Show Notes for Ep. 61 "On Israel and Palestine"
In this episode, Mary Anne Mohanraj and Benjamin Rosenbaum take some time to share their grief and complicated feelings about the devastating conflict occurring between Israel and Palestine. They discuss the ideas of isomorphism and symbiosis, the history of Zionism, the origins of war and nationalism, and the need to stay connected during difficult times, to reach out to all who are hurting from the events of the past few weeks.
Recorded October 17, 2023 / Published November 13, 2023
Contents
- 0:00:00 – addendum from Ben, followed by the episode preface
- 0:06:24 – on how to reach out to people during times of crisis like this
- 0:17:35 – on isomorphism
- 0:28:00 – on the history of Zionism
- 0:51:15 – on symbiosis
- 1:05:48 – on whether violence can ever be justifiable
- 1:17:42 – Ben explores his personal, emotional responses to the events
- 1:36:48 – how nations get personal, and the origin of wars
- 1:51:55 – on parenting and other closing thoughts
Works Mentioned
Organized by order of appearance.
- Burnout, by Emily Nagoski
- Imagined Communities, by Benedict Anderson
- Imago (Lilith’s Brood) trilogy, by Octavia E. Butler
Other Clarifying or Explanatory Links
- Ryan Long YouTube skit on which side to support
- a lot of things are true., article by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg
- a peacemaking lens, article by Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg
- recap of Derry Girls finale episode, can also be watched on Netflix
- on the Gombe Chimpanzee War
- Ben oversimplified and misremembered the bit of Rwandan history he cited; he was trying to make an analogy with German & Belgian use of the Tutsi as colonial clients in a ‘divide and conquer’ strategy
- Ben’s statement of peace on Facebook
