Rollins College Hamilton Holt School Summer 2014 The Politics of Israel and Palestine 60068 - INAF 311
Professor: Stephen Day Contact: [email protected] Location: Cornell Social Sciences, Room 221 Cell phone: (407) 284-7787 Time: Monday-Wednesday 6:00 pm - 9:10 pm
This course addresses one of the most contentious issues in international affairs. This has been true for more than sixty years since 1948 when the state of Israel was formed after the Holocaust in the second World War. Students will focus on events following the breakdown of the Oslo Accords in the 1990s, and the renewed fighting in 2000 after President Clinton’ s failed Camp David summit. Yet there are some readings about events in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when the Ottoman Empire weakened and collapsed, while the Zionist movement gained strength. It is essential to comprehend developments at this period of time, in order to understand the origins of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The politics of Israel-Palestine is a great topic of academic analysis. There is a vast amount of scholarship on the subject, and we will read three of the best books available. In addition, there are a number of “recommended” books because they help provide a complete account of Israel-Palestine, including historical documents, chronologies of events, and profiles of key political figures. Some of the recent scholarship evokes strong reactions among those who are unfamiliar with the latest research findings. There is no way to sugar-coat the implications about the current political situation. Students should bear in mind that this is a course on international affairs, where the focus is politics, not religious sympathies. There is no attempt to address the topic from a perspective of religious belief or holy books. The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians can not truly be understood in terms of the sacred or divine, but rather the profane world of politicians, their ambitions, foibles, and prejudices. The goal of this course is to understand the conflict, not from a cross-point of two “evenly weighted” perspectives, but a “realist” view of reasons why the conflict exists, and why peacemaking consistently fails. It is a mistake to think there is only one Israeli perspective and one Palestinian perspective. The two can not be counterposed in black and white terms, where only one side is right and the other side is wrong. On both sides of the conflict, there are multiple perspectives because the Israeli and Palestinian communities have multiple factions and divided leaderships. On many occasions, the most contentious political conflict has been within one community. This is very important to grasp for a “realist” understanding of the Israel- Palestine conflict.
Course texts:
Avi Shlaim, The Iron Wall: Israel & the Arab World, W. W. Norton & Company, 2001. ISBN-10: 0393321126 ISBN-13: 978-0393321128 $24.95 Rashid Khalidi, The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle, Beacon Press, 2006. ISBN-10: 0807003085 $17.00 Miko Peled, The Generalʼs Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine, Just World Books, 2012 ISBN-10: 193598215X ISBN-13: 978-1935982159 $20.00 Readings:
The weekly assigned readings appear in the course schedule below. These are drawn from the required texts for purchase in the campus bookstore. Students should complete the readings before the date of each class meeting, so we may discuss the readings on that date. In addition to the assigned readings the professor lists “recommended” readings that should be read by those seeking advanced knowledge of the subject.
Short Paper Assignments:
There are two short paper assignments in Weeks Three and Five, as shown in the schedule below (check the dates provided next to *** in the right margin of the class schedule). Questions will cover reading assignments in preceding weeks; and the professor will provide each question at least one class period before the assignment is due. These papers are expected to be 2-3 pages in length (standard font, double-spaced). They should be submitted electronically before class of day they are due. Late penalties of a half letter grade apply for papers submitted after the start of class. Papers not submitted before midnight of the due date will receive a full letter grade deduction, and afterward a full grade per day.
Presentation:
Each student will be assigned one day during the classes held between Weeks 5 and 6 (from 7/22 to 8/3) to give a presentation on the assigned readings from Miko Peledʼs book. These presentations will be given in groups of three or four students.
Final Exam:
The final exam is comprehensive, covering all the required reading material. The exam will include one long essay question, dealing with a general subject explored during the semester, plus an additional short essay question, relating to important course concepts. The grading emphasis on the final exam is the studentʼs writing clarity, organization of ideas, and development of a persuasive argument.
Grading:
All components of this course, including attendance, will count towards the final grade. The final grade for this course is calculated according to the following percentages:
Attendance and participation: 30% Two short papers: 30% Presentation 10% Final exam: 30%
The percentage for attendance/participation is broken down on a 3:2 ratio. Attendance is calculated on an overall scale, while participation is evaluated by the professor in terms of how well the student joins in class discussions (actively or passively), question/answer sessions, and other in-class activities. If a student misses more than two class sessions, then this entire portion of the grade may be forfeited.
