There are few conflicts more contentious and polarizing in the American public square than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That conflict flamed anew in recent weeks over property disputes in East Jerusalem neighborhoods. What started as demonstrations quickly morphed into rioting, then military conflict as Islamist militants led by Hamas in the Gaza Strip volleyed thousands of rockets at Israeli cities and towns. As this podcast airs, there’s a ceasefire, so we may as well make use of the time to get our bearings on this conflict.
Main topic: The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
In today’s episode of the Tim Talks Politics podcast, I interview Dr. Judith Mendelsohn Rood, Professor Emeritus from Biola University on the deep and complex roots of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Strap in because while this conversation is longer than my usual interviews, it’s an information firehose!
Topics we cover in this episode include:
- The historical rootes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
- Ottoman influence on law and government in the Levant prior to the British mandate.
- Palestinain civil conflict in the midst of the broader conflict with Israel.
- The role of Hamas in the intra-Palestinian conflict.
- The role of Iran and Turkey in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
- Why American policymakers, media, and the public struggle to comprehend this conflict.
- And a lot more!
Conversation starters
American news media generally portrays the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a vacuum, devoid of connections to regional politics. American policymakers can often overstate the significance of the conflict in regional politics. How should we strike a balance between oversimplifying this conflict and making it the lynchpin of American foreign policy in the Middle East? What should be key questions of consideration when discussing the conflict and America’s involvement in it?
The spoken and written word (related podcasts and reading)
Books
- Collins and LaPierre, O, Jerusalem
- Oren, Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East
- Oren, Ally: My Journey Across the American-Israeli Divide
Articles
- The Deep File: Biden’s Foreign Policy
- The Deep File: The Abraham Accords
- Don’t Hold Your Breath for Another Arab Spring
- Has Global Liberalism Hit an Illiberal Wall?
- Radical Religions and Resurgent Nationalism
Podcasts
- TTP, Episode 10: More than Oil?: America in the Middle East
- TTP, Episode 13: Deciding on a Drone Strike: Making American Foreign Policy
- TTP, Episode 16: America and the Ayatollahs: US-Iran Relations
- TTP, Episode 35: The INSSG and the Biden Foreign Policy
The last word
“No matter what’s happening in the Middle East – the Arab Spring, et cetera, the economic challenges, high rates of unemployment – the emotional, critical issue is always the Israeli-Palestinian one.”
King Abdullah II of Jordan
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