Podcasts about palestine legal

We're joined by Dylan Saba from Palestine Legal (palestinelegal.org) to talk about the new hasbara film “October 8,” the rash of nuisance suits by big law against protestors, and the unifying strategy of the Zionist assault on several amendments. Discover more episodes at podcast.trueanon.com.

In this episode recorded mid-2024, Josh spoke with Dylan Saba about some of his essays beginning with one titled  "A Struggle to Destroy the World,” where he argued that the condition of Palestine is the condition of the modern world. We discuss the role of the Iron Dome as an offensive system, its historical context, and its implications for the colonial-imperialist power imbalance in the region. Saba also provides an overview of the strategic use of aid as a weapon to maintain control, division, and weaken Palestinian resistance. We also touch on how the Israeli military's inability to defeat Hamas forces the US and Israel to adopt different strategies of counterinsurgency in an effort to try to replace Hamas with a more compliant Palestinian authority. Dylan Saba is a civil rights attorney and writer who lives in New York City. He works at Palestine Legal, where he represents individuals and groups in the US who are facing suppression for supporting Palestinian rights. He has written about Palestine and other issues for a variety of publications, including The Nation, n+1, Jewish Currents, American Prospect, and The Baffler. If you like what we do and want to support our ability to have more conversations like this. Please consider becoming a Patron. You can do so for as little as a 1 Dollar a month at patreon.com/millennialsarekillingcapitalism   This episode was produced and edited by Aidan Elias. Music by Televangel.   A Struggle to Destroy the World:    Iron Dome is Not a Defensive System    Aid Wars  Dylan's interviews at Phenomenal World  

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Dima Khalidi, the founder and director of Palestine Legal, the leading organization defending the civil and constitutional rights of people in the U.S. speaking out for Palestinian freedom. They discuss the different mechanisms that the Trump administration uses criminalize, censor, and repress people who speak out for Palestinian rights, including surveilling social media and applying racketeering and anti-terror laws to speech activity related to Israel. They also look at the historical context of repression over the last ten years plus, the concrete application and impact of labeling Palestinian advocacy as antisemitism, and how the effort to crush the Palestine movement opens the door to crushing all dissent in the United States. For resources and more information, please visit: https://fmep.org/resource/criminalize-censor-surveil-escalating-repression-against-advocates-for-palestinian-rights/

We're joined by Dylan Saba of Palestine Legal to talk about terror designations, state repressions, Project Esther, and the anti-BDS laws that 38 states have adopted. Special guest Abby Martin joins us at the end to talk about her court case. Anti-Palestinian at the Core: The Origins and Growing Dangers of U.S. Antiterrorism Law: https://ccrjustice.org/anti-palestinian-core-origins-and-growing-dangers-us-antiterrorism-law Discover more episodes at podcast.trueanon.com

Since October 2023, Palestine solidarity activists have faced a climate of McCarthyist repression, and all signs point to the incoming Trump administration escalating that campaign to silence the anti-genocide movement. Trump's cabinet appointees and supporters have embraced plans to revoke visas of pro-Palestine student organizers, sue colleges to ensure they crack down on protesters, subject anti-Zionist students to FBI questioning, and more—all in the name of fighting antisemitism. In this episode, associate editor Mari Cohen and senior reporter Alex Kane join Emma Saltzberg, US strategic campaigns director for Diaspora Alliance, and Dylan Saba, a staff attorney at Palestine Legal and a contributing writer at Jewish Currents, to discuss the possible shape of the Trump repression regime. We discuss the use of civil rights law to quash student protest, the Heritage Foundation's unnerving “Project Esther” blueprint for suppressing the Palestine solidarity movement, and Congressional attempts to attack the nonprofit status of anti-Zionist groups. We also analyze the multiple right-wing approaches at play—including the distinct but sometimes overlapping “anti-discrimination” and “anti-terrorism” paradigms—and consider possibilities for mobilizing a broader liberal-left coalition to oppose these strategies. Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That Were Calculated Have Passed).”Texts Mentioned and Further Resources:“Trump DOJ civil rights pick blasted campus protests, opposed Antisemitism Awareness Act,” Marc Rod, Jewish Insider “The Biden-Harris administration has failed to combat campus antisemitism,” Jonathan Pidluzny, America First Policy Institute“Trump attorney general pick Pam Bondi: 5 things Jews should know,” Lauren Markoe, Forward “The civil rights law shutting down pro-Palestine speech,” Alex Kane, Jewish Currents“Linda McMahon meets with Senators, addresses approach to fighting antisemitism,” Emily Jacobs, Jewish Insider“Project Esther,” The Heritage Foundation “Evangelical Christians are politicizing the Jewish story of Esther,” Jane Eisner, The Washington Post“Congressional Republicans launch 'fishing expedition' against progressive, Jewish, and Palestinian nonprofits,” Matthew Petti, Reason“Virginia judge denies pro-Palestinian group's bid to limit attorney general's...

