Independent journalist and documentarian Abby Martin joins me to discuss Earth's Greatest Enemy, a feature length documentary that examines one of the largest polluters and contributors to global climate change in the world: the United States military. I ask Abby what the seeds of this massive project were, and why the military-industrial complex is the "elephant in the room" in the political discourse on human-caused climate change. Also, we connect this subject to the horrific mass violence in Gaza being enacted by the State of Israel—with full US complicity—to the ecocide implicit in the maintenance of US hegemonic interests globally.
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#355 | The Ongoing Nakba: The Hundred Years’ War On Palestine w/ Rashid Khalidi
Professor and historian Rashid Khalidi joins me to discuss his book The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017. Professor Khalidi weaves his multigenerational familial roots to historic Palestine with decades of academic scholarship to present a narrative that plainly addresses the so-called Israel-Palestine conflict for what it is. He addresses how Palestinian identity was catalyzed and formed over the past century, as well as the responsibility foreign interests have—historically and presently—in perpetuating the ongoing genocidal campaign in Gaza.
Read More#353 | A Nation For A Nation: Full-Scale Vengeance; Antisemitic Zionism w/ Shane Burley
Journalist and author Shane Burley returns to the podcast to discuss his article The Story of a Post-Holocaust Group Seeking Revenge Against Nazis is Part of the Story of Israel Itself, published by Religion Dispatches. He addresses historical traumas and contexts that underlie, in part, the dramatic escalation of violence by the State of Israel in the Palestinian territories since Hamas’s October 7th attack. This is a two-part interview.
As of the release of this episode, the Gaza Health Ministry has reported over 10,000 people in Gaza have been killed in the ongoing incursion by the Israeli military, with over 4,000 of those being identified as children—nearly half. Since the October 7th attack by Hamas militants, Israel has bombed hospitals, refugee camps, aid convoys, and entire neighborhoods, while cutting off electricity, fuel, and other vital supplies and utilities to the over two million residents of the Gaza Strip, with no way for them to escape.
To describe this as anything other than genocide would be to betray the Palestinian people, as well as our humanity. With the full backing of Western powers—especially the United States—Israel is engaging in an ethnic cleansing campaign, one that has been ongoing for the better part of a century. The founding of the State of Israel in 1948 was an act of settler colonial violence, one that instigated the Nakba—the “disaster” or “catastrophe”—expelling 750,000 Palestinians from their lands. To discuss the October 7th attack by Hamas militants, or the recent bombardment by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza, without contextualizing the colonial realities Palestinians have endured for many decades—even before the founding of the State of Israel in 1948—is to perpetuate a wholly unjust, murderous status quo.
While stating the obvious is crucial, there are complexities that need to be contended with. To describe this situation as “complicated” or “complex” is often part of a rhetorical cop-out—an obfuscation from speaking to the vast scale of injustices the Palestinian people and their allies are fighting against. That’s not what I’m referring to in this introduction, and not what I’m gesturing toward in this interview with Shane Burley. There are diasporic historical traumas that need to be reckoned with to, at the very least, understand how this horrific ongoing catastrophe reached this inflection point and commonly perceived intractability.
Read More#279 | Law & Disorder: Electoral Coup & An Act Of State Terror w/ Marjorie Cohn
Intro: 10:02 | Outro: 39:18
Marjorie Cohn, professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law and former president of the National Lawyers Guild, discusses President Trump and his legal team's ongoing attempt to perform an "electoral coup" since the presidential election last month. She describes, in detail, the legal challenges Trump's team have made in the last several weeks, as well as the likelihood of their success in undermining the result of the election in states across the United States.
After that, we discuss the recent assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, Iran's top nuclear scientist, on November 27th. As she writes in a recent article in TruthOut:
“Although the Israeli government has not claimed credit for the illegal killing, there is little doubt of its culpability. Trump implicitly praised the assassination, retweeting a comment by Israeli journalist and intelligence expert Yossi Melman that the killing was a “major psychological and professional blow” to Iran. This was an “implicit approval if there ever was one,” according to Sina Toossi, a senior research analyst at the National Iranian American Council.” (https://bit.ly/3ahMoMz)
I ask Marjorie the purpose of this very dangerous move, as it may very well lead to a full-scale war between the US, Israel, and other regional players — particularly as we prepare for a transition of power to a Biden presidency next month.
