Three Things I Have More Questions About

1. Context is important:
Issues in the Mid-East are at once simpler and more complex than they seem from Canada. Take the Golan Heights. From Toronto, it seems like a little chunk of land, a few kilometres across. Give it back, call it a done deal, no problem, right? Except that when you get there, you realize it is one of the most lush spots in Israel, controls the source of much of the country's water, and is strategically essential in preventing the totalitarian nuts in Damascus from rolling into northern Israel.

But maybe it is simple, in the end. Put in an international observer force, with teeth, set up compensation tribunals, etc. Similarly with the Palestinian refugees and the 'right of return'. It's never going to happen that Israel will allow 4-6m people into the country - they would immediately outnumber Jews. But I think money is more useful than people give it credit. Properly negotiated, I would be surprised if the issue persisted. What form will these future solutions take? What is adequate compensation?

2. Civil society and institutions
Many of the Israeli speakers we listened to mentioned the lack of a negotiating partner on the Palestinian side as a major hurdle. They felt there wasn't any nuance to the debate in Palestine - any viewpoints that suggested tolerating Israel were literally eliminated. One of the problems as I see it is the lack of rudimentary civil institutions in Palestine. These include things like a power authority, incorruptible police and security forces, a free press, and so on. Without these things, there can be no challenge to the predominant view of Hamas that Israel should be eliminated.

That is a really harmful position, principally for Palestinians. Pragmatically, I can't see Israel being defeated and ceasing to exist. They have powerful allies, are a strong democratic country that largely conforms to humanistic principles, and won't be bothered by a few Qassam rockets.

How can the international community help build 'capacity' or institutions in Palestinian territories (and in other countries)? How do you start a free and independent media in a place where people are afraid to go outside their houses?

3. Separation of Jewishness and Israeli-ness
What makes a Canadian? Back in the WW2 era it might have been something like a Protestant background, British colonial mentality, penchant for order and 'good government'. Now, though, I think a Canadian is more a set of shared experiences -- living next to the world's superpower, tolerance for other cultures (not acceptance), bilingualism, etc.

In Israel it seems to me this notion of identity is still quite bound up in Judaism -- that is, a set of religious beliefs. And this isn't a good thing. It means that an Israeli is still seen as Jewish, when the reality of the state they live in is that 1/3rd of the people aren't Jewish. Nor, in a modern nation, should religious affiliation matter. Naomi Chazan mentioned this concern when she talked with us at dinner on May 15. According to her, Orthodox religious leaders still control marriage, Sabbath activities, and other things. How does this fit in with the ideals of a modern, humanist society? This isn't to cast Orthodox Judaism as antithetical to human rights; still, my belief is that religious leaders have for a long time shown themselves incapable of respecting universal human rights. A modern Israel would embrace a constitutional separation of religion and secular state affairs. But how can Israel transition to such a state?