The Mandate - LSE Events podcast review

In the current polemics about the Arab-Israeli conflict references are rarely made to the history before 1948, when the state of Israel was declared. The conflict, however, is much older than that. It goes at least as far back as the 1920's, but even by the end of the nineteenth century when the first waves of Jewish immigrants arrived, the reception by the indigenous Arab population was tense, if not hostile. At that time the Ottoman empire still had a firm grip on the region. Things didn't take a sharp turn until the era of the British Mandate in Palestine (1919-1948).

It is about the British Mandate professor Norman Rose was invited to speak at the London School of Economics. (LSE Events podcast) During the mandate, the British were less and less successful of maintaining order in Palestine and keep the warring parties apart. Until by 1948, there were too many troops there, too little interest served and opposition leader Winston Churchill scolded the English to be involved in a 'senseless, squalid war.' These words became the title Professor Rose wrote about the Mandate: A Senseless, Squalid War: Voices from Palestine 1945-1948 (Amazon)

The Mandate period is formative for the conflict as we know it today, however knowledge of it is not widespread at all. During Rose's lecture the complexity comes out and the question whether this all could have been prevented almost receives a firm negative answer. The Jews wouldn't stop coming in and the Arabs felt any kind of agreement would be a surrender. And so, the community conflict we have today, was by no means new in 1948. Rose has it start already by 1921, even if the Arab militias were mostly attacking the Brits, their aim was to remove the Jews from their land.

What amazingly few people know, I find again and again, is how the Jews got there. As one discerns from the questions the audience poses, also they do not know. The assumption is made that the Jews also before 1948 took the land by violence and Rose hardly gets the opportunity to refute the accusation. What he manages to squeeze in are the facts as I know them as well: land was purchased from Arab landowners who were all too happy to sell. It was not until after the Second World War, the first irregularities arise. It can be debated (and is hotly debated) whether the Jews systematically removed Arabs from the land and the towns as of 1948, but any such accusation before that I have never seen substantiated. I am sure this is what Rose wants to say on the podcast, but the chaos from the audience and the running out of time makes it impossible.

More LSE Events:
Iran Today,
Science and Religion,
The crisis,
Desiring walls,
The Post-American World.

Anne is a Man in the week of March 9

I have 7 reviews planned for the rest of this week. Here is a list of them and afterwards a mention of some of the regulars on my playing list, even if they are not reviewed this week or regularly otherwise.

-On the podcast of the London School of Economics (LSE Events), professor Norman Rose was invited to tell about The British Mandate in Palestine. Not only does this give some facts of the history preceding the establishment of the State of Israel, but also gives rise to some heated questions from the audience.

-Thanks to my reader 'marje' and his own list of history podcasts, I have found two new history podcasts, one of which is New books in History. I will review the episode in which historian Kees Boterbloem tells about the 17th century traveler Jan Struys

-This week the UChannel Podcast a huge load of new episodes and many of them very interesting at face value. I have about 6 of them on my playlist and by tomorrow I will review at least one them.

-In the Dutch podcast Veertien Achttien, this week's attention goes to the British Prime Minister H.H. Asquith

-A new podcast was reported through the report page. It is a conversation podcast between two Irishmen: nilpod.

-Making History with Ran Levi, the Hebrew podcast about the history of science has a new episode out and it is all about blood

-Another podcast I have found through 'marje' is the memory palace. Short monologues about tidbits in history. With a literary flavor.

Podcasts I am likely not to review this week, even though I faithfully listen to all episodes are:
-In Our Time (BBC), which had an issue about physics that went way over my head
-Thinking Allowed (BBC) about the latest research in the social sciences
-From Israelite to Jew by Michael Satlow, about how the Hebrews became religious ethnic group around 500 BCE
-Hoor! Geschiedenis a Dutch history podcast retelling Netherlands history chonologically in daily installments. By Feico Houweling.
-Volkis Stimme a German podcast satirizing the news, by Volker Klärchen

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Juan Cole - Media Matters podcast review

The news podcast Media Matters, with Bob McChesney had as a guest historian Juan Cole of the University of Michigan, who is a specialist in the Middle-East. One can directly read Juan Cole's updates in his thoughts about the region if one follows his website JuanCole.com which has the simple form of public emails containing assorted remarks. Aside from more breadth, much more depth is to be found there than in the podcast.

In the podcast, McChesney tried to get Professor Cole to explain the Middle-East to the average American. Relatively much time was dedicated to Iraq and Afghanistan. While the assessment is certainly worth listening to, Cole necessarily, because of the time constraints is forced to paint with crude brush strokes. It results in inapt representation of facts, for example sorting the Iraqi populace into categories Shii, Sunni and Kurd - mixing religious denomination with ethnic. Maybe it works for all practical purposes, but adds as much as it takes away from ignorance.

When there are a mere six minutes left in the show (it is, after all broadcast on radio) Israel and Palestine are rushed through the ether. How much can one say to inform the public in six minutes about a complicated issue? I had a feeling Cole got wasted on an effort to discuss too much in too diluted a way. Still a worthwhile show, but really this should be an initial step towards more investigation to get the records straight and some real insight in.

Previously about Media Matters:
The Crisis.

