This past week I was in Israel. It was easy while I was there to forget there is a conflict going on. Everywhere I went, including Jerusalem, things were quiet. I was able to enjoy the outdoor malls, the sites and food of the buzzing metropolitans of both Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. I was able to take in the Jewish mystical city of Tsfat and tour the ruins of Masada.
Nevertheless, even with the quiet, while driving down to the Dead Sea we experienced the roads of Area C of the Oslo Accords under Israeli control, went through checkpoints and saw the barrier between the disputed territories and Israel proper. On the news and through college campuses on the other hand it is difficult to avoid mention of the conflict. Israel is rarely depicted for its own merits but rather filtered through the lens of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
These two aspects to the same land begs the question: How did Israel come to be the state it is today? How did the conflict evolve into what is happening and the facts on the ground? If you want to find out how, why and where the conflict began join us on Monday nights at The Roth Family JCC starting January 6 for Beyond Borders: The History of the Arab-Israeli Conflict.