77
votes
Accepted
Why did the US block a UN statement calling for violence to stop in the Palestine-Israel conflict?
Why does the US block a UN statement calling for violence to stop in the Palestine-Israel conflict?
— because the statement was not only for calling the violence to stop, but about condemning Israel'...
- 17.4k
65
votes
Accepted
How do Palestinian schools teach about the Holocaust?
From what I can tell, it is not part of the education in government-run schools in Gaza or the West Bank (which is not surprising, considering that the Hamas is an antisemitic, terrorist organization) ...
- 37.4k
62
votes
Why has the Israel-Palestine conflict reignited in May 2021?
Since you emphasize the word now in your question, I'll try to answer with an emphasis on the current escalation. For the more general question asking why there is a conflict at all, I'll simply refer ...
JJJ♦
- 39.7k
61
votes
Accepted
Why is it that South Africa specifically is taking Israel to the ICJ on claims of genocide?
South African black people suffered apartheid at the hands of the Afrikaners. Similarly, they suffered centuries of colonisation at the hands of the Dutch and British. Palestinians are suffering ...
- 4,148
60
votes
If a Palestinian converts to Judaism, can they get Israeli citizenship?
There is an example of a Palestinian who did this. After being rejected by several rabbis, his request was accepted by the Meir Institute, a prominent Religious Zionist shul, and he was permitted to ...
- 722
58
votes
Has the Israeli supreme court ever come to a decision that can be seen as pro-Palestine or pro-Arab/anti-Israel/-Jew?
Very much so.
1.
Last year, the Israeli supreme court struck down a 2017 law having to do with legalization of illegal housing built in previously Palestinian areas (New York Times source).
Here is a ...
- 1,384
56
votes
Why does the Voice of America refer to militants not terrorists when referring to armed Palestinian groups, apparently with no backlash?
In realpolitik, dictionary meanings are unimportant. The label "terrorist" is more often applied to a most-disliked enemy, rather than to one who use terror tactics the most.
The key enemy ...
- 6,745
56
votes
If a Palestinian converts to Judaism, can they get Israeli citizenship?
Israel has a unique "return" law that grants every Jew in the
world the conditional right to become Israeli citizens. However,
conversion in the state of Israel is governed by the Conversion
...
- 11.1k
55
votes
Why are so many on the left in western countries so passionate about supporting Palestine (and being anti-Israel)?
This simplest explanation here is that people on the Left (Progressives and/or social liberals) tend not to classify human beings into undifferentiated groups representing competing power blocks. Or ...
- 76.4k
54
votes
Accepted
Why are there so many pro-Palestinian protestors in the United States?
[edit] Pro-Palestinian support has increased everywhere in the world, not only in the US. There might be many factors at play, some country-specific and some not. Among these, a few general long-term ...
- 18.1k
54
votes
Accepted
Why does the US insist on a two-state solution despite both parties being uninterested?
The two-state solution is a compromise. Hamas opposes it because they want all of the territory to be controlled by them. Likud opposes it because they want all of the territory to be controlled by ...
- 8,691
51
votes
Accepted
Why does the U.S. send foreign aid to Palestine at all?
Probably several things:
Money brings influence. Without influence on the Palestinians, the US has even less leverage to shape Palestinian policy in a way that is acceptable to Israel.
Palestine is ...
- 92.8k
48
votes
Accepted
Where and how does Hamas obtain the technology and raw material for rockets?
Quassam is an older missile design (or rather a family of missile and a generic term for Hamas homebrew rockets). The key point is (my emphasis):
Design
The utility of the Qassam rocket design is ...
- 92.8k
46
votes
Accepted
Why does Hamas choose violence over peaceful means?
The question does not ask about what Hamas's goals are, but rather why they reject arbitration (or other non-violent strategies) as a means of achieving them. That is what this answer will primarily ...
- 18.1k
45
votes
Accepted
Does Hamas have popular support at home?
A recent (July 2023) survey implies Hamas were not popular vs the Palestinian Authority
TLDR;
70% support the PA over Hamas
62% support maintaining a ceasefire (i.e. would disagree with Hamas' ...
- 2,966
45
votes
Accepted
Did Israel provide a way for Hamas to surrender?
did Israel express any desire for Hamas to just... surrender?
Dec 7 2023, Ofir Gendelman - spokesman for Netanyahu - said that the war can end when Hamas surrenders.
Dec 11 2023, Netanyahu called on ...
- 37.4k
42
votes
How is the October 7th attack classified as terrorism based on casualty statistics, and how does it compare to similar events?
Targeting civilians vs civilian casualties
Putting aside numbers for a bit, the context here is clear. The 7th October massacre specifically targeted civilians for gruesome torture, murder, and ...
- 37.4k
41
votes
Why isn't the Global South pro-Israel like the West?
"The rest of the world" / "Global South" terms being used here might benefit from consideration of whether the "Global South" is a larger or smaller slice of the UN's 195+...
- 92.8k
40
votes
Accepted
How does Israel teach the displacement of the Arab population in 1948 (Nakba)?
It depends.
Yes, some schools teach it, some don't, and in varying ways.
First, some context. The word Nakba has a variety of uses. To some people, it refers specifically to the expulsion of mostly ...
- 18.1k
40
votes
What are some possible downsides about a one-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict?
In theory there could be a secular, multi-ethnic, multi-religious state.
In practice that is all but impossible.
After the Holocaust, many Jews vowed to live in their own state defended by their own ...
- 116k
39
votes
Why doesn't Israel withdraw from the territories occupied during the Six-Day War of 1967?
Many Israelis believe that "less" control over the West Bank and Gaza, leads to "more" terrorism, rather than the opposite.
Let's look at the facts;
Since they refuse to receive ...
- 5,744
37
votes
Why is it important for Israel that Palestine not be connected by land with Jordan?
Following the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza in 2005, Hamas gained power there. Hamas and other militant groups received shipments of foreign rockets and other weapons, largely from Iran. Such rockets ...
- 4,541
37
votes
Why does the US insist on a two-state solution despite both parties being uninterested?
It's an unsurprising inertia given the lack of any politically viable alternative position.
While the Israelis and Palestinians didn't exactly agree to a two-state solution under the Oslo Accords, ...
- 19.2k
36
votes
Has the Palestinian Authority issued some official statement on the situation in May 2021?
The nominal leader of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, has consistently opposed the rocket campaign of Hamas, since at least 2005, and continues to do so. This conflict underlines the extent ...
- 124k
36
votes
How do Palestinian schools teach about the Holocaust?
Palestinian textbooks do not mention the holocaust directly at all. This is similar to other Arab curricula like in Egypt, Syria or Iraq, where a clear emphasis is put on the 'nakba', the 'catastrophe'...
- 5,009
36
votes
Accepted
Why does a plurality of Israeli Jews believe that the settlements in the West Bank help the security of Israel?
In Gaza right now, the Israeli far-right says the quiet part out loud. From CNN:
Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who also holds a position in the Defense Ministry, says that Israel “will ...
- 19.2k
35
votes
Why has the Israel-Palestine conflict reignited in May 2021?
Seems this latest cycle between militant rocket launches from Gaza to Israel and Israeli retaliations on Gaza started on April 23 and has been on-off ever since.
Palestinian militants in the Gaza ...
- 92.8k
35
votes
Accepted
How much do Americans know about Palestinians and Palestine?
While American are more knowledgable about Israel, the Palestinians, the Israel-Hamas war, and related issues than about most other foreign affairs issues, a large share of them lack even basic ...
- 88.3k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible