Hello all my avid readers :) and welcome back to yet another installment of Krazy Thoughts By Kit. Boy oh boy has it been a crazy couple of weeks. Junior year is certainly crazy, but I'm sure I will survive somehow. I'm sure y'all don't want to listen to me complain about my school life so lets get to the really interesting stuff! For Ethics class, we viewed this documentary called Promises, a film that follows the lives of several children living in the middle of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This conflict has consumed the Middle East and most of the world for years, and has greatly affected all aspects of society throughout the Middle East. However, before I can dive into this highly controversial topic, I HAVE to answer last weeks question! Last weeks question was:
Honestly, it sort of depends on the situation. I mean, you should always help people whenever you can, but is it worth putting yourself in the line of fire and end up dying in the process? Selflessness can reach a certain degree where it is not worth dying over... wow does that sound bad? This sort of a question is a hard one to answer because there's not a definite answer. Plus, no matter what you say, the answer sounds kinda bad either way, so I'm going to leave it at that: it depends on the situation.
Well, lets get to the good part! As I said earlier, we have been watching this documentary in Ethics called Promises. For many years now, Palestinians and Israelis have been quarreling over something as old as time : land. Following the Holocaust in World War II, the UN decided that the Jewish people needed their own space, and they decided that they would carve out a portion of the Middle East bordering the Mediterranean Sea; however, the UN sort of forgot that people were already living there. Basically, the UN kicked out millions of Palestinians from their homes and let the Jewish people move there, where they established their country called Israel. This led to an age of constant unrest and violence, which still occurs today. Religion has definitely played a role in this as well. Jews believe that this land is the holiest site in Judaism whereas Muslims find the land to be extremely holy to their religion as well. The problem is both sides believe that the land belongs to them, with both sides drawing blood in the name of their cause, and has greatly influenced the views and beliefs of future generations. Children growing up in this conflict is the basis for the documentary.
Getting Started At An Early Age
Lessons Learned, Hopefully
Let's Get Opinionated Shall We?
Now, lets answer somebody's question. This one comes from a guy named DeMarco Edmonds, another Leadership chap :
How would you feel a conflict like this would be handled here, such as one race vs another race?
Well, the US has already had to handle a conflict such as this. In the 1960's, the US was experiencing heightened racial tensions because of the Civil Rights Movement. African Americans were standing up for the rights that they had been so long denied, and they were determined to get them through use of civil disobedience. By protesting through nonviolent means, they effectively gained amendments that they deserved for such a long time. Yet, it still took many years to gain the psychological mentality that we are all equal. Honestly, if something like this occurred in the US, I think it would be easier to solve because America is such a melting pot of different cultures that we're not absorbed into one specific mindset. We're able to appreciate different cultures easier because we don't have one defined set of beliefs.
Well, this journal was interesting :) And I really do need to go because, though I absolutely adore writing this journal, I actually do have stuff to do! But before I go, I will ask a question of y'all :) :
1) Is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ever going to be resolved?
And, I gotta go y'all! Thank you for reading yet another edition of Krazy Thoughts by Kit, and have a great weekend and lets finish out junior year! :D Ok so bye y'all!
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
Well, lets get to the good part! As I said earlier, we have been watching this documentary in Ethics called Promises. For many years now, Palestinians and Israelis have been quarreling over something as old as time : land. Following the Holocaust in World War II, the UN decided that the Jewish people needed their own space, and they decided that they would carve out a portion of the Middle East bordering the Mediterranean Sea; however, the UN sort of forgot that people were already living there. Basically, the UN kicked out millions of Palestinians from their homes and let the Jewish people move there, where they established their country called Israel. This led to an age of constant unrest and violence, which still occurs today. Religion has definitely played a role in this as well. Jews believe that this land is the holiest site in Judaism whereas Muslims find the land to be extremely holy to their religion as well. The problem is both sides believe that the land belongs to them, with both sides drawing blood in the name of their cause, and has greatly influenced the views and beliefs of future generations. Children growing up in this conflict is the basis for the documentary.
