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Before delving into potential "candidates," it is important to consider what the actual role of the Presidency of the Islamic Republic of Iran is, and what its future relation to the Supreme Leader may be. (Those just interested in the horse race, can skip to the list below.)Wither Presidency?In my answer to the question, What is the relationship between the President and Supreme Leader of Iran? I explained the evolution of the Islamic Republic's political order. To summarize, the "First Republic" had a powerful Prime Minister and a largely ceremonial presidency; both serving under an all powerful, but somewhat distant Ayatollah Khomeini. The "Second Republic" would see the elimination of the prime minister, replacing it instead with a dominant president, Hashemi Rafsanjani, that was to coexist with what was initially a weak Mr. Khamenei, as Supreme Leader.That arrangement did not quite work out as planned. Slowly but surely, Khamenei built up his power base, and began to challenge the presidency. For the last two decades, we have had a dysfunctional relationship, alternating between an uncomfortable cohabitation, and outright hostility.The contested election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Leader's handpicked man, was supposed to change all that. This President would be the Leader's self-declared agent, carrying out his policies. But Ahmadinejad's re-election in 2009, much even more contested, was a rude awakening. Now determined to forge his own independent path, he has repeatedly disobeyed Khamenei's wished. He has also picked public fights with the Leader's friends and allies, embarrassing everyone involved. (See Will Mahmoud Ahmadinejad be put in jail after his term is over?)Plainly, this Second Republic is broken, and some fundamental change is necessary if the regime hopes to preserve itself. Khamenei has hinted that he may wish to scrap the presidency all together, and bring back the Prime Minister, who would presumably be easier to control and dismiss. And the timing of the upcoming election adds to the drama. The Islamic Republic is arguably in its most precarious position since its inception in 1979 (the early years of the war with Iraq, and the death of the founder, Khomeini, are the only other comparable points.) The unrelenting sanctions continue to squeeze the country; the economy is in a tail spin, and the currency is collapsing. The specter of war is a constant threat, especially in light of developments with Syria.As we saw with the Green Movement uprising, and its brutal suppression, the populace is restless and could revolt at any moment. Finally, Mr. Khamenei must be dealing with his own mortality. While at 73 he is relatively young, at least by Mullah standards (most seem to live well into their 90's,) he must at least be considering that the next president could be his last, and what that could mean for a transition to his successor, his family, and his friends. Of particular concern would have to be the relationship with his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, who is said to be his father's "chief of staff," or head of office, and who he reportedly wants to succeed him.The lead up to the election has been the most tense in the Republic's history. Ordinarily, by this point, the candidates would have announced their intentions and begun campaigning.And while with the opening of the 5 day registration period on Tuesday, May 7, some 140 people have already thrown their hat in the ring, only 3-4 of these are likely to be approved by the Guardian Council, before the opening round election in June. Speculation is rife about the intention of other figures. (The serious registered candidates are Hassan Rouhani, Mohsen Rezaee, Kamran Bagheri Lankarani, Mohammad Saeedikia, and Mostafa Kavakebian.)The following are the most likely potential candidates to declare, and have any chance being approved the Council, in no particular order, and my assessment of their viability.Ultra-conservatives and Khamenei loyalistsThe "2+1" Group. The first 3 figures have formed a caucus and declared that they will chose one amongst themselves as a candidate. If they stick to the vow, it will be assumed that Khamenei approved the choice. He would thus be guaranteed for approval, and emerge as the frontrunner.1. Ali Akbar Velayati. 67, is former Foreign Minister, Supreme Leader's senior adviser on international affairs.Dr. Velayati is a pediatirician, and specialized in infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University. He is very close to Khamenei, who once wanted to make him prime minister (before Mir-Hossein Mousavi was forced on him.) He was Foreign Minister for nearly 20 years, and so has a relationship with the broad spectrum of political elites. The Rafsanjani camp, conservatives, even reformists, would potentially approve of him. However, he has not been involved in domestic politics in over 30 years, so he is not likely to be a particularly dynamic candidate, with much appeal to voters. He is also not known to be particularly favored by the Revolutionary Guards Corps, perhaps the most powerful force in the country.2. Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, 68. Member of Majlis (Parliment), former speaker.Mr. Haddad-Adel is said to be very close to Khamenei, and his statements in Parliament are often interpreted as coming from the Leader. Solidifying the bond, his daughter happens to be married to the aforementioned Mojtaba Khamenei. While Adel has previously stated his interest in the job, and would be favored by conservatives, like Velayati, he has no particular support among the electorate. In parliamentary elections, he was supported by barely 25% of eligible voters, and is even less popular outside the capital. While Khamenei may want him, I have my doubts if he is ready to promote a member of his family to the presidency.3. