ABSTRACT
This chapter shows issues raised by the peace process particularly where the Palestinian side were deeply embedded in history of Zionism. It explains relationship between the Israel and the Jewish diaspora. Israel is not the only country to have an active diaspora, directing its attention to the doings of the country with which it identifies on historical or religious grounds. Despite presence of large numbers of Palestinian Arabs both in the West Bank and Gaza and in Israel itself, the Palestinian diaspora has so far had to operate on the earlier Zionist model, being largely devoted to fund-raising to keep its institutions in being. The diaspora Jews, including American Jews, have not undergone the experience as an embattled, at the same time, an occupying power which has led to Israels willingness to contemplate running risks for peace. Most Jews living in western Europe were concerned with their relations with their host communities than with aspirations to a separate national identity.
