Sacred Struggles

Cyclical Violence and Sociological Perspectives on the Israel/Palestine Conflict through Durkheim and Weber

Introduction

The ongoing Israel/ Palestine conflict is a complex humanitarian situation surrounding a long-fought ideological and physical struggle for land, identity, independence, and supremacy. Religion plays a central role in this conflict for its deep historical and social ties which exist in many diverse ethno-religious groups throughout the region. Religion is set up in this ongoing war as both a social construct and a deeply rooted belief system that shapes the general narratives of the fighting on both sides. Religion here operates not just theologically as a mechanism of the state to advance its territorial and ideological supremacy but as a deeply personal way of validating and memorializing persecution as a means of justification for such violence.

Proposed research

Crafting an Effective Academic Analytical Paper

I have chosen the ongoing conflict in Israel and Gaza to relate to our course and in turn demonstrate how the war is both religious and ideological in nature. The consequences that have resulted from this war have been devastating for those immediately affected by it as well as for the middle-east region as a whole. But, this conflict has leached into the fabric of global discourse for its ideological and ethnic reverberations. Specifically, the divide in the United States regarding the conflict is a tense point of contention among citizens and law makers alike. American and similar global metrics have seen Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia explode in comparison to pre-2023 levels not seen since after 9/11. College campuses in the United States and around the world became hotspots in 2024 for the vocalization of Palestinian liberation. And, violence and extremism are continuously on the rise as bad faith actors and opportunists co-opt the moment to push Xenophobia and white supremacy. These social ramifications are experienced in the United States (where the government has explicitly funded and positioned itself with Israel) to the degree that mainstream media covers the conflict daily, U.S. elections are influenced by them, and social media accounts are flooded with infographics and headlines regarding the conflict.