PSCI 268
Israeli Politics Spring 2023
Division II
This is not the current course catalog

This is an introductory course on Israeli politics. Approaching questions historically, it centers on but is not restricted to the conflict between Zionism and Palestinians. It begins by addressing the arrival of Zionists, the pursuit of statehood and the in-gathering of Jews, and the responses of neighboring Arab states and local Palestinians. The course also will examine the arrival of Arab Jews in the 1950-60, the conflicts between them and European Jews, and the effects of their conflicts on Israeli politics. The course then will turn to Israeli settlement policies on the West Bank, the controversies surrounding the Oslo Agreement, and the contemporary situations in the West Bank and Gaza. Finally, the course will address contemporary controversies about what it means to be a Jew in Israel, about the feasibility of a “two-state” solution to the Palestinian issue, about the prospects and implications of a “one-state” solution, and about the implications for Israel of not resolving the Palestinian issue to the mutual satisfaction of Israelis and Palestinians.