Christmas at Linda's

Kevin and I are happily relaxing in Harrison Township. I got some work done today but am mostly rereading the "Eragon" "Inheritance" books by Christopher Paolini...the last book came out and I bought it for Kelsey for Christmas (so that I could read it, of course).
Linda and I (with a spoon assist from Kevin) made the green corn flake cookie wreaths today. Tomorrow we go to the Smiths' for Christmas celebrations and pick up Bubba at the airport.
Linda and Michael got me toe socks (hahahaha) as well as some gorgeous new flip-flops made in Tanzania through an organization called Shining a Light. Kevin got me a hysterical book from the Daily Show's David Javerbaum: "The Last Testament: A Memoir." Hysteria itself. Linda also got me dried mangoes, fancy hot cocoa, and some Persian lime olive oil (SO MUCH EXCITEMENT).
Merry Christmas to me!!

Becca's a fail...

Kevin and I started driving to Linda's yesterday...and I drove away with Megan's car keys in my coat packet. So then we had to drive back and forth 30+ minutes to get her keys back to her. Alas.
And then...I left a present for Kevin's cousin Maddie in the stack for the Bohls, pretending it was an extra present for Maddy...alas...

Official Grade Report

The "EXT" is an extension on my honors thesis, as I will be taking another four credits of the class in the spring.
: )

Grades!

Grades are mostly in. It is not entirely official, but it seems I have 4.0ed the entire semester, because I can't imagine I'm not 4.0ing the only course that hasn't yet been reported.
Take that, brain injury! Can't keep me down. :P

Maddy!

Maddy came to visit...we had quite a lovely time baking and decorating Christmas cookies. An expedition to Target for red icing became a three-hour trip including Olive Garden with Hannah, Kevin, and Evan as well. We then had a double feature of "Sherlock Holmes" and "Pride and Prejudice." (Quite the duo, I know. But Hannah and Maddy hadn't seen either, and Kevin hadn't seen "Sherlock," and we're going to the second one when Megan comes...)
Maddy is now off to "Cirque du Soleil" with her grandparents, and Hannah, Kevin, and I are off to church.

Relaxing...

To answer Mum's query about "relaxing," here is the social/engagement calendar for the next few weeks:

Friday, December 16:
Kevin, Evan, and Hannah all stay at Becca and Kelsey's Bed & Breakfast

Saturday, December 17: (Happy Birthday, Bubba!)
9 am - Maddy arrives
Christmas Cookie Baking with Kelsey and Maddy (and possibly Hannah, Evan, and Kevin)
Shopping with Maddy (see parenthetical note above)

Sunday, December 18:
9 am - Maddy departs
Afternoon - Becca cleans her closet (which has been waiting four months for said cleaning, when tons of stuff was dumped there during the condo's recarpeting)

Monday, December 19:
8 am - Becca works at GenCen
12 noon - Becca has lunch with a professor
2 pm - Nicole arrives
4 pm - Amy arrives
6 pm - Dinner and "The Muppets" Movie with Kelsey, Amy, and Nicole

Tuesday, December 20:
2 pm - Megan arrives
2 pm - Becca, Megan, Kelsey, Amy, and Nicole (and possibly Kevin and/or Dan) go to the Potter Park Zoo (where there are three 2 1/2 month old baby tigers!)
6 pm - Dinner and "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" with Kelsey, Megan, Amy, and Nicole
10 pm - Nicole departs

Wednesday, December 21:
8 am - Becca works at GenCen
Noon - Amy departs

Thursday, December 22:
Becca and Kevin go to Kevin's mom's

Friday, December 23:
Becca sleeps

Saturday, December 24:
Kevin and Becca have Christmas with Kevin's mom
Kevin and Becca have Christmas with Kevin's mom's extended family
6:30 pm - Kevin and Becca pick up Gregory at the Detroit Airport
Kevin, Becca, and Gregory drive to Mount Pleasant
10 pm - Kevin, Becca, and Gregory join Kendall and Charlie at Mount Pleasant First UMC for Christmas Eve service and a screening of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas"

Sunday, December 25:
6 am - Becca's wonderful and beloved brother no doubt wakes her up
10 am - Christmas Day service at Mount Pleasant
1 pm - Kevin, Becca, Gregory, Charlie, and Kendall go to Charlie's dad's for Christmas
5 pm - Kevin and Becca depart for Kevin's dad's

Monday, December 26:
"Christmas morning" with Kevin's dad
Afternoon with Kevin's dad's extended family

Tuesday, December 27:
Noon - Becca works at GenCen
5 pm - Christmas with the Obingers

Wednesday, December 28:
Kevin, Becca, Gregory, Kendall, and Charlie go see Summer, Camille, and the new baby!

Thursday, December 29:
Gang still with Summer in Indiana

Friday, December 30:
Kevin, Becca, Gregory, Kendall, and Charlie hang out with the Bohls

Saturday, December 31 and Sunday, January 1
FREE! (I'm sure it will not remain open.)

Monday, January 2
6 pm - Kevin and Becca drive Gregory to Detroit Airport

Tuesday, January 3
Free

Wednesday, January 4
8 am - GenCen

Thursday, January 5
10 am - Meeting with the Honors College re: MLK Programming

Friday, January 6
10 am - All-University Meeting re: MLK Programming
1 pm - Video Interview and Photoshoot re: Excellence in Diversity Awards

Saturday, January 7
2:40 pm - Kevin and Becca pick up Bailey at the Detroit Airport

And then...it's the spring semester.
:)

AND...

I just wrote the 5-pager for Yael. So I'm done, done. So much doneness.
And now, a party. Mum and I went to Barnes and Noble yesterday, so I have presents to wrap! Mwahahahaha!

Freedom!

With yesterday's completion of two book reviews and today's 7:45 am anthropology exam, I am officially done with schoolwork for the semester. (Though I do need to get a 5-page book review to Yael at some point.)
WOOHOO! I lived.
May the spring semester be concussion-free. This is the goal.
: )

The Role of Water in Israeli Foreign Policy

Below is a paper written for a senior seminar in Madison on Israeli foreign policy...enjoy (or intelligently skip to the next blog post!).

A lay observer – and, indeed, even many informed scholars – thinking about Israeli foreign policy is almost certainly going to have issues of traditional security in mind. “Israeli foreign policy” instantly brings to mind phrases like “Arab-Israeli conflict,” “Security Wall,” and “occupation.” Images commonly associated with the topic include the unprecedented Rabin and Arafat handshake, IDF soldiers with guns, and paratroopers at the Western Wall.
An insider’s view of Israeli foreign policy does not necessarily conflict with the stereotype described above. The unfortunate truth is that Israeli foreign policy is heavily dominated by security concerns, and has been since before the country’s inception. How is it, then, that a country formally at war with at least one neighbor at all times and greatly preoccupied with concerns of survival has nonetheless given a great deal of attention to water concerns in its foreign policy decision-making?
This paper seeks to demonstrate that Israeli foreign policy makers have found creative ways to incorporate water issues in foreign policy so that the country’s scarce water resources become not an additional instigator of conflict but instead a creator of improved international relations for the country. I find that Israeli water policy is better explained by liberalist and constructivist theories of international relations than by realism.
The focus on water in Israeli foreign policy making will be explored in three major priorities of foreign policy: state-building and legitimacy, commerce and trade, and peace and security. The foreign policy decisions that are made in each of these three areas will be explored, focusing on who is responsible for determining water policy, how decisions are made, and the outcomes of water-based policies.
After a brief description of the methodology involved in this research, this paper will provide an explanatory background, a discussion of the results, a presentation and refutation of a counter-argument, several policy recommendations based on findings, and an exploration of how this research’s outcome contributes to existing debates in international relations and water policy. The background section includes a country profile of Israel’s water supply and demand as well as an exploration of current theories surrounding water-based policies and international relations. The results section is split into three sub-sections, each providing specific case studies illustrating how water has influenced foreign policy in the sector and how foreign policy decisions are made. The counter-argument will address concerns over the extent to which Israeli foreign policy has been innovative, as well as arguments about the nature of water in international realtions. Policy recommendations will focus on both Israel and other nations, encouraging Israel to more fully incorporate water in domestic and foreign policy-making and other states to follow Israel’s example in sustainable use. Finally, the bibliography formally cites all sources referenced throughout the paper and also includes suggested further reading for interested individuals.

