After a refreshing and largely non-political lecture on the importance of water in the Middle East by Prof. Eran Feitelson, we made our way to the Israeli Knesset. Unbeknownst to us we stumbled upon a protest! It was quite a lively protest. We saw two arrests and were also confronted by an apocalyptic gentleman from San Francisco who insisted the Global Revolution is upon us. The protest itself was largely made up of orthodox Jews that were showcasing their distaste for the Israeli government's recent decision to remove five houses in a Jewish settlement from Palestinian land. An interesting exchange occurred between an Israeli police officer and an orthodox woman berating the officer for arresting a fellow Jew. "I care about the country just as much as you do," he said.
We left the protest and entered the Knesset to meet with MK Einat Wilf. When PM Netanyahu collaborated with the Kadima party, Wilf was one of the MKs to join. She described her politics as having gradually shifted from left to right, particularly on the issue of Palestinians. In regards to this issue, MK Wilf suggested that if a path to peace makes itself available, Israel should follow it, but it is her opinion that Palestinians have had plenty of opportunities to create a Palestinian state. Palestinians, she said, don't just want a Palestinian state; they also want to reverse the creation of Israel. MK's grim view spoke largely to the greater Arab-Israeli conflict in that the real problem lies in the historical fact that Arabs have been against a Jewish state in the Middle East. Although I disagreed with her on several points she made, MK Wilf was impressive, collected, and spoke eloquently to us with great respect. She made a point to address all of us and I think our group overwhelmingly enjoyed hearing her speak.
Our tour guide through the Knesset was a French woman named Eliana who presented a viewpoint on Israel that was different from many of the others we've met on this trip. Eliana left France for Israel because she believed all Jews should return to Israel after having been evicted 2,000 years ago. Eliana went on to discuss how Algerians in France don't want to be successful and how they should look to her Polish father as an example of how to be good. I'm not sure how her train of thought was constructed because it was largely irrelevant to us in any way, but it presented an opportunity for me to disagree with someone in French.
As the trip wraps up, I feel lucky to have experienced this conflict zone firsthand. As an American of Lebanese ancestry, I've often times been hounded with the stories of the experiences of my family in regards to Israel and I've had limited opportunities to form my own firsthand opinion. Now that I've been here, I have a better grasp of the conflict from the inside. Unfortunately, I feel more hopeless for peace in the region and I admire those who dedicate their careers to finding an end to this conflict.
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