The podcast provides some background of the conflict from 4000 years ago until the modern day. It is broken into 3 parts, each about 45 to 50 minutes in length. The narrator does an excellent job of being neutral in the conflict. She announced from the start that it was meant to inform those who know next to nothing of the conflict and is merely a primer.
Part 1: 4,000 years ago to 1917. Our story begins with Abraham, whose sons are the putative ancestors of the conflicting parties. Jews trace their ancestry to Isaac while Muslims trace theirs to Ishmael. The Jews lived in the region that is now Israel for hundreds of years, interrupted by the all too frequent conquest by a more powerful state. However, the Romans grew tired of Jewish rebellions and deported many Jews from the area; this was the Jewish Diaspora. Moreover, the Romans renamed the region to Palestine. Though there were still Jews in the region, they were a minority. Time passed and the Romans were replaced by the Byzantines who were replaced by a series of Muslim caliphates. Then the Crusades conquered the area, briefly, before Egyptian Sultanate took over. In turn, the Ottoman Empire ruled from the 16th century. Meanwhile, Jews in Europe were suffering pogroms and needed somewhere to go. In the 19th century, many migrated to Palestine. During World War I, the British proposed a homeland for the Jews in the Balfour Declaration (1917). That was not popular among the resident Muslim population.
Part 2: 1917 to 1967. In the wake of World War I, the Ottoman Empire - which was on the losing side - had its territory divided among the victors. The British acquired what is now Israel along with the growing tensions between the Jewish and Muslim residents. There was a lot of unpleasantness between the wars. Then World War II came. Jews in Europe sought to escape to Palestine but were largely foiled. After the war, they flooded in and Britain decided to split the territory in two and bug out. Immediately, there was war between the Jews and the Muslims. The Jews fared far better, claiming the majority of the territory. Many Palestinians who had fled during the conflict demanded the right to return to their homes now that the fighting was ended. Denied. Instead, those homes were provided to the incoming flood of Holocaust survivors. In the 1960s, Egyptian President Nasser threatened to destroy Israel, stating it had no right to exist. He put troops in the Sinai Peninsula and prepared to attack.
Part 3: 1967 to 2023. Taking Nasser at his word, the Israeli Airforce attacked Egypt, disabling its airforce and making its ground-based force in the empty desert an easy target. The Israeli Airforce likewise bombed Jordan and Syria. This was the Six-Day War and saw Israel capture the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and the Golan Heights. Egypt and Syria took another crack at Israel in 1973's Yom Kippur War. In 1978, President Carter hosted a peace conference between Egypt and Israel which resulted in Egypt recognizing Israel, a first for an Arab country. At this point, the Palestinians, who had been in the wilderness for 4 decades now, gave up hope of being restored by neighboring co-religionists and took matters into their hands. The PLO and similar groups emerged to fight by other means: terrorism. In the 1990s, the Oslo Accords were negotiated but never fully implemented; it was another effort at a two-state solution going back to dividing the region like the British tried during the Mandate period. Since then, there have been a series of Intafadas (uprisings) as well as Israel trading land for peace (evacuation of Gaza, some of the West Bank).
The podcast was released in August and September of 2023. On October 7, 2023, the latest and most dramatic Intafada took place.
As mentioned, the narrator sought to be neutral regarding the conflict, offering the reasons each side views their position as superior. She points out that atrocities have been committed by each side and each has been dispossessed of homes in the area. She does not delve into the religions, giving each equal merit. She does not delve into the governmental systems, again offering equal merit. By ignoring the differing character of the competing peoples, it is easier to stay neutral on who should prevail.
Recommended.
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