1948

from The New York Times I'm Michael. babbaro this is the. [Applause]. [Music]. daily as the Israeli Palestinian. conflict enters its darkest chapter in. decades both sides are evoking the same. foundational moment in their past the. events of. 1948 today I speak with David dier the.

author of a book about the conflict and. a Jerusalem bureau chief for the times. at a crucial moment in our understanding. of. 1948 about the meaning and the reality. of what happened that. [Applause]. year it's Friday November. 3rd.

David hi Michael I really want to thank. you for making time for us my pleasure. so David in this war between Hamas and. Israel it's feeling extremely important. to understand the meaning of 1948 the. year when Israel declared itself a. nation was attacked by its Arab. neighbors and waged a war of. independence that displaced Palestinians. on a large scale right now Israel's.

prime minister Benjamin and yahu is. describing this current War as a second. Israeli War of Independence a second. 1948 right Palestinians in Gaza are. invoking 1948 themselves to describe. this current conflict because of the. potential for another massive. dislocation from their homes that's. right yes but it feels like for any of. these references these claims and. counter claims to really make sense we. need to understand why Palestinians why. Israelis are invoking this year and what.

stories they tell themselves about what. 1948 means and then of course we need to. understand what actually happened that. Year and David you arrived in Israel as. the bureau chief there in the late 1970s. and so I'm curious when you took this. job what were the ways that both. Israelis and Palestinians talked about. 1948 well when I arrived there were two. clashing narratives not overlapping at. all mhm and you know when you go to the.

Middle East you see immediately how. people are imprisoned by history. especially in the Israeli Palestinian. conflict and I kind of think of it as an. arsenal of memory that historical events. that happen and we're in the middle of. one right now they get really chiseled. in stone in terms of the way people. think about themselves and about their. adversaries and the Israeli Palestinian. conflict is full of these markers of. History.

1948 is one of the most important ones. what Israel calls its war of. independence and what the Palestinians. call nakba the catastrophe I mean the. thumbnail sketch of what happened is. that in May of 1948 Israel declared. itself a sovereign state and immediately. was attacked by a crescent of five Arab. countries which erupted into that war of. independence as Israel calls it and that. war created the kinds of upheavals that.

Wars. do and every year we can see The Clash. of historical narratives about this. particular event vividly because Israel. celebrates a double holiday and. Palestinians Mark the event in a. different way so Israel has first a day. of remembrance or a memorial day and it. is a somber day a siren sounds people. pull over to the side of the road Road.

people stop walking in the street and. they stand for a minute or so in honor. of the Fallen Soldiers and those who. died in terrorist attacks and then the. next day is a day of Celebration the. celebration of Israel's. independence but on May 15th every year. the Palestinians do what Israelis do on. their memorial day they stand in. mourning silently to remember.

that. event so that is the sort of graphic. dramatic illustration of how the two. peoples remember that war of. 1948 well describe the two conflicting. contrasting. narratives well the key of the. Palestinian narrative is the idea that. all of the Arabs who left what is now is. Israel during the 1948 fighting were.

deliberately expelled by Israeli forces. the numbers are roughly. 700,000 and they fled into neighboring. countries the Israeli narrative for many. years and certainly at the time I. arrived was that no Arabs were actually. expelled by the Israeli forces they left. of their own accord either to flee. fighting as people do in wars or because. Arab leaders advised them to leave. pending an ARA Victory after which they.

could return home so the Israeli. narrative is one of moral Purity because. they were fighting for their existence. as an independent State against Arab. armies and the Palestinian narrative was. also one of moral Purity and that they. saw themselves as purely victims being. expelled deliberately by Israel from. land they felt was rightfully theirs and. this is no small dispute The Narrative. conflict that you have just described no. it it goes right into the present in.

fact right now you see many Palestinians. who have been urged by Israel to retreat. south from northern Gaza to Southern. Gaza summoning up this idea of. displacement and worrying that they're. not going to be allowed to come back. it's a current issue and it translates. into a yearning to return on the part of. Palestinians right a sentiment that we. have heard over and over in talking to. Palestinians in Gaza over the past few. weeks yes and I came across this years.