Academic Honor Code
Membership in the student body of Rollins College carries with it an obligation, and requires a commitment, to act with honor in all things. Because academic integrity is fundamental to the pursuit of knowledge and truth and is the heart of the academic life of Rollins College, it is the responsibility of all members of the College community to practice it and to report apparent violations. The following pledge is a binding commitment by the students of Rollins College: • The development of the virtues of Honor and Integrity are integral to a Rollins College education and to membership in the Rollins College community. Therefore, I, a student of Rollins College, pledge to show my commitment to these virtues by abstaining from any lying, cheating, or plagiarism in my academic endeavors and by behaving responsibly, respectfully and honorably in my social life and in my relationships with others.
This pledge is reinforced every time a student submits work for academic credit as his/her own. Students shall add to all papers, quizzes, tests, lab reports, etc., the following handwritten abbreviated pledge followed by their signature: “On my honor, I have not given, nor received, nor witnessed any unauthorized assistance on this work.” Material submitted electronically should contain the pledge; submission implies signing the pledge.
Equal Opportunity Policy
Rollins College is committed to equal access and does not discriminate unlawfully against persons with disabilities in its policies, procedures, programs or employment processes. The College recognizes its obligations under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 to provide an environment that does not discriminate against persons with disabilities.
If you are a person with a disability on this campus and anticipate needing any type of academic accommodations in order to participate in your classes, please make timely arrangements by disclosing this disability in writing to the Disability Services Office at (Box 2613) - Thomas P. Johnson Student Resource Center, 1000 Holt Ave., Winter Park, FL, 37289 or call 407-646-2354 for an appointment.
Course Schedule
Week One The Origin of Modern Israel June 30 Required: Avi Shlaim, The Iron Wall, Prologue, pp. 1-27. Recommended: Meron Benvenisti, Sacred Landscape, Univ. of California Press, 2002; Chapters 1-2
The Oslo Peace Accord & President Clintonʼs Failed 2000 Summit July 2 Required: Shlaim, The Iron Wall, Ch. 13, pp. 502-530; Ch. 14, all; Ch. 15, pp. 564-588; and Epilogue, pp 597-609 Recommended: William Quandt, Peace Process, University of California Press, 2001 !!!Charles D. Smith, Palestine & the Arab-Israeli Conflict, Bedford/St. Martins, newest edition !!!Clayton Swisher, The Truth about Camp David: Untold Story, Nation Books, 2005 !!!Susan Sontag, "Quest for Mideast peace: How and why it failed," NY Times, July 26, 2001 !!!Dennis Ross, The Missing Peace: Inside Story, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005 !!!Dennis Ross and David Makovsky, Myths, Illusions & Peace, Penguin Press, 2010 !!!Malley & Agha, “Camp David: The Tragedy of Errors” http://www.nybooks.com/articles/14380 Week Two Origins of the European Zionist Movement July 7 Required: Shlaim, The Iron Wall, Chs 1-2 all; Ch. 3 pp 95-101 mid; 104-107 mid; 110-118 mid.; 123-129; 134 top-142. Khalidi, The Iron Cage, Intro, pp. ix-xxiii & xxxii-xlii Recommended: Arthur Hertzberg, The Zionist Idea, Doubleday & Co., 1959 Gabriel Piterburg, The Returns of Zionism: Myths, Politics, and Scholarship, Verso 2008 !!!Benny Morris, Righteous Victims: History of Zionist-Arab Conflict 1881-2001, Vintage 2001 Tom Segev, One Palestine, Complete: Jews & Arabs Under British Mandate, Picador 2001 !!!Tom Segev The Seventh Million: The Israelis and the Holocaust, Henry Holt & Co., 1991 !!!Avi Shlaim & Eugene Rogan War for Palestine: Rewriting History of 1948 Cambridge 2001 !!!Ilan Pappe, The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, One World Publications, 2007 !!!Nur Masalha, The Palestine Nakba: Decolonizing History, Zed Books, 2012. !!!Rosemarie Esber, Under the Cover of War: The Zionist Expulsion of the Palestinians, !!!!Arabicus Books, 2008 !!!Meron Benvenisti, Sacred Landscape, Univ. of California Press, 2002; Chapters 3-4 !!!Walid Khalidi, ed., All that Remains, the Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948, Institute for Palestine Studies, Washington, DC, 1991. !!!Avi Shlaim, Collusion Across the Jordan: King Abdallah, Zionist Movement !!!Yitzhak Rabin, The Rabin Memoirs, University of California Press,1996 or later !!