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, 51, Mayor of Tehran.Prior to the mayorship, Mr. Ghalibaf was Chief of Police, and before that, a general in the Revolutionary Guards. He was a conservative candidate in the 2005 elections, and was widely seen as the Leader's first choice. But in the campaign, he was a bit too, shall we say, flamboyant. Wearing all white suits and aviator glasses, he even declared, as president, he would be like an "Islamist" Shah and a modernizer. That would be too much for the staid Khamenei, who quietly shifted his support, and thus the election, to Ahmadinejad. He has rebuilt the relationship, but perhaps not quite enough to be approved. After 8 years of Ahmadinejad's drama, Khamenei will likely be looking for a much more low key, and manageable, president. Ghalibaf is also particularly hated by younger Iranians, and Reformists. As police chief, he was behind the brutal suppresion of the 1999 student protests, and was an admitted foe of former President Mohammad Khatami.4. Saeed Jalili, 47. Secretary of the Supreme National SecurityLike many other Iranian politico's of his generation, Mr. Jalili is a veteran of the Iran-Iraq War. However, unlike many of the elite, he spent most of his time on the front line, where he lost his right leg, and survived two Iraqi chemical gas attacks. This makes him particularly popular with younger members of the Guards, and especially the Basij miitia, whose support is what ensured Ahmadinejad's election.As the prayer mark on his forehead shows, Jalili is a religious zealot, which would appeal to ultra-conservatives. The extremist website Serat News heavily supports him, as does the semi-official newspaper, Kayhan, and its powerful editor, Hossein Shariarmadari. But like some other candidates, he has never participated in electoral politics, and is not popular in the country. He is also not regarded as particularly bright, even by his supporters.5. Ali Akbar Salehi, 64. Current Foreign Minister.Mr. Salehi started out as a professor, later chancellor, at the highly regard Aryamehr (or Sharif) University of Technology. Appointed as permanent representative to International Atomic Energy Agency by then president Khatami, before being named to head the Atomic Energy Agency, and finally, the foreign ministry. Salehi has been a key Khamenei advisor in nuclear issues, as well as an important envoy to regional allies in Iraq and Syria. Like Jalili and Velayati, he has no "domestic" experience or support to draw on, but he may emerge as a compromise candidate if no one else from this camp comes forward. Mr Salehi was born in the holy city of Karbala, Iraq. Not a particular rarity in ultraconservative clerical families, but if he is a candidate, the voter's reaction to his foreign birth would be interesting.Other potential candidates in this group include Mostafa Pourmohammadi, Manouchehr Mottaki, and Kamran Bagheri Lankarani.Independent Conservatives6. Ali Larijani. 54, Speaker of the Majlis.Mr. Larijani ran for president as a conservative in 2005, but like Ghalibaf, he was discarded By Khamenei for Ahmadinejad, and ended up with less than 6% of the vote. But he would go on to appoint him as Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, and as chief nuclear negotiator, before becoming Majlis Speaker in 2008. As head of the legislative branch, he would come to clash with President Ahmadinejad, although they are both from the same conservative coalition. This inter-branch conflict has been without precedent in the Islamic Republic, as the Majlis has repeatedly overturned executive decisions, impeached appointees, and forced the president to defend himself before them. For his part, Ahmadinejad has ignored their requests, or insulted the leadership, accusing the parliament of overstepping their bounds and corruption. Apparently, this public squabbling has infuriated Khameni, who would force both of them to apologize. Once seen as the front runner among conservatives, the feud with Ahmadinejad has caused his stock to fall.Also potentially working against him are his powerful family connections. His brother Sadeq, is Chief Justice, and thus head of the Judicial branch. Among his other brothers, one, Mohammad-Javad, is head of the Iranian "Human Rights Council." The others, Fazel and Baqer are very prominent as well. He is also related to, directly and by marriage, to the powerful Tavakoli, Bahonar, and Motahari families. Once again, after the negative experience of the past 4 years, and dealing with the surly independence of Ahmadinejad, Khamenei is not likely to want to see a president with such a powerful base of support. Larijani is the scion of a family with stronger claims to leadership than his own, and one day could easily challenge him. Even worse, it would potentially over run his heirs. That said, if he decides he wants to run, it would be very difficult for the Council to not approve of the Speaker, and Larijani would be a formidable candidate. As of yet, he has not revealed his intentions. Like Mr Salehi, Larijani was born in Iraq, in the holy city of Najaf.7. Mohsen Rezaee. 58, Secretary of the Expediency Discernment CouncilAs a youth, Mr. Rezaee joined the para-military groups loyal to Khomeini who took part in the Revolution, and more importantly, helped defeat other revolutionary groups. These gangs would eventually be merged into the Revolutionary Guards Corps. At only 27, Rezaee was named as chief commander of the Corps, a post he held for nearly 20 years. Throughout the Iraq war and beyond, he was one of the most powerful men in the country. In 2009, he ran for the presidency, but would come in 3rd in that highly suspect race.Rezaee is not seen as particularly close to the Leader, perhaps because while was the all powerful commander, Khamenei was a powerless ceremonial president. Nor is Rezaee popular with the Guards. This is just conjecture, but perhaps some of the senior staff resent having been denied promotion, while he held reins for so long. Or perhaps the great wealth he accumulated while they suffered at war is the issue. In any case, they did not support his presidential aspirations in 2005 or 2009, instead going with Ahmadinejad, who was a much lower ranked member of the Guards. And while there is no reason to think he will be more popular with the electorate than he in his last run, he may emerge as a compromise candidate among the conservatives, who could be acceptable to the Rafsanjani faction, and even some reformists.8. Ali Akbar Nategh-Nouri. 