Westmont In Jerusalem 2013
IS121 Israel and Palestine
Prof. Thomas G. Fikes, Dept. of Psychology
Prof. Bruce N. Fisk, Dept. of Religious Studies
IS121 Israel and Palestine is one of three core courses offered as a package during the 2013 Westmont In
Jerusalem semester program. It is integrated with co-requisites RS104 Jesus in the Gospels and the Land
(Prof. Bruce Fisk) and PSY150 Cultural/Narrative Psychology (Prof. Tom Fikes).
DESCRIPTION
This course will study modern relations between Israelis and Palestinians in the land. Included
will be a review of recent history, a discussion of probable causes (religious, cultural, political), assessment
of current events (e.g., the “Arab Spring”), and consideration of the prospects for a just and peaceful
resolution to the conflict. Numerous field trips and briefings. The IS121 course is integrated with the two
other primary courses for the program, RS104 (Jesus in the Gospels and the Land) and PSY150
(Cultural/Narrative Psychology).
An overarching goal in the course is to adopt a more “global” perspective on issues in our world –
more than a “Western” perspective on “other” cultures and ethnicities, such a global perspective would
require seeing a Western perspective as one amongst many, and a recognition of these various cultural,
political, and religious perspectives as competing (or cooperating) bases from which to perceive and
interpret the issues that face us. Living in the Middle East for a semester will not by itself automatically
produce such a global perspective: in our various activities, discussions, readings, and assignments,
students will intentionally and actively incorporate a transnational and interdisciplinary frame with the
goal of gaining such a global perspective.
The IS121 course is not offered as a stand-alone course. It is part of a program including
conversational Arabic, a cultural/narrative psychology course, and a course on Jesus in the Gospels and the
Land. Many of the major assignments and readings explicitly connect the material in these courses.
IS121 Israel and Palestine satisfies the Thinking Globally General Education category.
GENERAL EXPECTATIONS
See the document, Westmont in Jerusalem 2013 – Life in Community
SOME IMPORTANT GOALS FOR OUR STUDENTS
Knowledge. Students will:
o be able to articulate a general framework for the regions’ history
o show familiarity with the region’s basic geographical features, cities, water systems, and political
boundaries
o demonstrate an understanding of the significance of current events in conversation, course
discussions and written coursework
o demonstrate an understanding of the complexity of the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians
in conversation, course discussions and written coursework
Skills. Students will:
o know key geographical and historical markers, as demonstrated in map work, field work and
objective tests
o become adept at hearing. understanding and assessing conflicting narratives
o develop serving skills in a variety of contexts: awareness, flexibility, cultural sensitivity,
assessment.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Although we have many goals for our students in the course (as reflected in the readings, assignments, and
activities), we specify the following two assessable outcomes:
1.
Students can describe differences between Western/American, Arab/Palestinian, and
Jewish/Israeli cultures, and can offer explanations or historical contexts for those differences.
2.
Students recognize global inequities, injustices, and/or inter-religious issues related to the IsraelPalestine conflict and commit themselves to thoughtful, concrete responses growing out of their
Christian faith.
GE CERTIFICATION CRITERIA
The following criteria for Thinking Globally courses are specified by Westmont College for all courses
satisfying the Thinking Globally category, and will form the basis for exams, papers, and assignments. All
students passing the course with a D- or better grade, as demonstrated by passing grades on papers and
other assignments, will:
 Describe differences between at least two cultures (one of which is nonwestern)\ and can offer
explanations or historical contexts for those differences.
 Recognize the value and significance of other cultures without romanticizing.
 Identify ways in which cultures influence formulations of knowledge. They will identify ways in
which they personally are affected.
 Recognize global inequities, injustices, and/or inter-religious issues and commit themselves to
thoughtful, concrete responses growing out of their Christian faith.
 Recognize the limits of their global understanding
READINGS
Dowty, Alan. Israel/Palestine. 3rd ed. Polity, 2012.
Burge, Gary. Whose Land? Whose Promise? What Christians are not being told about Israel and the
Palestinians. Pilgrim, 2004
Tolan, Sandy. The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East. Bloomsbury, 2006.
Additional readings and maps will be distributed or posted on Eureka.
