After reading A Lake Beyond the Wind, I started thinking about how much is out there on TV, the internet, newspaper, etc. that truly gives accurate information about what is really going on between Palestine and Israel. I found some interesting sites, some with little information, some that tried to only show the history between these two cultures, and some that put all of the information out there. I first wanted to know what the exact history was between these two countries and what reasons both sides gave for why the conflict was even taking place. When Judea, the home for the Jews, was overtaken it was named Palestine and was later taken over by an Arab population. However, hundreds of years later the Jews wanted to reclaim some of the land and invaded the Palestinian land that was lived on by the Arabs. This is initially what caused the conflict. To most, it seems as though the Israelis and Jews are the ones to blame for the conflict because they started to take land that wasn't theirs. I know that I don't know all of the issues or information, but from everything I read this is what it appears to be. Most websites show the Palestinian people as the "good guys" who have the right to their land and that the Jews need to find other places to go instead of stealing other people's land. The website, http://www.mideastweb.org/nutshell.htm, gives a clear outline to the history, but definitely puts a Palestinian twist on the conflict and has topics such as "Palestinian Terror" and "Israeli Repression". From this it is easy to see that many think that what the Israelis are doing is wrong and that the Palestinian people do not deserve to live this way and should be able to return to their homes.

Another website that I found interesting was one for kids, http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/worldhistory/palestinianisraeliconflict1.htm. This site basically just shows the history from a very unbiased opinion. The website is full of maps that show what land was who's and when. However, it never truly gets into the harsh side of the conflict and chooses not to choose sides. At the end of the website is really the only time that the kids might get an opinion of someone else when it says, "The United Nations called on Israel to give back the territory it had seized, but the calls fell on deaf ears. Israel controls this territory to this day." It seems as though this site also thinks that the Palestinians are being treated the wrong way, but it never really comes right out and says that. I think it is interesting that there is virtually nothing on this site that would tell kids that there is a real problem and conflict happening in Palestine. It never talks about the people who are being killed, suicide bombing, or that there are people living in terrible conditions. I understand that some parents do not want their children to see pictures of people dead or bleeding or to talk about the specifics of war, but I also think that it is wrong to just let kids go on assuming that there is only a little problem happening and that people are happy and living good lives. It does not give anything but a history lesson and doesn't give the kids any indication that lives are being taken and that people have to live everyday in fear. I think this shows us how much we try to protect people, and kids, in this country from seeing what is truly going on. I am not saying we have to show a ten year old everything, but at least give them somewhat of an idea so that when they grow up they aren't totally shocked by what they may see in real life. This just goes to show that we do try to hide what people see, where we should be putting everything out there and having people choose what they show their kids and let people have their own opinions on the conflict.