Methodology
While based primarily on a literature review, the results of this study also incorporate the analysis of primary sources and news articles, examination of technical reports, and firsthand experience.
There is a wealth of research and theory surrounding issues of natural resource policy, water wars, and agricultural commerce. The work of authors such as Alatout, Allan, Amery, Feitelson, Fischhendler, Giordano, Haddadin, Lipchin, Tal, and Weinthal has been reviewed to situate this paper’s arguments in broader issues of water in the Middle East and international relations around natural resources. This literature, along with a variety of technical reports from organizations such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), has aided in the formulation of a country water profile for Israel, presented in the next section.
In order to focus on how foreign policy decisions affect water use and vice versa, international treaties, a political leader’s personal journals, and news articles have been scrutinized for consideration of water issues. The Declaration of Principles On Interim Self-Government Arrangements (better known as the Oslo Accords) signed in 1993, the Peace Treaty between Israel and Egypt of 1979, and the 1994 Treaty of Peace between the State of the Israel and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan were closely examined. Relevant journal entries from the personal diary of David Ben-Gurion have been useful in highlighting the awareness and decision-making processes of Israel’s political leadership. News articles from Israel’s Haaretz and Jerusalem Post, Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News, and Europe’s BBC and EuroNews were used to identify current events that have not yet made it into peer-reviewed academic articles as well as plans that were not necessarily made into formal policy or officially recorded. Finally, the website of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been monitored for evidence of water-based priorities and initiatives.
Summer 2010, I participated in two study abroad programs facilitated by the Michigan State University Department of Jewish Studies. The first of the programs, “Nature, Culture and Environmental/Natural Resource Sustainability in a Green Israel,” was spent traveling through the country, exploring issues of sustainable water use, technical innovations in agriculture and desalination, and other environmental concerns. The second program, “MSU Jewish Studies Summer Program at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem,” focused on the country’s political history and contemporary culture and society. The summer provided useful background and pointed the way toward valuable sources and authors. I am grateful for guidance given by Professors Eric Aronoff, Mike Aronoff, Yael Aronoff, and David Mendelsson.
Case studies have been chosen based on relevance and significance. Following authors such as Klieman, I have grouped my analysis based on foreign policy priorities. State-building and legitimacy, commerce and trade, and peace and security were chosen as three priorities vital to any nation’s foreign policy agenda, thus allowing for the possibility of parallel studies based on other countries’ water policies.

Background
Before analyzing water-based Israeli foreign policy, this paper will present a brief overview of international relations theory surrounding water and an exploration of Israel’s water resources. As with any other resource, Israel’s decision-making regarding water is influenced by the ways in which the resource is regarded by the international community and is constrained by the limited resources it has.

Water as a Resource
Many resources have multiple potential uses, but water is perhaps the least monolithic natural resource. Soy can be used to feed people, nurture livestock, and create fuel. Air is vital for life, can be used in transport, and can generate energy. Water, though, is necessary to produce soy, equally vital for life, also valuable for transit, and is used to access, create, and manipulate a multitude of other resources. It is also a much more excludable resource than air, as its sources can be controlled and certain individuals denied access. Thanks to the necessity of water, water is an incredibly valuable resource for states. As a result of the multitude of water’s uses, states and individuals treat different kinds of water resources in very different ways. Water used in agriculture is not seen as the “same” resource as water used for transport. Water consumed directly by citizens is viewed distinctly from water used to generate power. While the physical water used in these different ways may be the same water, who controls it and how it is valued changes depending on its current form and intended use. In short, “the water issue means different things to different actors. Water is a highly complex, fragmented issue, which possesses special qualities that distinguish it from other foreign relations determinants. While water is not usually an issue to some actors, under conditions of severe shortage it is highly conflict-prone.”
Due to the relative scarcity of water in the Middle East, the issue has received a great deal of scholarly attention. For decades, authors have predicted that water will likely be the cause of the next major war in the region . Concerned academics have predicted that “[t]ensions over freshwater resources may become more frequent as pressures on water resources grow due to increased demand and variability of rainfall.” Exploring a conflict that almost became a water war between Israel and Lebanon, Amery states that “While most international water disputes in the Middle East will be resolved peacefully, some are likely to trigger violent confrontations threatening political stability in the Middle East in the next few decades.” In disputes that are not water-driven, water woes can become an additional irritant, creating yet another barrier to peaceful solutions. For example, Giodano has pointed to water as one of the concerns cited by Palestinians during the Second Intifada, even though water did not play a causal role.
The scholarly opinions above are in line with the “water wars rationale” argument and situated in realist theory of international relations. This line of thinking “predicts that countries will wage war to safeguard their access to water resources, especially if there is water scarcity, competitive use and the countries are enemies due to a wider conflict.” The scarcity of water is seen as “a zero-sum security issue” and thus “a constant potential for conflict.” This mindset, of course, forecasts a multitude of water wars in the Middle East. And yet the dire predictions of academics touting the water wars rationale are beginning to sound like the boy who cried “Wolf!” While the Middle East is certainly wrought with tension, very few serious military engagements have occurred between states, and “the record of acute conflict over international resources is historically overwhelmed by the record of cooperation.” Indeed, it seems that “water has not been a catalyst for war in the Middle East.”
The lack of water wars in the Middle East has helped to further the claims of some academics arguing that scarce water resources can be a vehicle for peace rather than conflict. Recognizing the obvious logic of the water wars rationale, scholars state “the water issue paradoxically is also a possibly unique vehicle for cooperation if the parties view that as the only possible solution.” A study of the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty highlighted how in “cooperation which is specifically over water, the critical feature that emerges is that through cooperation the countries were able to safeguard their long-term water supply. In other words, cooperation is water rational.” Viewed in this light, scarce water resources are not any less important to states than they are in the water wars theory; instead, cooperation is seen by the actors as the only way to have long-term water security.
This investigation sought to understand whether Israeli water policy is more reflective of the realist water wars rationale or the liberalist model of cooperation. I argue that the water wars rationale does not adequately explain international relations around water in the Middle East region, and that Israeli foreign policy more accurately reflects liberalist understandings. In seeking to understand why this is, an awareness of the water resources Israel has, the resources its neighbors have, and the resources that are inevitably shared is vital.

Israel’s Water Profile
Israel is a semi-arid nation in a region that “ran out of water resources to meet its strategic needs—for domestic and industrial use as well as for food production—in 1970.” The country is slightly smaller than the country of El Salvador but has only one fifteenth of El Salvador’s renewable water resources. Of its 20,770 contested square kilometers, only 440 square kilometers are water, and a great portion of those resources do not hold freshwater. Its Mediterranean coastline is 273 kilometers and it has a territorial sea of 12 nautical miles, providing the country with essentially unlimited saltwater.
By far, Israel’s most important water resource is the Kinneret Basin, housing the historic “Sea of Galilee.” The basin produces approximately 500 million cubic meters per year, some twenty-seven percent of the country’s yearly national production. The coastal basin or coastal aquifer runs along the west coast of Israel and is another of the country’s main sources of groundwater. The Yarqon-Taninim Basin, Mount Carmel Basin, Eastern Mountain Basin (containing the Dead Sea), and Negev and Arava Basin are also found in Israel and contain smaller aquifers. Much of their water resources are brackish. Total, Israel’s groundwater resources come to approximately 950 million cubic meters, the Jordan River and Kinneret provide 600 million cubic meters, and floodwater runoff adds some 60-100 million cubic meters.
In 1964, Israel instituted the National Water Carrier to transfer water from major groundwater sources to heavily populated areas. As a result of increasing population demands, Israel’s freshwater use is incredibly high. In 2009, the country abstracted some 220 cubic meters per capita. In the same year, the US abstracted some 1,630 cubic meters. Unfortunately, Israel’s abstraction represented 86.4 percent of its internal resources, while the US’ represented only 19.6 percent. Israel consumes more than its annual natural supply by some 300 million cubic meters. The aquifers described above are greatly depleted. Climatic changes have meant decreasing rainfall, resulting in declining natural recharge. Since 1930, the Dead Sea, shared with Jordan, has lost one-third of its surface area. The Jordan River, once a strongly flowing source of freshwater, no longer reaches the Dead Sea as it used to.
As if the limited water resources detailed above weren’t worrisome enough, any discussion of Israel’s water profile must include a look at which water resources are still contested. The Jordan River is a major source of limited fertile ground in the region; yet, its West Bank is controlled mainly by the Palestinian Authority and will almost certainly become part of the Palestinian state. Lake Kinerret, Israel’s largest single freshwater source, is located on a disputed boundary with Syria, and Israel may need to trade some access to it for peace with that nation. Israel’s southernmost tip provides access to the Red Sea through the Gulf of Aqaba, but, as was shown in the 1967 War, this access is not absolutely guaranteed. The Mediterranean, once seemingly the least contested of Israel’s water resources, is now becoming a source of great tension, as the combined result of the Gaza Blockade and feuds over gas and oil reserves near Cyprus.
In short, Israel wants a lot and has a little, both in regards to freshwater for consumption and unchallenged water boundaries for transport. This water profile seems incredibly pessimistic. Thanks to innovations in irrigation, however, Israel is using less and less water to produce more and more agricultural goods. Thanks to innovations in desalination, the country may manage to begin “producing” freshwater in the quantities it requires. Thanks to peace treaties and international agreements, Israel’s use of water for transport is becoming less restricted. The results of this investigation detail how Israel is creatively approaching water resources in its foreign policy making, using its limited water profile to great results.