ago when I was in the jabalia refugee. camp in Gaza a place which is being. pummeled Now by Israeli bombing and I. was sitting around with a few guys who. were in their 20s and a kid came in he. was a a lanky boy of 12 and somebody. asked him where he was from now he had. been born in the jabala refugee camp but. he didn't say that he was from there he. said barbar barbar I said I never heard. of barbar well h couple of these guys.

kind of smiled and explained that it had. been an Arab Village up the coast that. had been demolished really during the 48. war and his parents and grandparents as. it turned out as we talked more had left. that Village more than 30 years before. at that point and yet this kid said that. that was where he was. from that brought home to me how alive. the yearning to return was and how. Palestinian children were being taught.

that they were from Arab towns that had. been emptied or almost emptied some had. been destroyed some had been converted. into Jewish towns places that now given. the circumstance they could not return. because Israel would not let them and. yet that was the dream to go back to. those places someday and live there. again perhaps in the beautiful way that. their Nostalgia and the family lore.

described where the Orchards were more. fruitful than probably in reality where. life was more peaceful than anything. they had experienced and more prosperous. so that was the dream and it still is it. still. lives so what this boy's answer to your. very simple question tells us is not. just how ingrained these narratives have. become but how. they are passed down generation to.

generation like you said this boy was. not born in that town in Israel he's. probably never even been there but in. his mind that is the only conceivable. answer to the question of what is home. that's right it's uh an idea and the. idea is alive and well and very. motivating for many. Palestinians when you arrive in Israel. are you finding comparable versions of.

an ingrained narrative there around what. 1948 and the birth of Israel looks like. absolutely The Narrative of the 48 war. was a. very Noble story from the Israeli. standpoint Jews were refugees from pums. and the Holocaust in Europe they had. come to their Biblical land where there. had been a Jewish presence for thousands.

of years and they had created a state. and their victory was to be celebrated. and to be kept in their history and. their memory as a time of great. accomplishment with all the moral Purity. that you could imagine so there was no. real. questioning in most of the population. about the virtue of the 1948 war and and. the details of it were.

all kind of good you know I mean they. treated the Arabs well they were nice to. them they didn't force them out there. some places they even urged them to stay. in hia there's a story about that you. know that Arabs in hia were urged to. stay not to flee and all of that I mean. that's all part of the Israeli narrative. I remember. vividly a convention a meeting that was. in Jerusalem the first Gathering of. Holocaust survivors they've had more.

since and the theme was to pass the. torch of memory to their children many. of the Holocaust Survivors had not. talked about their experiences the. memories were too painful and too ugly. to share with their children and so they. came and their children came and they. did talk with them and they wanted to. talk about all their experiences with me. too as I walked with a tape recorder. through the convention hall they would. flock around me and they would pull me. aside and you know what the theme was. that many of them wanted to strike in.

their accounts the theme was. resistance we did not just go willingly. like Lambs to the slaughter we resisted. and here's how we did it we carved out. our zones of agency so to speak and that. conformed with the Israeli idea of 1948. of. 1948 to create the state and to resist. and to be strong Jews were no longer. going to be massacred and they were no.

longer going to be slaughtered they were. no longer going to be gassed and. imprisoned they were going to fight back. they had the weapons they had the will. they had the strength we are here this. is where we will stay we are not going. anywhere so this to me represents the. core of the Israeli Jewish attachment to. that. history.

okay so these are the two very ingrained. seemingly immovable narratives that. you're absorbing in your time in Israel. yes that's right and when I first got. there in. 1979 I came with a sensitivity to how. people can manipulate history I had been. in Moscow for four years where I saw. Soviet authorities do that distort. history to suit their ideological. preferences their political. ideas and I got really interested in. whole subject how kids learned history.

