Meaning
Individuals and groups have a need to find meaning in their lives (Redekop, 2002). Meaning can refer to a religion, a belief system, or a set of values. In meaning we find insight, root metaphors, justice, and paradigms (Redekop, 2002); in short, our belief systems. In situations of protracted conflict, people need to make sense of the situation they find themselves in and what to do about it. When we are in conflict, systems of belief can be very important as they help guide individuals and groups towards creating understanding of our world and how to act within that world (Redekop, 2002).
As Redekop (2002) states, worlds of meaning are so foundational that deep-rooted conflicts stemming from a clash between completely different ways of perceiving reality are particularly difficult to control. Conflicts imply alternative, competing ways of meeting the needs for meaning and therefore may be perceived as putting in danger our own way of forming meaning (Redekop, 2002). Our sense of meaning is intrinsically tied to our sense of identity, both individual and collective. Conflicts over meaning are particularly emotional and therefore less open to rational bargaining and compromise than conflicts over scarce material goods (Redekop, 2002).
Because individuals and groups have had different experiences, each of our worlds of meaning will differ as well (Redekop, 2002). Worlds of meaning imply that each person will interpret the same facts differently and therefore react differently. Often in conflict dialogue, two people will be using the same words and phrases but their meaning differs slightly based on their experiences with the concepts which create misinformation and mistaken interpretations of one another. Also, how we see the world and our sense of meaning can limit what we perceive (Redekop, 2002). For example, Redekop (2002) tells the story of an experiment involving cards in which the six of hearts was painted black. The card was shown to people who were asked to identify different cards. That card was identified as either a six of spades (picking up on the colour) or a six of hearts with no comment that it was black. No one had a category for a black six of hearts so no one saw it (Redekop, 2002).
Rarely do we question our worlds of meaning. Because it is through our worlds of meaning that we interpret our experiences of reality (Redekop, 2002). Meaning is tied to our identity so if our view of our world of meaning proves to be wrong, inadequate or internally contradictory, the result would be an identity crisis (Redekop, 2002). To avoid an identity crisis, a threat to one’s sense of meaning will result in individuals and groups becoming angry. This anger may be directed inwards (imploding) or outwards (exploding).
Israelis need satisfiers for meaning include a link to the land of their ancestral heritage, a direct link back almost 4000 years to the place where the Jews became a people. This can take the form of religious beliefs tied to the holiness of the land and/or more secular romantic beliefs in the ancient link of the land as the homeland of the Jewish nation. It was on this land that Jacob had his dream that one day his offspring would become a mighty people, where David slew Goliath and where the majority of Jewish holidays were created based on events that impacted the Jewish people. Jews believe that they were expelled from their land 2000 years ago and dreamed of the return. Zionism is the nationalist extension of this belief that the Jewish people, like any other nation, have the right to self-determination on their land and so Jews returned out of both religious and nationalistic beliefs.
Palestinians also have a similar sense of meaning in relation to the land of Palestine, which to them encompasses today’s Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. Palestinians view the land as belonging to them and Israelis are simply another colonial experiment that will soon be over. As Palestinians are more recent refugees from the land compared to Jews, they also have a sense of meaning about the individual houses that their relatives owned. For Jews, the sense of meaning is for the land as a whole. For Palestinians, there is a dual meaning for the land: it links back both to ownership of the land as a whole and to the individual villages and houses of their relatives who left or were forced out. To this day, many Palestinians still have the keys to doors or houses that no longer exist as a symbol of their eventual return. Overall, there is a sense with Palestinians that a sin occurred in 1948 when Israel was declared a state and it is the goal of Palestinians to return to a pre-1948 reality where they have the control (Teveth, 1989).
However, it must be noted that meaning for Israelis and Palestinians does not necessarily have to be tied to Judaism and Zionism for Israelis and Palestine for Palestinians. Meaning for some may be tied to religion, culture, values, principles, or lifestyle.