Two Marshall history professors teamed up 48 hours after Israel’s declaration of war to give historical context surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict for a special episode of the department’s new podcast “History Over Coffee.”
Dr. Chris White joined Dr. Manamee Guha on Monday, Oct. 9, for the episode, which reviews the events that led to the recent attacks launched by Hamas through air, land and sea raids on Israel. The attack happened on Oct. 7, a day after the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War in 1973.
White highlighted the religious, geographical and imperialistic roles that plague the conflict.
“It’s useful for people to understand that what we’re seeing in the media right now. It’s important to see these images, but it’s also really important to take a step back and ask what do the scholars have to say about this,” White said. “Both sides have examples of this kind of thing, not exactly like this, but where atrocities have been carried out. If you look back to 1948, there are Palestinian attacks on Jewish villages and Jewish attacks on Palestinian villages.”
The conflict has been ongoing since Jewish persecution across Europe displaced many European Jews. As the rise of Social Darwinism and the events surrounding World War II broke out, millions more Jewish people were displaced. Britain and the United States took roles in attempting to find a new home for the displaced Jewish people, which eventually led to the creation of the state of Israel.
On Tuesday, White joined Rabbi Victor Urecki at B’nai Jacob Synagogue in Charleston, West Virginia to further discuss the conflict. The episode focusing on their conversation is set to be released soon. Urecki has been extensively studying the conflict, having been to Israel numerous times over the years.
Correction: This story previously said the attack by Hamas happened on the 50th anniversary of the Jewish holiday Yom Kippur. This is incorrect, as the anniversary of the holiday and the Yom Kippur War are not the same.
