Edward Said on Conflicts and Peace

[SuperZubz]

It's amazing how the mainstream media won't play Edward Said but will have every other dimwit out there to speak about important issues. Shame the great man is now gone.

[toasterpolk]

true visionary,God bless him.

[projectsinexile]

Very special man indeed!

[alilapointe1]

what a loss for the arab world, the most powerful intellect in the academic world. edward said shreds.

[sgtmcwallace]

this is one of the best things I have seen on youtube.

[alilapointe1]

happy birth day professor

[showmoon]

He is the one who broadens my horizons in archaeology and interpretation.

[showmoon]

He is the one who broadens my horizons in archaeology and interpretation.

[showmoon]

He is the one who broadens my horizons in archaeology and interpretation.

[besiktassever]

I am sorry for not having the name of the article that I think would provide an interesting perspective on what are some of the contributing factors to the rise of fundamentalism in the Islamic world. I clearly remember reading a long article, perhaps a chapter or two that were taken out of a book, written by Eric Hobsbawm, which was elaborating on the political and economic circumstances in Europe, in particular Germany, between the two World wars. Remarkably similar to the Middle East today.

[PalestinianSpartan]

I love Edward Said.

[sohrab2012]

خدایا؛

مارا با این شیاطین دروغگو که در زمین فساد میکنند تنها مگذار،اینها به نام تو و رسول تو هرگونه جنایتی را برای قدرت و مال دنیا انجام میدهند،

قرآن مجيد،

سوره مائده، آيه ۳۵

سوره بقره، آيه ۱۵۲

مرگ بر خامنه ای شيطان و مفسد فی الارض

[GreatGrumbledook]

Has anyone ever told him that he is a giggling imbecile?

[butterflygirl134]

may his soul rest in peace

[ballsauce666]

Just on the other side of this wall -

is my land. I have a large olive orchard and I grow strawberries and melons.

My crops were exported to Europe.

My neighbor is a truck driver. He had plenty of work delivering Palestinian goods.

Life was good once. Simple. Calm. Peaceful.

Now there are walls, curfews, checkpoints, military, murder, injustice.

A wall cut me off from my land and settler hyenas from Russia stole it.

I just have this illegal wall and misery now.

Thanks so much israel!

[ubbddu]

i am a zionist and i dont agree with everything he says on the geo political perspective but he is a great thinker and a brave man, and hes voice should be heard.

[larrylife4life]

you do understand that everything he's saying undermines zionism, right?

[ubbddu]

everything? is he anti zionism or a critical thinker?

[larrylife4life]

that's my point, thinking critically undermines zionism by default.

[ubbddu]

oh, what else does it do by default? i might buy one if it makes coffee !

[larrylife4life]

you could check, but i'm not sure they're for sale.

[Ken1567]

What should the geo-political picture look like then, in your opinion, as a zionist? Said adamantly believes of both israel and palestine living side by side in peace. As long as Israelis disagree with that, then a mutual understanding and sympathy on both sides would cease to exist.

[ubbddu]

Well for the sake of debate I look at geo politics and human existence, as separate categories,

If you ask me about beliefs then we are all humans,

religious, ethnicity, culture are they constructions - to some point yes,

as a zionist let me say this: i dont think the zionist narrative is, by default - wrong as in a SOURCE of problems.

as for geo politics (culture aside again for sake of argument) - I dont believe in states I believe in economics.

[Ken1567]

And! if you agree on economical growth, then there sould be a Bi-national state in which both groups rule together. You can't have economical independence under military occupation, this does not work!

[ubbddu]

until we learn to respect each other in practice, i suggest that we try to collaborate on an macro economical basis and i think that israel can offer progress and compromise. on the basis of economics

to me that's a bit like the chicken and the egg.....

basically between you and me.... we just need to get along i dont care how you call it , would i agree to live in a secular democrat country that endorses peace and freedom? yes. is it reality in the middle east? not right now.

[Ken1567]

If you are saying a macro economical basis as a paveway for eventual palestinain statehood, then I totally agree!

