So my uncle just called me and we began talking about Palestine. He was claiming all the usual “anti-violence” points and such. Condemning both sides yadayada. Perpetuating the war propaganda about eating babies and shit. But then he began saying that the conflict is super complex and saying it’s gone back millenia and that it’s about religious land and stuff. I personally don’t know much other than 1947 to now, and that seems to be a problem because I can’t refute or agree with anything he was saying.
It’s making me feel like I’m uneducated and shouldn’t be supporting Palestine. He was saying that they both have legitimate claims to the land and many other things I can’t quite remember.
He said that my argument that the Palestinians were being oppressed worse because they are dying at such a greater rate is the same as saying the South in the American Civil War were the oppressed because most people who died were in the south.
He’s a very staunch catholic liberal but he delivers things pretty well and is older than me so I feel stupid around him lol. Basically I’m just kind of unsure about my position now? Do I not know enough? Can anyone validate or invalidate what he was saying or give an explanation and sources for what the history is?
I thought I knew enough but clearly not.
https://youtu.be/m19F4IHTVGc?si=tPm9RN5YhfWyoNJZ
He linked this video. Haven’t watched it but he says it’s unbiased. I don’t necessarily believe that.
Help
I don’t have answers as I’m still learning the history myself. But I’m currently reading The Hundred Years War on Palestine, which covers 1917-2017, so it gets you a detailed look earlier than 1947.
More crucially for this discussion with your uncle, perhaps, it describes the emergence of Zionism and Israeli identity as a modern phenomenon, as something distinct from just ‘ancient land disputes’.
It’s available as an audiobook if you find that helpful, and you can find the ebook in Library Genesis if you otherwise have trouble getting a copy.