Results
Water is critical to any nation’s policy. The extent to which it enters foreign policy decision-making depends on the specific conditions of the country’s resources and geopolitical situation. Israel, as a nation in an arid region and a country facing nearly constant imminent threat, sees water as a more critical national interest than water-rich or militarily secure countries such as the United States and Brazil. As previously stated, this investigation grouped water use by three main categories: state-building and legitimacy, commerce and trade, and peace and security. The role of water in each of these foreign policy objectives and the decisions that are made will be analyzed in the following sections.

State-Building and Legitimacy
A central goal of Zionism’s efforts in the Palestinian land was to “make the desert bloom.” Ludicrous though this may sound, it was indeed the policy carried out for decades, even before the state of Israel was founded in 1948. Agriculture was meant to be the great equalizer. Professors, musicians, engineers, all came together to work the soil, getting back to what they saw as their Jewish heritage of farming.
While agricultural productivity was an ideological motivation for many early settlers, it was also a critical component of Zionist methodology in attempting to secure a state in the Palestinian land. Beginning with the Berlin Conference of 1884-1885, the principle of “effective occupation” required that European powers hoping to hold colonies in Africa were required to use the land productively, engaging in trade and resource extraction from the protectorate. Because Zionist leaders were seeking European permission to declare statehood in the Palestinian area, showing that they could use the land effectively was a purposeful technique in furthering Zionist goals. Making the desert bloom, and engaging in agriculturally-based trade with Europe, was seen as a way to demonstrate their proper right to the land. Agricultural policy, then, was foreign policy. When the community declared statehood in 1948, agriculture continued to be seen as an essential part of the young nation’s development. “Israel’s emergence as an agricultural country was a matter of choice.”
Water, of course, is a vital component in agriculture. “The need to control and disperse water resources has been a central facet in the development of the territorial, demographic and economic bases of the State of Israel.” Israel purposely decided to invest in water for the agricultural sectors. In the beginnings of the 1950s, the new nation invested nearly seventy-five percent of its foreign currency earnings to create a national water carrier, a deliberate choice to have agriculture produced in the south. Water for agricultural purposes has continued to dominate Israel’s water sector. All of Israel’s water resources are administered by the Israeli Water Commission. The head of this department is under the Minister of Agriculture’s authority, illustrating the extent to which water is considered vital to agriculture in Israeli policy. To this day, the Ministry of Agriculture works with the Jewish Agency “in the establishment and consolidation of new communities” and is a sub-division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, demonstrating how the early Zionist principle of water and agriculture for state-building continues to play a role in foreign policy today.
Agriculture in Israel has not come without cost. Around thirty-five percent of potable and recycled water used in agriculture are subsidized by Israel’s household sector. This means that agriculture is one of the only sectors in Israel that does not pay for its water use in its entirety. Agriculture continues to be Israel’s largest water consumer . Though the National Water Carrier was meant to satisfy the entire country’s water needs for the foreseeable future, a combination of drought and increasing demand has led to over-pumping. Agriculture in the Negev has thus majorly added to this increasing demand. In the early years of Israel, water policy focused on increasing water resources along with agricultural production. In later decades, the country prioritized agricultural expansion over water conservation.
Israel’s use of water in agriculture has conflicting effects. On one hand, the agricultural sector increases demand for water in a region where effective policy would seem to necessitate minimizing water demand. On the other hand, Israel’s focus on agriculture was a key component in state-building, and water-based agricultural innovations and agriculture-based trade have helped to create better relations with other countries, improving Israel’s legitimacy. These water-based agricultural innovations and agriculture-based trade relations will be explored in the next section.

Commerce and Trade
As shown above, Israel has invested heavily in water for agriculture and direct consumer use through the National Water Carrier and Water Authority. But Israel is slowly waking up to its water realities, becoming aware of the fact that its agricultural sector cannot continue to use as many of its water resources unsustainably. The nation has reacted to its water shortages in two major ways: seeking to increase supply and working to decrease demand. Major technological innovations have been made in Israel thanks to the country’s investment in water-based research and development. Through the reuse of treated wastewater, desalination of brackish and seawater, and the filtration of lake water, Israel has managed to increase its supply. These methods, however, have resulted in price increases. Seeking to decrease demand, Israel has been a pioneer in drip irrigation methods, water pricing mechanisms, and block tariffs (in which water prices increase by quantity so that individuals and corporations using great quantities of water pay more for “excess” usage).
The above initiatives have made a name for Israel as a sustainable, “green” country. According to Alon Tal, however, this focus on sustainability was the result of practical pragmatism rather than an ecologically focused ideology. Regardless of the motivations, Israel has made many incredible water revolutions.
Israel has capitalized fully on these advances. Most obviously, it has managed to make much of the desert bloom and continues to do more than its limited water resources would suggest. Beyond basic water use issues, though, Israel has used its water-based developments to strengthen ties with other countries. This ideology of foreign relations was first espoused by David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, who said that “the principles of mutual assistance and equality should also constitute the basis for international relations between people...[and] must be based on the solidarity of all human beings derived from fraternity and mutual assistance in every sphere of life - economic, social and scientific...”
Following the beliefs of Ben-Gurion, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been innovative in international commerce, using not only its material resources as a mechanism for trade but also its information and technological advances. Israel currently has full diplomatic relations with nearly all of sub-Saharan Africa, even though it has no relations with most North African countries. A major reason for this is the work of MASHAV, the Center for International Cooperation, an initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that exports water-based technological knowledge to the developing world. This information sharing and technological collaboration plays a role in the peace process – “trainees come from countries which as yet have no diplomatic relations with Israel.” The Ministry of Foreign Affairs works to ensure that these information trades yield fruits of international cooperation through follow-up Shalom Clubs.
In addition to the work of MASHAV, Israeli and Egyptian academics and water policy officials have cooperated extensively on developing technologies for desalination. Israeli and Jordanian thinkers have collaborated on projects to restore the Dead Sea. November 21-27, 2011, Shimon Peres visited Vietnam and brought with him 60 Israeli leaders in trade and corporations, many of whom were focused on sharing water-based technologies and agricultural innovations with the Vietnamese government. This recent trip to Vietnam is but one example of Israel’s continued attempts to use its water know-how as a diplomatic tool. Visits to countries have been one key tool; another has been the hosting of conferences. Israel’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Danny Ayalon, recently opened the 6th International Exhibition and 3rd International Conference on Water Technologies, Renewable Energy & Environmental Control. That the deputy foreign minister was the one to open this conference is evidence of how Israel sees water-based innovations as a tool in foreign policy.
Beyond water-based technology, Israel also uses water more directly in commercial affairs. Agriculture continues to be one of Israel’s major export products, though its relative importance has fallen over time and only two percent of Israel’s labor force is currently engaged in agricultural work. On the import side, Israel is a leader in “virtual water trade,” through which water-rich countries trade goods that require a great deal of water to produce (water-intensive goods) in exchange for water-extensive goods that are made more easily in the other country. In 2002, Israel was ranked twenty-fifth in the world as a virtual water importer.
Beyond agricultural-based and virtual water trades, Israel has been increasingly looking at trading water itself. In March 2004, Israel arranged to buy 50 million cubic meters of water from Turkey every year for twenty years, accounting for approximately three percent of Israel’s freshwater consumption. Israeli officials saw this water trade as a mechanism for strengthening ties with one of the only Muslim countries friendly to Israel, arguing that the trade was worth it for those ties even if the water itself was not worth the full cost. Unfortunately, this deal never came to fruition as relations between Israel and Turkey deteriorated over the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident, which will be addressed more fully in the next section.
Despite its limited water resources, Israeli foreign policy makers have capitalized fully on water-based trade possibilities, fully exploiting technological innovations, virtual water goods, and agricultural production. This trade has aided Israel’s economy as well as improved ties with the international community.

