Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Holocaust's Legacy: Influencing Jewish Political Identity, Jordan Eskew

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis addresses the intricate relationship between the historical persecution of the Holocaust and its enduring influence on contemporary Jewish political engagement, a subject of significant contemporary relevance in political and international relations. Despite broad recognition of the Holocaust’s impact, the specific ways in which its memory affects Jewish political attitudes and actions around the world in the modern day have not been sufficiently thoroughly examined. Utilizing qualitative methods, including interviews with 20 individuals—public figures, Holocaust survivors, their descendants, and broader members of the Jewish diaspora— this study focuses on understanding the interplay between historical trauma, community cohesion, and the …

Military Industry And The Israel-Palestine Conflict: Military Aid, Technology, And Barriers To Peace, Brandon A. Sandoval

Dissertations and Theses

This study reviews the current US and Israel militarized response to Palestine, the negative impacts on the Palestinian and Israeli people that result from this policy, and the military-industrial complex that benefits from the US-Israel relationship. I also note that the military industry profits from the Israel-Palestine conflict and, thus, has an incentive for the conflict to continue. I argue that despite billions of US dollars that have been appropriated by the U.S. Congress for Israel’s security, the US and Israel have failed to build peace in the region, ultimately wasting funds and exacerbating current conflicts. I also argue that …

Queer Political Organization In Israel, And Palestine: Shifting Away From Homonationalism, Tristan Blaisdell

Undergraduate Honors Theses

In this project, I present research I have done on the issue of pink washing queer Israeli and Palestinian citizens and homonationalism within Israel and Palestine. I also create an exhibit brief outlining a hypothetical museum exhibit on this topic to be put up at the museum of culture and environment. The first section outlines the history and theory of my exhibit, and a brief personal statement where I talk about my interest in the subject and where I’m coming from before I design this exhibit. My theory is built off concepts of diaspora, home, belonging, queer identity, and intersectionality …

Palestinian Labor In West Bank Settlements, Ethan Morton-Jerome

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Since the late 1970s, Palestinians have worked in West Bank settlements, with approximately 30,000 to 40,000 Palestinians currently employed in construction, factories in industrial zones, and plantations. My analysis of Palestinian labor on the settlements begins with the historical, political, legal, and economic context of Palestinian labor in three jurisdictions: in Israel, on the settlements in the West Bank, and in PA-controlled Area A. Fundamental to the analysis is to go beyond the restrictions of nationalist discourse to recognize both intranational tensions and that labor exploitation occurs in all jurisdictions. My fieldwork and analysis were conducted over three years (2013-2016) …

Social Organization And Environmental Patterning At Tel Abu Shusha: An Integrated Spatial Approach To Survey Archaeology, Seth Price

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Tel Abu Shusha, located in the Jezreel Valley of Palestine, is a large-scale archaeological site possibly identified as the cities of Biblical Gaba or Roman Gaba Hippaeon/Gaba Philippi. Surface archaeological survey of the surrounding area, conducted by the Jezreel Valley Regional Project during 2017, revealed extensive assemblages of visible settlement features dating primarily to middle and late Islamic periods. This research seeks to answer questions of settlement decision-making and societal organization, by integrating archaeological, textual, environmental, and geospatial data sources. In addition to visual interpretation, Kolmogorov-Smirnov nonparametric tests are used to gain insight on environmental settlement preferences; Ripley’s K analysis …

What The Walls Say: Finding Meaning And Value In Tel Aviv’S Street Art, Rachel R. Bird

Honors Theses

This thesis explores street art in Tel Aviv, Israel through anthropological concepts of value. By defining street art as an interstitial practice—one that exists between permeable, socially defined boundaries and is characterized differently by different power structures—I attempt to define some of the different regimes of value that apply to street art. Using the emerging market of “street art tours” as a fieldwork site, I look at how street art is presented and re-presented to both tourists and locals. By situating my research in a historical and geographic context, I hope to understand the ways different value schema, from economic …

