Shalom Achshav and Gush Emunim are the two ideological movements
which have the greatest impact on Israeli youth.
The group will be divided into two, one part representing Shalom
Achshav and the other Gush Emunim. Each movement will receive a sheet
summarizing its position (see below)
Part 1: The peace process and the future of the territories
Then different stages of the peace process will be outlined to the
youngsters:
- March 1979 (after President Sadat's visit to Jerusalem and the signing
of the Camp David accords on autonomy in the territories)
- 1982 (handing back to Egypt of the whole of Sinai and the town of
Yamit)
- November 1991 (Madrid Conference)
- September 1994 (signing in Washington of the Oslo agreements)
- March 1994 (tragedy at the Tomb of the Patriarchs)
Both groups will be asked to study the questions below in the light
of the position allocated to them. Replies must be worked out for
each of the dates in the peace process, in order to see if the position
of the movement which they are representing has changed over time:
- Does the event in question justify returning the territories beyond
the "Green Line" (see note below)?
- To whom should territories be returned at this phase in the peace
process?
- What would be the fate of the Jewish residents of the territories
if they were returned at this moment?
- What can be hoped for as a result of returning territories at
this phase in the peace process?
- What are the dangers of this return, and how can they be avoided?
- Is returning territories an infringement of the principle of the
sovereignty of the State of Israel over the whole of Eretz Israel?
What might be the ideological consequences of such a return?
- Are there solutions other than handing back land?
After that, the replies of each of the groups to these questions
will be compared, not as an aggressive confrontation but by studying
the positions of each of these movements to specific instances.
Part 2: The case of Gush Etzion
Both groups will be asked to read the history of Gush Etzion and
decide whether it should be included in the territories to be returned
to the Palestinians, and to justify their reply by means of historical,
political and ideological arguments as appropriate to their position.
They can use the questions listed above to work out a specific reply
for Gush Etzion.
Conclusion
At the end of the activity, the youngsters can be asked to have a
vote to show which of the two movements they identify with most closely.
They can also be asked if they have any intermediary solutions to
suggest.
Although it
is true that some members of Gush Etzion identify with Gush Emunim,
there is no way that the two can be equated, since the re-establishment
of Gush Etzion in 1967 resulted from a national consensus, which to
this day is still far wider than that on certain settlements established
by Gush Emunim members.