Maansi's Final Thoughts on Peace Summit

I know that people in Palestine and Israel have been killed. I understand that both sides get mad at each other, but I believe that the way to achieve peace is not by using violence. The kids in Palestine and Israel are raised to believe that the other side is bad news. It is up to the parents to make sure that the kids are getting to be friends with Palestinians and Israelis, Jewish and Muslim. If an Israeli kid grows up with Palestinian friends, then there is absolutely no chance that they will end up hating Palestinians. Same with Palestinians. Israeli kids aren't any different than Palestinians. They are both the same, and if they can understand that, they can understand that there are ways to end this conflict. I believe that if the children can be friends, that those children will be friends in the future, and kids will realize that they don't need to hate each other, and that peace can be an option after all.

Annika's Final Thoughts on Peace Summit

I was surprised to learn that the U.S. gives Israel 20% of its total foreign aid and that Israel is the largest total recipient of U.S. aid since 1945. How is the U.S. supporting the peace process by giving Israel F-16s, attack helicopters, tanks, tear gas, and armored bulldozers? Giving $1.8 billion in military aid to one side of the conflict has to lead to increased violence and distrust. With all of the poverty and environmental challenges that our world faces today, is this the best way to spend our money? These funds could also be used in ways that influence a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

I think that the U.S. should withdraw all aid if Israel does not act on Resolution 194. Israel was allowed to become a member of the United Nations if it accepted Resolution 194, and Israel can not be allowed to continue to ignore it. According to the resolution, Palestinian refugees should be cleared to return to Israel. If their land is unoccupied, then they should be allowed to claim it, and if Israeli settlers are occupying the land, then refugees should be offered compensation.

I was hoping that there could be a one-country solution, but there is so much anger and distrust that has been passed down for so many generations that this might just be too unrealistic. It is more likely that a two-country solution is the answer. In 2005, Israel evacuated the last of more than 8,000 settlers from Gaza, but tens of thousands of Jewish settlers have built homes in the West Bank because the Israeli government has been offering housing subsidies. Israel is even building a high wall inside the West Bank to separate the setters from the Palestinians. It is hard to believe that the checkpoints, walls, and barriers are going to come down and that Arabs would be equal in a one-country government.

Most religions teach justice and peace, not constant fighting. I think all human beings want to live in a safe place where the rights of all people are protected. Shlomo does not want his children living in fear. All of us—Christians, Muslims, Jews, Atheists, people of every religion and ethnic background—need to tell our leaders to find a peaceful resolution to the conflict. I think we need many more Hand-in-Hand Schools where young Arabs and Jews grow up together over a long period of time. Imagine what would happen if the $1.8 billion of U.S. military aid that we are giving to Israel were instead given to create more schools where Arabs and Jews live and learn together? If Jew and Arab children become friends, then they will be the new leaders of peace.

Eamon's Final Thoughts on Peace Summit

I really liked this unit. I wish it could keep going. I was one of the experts who read Understanding the Holy Land, and I really enjoyed the talk that Harris Zafar and Lee Gordon gave. I had a lot of fun with all the role plays, especially the one where the Israelis were on the inside of the tables and they moved around. I also really enjoyed Habibi and Promises. My character was Mahmoud. I am also pretty pro-Palestinian, so I agreed with many of his ideas. Overall, I thought this was the best unit in English this year by far.

These are pictures of Harris Zafar
and some Hand in Hand School School students.

Britt's Final Thoughts on Peace Summit

In English we have learned a lot about this topic, and even though I am not a Palestinian or Jewish I think there should be peace. I also realize how complicated the matter is and that because of that peace will be hard to reach. Yesterday in class from characters' perspectives we made peace proposals. I think a lot of peace proposals could work, or would be passed but some both sides would never agree to. It's very complicated.

