GAZA WAR CHRONICLES
From October 7 to the Hague (Part 2)
Teach-In Session 17 - January 19, 2024

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TEACHING RESOURCES

  • OBJECTIVE
  • BIOGRAPHY
  • RESOURCES
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In this teach-in, we will continue to explore the ongoing developments in Gaza. Students will gain a comprehensive understanding of Israel's military situation and the current political dynamics in the region, with a focus on Yemen and the West Bank. We will also connect these discussions to the earlier session by examining the concept of ethnic cleansing, tracing its historical roots and exploring its contemporary implications. Additionally, we will analyze how Zionism plays a key role in shaping these issues.
Mouin Rabbani is a researcher, analyst, and commentator specialising in Palestinian affairs, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and the contemporary Middle East. He has among other positions previously served as Principal Political Affairs Officer with the Office of the UN Special Envoy for Syria, Head of Middle East with the Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation, and Senior Middle East Analyst and Special Advisor on Israel-Palestine with the International Crisis Group. Rabbani is Co-Editor of Jadaliyya, where he also hosts the Connections podcast and edits its Quick Thoughts feature, Managing Editor and Associate Editor of the Journal of Peacebuilding and Development, and a Contributing Editor of Middle East Report. He is Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for Conflict and Humanitarian Studies (CHS) and at Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN). A graduate of Tufts University and Georgetown University’s Center for Contemporary Arab Studies (CCAS), Rabbani has published, presented and commented widely on Middle East issues, including for most major print, television and digital media. 
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Bassam Haddad (Moderator) is Founding Director of the Middle East and Islamic Studies Program and Associate Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He is the author of Business Networks in Syria: The Political Economy of Authoritarian Resilience (Stanford University Press, 2011) and co-editor of A Critical Political Economy of the Middle East (Stanford University Press, 2021). Bassam is Co-Founder/Editor of Jadaliyya Ezine and Executive Director of the Arab Studies Institute. He serves as Founding Editor of the Arab Studies Journal and the Knowledge Production Project. He is co-producer/director of the award-winning documentary film, About Baghdad, and director of the acclaimed series Arabs and Terrorism. Bassam serves on the Board of the Arab Council for the Social Sciences and is Executive Producer of Status Audio Magazine and Director of the Middle East Studies Pedagogy Initiative (MESPI). He received MESA's Jere L. Bacharach Service Award in 2017 for his service to the profession. Currently, Bassam is working on his second Syria book titled Understanding the Syrian Calamity: Regime, Opposition, Outsiders (forthcoming, Stanford University Press).

FULL TEACH-IN
CONTENTS
  • Intro on Israeli Objectives Proclamations 
  • Israeli Objective of Destroying Hamas
  • Gazans' Extraordinary Resourcefulness
  • The History of Israel's Ethnic Cleansing
  • On Israel Exporting its Violence to the West Bank 
  • On Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism 
"What Israelis called "transfer," which is their term for ethnic cleansing, has been at the very heart of the Zionist approach to the Palestinians from the very foundations of the contemporary Zionist movement in the late 19th century."  - Mouin Rabbani

TEACHING GUIDE

  • CONTENT OVERVIEW
  • ​DISCUSSION & RESEARCH-BASED QUESTIONS 
  • ​CREATIVE/GROUP PROJECTS & ACTIVITIES
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Gaza War Chronicles examines the background and context of the current crisis, the war itself, and the manner in which it is being conducted. Mouin Rabbani, the host of the incisive Connections podcast and author of the Ongoing War on Gaza Quick Thoughts commentary, also addresses the war’s local, regional, and international dimensions and repercussions. Prominent themes that have emerged or re-emerged, such as ethnic cleansing, the relationship between Zionism and anti-Semitism, genocide, and the ICJ hearings will be discussed.
  1. How has the evolution of Zionism influenced the development of anti-semitic rhetoric and policies? 
  2. Since the creation of the State of Israel, how have their policies and military actions contributed to the continuous displacement and dispossession of Palestinians? How do these actions align with the defintion of ethnic cleansing? 
  3. What role have regional actors, such as Yemen and Lebanon, played since Israel's attacks on Gaza? Has their support strengthened the resistance movement? In what ways?
  4. How has the violence in Gaza been perceived and interpreted in the West Bank? What strategies has Israel employed to justify these actions within the context of its ongoing military presence? How has the response of the Palestinian Authority influenced the political climate in the West Bank?
  1. Historical Exploration of Palestinian Displacement: This project examines the concept of the "ongoing Nakba" through  from 1948 to the present. Students will research a different aspect of Palestinian displacement and ethnic cleansing, covering topics such as the impact of Israeli military operations in Gaza, the role of settkements in the West Bank, and the legal definitions of ethnic cleansing. These findings will be compiled into a detailed timeline or visual map that traces key events and policies leading up to Palestinian displacement. Students will examine how policies, military actions, and economic strategies have led to the ongoing displacement and dispossession of Palestinians. 
  2. Oral History Archive: This project focuses on collecting and analyzing oral histories related to the Nakba. Students either conduct interviews with Palestinian elders or work with existing oral history archives. They compare these personal accounts with official records and academic studies on the impact of displacement. The project results in a digital archive of testimonies, accompanied by analytical essays exploring themes such as loss of property, changes in social structures, and the intergenerational transmission of trauma. 

SEGMENTS

1. Intro on Israeli Objectives Proclamation

Mouin Rabbani speaks about the military situation in Israel and their response to Hamas. 

4. On the History of Israel's Ethnic Cleansing

Mouin Rabbani provides a concise overview of the history of transfer projects in Israel that contributed to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.

2. On Israeli Objective of Destroying Hamas 

Mouin Rabbani outlines Israel's strategies and objectives aimed at attempts to weakening Hamas' military capabilities.

5. On Israel Exporting its Violence to the West Bank

Mouin Rabbani outlines the political climate in the West Bank and Israel's intensified crackdown on violence in the region since the onset of the attacks on Gaza.

3. On Gazans' Extraordinary Resourcefulness

Mouin Rabbani provides an analysis of Israel's unsuccessful attempts to militarily dismantle Hamas and the resulting geopolitical consequences.
6. On Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism
Mouin Rabbani discusses the contrasting forces of antisemitism and anti-Zionism, and how Israel leverages these phenomena to reshape the narrative in the region.

SOUNDBITES

Ethnic Cleansing

Israel's Military Situation

Yemen's Role in the Resistance Movement