The Political Scene | The New Yorker

Rashid Khalidi on the Palestinian Cause in a Volatile Middle East, and the Meaning of Settler Colonialism

Dec 16, 2024

Rashid Khalidi, Professor emeritus at Columbia University and author of influential works on Palestinian history, joins Adam Kirsch, a writer and editor at The Wall Street Journal. They delve into the shifting power dynamics in the Middle East, discussing the limited support for the Palestinian cause from regional allies like Iran and Hezbollah. Khalidi emphasizes the historical roots of settler colonialism in relation to Zionism, challenging perceptions of the conflict. They also explore justice, equality, and the complexities inherent in the ongoing struggle for Palestinian identity.

51:51

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Adam Kirsch

Rashid Khalidi

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Quick takeaways

Rashid Khalidi argues that the limited responses of Iran and Hezbollah reveal a self-serving agenda rather than genuine support for the Palestinian cause.

The historical framework of settler colonialism is essential for understanding the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and its ongoing implications.

Deep dives

Understanding the Middle East Conflict

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East, particularly relating to Palestine and Israel, is characterized by its complexity and volatility. Recent events, such as the fall of Assad's regime in Syria and heightened tensions involving Hezbollah, have altered the geopolitical landscape significantly. These changes complicate predictions about the future of the war in Gaza, as the interconnections between regional powers like Hamas, Iran, and their strategic allies are fraught with miscalculations. Historical context is essential for understanding current dynamics, as the actions taken by groups like Hamas are not just reactions but also part of a broader narrative of conflict and resistance that spans decades.

Intro

4min

Geopolitical Dynamics of the Palestinian Cause

7min

Critiques and Complexities of Hamas

5min

Zionism and Settler Colonialism

15min

Justice, Equality, and the Concept of Settler Colonialism

4min

The Complexities of Settler Colonialism and the Israel-Palestine Conflict

15min

Documentaries Exploring the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

3min

Power dynamics in the Middle East shifted dramatically this year. In Lebanon, Israel dealt a severe blow toHezbollah, and another crucial ally of Iran—Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria—was toppled by insurgents. But the historian Rashid Khalidi is skeptical that these changes will set back the Palestinian cause, as it relates to Israel. “This idea that the Palestinians are bereft of allies assumes that they had people who were doing things for their interest,” Khalidi tells David Remnick, “which I don’t think was true.” The limited responses to the war in Gaza by Iran and Hezbollah, Khalidi believes, clearly demonstrate that Iran’s so-called Axis of Resistance “was designed by Iran to protect the Iranian regime. . . . It wasn’t designed to protect Palestine.” Khalidi, a professor emeritus at Columbia University, is the author of a number of books on Palestinian history; among them, “The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine” has been particularly influential. The book helped bring the term “settler colonialism” into common parlance, at least on the left, to describe Israel’s relationship to historic Palestine. Sometimes invoked as a term of opprobrium, “settler colonialism” is strongly disputed by supporters of Israel. Khalidi asserts that the description is historically specific and accurate. The early Zionists, he says, understood their effort as colonization. “That’s not some antisemitic slur,” he says. “That’s the description they gave themselves.”
The concept of settler colonialism has been applied, on the political left, to describe Israel’s founding, and to its settlement of the Palestinian-occupied territories. This usage has been disputed by supporters of Israel and by thinkers including Adam Kirsch, an editor at the Wall Street Journal, who has also written about philosophy for The New Yorker. “Settler colonialism is . . . a zero-sum way of looking at the conflict,” Kirsch tells David Remnick. “In the classic examples, it involves the destruction of one people by another and their replacement over a large territory, really a continent-wide territory. That’s not at all the history of Israel and Palestine.” Kirsch made his case in a recent book, “On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice.”

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The Political Scene | The New Yorker

Rashid Khalidi on the Palestinian Cause in a Volatile Middle East, and the Meaning of Settler Colonialism

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

Deep dives

Understanding the Middle East Conflict

The Role of Hamas and Regional Alliances

The State of Palestinian National Movement

Prospects for Resolution and Future Hope

Remember Everything You Learn from Podcasts