University experts were quick to describe their shock at the recent escalation of violence between Israelis and Palestinians and the suspected terrorist attack on a U.S. warship off the coast of Yemen.
“I really pray this doesn’t escalate anymore,” said Anita Weiss, an international studies professor who has researched Muslim societies.
Weiss also said she was concerned about the timing of the air and tank attacks by Israel in response to the deaths of three soldiers at the hands of a Palestinian mob. These actions arise only a month from the Islamic holy period of Ramadan.
“Between now and then, [Islamic states] are going to say if we’re going to do anything we have to do it now,” she said.
She said the holy time is usually spent in fasting and prayer, but if the Islamic nations of the region become incensed, it could also be a time of war.
“There’s nothing to preclude fighting during [Ramadan] if you’re fighting for a worthy cause,” she said, “especially for the preservation of the community.”
Weiss said she had heard from several Islamic groups in the United States denouncing the apparent terrorist attack on the USS Cole. She explained they believe it will only aggravate the violence in the Middle East and could spark retaliatory violence on Islamic-Americans.
David Frank, the associate dean of the Honors College who teaches a class studying the rhetoric of Middle Eastern issues, said the situation was “very bad right now and it could get quite worse.”
He said the violence just demonstrates that the tentative peace accord reached in 1993 was based purely on pragmatic reasons and did not address the deep cultural and economic divide between Israelis and Palestinians. He said the two sides only entered into the agreement because they thought it was to their advantage to simply stop fighting. True seeds of peace were never planted, he said, and now Israelis and Palestinians are reaping a harvest of violence.
“I just lament and weep for the failure of the first generation of peacemakers,” he said.
If the situation gets worse than it is now, Frank said a major war involving Israel and its Islamic neighbors, similar to those in 1967 and 1973, could break out.
This would be the worst-case scenario, he said, and is something he does not envision happening because Israel still holds the military advantage in the region. He added that the United States should not tip this balance by bringing in its own military prowess in response to the suspected terrorist attack on the USS Cole.
“History has demonstrated that retaliation doesn’t go to the core of the problem, but only perpetuates a cycle of violence,” Frank said. “It’s so bad now, we need to wait it out and see what happens.”
Geography professor Shaul Cohen lived and worked in Israel for 11 years and witnessed the anger and frustration firsthand. To see it explode like it has now greatly upset him, he said.
“I feel tremendous empathy for both sides and I feel the pain on both sides,” he said. “My experience there has taught me just how acute that pain can be.”
Cohen said he is currently trying to develop a system to enable Israelis and Palestinians to physically share the disputed areas. He said the plan would be similar to how diverse groups share water rights in desert regions. However, this would require a new atmosphere for peace, which Cohen said may be even more difficult to attain now.
“I think it’s quite possible that things are going to get worse,” he said.