Prof. Pytlik tells the long history of coexistence between Muslims & Jews, which defies America's understanding of this region. 

Last month, in May 2021, for almost two weeks Israel and Hamas exchanged missiles and rockets. At the same time, Israeli Arabs attacked Jews, and Israeli Jews attacked Arabs... all in the streets, neighborhoods and restaurants of Israel. This was the people of Israel attacking other people of Israel. 

In this podcast episode, Professor Michael Pytlik describes the long, intertwined history of Muslims and Jews, and how in comparison to Christian Europe, for several centuries Jews lived in relative peace in the lands of Islam and even thrived. He ends our conversation by asking us all to remember what we forgot. 

Mr. Pytlik is an assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology and Religious Studies at Oakland University, in Rochester, Michigan. He is the Director of Judaic Studies and the Director of the Cis Maisel Center for Judaic Studies and Community Engagement. Professor Pytlik is also the Director of the Study Abroad in Israel: an archaeological field school and culture tour. This is the link to Professor Pytlik's academic homepage: https://www.oakland.edu/socan/top-links/faculty/pytlik.