68, Former Speaker of Majlis.Mr. Nateq-Nouri was Interior Minister, before he followed Rafsanjani as Speaker, and attempted to succeed him as President in '97. In that election, he was supported by Khamenei, the leadership of the Guards, and all other conservative forces. But in a shock he would be defeated by Mr. Khatami, who won over 70 percent of the vote. Nouri has been been in semi-retirement since then, but has has been the frequent target of Ahmadinejad's attacks for alleged corruption.There is no indication that he would any more popular with the electorate, but he is a paragon of the old line conservatives. Khamenei was once firmly in that group, before he cast his lot with Ahmadinejad and the "neo-cons," and he may want return to the fold to restore order.Centrists9. Hassan Rouhani. 65, Former chief nuclear negotiator.Mr. Rouhani is the ultimate compromise figure in the Islamic Republic, with a foot in many different camps. An early follower of Ayatollah Khomeini, he was selected to the first post-revolution Majlis, and remained there for 20 years. He was very close to Rafsanjani, and was the latter's deputy when he was made acting commander in chief of the military. When Khamenei became Supreme Leader, he appointed Rouhani as his representative to the National Security Council. While he was a member of the "conservative" party, he is well regarded by the "reformist" party, and worked in the administration of President Khatami. As noted, Rouhani was among the first to announce his candidacy, and it would be very hard for the the Council to not approve of him.He has said, if elected, he would prepare a civil rights charter, restore the faltering economy and improve Iran's international relations. As the nuclear negotiator under President Khatami, he built a good rapport with his western counterparts, and has spoken publicly about "compromises" on the issue. Now, all of those are contrary to the Leader's stated positions. But if he is thinking about preserving the system by ending the factional civil war, restoring the economy, and bringing the country somewhat out of its current international isolation, Mr. Rouhani would seem to be an ideal candidate.Reformists and Re-constructionistsThe immediate aftermath of the 2009 elections was a declaration of war on the so-called Reformist party. Many of its tacticians were arrested, forced to make confessions of espionage and treason, and put in jail. With the escalation of the protests, the principal leaders, Moussavi and Karoubi, founding fathers of the Revolution, were placed under house arrest. Much the same fate would fall on the the team of technocrats around Rafsanjani, known as the reconstructionsits. The latter would be a particullar target for Ahmadinejad. Former presidents Khatami and Rafsanjani were warned that they could be next, and their families punished as a demonstration. Their movement is all but shut down, and no significant figure will be allowed to register, much less be approved. However, several potential candidates with some ties to them have remained with the regime, and may try to take up the cause in the election.10. Mohammad-Reza Aref. 61, Member of the Expediency Council.A professor of electrical engineering, he received his master's and Ph.D. degrees from Stanford University. During the Khatami administration, he served as Minister of Communications and Information Technology, then as the head of Management and Planning Organization of Iran. Finally, he was named as Khatami's first vice president.11. Mohammad-Ali Najafi. 61, mathematics professor.Dr. Najafi was in gradual school at M.I.T., but dropped out to return to Iran at the time of the Revolution. He would go on to become Minister of Science and Technology in the cabinet of Mir-Hossein Mousavi and after that, Minister of Education in the cabinet of Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. Finally, he was appointed head of Center for Planning and Budget in the cabinet of Khatami. He is currently the leader of the Executives of Construction Party, an organization founded by, and close to Rafsanjani.Neither of these two gentleman is very well known, or likely to have much electoral success. But if they are allowed to register, it may be a sign that Khamenei is allowing their parties back in. That may be the green light for other more prominent figures, maybe even the principal leaders, to come forward.The Former PresidentsThe consititution limits presidents to two consecutive terms, but they are not barred from seeking job again. In many ways, the administration of the next two gentlemen was the high point for the Islamic Republic, economically, socially, and in terms of international standing and prestige. While neither left office particularly popular, there is a groundswell of support for them, in hopes of restoring some degree of normalcy after 8 years Ahmadinejad and conservative dominance.12. Hashemi Rafsanjani. 78, Chairman of the Expediency Council.Mr. Rafsanjani's Revolutionary resume is rather long. After Khomeini himself, he was arguably the second most important figure in establishing the Islamic Republic, and was the key leader for 20 years. He would also become fabulously wealth, no doubt the richest man in the country. He tried to regain the presidency in 2005, but was defeated in very suspicious circumstances by Ahmadinejad, and the two have been at odd since. Rafsanjani is seen as the leader of the "technocrat" party, and those dedicated to economic reform. It is virtually inconceivable that the Council would not approve a man they approved multiple time before.As noted, he did not leave office with much popularity amongst the electorate, but with his resources, powerful allies and aides, he could emerge as unifying force. And if Khamenei did not oppose him, and decided not use the Guards and Basij militia against him, as he did in 2005, he would be difficult for anyone to beat. Khamenei has tried to sideline Rafsanjani, dismissing him from important posts, and publicly saying he disagreed with him. But if he is genuinely concerned about the survival of the system, who better than its main architect to restore it.13. Mohammad Khatami, 69.Mr. Khatami is no doubt the most popular political figure in the history of the Islamic