Show:
1967-1987
1987-2001
2001-2008
2008-2020
Big Themes (last 4 lectures)
100
The five territories acquired by Israel in the aftermath of the Six-Day War
East Jerusalem, Sinai, Gaza, West Bank, Golan Heights
100
The founder and spiritual leader of Hamas. He was killed in an Israeli airstrike in 2004.
Ahmed Yassin
100
The current leader of Hezbollah
Hassan Nasrallah
100

President of the PA since 2005

Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen)

100
Founded in the 1953-54 out of previously existing interest groups, it is currently the most effective organization in the “Jewish lobby”; according to Mearsheimer and Walt its political influence is comparable to AARP and NRA.
AIPAC- American Israel Public Affairs Committee
200
List three consequences of the Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982
e.g. 1) Rise of Hizbollah, turning originally anti-PLO Shiites against Israel 2) PLO relocates headquarter to Tunis, survives the war but is forced into more moderate position 3) World opinion turns against Israel actions in Lebanon, Likud unilateralism is upset by military failure
200
Why did Shimon Peres lose the elections in 1996? How did it affect the Oslo process? List three factors
e.g. 1) Rabin was substituted by Peres, who did not have the same charisma and security credential 2) Peres did not call elections immediately allowing for 3) time to pass and bombing campaign launched by Hamas and extremists to poison the climate 4) Peres failure in South Lebanon contributes to it 5) Netanyahu derails process for 3 years + increasing settlements make peace more difficult
200
How did the emergence of non-state actors affect the conflict? List three factors
Open answer; keywords : asymmetric warfare, civilian casualties, political v. military outcomes
200
List three major factors that caused the "Arab Spring" in 2011
e.g. 1) Weak national identities and ethnic/religious faultlines 2) Economic woes as consequence of Global Recession 3) Aggressive external influences: US as well as Iran and Sunni states
200
What are some of the fundaments of the Palestinian victimization narrative and what historical trends do they explain, according to Lieberman?
E.g Palestinian view themselves as victims of historic injustice :1) they were not responsible for the holocaust but had to pay the price for it, 2) tried to oppose the immigration of Jews before 1948 but lacked the power to do so; 3) made several strategic errors but errors do not imply moral failure. This narrative explains, according to Lieberman : 1) the refusal to recognize a Jewish state, at least until Oslo 2) the insistence on the right of return as central element of identity and the impossibility to relinquish it without admitting an historic defeat, 3) a propensity to initiate violence to turn the tables of history despite counterproductive outcomes, especially in the short term
300
what factors facilitated the Camp David accords between Israel and Egypt?
e.g. 1) Under Sadat Egypt moves from pro-Soviet to pro-US camp, enabling 2) US mediation to settle conflict 3) “Yom Kippur” War of 1973 has mixed results, shows vulnerability of both opponents, Israel ultimately prevails but is shaken by initial successful surprise attack; 4) Sadat realizes he has no chance of settling the conflict militarily
300
What is the 1993 Declaration of Principles? List two major characteristics
e.g. The “Declaration of Principles” is the first step of the Oslo process. Signed in a public ceremony in Washington D.C. hosted by Bill Clinton It established 1) Mutual recognition between Israel and the PLO – the PLO was granted status of sole representative of the Palestinian people 2) The declaration and the process was based on a policy of small steps, major issues like the refugee question would be postponed – Oslo 2 accords will set up the Palestinian Authority as self-governing body in parts of WB and Gaza
300

Explain the differences between Fatah, the PLO and the PA

1) Fatah ("Victory") is a political party founded by members of the Palestinian diaspora in 1959 in Kuwait. Yasser Arafat became its most prominent leader. 2) Founded by the Arab League in 1964, the PLO was an umbrella organization embracing several Palestinian political parties. But by 1968 Fatah had established itself as the dominant group within the PLO, and it remains so today. The PLO was long regarded as the only authentic expression of Palestinian nationalism.3) The Palestinian Authority was created in 1994 under the Oslo accords as a Palestinian state-in-embryo. Today the PA is recognized by many countries as a more or less full-fledged state, the state of Palestine.The relation between these three movements may be compared to three nested Russian wooden dolls […] In practice Fatah dominates the PLO, which in turn dominates the PA

300
list three major differences between Obama and Netanyahu’s views of the conflict
e.g. 1) Obama thinks demographic and political trends run against Israel, Netanyahu thinks demographic is not as bad and political sympathies are insubstantial compared to security issues 2) Abbas is best partner for peace according to Obama, he is too weak and uncommitted to peace according to Netanyahu 3) Netanyahu thinks status quo is better than risk of Hamas gaining control of Palestinian state, Obama thinks peace process would make extremists weaker not stronger 4) deep disagreement on Arab Spring and Iran—Netanyahu thinks Obama is naïve and ignorant of Middle East politics
300

What are the three possibilities of one state solution for the conflict and why are they unlikely

Open answer: 1) one-state solution, 2) two-state solution, 3) three-state solution.

