On October 7, Dr. Alissa Walter, Associate Professor of History at SPU, took the stage in Demaray to discuss the events that have happened since the beginning of the Gaza-Israel war one year ago.
The event was kicked off with prayer, led by Rev. Dr. Byan Lugioyo. Prayer remained a consistent theme throughout the event, with repeated invitations to pray for the people impacted by the events in Israel and Gaza.
Dr. Walter began her presentation with a brief history of the conflict between the Israelites and the Palestinian people, starting with WWII and the Balfour Declaration, which created a nation for the Jewish people. This caused conflict between Jews migrating to the area and the Palestinian people who were already living there.
Around 6 million people can trace their heritage to Palestinians displaced in 1948. Since then, the area has had several wars, most lasting only a few months or days. The main issue, the creation of a state belonging to the Palestinian people, has never been resolved.
Dr. Walter then went on to recount the events of October 7, which started with the attack by Hamas, an influential Palestinian political group whose main goal is armed resistance to the Israeli occupation of Gaza. The attack led to Israel retaliating in the form of repeated invasion and bombing of Gaza.
Since the beginning of the war, an estimated 42,334 Gaza citizens have been killed. The conflict has also expanded to affect Lebanon as well, displacing over 1.2 million people.
Dr. Walter acknowledged the difficult task of bringing together the two nations to end the war.
“How do you meet people where they’re at and convince them to try to negotiate when negotiations have not yet led to resolutions?” Walter asked.
With casualties on both sides and the long history of conflict in the area, it is hard to imagine peace in the near future.
However, Dr. Walter brought up the possibility of a two-state solution similar to the end of apartheid in South Africa. She also pointed out the unpopularity of Netanyahu’s government, the current prime minister of Israel, and the hope that peace talks could happen under new leadership.
Perhaps only time will be able to tell how long the war in Gaza will last, and how deep its effects will be. Despite continued uncertainty about the outcome of the Gaza-Israeli war, Dr. Walter’s presentation will surely be remembered by students and faculty at SPU for taking the initiative to shine a light on the aspects of this ongoing war.