🌏 Model UN this Saturday!

It is no easy task to provide over 100 years of history of the land that is Israel today in less than two hours, but Dr. Warren Rosenblum of Webster University did a stellar job this past Saturday to a very attentive audience. After a brief explanation of the Ottoman Empire’s roots and its demise after WW I, resulting in British control of the area, Dr. Rosenblum’s talk brought us to the settlement of Jews in Israel following WW II. Despite being surrounded by Arabs in neighboring lands, the Zionists set out to create a Jewish state, perhaps foolishly thinking the “sliver” of land they developed wouldn’t be disputed since it was undeveloped, unpopulated, and not very fertile. By 1948, a Jewish-Arab war broke out resulting in the first Nakba, or “The Catastrophe,” where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were displaced to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. In 1967 Palestinian refugees were driven out of the West Bank and Gaza, resulting in Israeli occupation. Yasser Arafat became the leader of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and in 1993 helped negotiate a recognition of Palestinians and the PLO by Israel with the help of President Clinton, a hopeful step to a two-state solution. From those negotiations came the Palestinian National Authority (PA). However, in 2005, another uprising occurred and Hamas took over with Islamic Law and Rule against the PA. Although many Palestinians and surrounding countries support the PA over Hamas, they have not been very effective at fending off the strength of Hamas. In the meantime there has been a rise in Nationalism in Israel, and a no compromise, “Mow the Grass” approach to dealing with the Palestinians. When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, catching Israel off-guard and allowing the world to see the atrocities visually through media, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu and many Israelis no longer support just mowing the grass. As one student in attendance said, they are now using weed-killer.

Throughout the informative and important lesson, students had many poignant questions for Dr. Rosenblum. At one point he remarked that if he had planted questions in advance, they could not have been as sophisticated and appropriate as those asked. It’s a complicated history and a complicated present, creating much chaos as it spreads into other neighboring regions like The Red Sea and Yemen, while trickling into American politics and the upcoming 2024 Presidential election. There are adamant Israeli supporters and equally passionate supporters for Palestinians worldwide. Another two-state compromise seems a distant possibility, and even if possible, would most likely again be a temporary pause in the conflict. The waning of trust, feeding into the extremism on both sides throughout the world, is possibly a product of too much information coming from unreliable sources. When asked about good sources of fair and accurate information as the conflict continues, Dr. Rosenblum said he believes The New York Times, although biased like all news sources, is trying to listen to both sides and report accordingly. The Economist provides a good global perspective. His strongest recommendation is to read beyond social media postings, especially Tik Tok, a source even his college students use too often.
For more photos from the event, click here.