In the realm of conflict resolution (and going off of Maryam's earlier post), I'm sure many of you are familiar with how the second intifada, also known as the Al-Aqsa Intifada, started after Ariel Sharon visited Al-Haram al-Sharif/Temple Mount, leading to violent clashes in 2000. With the start of Yom Kippur, this does not bode well for the peace process. Jerusalem is a giant tinderbox of latent tension, and while a small incident, those have demonstrated to be just the spark needed in the past.
Just around the corner from where I lived this summer, the family that I grew very close with lives along the walls of the Al-Haram al-Sharif, and have been in the middle of this since the British mandate. Listening to their experiences, these kinds of events puts everyone on edge immediately with a particular fear of retaliation on innocent individuals. With the increasing settlements and land seizures in East Jerusalem/West Bank and US policy reversal, there is concern that the dragging/non-existent peace negotiations may come too late---thoughts? Did Obama make the right decision in reversing his settlement freeze precondition? Or does what we do even really matter? Some argue that the Second Intifada was furthered by Arafat walking out of the Camp David talks- does the example of Clinton's failure (and the potential for Obama's success now) demonstrate the US role could be significant? Or does that example do the exact opposite?
Update Here
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