[ubbddu]

i think the debate around the state of israel can only be "optimistic" by some how finding a more middle eastern prism - that is, developing the middle east, lets say like the european union to a certain degree. i think israels place in th reality of one generation ahead is still as the only democracy in the neighborhood, and i also feel i must say that the palestinains are the scape goat of the whole area, so for them i think its best to make a cease fire and calibrate an economical growth.

[Ken1567]

I try to be as objective as possible; looking back at the decades of war and hate between palestinains and israeli, it is hard to grasp that the palestinains would agree that their problem is economical and not nationhood. And the fact that their economy will be fully provided by israel is also something very difficult to understand, knowing the fact that there is little trust between the two sides.

[ubbddu]

many Palestinians would agree that their problem is economic, i think they need to have their own economy.

[Ken1567]

You have also described the palestinains as the 'scapegoat of the whole area' I can conclude from this line that you are totally ignorant about the palestinian reality (and a typical zionist mentality); there is a 92% literacy among palestinains the highest in the arab world. I think they are very capable of running their country very successfully without sporadic israeli intervention.

[ubbddu]

i hope they can run their own affairs too, none the less, as many other minorities, they are being used politically that's a fact i personally blame it on Arafat who quested power and influance on their back, and if you think that mr. ahmadinejad gives a flying pie about them... we disagree.

[Iker888]

the problem isnt their ability to govern themselves, its the influence of warmonging fundamentalists, (which do exist on both sides, but thats another issue) who have gained a great amount of influence (which isnt surprising after decades of war). the creation of a palestinian state has to be a joint reconciliatory project which takes into account every side, and every issue, otherwise you're not solving anything; and continued war and hatred will still cause great strife the region.

[bobyloopo]

i love this man may god rest his soul

[bazil494]

We want more like this, Mr. Elmaleh.

[zshavit]

democracy is obviously wonderful, but mr said don't forget and don't try to preach us while in the arab countries and between them themselves there are wars, hatreds, divisions and seperations by artificial borders... so if arabs seperate and can't live together, isn't it reasonable for jews to want their independent democratic state??!

[n8glenn]

For one thing, western interference has produced most of the tyranny you see in those arab countries, for another, the majority of the people living under the authority of the israeli government aren't jewish (48% jewish, 46% palestinian, 6% other). If israel was truly open and democratic, then it would not discriminate on the basis of religion, and everyone would be equal under the law.

[zshavit]

no problem, the arabs of west bank and gaza can create their own state and parts of the israeli arabs may join to the future state by the change of borders - i.e israel may cede parts of its territories to the arab emerging state. and then under the israeli governmnet will live maybe 10% or less of arabs. i wouldn't ask even for territory in exchange - so the palestinian state may become even bigger. but for some reasons the israeli arabs don't want to be part of a palestinian state...

[n8glenn]

Well it would mean moving away from their homes, you know. Maybe they just want to be israelis and to be treated equally.

[zshavit]

no, i didn't say from their homes - rather just change of a border, they remain in their homes and with all their property, but will be part of a palestinian state.

[salloumee]

Sorry, but how could a Palestinian who is living in Yaffa (by the sea) become a citizen of the "future" Palestinian state? What kind of border changing will achieve that? So some of them "and its not about numbers" will either live under discrimination or leave their homes AGAIN, and plz don't forget the WALL when talking about borders. Apart from that, what kind of state are we talking about?The "future" state as suggested will have no army and no control over borders, its just a huge prison.

[zshavit]

territory ceding is more applicable about the lands and the arab populations in the north of israel , in the Galil - densly populated arab areas near the palestinian territories, while Yaffa should remain part of israel. about discrimination - it might disappear if after the ceding of the territories fewer number of the arab citizens will remain in israel- instead of 20% today, 10% or maybe less. so for the remaining (in israel) arabs it might be better.

[nsam]

God I wish he was still alive and teaching at Columbia. He explains it so simply, yet people are wrapped in this complex whirlwind of propagada and stereotype.

