Some new resources on Israel/Palestine
The chaos of the world is overwhelming. It just is. And part of the overwhelm for me is that I have a good life. I understand how lucky I am. The gratitude that I feel for all of the love and goodness in my life has never been greater. I keep coming back to this line from Adrienne Maree Brown: “I want us to live. I want us to want to live, in this world, in this place, together.” I feel this longing so often.
Here is a link to a class that I led at a church in Holland. The action begins at about the 8-minute mark. I focus mainly on the present moment, both in the United States and in Israel/Palestine. There is something in here to chew on for anyone with some interest in this global catastrophe. I also did a lengthy Q&A, and there were good questions and even some good answers.
One of the world’s foremost scholars of Palestinian history, Rashid Khalidi, was interviewed by Peter Beinart, an excellent journalist and thinker. Beinart is also a Jewish American and has been vocal in his advocacy for justice for Palestinians. Both men seem to be extremely decent and honest human beings. It’s a great conversation.
John Mersheimer did an interview with Jadaliyya, which I was not familiar with. Jadaliyya is a part of the Arab Studies Institute, which looks like a great resource. Upon a cursory bit of research, it looks like Jadaliyya and the Arab Studies Institute are places where professors and scholars of Middle East history provide analysis. Mersheimer is just such a person. He is a political science professor at the University of Chicago. And he his being interviewed by two other professors. All of them have expertise and interest in Israel/Palestine. It’s an excellent discussion.
This next conversation is between Ian Bremmer and Scott Galloway (min 12-28 are focused on I/P, but I enjoyed the whole conversation). I don’t know either of these two gentlemen well, but I’ve run across them enough to know that they are credible. And Bremmer is the one that shines in this conversation, which makes sense, since they talk mostly about global risk, one of Bremmer’s specialties. He runs the Eurasia group, which tries to understand how global politics affects businesses. Their focus is on risk. It looks like a fascinating organization.
Finally, Ezra Klein had a really helpful conversation with Thomas Friedman, who has been writing for the NY Times on the Middle East since the early 1980s. Friedman is a very fair and keen observer of Israel/Palestine. People on both sides have issues with him, which doesn’t necessarily mean that he is a good source. Yes, he has the expertise, but more importantly (and like Ezra Klein), he seems to be a person of integrity. He wants peace. That’s important.
Friedman says at some point in this conversation: “Do you want to make a point? Or do you want to make a difference?” I love that distinction, though the difference you want to make is crucial. Friedman wants peace and justice for Israelis and Palestinians. He is a pragmatist who advocates for a two-state solution. His desire reminds me of the poem I quoted earlier. He wants Israelis and Palestinians to want to live in that land, in this time, together. Me too.
P.S. I don’t like how male these resources are, but alas, this is what I stumbled upon and liked. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