Question

Explain the conflict between Jews and Arabs over a Palestinian homeland. What does each side believe? What other factors influence this issue?
Factors to consider: The Balfour Declaration, history of the Middle East, past conflicts.

Answer 1

As the periodic bloodshed continues in the Middle East, the search for an equitable solution must come to grips with the root cause of the conflict. The conventional wisdom is that, even if both sides are at fault, the Palestinians are irrational “terrorists” who have no point of view worth listening to. Our position, however, is that the Palestinians have a real grievance: their homeland for over a thousand years was taken, without their consent and mostly by force, during the creation of the state of Israel. And all subsequent crimes — on both sides — inevitably follow from this original injustice.