Peace and Security
Water has played multiple roles in Israeli foreign policy concerns over peace and security. As mentioned by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, informational trade has helped to further the peace process. On the security side of things, water has been an actor, if not the primary catalyst, in a number of military conflicts.
The most famous of the Israeli-Arab military confrontations is the Six-Day War of 1967. Prior to the 1967 War, the Arabs attempted to divert the Jordan River away from Israel. The nation prevented such a move militarily. This military action over water sources was not new. In 1948, Ben-Gurion advised the Israeli government to attack Latrun when the Arabs violated the current cease-fire by destroying a water pipe from Rosh Ha’ayin to Jerusalem. While these two incidents did not become long-term conflicts, they were components of longer-term military engagements.
In regards to the Six-Day War itself, a water-based concern was the primary instigator of the conflict. On May 22, 1967, “Nasser announced the closure of the Tiran Straits to Israeli shipping.” Under international law, Egypt’s closure of the straits was an act of war. Israeli foreign policy officials debated what their next move should be. In the midst of reports of Arab military preparations and troop movements, Ben-Gurion noted in his diary that he believed the most important task was to open the straits. But he worried that doing so by force would almost certainly lead to war, something he and many other Israeli government officials wished to avoid. Israeli foreign policy makers appealed to the United States, requesting that Johnson move to open the straits on their behalf. In light of the US’ failure to do so, Israel elected to strike preemptively. In the resulting military action, Israel captured the entirety of the Sinai Peninsula, all of Jerusalem, the Golan Heights, and other lands previously administered by Arab states. The Six-Day War put into Israeli hands many territorial waters that had been governed by Arab nations.
Israel struck the Sinai Peninsula first, and foreign policy officials debated about whether or not to spread military action to the Golan Heights, then controlled by Syria. “In an interview given to Yedi’ot Aharonot given in 1976 but published in 1997, Dayan stressed the ‘greed’ of the Jordan Valley settlers for land and water as a primary motivation for pressuring the Israeli government to capture the Golan Heights.” “[T]he need to secure water resources played a crucial role in Israel’s geopolitical calculus with respect to its border with Syria.” Rabin was known for his aggressive fighting over the north’s water resources. Though it would be overreaching to state that water was the primary reason for Israel’s military action in the Golan, the fact that Dayan publically cited water as a motivation is indicative of how central a role water can play in foreign policy decision-making.
In the aftermath of the war, Israeli foreign policy officials took on a “land for peace” doctrine. The Sinai Peninsula was traded for recognition by Egypt; negotiations of peace with Syria have all included discussions of the Golan Heights. Beyond “land for peace,” however, Israel has seen “water for peace.” Before the full 1979 peace treaty with Egypt, there was a 1975 agreement on the Sinai and Suez Canal, allowing for Israeli non-military transport through the Suez. In the 1979 Israeli-Egyptian Peace Agreement, Article II guarantees that “territorial waters” will be recognized. Article III.6 also provides a guarantee against non-sanctioned military actions in the “airspace above their territorial waters.” Article V.2 seeks to ensure that the cause of the Six-Day War never happens again, allowing for both states’ use of waterways for transport: “The Parties consider the Strait of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba to be international waterways open to all nations for unimpeded and non-suspendable freedom of navigation and overflight. The parties will respect each other’s right to navigation and overflight for access to either country through the Strait of Tiran and the Gulf of Aqaba.” In the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty of 1979, water for consumer use as well as transport is addressed . Article V.3.f.2 permits Israel to maintain water lines at military installations. Article VI.3 guarantees that Israel will continue to have access to water supply points near El Arish and El Tor. An entire article of the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty addresses water in an attempt to achieve “a comprehensive and lasting settlement of all the water problems between them.” Clear boundaries are drawn, and the two countries’ allocations from the Jordan and Yarmouk Rivers are made explicit. Both parties recognize the need for cooperation around water supply, promising to aid each other in preventing contamination of water resources and alleviating water shortages. The treaty includes a transfer from Israel to Jordan of 55 million cubic meters per year of potable water from the northern part of the country and a transfer of 20 million cubic meters per year taken from the Yarmouk River from Jordan to Israel. Cooperation between Israel and Jordan on water “has laid the groundwork for fuller cooperation between these countries.”
Israel has yet to obtain a peace treaty with Syria. Water is seen as one of the major barriers to Israeli-Syrian peace, let alone cooperation. Israeli withdrawal from the Golan Heights seems to be required for an Israeli-Syrian peace; “this process will undoubtedly have important implications for Israel’s future water supply.” Some authors argue that “Israel’s unwillingness to withdraw from the Golan Heights is in large part based on the same factor as its unwillingness to leave the West Bank: water.” Others hoped that Israeli-Turkish water trade might make Israeli-Syrian peace more probable thanks to decreasing water concerns , but the deterioration of that deal has negated that possibility. During negotiations that took place in 2000, Turkey was concerned because “Syria had consistently wanted Turkey’s commitment on the water issue in return for Israel’s continued access to Golan water.” Though Turkey was then an uncontested Israeli ally, it was not so friendly that it was willing to incur self-cost for Israeli-Syrian peace.
Water resources have been a primary source of both conflict and cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authorities. In the 1980s, the Israeli-Palestinian water outlook was not optimistic. Israeli policy advisors were quick to point out that “the State of Israel must continue to control the water resources in the territories, both because of the danger to water reserves inside the Green Line and because it will be impossible to establish new Israeli settlements in these territories without control and supervision of the water resources.” The Israeli government has successfully maintained large amounts of control over water resources throughout both its internationally recognized territory and the territories technically controlled by the Palestinian Authority. New wells in the West Bank can be sunk only with a permit from the Water Commissioner offices at the Military Government headquarters. “The residents of the West Bank are doomed under Israeli occupation to consume one third of the domestic water consumption of Israeli residents in order not to affect the amount of water consumed in pre-1967 Israel proper.” Climate change and population growth are likely to increase “localised social unrest due to scarce water resources and competition.”
In spite of the somewhat pessimistic outlook in the paragraph above, Israel and Palestine have actually maintained a decent level of cooperation over consumer-based water resources. Scholars expect the Israeli-Palestinian water situation to be manageable unless the region sees “very high population growth in the context of inadequate co-operation between Israel and Palestine.” Given the current level of cooperation, there does not seem to be an immediate need for concern. Article 40 of the Oslo Accords dealt entirely with issues of water and sewage. The first principle stated “Israel recognizes the Palestinian water rights in the West Bank.” Details of the article provided for maintaining current supplies and increasing where there were needs. The Article also created a “Joint Water Commission” (JWC), through which Israel no longer had uncontested control of water resources in the Palestinian territories. Israel now makes approximately 88 million cubic meters of water available to Palestinians per year.
The Israeli government has explicitly stated that “Israel believes that it can transform the issue of water from a possible source of controversy and tensions with the Palestinians to a basis for understanding and cooperation.” The Palestinian Authority and the state of Israel, primarily through the Joint Water Commission, “coordinate the management of water and sewage resources and systems in the West Bank.” The JWC has four sub-committees, each overseeing a major component of Israeli-Palestinian water cooperation: the hydrological committee (well drilling), the water works committee (supply pipelines), the sewage committee (wastewater treatment), and the water pricing committee (prices of water sold by Israel to the Palestinian Authority). Even though the JWC and its activities was created for the five-year interim period created by the Oslo Accords, Israeli and Palestinian water-based cooperation has continued beyond that time. “Development of water supply systems for the Palestinians has in the past decade been carried out on a very large scale, much larger than that stated in the Interim Agreement.”
More recently, the Mavi Marmara incident of May 2010 involved an issue of water for transport and water as a boundary. Israel has a blockade on the Gaza Strip, preventing unauthorized ships from bringing supplies into Gaza. The Mavi Marmara flotilla claimed to contain only humanitarian aid supplies and attempted to dock in the Gaza Strip. The ships were confronted by Israeli forces in the Mediterranean. The ships’ crews refused to allow for Israeli inspection of the goods. In the resulting conflict, nine Turkish citizens were killed by IDF forces. Prior to the flotilla, Turkey had been Israel’s strongest allies in the region. Israeli foreign policy officials refused to apologize for their actions during the Mavi Marmara incident, however, leading to greatly deteriorated relations between the two countries. What was “one of the most significant regional developments since the end of the Cold War” fell apart over a conflict that took place in water. Relations have been further strained since the discovery of oil and gases off the shore of Cyprus. Conflict between Turkey, Israel, Lebanon, and Greece has become increasingly strained through confrontations over offshore drilling rights and safe passage through the eastern Med.