Republic. In both of his elections, he won by some 70% of the vote. He also led his Reformist allies to similarly impressive wins in legislative and municipal elections. But by the end of his second term, his supporters were very disappointed with his failure to make any meaningful changes. And there was real anger with his inability, or perhaps unwillingness, to defend the hundreds killed and imprisoned for supporting him. That said, if he ran, all indications are that he would be a prohibitive frontrunner, and could re-assemble the coalition that drove him to victory.As the leader of the Reformists, he is hated by Ahmadinejad and his neo-cons, as well as the leadership of the Guards (although many of the rank and file supported him in the past.) He was also opposed by the conservatives, but after Ahmadinejad, they may feel this cleric with impeccable revolutionary credentials is their best hope. He is after all, one of them, and will be popular with the people, while not pushing radical changes too far. No doubt he is not high on Khamenei's list, but he too may see him as the best hope of reversing the system's decline.So far, the former presidents have been very coy with their intentions. Both have said, they don't want to come forward, but will serve, if they must. Both have also encouraged the other to run. But they have not shut the door, and there are indications that some of the registered candidates are trial balloons and place holders, should they decide to get in. Mr. Rouhani, for example, made his announcement with Rafsanjani's children behind him, and announced he would withdraw if their father got in.Ahmadinejad AcolytesThis segment is perhaps the most interesting aspect to the 2013 elections. 8 years ago, Ahmadinejad was the darling of conservatives. For his sake, Khamenei would forsake his old friend Rafsanjani, and then his own cousin, Moussavi. It is a decision that he almost certainly regrets today. The Leader's relationship with Ahmadinejad has been far worse than it was with either of his predecessors. Even Khatami, who was ostensibly from a different party, not step over the red lines. In his second term, Ahmadinejad has shown no such respect. And what is worse, he is not going away quietly. He is actively working to elect one of his own men as the next president, and maintain influence. Perhaps he even wants to pull the switcheroo in four years, a la Putin-Medvedev.14. Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, 52. Advisor to the President, and the Presidential Secretariat of the Non-Aligned Movement.Mr. Rahim Mashaei is Ahmadinejad closest aid and confidant, having been with his partner throughout their political careers. Their children are married to each other, to boot. But, for reasons that are better explained elsewhere, Rahim Mashaei is loathed by conservatives. Every time Ahmadinejad has promoted him, first as Vice President, then Chief of Staff, Khamenei's office has had him fired. But the two would not give up, constantly trying new areas to raise Rahim Mashaei's profile, and appointing him to nearly 20 commissions and posts. Conservatives call Mashei part of the "Deviant" and "Perverted" group. Or they accuse him of being Ahmadinejad's Rasputin, casting a wicked spell over him. They have made not so veiled threats to have him arrested, or eliminated.While no overt acts have been taken yet, Ahmadinejad has clearly hinted that he wants his BFF to run. Under normal circumstances, the conservative Guardian Council would simply deny his application, but that might create greater problems. The President might make a public fight, disrupting the registration of other candidates, or he may not cooperate in running the election. Ultimately, he may chose not to leave office on time, forcing the regime to arrest him. It may be easier for conservatives to allow their bete noire to run, and hope for the best.15. Gholam-Hossein Elham, 54. Spokesman for the President.If Rahim Mashei does not run, the Ahmadinejad clique may try other associates, such as Mr. Elham. Before he was spokesman, he served as the president’s legal advisor and chief of staff. He was also the Minister of Justice, spokesman for the Judiciary and chief of Iran’s Drug Enforcement Office. From 2003 to 2008, Elham was a member of Iran’s Guardian Council, which may complicate efforts by his erstwhile colleagues to dismiss his application

To quote a man named Archie Williams who was in prison for 37 years for a crime he did not commit and it took close to 27 years for the Innocence Project to get the BOP to release him: “Freedom is of the mind”.I spent 1163 days in jail May of 2006 - July of 2009 and the rest in prison from July of 2009 - December 2014. For every month I was in prison, I received 10 days off my prison sentence (called “gain time”). Every year had the potential to earn 120 days off my prison sentence and I received that every year until my sentence was done. If I hadn’t done that, I wouldn’t be here until 2021.Every time I received my gain time sheet, it brought me closer to freedom. Long story short, on December 21st 2014, I was on a bus from Tallahassee to Orlando Florida where a place to live had been prearranged with the help of a placement service with which I had been corresponding when my release date was finalized. A few of those who had been released a month or two earlier, a couple of ministry personnel and a representative of the placement service met me at the Orlando terminal upon my arrival. It was late at night and I got settled into the house (with 2 other people in their respective bedrooms) in my room, given a box of shirts and pants and some canned goods. December 21st 2014 was my first night of freedom in a bed (not a rack) by myself (not with 70 other men in the same dorm, since May 6, 2006. I slept like a rock.The next morning I was taken to registration to register my address at the Sheriff’s Office in downtown Orlando. Then I was taken to the Driver’s License place to get an I.D. card. The next day I was introduced to my probation officer at the D.O.C. location in Orlando. I was getting back into the swing of things by that time. I don’t recall ever thinking about how the other guys I left behind were doing back at Calhoun