Assignment 4 - Eli Flomenhoft

Although Israel is an important part of being Jewish, my family has made sure to consider the actions of the Israeli state and voice their opinions of the state based on its politics rather than religion. Due to the U.S. depictions of Israeli tactics being antagonistic towards the Palestinians my family has almost always leaned away from a pro-Israel mindset, but not necessarily pro-Palestinian leaning. In recent years their opinions of Israel have worsened due to Benjamin Netanyahu and his political agenda. Yet when I traveled to Israel this summer I saw Israel in a whole new light. I heard from Israeli and Palestinians who were just trying to live like everyone else. These people who spoke to me and my group talked of being tired of conflict and just wanting the wars to end. It became clearer that Hamas and the terroristic Israeli citizen were the outliers rather than the norm. According to the Israelis, all of whom are in the IDF at one point, IDF soldiers are taught to never fire there weapon unless they are being attacked. Even if a weapon is in someones hand and they intend to use it for harm, IDF soldiers are not allowed to attack until that weapon is used to harm. In the U.S. the actions of the IDF are portrayed as more sinister and cruel. Casually killing Palestinians. And while it's apparent that most people want this war to end, and the separation wall to be taken down, I understand why Israel erected the wall in the first place. Learning about the recent fire kite bombings and being in Israel while missiles were being fired from the West Bank made me understand how unsafe it can be in Israel, and also understand the need for the wall.
When I returned home I had several conversations with my mother about her opinions on Israel and how they treated the Palestinians. I was at odds with my mother about how Israelis treat Palestinians. While she could understand why Israelis felt the need to partition themselves off and kill Palestinians she did not see the reason for the extremes that they go to. Yet I couldn't help feel that Israel needed this wall. We had this conversation a few times and they eventually led to my mother somewhat understanding why Israelis felt the need to partition themselves from Israel, but it didn't mean she supported it. This experience with differing opinions opened my mind to looking at things my own way, rather than how my parents would look at it. While I am still heavily influenced by my parents views, I believe that I am attaining a greater individuality.