By Harper Hansen
Abstract
Intergenerational trauma has contributed to the inability to achieve peace in the Israel-Palestine conflict and creates a never-ending cycle of violence. Intergenerational trauma is the transmission of severe and long-lasting emotional pain caused by immensely upsetting experiences throughout generations. Israelis and Palestinians have experienced a multitude of hardships throughout history including discrimination, displacement, and ethnic cleansing, which causes trauma that are “passed to offspring transgenerationally via the epigenetic inheritance mechanism of DNA methylation alterations and has the capacity to change the expression of genes” (Youssef et al.). This produces a significant challenge in the peace-building process because young children are being led by their families, schools, media, and government to hate the other group. Specifically, the recreation of events through the media and education creates this trauma to be at the forefront of their brains preventing any emotional healing. Putting efforts towards the children and stopping the cycle of intergenerational trauma can be a viable way to ease tensions.
Chart showing the correlation between the parents’ trauma from past wars and offspring’s psychological maltreatment and depression (Source: Palosaari, et al.).
Media
Children absorb information through their parents, school, and media. It is through these outlets that children form their views and personalities.
Farha:
- produced in 2021 and was supposedly based on a true story but gained controversy
- follows a preteen girl during the Palestinian Nakba showing horrors such as a newborn baby being killed
- some believe it is propaganda due to its extreme, violent nature
- critics argue that it is historically inaccurate and created to increase the division between Israelis and Palestinians
Golda:
- an Israeli movie produced in August 2023
- faced backlash for its one-sided storytelling of the Yom Kippur War
- follows Prime Minister Golda Meir in 1973 during the Yom Kippur War; she was the first woman to hold that leadership position
- some believe it was a pro-Israel propaganda movie to increase support for the country because of its lack of context
Young children are watching movies like these only obtaining information about the conflict from a biased perspective. Moreover, these movies often include gory, violent scenes to appeal to the audiences’ emotions; this is because they want to keep intergenerational trauma alive and at the forefront of people’s minds to lead the citizens into a stronger pro-nationalist belief.
Education
Israeli Education
Schools in Israel are separated into Jewish schools and Arab-Israeli schools. Arab-Israelis learn about Israeli history, but not Palestinian history. The children are also taught through an Israeli lens meaning that it is often biased and emphasizes Zionist ideals. For example, there is no mention of the Palestinian Nakba, which is one of the most traumatic events in Palestinian history.
“[The Arab Israeli textbooks] don’t have any content about Palestinian culture, narrative, or nationalism” (Alayan).
Image showing the before and after censorship in a 9th grade history textbook for Arab-Israeli schools in Israel (Alayan)
Palestinian Education
Textbooks in Palestine are granted through “the Palestinian National Authority… it emphasizes the protection of land, heritage, and values.” Moreover, it provides little to no outside perspective regarding the conflict, teaching children history through a biased lens. In 2009, the Palestinian Authority removed the Holocaust from Palestinian textbooks due to the removal of the Nakba in Israeli textbooks.
“They do not mention our Nakba, we will not mention their Holocaust” (Alayan).
Both education systems emphasize the “us versus them” narrative further creating a division between Israelis and Palestinians from an early age, helping the government’s overarching political goals. If the Israeli and Palestinian governments taught their children a more neutral perspective on the conflict, it would decrease intergenerational trauma and the extreme division between groups.
Grassroots Organizations
Grassroots organizations have been developed as a method to decrease the tension between the groups by building peace through communication and education within Israeli and Palestinian communities.
- Parents Circle Families Forum holds dialogue meetings, including Israelis and Palestinians, where they “share their personal stories and explain their decision to work through dialogue rather than revenge” (Parents Circle Families Forum). Additionally, they hold a summer youth program, for ages 14-18, to have children meet and develop friendships with each other.
- The Hand and Hand organization focuses on developing schools and communities where Israeli and Palestinian children create a community amongst each other. This organization believes “Israeli children go to separate schools and rarely interact with [Palestinians], contributing to deep-rooted divisions and intergenerational hatred” (Hand and Hand).
- The Heart-to-Heart grassroots organization is a youth leadership program where they fly a group of kids to Perth, Ontario, and work on teaching the children “how to live together with trust and respect.”
Responses:
“I feel brave but also scared, surprised and pleased. But mostly – I feel HOPE.”
(2023 Parents Circle Families Forum participant)
“I think I can now listen to the other opinion… I can respect the opinion and listen to them.”
(2022 Heart to Heart participant)
“I hope that now both sides can see their home on the map, but also the home of the “other” side.”
(2023 Parents Circle Families Forum participant)
These programs are extremely important when decreasing intergenerational trauma because they teach resolution through open dialogue and living together regardless of differences. Grassroots organizations reveal great strides in peace-making for the future. It shows children a whole different perspective that they have lacked their entire life and creates empathy for the other group despite it not being learned before. If these programs were emphasized by both governments, it would make a huge impact on the peace-building process.
Conclusion
The discussion of trauma and how to prevent it from becoming intergenerational trauma is vital for the future of the people. After the war occurring today, tensions between the groups will be at an all-time high and many will not want to make peace; however, there is an opportunity to change the narrative. By educating children in an unbiased way and advocating for grassroots organizations, intergenerational trauma can significantly decrease. Without methods to help with trauma, the cycle of intergenerational trauma will continue forever. It is vital to help future generations with their suffering and motivate them to find peace, or else the ideology of Hamas and other extremist ideals will persevere.
Sources
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“What We Do.” Heart to Heart, https://www.heart-to-heart.ca/what-we-do.html. Accessed 21 June 2024.