Iran clear winner in Israel-Hamas war

+ teaching fading Indigenous language; glacial lake outbursts US Edition - Today's top story: The Israel-Hamas war: No matter who loses, Iran wins [View in browser]( US Edition | 9 October 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Nobel Peace Prize and Iranian women’s long resistance]( - [Native Americans’ sacred relationship with bison]( - [Are class and masculinity feeding racial violence?]( Lead story The numbers are devastating. More than 700 Israelis killed, around 250 at an outdoor music festival alone. In Gaza, at least 490 are dead, over 120,000 displaced. But numbers alone won’t suffice; context is crucial. On social media over the past two days, I have read variants of “now isn’t the time for context.” But context helps people understand what seems senseless. It is also what The Conversation provides. Over the weekend, we published two pieces to help provide context to what was going on. In our first, military analyst Aaron Pilkington [provides the wider regional context](. He writes that no matter what happens in the days to come, there is one clear winner in this latest escalation: Iran. Long one of Hamas’ key allies and suppliers of arms, Iran’s leaders are keen for the violence to derail Israel’s efforts to normalize diplomatic relations with Iran’s regional rival, Saudi Arabia, Pilkington explains. Meanwhile, Dov Waxman, a scholar of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict at the University of California, Los Angeles, provides historical context. Saturday’s attack came exactly 50 years and one day after Israel was similarly taken unawares by a joint operation by neighbors Egypt and Syria. [The parallels are striking](, Waxman writes. Both constituted a catastrophic failure of intelligence, came after spurned overtures and were intent on sending the same message: that the status quo would not be accepted and that Israel’s military might “will not keep Israelis safe.” While those numbers at the top of this note will surely change as Israel launches a “complete siege” of Gaza, the context will not. To help gather that context all in one place, The Conversation’s global network has created [a rolling guide to our coverage, with perspectives from around the world](. We’ll keep updating it with more analysis by academic experts as the crisis continues. [ [Get highlights of global news from our editions around the world]( ] Matt Williams Senior International Editor Israelis inspect the rubble of a building in Tel Aviv on Oct. 8, 2023, a day after it was hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip. AP Photo/Oded Balilty [The Israel-Hamas war: No matter who loses, Iran wins]( Aaron Pilkington, University of Denver The Palestinian fighters who launched deadly attacks into Israel on Oct. 7 are not Iranian puppets – but they are doing the work Iran wants done. Politics + Society - [Hamas assault echoes 1973 Arab-Israeli war – a shock attack and questions of political, intelligence culpability]( Dov Waxman, University of California, Los Angeles Failings leading up to the Arab-Israeli War of 50 years ago cost the then Israeli prime minister their job. Could history repeat? - [Indigenous Peoples Day offers a reminder of Native American history − including the scalping they endured at the hands of Colonists]( Christoph Strobel, UMass Lowell Popular culture often describes scalping − the forceful removing of a person’s scalp − as an indigenous practice. But white settlers accelerated this form of violence against Native Americans. - [Today’s white working-class young men who turn to racist violence are part of a long, sad American history]( Colin Kohlhaas, Binghamton University, State University of New York Throughout US history, racist attacks against racial minorities were committed by white men grappling with their masculinity and social status. Arts + Culture - [I’m working to revitalize an Indigenous language and bring it into the future]( John-Paul Chalykoff, Algoma University A scholar works to document a dialect of the Ojibwe language that was spoken by his grandmother in the Great Lakes region. Environment + Energy - [Glacial lake outburst floods in Alaska and the Himalayas show evolving hazards in a warming world]( Brianna Rick, University of Alaska Anchorage Alaska has at least 120 glacier-dammed lakes, and almost all have drained at least once since 1985, a new study shows. Small ones have been producing larger floods in recent years. Ethics + Religion - [Iranian Nobel Peace Prize winner Narges Mohammadi, in prison for speaking up against human rights violations, has been a voice for women for almost two decades]( Pardis Mahdavi, University of La Verne Narges Mohammadi is the second Iranian woman, after Shirin Ebadi, to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She remains locked up in Evin, Iran’s most notorious prison for political detainees. - [Bison are sacred to Native Americans − but each tribe has its own special relationship to them]( Rosalyn R. LaPier, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Efforts are being made to develop the capacity of Native tribes to manage bison and bison habitats. An Indigenous scholar explains their sacred significance. Health + Medicine - [Are people born with good balance? A physical therapist explains the systems that help keep you on your toes]( Gurpreet Singh, Binghamton University, State University of New York Balancing well is a whole-body experience that develops over time and takes practice to master. International - [Why did Hamas attack, and why now? What does it hope to gain?]( Ian Parmeter, Australian National University Hamas named its action ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood,’ which emphasises what it sees as Israeli acts of desecration of a holy Islamic site in Jerusalem. - [The unprecedented attack against Israel by Hamas included precise armed drones and thousands of rockets]( Michael J. Armstrong, Brock University The bloody ground attacks by Hamas in Israel caused the biggest shock. But the unprecedented scale of rocketry and successful use of armed drones contributed to the surprise. Trending on site - [How a disgruntled scientist looking to prove his food wasn’t fresh discovered radioactive tracers and won a Nobel Prize 80 years ago]( - [Sea glass, a treasure formed from trash, is on the decline as single-use plastic takes over]( - [What is an attosecond? A physical chemist explains the tiny time scale behind Nobel Prize-winning research]( Reader Comments 💬 “Quantum dots are small particles (just a few nanometers in diameter) that are constructed from semiconducting materials – cadmium selenide being one of the early ones. The combination of the electronic properties of the semiconductor and the physical size of the particles leads to the behavior of electrons within the dots being heavily influenced by the physical bounds placed on them – they are confined to a physical volume that leads to a separation of energy states that isn’t seen in bulk materials. This effect is a result of quantum physics – hence the “quantum” in quantum dots – and leads to the ability to absorb light at one wavelength and re-emit it at another. The precise wavelength of the emitted light is determined by the size-related changes in discrete energy states within the particles.” – Author Andrew Maynard on the story [Quantum dots are part of a revolution in engineering atoms in useful ways – Nobel Prize for chemistry recognizes the power of nanotechnology]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our weekly and biweekly emails: • [Weekly Highlights]( • [Science Editors' Picks]( • [This Week in Religion]( • [Politics Weekly]( • [Global Perspectives]( • [Global Economy & Business]( Trying out new social media? Follow us: • [Threads]( • [Bluesky]( • [Mastodon](• [Post.news]( • [LinkedIn]( - - About The Conversation We're a nonprofit news organization dedicated to [helping academic experts share ideas with the public](. We can give away our articles thanks to the help of foundations, universities and readers like you. [Donate now to support research-based journalism]( [The Conversation]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation]( 303 Wyman Street, Suite 300 Waltham, MA 02451 [Forward to a friend]( • [Unsubscribe](