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In this explosive episode of "Connecting the Dots," I sit down with Professor Dan Kovalik to expose the harsh reality of free speech under attack in America. Dan shares his chilling story of being detained for hours at Miami Airport, interrogated simply for telling the truth on RT and other alternative news outlets. He's part of a disturbing trend—journalists in the U.S. being raided, arrested, and harassed for daring to speak out. Is free speech in America on life support? We dive into Noam Chomsky's theory of controlled debate, where public opinion is tightly managed, and how today's media manipulates what we're allowed to hear. From the prosecution of dissent to the silencing of pro-Palestine voices on college campuses, this conversation reveals the frightening erosion of our First Amendment rights. Don't miss this urgent wake-up call—are we witnessing the death of free speech in the land of the free?     Find me and the show on social media. Click the following links or search @DrWilmerLeon on X/Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Patreon and YouTube!   Hey everyone, Dr. Wilmer here! If you've been enjoying my deep dives into the real stories behind the headlines and appreciate the balanced perspective I bring, I'd love your support on my Patreon channel. Your contribution helps me keep "Connecting the Dots" alive, revealing the truth behind the news. Join our community, and together, let's keep uncovering the hidden truths and making sense of the world. Thank you for being a part of this journey!   Wilmer Leon (00:00): The linguist, Noam Chomsky tells us the smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum. Even encourage the more critical and dissident views that gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on. While all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of debate. That's Noam Chomsky. Let's talk about it. Stay tuned. Announcer (00:43): Connecting the dots with Dr. Wilmer Leon, where the analysis of politics, culture, and history converge. Wilmer Leon (00:51): Welcome to the Connecting the Dots podcast with Dr. Wilmer Leon, and I am Wilmer Leon is this what American mainstream media and those in Western established press are engaging in actually the violation of the First Amendment? Let's discuss this. Here's the point. We have a tendency to view current events as though they occur in a vacuum, failing to understand the broader historic context in which these events occur. During each episode of this podcast, my guests and I, we have probing, provocative, and in-depth discussions that connect the dots between these events and the broader historic context in which they occur. This enables you to better understand and analyze the events that impact the global village in which we live. On today's episode, the issue of force is very simple. The first amendment, freedom of speech, and the US government's attack on this inalienable right, and my guest is a US labor and human rights lawyer, writer, author, and activist. His latest book is entitled The Case for Palestine, why It Matters and Why You Should Care. He has been a peace activist throughout his life. He has been deeply involved in the movement for peace and social justice in Columbia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and other countries in the global south. He's also taught international human rights law at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law since 2012. He is Professor Dan lik. Dan, welcome. Dan Kovalik (02:26): Thank you. Thanks for having me. Always a pleasure. Wilmer. Wilmer Leon (02:30): So there are a number of events. We're going to connect a number of dots here, but let's start with the First Amendment and it reads as follows, Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech or of the press or the right of people to peaceably, to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Dan, we take this as Americans, we take this for granted, but as the first amendment of the first 10, this one was very important and made number one for a reason why? Dan Kovalik (03:18): Well, because the founding fathers having come from England, where there was a king who was able to prescribe speech arbitrarily, wanted to protect the right of free spree speech, the right of religion. Of course, England had a state religion, the Anglican Church, and they wanted to make sure that Americans had the right to such things as speech and religion and freedom of the press. In England. Those things were not protected even to this day. By the way, great Britain does not have a written constitution and does not protect those types of rights in the way that the United States does. Wilmer Leon (04:05): And again, we've taken this right for granted for so many years, but we have found history shows us, particularly during times of war, when the United States feels that it is being threatened, the screws tighten on free speech, hence people get charged with sedition and other types of violations. When the government feels it's being threatened, when there is a perceived threat from outside the country, then the government will tend to tighten the screws restrict speech, and then once that threat is vanquished, then the prohibitions relax. Have you found history to prove that to be true? Dan Kovalik (04:57): Yes. I mean, one of the most famous examples, of course is during World War I, people like Eugene v Debs, great socialist from Terre Haute, Indiana. He was put in jail for publicly opposing World War I and famously his persecution and those of others like him was approved by the Supreme Court in a famous case by Oliver Wendell Holmes is one of the most celebrated jurors, and he created the clear and present danger rule. And what that says is that the First Amendment is not, as they often say, the US Constitution is not a suicide pact. He said that in cases of a clear and present danger, Congress in fact could (05:59): Limit speech. He gave the example famous example of you're not allowed to yell fire in a crowded theater, for example. And he compared incredibly advocating for peace during a time of war as tantamount to claiming there's a fire in a crowded theater. And that remains the law of the day. And so that law or that decision, which is now almost a hundred years old, I think sets the precedent that advocating for peace in the United States is somehow a clear and present danger. And so when we look to how speech is being regulated and limited today, what we often see it being regulated when people are clamoring for peace. Wilmer Leon (06:58): There's an interesting piece in consortium news entitled Free Speech in the Department of Political Justice, and it's written by former judge Andrew Napolitano, who was a superior court judge in New Jersey. And he writes in this piece, I don't want to spend a lot of time getting into the weeds of the First Amendment, but I think this is very germane to what we find ourselves dealing with. He writes, the framers of the Constitution, were debating this idea of free speech, and they concluded that expressive rights are natural to all persons no matter where they are born. And natural rights are, as Jefferson had written in the Declaration of Independence inalienable. That's why I refer to them as inalienable rights in the open stated differently. He writes, Madison and his colleagues gave us a constitution and a bill of rights that on their face recognized the prepo political existence of the freedom of speech and of the press in all persons and guaranteed that in Congress, by which they meant the government could not and would not abridge them until now. And he, in his piece, he's referencing some charges that the United States government has imposed against some Americans and some Russians, and it's not even a matter of challenging war as much as it is challenging the established government narrative. Your thoughts? Dan Kovalik (08:35): Yes. So again, this is very similar to laws and regulations that have come down before during World War I and also around the same time you had the pomades against socialists and union leaders. Of course you had the McCarthy period, which also really represented an abridgement of peace of speech and of course very, I think relevant to today because of course the McCarthy period, at least ostensibly involved the persecution of communists. Though of course a lot of people persecuted were not communists, though a lot of the people who were persecuted were communists. Most notably in my mind, the great Paul Robeson who went, he and I went to the same law school. By the way, it's a big reason I went to Columbia Law School is because Paul Robeson went there, one of my heroes. Wilmer Leon (09:31): He was a few years ahead of you though. Dan Kovalik (09:33): A few years, yeah, yeah. I know I look old, but I'm not quite old enough to cross paths with Mr. Robeson. But why is that important? Because of course that involved claims that the communists were somehow how stooges of the Soviet Union. And now of course you have people making allegations that those opposing US foreign policy are pawns of Russia and Vladimir Putin. Right. So it's the same old trope that we've been hearing for years and years, and we see this manifested in the last two weeks with the Justice Department announcing indictments against people associated with rt, formerly known as Russia Today News based in Moscow. You had Anthony Blinken statements over the weekend that RT should be considered an espionage organization that means a spy organization. And of course the implication being that those Americans that work with it are spies. And then you had Hillary Clinton chiming in, I believe yesterday, saying that people spreading propaganda, Russian propaganda should be civilly if not criminally prosecuted. And so again, welcome to McCarthyism 2.0. It's a very scary time for people who, I'll just say like me, I'll only speak for myself who want to advocate for peace, but also specifically advocate for peace with Russia who say Russia's not our enemy who go to Russia. I've been to Russia five times in the last two years. (11:26): I've been to the Donbas three times to Crimea once to the Kherson region of what was Ukraine once. And I have worked with RT proudly so, but I and others like me are now in the crosshairs of the US government. And they're not even hiding it. They're being very clear that we are enemy number one at this point. Wilmer Leon (11:51): And this is important for people to understand because as you just mentioned, they've indicted two Americans living in Russia who are Russian citizens. They work for rt. The Feds are accusing them of spreading propaganda. And what they are basically doing is they're challenging the narrative of the Biden administration. And unlike what transpired during World War I, as you talked about Eugene Debs, and also what happened during World War ii, right now, last I checked, the United States has not declared war on Russia. So we are not in a war footing or on a war footing right now. These are individuals that, and I am one who is challenging the narrative of the Biden administration as it relates to what's going on in Ukraine as it relates to what's going on with China over Taiwan, what's going on in Venezuela, what's going on in the Middle East. There are a number of areas where I believe, and I think I have historic and current evidence to support the position that the established stated narrative of the administration is flat out wrong. Dan Kovalik (13:18): Yes, absolutely. And again, Anthony Blinken was very specific about that. He said that rt, that its alleged propaganda has undermined the cause of the war in Ukraine. But as you say, while the US is defacto at war with Russia, it is not officially at war with Russia. It is not declared war on Russia. And as you know, the US rarely declares war anymore. Only Congress can declare war. And rarely does it do that. We usually go to war again, not officially unofficially with countries without declaring war. So we are not officially at war with Russia, which means that those who work with Russia or Russia related entities are not engaged in sedition of any kind. (14:12): But that is what is being claimed. Now, I mean, that is being specifically claimed that we are in fact involved in sedition. And by the way, I know people, Wilmer friends of mine that are fleeing the country. Oh, really? Oh yeah. A number of people and some to Russia, but some to other places, Canada, other places for fear, they're going to be prosecuted because of their work with rt. And no, it's very serious. I know several people, I won't name them. I think I can name one because he's already done it. So he is safe there. And that's Jackson Henkel. Wilmer Leon (14:55): Oh, okay. Dan Kovalik (14:57): But there's others in the process of doing that. Some people have urged me to do that. So we have a very serious situation, and I understand why people would make that choice, because really the government is signaling that they may go after us. So it makes some sense, Wilmer Leon (15:21): And we're going to get to that with you in just a few moments because there, there's another, there are a number of facets of this that if you look at these things individually, people may have a tendency to think, oh, well, this is just a one-off here, or a one-off there. But when you start connecting these dots, what you find out is the government is engaged in incredibly fascist behavior, and they are establishing policies. When Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State, former First Lady comes on television and starts talking about people who are spewing propaganda need to be considered for facing criminal charges. What's the difference between her saying that here in the United States and some of the incredibly repressive policies that have been and are in place by some people that she and other members of the current administration label as dictators label as strong men label as fascists? Dan Kovalik (16:37): No, I mean, of course there's no difference. I mean, and think about it. The US has voice of America, which again, openly broadcast US viewpoints around the world and in particular in countries that the US is hostile towards. Radio Liberty is a similar one in Europe, but frankly, you don't even have to point to those because now frankly, most of the US media operates like those. They're nothing but mouthpieces For the US government, I would put NPR in that category, C-N-N, M-S-N-B-C, and of course the iron. And if those stations or those broadcasting systems are jammed in other countries or people associated with those entities are arrested or persecuted, of course the US is the first one to claim foul. Right? But of course, the other irony here is that M-S-NBC, which is the station that Hillary Clinton made her statements on, and Rachel Maddow, they have been propagandists themselves in terms of pushing these lies about Russian interference. They've been pushing these lies for eight years now. And Hillary Clinton herself was one of the main origins of that lie, which has been debunked, (18:02): Almost entirely and right. So they are pushing propaganda and they're pushing war propaganda again, specifically against Russia. They themselves are guilty of war propaganda, which is by the way, a war crime under international law. But so talk about calling the kettle black, or in fact, they're calling the China, the China plates black when they're the ones that are engaged in propaganda. Wilmer Leon (18:32): In fact, there's a, I'm trying to pull it up right now. There's an NBC story from a while ago from 2022 where they admitted to using propaganda to fool American people. And in fact, the author of the story is a journalist, Ken Delan, who by the