Counter-Argument
Water-based concerns have played a major role in Israeli foreign policy-making. The role of water in state-building and trade has been almost entirely positive for Israel, and the discussion above points to the creativity of Israeli foreign policy officials in using a limited water profile to the state’s advantage. But several incidents described in the section on Peace and Security seem to reflect the water wars rationale. Critics of my claim that Israel has been creative in regards to water might argue that Israel has behaved as any other nation would in the conflict around the Straits of Tiran and the Gaza Blockade. And while Israel’s foreign policy has been much less unique in these situations, the country has shown incredible innovation in foreign policy in the other sectors. Interestingly, the two strongest incidents of Israeli non-creativity around issues of water-based foreign policy have taken place when water was playing the role of a barrier. It seems, then, that Israeli foreign policy has been unique in dealing with water as a resource for consumer use (including direct consumption, use for agriculture, use for tourism and ecology, etc.), but less so when water is seen as an extension of land-based borders or transport mechanisms. This, then, mostly debunks the water wars rationale (which treats water as a scarce resource to be used) while supporting an argument that states will act according to the expectations of realism in regards to issues of territory and border control.
While this paper has treated Israeli foreign policy decisions around water issues as substantial, this claim is not uncontested in the literature. Menahem has extensively explored water issues in Israel, but believes that water policy has barely touched governmental affairs. Indeed, according to Menahem, it is the fact that international agreements are starting to include water issues (the United Nations, for example, only recognized the “human right to water” in 2010), and so there is only now an international dimension to the water policy network in Israel. But the existence of water-based agreements and cooperation prior to 2010 is evidence that, whether or not water was explicitly acknowledged in international law prior to that year, Israel has involved it in foreign policy since the country’s birth.
A key assumption of this paper has been the unique and non-monolithic nature of water. Selby denies such a claim, arguing that “water problems should neither be understood in naturalistic nor in liberal- technical terms, but instead as questions of political economy; that water is structurally insignificant within the political economy of the modern Middle East; that in consequence water is generally unimportant as a source of inter-state conflict and co-operation.” Instead, Selby sees water as an issue only as insofar as it is related to the wider issue of economic development. But this claim does not fully discredit this paper’s conclusion. Regardless of whether Israeli foreign policy around issues of water is driven by water itself or the economic conditions surrounding water, the country has been creative in addressing the concerns.

Policy Recommendations
This paper has demonstrated that Israeli foreign policy makers have found unique ways to incorporate water issues in foreign policy, garnering positive results. The consequences of innovative foreign policy mean that water in Israel has been a creator of cooperation as much (if not more) as it has been an instigator of conflict. The most obvious policy recommendation from this result is also, arguably, the most important: Israeli foreign policy makers must continue focusing on the positive aspects of water rather than the negative, ensuring that their decisions can help encourage water-based cooperation rather than water-based conflict.
Specifically, Israeli officials should ensure that Israel’s water resources are equitably distributed, with special concern given to its Palestinian citizens and territories. With the UN’s recent recognition of water as a human right, policies that can be spun as “water abusive” will see increased international attention and censure.
Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has demonstrated a remarkable ability to use the country’s water innovations as a diplomatic tool. This effort can be increased; the MFA should seek to enhance and more broadly portray itself as an international water leader.
Lastly, Israel should more aggressively seek out a peace agreement with Syria. The old concerns of water resources are becoming less and less of a problem due to water technologies that increase supply; Israel can demonstrate its goodwill toward its Arab neighbors by making the first move and consider water concessions in negotiations with Syria. Territorial and boundary waters have thus far been the sector in which Israeli foreign policy is least unique; making progress toward Syrian peace would be a great first step in making this sector more in line with Israel’s other water-based progressive policies.
Looking beyond Israel, this paper can also inform foreign policy for other nation-states. Other countries should seek to follow Israel’s example, not only by adopting innovative water-saving technologies, but by seeking to be as creative with their own limited resources as Israel has been with its water. Countries should seek to be equally innovative with scarce land, scarce oil, scarce fertile ground, scarce food resources, and the like. By doing so, and exporting their technologies, these countries may well be able to partner with Israel in creating a world that is able to address increasing global concerns of resource shortage.

Significance
The results of this paper have considerable significance for environmental public policy and water-based international relations. The nature of water reservoirs and seas requires that international agreements on water resources be “based on an integrated management system treating [a water resource] as one unity.” This nature can serve to essentially force cooperation. In a 2009 policy memo, the Israeli Water Authority points to its experience with the Israeli-Jordanian Peace Treaty as precedent for the possibility of solutions for scarce water resources. It concludes by stating that “[i]nternational experience also shows that water agreements between countries are not a question of principles but one of practical action.” This paper has argued that Israeli foreign policy has been creative in dealing with water concerns, more fully reflecting liberal expectations than realist theories. But it is important to bear in mind that this does not make Israel any less concerned with national security. Rather, Israeli decision makers have taken risk and shown that innovative methods can be practical ones. While still prioritizing national security, Israel has managed to demonstrate that scarce resources need not be viewed as a zero-sum game by nation-state actors. Israeli innovations in water supply have created avenues for cooperation where some theorists have previously seen only initiators of conflict. Scholars of international relations must incorporate Israel’s approach in the theories and literature surrounding environmental international relations. Understanding how Israeli foreign policy officials have successfully used unique foreign policy to make limited water resources a useful asset can help other nations facing concerns over scarce resources.

 
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Go, Becca, go!

Today I have written two book reviews and have now turned in all of my writing assignments for the semester! Just have a 7:45 am exam tomorrow, a 10 am meeting, and work at GenCen 11-5. Almost there, kids.

Philosophy Grade

My professor has posted grades from my logic class. I four-pointed by the hair of my chinny-chin-chin...earned a 92.1 overall; a 4.0 is 92-100%. Good grief, Becca. Way to walk on the edge.

Excellence in Diversity Award

See the letter below...and tell me if you'd like to attend the ceremony (that was aimed mostly at Granna and Mum, but I'm happy to see everyone there; RSVPs are not necessary!). It's a pretty low-key but fun affair.



December 9, 2011

Ms. Rebecca Farnum
290a Staten Avenue, Unit #16
Lansing, MI 48910

Dear Ms. Farnum:

Recently you were nominated by Dr. Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore to be considered for a 2012“Excellence in Diversity Award” (EIDA). Dean Stephen L. Esquith, Ms. Galena Ostipow, and Ms. Kate Burdick supported your nomination. You were nominated in the category, “Emerging Progress” as an individual, and we are indeed pleased to announce and congratulate you as one of the 2012 EIDA cash award winners.

EIDA is an award program that recognizes outstanding efforts of faculty, students and staff at MSU that are committed to the principles of diversity and inclusion and who actively engage in activities that demonstrate their commitment to these principles.

As a cash award recipient you will receive a check for the balance of the $2,500 award, minus taxes and financial aid obligations, at the award ceremony on Friday, February 17, 2012. The program will be held at the Kellogg Hotel and Conference Center, Big Ten Rooms B/C on the campus of MSU and will begin at 4:00 p.m. Please plan to arrive at 3:30 pm and see Audrey Bentley for instructions. The MSU President and Provost will be in attendance to issue you the award and personally congratulate you.

The program will also consist of a video of each of the awardees. The MSU University Relations office will be contacting you to arrange a time for your interview segment.

An invitation that you can use to invite your colleagues, students, friends and family can be found on the EIDA website at http://www.inclusion.msu.edu/Outreach/EIDA.html. We encourage you to invite as many people as you wish to the program. The attire is business casual.

If you have any questions about the EIDA program, please contact Audrey Bentley at 517-432-8384, Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Sincerely,

Paulette Granberry Russell, J.D.
Senior Advisor to the President for Diversity
Director, Office for Inclusion and Intercultural Initiatives

Cc: Dr. Cynthia Jackson-Elmoore
Dean Stephen L. Esquith
Ms. Galena Ostipow
Ms. Kate Burdick

Finals Progress

One exam down, one to go! Plus one paper rewrite and two book reviews...but we are most definitely making progress! The end is in sight.
I am excited for finals to end...Kelsey and I will be baking epic Christmas cookies this weekend. Look out, world. You're going to be getting more Christmas than you ever wanted.

