"my interest in bitcoin came from a place of desperation with the situation there, traditional politics is a dead-end"
"bitcoin is gonna bring peace to the middle east because land is a shitcoin"
The Bitcoin Standard author nostr:npub1gdu7w6l6w65qhrdeaf6eyywepwe7v7ezqtugsrxy7hl7ypjsvxksd76nak grew up in Ramallah, #Palestine
h/t nostr:npub13l3lyslfzyscrqg8saw4r09y70702s6r025hz52sajqrvdvf88zskh8xc2 for sharing this specific fragment of the 3+ hr interview
Lex Friedman: You've led an extraordinary life, having been to numerous places around the world. Life can be quite challenging in some of those locations. Can you share with us the most challenging period you've experienced, a dark chapter in your life, or a struggle you've had to overcome in order to survive?
Saifedean Ammous stated, "Well, I'm Palestinian, so that is the tragedy of my life. I'm both Palestinian and Jordanian, and my family has historically suffered greatly because of this. I grew up in Ramallah in the West Bank, and it wasn't an ideal situation to witness.
People tend to view it as an intractable conflict between two bitter enemies, but the reality is quite different. A foreign ideology was introduced, suggesting that this country should be occupied by people of only one religion, displacing the existing population. Jews had historically lived in Palestine, and at the turn of the 20th century, they constituted only 10% of the population.
However, with the advent of fiat money, incidentally, the connection to all of this is that when the Bank of England abandoned the gold standard, a significant reason they could do so was the support from the Rothschild banking family. In exchange, the Rothschilds gained control of Palestine, and the Balfour Declaration was written by the British government to inform the Rothschild family of their intent to establish Palestine as a homeland for Jews.
Clearly, this situation is quite inconvenient for non-Jewish individuals, for whom this land has been a homeland and a painful struggle for the past 80 years. If you happen to be non-Jewish, it's evident that Palestinians have resorted to various methods to resist, some of which have been questionable. However, I believe it's essential to acknowledge the fundamental reality at the core of this issue: if you're not Jewish, you are being forcefully displaced from the land.
This displacement began in 1948 and continued in 1967, with Israel taking over additional territory. Now, you can observe it in the context of settlements. If you disregard the day-to-day headlines, media propaganda, and all those who advocate for it, there is a distinct trend emerging. This trend involves the increasing ownership of land by an exclusive ideology that insists it should be possessed solely by individuals of one religion, resulting in the expulsion of everyone else.
And so, that is the tragedy of my life. My wife is also a Palestinian refugee from Lebanon, and her family originally hails from Yaffa, which is now located on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. They were forcibly displaced from their homes, lands, and properties, ultimately becoming refugees in Lebanon. It's an enduring tragedy. Some people assume that Palestinians' are just out to get Israelis because they hate them. However, it is an inescapable tragedy, leaving me without a place to call home.
