Abstract
Students of international relations in the United States are constantly receiving information about the conflict in the Middle East. According to media reports, Arabs and Israelis are constantly fighting. The explanations we often receive are oversimplified and we end up taking sides on issues that we have very little knowledge. This course will help students to understand the state of Israel and the role in plays in global politics. It will introduce the land of Israel and explore important contemporary issues affecting the country and the region in general. The first section of the course will explore the formation of the state of Israel focusing on the original ideology of Zionism that appeared in Europe in the XIX century. After that theoretical discussion, the course will take the students to the Land of Israel first under Ottoman rule and later the British Mandate, to finalize in the creation of the state of Israel in 1948. The second section of the course will analyze the evolution of the Arab-Israeli conflict. We will pay special attention to the narratives coming from the Palestinian sector of the population. We will look at its historical background, its characteristics and the evolution of political conscience and institutions. Special attention will be devoted to understanding the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Hamas. A final session will explore the peace process and understand the areas in which there has been progress and areas were substantial challenges remain. It is one of the goals of the class to make the students aware of the assumptions and consequences of each perspective: Israeli and Palestinian.