The Israel-hamas conflict: How did we get here and how do we go forward?

This event was an especially eye opening experience due to the fact that I have studied and researched this topic in multiple classes during my years at Fountain Valley. The speaker, Col. Bauman served on the White House’s Security Council as a Director of Israeli and Palestinian affairs among other titles. Being able to hear about this topic from someone who developed solution strategies and worked directly with Israelis and Palestinians provided more nuanced and different perspectives than I had previously known. Some key points that Col. Bauman addressed included the importance of recognizing that there are two different narratives that are portrayed about the conflict and to truly understand it you have to observe the conflict through both lenses, Islamophobia and Anti-semitism are real and these ideas are on the rise, and that the most promising solution is a two state solution that each country invests time, resources, and trust. Col. Bauman started off his presentation by stating two things: an explanation does not equal justification and a description does not equate to an excuse. Understanding the difference between these things allowed me to better understand and listen with an open mind. This talk also helped me understand the conflict from a semi-religious standpoint, especially from the Israeli narrative. Col. Buaman explained the historical significance that having a Jewish state holds to the Israeli community following the events of World War II. At the end of the talk there was time for questions and listening to the viewpoints of the other people that are a part of my community was both inspiring and saddening. There was one question in particular that made me realize that people are extremely uneducated on this topic and made me start to wonder how uneducated the general population is on similar topics of importance.