Humanizing the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

BY HANNAH WALDMAN AND WUPR STAFF

As students who are particularly engaged in Israeli politics, we experienced a flurry of articles depicting violence as the Israel-Hamas war raged and one-sided claims about the conflict inundated our newsfeeds. Amidst the anarchic free-for-all that is 21st century media, we both saw an article in Haaretz, an Israeli newspaper, about two young men interning in Washington DC this summer. Hamze Awawdeh and Yehonatan Toker were selected to work in Washington and partake in workshops with the goal of creating a Project for Change to implement in their respective communities, as part of an organization called New Story Leadership. Intrigued by their rare commitment to seeking out other narratives, we decided to reach out to them. They were eager to meet with us to discuss their perspectives on this summer’s escalations, prospects for peace, and their experience living and spending time together in DC.

We met them on a Thursday afternoon for coffee. In typical DC fashion, we began the conversation by asking them about their internships. Both were working at organizations that advocated for a different perspective than the ones that the participants had grown up with. Hamze worked at Americans for Peace Now, a non-profit organization that works to educate and persuade the American public and its leadership to support policies that will lead to comprehensive, durable, Israeli-Palestinian peace, based on a two state solution that ensures the viability of Israel’s democracy and Jewish character. While Hamze’s family supported his work towards peace, others back home were more skeptical. Though progress was slow, he noted that the mindset on both sides is changing, and violence was no longer seen as an acceptable solution. Yehonatan worked at The American Task force on Palestine. Palestine—a word he admittedly still had trouble saying. His first day at the office, he says, he couldn’t bring himself to walk in. Growing up in a Religious-Zionist family, advocating for a Palestinian state required an entirely new frame of mind. But he was up for the challenge. A little over a month into his internship, he explained that he has already felt himself growing, primarily through his relationship with Hamze, who he jokes is “a bigger Zionist” than himself.

But Yehonatan’s ease in joking about this was deceiving. As we delved into matters of ideologies and policy, moving through places of consensus and places of dispute, it was apparent how personal the issue was to both men. Neither perspective was without loss, neither without apprehension, and neither without hope. The reaction of the gut, they agreed, of ten conflicted with the conclusion of the mind. Discussing the challenges of peace openly and candidly is challenging for both Hamze and Yehonatan, despite their relative success compared to other participants in their program. But both are emphatic that, in order to achieve peace, the mindset of “talking to the enemy” needs to be replaced with a willingness to seek out and validate new and challenging narratives.

Though they bickered like brothers over matters of policy and the best course of action going forward, both felt certain that a new way of educating younger generations is crucial to bringing about the peace agreement that they feel is at least two generations away. And, like brothers, they remarked, almost tearfully, that they wanted their children to know each other. They believe, though, that as long as their communities value the battles of their grandfathers over those of their children, cycles of violence will continue. As our conversation approached the end of its second hour, it ended abruptly. News of Israel’s incursion into Gaza had made its way to the States, and Yehonatan and Hamze anxiously excused themselves to connect with friends and family back home.

We came away from the conversation with more questions than answers. As American students, what is our role in the peace process? To what extent can the United States contribute to a peaceful resolution, and at what point do we step back? We had questions of policy and questions of approach, as well as questions of what our advocacy means for the future of the region.

But there were a few clear messages. For all the ways in which Yehonatan and Hamze disagree, and for all the loss they put aside when they converse, they both believe that in order for peace to occur, both Israelis and Palestinian must not only listen to each other, but allow themselves to be challenged by other narratives.

It’s frustrating for us to sit stateside, and we can assure you more frustrating for Yehonatan and Hamze, when violence is erupting in the Middle East and lives are being affected, changed, and lost. But whatever our role may be, and whatever involvement we choose for ourselves, actively exposing ourselves to perspectives that challenge our own is critical for supporting peace in the Middle East.