in their schools how the media portrayed. it so I was tuned in on that and soon. after I arrived in Israel I got a call. from a guy who said he wanted to meet me. and talk to me about something uh uh I. said who is this he said I can't say I. said what's it about he said I can't say. I said I thought I'd left Moscow where. this kind of thing happened all the time. uh but I did meet with him his name was. peritz Dron and he turned out to be the. translator of yok RAB Memoir from Hebrew.

to English H and the translator gave me. the manuscript and he was very upset. that the censorship committee to which. all former officials had to submit. manuscripts had deleted several. paragraphs which completely changed the. Israeli Narrative of the 48 war huh. explain that and just put into context. who Rabin is well you rabine had been. prime minister but at the time he was in. the opposition he had a lot of time on. his hands I think and he wrote this.

Memoir it was very detailed it was a. good Memoir and Rabin was commander of. the Harel Brigade of the hag that is the. Jewish forces in the 48 war and as. commander of the Harel Brigade in his. description he and yigal Alon who was. later to become foreign minister wanted. to know what they should do about the. civilian population in these two Arab. towns near Tel Aviv L and Ron they asked. David benorian the first prime minister.

of. Israel what should they do and Boran. didn't answer didn't answer and then he. finally took them outside and made a. gesture with his hand as if to say drive. them out in other words drive them out. expel them kick them off the land that's. right and here's what rabine wrote. driving out is a ter with a harsh ring. psychologically this was one of the most. difficult actions we undertook the. population of L did not not leave. willingly there was no way of avoiding.

the use of force and warning shots in. order to make the inhabitants March the. 10 to 15 miles to the point where they. met up with Legion meaning the Arab. Legion and then he goes on and he says. the inhabitants of ram watched and. learned the lesson their leaders agreed. to be evacuated voluntarily on condition. that the evacuation was carried out by. Vehicles buses took them to latrun and. from there they were evacuated by the. legion. and Rabin writes that some of the.

Israeli soldiers refused to do it and. that psychological counseling had to be. done for the Israeli soldiers afterwards. because it was such a traumatic. experience for them not to mention for. the. Palestinians now that was a complete. reversal of the standard Israeli. narrative which was that at the time no. Arabs were deliberately expelled by the. Israelis. right and this is a disruption of a very.

popular widely held narrative not just. by some random Soldier but by Yak Rabin. yes by yach Rabin but of course from. what you're saying this translator tells. you that that has been censored out he. says it's been censored out he gave me. the manuscript and of course I didn't. know the translator and how honest he. was so I figured I I needed to confirm. this and uh so I called rabine and I. went to see him I had never met him. before this was the first time I hadn't. been in isra long and I put a tape.

recorder on his desk and he said well. let's uh do this on background and I. said fine but I do have one on the. record question I have to ask you and I. told him about this account that I'd. seen in the. manuscript and he said uh oh I can't. talk about it and I said well why do you. think they cut it out he said I don't. know I was surprised bingo I had my. confirmation and then he went on to say. with a little sardonic grin I gave the. censors things to do I wrote about.

Israel's nuclear weapons for example and. I knew they'd cut that out but I was. surprised they cut this out so in a. somewhat roundabout way rabine confirms. to you that he did write this account of. expelling Palestinians in the 1948 war. that it was true but that the Israeli. government censored it out which makes. sense given what you just said about how. powerful these narratives are yes that's. right so what did you do with this. information well I I wrote a story for. the times and included in it the entire.

section of the manuscript that had been. deleted by the sensor huh and I thought. well this is going to make a Big Splash. in Israel there's going to be a lot of. comment on this Israelis are very. introspective and they'll look at this. and say to themselves wow this is quite. something I didn't know this but instead. what happened was it was a kind of. muffled response it was uh an effort to. minimize the possibility that this. really happened or to diminish its.

significance in terms of scope that is. oh a couple of towns what you're saying. is narratives don't easily crumble. narratives are very very firmly embedded. in people's need to believe things but. what happened a couple of years later. was that the foreign Ministry. Declassified documents from the 1948 war. huh and an Israeli journalist turned. historian Benny Morris mined those. declassifies documents in a thorough way.

