Yardena Schwartz on the 1929 Massacre in Hebron That Ignited the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Yardena Shwartz, an award-winning journalist and Emmy-nominated producer, joins us to discuss her book, Ghosts of a Holy War. Yardena's book focuses on the 1929 Hebron massacre, allowing us to see the shocking parallels between the historical events of 1929 and the October 7th massacre in Israel. Hebron, an ancient city with archeological finds going back some 5,000 years, is in the controlled territory of both governments. For thousands of years, Hebron has had great religious importance for both Jews and Muslims. Despite Yardena's credentials, and her book's relevance to the current news cycle, "Ghosts of a Holy War" book has been largely ignored by mainstream media and literary circles. It is not a stretch to assume that the historical information revealed in this book goes against the dominant stories in mass media, that seek  sources that support their simplified oppressor and oppressed narrative.  As history repeatedly shows us, if we don't understand the past, we are doomed to repeat it. The misinformation leading to the 1929 massacre, and the way the massacre was interpreted by the world, is a repeat of what we have seen since October 7. We have seen denials of the recorded atrocities on October 7, misinformation and marches praising the violence as glorious resistance. How can we end the cycles of violence in the region if we don't understand the root causes? It feels like we are trying to cure cancer by taking an Advil and screaming about the pain. Yardena's book shares the historical root causes of the cancer of violence that has plagued the region since 1929. Yardena's book also recounts stories of friendship and muslim families that protected their neighbors. The Jewish families and students in Hebron were not prepared for the violence because they lived peacefully and happily with their neighbors. In 1929, just as today, misinformation from leaders with bad intentions, fueled horrifying fury, and religiously driven violence.  We hope that more people decide to learn the history of the region through credible journalists and historians, instead of repeating dangerous misinformation and lies. For the sake of every innocent child, please make time to find the historical truth.  PLEASE HELP US OUT BY SHARING THIS EPISODE WITH A FRIEND! Notable Quotes with Timestamps "Those who don't learn history are doomed to repeat it... the similarities of what happened on October 7th and the 1929 massacre are shocking." — Polina, ~03:30 (04:25.74 segment) "You had the Muslim clerics and Jewish rabbis dancing together at weddings." — Polina, 04:25 "3,000 Muslim men, armed with swords, axes, and daggers, marched through the ancient Jewish quarter of Hebron." — Yardena, 10:56 "At least 250 of them were saved by their courageous Muslim neighbors who risked their own lives to hide them." — Yardena, 13:17 "If in 1929 Hebron was a beacon of coexistence in Palestine, today it's the antithesis of coexistence." — Yardena, 15:41 "He convinced his people that the Jews of Palestine were actively working to destroy Al-Aqsa... he weaponized Islam." — 20:19 "Hitler even considered the Mufti an honorary Aryan." — Yardena, 41:21 "I asked children, what are you taught about peace? They couldn't answer me. They didn't understand the question." — Yardena, 01:00:03–01:02:24 "My book has only been covered in conservative media... the liberal, supposedly fact-based media sphere is just not interested in this story because it challenges the narrative they're trying to sell." — Yardena, 01:04:34 "Supporting Hamas is anti-Palestine... if you can both perpetuate the lie of genocide while also praising October 7th and the terrorists who carried it out, there's something wrong here." — Yardena, 01:06:51 "It was extremely disorienting because I felt that day as if I was walking into the pages of history I had spent the last four years reading and writing about." — Yardena, on October 7, 01:13:34 "Antizionism is inherently anti-Semitism... when you hold the one Jewish state to different standards than every other state, clearly you have a problem with there being a single Jewish state." — Yardena, 01:22:29 "There are 57 Muslim countries in the world, and one tiny little Jewish state." 01:22:29 https://curiousmiddlepod.com If you enjoyed this episode, you may like these conversations: Rabbi  Steve Leder, History, Faith , DEI, Ethics, Anxiety and Awe Sophia Khalifa, Bedouin Muslim Israeli Engineer Shares Why She Became an Acivitist for Israel Dumisani Washinton, Pastor, CEO and Author of Zionism and the Black Church Soviet Anti-Semitism with Izabala Tabarosky, Arab Israeii Muslm Activist and Stanford MBA Sophia Khalifa  Erin Molan Fearless Reporter and Advocate for Humanity