A holy peace: Abrahamic interconnectivity and collective identity framing in Israel/Palestine

Frames are shortcuts or cognitive devices individuals use to understand social situations or activities. They play a particularly important role in protracted social conflict as a lens through which disputants interpret their situation and enemies. It is divergent frames that lead to the escalation and prolongation of engagements and are important tools for understanding a conflict as prolonged as the Israeli-Palestinian one. This study employs a method of frame analysis; specifically frame bridging, to reframe a collective identity among Israelis and Palestinians based on a common and interconnected history, a shared geographic continuity in Palestine, and conjoint teachings and traditions of Abrahamic faith. This thesis explores the possibility of bridging such a collective identity and demonstrates the impact it might have on the peace process. By situating the new identity in the framework of a shared state for Israelis and Palestinians, this study argues that a discussion of alternative frameworks beyond partition plans is required if sustainable peace is to ever be realized.