and wrote a very significant book. detailing the towns and Villages from. which Arabs were expelled those from. which people just fled of their own. accord perhaps or to get out of the way. of the fighting all of that so he. managed to take the Israeli narrative. and inject it with all of the. complications and nuances that every war. contains but even though fact that there. were expulsions has been now documented.

that doesn't mean that the Clash of. historical narratives has been resolved. not at all not at. all and so I became very interested in. exploring what actually happened during. that. war we'll be right.

back David once the door opens to a. reinterpretation of the narratives. around 1948 and we get all this. reporting and declassification of. documents and a kind of truer version of. events emerges what do you actually. understand to have been the accurate. story of 1948 well to go back a little. bit before 19 48 to set the stage it's.

important to understand as Israelis will. point out that there was basically an. unbroken Jewish presence in the holy. land from Biblical times there were very. intense religious communities in. Jerusalem in Hebron now on the West Bank. in safid in the Galilee and in the 19th. century late 19th century more Jews. began to come from both Arab countries. and from Europe and also in accordance. with a movement a cause an idea called.

Zionism which was developed as the. notion that there should be a Jewish. State independent strong on that ancient. land and at that time that area of. Palestine from the Jordan River to the. Mediterranean which is the land in. dispute was ruled by the British under a. mandate that had been decided on by the. League of Nations in the wake of World. War I when the Ottoman Empire was. defeated the predecessor to the United. Nations that's right the precursor to.

the United Nations the League of Nations. so the British ruled Palestine under. that mandate the Jews who came to live. in that area in those years before World. War II even encountered a mixture of. reception by Arabs who had lived on that. land for Generations they were not. newcomers and they were a mixed group so. to speak me there were Muslims there. were Christians there were drw. a religion that keeps its tenants secret.

there were bins who are. semi-nomadic so it was a mixture of. Arabs of different you know affinities. and different family lines and not. necessarily identifying themselves with. the word Palestinian that identity that. label developed later but nevertheless. they were attached to their land I mean. their birthplaces their fam's. birthplaces and when Jews came in from. Europe many of the Arabs saw them as.

Interlopers aliens colonialists as they. had seen the British even though for. Israeli Jews the notion that they're. colonialists or were at the time is very. odd and foreign because I mean it wasn't. that there were French who were in. Algeria who could just go home or Brits. in India who could just go home that was. their home that was their new home they. had no other place and they you know. some of the Jews who were mostly farmers. at that point I mean they were they were.

forming kibuts you know were trying to. find places on what they considered to. be empty land but in some cases the land. was grazing land it might not have been. cultivated but it was used for grazing. for goats and so forth so the very. presence was considered somewhat. aggravating to some of the local Arabs. and that was not a welcome development. from the point of view of many of the. Arabs so there was a Zionist movement a. push for a Jewish State long before.

World War II and the Holocaust yes. that's right you know World War II ended. in. 1945 six million Jews had been. slaughtered by the Nazis many many. others had feared for their lives and. become. refugees and internationally there was a. great Sympathy for the Jews and for the. idea that they ought to have a refuge a. Homeland and the natural Homeland. according to the zionists was in the.

biblical lands so in. 1947 the United Nations passed a. partition plan dividing that land. between the Mediterranean and the Jordan. River into two states an Arab State and. a Jewish State take this British. controlled land and basically give some. to these Jews who are there and some to. the Arab population that was there. that's right exactly and if you look at. the boundaries of that partition plan in. 1947 and it looks like a gerrymander. congressional district but they.

basically followed the lines of the. Jewish population in the area and they. left out of the Jewish State areas that. were mostly Arab but there was there was. mixture on both sides I mean there were. certainly Arabs in the parts that were. designated as a Jewish State what. happened then was that the Jewish. forces accepted the partition plan and. the Arabs did not the Arabs within the. the area rejected it and Arab countries. rejected.