[ma11ohad]

well the realty leatherly explode in your face. do you really think that a one state solution is possible? with hamas? with Fatah? they cant even leave toger with each other. Israel is the only country in the world for the Jewish nation!!! not the Jewish realion. as you know may anti Jewish people referring to Jews as a race or a nation when it's convenient to them or as a religion when it's convenient to them. the Jewish nation deserve a state as much as the palestinian

[nsam]

??!! Jews, Muslims and Christians lived together in Palestine very peacefully before the Zionist movement. There are MANY testimonies to this. It's a shame. Albert Einstein even said that created a state, with borders and operating with a military will give rise to a facist state. And he ended up being right. No state - just live together under a state called Palestine

[ma11ohad]

check history again and see how many times Arabs slather Jews in Israel before 1948. unlike all the other Arab states. Israel is a democracy and not a fascist state. if it was fascist there was no problem. the problem is the an Arab family have 5 kids in average and a Jewish family have 3 in a few years in a democratic way the Arabs could destroy the Israeli democracy and form a Muslim state instead like all the other arab state around. this is wy we need to create Palestine next to Israel now

[petersz98]

If Israel has a "right to exist as a Jewish state," then what can it legitimately do if Palestinians living under its control "violate" this right by having "too many" non-Jewish babies?

Can Israel expel non-Jews, fine them, strip them of citizenship or limit the number of children they can have? It is impossible to think of a "remedy" that does not do outrageous violence to universal human rights principles.

[Iker888]

yet they still have babies, unbothered, and are even represented in the kneset. they are israeli citizens and are protected under its law.

[TheTollundWoman]

It's true that Palestinians are guaranteed equality under Israeli law- on paper. In practice this is not enforced; Palestinians live in ghettoes and refugee camps, they are required to drive on separate roads, and they can be thrown off land their families have lived on for centuries to make room for Israeli settlers. Palestinians are denied *economic* equality. In addition they can be interned without trial and *tortured*.

[TheTollundWoman]

I am not anti-Israel but I don't understand how anyone can believe that what has been done to the Palestinians is right.

[Iker888]

you're right, i was trying to make a different point, but i dont disagree with you on the deliberate misfortunes the palestinians have and continue to suffer.

[TheTollundWoman]

thanks for your response

[21cdeleuze]

Always inspiring !! SAID for ever !

[thalink2001]

Wow just Wow this man was truly Gifted

[arianzamin]

Such a outstanding MAN! He had to be cloned for his ideas & activities

[ejalal33]

Said has spent most of his life fighting for the palestinian cause though he did not share their religion Islam. In other words, it's not religion which separates people and entities but it's something else like power, natural resources and money; that's the basic reason after all

[azizmohaisen]

his noble motive is something beyond the religion.

[edbingey]

Spot on! It's so lovely to hear somebody else say that when you've been arguing it for so long.

[ejalal33]

absolutely Azizmohaisen, it's very rare to find someone in the world today speaking beyond religions and conflicts. Remember that Said was able to uncover the motifs behind this clash of civilisation ploted by thinkers such as Bernard Lewis and Hungtington.

[darthcheney80]

Yes, in the age of Eurabia story telling it is liberating to hear a sober intellectual voice that give a historical context to the relation between Christianity and Islam. His book Orietalism is really relevant today.

[212deiryassin]

ejalal...

what do you mean by saying"said was a palestinian,but didnt share their religion"...?"their" religion?

palestinian christians make up 10% of palestinians.said is one.

so too am i.

[WaarOmeter]

Amazing man, amazing ideas. Should never be forgotten.

[sayle79]

I wish I would be honored with being one of your students..

[bbproductionsLA]

He is amazing! Well done Mr. Said

[gabecollett]

what if i said he wasnt brillant

aah

just joxing, lixe chomsxy

a genius

[aldww]

What a great words by brillian man.

[clementearmandodiaz]

Very good video, thank you for posting it, i'm going to use it in one of my classes, thanks.

[alanjohn2006]

great video