C.I.The next 3 months were filled with activities, church, errands to be run with my host as we drove around town to get me familiarized, and the most important thing … getting my Social Security Retirement checks set up. I was 62 years old then and we had to get special dispensation to file early (instead of waiting for me to be 65). Then, in mid-March of 2015 I was taken to the hospital by ambulance, unconscious having dropped on the kitchen floor of the house. Two days later I awoke in the hospital and at that point I was diagnosed with End Stage Renal Disease. My kidneys had stopped working completely. The surgeons also removed my large intestine due to the immense sepsis, and unblocked my bladder (the culprit of my kidney failure) with a catheter. I was in the hospital from mid-March 2015 to the first week in July 2015.My thoughts were about survival. I never looked back to the days of my incarceration. I HAD to look forward to my healing first. Concentrated only on that and my prayers that followed. I had given my life to Jesus back in jail on November 11, 2007. My faith and the positive mental attitude I had gave me strength to mow through all of this. My host (now a very good Christian friend) had made sure my room was not rented out to anyone else because I would be back and would make good on the back rent.When I was in prison, I was already deemed as “old school” and it was “hands off” to anyone who wanted to do nasty things to me. Over a short period of time, I became used to the routine at the compound. I got a job at the chow hall and I was on the shift that served lunch and dinner, so I was out of that 70-man dormitory for a major portion of the time. From 5a.m. to 10:30a.m. Monday-Friday there were things I did in the dorm. Mostly I was writing … anything that had a spiritual bent on it. I submitted many articles to a prison ministry based in Auburn, IN. I was published pretty regularly. I also helped some of the guys write letters back home. We did have a prayer circle and we pretty much stuck with each other. Sometimes, we’d pool our resources, went to commissary to buy some soft tortillas, Slim Jims, Ramen noodles, dill pickles, and other “ingredients” to make a real tasty “goulash”. We were eight in our prayer circle. We knew who had money and who didn’t. We made tortilla wraps with the goulash fillings and gave to those who had nothing.During that morning time, our dorm and others on the same side of the compound went to commissary one day and the rec field the next. At 10:30 a.m. the call for the chow hall workers came to either our dorm (when commissary happened) or the rec yard (when it was our time/day for that). I went to work.The weekends were mine (no work). Saturdays were spent pretty much relaxing. That’s when I did most of my writing (I also wrote letters to my youngest son who was married and had two boys). I would sit “indian-style” on my rack (it was a single bed no upper bunk) place the pillow on my lap, took a couple of legal pads and placed them on the pillow and I wrote. Sundays were for Chapel service. Our chapel had seating capacity for 260 people. Upholstered pews just like a real church. The Praise Team (the band in Chapel) were all in the dorm I was in. It was called the Faith-Based Honors dorm.I think there was only 3 fights I saw over the 4-year period I was in that dorm. I was put into gen pop the first year I was at Calhoun. They lasted approximately a minute or two when one of them got a good beating and capitulated to the stronger. There were a few group fights in the rec yard, but we pretty much distanced ourselves from that general area where the shanks were buried under certain parts of the grass. One would kneel down to “tie his shoe”, pulled the shank out of the shallow hole and it was “game on”.I was involved and interacted as much as I could or would be allowed. I stayed busy. I didn’t get into the politics of the dorm (such as it was). I made my acquaintances my only real contacts. I didn’t have to worry about my life being taken even though pretty much everyone knew the crimes I had committed. I guess one could say there was safety in numbers primarily because many of those people in the Faith-Based Honors dorm committed similar crimes as I did.After I was released from the hospital and back at home, I settled into the domestic lifestyle. My youngest son drove from Sarasota to my home in Orlando in June of 2017. We had been talking on the phone from early 2016 every other Friday (when he was picking up his two sons by his previous marriage to spend the weekend with him). His second wife and their set of two children were over at Disney World and my son drove to my place. It was very special. He took pictures of the two of us and he sent them to his wife’s phone while they were at the hotel. She cried happy tears for the two of us.I remember faces from prison back then. Names seem to evade me now. There was my spiritual mentor in prison and I remembered his name. Talriq. He looked like a big silver-backed gorilla, but he was very soft spoken … unless it was about God and football in that order. LOL. He helped me out so much when I needed to get past my own self-condemnation. I had forgiven everyone else, but I was having a hard time forgiving myself for what I had done. He got me through all of that and I was whole again.When I gave my life to Christ 11/11/07 in jail, my entire life did a complete 180. I was no longer frightened or concerned for my backside or anything like that. The men I associated with I thought were good people for the most part …. convictions notwithstanding. I learned a lot about human nature and what happens when life becomes very rough outside the walls. Saw a lot of people released from jail and then a month or two later were right back in for a 90 to 180 day stint. Three hots and a cot. They couldn’t make it out there in the city. Had it better in jail. I didn’t think that way. My eyes were on what would happen later and what I would do once out. One of the books that I read when I was in jail was “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl. Viktor Frankl is the founder of logotherapy, a form of psychotherapy that he developed after surviving Nazi concentration