way I believe had been dismissed from the LA Times because he was clearing stories through the CIA before the stories were being submitted to his editors at the LA Times. That's history. But there was a story back from 2022 where NBC admitted that they're involved in his propaganda war with Russia and that they will lie to the American people in order to get out in front of a story before the Russians can tell the story or to mislead the Russians. And so the United States government em, it does it to the American people itself Dan Kovalik (19:41): All the time. We know this happens all the time. Another classic case was Judith Miller at the New York Times, who was doing nothing but writing CIA propaganda at the behest of the CIA, which led it helped lead us to the war in Iraq. And in fact, the CIA credited her reporting for helping pave the way to the war with Iraq. And of course one of the big lies of the war, the weapons of mass destruction was a lie that she promoted and incredibly, she's landed on her feet. She was let go or forced to resign for the New York Times because that came out. But now she works for CNN. I mean these folks, it's really not a negative mark on their career if they do this sort of thing. John Stockwell just mentioned John Stockwell, I don't know if you remember him well, I do. But he was a CIA Bureau chief at Angola. He talked about how the CIA would write stories that they would've published in the press, and he gave one example. He said, we once wrote a story about Cuban troops who were fighting US backed forces in Angola, and who by the way helped liberate Southern Africa and South Africa, as you know, Wilmer. (21:06): He said they would claim Cuban troops had raped these women in Angola. Then they'd write a story saying the Cuban troops were killed. And then he said, incredibly, they'd write another story about the same Cuban troop unit somehow revived from the dead doing something else. And yet the press printed it without question. And this happens, and Hollywood's the same way. Hollywood is very much under the sway of the ca. If I can just give one example of that famous interesting example, if you've ever seen the movie, which I like quite a bit, meet the Parents, pretty funny movie. There's a scene in which Ben Stiller, the main character, goes into Robert De Niro's layer for the first time and discovers he's with the ccia. Originally, the script had it that he found he was with the CIA because there was a CIA torture manual de Niro's desk. Well, the CIA who reviewed the script and reviews many scripts in Hollywood, you can't do that. So they ended up just having photos of De Niro with Bin Laden and Clinton and different things. So a lot of what we watch on TV in the movies and reading the newspaper, a lot of that is clear through the ccia, if not utterly based on CIA misinformation that they feed to the press. Wilmer Leon (22:42): And let me connect these dots. I found the story and here's the headline. This is from NBC News in a Break with the Past. Now that's a lie. Us is using intel to fight an info war with Russia, even when the intel isn't rock solid. It doesn't have to be solid intelligence. One US official said it's more important to get out ahead of them, the Russians Putin specifically before they do something. So this is NBC admitting that they're using less than accurate intel in stories that they're telling to the American public. They're basically lying in order to further a narrative. And we can take this back to the Iraq War with the Office of Special Plans, which was set up in the Pentagon to take intel that hadn't been vetted and spin it into stories that would support the US narrative about why the United States needed the whole idea of weapons of mass destruction. And Dick Cheney's letter about yellow cake uranium coming from Niger, okay, why are we getting into these weeds? Because the United States government is attacking American citizens, independent journalists for telling the truth about stories that are challenging the standard narrative when the United States government admits itself, it's lying to you. And this is in violation of the First Amendment, professor Dan Kalik. Is that a good summation of the issue? Dan Kovalik (24:38): It's a very good summation. You often hear, for example, someone like myself will say, oh, there's neo-Nazis in Ukraine. Which by the way, before 2022, even a lot of the mainstream press reported on that, right? Wilmer Leon (24:55): I won't say even Barack Obama said, one of the reasons we don't want to send weapons to Ukraine is because we don't want to give weapons to the Nazis. Dan Kovalik (25:01): Yeah. Not only did Barack Obama talk about it, there was a law passed by Congress that I think Obama signed saying that the US could not fund neo-Nazis in Ukraine. Well, I don't think they passed the law just because theoretically there might be because they knew there were Nazis in Ukraine, and then in fact, that law was repealed because they later decided, oh, well, we need to support Nazis in Ukraine. Okay, so everyone admitted there's Nazis in Ukraine. Then once the special military operations of Russia began in February of 2022, all of the press all of a sudden pretended, oh, there's no Nazis there. Okay? So now after that, if someone like me who's actually been to the Don Bass, which was part of Ukraine, says, oh yeah, there's neo-Nazis in Ukraine. They're like, well, that's a Putin talking point. Well, the fact it's a Putin talking point doesn't mean it's untrue. If Putin says the world is round, it doesn't mean the world is flat. (26:00): But that's what's happening. That is really the claim leveled against people who are trying to give a more balanced picture of what's happening in Ukraine as they're being portrayed as somehow being controlled by the Kremlin, when in fact they're just saying what the truth is. Even though, yeah, it may happen to correspond with what the Kremlin is saying, which I will say, I find the Kremlin a lot more credible on many of these issues than the White House, but other people have to judge that. But again, the fact that my views may overlap with those of the Kremlin at times doesn't mean I'm under their sway. Wilmer Leon (26:47): And let me give the reference those who want to look this up for themselves. Again, the headline of the story is in a Break with the Past US, is using intel to fight an in full war with Russia, even when the intel isn't rock solid. And the story is from April 6th and 2022 written by Ken Delan and others. And again, it's important to remember that again, Ken Delan was dismissed from the LA Times for writing stories, for sending stories to the CIA, having the CIA edit the stories, not telling the editors at the LA times that this was being done. So again, this shows you the kind of work and the kind of propaganda that is being sold to you as news. Now, there's another element to this because as we talked about before, there are a number of facets of this, and that is, again, in Consortium News, pro-Palestine students and faculty Sue UC, Santa Cruz, the lawsuit seeks to vindicate the fundamental democratic and constitutional rights to free speech, free assembly and due process against overreach by university authorities. So basically what has happened, and this story came was last week, September 11th, 2024. So if you all remember back in the spring, there were a number of protests across college campuses all over this country in support of the Palestinian efforts, and they were protesting against the genocidal action of Israel against Palestinians at the United States is supporting. And a number of students were arrested, and some students that were arrested at UC, what did I say, UC, Santa Barbara or UC, Santa Cruz (28:52): In the spring have now still been put off campus in violation of campus regulation. So they are suing the University of Santa Cruz to have that overturned. And just Tuesday, the University of Maryland now finds that care, the Council of American Islamic Relations, Palestine Legal, they are suing University of Maryland for canceling. And this is who would ever think to do something this horrific Jewish and Palestinian student groups holding an interfaith vigil? Dan Valick, the country is going to hell in a hand basket. Dan Kovalik (29:44): Yeah, absolutely. It's outrageous. I mean, what we see is violations of the First Amendment in many different ways. Not only the violation of free speech, of freedom of assembly, but of course freedom of religion because of course, the interfaith vigil would be an expression of religion. I don't see how these actions by Santa Cruz, which by the way, is part of the University of California system, that's a public school system. It means they are subject to the First Amendment. I don't see how those actions can stand if they do stand, if the courts allow them to stand, then we have entered a brave new world, my friend. I mean a very dangerous world by any precedent of the court, at least recent precedent, they should be permitted to have these types of protest in vigils. And I hope they win in the courts. They should win. Wilmer Leon (30:42): In fact, I remember saying after September 11th, as we looked at the crackdown that the United States government was imposing upon American citizens, that when a country violates its own constitution in reaction to action taken by terrorists, the terrorists have won. Dan Kovalik (31:06): Yeah, well, that's absolutely true. And of course, what we saw after nine 11 was an abomination in terms of the rights, not just of US citizens, but of others that were curtailed. The people put in Guantanamo Bay without charge. It turned out most of them had done nothing. Some died in jail, some died of torture. (31:34): It was a huge mark on American democracy. I believe there's still people there. It has not been there. I think there's a couple survivors still hanging on. It's an amazing thing. And of course then you had Barack Obama who decided he could murder American citizens with drones abroad on his own authority. And he killed one man who was claimed to have been a terrorist again, that had never been proven, that he had not been, that had not proven in a court of law. And then incredibly, they murdered his son, his 16-year-old son. And in defense, one of the White House spokespeople said, well, he chose the wrong father. Wilmer Leon (32:25): Eric Holder came out and said when he was the Attorney General, that an American president can execute American citizens anywhere in the world without judicial review. Dan Kovalik (32:37): Yeah, incredible. An incredible thing. And it's bad enough, frankly, Wilmer, that the government has done these sorts of things. But the sad part also is there's been so little resistance to this, so little criticism. And that's what allows these things to continue and not only continue, but to escalate Wilmer Leon (32:59): Quickly going back to the campus issue. So we're told that there has to be this prohibition against protesting in support of the Palestinians because we have to be mindful of the sensitivities of Jewish students, and we can't have these Jewish American students feeling threatened and feeling unsafe on the college campuses amidst these peaceful protests, ignoring the fact that a lot of the protestors are the very Jewish students who the authorities claim their rights are being protected. I believe I submit to you attorney Kovalik, that that is merely a cover or a pretext for the protection of these interests of these students is a pretext, is a cover that is being used by the government to violate our First Amendment rights the same way the Israeli government claims it has to engage in genocide of Palestinians as it attacks Hamas. Dan Kovalik (34:22): No, exactly right. Because the other issue, I mean, of course you're right that many Jews are protesting for Palestinians, but also what about the Palestinians rights? There's Palestinian students on campus, there's Arab students. What about their rights? Right? Wilmer Leon (34:37): What about my rights? I'm neither Palestinian nor Jewish, and I have this problem, and I know I'm nuts, Dan. I got a problem with genocide. I admit it. I admit America. I admit it to the world. I got a problem with genocide. Dan Kovalik (34:52): It's an incredible thing. Wilmer, what we've all been taught since World War II is that the worst crime in the world is genocide, right? It is the high crime. It is the most abominable crime. And even one of the worst things you could say about someone is they're a genocide denier, right? Wilmer Leon (35:15): Oh, yeah. Heaven forbid. Dan Kovalik (35:16): And now all of a sudden when people are protesting against genocide, they're the bad guys. And yet it's an incredible thing that is happening. It's an amazing Rubicon we've crossed, and no one can really defend it. That's the problem. And that is why there's repression. The universities, including some of the best in the world like Columbia University, which may be the main offender on this, they can't defend their actions. They can't defend the genocide. They can't defend against those saying it's a genocide. So they've decided we just have to shut the speech down because we as an institution, we have no argument. We can't ideologically defend this. We can't ideologically defend the United States. And so we're just going to say, students, you can't talk, which goes against every notion that anyone has about what the university is supposed to be, a space of free speech and free debate. And Zionists should have a right to their views. They should have a right to peacefully protest. And those are against Zionism. And the genocide should also have that right. And that is so obvious and so clear, and the fact that the universities have decided to go the other way and only repress one kind of speech, and that is pro-Palestinian and not pro-Israel. It's abominable. It just shows the corruption of our institutions from the universities all the way to the White House. Wilmer Leon (36:55): And it also, I believe, shows the power of the military industrial complex, or what Ray McGovern called the Mickey Mat, in that once you start challenging the narrative via free speech, you now threaten the defense budget. You now start threatening the billions of dollars in weapons that are being wasted in Ukraine, that are being wasted in Gaza, that are being wasted as the United States is trying to foment a Middle East war. And heaven forbid those billion dollar contracts that are going to Lockheed Martin, that are going to Boeing, that are going to ge, Raytheon, heaven forbid, people start asking questions about why is so much money being wasted on genocide? Dan Kovalik (37:53): Yeah, no, exactly. That's correct. When we look around our cities, we look around this country, we see so many problems that need fixing, and people are saying, Hey, why aren't you fixing our problems instead of sending money abroad to these wars in Ukraine and Gaza? Those are very inconvenient people to the powers that be, and not just to the military industrial complex, but apparently we know that in the case of Columbia University, that they responded to calls by millionaires in New York City who asked them to repress the protest. So we know the ruling class is very much in the tank for Israel, very much in the tank for the genocide in Gaza, and that they are influencing these universities and how they respond to this. Wilmer Leon (38:45): And let's connect another dot. And that is the trial in Tampa, Florida that just wrapped up last week in the Uru, the African People Socialist Party, also known as the Uhuru movement or the Uhuru three. There was an incredibly confusing verdict that came down in that trial. It was alleged that the defendants were doing the bidding of the Russian government by sowing discord in America's political process by promoting political views that were contrary to those of the United States government and favorable to those of the Russian government. Now, I got to reiterate, they're not talking about overthrowing the government. They're not talking about attacking the government sowing discord, their own words in America's political process by promoting political views, not military political views that are contrary to those of the United States government. So well, go ahead, Dan. You want to say something? Dan Kovalik (40:00): Yeah. Well, that's exactly what the First Amendment is supposed to protect, are controversial views that go against the government. I mean, right? You don't need the First Amendment to protect speech that is pro-government, right? I mean, that's kind of obvious. If the First Amendment only protected pro-government speech, it wouldn't be much of a protection at all. As people say, you have to protect inconvenience speech and dissident speech. And so it's amazing that this prosecution went forward. Apparently, I guess they were convicted of conspiracy, but not some of the other charges. And by the way, let's say a couple things about it. First of all, I'm not sure they influenced anyone. I never heard of this organization to be totally honest, until this, right, until this indictment came down. And so number one, so they don't have much influence at all. Number two, I think this was over like 500 bucks in a donation they got for some Russian 500 bucks. Meanwhile, APAC is giving over a hundred million dollars in this election cycle to people's election campaigns. APAC owned Wilmer Leon (41:15): And Corey Bush Co Bush lost because of those efforts. And Jamal Bowman in New York lost because of those efforts. So not only is APAC donating and it's a hundred million by their admission in the New York Times, they were successful in their efforts. Dan Kovalik (41:36): They claim they were successful in every effort, every person, they backed one. And this has been true for years, of course, this type of influence. In fact, John F. Kennedy tried to make APAC liable under the Foreign Agent Registration Act, which is the act that the Arru group was prosecuted. And of course, Kennedy was not able to do so, and he was actually killed shortly after. You can draw your own conclusions. APAC has been this huge elephant in the living room, a huge influencer of American politics for many, many years. And yet, who's getting prosecuted for that? No one. No one. They go after these small fish Wilmer Leon (42:28): To make a big point. Dan Kovalik (42:29): Yeah, Wilmer Leon (42:30): Small fish to make a big point. And so this was an incredibly bizarre verdict because they weren't, as you mentioned, they weren't found guilty of failing to register as agents of the Russian government. They were convicted of conspiring to fail to register as agents of the government. Dan Kovalik (42:54): Incredible. It's absolutely incredible. Wilmer Leon (42:57): So the jury said that Chairman Omali Yeshitela and the other two defendants agreed to become unregistered agents of the Russian government, but didn't actually become agents of the Russian government. Dan Kovalik (43:15): They wanted to be agents, but Russian didn't care. They didn't want them to be agents, whatever. It's absolutely bizarre. And that we could talk about this all day. I mean, again, I'm a lawyer. I study criminal law, and that sort of, to get someone on that, that becomes just a thought crime. They literally did nothing they made, Wilmer Leon (43:35): Which by the way, isn't a crime, Dan Kovalik (43:36): Right? No, you're right. I mean, again, because that would be a First Amendment violation. We were not supposed to prosecute thoughts. And the idea is, oh, I wanted to do something. Well, that's not enough to convict someone. I mean, it's completely outrageous. And I think their case is on appeal, if I'm not mistaken. If it is, I really hope they win. I mean, God bless 'em. They really are the test case here for the rest of us. I mean, I think the government went after this small group that no one heard of because they figured no one would support them. They go after them first, make some bad precedent for the rest of us, then start going after the rest of us, which means it's a very important case. Wilmer Leon (44:22): And the prosecution, the government was unable to present hardly any witnesses. They had hardly any evidence because this was 95% fiction. It was just flat fiction. And I think what also the government didn't expect was the attention that this was going to bring. The courtroom was full of supporters for the Uhuru. They've been around since about 1972, and they've done incredible work in the communities that they work in. And so now final data point, as I understand it, you Dan Kalik we're coming back into this country last week. Dan Kovalik (45:14): Yeah, Friday. Last Friday, yeah. Wilmer Leon (45:16): I'll let you tell the story. Dan Kovalik (45:19): Yeah. So I was coming back from the anti-fascist Congress in Venezuela. Wilmer Leon (45:26): Yeah, Dan Kovalik (45:27): I believe, Wilmer Leon (45:28): Oh, wait a minute. See, I knew when I saw that white jacket, when I saw that white jacket Dan Kovalik (45:32): Knew something was bad. Yeah, they used to say they were premature. I guess that's what I'm, but anyway, I came back through Bolivia. And to be, make a long story short, I was held for four hours. I was interrogated where, what airport in Miami, which is not the airport, you really do want to come back through. But I was asked about my travels, about who I meet with, about my connections, my political beliefs. They Wilmer Leon (46:07): Asked you about your political beliefs. Dan Kovalik (46:09): Oh, yeah. Well, I mean, it was all about what countries do you like? What countries do you not like and do you feel most comfortable? What countries are you most afraid of? I said, honestly, the one I'm in right now because I get treated like this. And then Wilmer Leon (46:27): What was their reaction to that answer? Dan Kovalik (46:29): Well, they were a little defensive, but tried to continue with the conversation and then, well, even before, so before they got deeply into the questioning, they searched all my bags and took my cell phone and my computer. By the end of the evening, I did get my computer back, but my phone, I did not get back. And I just got it back this morning. So that would've been about three or four days they had it. And we know, I mean, you can Google this. There's a lot of stories about it. They have the right outside New York City. We can get into the exception outside of JFK and LaGuardia. They have the right everywhere else to take your phone and copy the whole thing, copy your computer, which I imagine they've done, which is an incredible privacy violation. As you can imagine. Most people have a heart attack if that happened to 'em. And it was clear, it was motivated by my trips to Russia, Venezuela, other countries. And in fact, I've been subject to secondary interrogation, which is what it's called at the border in the airports a number of times since I first started going to Russia about two years ago, I've been stopped. That was probably my fourth or fifth time being stopped. (48:02): I was told in Chicago when I was stopped some months ago, that I have a case number with the State Department that marked me for this type of interrogation. And other people like Danny Shaw, who's a friend of mine, a colleague of mine, he also was stopped Wilmer Leon (48:21): Friend of ours. Yeah, Dan Kovalik (48:23): Stopped for three hours. His phone was taken. I mean, he's Scott Ritter. Wilmer Leon (48:27): That was in Chicago. Dan Kovalik (48:28): Danny was stopped Wilmer Leon (48:29): In Chicago. Dan Kovalik (48:29): Chicago. Scott Ritter's house in New York was raided by the FBI. They took his phone and computer. So look, the hunt is on. There's no question about that. I do want to give one caveat, I mentioned this exception in New York City. There is a judge in New York, the federal court in New York who held in her court district, in her court jurisdiction, which covers JFK and LaGuardia. They cannot take your computer and phone without a search warrant. So people out there, Wilmer, if you're doing international travel, try to come back through JFK because Wilmer Leon (49:13): Thank you. I was just going to ask you about the warrant because this seems to be another violation. You're supposed to be secure in your person and your papers. Last I checked, and I'm not a lawyer. I did go to law school and I did stay at Holiday Inn Express. So there seemed to be a number of violations beyond the First Amendment when they start to detain you and they start to seize your property without warrants. Dan Kovalik (49:50): Yes. Well, the problem we have, Wilmer is outside the jurisdiction in New York, the courts have held that customs has the right to hold you even up to 72 hours, Wilmer without a lawyer interrogate you and to take your phone computer and copy it. They have held that until you get through the customs and immigration, Wilmer Leon (50:20): You're not officially in the country. Dan Kovalik (50:22): You're not in the United States of America. The Constitution does not apply to you. That's an incredible, incredible thing. Most Americans have no idea of it, and most Americans won't experience the repercussions of that. (50:36): But what that means, until you go through passport control and get your bag and go through those double doors and push on those double doors and go into the main terminal, they really have the power of God over you. And again, most people have no idea about that. And so what the government's decided to do is, okay, we're not going to even worry about getting a warrant. We won't even send the FBI to Dan Aleks home. We don't have to do that. We wait until he leaves the country. He comes back because he travels all the time, and we'll do things to him and take things from him. We could never do without a warrant and without an attorney being present if he's interrogated, et cetera. It's an incredible violation of our rights, as you say, Wilmer. But it is totally sanctioned, at least at this moment by the courts, except for that court in New York City. Wilmer Leon (51:33): So and where did they approach you? You're coming through the jet way. You're coming off, you're deplaning, you're coming through the jet way. So when you come out of the jet way to the terminal, what happened? Dan Kovalik (51:51): Well, so just as almost every time, so only one time this happened to me in Chicago recently. They were waiting for me off the plane. Right outside the plane. In theJet. (52:05): Yeah. The only time that happened, in fact, as we were descending, they announced in the plane is we were descending. Please have your passports ready when you exit the plane. They checked everyone's passports. When they got to me, they stopped checking because they had their guy and they took me to be interrogated. Now, there was only time that happened every other time, including this time in Miami. I get off the plane, I walk all that way. Usually it's a long walk all the way to passport control. I get in the line, I get up to the passport agent, she checks my passport, had a few questions, and I'm thinking maybe I'm going to be okay this time. And then she said, please stand over there. And I knew what that meant. Wilmer Leon (53:00): Did you say, go stand in the corner Dan Kovalik (53:02): And face the wall, basically. And she put a little orange slip over my passport and another guy comes out, he takes my passport and says, come with me. And I'm brought into another room with a bunch of other people, and I sat there for probably an hour. Other people were getting processed very quickly. After an hour, a customs officer came and said, please come with me with your baggage. And she said, now she begins, I'm sorry, Wilmer. She lied. Okay. She begins to make up this story. She says, you're subject to a random drug search from Bolivia because a lot of people are bringing in drugs. So we're going to check your bags and then I'm going to ask you a few questions. We'll let you go. And this is just a random, but she checks all my bags that she does, but she doesn't have a sniffer dog and she doesn't check my prescription pill bottles, which could have drugs in them. She didn't check my coffee I brought in, which could have drugs in them. Clearly this is theater. (54:08): And she says, as part of our search, we can take your phone and your computer. We're going to do that, but we're only going to search for issues related to drugs. Whether you told someone you have drugs or you swallow drugs. But then when she takes me to another room for interrogation, there's no questions about drugs. It's all about what countries do you visit? Do you meet with government officials? Do you know government officials? Do you know presidents of other countries? Again, what countries you feel comfortable in? What countries do you not feel comfortable in? (54:45): That sort of thing, which indicates that was the real reason for me being pulled over was my travels and political beliefs, not the drug stuff. That was just a lie, I think, to get me feeling comfortable enough to talk to them. So there you go. That's what happened. Again, it took me days to get my phone back again. You can read about it. The customs now copies thousands of phones a year. They put 'em on a database. All of that information is on the database for 15 years, and all 3000 customs officials have access to it. So some guy in whatever Oklahoma's board during his lunch can go eat his sandwich and look at my data. I mean, it's an amazing thing. Wilmer again, most Americans have no idea this is happening. Wilmer Leon (55:48): Wow. The land of the free and the home of the brave. So it's also important for people to understand this is happening during a democratic administration. Dan Kovalik (56:00): Yes. And especially because it's democratic. We know from the New York Times, an article about three weeks ago, talked about the FBI, investigating people for connections with Russia and rt, and they said specifically that this was ordered by President Joe Biden. So this is not an accident. This isn't just the bureaucracy doing what they do or the deep state. This has been ordered by a democratic president to happen. Wilmer Leon (56:30): And we also know that more whistleblowers were prosecuted during the Obama administration than any other administration in history. Dan Kovalik (56:40): Indeed, indeed. Wilmer Leon (56:44): Dan Kovalik, professor Dan Kovalik. Man, thank you so much for your time. I truly, truly appreciate. First of all, I'm very sorry that you as an American went through this. I'm even more aggrieved that you as a friend went through this. Thank you. But thank you for joining me today, Dan Kovalik (57:04): Wilmer. It's always a pleasure and you are a friend, and I admire you a lot, and I look forward to the next time we talk. Wilmer Leon (57:11): Well, man, appreciate it. And folks, thank you all so much for listening to the Connecting to Dots podcast with me, Dr. Wiler Leon. Stay tuned for new episodes every week. Also, please follow and subscribe. Leave a review, share the show, follow us on social media. You can see all the links below in the show description. And remember, this is where the analysis of politics, culture, and history converge, talk without analysis is just chatter. And we don't chatter here on connecting the dots. See you again next time. Until then, I'm Dr. Wilmer Leon. Have a great one. Peace. I'm out Announcer (57:51): Connecting the dots with Dr. Wilmer Leon, where the analysis of politics, culture, and history converge.    

Ralph welcomes former TV writer turned grass roots organizer, Jason Berlin, who explains how his group, Field Team 6, uses the latest data and analytics to identify and reach out to potential Democratic voters in order to register them to vote and how that could turn the tide in purple, flippable states.Jason Berlin is a former TV writer and co-founder of Field Team 6, a national voter-registration project that organizes voter drives to register Democrats in the most flippable states across the country.The fact is you can't get out the vote if those voters don't exist to begin with. It's like no one had a talk with people about where a voter comes from. So we concentrate on that first half of the equation—getting people over that biggest hurdle, getting them registered, generating this river of new Democrats and Independents who can then get into the system and be targeted by the massive get-out-the-vote machinery.Jason BerlinThe Democratic Party over the years has exhibited serious symptoms of masochism. It's like they've written off half the country, where they don't even compete.Ralph NaderIn Case You Haven't Heard with Francesco DeSantisNews 9/4/241. On August 28th, the Israeli Defense Forces targeted United Nations World Food Programme vehicles with “repeated gunfire,” per CNN. According to the agency, “Despite being clearly marked and receiving multiple clearances by Israeli authorities to approach, the vehicle was directly struck by gunfire as it was moving toward an…IDF…checkpoint.” Photos show at least ten bullet holes in the vehicle windows. As this piece highlights, “ongoing airstrikes and repeated evacuation orders by Israeli forces have forced many of the agency's food warehouses and community kitchens to shutter…The IDF-designated ‘humanitarian zone' in Gaza is also steadily shrinking; in the past month alone, the IDF has reduced this zone by 38%.” This incident is reminiscent of the Israeli strike on World Central Kitchen workers in April, when the IDF killed three Britons, a Palestinian, a US-Canadian dual citizen, an Australian, and a Pole via multiple airstrikes. Two days after the World Food Programme incident, CNN reported that the IDF killed four in a humanitarian aid vehicle affiliated with the American Near East Refugee Aid organization.2. On Monday, the Israeli labor federation, Histradrut, called a general strike in order to “pressure Netanyahu's government into changing its approach to cease-fire negotiations,” per NPR. This action was taken in response to the death of six hostages who would have been released had Israel agreed to the ceasefire proposed in early July. According to NPR, “Many schools and government buildings were shut…[and]…Ben Gurion airport…paused flights for several hours.” Yet, Israel's Labor Court quickly ordered the strike to end and the union obeyed; the action lasted less than one business day. This incident illustrates the deep discontent with the Netanyahu government's handling of the hostage negotiations, but also the impotence of Israeli civil society to change course.3. In more positive news related to labor and Israel, Democracy Now! reports Jimmy Williams Jr. president of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, says his union is “directing its massive international pension fund to divest from the Gaza genocide.” According to left-wing British outlet Skwakbox, the Painter's Union receives $330 million dollars in new contributions from union members each year.4. The Middle East Monitor reports “Ray Youssef, CEO of the Bitcoin marketplace platform, Noonesapp…[alleges that cryptocurrency giant Binance] ‘has seized all funds from all Palestinians as per the request of the IDF. They refuse to return the funds. All appeals denied.'” Responding to this allegation, a Binance spokesperson claimed that this seizure of assets only covers a limited number of accounts linked to “illicut funds,” though “Binance did not specify the extent or value of the ‘illicit funds' involved.” Boosters of cryptocurrency, like Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have framed it in terms of “transactional freedom,” per Axios. Not so for the Palestinians, it seems.5. Jeremy Corbyn, former leader of the U.K. Labour Party, has united with four other independent, pro-Gaza MPs to form the Independent Alliance, per the BBC. This new parliamentary bloc will “use their…platform to campaign for scrapping the two-child benefit limit and against arms sales to Israel.” With five MPs in this alliance, it already outnumbers the Green Party and is equal to Reform UK, the far-right party formed by Brexit champion Nigel Farage. In their first move since forming the Independent Alliance, the MPs issued a statement in response to Foreign Minister David Lammy's announcement that the U.K. will suspend a small number of arms export licenses to Israel. This statement reads “For months, we have called for an immediate and full suspension of arms sales to Israel. The government has finally admitted there is a clear risk of weapons being used to commit violations of international law…This announcement must be the first step in ending all arms…used by the Israeli military to commit genocide in Gaza.”6. According to the ACLU of Indiana, “[Indiana University] has approved a new policy that prohibits all expressive activity if it takes place between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., even if the activity is not at all disruptive, such as standing silently, holding a sign, wearing a t-shirt with a communicative message, or discussing current events with friends.” This policy, which “carries harsh punishments, including suspension or expulsion for students, and suspension or termination of staff,” was adopted in response to campus pro-Palestine demonstrations last year. The ACLU of Indiana has already filed a lawsuit to overturn this chilling policy. And at New York University, Palestine Legal reports “In a dangerous escalation of repression, [NYU] announced new student conduct policies last week that appear to prohibit criticism of Zionism. If implemented, these policies risk creating a hostile environment for Palestinian and anti-Zionist Jewish students and severely curtail…free expression.” This statement notes that NYU does not afford protected status to any other political ideology and that this decision “opens the door for other ethno-nationalist ideologies to claim protection from criticism. With Zionism enshrined as a protected class, there's no reason why Hindu nationalism, Christian nationalism, white nationalism or similar ideologies wouldn't be afforded the same.” Palestine Legal has vowed that it will “continue to monitor and combat institutional attempts to punish and censor students organizing for Palestinian rights.”7. In a major escalation of tensions, the United States seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro's plane in the Dominican Republic and transferred it to Florida, per the BBC. According to this report, “US officials said the plane was seized for suspected violations of US export control and sanctions laws,” while Venezuelan officials have denounced this move as an act of “piracy,” and “reserves the right to take any legal action to repair this damage to the nation.” Foreign Minister Yván Gil said the US had justified itself “with the coercive measures that they unilaterally and illegally impose around the world.” This is just the latest case of western governments seizing Venezuelan state assets; in 2018, the Bank of England seized nearly $2 billion worth of Venezuelan gold and has refused to return those assets despite urging from the United Nations special rapporteur on sanctions, per Declassified UK.8. The Miami Herald is out with a stunning new report on the dubious “Havana Syndrome” which finds that patients were “coerced” to join an NIH study on the supposed illness. According to this piece, “An internal review board at the National Institutes of Health…decided to shut down a long-term study of Havana Syndrome patients that found no signs of brain injuries, after several participants complained of mishandled medical data, bias and pressures to join the research. [Jennifer George] A spokeswoman for NIH said the internal review found that ‘informed consent' policies to join the study ‘were not met due to coercion.” Though George insists the coercion was not on the part of the NIH, she declined to identify who coerced the patients.9. Daniel Nichanian of Bolts Magazine reports “[Arizona Democratic Senate nominee Ruben] Gallego, fresh off of a police union endorsement, just penned a letter to the US [Department of Justice] asking them to stand down in its investigations against the Phoenix police and its effort to bring the department under a consent decree.” The proposed consent decree in question stems from a DOJ investigation that found “[Phoenix PD] uses excessive force, including unjustified deadly force… unlawfully detain, cite, and arrest people experiencing homelessness and unlawfully dispose of their belongings…discriminates against Black, Hispanic, and Native American people when enforcing the law…violates the rights of people engaged in protected speech and expression…[and] discriminate against people with behavioral health disabilities when dispatching calls for assistance and responding to people in crisis.”10. Finally, in more positive Senate-related news, a new Split Ticket poll shows populist Independent candidate Dan Osborn running neck-and-neck with incumbent Republican Senator Deb Fischer in Nebraska. While Donald Trump leads Kamala Harris 54 to 37, the same poll shows Senator Fischer leading by only 1 point – 39% to Osborn's 38%, with 23% undecided. Osborn, a union leader who organized the 2021 Kellogg strike, has been favorably profiled by the American Prospect. There is no Democrat running for this seat.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

In this episode of the Palestine Post, we discuss repression against US-based pro-Palestine demonstrators with guest Dylan Saba, a staff attorney at Palestine Legal and the lead drafter of a new report entitled “Reverberations of October 7” that documents and analyzes the reports of repression against pro-Palestine activism in the US between Oct 7th and Dec 31, 2023, with the high volume of reports continuing into 2024.  Check out the report here: https://palestinelegal.org/news/2024/5/23/new-report-analyzes-crackdown-on-palestine-solidarity-in-the-usnbsp — Subscribe to this podcast: https://plinkhq.com/i/1637968343?to=page Get in touch: lawanddisorder@kpfa.org Follow us on socials @LawAndDis: https://twitter.com/LawAndDis; https://www.instagram.com/lawanddis/ The post Palestine Post: Mapping Pro-Palestine Repression in the US w/ Dylan Saba appeared first on KPFA.

We're joined by Dylan Saba, a writer and lawyer from Palestine Legal, to talk about aid, war, Rafah, Biden's red lines, and Lebanon. Check out his article AID WARS here: https://www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/online-only/aid-wars/

We explore how young people have made meaningful careers and lasting change working in the public interest with Sam Simon, editor of “Choosing the Public Interest: Essays From the First Public Interest Research Group” and Lisa Frank, Vice President and D.C. Director at The Public Interest Network and also Executive Director in the Washington Legislative Office at Environment America. Plus, the indomitable Chris Hedges stops by to report on his interviews with college students protesting the genocide in Gaza, which he chronicled in a Substack piece titled “The Nation's Conscience.”Sam Simon is an author, playwright, and attorney who co-founded the Public Interest Research Group with Ralph and the other Nader's Raiders in 1970. He compiled and edited the new book Choosing the Public Interest: Essays From the First Public Interest Research Group.This is something that every one of these themes have and that this movement has had—that the consumer, the user, the student, the pensioner have equal voice in our systems to help create the systems that are intended to benefit them, and not leave that power in the hands of corporate entities and profit-making enterprises. And that idea needs to continue to exist. And I'm glad that the Public Interest Network and PIRGS still thrive on many campuses.Sam SimonWhat I want to come out of this book is that average kids from average backgrounds ended up doing amazing things with their entire lives, because of the opportunity and the vision that they could do that.Sam SimonLisa Frank is Vice President and D.C. Director at The Public Interest Network. She is also Executive Director in the Washington Legislative Office at Environment America, where she directs strategy and staff for federal campaigns. Ms. Frank has won millions of dollars in investments in walking, biking and transit, and has helped develop strategic campaigns to protect America's oceans, forests and public lands from drilling, logging and road-building.The particular types of problems we're focused on at [PIRG] are ones that really have been created in a sense by our success as a country in growing. We're the wealthiest country the world has ever seen. We figured out how to grow more than enough food than we can eat, we produce more than enough clothing than we can wear, certainly more than enough plastic…And all of this abundance is leading to new types of problems…The problems that have either come about because of the progress we've made as a society and now we've got the ability to tackle them, or problems where—clean energy is an example—where there are problems that we newly have the ability to solve.Lisa FrankYou have Congress that passed these five laws that are being violated, with the result of huge death and destruction overseas— and not just in Gaza, but places like Iraq and Libya in the past. And they're talking about students trespassing at their own university, and nonviolent protests? The problem starts in Congress. They're the funders, the enablers, the surrenderers of their constitutional rights of oversight and war-making powers.Ralph NaderChris Hedges is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, who spent nearly two decades as a foreign correspondent in Central America, the Middle East, Africa and the Balkans. He is the host of The Chris Hedges Report, and he is a prolific author— his latest book is The Greatest Evil Is War.[Students] understand the nature of settler colonial regimes. The expansion or inclusion of students from wider backgrounds than were traditionally there at places like Princeton…has really added a depth and expanded the understanding within the university. So they see what's happening in Gaza, and they draw—rightly— connections to what we did to Native Americans, what the British did in India, what the British did in Kenya, what the French did in Algeria, and of course, they are correct.Chris Hedges[Students] have defied, quite courageously, the administrations of their universities, who are—kind of like the political class—bought and paid for by the Israel lobby, and in particular wealthy donors and the Democratic Party. And that is why these universities have responded to these nonviolent protests the way they have, with such overwhelming and draconian use of force.Chris HedgesIn Case You Haven't Heard with Francesco DeSantisNews 5/15/241. The New Republic reports the Federal Trade Commission has filed suit against Scott Sheffield, former CEO of oil and gas giant Pioneer Resources alleging that “voluminous evidence” suggests Sheffield “collaborated with fellow U.S. producers and the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in order to keep crude oil prices ‘artificially' high.” As Matt Stoller explains in his newsletter, “after a bitter price war from 2014-2016, [American oil producers] got tired of competing on price with…the OPEC oil cartel, and at some point from 2017-2021, decided to join the cartel and cut supply to the market. This action had the [e]ffect of raising oil prices, costing oil consumers something on the order of $200 billion a year.” Stoller claims that this price-fixing scheme between the OPEC cartel and the American oil oligopoly caused 27% of all inflation-related price increases in 2021. Progressive lawmakers such as Senator Bernie Sanders who tried to raise the alarm about what he dubbed “greedflation” were dismissed at the time, but like so many times before, have been vindicated by the simple fact that American corporate greed always exceeds expectations.2. Tal Mitnick and Sofia Orr, the two Israeli teenagers conscientiously objecting to being drafted into Israel's campaign of terror in Gaza, have sent a letter to President Biden excoriating him for his unconditional support of the Netanyahu regime, per the Intercept. The two heroic peaceniks write “Your unconditional support for [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu's policy of destruction, since the war began, has brought our society to the normalization of carnage and to the trivialization of human lives…It is American diplomatic and material support that prolonged this war for so long. You are responsible for this, alongside our leaders. But while they're interested in prolonging the war for political reasons, you have the power to make it stop.” These kids wrote this letter before reporting for their latest round of prison sentences, which have reached unprecedented lengths. As the article notes, “The refuseniks are not alone in their opposition, nor in the treatment they face. Throughout the war, Israelis have taken to the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem to protest the war and Netanyahu's government. This past week, Israeli police arrested and beat protesters and hostage family members calling for an end to the war, just the latest example of Israelis being punished for voicing dissent or sympathy with the people of Gaza.”3. Al Jazeera reports yet another Biden Administration official has made public his resignation over the genocide in Gaza. Army Major Harrison Mann, who resigned in November, posted a letter Monday wherein he expressed “incredible shame and guilt” over the United States' “unqualified support” for Israel's war. Explaining why he waited so long to come forward with the reasoning behind his resignation, Mann wrote “I was afraid. Afraid of violating our professional norms. Afraid of disappointing officers I respect. Afraid you would feel betrayed. I'm sure some of you will feel that way reading this,” yet he noted “At some point – whatever the justification – you're either advancing a policy that enables the mass starvation of children, or you're not.”4. At long last, Egypt has announced its intention to join South Africa's genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, Al Arabiya reports. In a statement, the Egyptian foreign ministry said this decision comes on the heels of the “worsening severity and scope of Israeli attacks against Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip,” likely referring to the terror bombing campaign in Rafah, which the United States had previously identified as a “Red Line” in terms of material support. Egypt has faced international embarrassment over its soft line towards its militaristic neighbor and alleged mistreatment of Palestinian refugees trying to flee into Egypt. The country has also “called on the UN Security Council and countries of influence to take actions to reach a ceasefire in Gaza and halt military operations in Rafah, according to the statement.”5. On Wednesday, May 8th, the State Department report on whether Israel has violated U.S. international law was due to Congress. Instead, it was delayed. As POLITICO reported “The State Department has been working for months on the report, which will issue a determination on whether Israel has violated international humanitarian law since the war in Gaza began. If so, the U.S. would be expected to stop sending Israel military assistance.” When the report was finally released, it stated “it is ‘reasonable to assess' that US weapons have been used by Israeli forces in Gaza in ways that are ‘inconsistent' with international humanitarian law,” but the report stopped short of officially saying Israel violated the law, per CNN. The report goes on to say that investigations into potential violations are ongoing but the US “‘does not have complete information to verify' whether the US weapons ‘were specifically used' in alleged violations of international humanitarian law.” This equivocation in the face of genocide – using American weapons — will leave an ineradicable black mark on the already spotty human rights record of the U.S. State Department.6. Students for Justice in Palestine at Columbia University reports “Columbia…is under federal investigation for anti-Palestinian discrimination and harassment.” According to the group, Palestine Legal is representing four Palestinian students and the group itself. Senior attorney for Palestine Legal Radikah Sainath said in a statement “The law is clear— if universities do not cease their racist crackdowns against Palestinians and their supporters, they will risk losing federal funding.”7. On May 8th, the D.C. Metro Police Department cleared the protest encampment at the George Washington University, using pepper spray and brute force. According to the Associated Press, the police arrested 33 protesters. The AP quoted Moataz Salim, a Palestinian student at GW with family in Gaza, who said the authorities merely “destroyed a beautiful community space that was all about love.” He went on to say “Less than 10 hours ago, I was pepper sprayed and assaulted by police…And why? Because we decided to pitch some tents, hold community activities and learn from each other. We built something incredible. We built something game-changing.” The police broke up the encampment in the wee hours of the morning, just before D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser was slated to appear before hostile Republican lawmakers in Congress, leading many to believe she acted when and how she did out of sheer cowardice and political expediency. After the encampment was cleared, the hearing was canceled. Undeterred, these courageous students have continued to protest their institution's support of Israel's criminal war and per the American University Eagle, have now set up a second encampment. We urge Mayor Bowser not to bow to pressure from bloodthirsty Congressional Republicans a second time.8. The Seattle Times reports “The FAA has opened an investigation into Boeing's 787 Dreamliner after the company disclosed that employees in South Carolina falsified inspection records.” As the paper notes, “This is the latest in a long litany of lapses at Boeing that have come to light under the intense scrutiny of the company's quality oversight since a passenger cabin panel blew out on an Alaska Airlines flight in January.” That is to say nothing of the safety lapses leading to the Lion Air and Ethiopia Airlines crashes in 2019, that resulted in the deaths of all aboard both flights. Incredibly, “This new 787 quality concern is unrelated to the 787 fuselage gaps described as unsafe in an April congressional hearing by Boeing whistleblower Sam Salehpour.” As these critical safety failures and lies continue to come to light, the only question remaining is when is enough enough?9. Bloomberg labor reporter Josh Eidelson reports “The US government [has] raised concerns with Germany about alleged union-busting in Alabama by Mercedes, an unusual move that escalates scrutiny on its handling of the high-stakes union vote.” Mercedes is facing a momentous union election at its Alabama plant, led by the United Autoworkers, fresh off of unionizing the first ever foreign-owned auto plant in the country. Eidelson goes on to say that members of the European Commission have raised the matter with Mercedes as well, raising the heat on the company as the election kicks off. Among other union busting tactics, Labor Notes reports Mercedes has tried enlisting a pastor to tell workers via text “Here in Alabama, community is important, and family is everything. We believe it's important to keep work separate. But there's no denying, a union would have an impact beyond the walls of our plant.”10. Finally, the Chicago Sun-Times is out with a story on the success of Illinois' experiment with ending cash bail for pre-trial detention. As the article puts it, “Despite all the anguish over the Pretrial Fairness Act, [Cook County Judge Charles] Beach says he has been struck by how proceedings have significantly changed for the better in his courtroom. ‘I think we've come a very long way in the right direction…Things are working well.'” This piece describes how “Under the old system of cash bail, Beach — a supervising judge in the pretrial division — was often tasked with setting a dollar figure a person would have to post before being released, a decision that could force a family to skip the rent to post a bond. It was a process that could seem arbitrary, depending on the judge, the time of day and where in the state the hearing was held.” Beach himself goes on to say “There's a sense in the courtroom that taking money out of the equation has leveled the playing field.” The success of this reform should be taken very seriously by other states, particularly New York where Democrats have sought to roll back the state's attempts at ending cash bail following pressure from conservatives. Turns out, it works.This has been Francesco DeSantis. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

News report (01:28); Abubaker Abed reports live from Gaza (23:33); Dr. Adel Elsharkawy on treating newborns in Gaza (41:05); Sabiya Ahamed of Palestine Legal and Shahd al-Hadid of Sheffield University talk about university encampments and knowing your legal rights to protest (01:04:50); Jon Elmer analyzes latest resistance videos (01:31:10); Group discussion (01:21:08).

Featuring Noura Erakat, Avi Shlaim, Ussama Makdisi, Ilan Pappé, Ghada Ageel Hamdan, and Abdel Razzaq Takriti on the ongoing Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Recorded at the World Academic Forum for Palestine in Houston. We'll be back next week with episode eight of Thawra, our rolling series on 20th century Arab radicalisms. Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig Donate to Palestine Legal palestinelegal.org/donate Watch more from the World Academic Forum for Palestine youtube.com/c/haymarketbooks Check out our vast archives and newsletters at thedigradio.com Buy An Enemy Such As This at haymarketbooks.org Buy The Jail is Everywhere at versobooks.com

Featuring Noura Erakat, Avi Shlaim, Ussama Makdisi, Ilan Pappé, Ghada Ageel Hamdan, and Abdel Razzaq Takriti on the ongoing Israeli genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Recorded at the World Academic Forum for Palestine in Houston. We'll be back next week with episode eight of Thawra, our rolling series on 20th century Arab radicalisms.Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDigDonate to Palestine Legal palestinelegal.org/donateWatch more from the World Academic Forum for Palestine youtube.com/c/haymarketbooksCheck out our vast archives and newsletters at thedigradio.comBuy An Enemy Such As This at haymarketbooks.org Buy The Jail is Everywhere at versobooks.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today on the Show: Palestine Legal and the New York Civil Liberties Union announce a lawsuit against Columbia University for the unlawful suspension of students for engaging in peaceful protest. Also the politics of the Low Riders and what the fancy cars meant to the burgeoning Latino/Chicano human rights movement The post Palestine Legal & NY Civil Liberties Union Sue Columbia University appeared first on KPFA.

