Why am I writing this blog? Simple - there's a gap in the market.
I see screeds of blogs on the Middle East on an almost daily basis. Many of these contribute nothing or little to anyone's understanding of the region and its conflicts, or to Israel's position in particular. That's because so much of this material reflects one thing above all - the opinions of its writers.
Now there's nothing wrong with opinions per se - provided they are derived from and framed within a careful consideration of the factual evidence. Sadly, very few are. As an academic, that disturbs me. The world is a complicated and confusing place. Making sense of it requires clarity of thought. If we spout our views on any topic without reference to the evidence, what do we achieve? Zilch. A transient sense of "getting it off our chest" perhaps but that won't make much impact on anyone else or effect change in the medium or long term.
Here's fact number one - Israel is losing the PR war. The evidence for that statement is overwhelming and I'd be happy to review it for anyone who doubts it. Whatever strategies that advocates for Israel are using to try to change negative public perceptions of the country are not working. If your examination of the evidence has led you (like me) to adopt a position that is broadly supportive of Israel, that must worry you.
So I propose that all concerned about Israelis and/or Arabs should change tack. We need to de-emphasise our instincts, beliefs and emotions - in short, our opinions. Instead we need to reassert the evidence on which those opinions are based. The philosophical posture of this blog can be summed up in this statement (attributed to former President Obama and many others): "You are entitled to your own opinions but not to your own facts." We need to challenge those with whom we disagree to present their evidence. And we need, in turn, to offer evidence to validate our position.
An evidence-based approach is necessary to contextualise the debate, identify the real issues and help promote a peaceful resolution of the conflct. If you agree with those objectives, you should find this blog worth reading - whatever your attitude to Israel and her critics.
I see screeds of blogs on the Middle East on an almost daily basis. Many of these contribute nothing or little to anyone's understanding of the region and its conflicts, or to Israel's position in particular. That's because so much of this material reflects one thing above all - the opinions of its writers.
Now there's nothing wrong with opinions per se - provided they are derived from and framed within a careful consideration of the factual evidence. Sadly, very few are. As an academic, that disturbs me. The world is a complicated and confusing place. Making sense of it requires clarity of thought. If we spout our views on any topic without reference to the evidence, what do we achieve? Zilch. A transient sense of "getting it off our chest" perhaps but that won't make much impact on anyone else or effect change in the medium or long term.
Here's fact number one - Israel is losing the PR war. The evidence for that statement is overwhelming and I'd be happy to review it for anyone who doubts it. Whatever strategies that advocates for Israel are using to try to change negative public perceptions of the country are not working. If your examination of the evidence has led you (like me) to adopt a position that is broadly supportive of Israel, that must worry you.
So I propose that all concerned about Israelis and/or Arabs should change tack. We need to de-emphasise our instincts, beliefs and emotions - in short, our opinions. Instead we need to reassert the evidence on which those opinions are based. The philosophical posture of this blog can be summed up in this statement (attributed to former President Obama and many others): "You are entitled to your own opinions but not to your own facts." We need to challenge those with whom we disagree to present their evidence. And we need, in turn, to offer evidence to validate our position.
An evidence-based approach is necessary to contextualise the debate, identify the real issues and help promote a peaceful resolution of the conflct. If you agree with those objectives, you should find this blog worth reading - whatever your attitude to Israel and her critics.
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