Listening to the podcast rather than reading or even watching a video about the events allowed me to deeply imagine and think about different perspectives of each event.Even a video would have prompted a different interpretation not having the detailed sound and descriptions. This journalistic perspective provided many specific details that made me feel like I was getting a behind the scenes perspective of the various events.Hearing of first hand experiences really explains the seriousness and tension that citizens experiences in the Arab world.I think the one experience that Jeremy Bowen talked about that did a great job at depicting these first hand experiences was when he needed gas for his heater and his cooker. At first the man selling him gas for his cooker told him that he needed to get Arab gas for his heater.After this, once he found someone that sold the gas he ran into another problem which was that the color of the cylinder was different.The man selling him the gas decided to re-paint the cylinder the correct color so he could sell him the oil.When he went to pass the Israeli checkpoint he was stopped by soldiers who saw him trying to take west bank gas into Jerusalem. This was an issues for the soldiers because having no knowledge of why he painted the cylinder was justified for them to question the situation, worst case scenario it could have been a bomb.
Luckily the soldiers acknowledged the fact that he was a foreign journalist. This situation was only one example of how the conflict impacted all aspects of life beyond its political and geographical reasons. Experiences like this could only be described in readings to a certain extent. In listening to this pod cast I could truly imagine every pressured moment that he felt in simply trying to get some oil to heat his home.
The podcast on "Guns and Olive Branches" did a very good job at explaining Arafat's influence on this region while also shedding light on what his intentions were despite the different opinions about him.The small details provided in the podcast such as how Arafat particularly war his keffiyeh (a Bedouin arab's kerchief worn as a head dress) contributed to this look back at his life.Although many were not satisfied with Arafat's decisions I was shocked, taken aback yet in a small way impressed by his dedication and charisma to fight Israel. Arafat's words at the UN General Assembly became his most famous words.Before even watching the video attached below I could literally feel each and every word of this statement even when it was spoken by Mr. Bowen.I appreciated this podcast because it complements the reading very well.
I think that the reading does a great job at explaining exactly what happened and then sources such as this one allow us to more deeply reveal how and why specific events occurred. The pro's of having this information delivered audibly are that it allows me to not only listen but but analyze simultaneously whereas when watching a video or reading this information it seems more effective to watch or read the info in whole and analyze after. On the contrary I think that a con of listening to this information is that alot of this conflict involves geography therefore it is almost a necessity to have some source of geographical reference to look at while discussing this regions conflict.
Video:oterbulbul. “Yasser Arafat's Speech at the UN General Assembly Olive Branch Speech.” YouTube, YouTube, 24 Nov. 2012, www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVXN6EiqKFY.
Picture:Toi, et al. “Palestinian Shot Rushing West Bank Checkpoint.” The Times of Israel, www.timesofisrael.com/palestinian-shot-rushing-west-bank-checkpoint/.
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