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Recorded: 12-18-24

On this edition of Parallax Views, journalist Patrick Hilsman, an editor at Turning Point Magazine, joins the show to discuss recent reports of leaked documents discovered after the overthrow of Assad in Syria that seem to reveal collaboration between the Assad regime and Israel. Although the documents have not been verified, the way the are written indicate they are either authentic or a carefully-crafted, elaborate hoax. Hilsman argues that if they are fake, and that is possible, they were written by someone incredibly well-researched. Hilsman will go into why there's some plausibility to the documents and how they relate to his reporting on the use of Israeli drones by Russia in, paradoxically, Syria itself. We'll go deep into the Israel-Russia relationship and how they have worked with each other over the years, especially in regard to weapons. In this regard Patrick recommends the book The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World. We'll also cover some odds and ends in both the Israel-Russia connections and how the relate to the leaked documents regarding Syria and Israel. Specifically, Patrick mention the Israel-Russia deconfliction line in relation to this story. The documents indicate that there were secret dealings between the Assad regime and Israel that were harmful to the Assad regime's ally Iran.

Patrick will also discuss his time in Syria reporting on the first battle of Aleppo in 2012 and his experiences there. We'll also delve into the problems with overly conspiratorial ways of thinking when talking about international relations, the oversimplicity of "good guys vs. bad guys" when discussing nation-states and nation-state alliances, Israel's actions in Gaza, and much more.

Guest Bio: Patrick Hilsman is a journalist and researcher who has covered the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine. He has been published by The Intercept, The Daily Beast and has had recent film work featured on PBS. He was a researcher for the Al Jazeera Documentary “the search for Assad’s executioners”