On this episode of Fault Lines, hosts Jamarl Thomas and Shane Stranahan talked with guests about Zionism, what the ongoing armed conflict between Israel and the Gazans is changing this time, and whether or not we can and should try to separate politics from science.
Guests:
Yaakov Shapiro - Speaker, Author, & Rabbi | Is Zionism Ethno-Nationalist? How Has Israel Affected Judaism's Reputation?
Yusuf Erim - Editor-at-Large at TRT World | Erdogan's View of Israel, Turkey's Disposition In the Region
Jonathan Kuttab - Mennonite Human Rights Lawyer | Is This a Palestinian Uprising?
Larry Sanger - Co-Founder of Wikipedia & Author | Biden's Taskforce to Remove Science from Politics
Miko Peled - Human Rights Activist and Author | How Has This Conflict Shifted Netanyahu's Political Prospects
In our first hour we were joined by guest Yaakov Shapiro to talk about whether Israel, or the Zionist ideology that drives it, is ethno-nationalist in nature. We also talked about the roots of the creation of Israel in a conflict between Ben-Gurion and Jabotinsky over how to frame the Israeli identity, the meaning of Judaism, and the foreign policies of the new state with the existing powers in the region.
In our second hour we were joined by Yusuf Erim to talk about Erdogan's disposition towards Netanyahu and Israel and how his ambitions affect Turkey's role in the region. Next we were joined by Jonathan Kuttab to ask: is this violent conflict an uprising? Is it a political feat for Netanyahu? Or is it just more of the same?
In our third hour we were joined by Larry Sanger to talk about whether science can, or should, be depoliticized as President Biden's administration launches a new task force with the goal of making academia less susceptible to political pressures. Afterwards we were joined by Miko Peled to talk about how Netanyahu's political fate is being affected and driven by this siege.