The first proposal is that Palestinians should have the same rights as the Jews and that they also have freedom of travel. This would be hard to pass for a number of reasons. The main reason is that to make this happen the Jews would have to really lessen the security, which they don't want to do. Due to that and other reasons, I don't think this one could happen anytime soon, but if it were to be passed it would be a huge step in the direction of peace. The only bad thing that could arise from that one is that once the checkpoints are gone, the Palestinians could plan an uprising.

The next proposal is to take all the checkpoints away. My thoughts are the same on this as for the first one. This would cause problems for the Jews who want security, but it could also bring peace because when there is no tight security the Palestinians might not feel the urge to use force anymore.

The next proposal made was for the Israelis to give back the Palestinians homes that they had before, or a fair compensation. If this could ever actually happen, it would be a big breakthrough to peace, because one of the biggest things the Palestinians are mad about and are fighting for is to have their houses back. They are mad because the Israelis came in and demanded all of the Palestinians leave. The thing is that this would be almost impossible because the government doesn't want to make room and spend all of the money for the Palestinians.

The next proposal was that Jerusalem should become an International Zone with total freedom of movement for everyone, without checkpoints to and from West Bank. First of all, this has a few different changes and so maybe one could happen but not the others. The only thing that's really logical here would be to make Jerusalem an international zone with checkpoints, but even that would be hard to do because the Jews don't want to give up their holy Jerusalem.

The next proposal was for the U.S. to give half of whatever aid (not military though) to the Israelis and half to the Palestinians. Instead of this idea, I think that if the U.S. is going to give aid they should make logical decisions of who needs what.

The last proposal was to make Israeli Arabs and Palestinians into full Israeli citizens. If this were possible, it would probably make things fairer, but even if this happened, who knows if the Palestinians would have the same rights.

To sum it up, peace will be a long and hard process, but it is possible in the long run.

Laurel's Final Thoughts on Peace Summit

All of the opinions were diverse and very different from one another. Obviously, depending on what your role-play character's opinions is, you were probably going to take sides with him or her.

There was an even number of people on each side when we shared our ideas, so some of the votes were really close and then some of them weren't. Some of these ideas I could not see happening such as the idea to merge the two countries into one, but how would this be possible for two countries that hate each other to suddenly be neighbors by choice?

Some of the other ideas were helpful. For example, the idea to give an equal amount of our tax dollars to each country but only for non-violent purposes. People who don't live in Israel can't completely understand, but what my class has been doing for the last ten weeks is to understand better. Now that I learned about it, I almost wish that I hadn't because whenever I think about how depressed those people must be, not being able to go to the places that we take for granted such as mall or grocery store without worrying about being shot or blown up, it makes me feel guilty that I'm not doing anything about it.

Some parts of this devastating conflict are portrayed poorly by our media because the message is always that the Palestinians are terrorists and they want to kill everyone. Unfortunately, the people that came up with the idea to attack the World Trade Center just happened to be Arab. It's a racial stereotype just like Americans being obese and wearing cowboy hats or African Americans being NBA players and criminals. Terrorism shouldn't be classified as an Arab stereotype. Is should just be classified as a horrible thing that should never happen.

Noah's Final Thoughts on Peace Summit

If Jerusalem was a place of equality between the Jews and Palestinians, the kids of both sides would be bonded together through what they had in common. Hand in Hand schools should take a step in front of the stories that get stuck in the kids' mind.

Kids are the ones who can change this war. Bring peace to the area and make it so the next generation don't wake up and hear a bomb in the distance.

Jane's Final Thoughts on Peace Summit

I think that some of the agreements we talked about in class are able to happen and some are not. In Promises, some Israeli kids think that the Palestinians should go away. I guess I can see from their perspective; they just want to have peace, and they think that the Palestinians are terrorizing them. However, this solution is not an agreement, in my opinion. It's not peace because the Palestinians have their culture in Israel, and they don't want to leave their culture. I think that the Israelis and the Palestinians should live as one country, not two separated by a wall and by checkpoints. Just because they are two different cultures does not mean that they can't live together. For example, in the U.S., there are many cultures: Catholic, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Muslim, etc. We don't live in separate cultures; we live as one. So should Israel and Palestine.