The brain and tech-nurture - SRR podcast review

There is a recurring theme in Shrink Rap Radio the psychology interview podcast: modern technology and the brain. This is not just about AI, robotics, the extension of our brains into our PCs, but also the implications of new insights in neuroscience, pharmacy and genetics about the brain.

In social science in general and necessarily also in psychology there is the age-old dichotomy of nature and nurture. With the latest developments in neuroscience, pharmacy and genetics we know so much more of the brain, this sort of automatically, almost implicitly, moves us towards the nature side of the divide. Technology also plays a part in that and basically, a nature stance, will also allow more for a fixed view of the brain and leave more room for theories of AI and artificial extensions of the brain. Yet, in the interview with Gary Small about technology and the brain the conversation takes a nurture perspective: how does a modern technologically designated environment affect the brains of human beings?

Small makes in this context a difference between digital natives, the younger generation that grows up with the modern technology and the digital immigrants, the older generation that has had to acquire access to the cyberworld. Small and Van Nuys discuss the way in which the brain starts functioning differently and different people with different psyches emerge in this internet age. Apart from being a fascinating conversation by itself, it also shows how in a more technological world, where I thought the idea of human beings became more nature-oriented new reasons for taking the nurture side of factors that make us come into relevance.

More Shrink Rap Radio:
Nova Spivack,
Relationships and the brain,
Psychologist writer,
Dana Houck, Prison Psychologist,
The humane working place.

Why isn't the whole world developed?

TV Ontario's program Big Ideas is dedicated, so it claims, to the art of lecturing. Occasionally the lectures are in my humble opinion not exactly top notch, but frequently good content can be found. Apparently the makers of the program have a taste for the polemic, because I find a tendency to rather provocative lecturing.

Maybe also the idea is that some provocation and a bit of a polemic style are effective tools in making lectures arrive with the audience. In the competition for best lecturer, the finalist Anton Allahar and his lecture are certainly full with this quality. Even if Allahar is not really taking a position himself (at least not in this particular lecture), he does present a series of opinions on the subject at hand and goes over them in a very critical way.

The subject is 'Why isn't the whole world developed?' Big Ideas treats this as a lecture in itself, but Allahar makes it clear from the start this is just the opening lecture in a series for which this is just the opening question and an entry point to a much wider issue. It is a bit of a nasty start, making you feel shut out, but to the issue at hand, I was rather thrilled to find a couple of strong criticisms to widely held and relatively unchallenged ideas about development like ideas rooted in Social Darwinism, in the sociology of Durkheim and Weber, in utilitarian economics, in Marxism and so on. Allahar makes in his criticism no exception for any of them and produces a good variety of food for thought.

More Big Ideas:
The role and place of the intellectual,
Disaster Capitalism,
The Bad News about Good Work,
History.

Arthur Japin, Johannes van Dam

Nog voordat de podcast van Martin Simek heenging, was al een groot deel van het archief van tien jaar interviewen van het internet gehaald. Daarom is het niet meer mogelijk om terug te gaan naar de interviews met onder meer Johannes van Dam en met Arthur Japin. Dat had uitstekend vergelijkingsmateriaal opgelevered voor de recente Marathon Interviews bij de VPRO. Nu echter ben ik op mijn geheugen aangewezen

Wat ik me nog kan herinneren van het interview met Van Dam is dat Simek nauwelijks gesproken heeft over eten. Dat is in het marathon interview wel anders - daar krijg je trek en ook zin in koken. Simek gaat veel dieper in op een centraal voorval uit Van Dam's jeugd: het auto-ongeluk waar Johannes zelf ook bij betrokken was en waarbij zijn vader om het leven kwam. Van Dam heeft het er liever niet over en waar Simek hem niet loslaat, geeft VPRO interviewer Olaf Oudheusden de gelegenheid om de aandacht naar de periode daarna, Amsterdam in de jaren 60, te verleggen. Wat voor mij het belangrijkste was om Van Dam te horen over het Zionisme. Zijn ongezouten mening komt bij de VPRO meer genuanceerd uit de verf maar is nog altijd niet mals. De Zionisten in het Nederland van de jaren 40 hebben in zijn ogen de ondergang van vele joden in de holocaust in de hand gewerkt door een verkeerde inschatting van de Nazis. Omdat zij dachten dat de Nazis hen zouden helpen om de joden naar Palestina te brengen, waren ze niet echt geporteerd voor verzet. Daar is Van Dam heel kwaad over, maar bij de VPRO noemt hij het niet, zoals bij de RVU, collaboratie.

Ook het interview met Arthur Japin van Simek is er veel meer aandacht voor de vroege jeugd. Ook Japin raakt zijn vader vroeg kwijt, wat een diep effect achterlaat. In het marathon interview laat Djoeke Veninga daar wel wat ruimte voor, maar gaat het veel nadrukkelijker over schrijven en over publiciteit. In beide gevallen zou het archief van Simek niet alleen goed vergelijkingsmateriaal hebben opgeleverd, maar eveneens een welkome aanvulling. Wat is er van al dat prachtige materiaal geworden? Kom het nog ooit weer voor de internetter beschikbaar?

Meer Marathon Interviews:
Mr. G.B.J. Hiltermann,
James Kennedy,
Dick Berlijn,
Ward Ruyslinck,
Marte Röling.