Suspending Talks with Israel

The New York Times is running an article entitled, "Palestinians Say Talks with Israel Should Be Suspended." The article begins, " The Palestinian leadership said Saturday that four-week-old direct talks with Israel should be suspended as long as Jewish settlement housing was being built in the West Bank. It called on the international community to pressure Israel to stop the construction."

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1. Consider the discussions from the perspective of the Palestinians: Do you think that the Palestinians should walk away from the peace talks? Why or why not?

2. Consider the discussions from the perspective of the Palestinians: Do you think that the Israelis should extend the construction freeze? Why or why not?

3. Consider the discussions from the perspective of the Israelis: Do you think that the Palestinians should walk away from the peace talks? Why or why not?

4. Consider the discussions from the perspective of the Israelis: Do you think that that the Israelis should extend the construction freeze? Why or why not?

5. Is it fair to ask a Palestinian to view the discussions from the perspective of the Israelis? Why or why not? What about asking Israelis to view the discussions from the perspective of the Palestinians?

6. Do you think that it is easy to view controversial situations from the perspective of your opponent? Why or why not? What are some strategies to help do this effectively?

7. Consider asking students to describe the map of Israel, as can be seen on Google Earth, from the perspective of either an Israeli or a Palestinian. They could also write discussions in which Palestinians and Israelis discuss the geographical terrain of Israel and the disputed territories.