Welcome to Finals!

It's finals week at Michigan State, folks. And you can tell...the office building is dead quiet. Didn't see a single student while I was working at GenCen. Not that I'm complaining! Peace and quiet is very welcome.
I just finished a 28-page paper on Israeli and Palestinian economic development (it's really only like 20 pages when you take out the graphs). Next is a logic final exam, massively revising a 25-page paper for my Madison senior seminar on Israeli foreign policy, an anthropology final exam, and two book reviews.
Onwards and upwards!

White House Christmas Card

I got a present in the mail today! The White House sent me a Christmas card. The front is a very cute painting of Bo sleeping in front of a fireplace. It's thoroughly adorable.
And my house is clean, the tree is decorated, presents are wrapped...
I have nothing left to procrastinate with. I should probably write my final papers that are due next week.

Presents!

Kelsey and I went Christmas shopping last night and had entirely too much fun. And then I wrapped...so there are many pretty things lying under the Christmas tree!
"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!"
At least in my house. The weather is a bit behind on things.
Come on, clouds! I need me some snow!

Application for Graduation

I have just applied to graduate in the spring. That felt slightly weird, not going to lie. Here we go, folks! It's almost time for real.

Holiday Decorating!

Kelsey and I have indulged ourselves in a massive bit of holiday decorating before the crunch of finals week.
Firstly, the entire living room can now be fully lit up by turning on the excessive number of Christmas tree lights we've strung around everything.


And the fireplace is lovely. Actual hung stockings! It's so exciting. And, of course, the wonderfully incredible and utterly delightful Veggie Tales Nativity set, lovingly brought to you by Mum and Papa.


And...a real, live tree. The condo smells AMAZING. Douglas fir, baby. Ain't nothin' better.

Happy Friday!

It's Friday, folks. Michigan State has one more week, and then come finals. GOOD GRIEF. Where on earth did the semester go?
Time flies when you're concussed. Haha.

Let it snow!

Winter has arrived, my friends. And it is beautiful! Happy Advent...time to start playing the Christmas music!

Back in East Lansing

And we are happily back into East Lansing, safely and successfully returned from Chicago. It's good to visit the kids; it's good to be back home.
:)

Chicago!

I am safely and very happily arrived in Chicago at the Obingers'. I've got some interviews in town, but I'm mostly excited to be playing with the kids for several days. I've already been given a tour of the updated tree house courtesy of Todd. It now includes two stories and a pull-up ladder.
When the kids are at school, I'll be brushing up on interview preparation and reading the news to make sure I can speak at least moderately intelligently about current issues!

Snow!

There are mixed feelings in Michigan, but we are seeing the first snowfall of the year!! And it's purty.
:)

Exams are done!

I had an anthropology exam this morning. It went fairly well...and now I have no more exams until finals week! Woohoo.
I have a draft of a 25-page paper due next Wednesday, though. Time to get to work...

Floor!

Finally and at last, the flooring is complete in the condo. We have now scheduled and rescheduled the vinyl installation four times thanks to issues with supplies and schedules. The vinyl was supposed to happen before the carpet, but that went down thanks to incorrect measurements. But it is done now! And it is beautiful.

Football!

Ladies and gentlemen, a monumental event has occurred. Rebecca Farnum went to her first MSU Spartan Football game since the 1998 Citrus Bowl.
It was not as an exciting a game as the '98 Bowl was. In fact, the Spartans managed to play incredibly badly the first three quarters. But it was fun to see it happen, and the band played "Les Mis" for halftime.
I went with Kevin's mom and stepdad. We had quite the fun family time.

Logic and I are Friends

It is some comfort to know, in spite of the concussion, that my powers of formal reasoning have not completely escaped me. I have now taken two midterms totally drugged and vaguely incomprehensible, but I'm still doing well in my logic class (I just got the result from the second exam). There is hope for my brain yet!

Happy All Saints' Day!

Welcome to November! I utterly failed to wish you a Happy Halloween, but I hope you enjoyed yourself. I did almost nothing Halloween-related, though I did get an excess of food thanks to various potlucks and giveaways.
This week, I have a midterm in economics and then yet another doctor's appointment. Hopefully we will get my head figured out!

Dancing! (Not by me)

Kevin and I went to see his little sister dance in Rochester on Saturday night. She is dancing with a center run by the Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, a group of professional dancers. The younger girls performed in the “pre-show” and were utterly adorable. And then the grown-up dancers gave a concert with several really cool pieces. The dances ranged from “traditional” ballet-esque (soft music, girls leaping with guys holding them) to a fun “Music Lesson” featuring dance-acting. It was a lot of fun.

Baha'i 101

Yesterday, the Campus Interfaith Council held a "Baha'i 101" session. A Baha'i graduate student came to present the basics of the Baha'i faith, followed by a good Q&A session. It was a lot of fun and very informative.
Fun fact: The number nine is significant in the Baha'i faith because it is the sum of the numbers correlated with the letters in "Baha'i" (in an Arabic system, not the English, of course).

Concussion Update

Hi All -
I know I have been dreadfully remiss in posting lately; the concussion is still lingering and, as such, my life has been rather boring. But I am on a bunch of drugs that are helping me feel a lot better, and progress is happening. So I will hopefully be posting more and more as I work back up to full speed.
:)

My goodness, it's Thursday!

Time is flying, folks. We're basically halfway through the semester, if you can believe it.
I'm doing my first full day of the week today...I didn't go to a bunch of classes on Tuesday, unfortunately. Today I have five class meetings and a church meeting...here we go! Tomorrow, luckily, I just have a 10 o'clock meeting. And then I have an MRI and MRA along with blood work at MSU's Clinic...time to figure out what's wrong with my brain!

Howdy there!

It's been a while.
: )
I am still concussed...but enjoying life, for the most part. It's a bit too full of drugs and doctor's appointments for my taste, but I'm doing alright.
I am going to more and more classes and have managed to do homework, etc. thus far.

It's exam season on campus - the first midterms in most classes were last week. You could definitely feel the tension!!

Happy Tuesday!

For those of you who were looking forward to more posts with the school year and have been disappointed, I suppose I owe you an explanation...on the condition that you do not panic! : )
Two weekends ago, I smacked my hard pretty hard twice in a row on a kitchen cabinet and then a table. (I am full of grace and poise, what can I say?)
I am okay, but I am suffering a pretty bad concussion. I have an appointment with MSU Neurology sometime this week to try and figure out what is wrong with me and how to get me back on track. So life has been pretty slow and I've been canceling a lot of extracurriculars...thus I have had little to talk about, as most of what I've been doing is sleeping.
Alas.
But life goes on, and I will be totally fine...just take a bit of time to recover!

International Day of Peace

Last night, the Shalom Center for Justice & Peace celebrated the 30th annual International Day of Peace (set up by the United Nations) with an interfaith commemoration of "Voices of Faith & Reason - Compassionate Peace." Local speakers gathered and shared perspectives on global and personal peace. We had some lovely live music as well. For the first time (this is our third year doing an interfaith celebration), campus students outnumbered the older church crowd! Go, MSU!!!

Weekend with the Families

Kevin and I trekked around the state a bit this weekend...Saturday we went to Rochester and got to see his little brother's soccer game. (Josh was goalie in the first half, and we got to see him save several. And then he scored in the second!) Saturday night we celebrated his grandfather's 80th with a big surprise party. I met the entire extended family, pretty much...and there was a baby! :)
Sunday we popped up to Mount Pleasant. Got to hear Papa preach, and then saw the community production of "Rent." A bunch of friends from high school were in it; it was great to see everyone.

ANP 416

Anthropology of Southern Africa is a great class. We run like a book club – read a book a week, come and talk about it. We’re doing theory, gender roles, anecdotes…it’s loads of fun. I got to do a mini-lecture on Marxism.
Good day.

Oh, the revisisions

Good news: MSU will be endorsing me for the Mitchell, Rhodes, and Marshall UK applications.
Bad news: I have SO MUCH revising to do.
SO MUCH.

Makovsky and al-Omari are in town!

Today we have two prominent speakers on campus. They will be holding a discussion on the possible consequences of Palestine's bid for statehood at the UN.

At 7:30, the program will be streamed live at http://wkar.org/live/ivs/.

