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PaperclipPerfector  5mo ago (text post)   3658 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for November 26, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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So, what are you reading?

I'm picking up Zurayk's The Meaning of the Disaster, which established the term Nakba (ie. the disaster) related to the Palestinians. I've seen it mentioned several times in articles by pro-Israel writers, typically to point out that the "disaster" was that Arab countries failed in their war against Israel, and not just the unprovoked displacement of the Palestinians. I wondered how the source text itself would read.

It is refreshing to read a foreign opinion on the topic, however dated. One does wonder if his take on international Jewry, which reads a lot like conspiracy theories of the West, was an indigenous one born from dealing with the West from the outside, or an imported one.

Also picking up Herzl's The Jewish State.

Started on the second book of the Aubrey Maturin series (the books the Master and Commander movie was based on). I've heard it described as Jane Austen at sea but since peace broke out and Jack doesn't have a ship it's been more like Jane Austen on land so far. I'm liking this one more than the first one so far, maybe because it has less of a wall of nautical terminology to get through.

You'll pick up on the terminology as you read the series. Very fun read, I hope you enjoy it!

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