it the Jews accepted this partition from. what I've read in history because they. felt fairly weak militarily and figured. this was as good as they could get and. they were going to get a state and I. think there was a sense that the Arab. countries thought that they were. Superior militarily and could easily. defeat this ragtag Army that was getting. its weapons from Czechoslovakia mostly. they did not get any weapons from the. United States by the way at that time. the US was trying to stay out of it m.

you know it had a little kind of. skeleton of an Air Force but you know it. wasn't going to be much of a foe you. know a real opponent I mean they could. get rolled over and I think that was. probably the Assumption at the time and. also there was just from inside too the. local Arabs didn't want this Jewish. State either because they were. Interlopers they were Europeans coming. in foreigners not indigenous to the land. and therefore had no real right there.

they were not accepting of that and in. May of 1948 the time at which the. Mandate by the British was to end the. British. withdrew and Israel declared its. independence and then was attacked. instantly yes that's correct Arab armies. from Lebanon Syria Jordan Egypt and. Saudi Arabia too which sent a unit under. Egyptian control attack. and the 1948 War began and what happens.

once the Arab neighbors of this new. nation of Israel attack there was a lot. of fighting and you know the fight went. on from May of. 1948 until early in. 1949 and the Israelis turned out to be. stronger than the Arabs thought they. would be and they were effective enough. to uh defeat the Arab armies and roll. them back and actually expand the.

boundaries of what became Israel beyond. what the partition plan had provided now. they what they didn't get at that time. was the Gaza Strip which was in the. hands of Egypt uh that remained in. Egyptian hands and they didn't get the. West Bank of the Jordan River which was. in the hands of Jordan and remained so. until the 1967 war and they also didn't. get all of Jerusalem and David now that. we're not just speaking about narratives. but about established historical facts. what happens to the Arabs on the lands.

that are in question during this period. when Israel is achieving these victories. against these Arab countries so it's. true that an estimated 700,000 Arabs. left what is now Israel and they did so. for a variety of reasons some fled the. way people do in war which is just to. avoid the fighting and some fled because. Arab leaders told them to get out. pending a victory by the Arab forces. after which they could come back some.

were expelled deliberately as we now. know by Israeli forces some fled because. they were afraid that they would be. massacred and there were massacres of. civilians by Israeli forces the most. infamous was deeren a village right on. the outskirts of Jerusalem and that was. known before the declassification of. Israeli documents but once those. documents became available Benny morus. found about two dozen places where.

civilians were massacred and that scared. a lot of other Arabs who heard about. them and even where there was no. violence or demands that they leave. people fled because they were afraid. that the Israeli forces coming in would. Massacre them right so those are the. reasons the basic reasons and uh what. the Palestinian narrative has done is to. put all of the departures in the. category of deliberate expulsions and. that is an. exaggeration but all the other reasons.

that people left don't really lessen the. pain that has been passed down. generation to Generation by the. Palestinians which still animates their. cause and fuels their desire to. [Music]. return so not only did Israelis expel. Palestinians despite the narrative that. they didn't some Israelis participated. in the killing of Arab civilians during.

this conflict yes and when all this. information is disclosed from these. Declassified documents in the archives. it reveals that the Israeli myth is just. that it's a myth it's very sanitized by. the way the Palestinian myth is also a. myth so you have this Clash of. narratives which you could also call. Clash of myths right so to that point. when we think about that Palestinian. narrative that claim inher herited. through many generations that the.

700,000 Palestinians who left Israel. were expelled from their homes during. the creation of Israel the story you're. saying is more nuanced it's more. complicated than that in part because. Israel was attacked and attacked back. and there's an open War like you said. some Palestinians are leaving for fear. of that war some are leaving because. they are being expelled some are leaving. because they fear that could be expelled. or Worse.

massacred and there's no doubt that all. forms of that kind of dislocation have. to be wrenchingly painful but in a. conflict where the details matter and. are constantly being litigated the. historical record from what you're. saying makes clear that not all 700,000. Palestinians were expelled forcibly by. Israel as a matter of policy it might be. more accurate to say that many of these.

