About this episode

This episode features a discussion with historian Alex Yakobson about the claims of Israel being a settler-colonial state, examining historical events and narratives.

To support our work, please consider joining our Patreon community (https://www.patreon.com/c/AskHavivAnything ), Substack (https://havivgur.substack.com/ ), or Buy Me a Coffee (https://buymeacoffee.com/havivrettiggur ). And be sure to check us out on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/haviv.rettig.gur/ ) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@haviv.rettig.gur ). — Was the Zionist-Arab encounter always destined to end in displacement, war and suffering? That's what the settler-colonial theorists argue, and it's a claim that's moved from the fringes of academia into mainstream discourse on college campuses, op-ed pages and protest movements worldwide. It is a claim that has become almost definitional to left-wing politics in the West. In this episode, we sit down with Professor Alexander Yakobson of the Hebrew University, a scholar of ancient democracy, national identity, and the modern Middle East, to take these arguments apart, piece by piece, with the one thing the debate usually lacks: actual history. What really happened when the UN voted for partition in 1947? Why did the Jewish Agency beg both the Americans and the Soviets for an international enforcement force? How close…

People in this episode

Host: Haviv Rettig Gur

Guest: Alex Yakobson

Topics covered

• settler-colonialism
• Zionist-Arab encounter
• historical analysis
• War of Independence
• Nakba
• national identity
• ancient democracy

Keywords

• settler-colonial state
• Zionism
• Arab displacement
• 1947 partition
• IDF
• Nakba
• historical context

Sponsors

Howard and Darlene Wolf

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Hebrew University

Places: Israel, United Nations, Cyprus, British India, Greece, Turkey

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