prejudice among neighbors

Politics can shape a culture to represent its own agenda. In the Middle East there are two cultures that exemplify this point: Israel and Palestine. Israel and Palestine fight amongst each other for the right to establish states for their people on the same land. This conflict is rooted in both religious and political history. The struggle between the Palestinians and the Israelis seems to be one of the most contentious and violent in the world today. The cultures of Palestine and Israel have evolved with the conflict to exist. Despite the contempt for each other’s society, there is comparison to be found in the elements of these cultures.

Education is monumental in both cultures, but it has been used for both positive and negative purposes. In the Israeli culture, Israeli children go to school and are encouraged to attend higher education institutes after completion of primary school, but Arab children who attend Israeli schools are disadvantaged when it comes to getting an equal education in Israel. Israel spends less money on schools that Arab children attend because of prejudices against Arab people. The prejudices hinder their education and Arab students are less likely to graduate from high school

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The right to land has been intermixed with

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religion and does not leave a lot of room for compromise among these two cultures. Jihad and martyrdom are glorified as the means to

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liberate Palestine and children's poems contain calls to war. The people of Israel feel that the land Israel rests on is their Promised Land and rightfully belongs to them (Hiro). The hatred and prejudices these countries have for each other are being passed down to their future generations creating a cycle that is hurting any chance for peace in the future. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder results from physical or emotional trauma. These children who are learning to hate are the future generation of Palestinians and Israelis. The world often refers to Israel as the Jewish state because its existence is due to the belief that it is the Jewish homeland. It is up to Palestine and Israel to find a long term plan that will guarantee peace between them so that they can end this conflict that has persisted for a half a century. Their cultures are being shaped by the hate that they hold for

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one another. 5 million, half of whom are children, as many as 500,000 Palestinian children presently have symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (“Israel Tortures Children”). There have been attempts like the Olso peace process that have failed. Anger has lead to too much violence and too many deaths from both cultures. In Israel people are scared to go about their everyday activities like going to school or go to the marketplace in fear that the person standing beside them will blow themselves up and end their lives.

Also, religion plays a significant role in the differences found between Israel and Palestine. The effect of the conflict on the cultures shows that both countries are suffering from this, especially the children.

Approximate Word count = 997
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

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