400
List 3 features of the Allon Plan (you can include the reasons it was devised, and why it failed; include some geographical reference)
e.g. 1) The fundamental principle of the Allon Plan was Labour policy of exchanging “land for peace” 2) The plan entailed the return of two major population areas of West Bank to Jordan, the annexation of Jerusalem, areas around Jerusalem and most of the Jordan Valley as a security perimeter 3) two Jordanian/Palestinian enclaves in WB would be connected to each other by underground corridor, and to Jordan through Jericho 4) to ensure swap of land Labor discourages settlements 5) The plan rests on collaboration of Jordan and Palestinian Ayan class, but rise of PLO and international context turn the table
400
What factors affecting either Israel or the Palestinians facilitated the Oslo process? List at least four
e.g. Collapse of Soviet Union means there are 1) no longer military options for Arab states 2) Inflow of Soviet Jews increases risk of settlements’ expansion changing the demographic of WB against Palestinians 3) PLO support of Saddam puts it in a corner at risk of losing international and Arab states support 4) Rise of Hamas during intifada pushes both PLO and Israel to find a compromise 5) Intifada favors Labor victory of 1992 6) US pushes for Pax Americana in Middle East –new dynamics of unipolar world
400
How did sharon’s government between 2001 and 2005 affect the conflict? List three major features/policies
unilateral solutions: 1) Re-occupation of West Bank to stop second intifada (Operation defensive shield) 2) put Arafat under effective house arrest 3) Establishment of a separation barrier 4) Unilateral withdrawal from Gaza 5) Creates new “centrist” party Kadima
400
How did the rise of Iran and its allies affect the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? List three examples; you can start from the Iranian revolution and include the recent upheavals
Open answer: Keywords: shift from secular to religious movements; Hizbollah “open letter to all the oppressed” and Shiite project to unify the Muslim world against Israel (Iran support of Hamas); Shia-Sunni split; possibility of a Sunni-Israel alliance?
400

List some historic examples of American decisions that did not conform to the Israel lobby thesis

e.g. 1) Carter forced Israel to evacuate Sinai in the 1970s against Likud opposition; 2) The lobby could not stop US exports of weapons to Saudi Arabia in 1980s 3) Iran deal and 4) Obama’s refuse to veto resolution on settlements in 2016

500
What is the content of UN general assembly resolution 3379 (1975)? In what context was it voted?
The resolution condemned Zionism as a “form of racism and racial discrimination”. Context: 1) increased international recognition of PLO, Arafat invited to speak at UN in 1974; 2) High tide of decolonization and critiques of South African apartheid, non-western states have majority in UN assembly.
500

What is the Palestinian view of the failure of Camp David? List three points

5 major errors by Barak/Clinton : 1) rush talks without sufficient preparation time out of selfish political concerns (end of presidential mandate) 2) Barak coalition was weak and he was unable to stop settlements 3) concessions were inadequate, especially on right of return 4) fatal error to allow Sharon visit on the temple mount 5) IDF overreaction once intifada starts off

500
Lebanese tycoon and politician, prime minister between 2000 and 2004. He opposed the rise of Hezbollah and was assassinated in a major bombing in 2005
Rafic Hariri
500

List some differences and similarities in current Palestinian and Israeli politics and views of a possible solution of the conflict (refer to lecture 22)

Open ended question. According to lecture 22, they differ because, 1) at least until recently, people demanding a winner-take-all approach were weaker in Israel than in Palestine. Until 2014 polls showed that some 70% of Israelis would accept a permanent two-state solution, but in that same period some 70% of Palestinians wanted not a permanent two-state solution, but Israel's destruction.

But in a broader sense the two sides' are similar for at least two reasons: 1) Self-justifying myopia: both sides portray themselves as recipients of  undeserved hostility from their nasty neighbors. Hamas and the PA focus on Israeli oppression w/out acknowledging their contribution to that cycle, but by the same token, Israeli complain endlessly about Palestinian terrorism and violence while they fail to recognize the virtual inevitability, the naturalness of Palestinian resistance. Furthermore, they fail to see how settlements deepen Palestinian bitterness.

2) Second, they are both trapped by an existential logic: Israelis can't accept a Palestinian state w/ an independent military  or foreign policy because they fear such a state would threaten their existence, but Palestinians can't accept being reduced to an Israeli puppet state. More basically whatever security arrangements are on offer, Palestinians are unlikely ever to accept any two-state solution because they would have to surrender their dream of regaining all of Palestine; It would mean abandoning their national aspirations. They prefer the current situation... They take a long-view of decades or centuries and think   (or imagine)   things are slowly moving in their favor.

500

What are the main elements of Mearsheimer and Walt’s thesis about the “Israel lobby”? What are its main limitations according to Prof. Lieberman?

According to Mearsheimer and Walt 1) the US policy towards Israel is not based on strategic considerations or on commonality of institutions and values, but is the consequence of the political action of the “Israel lobby”,2) a series of about 80 interest groups and organizations—primarily but not only Jewish--whose common aim is to steer American policy in pro-Israel direction. 3) They contend that the “lobby” is not particularly unpatriotic; it is comparable to other American lobbies like the AARP or NRA and 3) distinguishes itself only for its “extraordinary effectiveness”. The main limitations of this thesis are: 1) it doesn’t account for the overall primacy of US strategic interests, especially in the Cold War and 2) it doesn’t account for support of Israel among non-Jewish Americans