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING
10%
1. Engagement. Your full, active presence throughout the program is really important. How we
measure engagement is outlined in the WIJ13 Life in Community statement. Take notes in a
bound notebook during field trips, briefings, lectures and discussions. If you use the notebook for
other things, keep these notes in their own, clearly marked section. They will be reviewed for
thoroughness, neatness and helpfulness at the end of term. As part of this course, service projects
exceeding 12 hours of community service will satisfy the G. E. Serving Society requirement, at
venues like the following:
 Sharhabil bin Hassneh Eco Park, Jordan: park maintenance
 Grassroots Jerusalem, Sheikh Jarrah, Jerusalem: community service and engagement
 Tent of Nations, Bethlehem: farming, tree planting, etc.
 Al Bakari center, Ramallah: English language tutoring
 Levinsky Park, Tel Aviv: Eritrean and Sudanese refugees
 'Abud: church service project
 Jesus Trail, Galilee: trail maintenance
 Kasr El Dobara Church, Cairo, Egypt:
A chance for group reflection will follow each opportunity, and a final, X-page reflection will help
students assess their cross-cultural service and relate it to their Westmont education.
25%
2. Readings, Quizzes and Discussion. Bring relevant resources to class meetings and excursions,
as requested. As we move through the readings, explore the region, engage the culture and learn
from experts, we’ll return often to questions like these:
1. What stories were shaping your thinking before you arrived?
2. What narratives have you been hearing, from what persons and peoples? Where and
how do they converge? Diverge? Conflict?
3. What historical events have framed the conversation, and how are they remembered
differently among different peoples?
4.
Where are the major fault lines between Israelis and Palestinians? Between Jews,
Muslims and Christians? Do you see any bridges?
5. Are people eager to tell their stories? Are they zealous or do you sense fatigue,
cynicism, resignation, etc.?
6. Do the concerns and priorities of politicians and NGOs differ from the challenges
faced by normal people?
7. Have you encountered obstacles (external or internal) to understanding the
culture(s), beyond the obvious language barrier?
The following tentative schedule of reading due dates and quizzes will be adjusted en route.
Due Date
Jan 17
Jan 24
Jan 30
Readings
Dowty 1-46
Tolan 53-80 (chp.
3)
Burge
Dowty 47-71
Tolan 21-52 (chps
1-2)
Dowty 72-112
Tolan 81-192
(chps.4-7)
Feb 7
Feb 12
Feb 20
Feb 27
Dowty 72-148
Tolan 193-333
(chps. 8-11)
Dowty 149-176
Tolan 334-369
(chp.12)
Dowty 177-219
Tolan 370-393
(chps.13-14)
Dowty 220-266
Subject
Defining the conflict / Israeli narrative / Zionism / map: Ottoman
Palestine
Arab narrative / Islam / Palestine / geography
Israel / British Mandate / Holocaust / War of Independence/Nakhba /
the New Historians (Morris, Pappe, Shlaim, etc.) / refugees / UN
resolution 181 (1947) / UN resolution 194 (1948) / map of British
Mandate (Tolan p.17); map of UN partition plan and 1949 armistice line
(Tolan p.18; Dowty)
1967 war / UN resolution 242 (1967) neighboring states (Egypt,
Lebanon, Jordan, Syria) / 1st intifada
Oslo / Areas A,B,C / 2nd Intifada / Arafat / Dowty maps (Oslo, Wye River)
"Roadmap" of Quartet / Barrier / Gaza / Hamas / Dowty map of wall
route; Tolan map of 2005 (p.19)
Two-state solution / key issues: land/settlement, Jerusalem, security,
refugees
Burge
Burge
25%
3. Paper: A Cultural/Narrative Lens on the Israeli Palestinian Conflict
Students will write a substantial (15-20 page) paper critically reviewing cultural and narrative
approaches and applying the concepts, categories and practices of these approaches to one or
more aspects of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The paper should draw on and extend work from the
position paper (below) and journal entries from the narratives journal (below). A fuller
description of the assignment is attached. See also PSY150 syllabus. This project counts also as
45% of PSY150.
