The Great European Refugees And Migrants Debate

Intelligence Squared

Arts, News, Society & Culture, News Commentary

4.2 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 27 November 2015

⏱️ 63 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Europe is gripped by the biggest migrant crisis since the Second World War. The parallels with that earlier crisis are hard to avoid. When in 1938 tens of thousands were fleeing Nazi Germany, not a single European country agreed to raise its quotas. In response Hitler and Goebbels observed that, while other countries complained about how Germany treated the Jews, no one else wanted them either. This is one of the points that Rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg made in the Intelligence Squared Great European Refugees and Migrants Debate. With the squabbling last month between the countries of Europe over the quota system, the Hungarian government erecting a steel fence on its southern border and Germany and Sweden reintroducing border controls, will this period go down in history as another one when Europe closed its doors? Some would argue, however, that humanitarian pleas to give a compassionate welcome to the refugees may be admirable, but the numbers entering Europe are simply too high for everyone to be... Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/intelligencesquared. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Maybe 30 or 20 years ago a Saudi might have said I'm Muslim and I'm Arab and I'm Saudi
0:06.9	Now they might say I'm Saudi and I'm Arab and I'm Muslim
0:09.9	You know they're trying to radically refashion their country and they need help from the best experts in the world
0:15.1	Do you want to have your country's people be disqualified from that because of some essentially antiquated point of view about how countries work together?
0:23.4	In recent months it can feel like Saudi Arabia is intent on buying the world.
0:27.8	It's bought up much of golf, sports teams, many of the globe's best soccer players to its
0:32.4	own domestic league, and it owns huge chunks of many of the biggest companies on the planet.
0:37.5	But Saudi Arabia is not just on a shopping spree.
0:40.5	The once insular oil-rich Kingdom is transforming into a major diplomatic and military
0:46.0	player, a pivotal actor in the energy transition and looks set to host high-end cultural events
0:51.6	like the FIFA World Cup.
0:53.0	You know, they know that buying a football club immediately brings you a
0:57.2	billboard into a global game that allows you to completely reposition yourself
1:02.2	or rebrand yourself.
1:03.4	It feels like we're entering the era of the Saudi project.
1:06.6	But what exactly is the kingdom trying to achieve and will it succeed?
1:10.4	Available now from Intelligence Squared, The Saudi project is a new podcast series seeking to answer some of these questions and more.
1:18.0	Britain does have choices. It's not either or situation. We either indulge Mohammed bin Salman or boycott of Mohammed
1:26.2	bin Salman. There is a third choice.
1:28.8	Search the Saudi project wherever you get your podcasts.
1:38.0	Thank you for downloading this Intelligence Square podcast. For more information on our debates, talks and discussions,
1:42.0	visit Intelligence Square dot com and sign up to the newsletter.
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