Palestinians had to leave their homes as. a result of a war I think that puts it. very well yeah I mean there are lots of. reasons that people left the war at the. core of it of course and uh it's pretty. ugly war is you know it terrible things. happen and and they did in. 1948 now in some places they were. allowed to come back but most of the. Arabs who left or were driven out during. the 48 War were never allowed to return. to their homes inside what is now Israel.

it's probably worth noting also that. many Arabs did not leave and stayed in. Israel and now they and their. descendants make up about 20% of. Israel's population MH so David at the. end of the 1948 War when Israel emerges. Victorious what does the world look like. for both of these peoples Israelis as. well as Palestinians who have through a. combination of expulsions and flight are.

not on their. lands well at that point they were. trying to build up their resilience and. build up their. economy and fulfill their dream of. building a Jewish State and it wasn't. just Palestinians who were displaced. many Jews living in Arab countries were. expelled by those countries and fled of. their own accord sometimes most ended up. Israel and the results of that. population shift are seen in Israel.

today where at least half of the. population are now descended from Jews. who lived in Arab. countries and the. Palestinians well the Palestinians were. scattered into a diaspora in many. countries around the world but the bulk. of them at least at first ended up in. refugee camps in Lebanon Syria Jordan. which controlled the West Bank at the. time and in the Gaza Strip which was. under Egyptian control so that diaspora.

so to speak which ended up in the. refugee camps is still conscious of its. Origins and has passed down through the. generations the story of displacement. David why wasn't there a creation of a. Palestinian state after Israel's Victory. because there are still these people who. had been promised through the partition. a country just as the people of Israel.

have been promised a country why didn't. a Palestinian State emerge in the. aftermath of this war remember that this. was a war not between the Palestinians. and the Israelis this was a war between. Arab countries and the new state of. Israel so at the end of the war of 48. Armistice agreements were signed that. established the borders of Israel and. what wasn't Israel was Arab states so so. there was no talk that I'm aware of of.

creating a so-called Palestinian State I. don't know that the concept was in the. conversation at that point Through The. Years despite lip service given to the. Palestinian cause by Arab leaders their. interest in supporting that cause has. been aside from being. rhetorical has really been wanting you. know the Palestinians were not accepted. as Citizens by and large in the Arab. country where they fled Palestinians. have been victims of the Arab world as.

well as of the Israelis and what is life. like for these Palestinians as refugees. in the period after the war the. population was very impoverished the. refugee camps began as tent camps. they're still called camps although. that's a misnomer they've become. established. slums the poverty rate is still fairly. high it's very difficult for. Palestinians to have a comfortable and.

prosperous life when they're confined to. the camps and uh lots of Palestinians. have left the camps and they been able. to immigrate to various countries in. Europe the United States and so those. folks are doing better but you know it's. not so easy to get the Visas it's not so. easy to accumulate the money to make. that change and there's an ideological. resistance to doing it too I remember at. one point when I was there Israel wanted.

to build housing outside refugee camps. in Gaza and the local Palestinians. rejected the idea vehemently because. they thought it was an effort to. undermine their status as refugees to. basically do what's now called normalize. the occupation H so there's a whole. history of attempting to keep alive the. idea of displacement. the refugee status and the yearning to.

return and from the Israeli point of. view the idea of. return for these Palestinians represents. what a threat to the existence of the. Jewish state for two reasons one the. Jews would be outnumbered by the Arabs. in the voting roles right now if you. take the West Bank and Gaza and Israel. proper all together in East Jerusalem. the ation division is about even maybe.

even slightly tipped toward the Arab. side so in an open pluralistic Fair free. democracy Arabs would outvote Jews so. that's one issue the other is the. security concerns I mean we've just seen. it in the Hamas attacks where Israeli. Jews were attacked in their homes in. their. kibu and the notion that you know lots. and of Palestinians would be allowed to. come in and live inside Israel terrifies.

