Cultural Conflict

Cultural Conflict
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Ardent Arab-Israeli conflict authors such as Goldscheider have labeled the conflict as an ethnic conflict between Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. The former refers to those Palestinians who live within the confines of the 1948 borders while the latter refer to those living without the area (Fischbach, 2004). The conflict stirs up interest because it is protracted and the quest for a solution to the conflict requires coming to terms with the causes of the conflict (Hermann, 2013). Palestinians have a real grievance in relation to the occupation of their territory during the creation of the state of Israel. The conflict does not only have an ethnic dimension, but also political and territorial aspects which must be addressed through religious and moral based dialogue and reconciliation for a peaceful end to the conflict.
The Jewish emancipation has historical underpinnings in events such as the 20th century Jews emigration from Russia owing to anti-Semitism in the country. They feared assimilation into Europe would dilute the distinct features of Judaism and Jews. The Jews recognized the need to preserve Jewish culture through Zionism (Gordon, 2010). They sought to create a Jewish state in Palestine which they identified as their historic homeland. The Jewish people started moving into Palestine late nineteenth century. Jewish settlement in Palestine under the Zionist movement prevailed significantly following the 1930’s horrors during the Nazi Genocide in Germany.
Zionism gained renewed triumph amongst Jews as the only solution to anti-Semitism. Their settlement into Palestine created a situation where Arabs and Israelis lived alongside each other. The Arabs have numerous dialects and traditions while the Israelis are immigrants hailing from different parts of the world. Israel as a state was created through establishment of a common identity in the Hebrew language and the shedding of divisive linguistic distinctions such as Farsi and Arabic. The distinctness in cultural communication fuels conflict between the Arabs and the Jews (Mollov & Lavie, 2001). For instance, Arabs claim that reflect their desire to wipe out Jews from Palestine are not merely perceived as placing emphasis on their resentment of Jewish settlement. The Jews perceive such claims as real threats that trigger hostile attacks on the Palestinians. Such pronouncements are commonplace expressions in Arabic way of communicating.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is anchored on the possession and control of the land that was previously known as Palestine, Eretz Israel and the Holy Land. Both parties to the conflict view the land as a significant source of their cultural identity and survival. The two parties seek sovereignty within the same area. Jews are adamant about maintaining a Jewish state in Palestine and extend their control over other territories in West Bank. The Jews desire that Palestinians Arabs are resettled in isolated enclaves. Arabs resist such moves and display their entrenched desire to continue living in the land citing that they existed for the last over one thousand years. They utilize violence to fight for self-determination and to publicize their intentions to remain in their indigenous territory (Kapitan, 2011). Israeli’s claim to Zionism and the Palestinians undying enmity and hatred for Israel are the cultural hallmarks of the conflict. Palestinians receive backing from other Arabs in their unwillingness to recognize Israel’s right of existence. Both the Arabs and the Jews are fractious and are both convinced that they are aggrieved by the other.
Palestine establishment first resulted from the acquisition of the land by the British following a League of Nations mandate to that effect. Part of the mandate required that the British create a Jewish national home in Palestine. It established the defined Palestine boundaries which marked Palestine as a political unit for the first time in history in 1921. The British later created Transjordan area as political area and spelt out measures that indicated that Jewish people would not settle on the Transjordan. It prohibited Jews from occupying eighty percent of the original mandate. The Arabs occupied the eastern part of the Transjordan and the western part remained under its control (Institute for Curricula Services, 2012). The Jews felt betrayed by this move and remain insecure as Israel is surrounded by hostile Arab countries that produce security challenges to the country.
Israel exists as a Jewish-western state struggling for legitimacy while being surrounded by Muslim-Arab region. There was a violent takeover of the Gaza strip by the Palestinian Hamas in June 2...