More info, stolen from the flyer:
“Israeli-Palestinian Peace Prospects: What Comes Next?”
WHY: The current situation between the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority is difficult and complicated. Many (including the Obama administration) believe that the next step should be the resumption of direct negotiations between the two parties. Others pin their hopes on a plan by the Palestinian representatives to seek a unilateral declaration of statehood in the United Nations beginning September 20 -- a move controversial even among advocates of a two-state solution as counterproductive and damaging of the prospects for real peace.
WHAT: The “Real Partners. Real Peace” coalition is leading an initiative to bring to campuses across the country informed views on the situation. These forums will feature two experienced observers and participants in Israeli/Palestinian negotiations exploring the implications and consequences of seeking a unilateral declaration of a Palestinian state at the UN.

David Makovsky is the Ziegler distinguished fellow and director of The Washington Institute's Project on the Middle East Peace Process. He is co-author with Dennis Ross of Myths, Illusions, and Peace: Finding a New Direction for America in the Middle East.
Ghaith al-Omari is Executive Director at the American Task Force on Palestine (ATFP). Prior to that, he served within the Palestinian Authority as Director of the International Relations Dept in the Office of the President, and as advisor to former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas.


In addition to the evening event, I get to have lunch with them and attend a smaller lecture at 3.

Remembering 9/11

The East Lansing faith communities held a wonderful interfaith commemoration service yesterday. People from Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Unitarian Universalist, and Baha'i traditions shared reflections about 9/11. We packed the Hannah Community Center Auditorium. It was a really great event.
And, in a shout-out to Mum - we opened with "This is My Song!"

Dinner at Yael's

Professor Aronoff - the international relations senior seminar instructor - had the class over for dinner tonight, to encourage everyone to get to know each other. For a few of us, it was a study abroad reunion, as the entire Aronoff family came to Israel with us in summer 2010. So I got to see the kids again (I scored 2 goals on Aidan the soccer champ!) and Yael's dad, who's a blast. (Yes, I also talked with other students. But I get to see them every Tuesday and Thursday, and I see the Aronoff clan much less often.)

Freshman Reunion!

I had lunch with Bailey, Elena, and Chris today. We were very close in freshman year, then I moved off campus and didn't see them quite as much. And last year, Lena spent the entire year in China...so I haven't seen her in a year and a half or so. Reunion time! We had a lot of fun.

Honors College Picnic!

We welcomed the Honors College freshman class to MSU last night with a picnic in the Student Services Garden. All the HC student groups gave a quick intro to what they do and helped provide food. Yay for massive amounts of cookies purchased from Kroger!

Marshall Interview

Interview round 2 today! The committee was a good number of the same folks, actually.
It can be summed up in two words: I cried.
They asked me "Why North Africa and the Middle East?" I told a story about Pink Doll and lost it a little bit.
Granna got a dark-toned baby doll for me when I was like six weeks old. I LOVED that thing; slept with my "Pink Doll" (her PJs were pink) every night. One day when I was about eight, a friend saw her in my room. "Why do you have a BLACK doll?" It was my first real encounter with racism...it did not make me happy.
Anyways, I didn't totally lose control. But the Assistant Dean definitely had to pass me a box of Kleenex.

Interview!

The interview is over. Thrills, thrills.
I contradicted myself a lot...but hey, I'm a philosopher. I'm allowed to. lol. (We were talking about community-based development versus large, grand schemes…I, of course, favor community development, but want to be an Ivory Tower academic and government advisor. Haha.
It went well, I think. Knew a good number of folks in the room. They asked me which I wanted more – the Rhodes or the Mitchell. Oh dear. Decisions, decisions.

Tomorrow are the Marshall interviews...

Rhodes and Mitchell Internal Interviews!

I have my internal interviews for the Rhodes and Mitchell scholarships today. MSU's committee is selecting who MSU will endorse, so we prepare applications ahead of time and do interviews with the group of faculty and staff to help prepare us if we go forward.
Should be a fun time! My applications for the Rhodes and Mitchell are very different, so we'll see if they try to focus on one or another.

ANP 416

Anthropology 416: Anthropology of Southern Africa
This is one of my core courses for the African Studies Specialization. It is taught by the director of the African Studies Center, who’s pretty epic. It will be a good seminar class focused on discussion…reading one book a week and doing a few book reviews will be the only “assignments.”
I love classes that assume students can be students.
The professor was expecting more of us to drop in panic when we saw how many books were on the syllabus...hahaha.

MC 492

Madison 492: Senior Seminar in International Relations - Israeli Foreign Policy
I'm taking a "real" Madison College course with Yael Aronoff, the woman I studied with in Israel. The Senior Seminars are small group courses, focused on discussion. We do a 30-page paper on a topic of our choosing...I think I'll be doing a paper on international water policies.

PHL 330

Philosophy 330 - Formal Reasoning. aka, Logic.
Lots of fun. Learning how to argue properly, and what truly is "logical."
We're playing with St. Anselm's Ontological Argument for the existence of God today:
"God has all perfections.
"Existence is a perfection.
"God exists."

FUN!
The professor is a blast...which is kind of impressive, for a logic instructor.

ANP 202H

ANP 202: Anthropology - Biocultural Evolution. It's one of the core requirements for the Anthro degree. I have delayed taking it because the Honors section kept not fitting in my schedule, and I desperately wanted to take it, because the class sounded so cool.
But, as luck would have it, this semester, the Honors section is being taught by a forensic anthropology. This results in a great bias toward the "bio" side. The instructor for the non-honors section is an epic cultural prof. Alas.
I will be memorizing the human skeleton, along with several other things. Which I suppose will be good for me and potentially useful.
But I was supposed to be having fun learning about how we can see human cultural behaviors emerging in primate groups, not just how our bones came from the monkeys.
Tear.

EC 410

EC 410: Economics in Developing Countries
This course is (you guessed it!) about economic issues in the developing countries of the world. It is going to be a highly quantitative class, focused on a learning a lot of economic models used to explain economic patterns around the world.
I really like the professor (shocking, I know).
And - here's the best part! - instead of taking a final exam, I get to write a case study on a country. And the instructor has already agreed that I can write on the complication that is Israel-Palestine, rather than a strict "country."
Gonna be a good semester. Math! Poverty! Fixing poverty!

The Thumb

This weekend, I had my first experience in "The Thumb." My boyfriend's extended families have vacation houses in the "thumb" of the lower peninsula of Michigan, and we visited all around for Labor Day Weekend. I met his Mom and Stepdad in Lexington, Michigan, where we got to hear the local folk music festival. Then we drove up miles of beautiful Lake Huron shoreline to Port Austin, where we saw his father's extended family. Lots of fun and hilarity was had by all.
Because of the way the United Methodist Church is set up, I have done work almost exclusively in Western Michigan, and the west half of the mitten is the only place Dad has ever had churches. As a result, I've spent relatively little time on the eastern side of the Mitten. So this was my first time in the Thumb...I may be obsessed now, though.

Hello Again!

My apologies for being incredibly MIA over the summer...life was crazy busy. However, I am now happily back into the swing of classes, and I will be once again regularly updating this blog (there should be at least one post a day). So be prepared to be bombarded with ramblings from the life of Becca!

Almost done in DC!

I'm in my last four days in DC...I have an interview with the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations on Friday, and then my boyfriend is coming. We are picking up one of my hosts at the airport on Saturday, and then heading back to Michigan on Sunday. Classes begin the 31st; I'll have just over a week to finish up summer activities...and then back to the glory that is the academic semester!

Udall Scholars Orientation

I am in Tucson, Arizona for the next few days, participating in the Scholars Orientation of the Udall Foundation. It is environmental hippy heaven over here! Flying into Arizona reminded me of how much I miss the desert...it's nice to see the mountains and the sand! The next few days are crammed with speakers, workshops, and group chats about ways to mobilize. It's going to be quite the whirlwind...so here we go!

Visitors!

Shammi has had way too much attention lately...the dog has had a six-year-old girl, a nine-year-old birthday boy, and two loving college students to play with.
Becca has also rather enjoyed the visits.
:)
We have been all over the place - Newseum, Archives, Museum of Natural History, Capitol Building, etc.

We also went for absurdly good food - pad thai at Thai Roma, steak and ravioli at Amici Miei (fancy Italian where Dad took me for my birthday), and delightful homemade brunch today.

Home Alone

Franna and Leila (my hosts) have headed off to Israel for the summer...so the puppy and I are home alone!
Not for long, though; family friends are coming to visit on Tuesday!

The end of an era

"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" hit movie theaters yesterday...marking the end of an era. My friends have repeatedly said "I feel like my childhood is over."
Amy is coming to stay the night and we're going to see it Sunday morning. She saw it at midnight, but is up for seeing it again...so here we go!

