The Beacon is the brand new podcast from Oxford IRSoc. Each week we will be focusing on a pressing topic in the news and interviewing a variety of academics, politicians and journalists to get a range of perspectives. Our focus this week is the recent violence in Israel and the West Bank. On the 24th December Isreali authorities declared three Palestinian assailants were killed as they carried out or tried to carry out stabbing or car-ramming attacks against Israeli security personnel, and a fourth Palestinian was killed in clashes with Israeli troops. Two Israeli security guards and a soldier were wounded. These recent attacks are a perpetuation of a violent trend since mid-September which shows no signs of abating. Since September Palestinian attacks, mostly stabbings and shootings, have killed 20 Israelis, while Israeli fire has killed 124 Palestinians, among them 85 said by Israel to be attackers. The rest were killed in clashes with Israeli forces. Israel accuses The Palestinian Authority of inciting the violence. In response the PA has commented that it is the simply result of nearly 50 years of military occupation. The violence has been triggered in part by recent visits by Jewish groups to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in occupied East Jerusalem, coupled with restrictions on Palestinian access to the mosque. Frustration is also mounting as Israel continues to build Jewish-only settlements throughout the West Bank. However, these events also poses a threat to the leadership of the Palestinian authority which now appear trapped in a catch-22 situation over the continuing violence, which they neither lead nor feel able to fully condone or disavow. What are the origins of this spate of attacks? Are the current punitive tactics employed by Israeli security forces the best way of combating them? and what implications do recent events have upon the current viability of the two state solution? To examine these questions in more detail Will Yeldham spoke to Yiftah Curiel Head Spokesperson at the Israeli Embassy. What are your thoughts? Get involved by visiting our website, Facebook page and Twitter feeds and comment to keep the debate going. We will post details of the speakers ahead of the recording and you have any questions you'd like us address please send them in to sir-editor@irsoc.com.
Discord in Brussels: Divided Responses to the Refugee Crisis
The Beacon is the brand new podcast from Oxford IRSoc. Each week we will be focusing on a pressing topic in the news and interviewing a variety of academics, politicians and journalists to get a range of perspectives.
In this week's podcast Alfie Shaw speaks to Professor Dawn Chatty, Emerita Professor of Anthropology and Forced Migration and former Director of the Refugee Studies Centre here in Oxford. They discuss the EU's disjointed response to the crisis, Britain's own position and the state of refugee camps. Next Will Yeldham spoke to Freya Judd, director of the upcoming show 'Pentecost' at the Oxford Playhouse, about how the play raises key questions of the portrayal of refugees both within itself and wider culture. What are your thoughts? Get involved by visiting our website, Facebook page and Twitter feeds and comment to keep the debate going. We will post details of the speakers ahead of the recording and you have any questions you'd like us address please send them in to sir-editor@irsoc.com.