Marjorie Cohn is professor emerita at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, former president of the National Lawyers Guild, deputy secretary general of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers and a member of the advisory board of Veterans for Peace. Her most recent book is ‘Drones and Targeted Killing: Legal, Moral, and Geopolitical Issues.’
Episode Notes:
- Learn more about Marjorie and her work: https://marjoriecohn.com
- Read her articles ‘Will Trump’s Attempt to Subvert the Election Results Succeed?’ and ‘Trump’s Support for Israel’s Killing of Iranian Scientist Could Lead to War’ at TruthOut : https://bit.ly/3m79AiE / https://bit.ly/3ahMoMz
- The song featured in this episode is “sin-phonies” by Knxwledge from the album TodaysAlreadYesterday.: https://knxwledge.bandcamp.com/album/todaysalreadyesterday
Video Segment:
#184 | Cycles Of Trauma: A Critical Look At The Zionist Project w/ Yoav Litvin
Intro: 11:10
In this collaborative interview with [RS], we speak with Yoav Litvin, doctor of psychology, photographer, and writer. Yoav's work focuses on the roots of the ideology of Zionism, in particular how trauma has informed its formation and practice, through the policies and actions of the State of Israel, and through such powerful organizations like AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) — "a lobbying group that advocates pro-Israel policies to the Congress and Executive Branch of the United States."
In this discussion, Yoav expounds on his views and deep research into the settler-colonialist and supremacist roots of Zionism, not only from a socio-historical perspective, but from a neurological and psychological perspective as well. How has a collectivized form of post-traumatic stress disorder shaped the genocidal policies of the State of Israel, especially toward the Palestinian people and land that the State of Israel has been literally built upon? As Yoav gets into his piece in Monthly Review Online: “In response to antisemitism, Zionists embraced their fear and contempt of their abusers to produce defensive aggression, reinventing identity in a reactionary attempt to ensure survival and restore pride. The reward of violence–power-quickly enticed Zionist leaders to morph what began as a defensive strategy into an offensive one that culminated with a settler colonialist vision of a homeland in Palestine at the expense of its Indigenous population, the existing Palestinian people.” (http://bit.ly/2OEgJrE)
Along with addressing the trauma Jewish populations have individually and collectively experienced, we ask Yoav to explain the conflation between legitimate criticism of the policies Israel and Zionism with antisemitism in general. This conflation is done primarily to obscure the real and existing genocidal policies of the State of Israel towards the Palestinian people, with the direct backing of the United States government. With U.S. politicians like Rep. Ilhan Omar coming under intense pressure to apologize for her accurate criticisms AIPAC's influence in U.S. politics, the conflation between antisemitism and criticism of Zionism is no accident. It's specifically intended to shut down rightful protest and criticism of Zionism as an ideology and as a settler-colonialist project, which has lead to one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world to date (e.g. the Gaza Strip and the West Bank).
Yoav Litvin is an Israeli-American doctor of psychology, a photographer and writer. In his work, he investigates the intersections of science, the arts and politics and aims to promote creative and radical causes with a focus on urban culture, social movements and peoples. Litvin’s work has been featured in Truthout, Al Jazeera English, Mother Jones, Mondoweiss, and more.
Episode Notes:
- Learn more about Yoav’s work: https://yoavlitvin.com
- Read his article at Monthly Review Online: http://bit.ly/2OEgJrE
- Read his recent piece in Truthout: http://bit.ly/2FR4VzE
- Follow Yoav on Twitter: https://twitter.com/nookyelur
- The songs featured in this episode are “Slow Country” (instrumental) and “Double Bass” by Gorillaz from their self-titled album.