BRUNCH

Has humanity ever come up with a better idea that brunch? I think not.
This morning was a rather fantastic morning. Woke up and read some political articles on the Middle East. Took Shammi for a run. Took a shower. Made brunch.
What was for brunch, you ask? I shall tell you!
Apple strudel bread, French toasted in eggs, nutmeg, freshly-squeezed orange juice, and orange zest, topped with strawberries that have been soaked in orange juice and organic maple syrup. And then scrambled eggs with nutmeg, freshly-ground pepper, freshly-squeezed orange juice, and orange zest.
Sensory sensation, baby.
The problem with Sunday brunch: You automatically feel the need to nap afterward. Even when you have an insane amount of work to do.

Birthday Weekend!

My apologies for having not posted in several weeks…life got crazy! And then the blog server went down and I had technical difficulties trying to post.
Last Sunday was my 21st birthday. Mom, Dad, and Granna came to visit in DC, and we had a marvelous time! Toured the Air and Space Museum, visited the Zoo, had a scrumptious birthday dinner and bottle of wine, and watched the fireworks on the Mall. Thanks for visiting, beloved family!

Shabbat at Rabbi Leila's

Yesterday we hosted Shabbat services at the house. It was really fun - 16 congregants came over to the rabbi's house, and we did a regular Jewish service with plenty of singing. In place of a traditional Torah reading, we took a "tour" of the house, learning about the significance of various Jewish ritual objects. And then onto the potluck (it's not just Methodists who eat whenever more than two of them are in a room)!

Becca Murders Every Asian Cuisine Style at Once...

...and it tastes bloody good.
Tonight's dinner creation:
1. Saute sweet red peppers in teriyaki sauce and sesame oil (or, since technically we don't have sesame oil, a shitake sesame oil-based dressing, and a honey teriyaki sauce).
2. Slowly cook small pieces of chicken in boiling teriyaki sauce.
3. Fast-fry scrambled eggs with some teriyaki sauce.
4. Boil Ramen noodles for two minutes and instantly drain.
5. Fry Ramen noodles in peanut butter, slowly adding a bit of water at a time to create a sauce base.
6. Stir peppers, chicken, and eggs into Ramen peanut butter and stir well.
7. Bring entire creation to boil while stirring, and wonder if this is going to be any good.
8. Eat...and realize that yes, it's going to be blasted good.

Culinary Genius

I have had an incredible day, culinarily-speaking. Made some French toast with cinnamon raisin bread and scrambled the remaining egg dip (flavored with half 'n' half and cinnamon). Did a bit of chicken seasoned with lemon pepper, paprika, chili, garlic, and dried onion. And...some chicken marinated in A1 for dinner. Not just for steaks, people.
Utterly delightful.

Totally has been "domestic day." I also took care of laundry, cleaned, and cuddled with the dog. Moving on to get some academic work done as well, now.

Love you all - and have a wonderful day, fathers out there! (And everyone else.)

Coin Collecting Dork-Out

I had a geek-out moment today, when I was told I know one of the designers of the 2005 nickel. The coin collecting dork instilled in me by Uncle Al got very, very excited.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Joe Fitzgerald. He designed the new Jefferson profile for the front of all nickles as well as the back "Lewis & Clark" scene.
Want an autographed nickel? I can make that happen!

MANDY PATINKIN!!

My hosts in DC and I got to go see Mandy Patinkin in concert tonight. (Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride, among many other wonderful things.) Mandy's always great in concert - he sings mostly Broadway stuff (Becca's favorite) with some other fun melodies mixed in. Tonight I got to chant "trouble" while he sang "Trouble Right Here in River City" from The Music Man...and he suddenly turned political and subbed in "Bernie Madoff" for "Harold Hill." Sheer brilliance.
And he sang "Cat's in the Cradle," which always makes Gregory and I cry. But this time it was worse - because we had a special appearance by his son Gideon, who sang it with him. They then sang several others together and were thoroughly adorable.
Nothin' better to make the world seem like a wonderful place than some good ol' showtunes!

It's Friday!

Had another wonderful Shabbat dinner with friends of my hosts. This weekend I will be taking Amy her air mattress (she flew down, and I drove, so I brought it down for her with my much less limited luggage space). Other than that, I'm mostly researching like a fiend. One of these days I should have some writing to post. Until then, I hope everyone's summer is going well!

Shopping Adventure!

I managed to find the Target. It took a bit of work. Google maps told me to turn somewhere on a road that now has a different name, so I toured Rockville a bit. But I found it!
And it's huge. Parked in a parking garage, then I went in and found that this Target has fresh produce that is reasonably priced (yay - only one-stop shopping required this summer!). And it has two floors with - wait for it - escalators for the shopping carts.
Yes. It was fairly awesome.

Saturday in Georgetown

I have acquired my summer bike! Yesterday one of my hosts drove me to the bike shop where her daughter’s bike (which is no longer being used by said daughter) was getting tuned up. So now I have transportation and can very easily get myself to and from the Metro station, which is nice.
In the afternoon, I Metroed into Georgetown (an adventure on a holiday weekend, when many fewer trains run, and a double adventure since I took my bike on the train) and saw some friends. A guy who studied with me in Egypt in Summer 2009 just graduated from American University; he and I grabbed ice cream and chatted (not surprisingly, mostly about politics). We ended up in the strangest place: The downstairs was your average neighborhood ice cream shop – a counter, ice cream toppings, etc. But the upstairs was a collection of couches and sofa chairs with neon lights, a laser ball, streamers, and techno music playing. They weren’t separate establishments; it was the ice cream parlor’s lounge. It was very strange. I felt out of place eating ice cream in such an atmosphere…brought new meaning to the phrase “ice cream bar.”
And I finally got my date with Amy. We managed to plan a time, place, and even day to meet up this time. We strolled around Georgetown’s adorable downtown, went shopping, ate a really good dinner. (Really good – I had filet mignon with yummy grilled vegetables and balsamic glaze.)

My hosts are now in Baltimore for the weekend, so I have a quiet weekend with the dog. I also have the car, so I'll be using my day off to go grocery shopping. (I will probably do that today in an effort to miss the Memorial Day crowds, though there will probably be an obnoxious number of people out shopping for tomorrow's barbecues...oh well.)

Scheduling Oops

Note to self: When you make plans with a friend over the weekend, make sure you are both making plans for the same day. A friend and I were going to meet at the Air & Space Museum this past weekend, at 10:30 am. We were going to see the Museum, then go to lunch.
Saturday, I got a call at 10:20 am.
I was planning to be there Sunday at 10:30 am.
Oops.

Life Post-Rapture

It was fun to be in DC during all of the “Gloom and Doom” warnings. The signs and street preaching on my way into work each day were very entertaining, and really started the day off well. : )
But Saturday came and went, and no one was taken to Heaven (at least as far as I know). So back the daily grind we went.
I’m personally very glad – my Jewish hosts were laughing about the fact that I may not be with them for dinner on Saturday, and I had to convince that I was rather hoping I would be!

Shabbat Shalom!

I had a wonderful Shabbat dinner with my hosts tonight. They are Reconstructionist Jews, a denomination strongly centered on issues of social justice. We had a short service blessing the candles and the bread, and then ate and shared stories. Was a wonderful night and excellent food. (I'm always a friend of challah bread...)

Rockville, MD

I am all nicely settled in Rockville, Maryland for the summer. My commute isn't bad at all, and I have a wonderful mini poodle named "Shammi." Shammi and I get to take walks every day; we're having a blast. My hosts are headed out of the country in July. I will probably take Shammi out running with me in the morning when that happens as well, which will loads o' fun.

Becca's Career Path

As I write the applications for the UK Scholarships, a process involving a lot of exploration of higher education in Britain and Ireland, it is becoming more and more clear to me that I am inevitably going to enter academia. I might as well just give in now.
I would enjoy it, certainly. Heaven knows I'm enough of a nerd. And NO ONE is looking at food security in the Middle East and North Africa. It is becoming absolutely maddening.
So here we go. Enter Becca's new future path.

Happily in DC

I am happily and safely arrived in DC. My host family is absolutely wonderful. Spending a nice lazy Sunday today unpacking and getting some research hours done before the real fun starts tomorrow at my internship!

And we're off!

I'm headed to DC tonight for my internship. I will be blogging on this site a bit about my time in DC, but I'll be heavily occupied in the office and doing thesis research. So forgive me if posts don't come all that regularly!
Becca loves you madly.
Happy summer!
:)