Israel: Peace and Operations in between Competing Narratives and Compelling Choices
Channel: Tetso College
Date: 2021-04-13

A DOT Talks Israel Special Webinar Series in collaboration with the Department of Political Science.

Concept Note : In this talk we would discover how Israel fought its way into existence and continues to defend its interests within and beyond its recognised borders. We shall look at the political factors that were a cause. While the biggest tectonic shift for Israel took place with Egypt signing for peace in 1979 and there have been no cases ever since where Israel has come under the threat of destruction, increasingly the threat of Hezbollah and Iran appear to be on the security monitors in Israel. Is Israel destined for eternal conflict? The internal issue since 1987 date has been the Palestinian cause and it affects the domestic politics and election results in Israel. It is also the oldest issue inherited at birth by Israel and the rest of the Middle-East (West Asia). What has prevented the Israeli side from bringing this low intensity conflict to an end? And more importantly why has the Palestinian side not won or not given up but continued to struggle? On the matter of interstate conflict, we shall discuss whether Israel has initiated war and it has managed actors. The Yom Kippur War shall find a special mention. We shall discuss some of the peace solutions that have been put on the table and what has the past of this conflict been. While taking the oft taken path of mentioning Balfour and partition plans, we shall dwell on the PLO and Hamas and try to understand what their stance has been and how it has evolved over the years. What are the main state level sources of threat to Israel? Is the Palestinian cause a threat to Israel anymore? On an interesting note, the audience is encouraged to ask questions within and beyond the mandated discipline of political science and feel free to ask about the broader society and diversity in Israel.


About the Speaker : Jyoti Ranjan Pradhan is the Director for Outreach and Initiatives at Young Diplomats, Paris (www.young-diplomats.com). He is a student of International Relations and Security. He holds an MA in Political Science, Security and Diplomacy studies from Tel Aviv University, Israel where he was a Tata scholar. His studies focussed on Israel and its security among other things. His thesis was in the field of Security studies. He interned as Research Assistant at the Jerusalem Institute of Security and Strategy working on Israel, Jerusalem, Iran. He has undergone a course on Public Diplomacy from Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and StandWithUs foundation. He has travelled extensively within Israel, Palestine (West Bank), Jordan and participated in field visits to Israel's borders with Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the Gaza Perimeter. He can be reached at jrpradhan@yahoo.com and on twitter @warsberg.