Palestine in the Early Decades of 20th Century July 9 Required: Khalidi, The Iron Cage, Chs. 1-2, all. Recommended: Alexander Scholch, Palestine in Transformation 1856-1882: Studies in Social, Economic and Political Development, Institute of Palestine Studies, 1993 Gershon Shafir, Land Labour and Origins of the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, 1882-1914 !!!May Seikaly, Haifa: Transformation of Arab Society, 1918-1939, I B Tauris, England, 1995 !!!Yaacov Ro'i, "The Zionist Attitude to the Arabs, 1908-1914," Middle Eastern Studies, !!!!Vol. 4, No. 3, April 1968, pp. 198-242. !!!Rashid Khalidi, "Palestinian Peasant Resistance to Zionism Before World War I," in Said & !!!!Hitchens, eds., Blaming the Victims, Verso, 1988.
!!!!!!!! *** 1st Short Paper Due 7/14 *** Week Three Palestineʼs Failure to Achieve an Independent Arab State July 14 Required: Khalidi, The Iron Cage, Chs. 3-4, all; Ch. 5, pp. 140-150. Recommended: Fromkin, A Peace to End All Peace, Henry Holt & Co., 1989
July 16 Summary of Early Arab Palestinian Failures Required: Khalidi, The Iron Cage, Ch. 5, pp. 150-181; Ch. 6, all.
Week Four The First Years of Israeli State Formation & Suez War July 21 Required: Shlaim, Iron Wall, Ch. 4, all; Ch. 5, pp 186-199; 204-217 Peled, The General Son, Intro-Ch 1, all; Ch 2, pp. 31-41 Recommended: ! David Ben Gurion, Recollections, Macdonald Unit, London, England, 1970 !!!David Ben Gurion, Israel: A Personal History, New English Library, 1972. !!!Golda Meir, A Land of Our Own, Putnam, 1973. !!!Roger Louis and Roger Owen, Suez 1956, the Crisis and its Consequences, Clarendon !!!!Press, Oxford, England, 1989 !!!Clive Jones & Emma Murphy, Israel: Challenges to Identity, Democracy, Routledge, 2002
Israelʼs Military Actions Leading to June 1967 War July 23 Required: Shlaim, Iron Wall, Ch. 6, all. Peled, The Generalʼs Son, Ch. 2, pp. 41-49 Recommended: Norman Finkelstein, Image and Reality of the Israel-Palestine Conflict, Verso, 2003 !!!Richard B. Parker, "The June War: Whose Conspiracy?," Journal of Palestine Studies, !!!!21:4, Summer 1992, pp. 5-21. !!!Richard B. Parker, The Six Day War: A Retrospective, Univrsity Press of Florida, 1996 !!!Michael Oren, Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East, !!!!Presidio, 2003
*** 2nd Short Paper Due 7/28 *** Week Five War and Diplomacy in the 1970s July 28 Required: Shlaim, The Iron Wall, Chs. 7-8, all. Peled, The Generalʼs Son, Ch. 3, all. Recommended: Zeev Schiff, October Earthquake: Yom Kippur 1973, Transaction Books, 2013 Richard B. Parker, The October War, University Press of Florida, 2001
Peace with Egypt during the Carter Administration July 30 Required: Shlaim, The Iron Wall, Ch. 9, all. Peled, The Generalʼs Son, Chs. 4-5, all.
Week Six Israelʼs Invasion of Lebanon and the First Palestinian Intifada August 4 Required: Shlaim, The Iron Wall Ch 10 all; Ch 11, pp 442 bot.-460; Ch. 12, pp. 461-472, 479-501. Peled, The Generalʼs Son, Chs. 6-8, all. Recommended: Zeev Schiff and Ehud Yaari, Israelʼs Lebanon War, Touchstone, 1985 Robert Fisk, Pity the Nation, Nation Books, 2002 !!!Bayan N. al-Hout, Sabra and Shatilla: September 1982, Pluto, 2004
Personal Reflections on Being a Peace Diplomat August 6 Required: Peled, The Generalʼs Son, Chs. 9-16, all. Recommended: Hanan Ashrawi, This Side of Peace, Simon & Schuster, 1995 !!!Naim S. Ateek, Justice and Only Justice, Orbis Books, 1989 !!!Tanya Reinhart, Israel/Palestine: How to End the War of 1948, Seven Stories Press, 2002 !!!John McCarthy, You Canʼt Hide the Sun: A Journey through Israel & Palestine, Random !!!!House, 2012
FINAL EXAM -- Wednesday, August 6, 2014