This episode of The Dig is sponsored by the listeners who support us on Patreon and by University of California press.

One title that I think listeners might find interesting is A Half Century of Occupation, Israel, Palestine, and the world's most intractable conflict by Gershen

Schaffir.

Israel's occupation of the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, turned a half century old this month.

Sheferes essay collection asks three questions.

What is the occupation?

Why has it lasted so long?

And how has it transformed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

He explains how the occupation became what it has become and where it is likely headed, pointing

to the paradoxes, legal inconsistencies, and conflicting interests that have weakened the occupiers hold and leave the occupation vulnerable to challenge.

A half century of occupation, Israel, Palestine, and the world's most intractable conflict, by Gershine Schifir, out now from

University of California Press. Welcome to the Dig, a podcast from Jacobin magazine. My name is Daniel Denver and

I'm broadcasting from Providence, Rhode Island.

Ironically, Donald Trump won the presidency, in significant part by pledging to do something

that his predecessors had already done a great deal towards accomplishing.

Building a big beautiful wall on the border with Mexico.

For liberals and centrist, the wall now shares a toxic association with the Trump brand.

It is now correctly perceived by many to be far-right white nationalist xenophobia at its worst.

But until recently, militarizing the border with Mexico was accepted as a core piece of the

common sense bipartisan establishment immigration and drug policy agenda.

In 1992, there were more than 4,000 Border Patrol agents.

Today, there are roughly 20,000. Until the early 90s, crossing the border without authorization was simple.

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