25%
4. Integrative Project: Jesus among Israelis and Palestinians
The task of Biblical interpretation is not complete until it is embodied. Thinking Christianly is
impossible for couch potatoes. Theology is a contact sport. The goal of this assignment is to help
students apply their study of Jesus and the Gospels to particular issues within the Israel/Palestine
conflict. Five groups will research five issues, all of them thorny and complicated, by exploring
relevant Biblical/theological themes and by attending to contemporary Israeli and Palestinian
voices. Groups will have an opportunity to share their findings with the rest of the class.
See instructions in RS104 syllabus. This project counts also as 25% of RS104.
10%
5. Journal on Places, Peoples, and Persons in the Israel-Palestine Conflict
Maintain a travel journal with at least two entries per week. Date and title each entry. Journals will
be checked periodically during the term and graded at the end. Reflections of a private nature
should be recorded elsewhere. Recommended: 5x8 Moleskin® or similar. E-journals are fine in a
standard format (e.g., Word). Suitable topics for journal entries include:
PLACES
 how past events (e.g., battles, deaths, miracles) have shaped the significance and symbolic
value of places and spaces
 how art, architecture, monument and ritual interpret the past and define present reality
 various ways spaces and places are controlled and restricted
 notions of holiness applied to land, city, site
 influences of different cultures on the construction and use of space
 contexts where sacred texts (Jewish, Christian, Muslim) define spaces and realities
 doors, walls, fences and borders
 observations on how markets and public spaces are used
 the significance and function of pilgrimage routes
 checkpoints and boundary-crossing
PEOPLE
 symbols and images of power, status, honor or their absence
 symbols and images of national or religious identity
 signs that past events live on in collective memory to define the present
 indicators of marginalization (relating to wealth, health, gender, age, skin color, refugee
status, religious affiliation, citizenship status, I.D. cards)
 conflicted loyalties (Christian and Arab; Israeli and refusenik; Jewish and American, etc.)
 conflict and peace between peoples (signs of militarism, types and impact of violence, models
of reconciliation, moments of shalom and signs of cooperation, friction between Islam,
Judaism & Christianity)
PERSONS
 personal experiences of conflict within our group or beyond it
 memorable encounters with specific people,
 mutually incompatible stories told to explain the same reality
 connections between the world of Jesus and the modern Middle East
 ways your identity (as American, as Christian, as male/female, etc.) is changing
 surprising appearances of Jesus
5%
6. Media log
Maintain a media log to help you track and assess current events in Israel/Palestine and the
region. Make entries at least twice a week Focus on major issues, physical sites, current events,
people groups and influential individuals. You will have ample opportunity to summarize for the
class your stories and to prompt group discussion, so bring log to class. Graded for format,
neatness, organization, clarity of abstract, and value of questions. Follow this format for each
entry:
1. Bibliography: Author, “Title,” News Source (URL). Date published; date accessed. Sample:
Yolande Knell, “Shalit protest mars Israel's Independence Day event.” BBC News
(www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13345901). Published 5-10-11;
accessed 5-10-11.
2. Abstract: summarize the story in 100 of your own words. Comments briefly on the
editorial perspective of the author.
3. Discussion: offer two open (non-factual) questions for use in class discussion.
Media Resources. Do not limit yourself to one or two sites. Beware of editorial bias. Read critically.
News Sites
 Al-Ahram: Cairo-based weekly, government-affiliated on-line weekly
 Al Arabiya: another pan-Arab news site, based in Qatar
 Al Jazeera: a pan-Arab news source based in Qatar
 British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) News - Middle East: current events and in depth features
 Common Ground News Service: up to date archive of “constructive articles that foster dialogue”
 Electronic Intifada: independent site on Israel-Palestine conflict
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Foreign Policy - The Middle East Channel
The Guardian (U.K.) - Middle East round-up: a British daily paper; politics typically left-of-centre.
Ha'aretz: a major, broadly liberal Israeli news site
Israeli Occupation Archive: “documenting the Military Occupation of Palestinian and Arab Lands”
Jerusalem Post: major right-of-center Israeli newspaper
The Jordan Times: English-language daily from Jordan
Los Angeles Times - Middle East page
Middle East Web Gateway: site run by people active in Middle East dialogue and peace education
New York Times - Middle East page
The Palestine Chronicle: independent online news, commentary, features and reviews
Wall Street Journal - Middle East page: business/financial paper with the largest circulation in the U.S.
