In an open airport gate, the members of icnext Cohort 5 sat around with our sourcebooks discussing an article titled “Israel Inward” written by Ehud Barak. This article was Barak’s response to the book Catch 67, by Micah Goodman. Many of us found his review to be lengthy yet eye opening. Catch 67 is about the two sides of current fundamental Israeli political thinking. The right believes that Israel should keep its borders the way they have been since the Six Day War of 1967 and the left believes that land can and should be traded with neighbors to reach peace. A few of us thought that the right was, well, in the right. In agreement with the conservative stance, one member of our discussion group was disinclined to so readily return the land we had worked so hard to regain. “You don’t give back land that you fought for; you don’t see the US giving back huge chunks of the Southwest.” Other Cohort members backed up the left, as they felt that making compromises was a part of the peacemaking process. “While I don’t necessarily agree with a two state solution, part of the conflict could possibly be solved by giving away part of the land for peace.” In many ways, both sides are correct in their thinking. It is also almost impossible to solve this issue with precedence; this scenario has never occurred before in other countries. To only look at the intrinsic tie between Judaism and Israel would just scratch the surface of why the right would cling to the current borders. And to only look at the current conflict over the Land of Israel glosses over a large part of the history as these issues are much more complex than they seem at first glance.
In the end it isn’t about which political party is correct in their thinking – in reality, they both have the potential to be. What shouldn’t be happening is what is happening: an argument between the two schools of thought. What we should be doing instead is working toward building a common interest between Israel, Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, Jordan and Egypt by coming together in the struggle against terrorism. Through this, not only can Israel unite itself with some of its neighbors but also unite its own people. Unification is key in this struggle, therefore it should be the first step in seeking a resolution.
Based on the fact set of the past 69 years how can anybody make any type of prognostication as to what Israel will look like in the year 2086?
With all of the achievements of the past, numerous challenges remain that will shape the future of Israel. Will there continue to be waves of immigration and if so from where will they come? Will and how will the Haredi community be integrated into the mainstream of Israeli society? Will the areas outside of the Tel Aviv to Jerusalem corridor be developed and how? Will Israel be recognized by its neighbors in the Middle East? And of course what will the geography of Israel look like and specifically what will be the status of the West Bank?
As a 16 year old who is about to embark on her third trip to Israel, I am not prepared to forecast the future, but am excited to continue to learn and maybe even influence the future