets of hisorical and moral rights to the same piece of geography and, if so, what does this teach us about the nature of conflict and war in human history;
--Decide if Israel can be both a Jewish and a democratic state, and in either case, what this means for the people of Israel and the West Bank and Gaza;
--Draw conclusions about what the Arab –Israeli Conflict teaches us about other wars and disagreements between countries or peoples both past and present.
--In addition to class time, students should expect to spend about three to four hours a week preparing for class and/or completing assignments.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
--Regular attendance is very important. Sometimes missing class is unavoidable, but if you miss more than two classes, it is your responsibility to contact me to arrange to make up a missed class (typically a two or three page paper or written version of a class activity). Absences that are not made up will affect your final grade.
--Students are expected to have read all assignments before coming to class.
--Students with special needs should contact me at the beginning of the course so appropriate accommodations can be arranged.
--Feel free to contact me, by phone or email, for any reason; if necessary, we can arrange to meet after class.
GRADING
Attendance and Participation:25%
Two Reflection Papers (4 to 6 pages each): 25%
Study Group Presentations, beginning Week #5 25%
Final Research Paper, about 7 to 9 pages, due Week #15: 25%
CLASS SCHEDULE, READING AND ASSIGNMENTS
Week #1 – Intro & Logistics/Reading/Assignments/Getting on the Same Page
[9/7] Reading: Return to Zion [hereafter RTZ],
Preface, pp xi – xiii; Introduction, pp 1 - 4
Side by Side [hereafter SBS], “The Dual Narrative
Approach,” pp ix - xvi
Week #2 – A Pillar of Fire on the Road to Zionism
[9/12 & 9/14] Reading: RTZ, Chapters 1 & 2, pp 5 – 33
The Israel-Arab Reader [hereafter TIAR], Bilu
Manifesto, pp 3 – 4 and TIAR, Theodor Herzl, The Jewish State, pp 4 -9
Week #3 – Vladimir [Zeev] Jabotinsky and the British Mandate
[9/19 & 9/21] Reading: RTZ, Chapter 3
SBS, Chapter 1
The Iron Wall [Handout]
Week #4 – Palestine Between the Wars
[9/26 & 9/28] Reading: RTZ, Chapters 3 & 4
SBS, Chapter 2
TIAR, Sir Henry McMahon Letter, pp 11 -12; The
Sykes-Picot Agreement, pp 13 -16; The Balfour
Declaration, p 16; The Churchill White Paper pp
25 – to the bottom of p 28
Articles on D2L
Weeks #5& #6 & #7– World War II, The Holocaust, State of Israel
[10/5. 10/10, 10/17 & 10/19] Reading: RTZ, Chapters 5, 6, 7& 8
SBS, Chapters 3 & 4
TIAR, The Churchill White Paper pp 25 –
to the bottom of p 28; State of Israel:
Proclamation of Independence, pp 81 - 83
Articles on D2L and/or Handouts
NO CLASS ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 3
Study Group #1—Wednesday, October 5 [Week #5]—WW II and the Holocaust[Chapters 5 & 6 in RTZand Chapter 3 in SBS]
First Reflection Paper Due Week #6—Monday, October 10
NO CLASS ON WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 12
Study Group #2—Monday October 17 [Week #7]—End of British Mandate & Creation of State of Israel [Chapters 7 & 8 in RTZ and Chapter 4 in SBS]
Week #8 – Modern Roots of the Conflict and the Suez Campaign
[10/24 & 10/26] Reading: RTZ, Chapters 9 & 10
SBS, Chapter 5
TIAR, UN Resolution 242, p 116; Palestinian National Council Resolutions, pp 162 – 163
and the Palestinian National Charter, pp 117 – 121
Article on D2L on Palestinian Nationalism
Study Group #3—Wednesday, October 26
Week #9 – The Six-Day War
[10/31 & 11/2] Reading: RTZ, Chapters 11 & 12
SBS, Chapter 6
TIAR, Law of Return, p 87
Articles on D2LHandouts Distributed Week #8
Study Group #4—Monday, October 31
Week #10 – The Yom Kippur War: Its Antecedents and Consequences
[11/7 & 11/9] Reading: RTZ, Chapters 13 & 14 SBS, Chapter 7
Study Group #5—Monday, November 7
Second Reflection Paper Due Week #10—November 7 or 9
Week #11 – Camp David Accords, The Lebanon War andThe First Intifada
[11/14 & 11/16] Reading: RTZ, Chapters 15 & 16
SBS, Chapter 8
Study Group #6—Wednesday, November 16
Weeks #12 & #13 – The Art of Negotiation: Oslo Peace Process
[11/21, 11/28 & 11/30] Reading: RTZ, Chapter 17
The Gatekeepers [Award winning Documentary Film about
Israel’s domestic security agency, the Shin Bet, also
knownby the acronym ‘Shabak’—Sherut haBitaẖon haKlali "General Security Service",
Israel’s FBI]
Week #14 – The Unraveling of Oslo, the Second Intifada
[12/5 & 12/7] Reading: RTZ, Chapter 18
SBS, Chapter 9
Study Group #7—Wednesday, December 7
Week 15 – The Future of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
[12/12 & 12/14] Reading: RTZ, Conclusion, pp 323 - 331
SBS, Teachers’ Personal Trajectories, pp 395 -39 FINAL PAPER DUE WEEK #15—Wednesday, December 14
Major/Minor in Jewish Studies This course is part of the Jewish Studies major and minor. The major offers two tracks: Hebrew Studies and Jewish Cultural Studies (which does not require Hebrew language). With its combination of core courses and electives, the Jewish Studies program allows students to create a course of study that can focus on religion, culture, Israel, Holocaust, media, or immigration. A dynamic and innovative major, Jewish Studies prepares students to work in our multicultural world. For more information on the Jewish Studies major and minor, please the coordinator, Dr. Rachel Baum, ; 229-5156.
Religious Studies If you are thinking about a major or a double major in Religious Studies, please contact either Peter Paik, Director, at or Dr. Judith Beall, Associate Director, at .
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