Is Issa Amro The Palestinian Gandhi?, Micah Danney

Capstones

Issa Amro is a Palestinian activist who practices nonviolent resistance to Israeli occupation. His work has risen him to international prominence, and drawn the ire of the authorities he criticizes. He preaches peaceful action but stands accused of incitement and troublemaking.

https://micahcdanney.atavist.com/is-issa-amro-the-palestinian-gandhi

Israel And Palestine- An Analysis Of The 2014 Israel-Gaza War From A Genocidal Perspective, Shannon M. Culverwell

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

During the 2014 Israel-Gaza War, approximately 2,251 Palestinians and 73 Israelis were killed as a result of the fifty-one day long conflict. As the deadliest and most destructive conflict since 1948, the international community has widely condemned the actions taken by Israeli and Palestinian actors throughout the conflict. Despite international condemnation, currently the International Criminal Court (ICC) is the only institution conducting a criminal investigation into the recent conflict. Upon Palestine accession into the Rome Statute in June of 2015, the ICC opened a preliminary examination regarding alleged crimes committed in the occupied territory of Palestine since June 13, 2014. …

On East Jerusalem Streets, Palestinians Say Settlements Trump Social Media As Source Of Violence, Jad Sleiman

Capstones

This project uses interviews with Palestinian residents of violent East Jerusalem neighborhoods to get at the root causes of a year-long wave of lone wolf Arab attacks against Jews in Israel and the West Bank.

Link to capstone project: https://medium.com/@jadalisleiman/c4187cc3660b#.oibq7chq6

Baha’I Sacred Architecture And The Devolution Of Astronomical Significance: Case Studies From Israel And The Us, Michael Steven Meizler

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Sacred architecture is a complex conglomerate of different ideals of a faith. Within modern terms, the Baha’i faith is an excellent example of modern sacred architecture. Within ancient times the architecture of temples and shrines oftentimes had celestial alignments meant to connect the adherent to the gods. With this in mind, the Baha’i faith is evaluated with the use of cartography, celestial measurements, orthophotography, and archival research to evaluate the significance of the Baha’i sacred architecture and the symbolism embedded within it. The Baha’i faith came out of Persia during the 19th century and relocated to Israel late in that …

A One Percent Chance: Jabotinsky, Bernadotte, And The Iron Wall Doctrine, Andrew Harman

War, Diplomacy, and Society (MA) Theses

This thesis is an examination of the long historical processes that have led to the Israel/Palestine conflict to the contemporary period, focusing mostly on the period before Israeli independence and the 1948 war that created the Jewish state. As Zionism emerged at the turn of the twentieth century to combat the antisemitism of Europe, practical and political facets of the movement sought immigration to Palestine, an area occupied by a large population of Arab natives. The answer to how the Zionists would achieve a Jewish state in that region, largely ignoring the indigenous population, fostered disagreements and a split in …

Shared Perspectives Of Divided Space: Perceptions Of The Urban Environment Among Jerusalemites, Andie Duplantis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Multidisciplinary research and philosophical discourse have long explored the complex relationship between the objective environment and subjective human perception. No two humans perceive, experience, and form attitudes about the same phenomenon in exactly the same way. Individual demographics (sex, age) and group identity (culture, religion, ethnicity, political ideology) have been shown to have a profound effect on perception of phenomena; research has also focused on the effect of the physical environment itself. Differences in perception, experience, and resulting behavior have great implications for governance, particularly in regards to planning and development. Recognizing these differences, modern urban planning increasingly seeks to …

A Comparative Study Of Middle Eastern Foreign Policy: How Middle Eastern Intelligence Agencies Shape Current Events, Megan A. Fink

Honors Theses

This study monitored the intelligence and foreign policy actions of Israel, Iran, and Saudi Arabia from August 2013 to August 2014. Data was collected from coverage by Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, and Al-Jazeera, three reliable and respected news sources that cover global events. The actions taken by foreign policymakers in these countries were recorded throughout the study period.

