Decoding West Asia Conflict with Dr. Stanly Johny — Israel–Palestine Standoff
with Dr. Stanly Johny · Journalist, editor at The Hindu, author and commentator on geopolitics
Historical Roots, Ottoman Migration & UN Partition (1947–1993)
A lot of people try to understand the Israel-Palestine conflict in the context of the October 7, 2023 attack. But there is actually a deep, long history behind it... Jewish people were migrating from Europe because of antisemitism, settling down in historical Palestine ruled by the Ottomans. Later came the 1947 UN General Assembly Resolution 181 promising two states, followed by decades of displacement and the 1993 Oslo Accords.
West Bank Checkpoints, Occupation & Human Rights Reports
West Bank towns are like capsules. You are stuck in a capsule... There are 540 checkpoints in the West Bank. Imagine a student going to university through multiple military checkpoints... If you refer to reports by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and B'Tselem, they concluded the nature of occupation and the ongoing military campaign in Gaza.
AIPAC Lobbying, Geopolitics & Deep Journalism
AIPAC is basically an Israeli lobby in the US. They fund election campaigns, universities, media, and both political parties... It's extremely difficult for any American president to upset the lobby... Meanwhile, 90% of people prefer ChatGPT 10-point summaries that they forget tomorrow, while the 10% who read the 10,000-word ground reporting retain true historical context.
Transcript
- 1:14Student host
Greetings everyone. I'm Sri Lakshmi, second year from the law department. It gives me an immense pleasure to welcome you all to this session of Udbhavya the dialogue lab.
- 1:29Student host
Udbhavya the dialogue lab is a platform where students can freely express their thoughts, ideas and perspectives. It goes beyond classroom learning by bringing together students from different disciplines to explore and discuss various issues that are happening across the world and engage them in a meaningful conversation.
- 1:53Student host
The discussions at Udbhavya cover a wide range of topics including law, politics, economics, technology, current affairs and international relations.
- 2:06Student host
The primary aim of Udbhavya is to encourage critical thinking, respectful dialogue and a deeper understanding of the world around us.
- 5:21Guest
Yeah, it's nice. Good afternoon everyone. It's nice to be on the campus. I cherish interacting with students. I am primarily a journalist but I also teach in a couple of places in Chennai.
- 6:17Student
Before we get into our conversation, I think it would be helpful for our students and faculty present here to hear a brief overview about Israel, Palestine and the wider West Asian region. So if you could give us a brief and broad context on the area, it would be wonderful.
- 6:45Guest
My latest book is about Israel Palestine... Original Sin, Israel, Palestine and the Revenge of Old West Asia.
Dr. Stanly Johny
Journalist, editor at The Hindu, author and commentator on geopolitics and international affairs.
Born and brought up in Kerala; studied at Mahatma Gandhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (international studies, West Asian affairs).
Career: editorial and copy-editing roles, Hindustan Times, Business Standard, then The Hindu. Covers West Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, US and Russia.
Books: The ISIS Caliphate, The Comrades and the Mullahs, Original Sin: Israel, Palestine and the Revenge of Old West Asia.
Associated with the Middle East Institute (Washington DC) and the Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses; IVLP fellow of the US Department of State.