Of Universal Rights and Conflicts That Threaten Humanity

OF UNIVERSAL RIGHTS AND CONFLICTS THAT THREATEN HUMANITY
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PEACEMAKING STRATEGIES
One of the most emotional sessions featured two FDU faculty members — Professor of Philosophy Leonard Grob and Associate Professor of Sociology Riad Nasser — exploring “Strategies for Peacemaking in Israel/Palestine.”

Peacemaking in Israel/Palestine featured FDU professors Leonard Grob, left, and Riad Nasser, right, and moderator Mike Kelly, senior correspondent at The Record newspaper, center.

Grob is the co-coordinator of the Stephen S. Weinstein Holocaust Symposium at Wroxton College. His focus on Holocaust studies has a personal dimension: all the members of his father’s immediate family were killed by the Nazis.

Grob said that what is happening in the region “is rooted in a fundamental conflict between the dominant narratives, the stories each of the two peoples tells itself about the meaning of those events which have occurred.” He suggested that both sides work toward forging an “inter- narrative,” in which each acknowledges “at least the partial validity of the narrative of the other.”

Grob added that, while there is nothing black-and-white about each side’s position, Israel as the stronger party “must take the initiative in facilitating the process of creating an inter-narrative.”

Among the peace education projects he is involved with, Grob is collaborating on a book with former FDU associate professor of information systems Mahmoud Watad (now an associate professor of marketing and management sciences at William Paterson University). To be published in May, the book is titled Teen Voices From the Holy Land: Who Am I to You? It features interviews with 34 Israeli and Palestinian teenagers and aims to “demonstrate aspects of the common humanity which exists among teenagers of both people, while not covering over differences,” Grob said. While the interviewees speak of the horrors that the conflict inflicts on teenagers of both groups, Grob added that they also relate normal tales of friendship and family and the vast majority “share a common vision of peaceful co-existence.”

Nasser, an Israeli citizen of Palestinian descent, said he thought achieving an internarrative would be “almost impossible.” He described his life in Israel as an Arab and emotionally recalled how his father died without having had a chance to see his home recovered. “The country I grew up in defines me as an outsider.”

Nasser became engaged in the analysis of textbooks and how the images they use serve to dehumanize certain groups. The author of Palestinian Identity in Jordan and Israel, Nasser has focused his research on school textbooks in Israel and Jordan to show how they shape the identity of their citizens. “The Palestinians are not acknowledged,” he said. Thus, when a Palestinian and a Jew meet, he added, “it becomes impossible to bridge that gap.”

Nasser agreed with Grob that, as the more powerful side, Israel has the “moral responsibility” to initiate the peace process, and also agreed that “reconciliation requires the acknowledgement of both parties.” However, he added that after 30 years of being a peace activist in the region, he is “very pessimistic.”

“Israelis are suffering from a fear
of losing their existence.”
— Leonard Grob

When asked about the possibility of a two-state solution, Grob said the public support is there, and that it really is the only possibility for the future. Nasser, however, said as time goes by the chances for such a solution diminish. He added that the expansion of Israeli settlements “makes it impossible to create a viable Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza.”

In response to a question about the Israeli checkpoints and other security measures imposed by Israel, Grob said such measures cause great suffering among Palestinians and will not contribute to peacemaking efforts. However, he said, these temporary measures must be understood in the context of the fear of the murder of Israeli civilians. Furthermore, he added, Israelis suffer from a kind of “post-traumatic stress” related to memory of the Holocaust, which is inflamed by suicide bombings, as well as the declarations from some extremist groups regarding Israel’s very survival: “Israelis are suffering from a fear of losing their existence.”

Nasser acknowledged such feelings but said the causes of conflict are not only rooted in security problems. “Checkpoints cannot resolve the fears of Israelis. Security arrangements alone will not solve the problem. Making Palestinian lives more miserable will not improve the prospects for peace.”

Next …

"The country I grew up in defines me as an outsider."
- Riad Nasser

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