These actions were organized into a taxonomy based on whether they were intelligence-based or non-intelligence based. Within those broad categories, more distinguishing characteristics were analyzed to show patterns of behavior within national intelligence services of the nations studied. These patterns …

Becoming A State: Zionist And Palestinian Movements For National Liberation, Martin S. Widzer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the road to statehood for the Zionist and Palestinian movements. There are three components which frame this investigation: 1. social movements and the practices in which they engage that are aimed at establishing statehood for a people; 2. distinctive configurations of the international system and the manner in which both the material and ideational foundations of that system pulls units towards conformity and predictable behavior; and finally, 3. the role of agency, that is, the way in which instrumentally rational individuals attempt to push the structure in which they are embedded towards a configuration that is better …

`Israel Is An Apartheid State': An Examination Of Israeli Policies In Comparison With South Africa And International Law, Geoffrey Tennent

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The situation in which the Palestinians are living, both within Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories continues to worsen with little end in sight. The exact status of the Palestinians, however, has been the subject of much debate with terms such as `disputed territories,' `occupied territories,' and even a state of apartheid being used. This study seeks to examine whether the concept of apartheid applies to Israel/Palestine. Two methods were used to define apartheid, a South Africa case study and its definition under international law. Israel's laws, policies, and practices, both in its own territory and the West Bank, Gaza, …

Concrete Conflict: An Examination Of The Israeli Security Barrier, Ian Schwartz

Honors Theses

On May 14, 1948 David Ben Gurrion declared the independence of the state of Israel. This event forever changed the climate of the Middle East. Today, the conflict born 64 years ago between Israel and Palestine continues on. Since 1948, the conflict has evolved to become extremely complex, encompassing all aspects of Israeli and Palestinian life. Throughout the years the conflict between the two groups has taken on many shapes. From terrorist attacks to failed peace negotiations the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been the setting for one of the most well-known and controversial battles of the modern world.

The Rhetoric Of Construction: A Comparative Case Study Of The Language Of The U.S. - Mexico And Israel - Palestine Border Walls, Jesse Adam Kapenga

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This research examines the language and rhetoric of fear used to justify the walls and fences built by the American government along the U.S. - Mexico border, and by the Israeli government around the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It focuses specifically on the rhetoric used by the head of government of each country (the American president and the Israeli prime minister) during the years 2001-2011 to explain and justify the construction of a physical barrier as a measure of national defense and self-preservation.

From Ankara To Jerusalem: An Analysis Of The Decline In Turkish-Israeli Relations, Kama Sacajiu

Honors Theses

Turkey and Israel had been strong allies in the Middle East, however in recent years, these relations have turned sour. Turkey was the first predominantly Muslim country to recognize the state of Israel upon its creation in 1948. However, Present day Turkey has gone as far as to pull its ambassador from Tel Aviv. The importance and implication of the decline in relations between Turkey and Israel will be explained in the following chapters. The examination of Turkish foreign policy, and specifically a history of its relations with Israel, gives a basis to explain the changes that occurred with their …

Peace Makers Or Draft Dodgers: Haredi Resistance To Israeli Military Conscription, Jay M. Politzer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The haredim in Israel are an ultra-Orthodox Jewish religious group who uphold the most conservative of Jewish laws. Instead of serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as all other Israelis do, the haredim are exempted from the IDF's policy of universal conscription. This thesis proposes three hypotheses to determine why Israel's haredim do not serve in the IDF. First, the haredim do not serve in the IDF because they do not want to; second, the haredim do not serve because they hold pacifistic political opinions; and third, the haredim do not serve because Jewish religious tradition forbids military service. …

The Truman Administration, Israel, And Containment In The Middle East 1945-1952, Leslie Tarbutton

History Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines United States policy towards Israel from 1948 to 1952 to determine the extent to which the support given to Israel during the Truman administration reflected the major United States policy goal in the Middle East, the containment of the Soviet Union.

Sources used in this thesis include: archival material; printed collections of documents; memoirs; and secondary sources.

The Truman administration pursued containment in the Middle East by cooperating with Great Britain to improve the economic and military well-being of the Arab states so they could resist any Soviet attempts to dominate the region. However, domestic political pressure …