Israelis David we've spent a lot of time. here trying to understand narratives and. reality but the more time you spend. understanding 1948 and the context. surrounding it it seems the thing that. becomes very clear is that Palestinians. and Israelis emerged from it with a. strong claim to being victims Israelis. are victims of Arab countries seeking. Israel's destruction at the moment of. its birth and the forces of.

anti-Semitism that led to the Holocaust. and in the minds of so many Israelis. necessitated Israel in the first place. Palestinians are victims of the war that. results from Israel's creation including. Israeli tactics that forced many of them. from their homes and later by the. rejection that Palestinians faced from. their Arab neighbors and the fact that. that Israel won the war and Palestinians. and their allies lost doesn't really.

change their view of themselves as. victims exactly right Michael exactly. right they are both. victims I remember in Israeli telling me. once when you put two victims together. it's like mixing fire and. kerosene neither side recognizes the. other's victimhood although you have to. say that there are some Israelis who do. see the Palestinians as victims even of. the 48 war after the declassification of.

documents showing that there were. expulsions of. Arabs that fact worked its way into some. Israeli textbooks at the University. level and then also at the secondary. school level to an extent I think. Israelis have come to see that there. were such expulsions and there were. injustices but that has not overcome the. sense of Greek pride and accomplishment. in creating the state through that war. of. independence and there are some.

Palestinians who see Jewish victimhood. but when they speak publicly about it. they get themselves into trouble there. was a professor at alud University in. Jerusalem who used to teach a course on. the Holocaust to Palestinian college. students and he actually took them to. visit aitz and he got them to see Jews. as victims and understand the historical. roots of their arrival in this place. this this holy. land and what happened to him he was.

threatened and ultimately he was. fired so the obstacles to seeing the. other and. recognizing what the other has gone. through are immense they're. immense so we have here a conflict. between two peoples who are victims of. each other but not only of each other. also of the larger world.

right and in this case how you. understand the conflict and how you. understand the whole question of. victimhood Depends very much on where. you start the clock where you think the. Story. begins exactly. right David thank you very much we. really appreciate it thanks for. listening.

we'll be right. back here's what else you need to. another day Sam bankman freed the. founder of the doomed cryptocurrency. exchange FTX was convicted on all. charges of Fraud and conspiracy on. Thursday after a month-long trial that.

exposed the hubris and risk-taking. across the crypto. industry the conviction puts bankman. freed in League with the biggest. Financial fraudsters in history overall. his victims lost nearly $10 billion in. funds and he now faces a sentence of up. to. 110 years in. prison and on Thursday the Israeli. military said it had encircled Gaza City.

and was waging Close Quarters combat. with Hamas as they push forward with. what Israeli officials have predicted. will be a long and bloody Crown. Invasion. meanwhile good morning from Rafa I just. arrived um to the crossing they going to. start calling people I know my name is. on the list but I don't know when I will. enter the evacuation of foreign.

Nationals and wounded Palestinians from. Gaza into Egypt entered its second day. on Thursday among those leaving was. Waffa elaka the subject of a daily. episode on October 16th when the war. broke out elaka an American citizen who. had grown up in Gaza became trapped in. Gaza. where she was visiting family I'm glad. that I'm going to go and meet with my.

grandson and my husband and my boys and. their wives. so at 1:30 p.m. local time on Thursday. she crossed into Egypt then boarded a. minivan with other Americans Bound for. Cairo I don't know how I feel I left my. whole family behind. needed my help but I couldn't help them.

but I need to go to my other family too. I don't know why we have to. [Music]. choose today's episode was produced by. Will Reed and Ricky nety with help from. Rob zipco it was edited by Paige cowt. with help from Lisa Chow fact checked by. Susan Lee contains original music by.

Alicia bitu Dan Powell Maran Lozano and. Sophia landman and was engineered by. Chris Wood our theme music is by Jim. brunberg and Ben lansberg of. wonderly special thanks to Serge schaman. jod rudoren Steven eranger and Clyde. Haberman. that's it for the daily I'm Michael.

borro see you on. [Music]. Monday.