Getting Started At An Early Age
The documentary focuses on a set group of children, either Palestinian or Israeli, that come from all walks of life, and how they view the conflict. You have some children who are very radical in their beliefs, and you have some who are more moderate about their views on the situation. It's very interesting to watch how they live within this battlefield of sorts. It's also scary to see how extreme some of the children are about their cause. I mean these kids are saying things like " I wanna kill an Arab" or " I wanna kill an Israeli". Crazy stuff right? That's coming from a 10 year old! Yet do you think that their governments care about the fact that they're turning the future leaders of their government into radically-thinking killers? Not really, because they're too busy trying to prove that their point is right. Well, it's going to be rather difficult for any country to get ahead when they're not looking at the future of their country: their children. Palestine and Israel, y'all need to get your acts together, because if you destroy yourselves, you can't win!
Lessons Learned, Hopefully
So, what can we learn about this terrible conflict? Well, for starters, we must understand that what we do now can greatly affect future generations. By telling children that they need to further their cause by any means, they're going to do that, and take it even farther than they need to. Israeli children have mandatory military service, and because of this, it keeps reciprocating this feeling that we have to keep the Arabs in check whereas Palestinian children become involved in Islamic extremist groups with intentions of spilling Israeli blood. These children are growing up in a hostile environment where they are having these intense feelings of hatred instilled in them at such a young age. It's not right. Also, we have to learn that we can freaking compromise! Why can't they just share the land? I know it sounds a little naive but still, can't we all just get along? Is it really that hard?? Apparently so. But do it for the children! They're growing up to believe that either all Arabs are evil or vice versa, and how in the world are we to function properly in this world if we're trying to off each other all the time?? We can't. Good Lord get it together people! The Middle East needs to understand that instilling your children into furthering this fight doesn't get you anywhere except with more problems, and more dead bodies.
Seeing it through a child's eyes
Of course, to understand what is actually happening, you have to see it through the eyes of those affected by this. Two children who had a profound effect on me was Sanabel and Faraj, two children growing up in the Palestinian Dehishe Refugee Camp. Both of these children were, and are, directly affected by the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. Sanabel, at the beginning of the film, was talking about how she was extremely angry and frustrated at the Israelis for jailing her father. She didn't understand why her father had to be jailed, he was just fighting for the rights of Palestinian people who were forced off their land to accommodate the Jews. Sanabel felt that she wanted to join the fight and prolong the cause that Palestinians have the right to get their land back. At the beginning of the film, she is strongly pro- Palestinian and is strongly for a Palestinian state. At the end of the movie, she is willing to meet with Israelis and talk to them, but she is still very pro- Palestinian. In an interview she participated in, she said that she would become a suicide bomber because she felt that she needed to become involved. Then you meet Faraj, and this guy is extremelyyy in to not getting along with Israelis at the beginning of the film. I mean this guy is extremely against even talking to anybody that's not Palestinian or Muslim. He's so against interacting with people who are not like him and he doesn't like Israelis whatsoever. Yet by the end of the film, he is the most for going to meet these Israeli kids. He really wanted to meet these kids, and he enjoyed meeting them. By the end of the film, these two radicals became moderates, and even became friendly towards people who are supposed to be their enemies. It just shows that there is humanity in Israel, and that we can work together to forget the past and work towards the future.
Let's Get Opinionated Shall We? How would you feel a conflict like this would be handled here, such as one race vs another race?
Well, the US has already had to handle a conflict such as this. In the 1960's, the US was experiencing heightened racial tensions because of the Civil Rights Movement. African Americans were standing up for the rights that they had been so long denied, and they were determined to get them through use of civil disobedience. By protesting through nonviolent means, they effectively gained amendments that they deserved for such a long time. Yet, it still took many years to gain the psychological mentality that we are all equal. Honestly, if something like this occurred in the US, I think it would be easier to solve because America is such a melting pot of different cultures that we're not absorbed into one specific mindset. We're able to appreciate different cultures easier because we don't have one defined set of beliefs.
Well, this journal was interesting :) And I really do need to go because, though I absolutely adore writing this journal, I actually do have stuff to do! But before I go, I will ask a question of y'all :) :
1) Is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ever going to be resolved?
And, I gotta go y'all! Thank you for reading yet another edition of Krazy Thoughts by Kit, and have a great weekend and lets finish out junior year! :D Ok so bye y'all!
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- The Promises Film Project. (n.d.). The Promises Film Project. Retrieved May 9, 2013, from http://www.promisesproject.org/
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