camps in the 1940s. After his experience in the camps, he developed a theory that it is through a search for meaning and purpose in life that individuals can endure hardship and suffering. The Bible and Mr. Frankl’s book were my primers throughout my stay behind the walls.Not what you expected, eh? No hardship. No beatings. No nightmares. Just one success after another. Success breeds success. Now, in between dialysis treatments, doctors visits, some outpatient operations and living with two other old farts because we can’t make ends meet on our own with our individual incomes I do volunteer work for CollegeGuild.org. They created correspondence courses devoted strictly to prisoners. I am one of 200 volunteers who read and provide feedback from the prisoner’s answer sheets after they’ve studied a unit. When I found out that such an entity existed, I jumped at the chance to be a reader for them. I wanted to give back to those men AND women in prison who are constantly told they are no damn good. I was one of them, but as I said in the beginning and I agree with Archie 110%, “Freedom IS of the mind”.

So, I've noticed that a couple of the other answers here allege that the Arab-Israeli conflict is easy to explain because the only reason it exists is that "the Arabs want to kill all the Jews."What a load of complete and utter drivel.A Relatively Brief Introduction to the Arab-Israeli ConflictAbout the author: Katie Hoban, 21, raised in the hardcore conservative, right-wing community. Conservative -> liberal circa 2008, liberal -> leftist circa 2011. Ardently pro-Israel until I noticed the military-industrial complex existent between the US and Israel in 2012 and began to research the conflict. Now pro-Palestine, bent on a two-state solution based on '67 borders.In order to have even a basic understanding the Jewish-Arab conflict, and the resulting Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we have to jump back about 150 years, so bear with me.The formation of Israel was founded in Zionism, a movement that called for the formation of a homeland for all Jews (i.e. a return to Zion) so that Jews would have a place of their own where they could avoid being persecuted. During the mid-to-late 19th century, Zionists purchased plots of land within Palestine and, after a few failed attempts at creating settlements, succeeded in prompting the First Aliyah ("rising" or "ascension") where Jews began to immigrate to Palestine in larger numbers in 1882. Initially, Zionism was seen as a radical ideology even within the Jewish community, but as anti-semitism grew in Russia and Europe, it became a much more popular notion.It is really important to understand the system of land ownership in Palestine at this time :“[The Ottoman Land Code of 1858] required the registration in the name of individual owners of agricultural land, most of which had never previously been registered and which had formerly been treated according to traditional forms of land tenure, in the hill areas of Palestine generally masha’a, or communal usufruct. The new law meant that for the first time a peasant could be deprived not of title to his land, which he had rarely held before, but rather of the right to live on it, cultivate it and pass it on to his heirs, which had formerly been inalienable...Under the provisions of the 1858 law, communal rights of tenure were often ignored...Instead, members of the upper classes, adept at manipulating or circumventing the legal process, registered large areas of land as theirs...The fellahin [peasants] naturally considered the land to be theirs, and often discovered that they had ceased to be the legal owners only when the land was sold to Jewish settlers by an absentee landlord...Not only was the land being purchased; its Arab cultivators were being dispossessed and replaced by foreigners who had overt political objectives in Palestine.” (Rashid Khalidi, “Blaming The Victims,” ed. Said and Hitchens)That is, while the process of buying this land was technically legal, it was not done by negotiation between the prospective owners and the inhabitants, but rather through negotiation with other entities who had claimed the land as theirs thanks to newly-formed legal loopholes, with the intent of selling it for a profit.As the number of Jewish settlers increased, Palestinians became increasingly uncomfortable with being evicted from their farms and began to consider Zionist ambitions a threat. They filed complaints with the Ottoman authorities, who consequently banned all land sales to foreigners in 1892.By 1914, the Jewish population in Palestine had risen to over 60,000. In 1917, the British government issued the Balfour Declaration, establishing the government's support for a Jewish homeland in the Palestinian mandate. In 1922, The League of Nations adopted the declaration and gave Britain the Palestinian mandate to use as a Jewish national home. Another 90,000 Jews immigrated to Israel between 1919 and 1926 in reaction to growing anti-semitism.By this point, there had been several Arab riots in reaction to the growing Jewish population, as many Palestinians were now displaced or landless due to the selling of their land by feudal landlords. These riots included the Jaffa riots, the 1929 Palestine riots, and the 1929 Hebron massacre.Death toll in 1929: Israelis - 317, Palestinians - 203Hitler came to power in 1933 and enacted a number of anti-semitic laws shortly thereafter, creating a wave of stateless Jewish refugees who were searching for a new home. However, Britain had recently implemented the White Paper of 1939, which had restricted the immigration of Jews into the Palestinian mandate. The Jews who did try to enter Palestine were intercepted by British authorities and imprisoned/detained. In reaction to the public backlash, Britain handed the situation off to the newly formed United Nations.