Reliving Research

These last few chapters brought me back to my original thoughts in regards to the Israel/Palestine issue. These thoughts are centered around the confusion of how the groups got into this mess and who actually is to blame. These are thoughts that started before I ever visited the Middle East and were very important to how I viewed that region when I went there. So many historical events have left marks on the nation of Israel even to this day and I remember the fascination that I had when I saw them with my very own eyes.

The first event I remember studying was the Arab revolt of 1918. When I first went to Jerusalem, I was working on a large high school project in regards to that event and the role of T.E. Lawrence during it. I remember walking through the old city and reflecting on how T.E. would have been thinking in that situation. I had begun to admire his approach to the Middle East and the people therein. While he himself was very respected by the Arabs, only a short glance at a history book shows how the British are very much at the center of the conflict at hand. Whether it was the Sykes-Picot treaty or the Balfour declaration, not everyone in the British military was as keen on the Middle East as T.E. Lawrence was.

The next event I remember very clearly was the drive form Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. This stretch of road is known as the Bab-El-Wad and it was a region of intense conflict during 1948. When driving along this, there is wreckage from the past wars strewn along the roadside from blown up cars to burned out military vehicles. I was amazed how they remained there till today yet they still seemed so fitting. I say that because no matter where I was at in the Middle East, the importance of all of the conflicts to today's events is of the utmost importance.

Time and time again those very events from the past play important roles into the dialogue between the Palestinians and Israelis today. These last chapters brought me back to everything I was learning and researching prior to my time in Israel. Now that I am back and am reflecting on that history, I am amazed at how much I have learned. Time has blessed me with many new opportunities to understand the conflict surrounding Jerusalem and I look forward to looking back on this post someday and realizing how much more I have learned.