PSCI 268
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Spring 2025
Division II

This is an introductory course on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Approaching the issue historically, the course begins by addressing the development of Zionism as a movement, the arrival of Zionists in Mandate Palestine, the pursuit by Zionists of statehood and the in-gathering of Jews, and the responses of neighboring Arab states and local Palestinians to these processes. Drawing on the writings of both Zionists and Palestinians, the course will examine debates among both, how Palestinians responded to the growing presence of Zionists, and how Zionists conceived of Palestinians and Palestinian nationalism (both secular and religious) before, during, and after the foundation of the state of Israel. After dealing with the pre-history of the state and the nakba, the course will address recent 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 the prospects and feasibility of the “one-state” and “two-state” “solutions” to the Palestinian issue, and the implications of resolving, or not resolving, the Palestinian issue to the mutual satisfaction of Israelis and Palestinians.