# these short paragraphs hardly do justice to the political intricacies# of each of these conflicts, but this answer is already going to be# hella long anyways, so please forgive my brevity.1936–39 Arab revolt in PalestineMeanwhile, between 1933 and 1936, more than 164,000 Jewish immigrants had come to Palestine, bringing the total Jewish population up to 370,000 people, or 27% of the total population. By 1936, the Palestinian farmers who had been displaced by Jewish immigrants, now jobless and landless, had begun to join militant organizations. Palestinian national sentiments had also increased sharply in reaction to the Jewish nationalists now residing on their land. The militant groups comprised mostly of these displaced farmers attempted various levels of revolt over the next two years, but they ultimately failed.Death toll in 1939: Jews/Israelis - 732, Arabs/Palestinians - 5,203In 1947, the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine was formed to address the question of a Jewish homeland in the Palestinian mandate. On November 29th, 1947, the committee recommended the adoption of the partition plan that would divide the Palestinian mandate 55/45 in favor of the Israelis.1948 Palestine warThe Arab states rejected the UN proposal, instead calling for the removal of Jewish settlers from the region. Fighting began directly after the proposal was approved. This war included the Deir Yassin massacre, in which Zionist paramilitary forces attacked an Arab village, killing between 100 and 250 civilian men, women, and children. After the war, Israel had expanded well beyond its assigned borders, now claiming 78% of the Palestinian mandate. Jordan occupied and annexed the West Bank and Egypt took control of the Gaza Strip.On May 14th, 1948, David Ben-Gurion proclaimed Israel an established state.Around 700,000 Palestinians fled or were expelled from their land, many forced to leave the country altogether. Most of them, or their descendants, are still living in refugee camps today. Around 856,000 Jews were displaced from the surrounding Arab countries during this time, as well. 260,000 of them had reached Israel by 1951, and 600,000 had done so by 1972.Death toll in 1948: Jews/Israelis - 7,105, Arabs/Palestinians - 15,203In 1959, Fatah was founded by refugees in Gaza. In 1964, the Palestine Liberation Organization was founded at the Arab League Summit, and Fatah joined, becoming the PLO's largest member group.Six-Day WarIn 1967, Israel decided that "the best defense is a good offense" and launched surprise attacks on Egyptian air-fields (in response to the mobilization of Egyptian troops due to faulty intelligence reports given to Egypt by Russia). God, politics are messy. The resulting war was fought between Israel, Egypt, Syria, and Jordan from the 5th through the 10th of June. At the end of the war, Israel had seized Gaza, the West Bank, the Golan Heights, and the Sinai Peninsula.Shortly after the war ended, Israel decided that it would return the Sinai Peninsula and Golan Heights in exchange for peace with Egypt and Syria, respectively.Death toll in 1967: Jews/Israelis - 8,112, Arabs/Palestinians - 36,503War of AttritionEgypt wasn't as keen on the land-for-peace deal as Israel was (at least in the beginning). Hostilities between Egypt and Israel resumed in mid-July. Golda Meir, Israel's Prime Minister, decided that the proper way to go about any sort of conflict was through an "asymmetrical response", a policy that Israel seems to stand by to this day. Hostilities continued until 1970, when a ceasefire was agreed upon.Death toll in 1970: Jews/Israelis - 9,536, Arabs/Palestinians - 41,503Yom Kippur WarIn 1973, Egypt and Syria led a joint offensive against Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism, effectively taking the entire state by surprise. Syria worked to regain the Golan Heights while Egypt attempted to take back the Sinai Peninsula. After two days of the Arab states making steady gains, the Israeli military had organized itself enough to push back - they quickly pursued the Syrians back to pre-war lines, and then some. On the Sinai side, however, it took a week of heavy fighting to repel the Egyptians, and both sides sustained heavy casualties. Two ceasefires were attempted, the second of which, on October 25th, was successful.Death toll in 1973: Jews/Israelis - 12,224, Arabs/Palestinians - 60,5031982 Lebanon WarRemember those 700,000 displaced Palestinians? Well, there are about 6.5 million of them today, around 455,000 of which currently live in Lebanon. I'm sure those numbers were slightly smaller in 1982. (I'm having some difficulty finding exact refugee statistics for 1982, but would be overjoyed if someone could point me to them!). Anyways, the large refugee population close to the border gave the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organization) a decent place to operate out of.Israel, however, was less than thrilled with the situation, particularly the political ties that had developed between the PLO and the Lebanese government. They intended instead to oust the PLO and form a peace treaty with Lebanon. To do so, Israel invaded southern Lebanon, occupied Beirut, and bombarded the PLO forces until they fled. At this time, the Israelis also facilitated that Sabra and Shatila massacre, in which Israeli guards and tanks monitored checkpoints around a camp while Phalangists killed 700 - 3,500 unarmed Palestinians and Lebanese Shiites over a 14-hour period.However, due to a combination of factors, Israel's intent to make peace with Lebanon fell through. Israel overstayed their welcome in Lebanon, not fully withdrawing troops until 1985; Hezbollah formed as a result.Death toll in 1982: Jews/Israelis - 13,440, Arabs/Palestinians - 81,328First IntifadaThe First Intifada was an unarmed, grassroots uprising that began in 1987, "as a protest against Israeli repression including extrajudicial killings, mass detentions, house demolitions, forced migrations, relocations and deportations". The protest was set off by an Israeli tank running into a row of cars containing Palestinian workers that were held up at a checkpoint. Four people died and seven more were injured - over 10,000 people attended their funerals, and demonstrations began shortly thereafter. There was widespread throwing of stones and Molotov cocktails at Israeli military tanks and trucks, but no coordinated or weaponized action.Rabin, the Prime Minister, opted for the route of "might, power, and beatings" in reaction to the Intifada, through which 1,100+ Palestinians were killed, 241 of which were children. The First