The Israel-Palestine Conflict: What we can learn from Gandhi

Finkelstein suggests that the Israel-Palestine conflict is among the least controversial in the contemporary world. He argues that a consensus exists among historians on the past, among human rights organizations on the present and among the legal-diplomatic community on the future and how to resolve the conflict. In the second part of the lecture Finkelstein looks at aspects of Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violent resistance. His focus lies on three key questions: Whom does Gandhi want to reach: the oppressors or the bystanders? How does he want to reach them: through the mind or through the heart? What needs to be done to reach them: to display suffering or to display dignity? The ideas brought forward show that Gandhi’s philosophy is replete with gaps and contradictions. However, it also endows on the fact that the consensus in the international community for resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict lays the foundation for a successful application of Gandhi’s strategy. We need only practice what he called Satyagraha: Hold on to the Truth! Finkelstein suggests that the Israel-Palestine conflict is among the least controversial in the contemporary world. He argues that a consensus exists among historians on the past, among human rights organizations on the present and among the legal-diplomatic community on the future and how to resolve the conflict. In the second part of the lecture Finkelstein looks at aspects of Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violent resistance. His focus lies on three key questions: Whom does Gandhi want to reach: the oppressors or the bystanders? How does he want to reach them: through the mind or through the heart? What needs to be done to reach them: to display suffering or to display dignity? The ideas brought forward show that Gandhi’s philosophy is replete with gaps and contradictions. However, it also endows on the fact that the consensus in the international community for resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict lays the foundation for a successful application of Gandhi’s strategy. We need only practice wha...all » Finkelstein suggests that the Israel-Palestine conflict is among the least controversial in the contemporary world. He argues that a consensus exists among historians on the past, among human rights organizations on the present and among the legal-diplomatic community on the future and how to resolve the conflict. In the second part of the lecture Finkelstein looks at aspects of Gandhi’s philosophy of non-violent resistance. His focus lies on three key questions: Whom does Gandhi want to reach: the oppressors or the bystanders? How does he want to reach them: through the mind or through the heart? What needs to be done to reach them: to display suffering or to display dignity? The ideas brought forward show that Gandhi’s philosophy is replete with gaps and contradictions. However, it also endows on the fact that the consensus in the international community for resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict lays the foundation for a successful application of Gandhi’s strategy. We need only practice what he called Satyagraha: Hold on to the Truth

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