Washington Report on Middle East Affairs: news & analysis by the American Educational Trust
YNet News: tied to Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel's most widely-read daily newspaper
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Human rights, advocacy, analysis, etc.
+972: web magazine owned by journalists/bloggers/photographers providing reports and analysis
AIPAC: The American Israel Public Affairs Committee – “America’s pro-Israel lobby”
Alternative Information Center: news archive of Palestinian/Israeli human and national rights org.
Addameer: a Palestinian Prisoners' Support and Human Rights Association
The American Task force on Palestine: Washington-based two-state solution advocacy and news
Badil: Resource Center for Palestinian Residency & Refugee Rights
Bitter Lemons – Palestine-Israeli crossfire: irenic, informed analysis from both sides
Bitter Lemons: great archive of historic documents on the conflict
B'Tselem: Israeli information center for human rights in occupied territories
CAMERA: Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (pro-Israel media watch)
Churches for Middle East Peace: coalition of 21 public policy offices of national churches & agencies
Counterpunch: political newsletter and archive
Ibishblog: blog of Hussein Ibish (American Task Force on Palestine)
Israeli Committee Against House Demolition: direct-action resistance of Palestinian house demolition
Jonathan Cook: news and analysis by British journalist and author based in Nazareth
Mondoweiss: The War of Ideas in the Middle East: progressive slant; news aggregator
Sabeel: an ecumenical liberation theology movement among Palestinian Christians
Palestine-Israel Journal of Politics, Economics and Culture: venture in dialogue and cooperation
Politics and Government
 Israeli Defense Forces: official website of the Israeli military, press releases, statistics
 Israeli Knesset
 Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
 Palestinian Authority
 PLO Negotiation Affairs Department
 U.S. Department of State
 U.S. White House
Discussion Questions for Sandy Tolan, The Lemon Tree (Bloomsbury, 2006)
(Some questions were adapted from/inspired by: sandytolan.com/the-lemon-tree/reading-guide.)
Chapter 1
1. The book opens with the journey of Bashir and his cousins on a bus to their childhood homes in alRamla. What must have been going through their minds during that time? Can you imagine the
internal dialogue in their heads, as they rode the bus, then walked around their old hometown?
How would you have felt if you were Bashir, approaching the old home, and pressing the bell?
2. What are the most important elements of Bashir and Dalia’s first conversation?
3. What has Dalia been told about the Palestinians who lived in al-Ramla?
Chapter 2
1. What is the Khairi’s family history and the place of the Khairi clan in the city of al-Ramla?
2. What was the relationship between Palestinians and Jews in the area?
3. What did the birth of Bashir mean to Ahmad?
Chapter 3
1. Dalia’s very existence, and her arrival as an infant to Israel in November 1948, is the result of
remarkable circumstances that combined to save some 47,000 Bulgarian Jews from the Holocaust.
How much importance would you put on the actions of Dimitur Peshev, the parliamentarian, or
Bishops Kiril and Stephan—and how much to other factors?
2. Tolan (p. 43) describes Dalia as carrying “an extraordinary legacy” with her to Israel in 1948.
What was that legacy?
Chapter 4
1. How did the Arabs in Palestine feel about the Jewish immigrants pouring into Palestine? Why?
2. The Arab-Israeli war of 1948 is known as the “War of Independence” to Israelis, and the “Nakba,”
or “Catastrophe,” to Palestinians. Chapter 4 describes how Bashir’s family, and Dalia’s cousin,
Yitzhak Yitzkaki, experienced the war. Describe Bashir's point of view during the first months of
1948. Do the same with Yitzhaki.
3. How did the Khairis take the UN General Assembly vote on November 30, 1947 to partition
Palestine into two states? Does the UN plan seem reasonable under the circumstances? Would you
have supported it at the time? Why/why not?
4. How prepared was the Palestinian leadership to handle the rising tension and turmoil in that
country and to talk about co-existence or maybe a division of Palestine?
Chapter 5
1. If you had been a Jew in Bulgaria, would you have headed to Palestine? Why or why not?
2. How would the Jews have felt standing on the ship viewing their country for the first time after
almost 2000 years away?
Chapter 6
1. Bashir and his family kept their focus on the “right of return,” as promised by U.N. Resolution 194,
as their exile extended into the 1950s and 1960s. Why was this a singular focus for Palestinians
during this time? If you had been displaced, would you demand to return home, or would you, at
some point, decide it would be easier to live in peace, if also in exile?
2. What feelings took the place of the hope of the early days?
3. In August, 1948, Israeli officials reported at the International Red Cross conference that 300,000
Arabs had left their places of residence. What opposing information did the Red Cross present?
4. What was refugee life like in Gaza?
5. What was the "central trauma" for the refugees?
Chapter 7
1. Dalia describes herself as growing up in the shadow of the Holocaust (pp. 112-115). Although her
own family escaped these atrocities, she nevertheless experienced a young Israel as deeply
traumatized. At the same time, she grew up among a new community of Jews who were trying to
re-form their identity. On pp. 118-120, a discussion of the Sabra, or “New Israeli Man,” describes a
desire among many Israelis to “wash off that old Jew” and “stand tall for the first time.” How much
of a role do you think the Holocaust, and reaction to it through the crafting of a Sabra identity,
played in the formation of Israel’s national psyche?
2. Dalia wonders about her family’s new home. What were the Jewish immigrants told about the
homes they moved into? Whose house would you say it was? Why did Bashir's family leave?
3. What do the following terms mean?
Custodian of Absentee Properties
Law of Return Present Absentees
Sabra
Chapter 8
1. When Bashir was studying law in Cairo, who inspired him and what did he believe would have to
happen for the Palestinians to be able to return to their former homes?
2. In the lead-up to the '67 War and after it began, for what did Bashir hope? On what did his hope
rest?
3. What happened to the dream of Bashir and other Palestinians of returning home?
Chapter 9
1.
2.
What was Dalia’s first thought when she saw the three men standing outside her home?
Dalia welcomes the men into her home. Was she being foolish? How does this invitation strike
Bashir?
Chapter 10
1. The emerging trust between Dalia and Bashir was shattered in February, 1969, when a bomb
exploded in a Jerusalem supermarket, killing three people. Bashir would later be convicted of
complicity in the bombing and sentenced to fifteen years. Was your view of Bashir transformed by
the description of these events? Was it tempered by accounts of his imprisonment and torture?
2. Dalia cuts off all contact with the family. Describe her state of mind during this time, and her own
ambivalence about contacting Bashir. Would you have reacted differently?
3. In 1985, after Dalia’s parents died and Bashir got out of prison, Dalia contacted Bashir. Why?
Describe her evolution from being “zealous in the defense of Israel” (p. 180) to meeting Bashir at
the home of a Christian minister in Ramallah, where she offered to share the home in Ramla. What
does this gesture mean? What is the meaning of the agreement Dalia and Bashir forged?
Chapter 11
1. In 1988, near the beginning of the intifada, Bashir was deported to Lebanon. On the eve of his
deportation, Dalia wrote an open letter to Bashir that was published in the Jerusalem Post (pp
200-203). Weeks later, Bashir replied (pp. 216-220). Describe your reaction to both letters.
2. What convinced Dalia to write a letter to Bashir? What was the essence of her letter and how did it
affect Bashir?
Chapter 12
1. How did Dalia and Yehezkel feel when Rabin was assassinated? How did Bashir feel?
2. What were the main activities of the Open House in Ramla? Are these appropriate and significant
uses of this space?
Chapter 13
1. Bashir and Dalia finally meet again, in the midst of rising violence and political tensions, in
Ramallah in 2004 (pp. 256-262). They find that their political differences are as great as ever, but
that their personal relations are as warm as ever. How does one explain that?
2. Ghiath, Bashir’s cousin and brother-in-law, believed that the problem in 2004 had become not
return, but occupation. What else did Ghiath believe?
3. In the final visit between Dalia and Bashir what is Dalia’s argument? What does she call the
wall? What is Bashir’s answer to her argument?
4. What did Dalia mean by AAA?
5. What did Dalia mean near the end (p. 262) in saying, “Our enemy is the only partner we have.”
*** Tolan passages of particular importance
144-148 (Dalia/Bashir)
190-191 (Dalia/Dalia’s husband/Bashir)
216-220 (Bashir’s response to Dalia’s letter)
156-163 (Dalia/Richard/Bashir)
209-213 (Nirha/Ghiath Khairi/Dalia)
256-262 (Dalia/Bashir)