PreOccupation: A Not-So-Brief History of Palestine

The PreOccupation podcast is back, this time with some reflections on the difficulty of telling the Palestinian story, and a deep dive into one of the most neglected and ignored segments of Palestinian society. Enjoy! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

In this episode we look at the relationships between Bedouin, peasant, and urban Palestinians in late Ottoman Palestine. The episode will also introduce you to one Palestinian and his decades long game of cat and mouse with Ottoman authorities. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

This three part mini-series explores the ways that resistance factions carry out their side of the information war, and the impact of the "resistance industry" on the culture of the Arabic speaking world. It is a story that will take you from Beirut to Gaza and back. Enjoy! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

This three part mini-series explores the ways that resistance factions carry out their side of the information war, and the impact of the "resistance industry" on the culture of the Arabic speaking world. It is a story that will take you from Beirut to Gaza and back. Enjoy! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

This three part mini-series explores the ways that resistance factions carry out their side of the information war, and the impact of the "resistance industry" on the culture of the Arabic speaking world. It is a story that will take you from Beirut to Gaza and back. Enjoy! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

In this bonus episode, I break with the historical theme of the podcast to share some thoughts on Israel's recent assassination in Lebanon and some of the social trends that have emerged during this war. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

It is widely known that in the 1870s, Palestine was administratively transformed into the Mutessarifat of al-Quds al-Sharif. What is much less well known is the story of how this administrative district came into existence. Join me as we take a deep dive into the administrative boundaries of late Ottoman Palestine. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

Season 3 is a deep dive into Palestine's "Hamidian era." That is, the period under the rule of Sultan Abdulhamid II. In this season 3 prologue, we explore the circumstances that gave rise to Sultan Abdulhamid II, and the hotly contested legacy that follows him to this very day. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

Last episode we saw how the notables of Palestine cleverly adjusted to the demands of modernity, emerging as winners in the Ottoman reform era. But just as the sky parted above the urban elite, storm clouds began to gather over the fellahin of the countryside. This, then, is the story of how modernity came crashing down upon the peasants of Palestine, creating a devastation so irreparable that its impact continues to be felt to this very day. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

This interview originally aired on "Stories from Palestine", a great podcast where the host, Kristal, uncovers the mysteries of contemporary Palestine through interviews with Palestinian experts. In this interview, Kristal and I discuss the emergence of Palestinian identity. Enjoy! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

I am joined by Dr. Usamma Makdisi to discuss his most recent book "The Age of Coexistence". In this book Dr. Usamma Makdisi explores the politics of pluralism during the Ottoman Empire and in the post-Ottoman Arab world. Rather than judging the Arab world as a place of age-old sectarian animosities, "Age of Coexistence" describes the forging of a complex system of coexistence, what Makdisi calls the “ecumenical frame.” He argues that new forms of antisectarian politics, and some of the most important examples of Muslim-Christian political collaboration, crystallized to make and define the modern Arab world. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

Dr. Andrew Delatolla is a professor of Middle Eastern studies at the University of Leeds. His book "Civilization and the Making of the State in Lebanon and Syria" explores the ever-shifting civilizational standards that were imposed upon the Ottomans by the West, and the implications that this had for the inhabitants of the region. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

In part two of "The Bloody Birth of the Arabs", we explore how the violence of 1860 gave voice to a new message: "Hob al watan min al iman." Love of your nation is part of your faith. This episode is a deep dive into the local and foreign attempts to reach the children of Palestine (and beyond) using European colonialism's most successful institution; the modern school. In classrooms inside and outside of Palestine, local visionaries, Christian missionaries, and the Ottoman state found themselves competing for the hearts and minds of children, giving rise to the political movements of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

In 1860, two communities in Mount Lebanon - who had coexisted for centuries - found themselves barreling toward a head on collision. With almost two centuries of hindsight, this episode explores the many ways in which this head-on clash was manufactured in the capitals of Europe. This two part episode explores how this watershed moment in the history of the region gave rise to new ways of thinking about who the people of the region truly are. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

The Tanzimat reforms stretched from 1839 to 1876. In that time, the Ottoman empire engaged in a centralization campaign that completely altered the relationship between the Ottoman government and its subject population. This episode picks up where we left off in season 1, with an impending clash between the Ottoman Empire and the Khedive, Mohammed Ali Pasha. From there, we explore how European ambition, Ottoman survivalism, and questions about the role of religion set the empire on a series of reforms that would change life in Palestine forever. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

Is diversity a problem, or a blessing? For centuries, the Ottoman Empire was arguably the most diverse polity in the history of the world. But as the Ottoman crescent began to wane, the pressures of modernity forced the High Porte to reevaluate the benefit of its heterogeneity . In the Season 2 opener, we shift our focus away from the particulars of life in Palestine to explore the nature of intercommunal relations in the Ottoman realm of the 19th century. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

A special announcement regarding season 2! Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

Between the 16th - 19th centuries, Europe experienced technological and social transformations that had a profound impact on Palestine. Simultaneously, the era of the Strongman is coming to an end in Palestine, but not without a fight. Join me, as I journey through Acre's final days as Palestine's most prosperous city. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

In 1799 Napoleon Bonaparte makes landfall in Jaffa. This represents the first saga in Palestine's long history with European colonialism. Meanwhile, Palestine and its inhabitants continue to struggle and adapt to the country's everchanging landscape. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

In the 18th century, the northern district of Safad is the centre of Palestine's lucrative cotton trade. At the peak of Safad's cotton boom, a small conflict over farming rights becomes the genesis story of modern Palestine's founding father. Join me as I take you through the rise and fall of the most important Palestinian you've probably never heard of. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

“The inhabitants [of Nablus] are most proud of it, and think there is no place in the world equal to it.” These words were spoken by a priest traveling through the holy land in the Ottoman era. Between the 16th - 18th centuries, Nablus was unquestionably the economic heart of Ottoman Palestine. Join me as I discuss the unique social arrangements that made this city so special. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

This episode is part one of a three part series covering early Ottoman Palestine (16th - 18th centuries). In the 16th century a new power came to rule over Palestine. From the onset, this new dynasty would face unique challenges. Join me as I take you through early Ottoman Palestine and introduce you the families that ruled the holy city of Jerusalem. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations

Where does the name Palestine come from? Who are the Palestinians? Are they "Arabs" who migrated over from neighboring countries, or are they they indigenous inhabitants of this hotly contested land? In this opening episode, I scratch the surface on these important questions. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/preoccupation-a-not-so-brief-history-of-palestine/donations