Israel/Palestine and the Law (LAW319H1F)

The question of Israel/Palestine has been a pressing issue in international law for more than a century, beginning with end of World War I and the imposition of the British Mandate under the auspices of the League of Nations. It also raises important questions of domestic constitutional law and the relationship of national identity to citizenship. International law as applied to Israel/Palestine has had to deal with numerous questions of international law, including, the right of self-determination, the rights of refugees, the law of insurgency/terrorism, and the law of belligerent occupation, as well as dealing with the legacy of antisemitism and the Holocaust of European Jewry. As a site of contested identity, Israel/Palestine raises important principles about the question of identity in democracies, as exemplified in statements like a “Jewish and democratic state” or a “secular state for all its citizens.” The seminar will trace the history of the conflict over Palestine beginning with the birth of the Zionist movement in the 19th century. It will explore various topics, including, the establishment of the British Mandate, the birth of the State of Israel, the Palestinian refugee crisis, the 1967 War and its aftermath, the rise of the Palestine Liberation Organization, and the Israeli settler movement. Readings will include primary documents as well as scholarly articles and selections from books.