Intifada died out around 1993.Death toll in 1993: Jews/Israelis - 13,640, Arabs/Palestinians - 82,490As the First Intifada was coming to a close, Rabin and the PLO had begun to engage in secret peace negotiations: the Oslo Accords. In these agreements, the PLO officially recognized Israel's right to exist and publicly denounced terrorism. Israel and Palestine began to work towards a two-state solution. On September 28th, 1995, Rabin and Arafat signed the Oslo II Accord. However, Rabin was assassinated by a right-wing Jewish radical shortly thereafter, which interrupted peace negotiations rather severely. There were attempts to reinvigorate progress towards peace for the next several years, but after the failed 2000 Camp David Summit and the subsequent rise in violence, negotiations were left by the wayside.Second IntifadaThe Second Intifada began at the same time the Camp David negotiations were breaking down in 2000. They were triggered, in particular, by Ariel Sharon visiting the Temple Mount, which was perceived as a provocative action by the Palestinians. This Intifada was much more violent than the last, resulting in around 5,000 Palestinian deaths and 1,100 Israeli ones.Death toll in 2005: Jews/Israelis - 14,740, Arabs/Palestinians - 87,3972006 Lebanon WarI think The Onion sums up this war rather nicely: Israel Bombs Anti-Semitism Out Of Lebanon. All jokes aside, Israel decided to bomb the organization whose formation it had precipitated in the 1982 Lebanon War, and wound up killing about 1,300 Lebanese civilians. Israel still has troops stationed in Lebanon.Death toll in 2006: Jews/Israelis - 14,904, Arabs/Palestinians - 89,351Gaza WarThe Gaza War was a three-week military operation from 2008-2009 where Israeli forces first bombarded and then infiltrated Gaza with the intent of decreasing the number of rocket attacks from the region. 14 Israelis were killed (4 from friendly fire), as well as 1,166 - 1,417 Palestinians.Death toll in 2009: Jews/Israelis - 14,918, Arabs/Palestinians - 90,785Operation Protective Edge (Summer 2014)Israel and Gaza are launching rockets at each other because 3 Israeli teenagers were murdered, and Israel blamed Hamas. Israeli authorities have offered no evidence of Hamas involvement, and Hamas denies any knowledge of the incident. Israeli police subsequently killed 10 Palestinians in clashes as they went around re-arresting the people they had released in the latest prisoner exchange. After the funerals of the 3 Israeli teens, Jewish extremists kidnapped and murdered Palestinian teenager Mohammed Abu Khdeir in retaliation.That's just the trigger-event, though - in the long run, Israel likely decided to execute this operation to target Hamas activity in the Gaza strip.At least 187 Palestinians have been killed so far, 77% of whom are civilians, according to the UN. (Now 693, as of 07/25)So, the Arab-Israeli conflict only exists because the Arabs want to kill all the Jews, huh?Total death toll in from 1860 to 2014: Jews/Israelis - 24,845, Arabs/Palestinians - 90,972Geez, from these numbers, you would think the opposite was true.So, here's a quick visualization of what this land loss has looked like for the Palestinians since 1947:If that's not some crazy rapid expansion, I don't know what is.I know I provided death tolls from before Israel's official establishment until now, but let's take a look at some of the more recent statistics, most of which are taken from B'Tselem, an Israeli organization that focuses on human rights in the occupied territories:For more information on the breakdown of rates and causes of death for these children, please see Katie Hoban's answer to Why does it seem that children are always the victims in conflicts between Israel and Hamas?I think the one of the most enlightening comparisons in these deaths is that three times as many Palestinian children have been run down by Israeli vehicles as Israeli children have been killed in Palestinian rocket attacks.Israel is wreaking havoc on Palestine, and on top of the deaths and injuries, Palestine is suffering other consequences too:Who's providing the cash for all of this? We are. Or, America is, at least - we provide Israel with $8.5 million a day in military aid.TL;DR - An Even Briefer Introduction to the Arab-Israeli ConflictWhen people don't know much about the Arab-Israeli conflict, I see a lot of sympathy directed at both sides, à la "Oh my god, it's so terrible that people do these things to each other. Why can't we all just be friends?" and they're right: it is terrible that this conflict has been going on for such a long time, and it is terrible that it is continuing today. However, we need to take a step back from the "everything is terrible" standpoint and think about this conflict a little more critically.When we look at Israel today, we are looking at a nation formed from refugees, who is now creating refugees instead. I believe that Israel has a right to exist (within '67 borders) - I just don't think Israel has the right to crush Palestine into the dust because they're so enamored with the concept of asymmetrical warfare. The whole "I'll shoot twelve of your children for every one of mine" (the ratio of Palestinian:Israeli children killed) just isn't a philosophy I can get behind. I hope you feel the same.So, to sum things up, The Israeli-Arab conflict is a long, complicated hodgepodge of land struggles, assassinations, nationalism, signed treaties, broken treaties, rocket launchers, and a whole number of other things, and I hope my little spiel helped you gain a better understanding of Israeli history and international relations in the Middle East as a whole.#FreePalestineUPDATE:I noted early in the answer that covering all of Israel's major political conflicts in the last century was going to be a time-consuming process, and that my summaries therefore left out many of the political intricacies concerning these events. I would like to repeat that point here, and also mention that if anyone has further political context or events they would like to add to this timeline, please let me know. I would be happy to add them.Under Construction: The history of Hamas, politics in Palestine since the 1960's, and Israeli vs Palestinian warfare tactics.