Why the Difference?

In the late 1940's England partitioned this land into two countries based on religion. A war broke out immediately between these two countries and that war has been followed by 3 more wars. Millions of people were displaced as a result of partition and there have been millions of deaths. Most of the fighting has been over disputed territory and many believe that that disputed territory has the right to independence and to be its own country. The disputed territory is known for using insurgency and terrorism to advance their cause.

While that description can be applied to Israel and Palestine, I was actually trying to describe the conflict between India and Pakistan. Hm, I and P, another similarity!

I've been writing essays for a couple of classes on the conflict between India and Pakistan. I never knew how similar it is to the conflict between Israel and Palestine!

There are, however, significant differences. Some of the differences don't make sense and have left me wondering why they exist.

There were about 800,000 refugees from the 1948 war in Israel/Palestine. There were 12-14 million refugees from the 1948 war between India and Pakistan. Whereas Palestinian refugees are granted refugee status in perpetuity (meaning all of their descendants are also considered refugees), those from India and Pakistan are not granted such status. Palestinian refugees are the only refugee group that have refugee status in perpetuity. Why is that? or, Why aren't all refugees given refugee status in perpetuity?

The UN Security Council has published dozens of resolutions against Israel and their occupation of Palestine. 1971 was the last time that the UNSC had a resolution regarding India and Pakistan. They didn't even have a single resolution in 1999 when the two countries, both having nuclear weapons, were at war. Why is that?

Also, why has the UN advocated so strongly for an independent Palestine, but not an independent Kashmir?

I know that I grew up in an Israel/Palestine focused family. It doesn't, therefore, surprise me that I was less aware of other conflicts in the world. Did others know about the India/Pakistan conflict though? Was it as prominent in the news and in debate as Israel/Palestine?

Why does the disparity exist in how much attention, recognition, and public concern is directed between these two very similar conflicts?

Trip to Ramla

One of the beautiful things about Israel is the coexistence of modernity and the ancient world. For instance, Ramla is a town which was founded sometime in the 8th century. The ruins of a mosque from that same century are still lying around with modern buildings just beyond them.

A couple hundred years after this mosque was built a large tower was constructed next to it. While the mosque was destroyed in an earthquake hundreds of years ago, the tower still stands and you can climb the circling staircase all the way to the top (which is the point from which the above picture was taken).

Ramla also offers an underground boating experience which was delightful and unexpected. There is an aquaduct that runs from the mountains (maybe around Jerusalem area) to Ramla. In the first picture above you can see stone square holes in the ground, these are shafts to this aquaduct. The aquaduct continues to the "Pool of Arches".

Shortly after arriving, my friend Miranda and I were the only ones left (Miranda also writes a blog, if you want to check it out you can at A Year in Israel). We canoed around and around the arches. At one point I tried to spin us in place between them. It worked for a couple of circles before I started hitting the pillars. This quickly became one of my favorite places in Israel.

It happened to be Sunday when we visited Ramla so we stopped in at a Franciscan church service which was being held in Arabic!

We finished the day by visiting the local outdoor market, my favorite way to shop for groceries. 

I'm going to feel like a tourism advertisement as I conclude this post because I'm still blown away by the fact that I was able to have such a wonderful day trip for under $10!

Father Benjamin?

If someone were to describe my family they would likely mention our love for these two things: Israel and wolves.

Even as adults all of us kids feel a close tie to Israel and wolves. Three of my siblings even have part wolves as pets.

Since being in Israel these last several months I've discovered that the tribe of Benjamin can be represented by a wolf!

This has led me to the conclusion that my family is very possibly descended from Benjamin. The love of wolves and the land of Israel has been passed down from generation to generation in our DNA! (or at least, I kind of hope that this is the case...)