The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

A Non-Hot Take

One of the most transformative things I’ve experienced about being off social media (except for a private IG account that I treat like a family photo album) is a genuine liberation from the compulsion to remark on current events and/or trending topics. While I do stay informed (I subscribe to several independent news sources) and have plenty of opinions about things, the sense of urgency to say something for the good of the situation no longer dictates what I publish or even how I move about in the world. That, in turn, has afforded me the emotional and intellectual space I need to take in high-quality long-form work. I feel like I’ve given up chemically laced fast food, gone through some kind of detox process, and have suddenly discovered the ability to enjoy nutrient-dense foods and high-fiber vegetables.

At the risk of coming across as completely out of sync with what major media outlets and the social technopolies are covering in the current moment, I want to recommend a podcast series that does a masterful job of covering the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Why not? It was less than a year ago that this particular conflict WAS the talk of the moment, WAS the trending topic, and WAS the subject of thousands of hot takes (many of them very bad and ignorant, even if published by some otherwise pretty smart people). And even though a different and current military conflict has captured our collective attention, the former conflict is still very much alive, and we’re still in danger of being grossly misinformed about both conflicts for all the same reasons.

I’m making this recommendation in the interest of encouraging us all to remember: 1) that it takes time, discipline, and commitment to understand complex regional histories and conflicts; and 2) that doing so is a necessary aspect of Christian spiritual formation. It’s an act of incarnation to enter into other people’s stories, even the stories of people far away, in order to understand and replicate the posture that God has toward all of humanity.

The name of the podcast series I’m recommending is Fear and Loathing in the New Jerusalem. It was recorded between 2015-2016, consists of six parts, and is a total of 23 hours 3 minutes. It’s basically like a long audiobook. It’s part of The Martyrmade Podcast by Darryl Cooper, and it’s an impressively even-handed treatment of the history of the region, the people groups and nation states involved, and the geopolitical events that shaped the dynamics of the conflict. It’s thoroughly researched and documented. You can stream it on any podcast streaming app for free.

Here’s a quote from episode 5 that reflects Cooper’s mindset in all of his historical projects:

I always tell myself that if I find myself unable to understand, even vaguely, how somebody or some group could behave in a given manner, then that just means that I haven’t done enough work.”

He’s not a Christian, I don’t believe, but he has a capacity for appreciating the dignity of all people, the multi-generational effects of trauma, and the intricacies of cause and effect that I find very instructive and humbling. Do let me know if you end up listening to it!