This course continues OLLI’s prior offering on the British Mandate for Palestine and the Birth of Israel by reviewing past events through the present. This is the post-1947 story of wars, occupations, intifadas, terrorism, security barriers and the hardening of human relationships in a churning sea of conflict that continues to evade the ever-elusive objective of a just and lasting peace. We will highlight the significant developments, including wars and peace attempts, as well as their impact on individuals and communities. We will explore the controversial issues of self-defense, human rights, economic development, changing regional relationships, territorial expansion and occupation, and right of return. In the final session, the prospects of peace and alternative peace solutions will be critically examined.
