A NOTE: Our Russia-Ukraine Resources are updated weekly - if you're accessing the page a week or more past the below date, pieces mentioned in this post may have been removed to make room for up-to-date resources.
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Updated Resources - October 11, 2023
Southern aerial view of the Temple Mount (Hebrew: הַר הַבַּיִת, Har HaBáyit, Arabic: الحرم الشريف, al-Ḥaram al-Šarīf), showing, Al-Aqsa Mosque (Hebrew: הַר הַבַּיִת, Arabic: المسجد الأقصى المبارك) in the Old City of Jerusalem (Hebrew: העיר העתיקה, Arabic: البلدة القديمة). Al-Aqsa Mosque is considered to be the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina. The Temple Mount, which is called by Muslims Al-Aqsa Mosque, is considered to be the premier holy site in Judaism as it is the place where the first and second Temples stood. (Andrew Shiva, CC BY-SA 4.0 DEED, via Wikimedia Commons)
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Kyiv Independent: Newsfeed
Novaya Gazeta Europe: Newsfeed
The Insider: Newsfeed
Israeli West-Bank barrier near Ramallah. 29 January 2010. (W. Hagens, Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
EUMA monitors within Armenia looking at Azerbaijan's military checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor and the blocked humanitarian convoy of trucks that was sent to Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh. July 26 2023. (EU Mission in Armenia (EUMA), an entity of the European-Commission, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
WHAT'S ON OUR MIND
This week the heaviness in our hearts is doubled by the palpable suffering of our friends embroiled in the Russia - Ukraine war and, following the weekend’s events, in Israel and Palestine. These peoples and lands are inextricably woven throughout the fabric of Track Two. Our love extends to all in our network during this sad and fearful time.
In addition to our weekly update of Ukraine War resources, today our curation brings updates and insights on the Israel-Hamas War, including analysis of the intersection between these two conflicts.
We begin at the junction of the mounting war in Israel-Palestine and key players in the Russia-Ukraine War. The Israel-Hamas war, and renewed US commitment to Israel, comes as aid for Ukraine grows divisive in the halls of Washington. The Moscow Times examines the implications for Russian diplomacy in the Israel-Palestine conflict following the latest outbreak of hostilities and in a different piece, collects key reactions from Russian officials and state media figures. Meduza offers clarity on the history of Russia’s relationship with Hamas, while RT outlines Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s concerns with Washington’s ‘monopolization’ of the peace process in the middle east. Kyiv Post interviews the Israeli Ambassador to Ukraine who takes a measured stance on the parallels between the two nations’ respective conflicts. The Kyiv Independent recounts the experiences of Ukrainians who fled war in their homeland, seeking safety in Israel, only to experience heartbreaking déjà vu as the terror of war once more pervaded their lives.
Foreign Affairs, The New Yorker, and Foreign Policy offer entry points into the current escalation between Israel and Hamas from the perspectives of Former US Ambassador to Israel Martin Indyk, author, essayist, and journalist based in Jerusalem, Nathan Thrall and experts at CSIS respectively. The Conversation offers four illuminating pieces: one draws historical parallels between today and the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, one sheds light on the significance of Al-Aqsa Mosque (the holy site that serves as the namesake for Hamas’ ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’), another profiles the densely populated Gaza Strip, and the last explores potential goals of Hamas’s aggression. Through a modern lens, Wired examines the pervasive disinformation surrounding the current conflict on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), similar to what was seen on various digital platforms throughout the war in Ukraine.
Another shared theme in coverage of these conflicts emerges: the growing influence of the Global South. The Conversation offers an interesting angle on the reaction out of South Africa, made relevant by the historical ties between the ANC and Palestinian liberation movement and Responsible Statecraft surveys further reactions from 11 countries in the Global South. Al Jazeera highlights the European response, reporting on the EU’s reversal of course on freezing development aid payments to Palestine.
We conclude with pieces that reveal deep humanity at the center of these conflicts. RT shares Israeli locals’ perspectives on a new war with Hamas, as well as Palestinian reactions to Israeli counterstrikes in Gaza. The New Yorker relates one Israeli father’s reckoning with the hostage-taking of his family, and The Nation explores occupation from the perspective of a Palestinian journalist. On the Russia-Ukraine resource page, The Insider details the Russian invasion’s effect on children in Ukraine and Novaya Gazeta Europe launches a special project on Russian soldiers killed in action and the state’s interference in loved ones’ mourning.
In addition to coverage of the mounting Israeli and Palestinian conflict, we’ve added a plethora of insightful pieces to our Russia-Ukraine Resource Page, including illuminating videos and stirring projects from the arts, as we do each week.
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