摘要：Analysis of the relations
between the Israeli Jews and the Palestinians, in the context of the Al Aqsa
Intifada, suggests a sad paradox. On the one hand, the majority of people in
both societies are ready for far-reaching compromises in order to resolve the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict peacefully. But, on the other hand, the majority of
people in both societies stereotype their opponents with extremely negative
characteristics and feel a profound mistrust that prevents any possible
negotiation and solution of the conflict. The paper explains the described
paradox on the basis of the theory of transitional context, focusing on the
Israeli Jewish society. The transitional context consists of observable and
well-defined physical, social, political, economic, military and psychological
conditions that are of a temporary nature and construct the environment in which
individuals and collectives function. These conditions arise as a result of
major events and major information that are perceived and apprehended by society
members, and then they affect their behavior and functioning. In the case of
the Israeli Jewish society, the context consisted of major events and provided
major information that shed light on them, related to the Camp David summit and
the beginning of the Al Aqsa Intifada in 2000. This context served as a basis
for the emergence of fear, delegitimization of the Palestinians and a
self-collective view as a victim, which became major obstacles that prevented
any meaningful negotiation towards the achievement of a peaceful solution. They
in turn led to support for violent acts against the Palestinians, support of a
leader who projects a determination to deal harshly with the rival, feelings of
irreconcilability and support for unilateral separation from the Palestinians.
The last part of the paper describes in general terms the psychological
state that both societies should strive to reach in the present situation of
violent conflict without negotiations. After almost four years of violent
confrontations, Israelis and Palestinians should try to achieve a state of
peaceful coexistence, which means mutual legitimization, equalization,
differentiation, and personalization, as well as the introduction of hope and
mutual acceptance. In essence, coexistence refers to a state of mind shared by
the members of a society. In order to achieve coexistence, it is necessary to
change the psychological repertoire of the societies involved in the peace
process. The achievement of this change depends first of all on the intentions,
determination, activism and strength of those who support the peace process,
including leaders, political parties, NGOs, and individual society members.
Second, a successful process of establishing a climate of coexistence in a
society depends on the mobilization of societal institutions to propagate the
new messages of the peace process. Mass media and the educational system play an
important role in this mission. As its final point, the paper suggests that
the fundamental prerequisites for changing the psychological repertoire that
inhibits the peace process are: a. negotiations between the rivals which will
allow the development of mutually acceptable agreement and b. cessation, or at
least a significant reduction, of all types of violence.
