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De-Militarizing Young Israelis and Palestinians
Today's guest blogger is David Ellis, a Development Associate at the Interfaith Youth Core. David graduated in June of 2008 from Northwestern University where he studied political science with a focus on international politics. He is currently a Northwestern Public Interest Program (NUPIP) Fellow.
This past summer in Washington, D.C., I had the opportunity to meet two young Israelis who were backpacking across America. They had just completed their mandatory military service in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), a three-year (two years for women) requirement for all Israeli citizens over the age of 18, and had decided to delay their studies to see the world. After sharing travel stories and talking about the future of electronic music, I posed a question very near to my heart: "Do either of you have any Muslim or Arab friends back home?" The lively spirit that had colored our conversation vanished and, after an awkward pause, one of them stated, "No, it doesn't really work like that. We've just spent three years fighting Arabs; do you really think we could all go to the clubs together at night?"
This encounter and recent events in Gaza have forced me to think seriously about the consequences of militarizing, year after year, entire generations of young people in Israel and Palestine. Young peoples' identities and worldviews are deeply shaped by the experiences they have and the institutions of which they are a part. What, then, happens when the vast majority of youth in Israel and Palestine are asked to serve in military roles that further embed an "us vs. them" mentality? Is it possible that the institution of compulsory military service cements an oppositional identity between the very people on which peace in the Middle East depends?
What if there were an alternative institution shaping how young Israelis and Palestinians perceive one another? Given the serious security threats to the people involved, I am not arguing for an elimination of mandatory military service. Instead, the respective governments should create a parallel opportunity where young Palestinians and Israelis could legitimately fulfill part or all of their civic duty by serving in a joint Israeli-Palestinian interfaith "Peace Corps." This initiative would facilitate interfaith peace exchanges, cooperative service immersion experiences, and constructive dialogue among thousands of young Israelis and Palestinians each year. Instead of pitting Israeli and Palestinian young people against one another during their most formative years, this initiative would help them form constructive relationships based on positive interactions, shared values, and common goals.
This initiative would be effective in fostering peace for two main reasons. First, it would bring adversarial groups together to work toward common goals (e.g. regional peace, quality of life for refugees, access to health and education) that could not be reached without the cooperation of both groups. In his classic "Robbers Cave" experiment on conflict and cooperation, social psychologist Muzafer Sherif forcefully shows that social tensions are significantly reduced when groups in conflict jointly pursue and achieve shared goals; the same lesson applies to peace in Israeli-Palestine.
Second, this initiative would teach and train future foreign ministers, faith leaders, and policymakers to partake in constructive dialogue, be empathetic toward the circumstances of others, and utilize nonviolent and cooperative strategies for building a more stable and peaceful region. This model is the same one used by Teach for America (TFA) in their efforts to reform the education system in America. TFA is effectively equipping future leaders in all fields to be lifelong advocates for educational change. For evidence of the effectiveness of this model, check out the impact of TFA Alumni.
Young people will make an impact in the world. If we want them to leave a legacy of peace in Israel-Palestine, then they must be shaped and empowered by nonviolent leadership opportunities. Peace in Israel and Palestine depends on whether both governments can find a more constructive way to engage their youth.
The content of this blog reflects the views of its author and does not necessarily reflect the views of either Eboo Patel or the Interfaith Youth Core.
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Eboo Patel
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January 7, 2009; 11:32 AM ET
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Interfaith Issues
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Religion & Leadership
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Religion & Politics
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Religious Conflict
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The Faith Divide
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Posted by: CalSailor | January 11, 2009 11:21 PM
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Whoops! Meant to write
Nothing will bring peace until Hamas is eliminated, until Fatah corruption ends. Israel did not prevent the Palestinians from having a state between 1947 and 1967.
Posted by: Farnaz2 | January 10, 2009 1:53 AM
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"What if there were an alternative institution shaping how young Israelis and Palestinians perceive one another? Given the serious security threats to the people involved, I am not arguing for an elimination of mandatory military service. Instead, the respective governments should create a parallel opportunity where young Palestinians and Israelis could legitimately fulfill part or all of their civic duty by serving in a joint Israeli-Palestinian interfaith "Peace Corps."
____________________
There are any number of such initiatives, dialogues underway, even as I write. In fact, Palestinian students still attend Hebrew University, suicide-bombed a few years ago, killing Jews, Muslims, and Christians alike. Palestinian and Israeli doctors, nurses work together.
Nothing will bring peace until Hamas is eliminated, until Fatah corruption ends. Israel did not prevent the Palestinians from having a state between 1947 and 1948. Who did? And before 1947, who did? Could it have been the British, who dominated the region, after having taken it from Turkey following WWI?
If the Palestinians had kept to the Clinton "Peace" Accords, they would have had 96% of what they wanted and a state by now. Instead, they launched an Intifada, after signing on to the "peace process."
At this point, without an end to Hamas, without an end to Fatah corruption, there is no hope. With an end to both, there is a chance for the saner heads among both the Israelis and the Palestinians to prevail. In Israel following the failure of the Clinton Accords, many of those critics of the government who for wo long had held out hope found their hopes dashed. Many have built new dreams. The same is true among Palestinians.
The Peace Corps you envision is a beautiful idea. May all the powers that be hear you.
Posted by: Farnaz2 | January 10, 2009 12:00 AM
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Dave,
Your idea of a peace corp is creative and could have a very positive impact for creating ways to sustain dialogue.
As I understand it, within Israel there does exist a relatively strong movement critical of the Israeli government--all of whose members would have gone presumably through their mandatory service. I think you're right about the military potentially feeding an "us vs. them" mentality, but I wonder if it also polarizes opinions critical of the government. In doing so, it could create yet one more barrier preventing successful dialogue within Israel between left wing groups and the government's center-right.
I suppose this is one more reason in support of your idea--but I think we may both be guilty of not fully understanding the complex government and society of Israel that makes such an idea of a "Peace Corp" with your suggested motives impossible politically in the near term.
Posted by: shields796 | January 7, 2009 10:54 PM
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A nice idea, but...
The basic cause of the on-going massacre in Gaza (almost 700 dead so far) is the Zionist ideology.
Please recall that it was the Zionist militias who made 800,000 Palestinians into refugees in 1948.
The price of Zionism is simply: the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians - and that's what we're seeing in Gaza.
The Palestine Review
http://palestinereview.com
Posted by: palestinereview | January 7, 2009 6:39 PM
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Dave, great post. In my travels I've noticed how dramatically mandatory military service can impact the national psyche of a place. I know that, for example, in Serbia a few years ago, they changed their mandatory service from just military to two options, military or civil service, with the term of civil service being about 150-200% of the military service term.
Posted by: nlwhittemore | January 7, 2009 12:44 PM
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It is not only Israel and Palestine who could benefit from such an opportunity. I would argue that we should do the same thing in the US: Every young person who can care for themselves ought to be expected to serve some period of time in service to our nation. The requirement: They must serve in a location in another state from which they live. They would be provided with food, clothing, shelter, etc., and a basic stipend. In return, they would do something constructive for the country. For those who are good students, perhaps it means tutoring their peers as part of it. It could mean helping the elderly, and children, repairing parks, schools, etc. Helping the handicapped, or whatever.
Those serving ought to be able to have input as to how they would like to serve, and the military would be one choice, but options to avoid service ought to be very difficult to obtain, so the sons and daughters of the wealthy would end up working with the sons and daughters of the poor.
The experiences of these young people would be transformative in fundamental ways, and in the first 10 or 20 years, we would see marked differences in how we see ourselves as Americans. It would be some of the best money we could spend.