It is rare to find a person today who is completely unaware of the conflicts between the nation of Israel and Palestine. Unfortunately, the history surrounding the ordeal has become shrouded in confusion and disagreement. Emotions and poor historiography have blurred the lines between truth and fiction, leading to years of tragedy. Emile Habiby wrote in his novel, The Secret Life of Sa’id, the Ill-Fated Pessoptimist, this quote, “Conquerors, my son, consider as true history only what they themselves have fabricated”. This quite succinctly sums up the view held by many people sympathetic to the Palestinian cause. Traditional historical accounts of the creation of Israel as a nation, generally leaned toward moral ideals, and the right that Israel had to exist. However, the human rights abuses committed by Israeli soldiers in their “fight for independence” have often been overlooked.
In Returning to Haifa, by Ghassan Kanafani, the story of a couple’s experience in the 1948 Battle of Haifa is recounted through flashbacks twenty years later. The husband and wife, Said and Safiyya, return to their home in Haifa for the first time since being forcibly removed by Israeli aggression. The short novel is a bitter tale with moments of striking poignancy. In the story, Said and Safiyya meet with the current occupant of their previous home, and share awkward and stilted concertation. It is then revealed that Said and Safiyya’s son, Khaldun, whom they accidently left during the turmoil of the battle, has been raised as an Israeli. Upon finding out that Khaldun, has joined the Israeli army, Said begins arguing with him and they ultimately disown each other. The relationship remains fractured between them as Said and Safiyya leave Haifa once more. Telling a story different from the narrative presented by pro-Israeli sources, Returning to Haifa focuses on the pain inflicted upon individuals by war.
Perhaps the most interesting line in the novel comes during one of Said’s monologues, directed toward his son. In it, he states, “Isn’t a human being made up of what’s injected into him hour after hour, day after day, year after year? If I regret anything, it’s that I believed the opposite for twenty years!” This quote ties back to the idea presented in the first paragraph, that victors write their own history. And that history, for them, is as good as fact. So can people be held responsible for their actions and beliefs if they aren’t given all of the proper information? This issue that Kanafani presents is central to the conflict between Israel and Palestine. As differing accounts continue to be put forth, people will develop more and more biased views, dependent upon their upbringing. With so much emotion and misunderstanding tied into the conflict, it is difficult for me to see a resolution that could satisfy both parties. I can only hope that people will approach this issue humbly, and willing to learn from the pain of others. 
Haifa, immediately after the battle of 1948. Soldiers stand among the rubble and ruins.
The Arab-Israeli conflict is one I have always heard talked about in the news or briefly mentioned in other history courses, but never fully understood the whole historical scope of the problem. Still I feel as if I still do understand the whole history of the conflict. There are so many layer to the struggle between the Arabs and the Israelis over Palestine it is impossible to cohesively list them in one reading or try to summarize them in one blog post. I think you did a good job of summarizing the key issues between the two groups as well as highlighting one of the personal first-hand stories from the readings in order to make the conflict more relatable.
I love your question: “Can people be held responsible for their actions and beliefs if they aren’t given all of the proper information?” I think you have identified a huge problem in the debate of 1948. The history of Israel is very political. If Israeli leaders admit fault and guilt to the predicament the Palestinians face, their whole image would be in question and would have to concede to Palestinian demands for the land.. The average people only know what their history classes tell them. How would someone born in Israel after 1948 know all that happened during the war, if they were never told anything different? “New” historians who analyze Israel’s conduct in the war are so important in helping people differentiate Israeli ‘myth’ (I might even say propaganda) from fact.
I like how you mention that the events of the Israeli-Arab conflict have been shrouded in confusion and uncertainty. I think it speaks volumes about the types of histories we were given between 1948 and the time of the Arab revisionists.
I agree with your line of reasoning in that people may not necessarily be held responsible for their beliefs if they do not have access to all the relevant information. The Arab-Israeli dispute has been a very contentious event since the founding of Israel in 1948, and each side does their best to gain international support. In order to do so, they often twist or omit the parts of history that do not fit their lines of reasoning. I believe that it is important to always be looking back at history and analyzing events such as the Arab-Israeli dispute in an attempt to gain the most truthful version of history.