Awesome professor! Very funny, cool, and approachable. Coursework is light and reading is helpful. Attend the lectures because he is very detailed and he doesn't post them online. He's Palestinian, so he has first hand perspectives on Middle Eastern affairs and history, which makes the class extremely interesting and informative! Strongly recommend

Professor El-Zatmah and his class was ultimately the highlight for me this past quarter. He was a funny and interesting guy. While I was not too interested in the topic beforehand, he won me over as the quarter progressed. He is a great lecturer, telling you everything that's important. He is also not a difficult grader either. He's great!

he has an accent but over time you get used to it. He even makes it clear to the class that if you dont understand him, he can repeat himself. He gives a studyguide for both midterm and final and as long as you understand the question you will do fine. He also has an essay, Its a pretty easy class but ATTENDANCE is mandatory in order to pass class

The "dude" is an amazing professor. Taken two of his courses, and his knowledge and material is great. He has a heavy accent but he knows that, and he is a great story teller. Take his class even if you are not a history major.

This "dude" was the most interesting prof I've had in my time at UCSB. A Palestinian immigrant from the Gaza strip, he has endless stories of growing up in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Fantastic sense of humor and a really cool guy to talk to. 1 Midterm, 1 Paper, & an easy final, he tells you what you need to know. Sometimes confusing though.