 Our guest Kristy Alger from Animal Liberation Tasmania shares updates from their extensive campaign Defund TasRacing. ALT has released extensive videos and photos showing the reality of life for greyhounds on trainer, owner and breeder properties in Tasmania. The conditions that greyhounds are kept in, for often up to 23 hours a day are truly shocking. The campaign has had great impact including mass media coverage, and recongition from multiple politicians and with an upcoming state election is putting greyhounds firmly on the election agenda. We also talk about the duck shooting campaign in Tasmania which has just opened this weekend, and the low attendance yesterday at the primary public waterway at Moulting Lagoon. Finally, we chat about Kristy's writing and what she's working on now.  Links:Follow the Defund TasRacing campaign here https://defundtasracing.com/Animal Liberation Tasmania on social media: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/animalliberationtasmania/ and Instagram https://www.instagram.com/animal_liberation_tasmania/?hl=en and on Medium https://medium.com/@AnimalLiberationTasmaniaKristy's book Five Essays for Freedom: A Primer for animal advocates is available here: https://revoltbooks.com/products/feffKristy's Writing Liberation account: https://www.instagram.com/writing_liberation/Overview of the greyhound industry in the USA: https://www.grey2kusa.org/about/issues.php Music we played:  Commoners Choir: Ceasfire Now Dogma: World at Peace D.O.V.E.: Into Oblivion  These songs are on the international punk benefit compilation called No Genocide: A Benefit for Mutal Aid in Gaza organised by The Dissidents, a political punk bank from Pennsylvania, USA. The benefit compilation supports on-the-ground humanitarian mutual aid in Gaza, and all proceeds minus Bandcamp/PayPal fees are donated. https://thedissidents.bandcamp.com/album/no-genocide-a-benefit-for-mutual-aid-in-gaza  Digital download is pay what you want; you can also donate directly to: Buy esims for Gazans gazaesims.com Palestinian Children's Relief Fund pcrf.net ANERA anera.org Palestine Red Crescent Society www.palestinercs.org/en MSF/Doctors Without Borders doctorswithoutborders.org Palestine Legal palestinelegal.org 1for3's Palestinian refugee fund www.classy.org/campaign/support-palestinian-refugees-working-against-trauma-violence-and-scarcity/  We welcome your feedback and invite you to contact the Freedom of Species team at freedomofspecies@gmail.com or via social media on Facebook or Instagram.  Thank you for supporting independent, radical radio and keeping 3CR Community Radio on air. 

Chicagoland area is home to more Palestinians than anywhere else in the U.S., with over 18,000 living in Cook County alone. The Palestinian community has led powerful protests that have led to Chicago becoming the largest city in the country to endorse a ceasefire resolution. It is in the midst of this atmosphere that we gathered for an urgent exchange with Rashid Khalidi, the preeminent historian of the Palestinian national struggle, and the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University in conversation with activists Ricardo Gamboa of the Hoodoisie and Latinxs for Palestine, and Bill Ayers from Under the Tree. The event served to not only raise awareness but to also raise funds for Palestine Legal. The energy was fierce, the mood determined, the spirit razor-sharp. We left that gathering a little wiser, more resolute, and fixed on turning our anger into action and our dreams of a world at peace into reality.

*Announcement: You can now support Makdisi Street on Patreon! Sign up at Patreon.com/MakdisiStreet to get access to future bonus content, including the first Q&A!*   The brothers welcome Dima Khalidi, founder and director of Palestine Legal (@pal_legal), to the podcast to talk about the institutionalized Zionist assault on academic freedom and free speech in the United States as well as the convergence between the Zionist suppression of Palestinian rights advocacy on the one hand and right-wing reaction against the diversification of the university system in the US. Watch this episode on YouTube Date of recording: Feb 15, 2024 Follow us on X: @MakdisiStreet Follow us on YouTube: @MakdisiStreet Follow us on Insta: @Makdisist Support the podcast Patreon.com/MakdisiStreet

Please join Linda Quiquivix, William C. Anderson, & Mohamed Abdou for a round table conversation on "Palestine 1492: Settler-colonialism, Solidarity & Resistance." They will situate Palestine transnationally in relation to 1492, & discuss admirable acts of solidarity by activists and organizers as well as common pitfalls within leftist social movement circles drawing on Zapatista, Black, Palestinian, Arab-North African & Muslim lenses. Speakers: Linda Quiquivix is a geographer and seed saver based in California. She places her university training at the service of under-resourced communities in the U.S., Mexico, and Palestine who seek clean water, land, and tools to build and strengthen their collective autonomies. William C. Anderson is a writer and activist from Birmingham, Alabama. His work has appeared in The Guardian, MTV, Truthout, British Journal of Photography, and Pitchfork, among others. He is the author of The Nation on No Map (AK Press 2021) and co-author of As Black as Resistance (AK Press 2018). He's also the co-founder of Offshoot Journal and provides creative direction as a producer of the Black Autonomy Podcast. His writings have been included in the anthologies, Who Do You Serve, Who Do You Protect? (Haymarket 2016) and No Selves to Defend (Mariame Kaba 2014). Dr. Mohamed Abdou is a North African-Egyptian Muslim anarchist interdisciplinary activist-scholar of Indigenous, Black, critical race, and Islamic studies, as well as gender, sexuality, abolition, and decolonization with extensive fieldwork experience in the Middle East-North Africa, Asia, and Turtle Island. This year, he is the Arcapita Visiting Assistant Professor of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African studies (MESAAS) at Columbia University. He is a former Assistant Professor of Sociology at the American University of Cairo and recently completed his postdoctoral fellowship at Cornell University. He has also taught at the University of Toronto & Queen's University. His research stems from his involvement with the anti-globalization post-Seattle 1999 movements, organizing for Palestinian liberation, the Tyendinaga Mohawks and the sister territories of Kahnawake, Akwesasne, and Kanehsatake, during the standoff over the Culbertson tract, as well as the anti-war protests of Iraq and Afghanistan, the Indigenous Zapatista movement in Chiapas, and the 2011 Egyptian uprisings. He is author of Islam & Anarchism: Relationships & Resonances (Pluto Press, 2022). He wrote his transnational ethnographic and historical-archival PhD dissertation on Islam & Queer-Muslims: Identity & Sexuality in the Contemporary (2019). This event is sponsored by Haymarket Books and is part of Until Liberation: A Series for Palestine by Haymarket Books cosponsored by Palestinian American Organizations Network, Mondoweiss, Spectre, Dissenters, Tempest, Palestine Deep Dive, The New Arab, and more. While all of our events are freely available, we ask that those who are able make a solidarity donation in support of our important publishing and programming work. A portion of the proceeds from this event will be donated to Palestine Legal. Watch the live event recording: https://youtube.com/live/J9-emuwWeP8 Buy books from Haymarket: www.haymarketbooks.org Follow us on Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/haymarketbooks

Free speech is one of the hallmarks of a functioning democracy and one of our fundamental constitutional rights. At the ACLU, we know that it's precisely in times of crisis and fear when free speech, open debate, and peaceful dissent are most important. Over the last few months, as the world continues to witness the catastrophe in Israel and Palestine, protests in support of Palestine are being silenced and censored on college campuses. In early November, the ACLU sent out an open letter to the administrative leaders of each state's public college system that reached over 650 colleges and universities, expressing our strong opposition to any efforts that stifle free speech on college campuses, and urging universities to reject calls to investigate, disband, or penalize pro-Palestinian student groups for exercising their free speech rights. In Florida, State University System Chancellor Ray Rodrigues already issued an order in consultation with Governor Ron DeSantis to deactivate Students for Justice in Palestine chapters in the state. In response, we and our partners at the ACLU of Florida and Palestine Legal are suing Governor DeSantis and Florida university system officials on behalf of the University of Florida's chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine to block the deactivation order from taking effect. Joining us to discuss this important lawsuit are Shaiba Rather, the Nadine Strossen fellow with the ACLU's National Security Project and Tyler Takemoto, the William J. Brennan fellow with the ACLU's Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project.

We're sharing this episode of Rhiannon's movement lawyering series with all of our listeners. Our Patreon subscribers heard it first, back in March.In this episode, Rhiannon talks with Palestine Legal's senior staff attorney Radhika Sainath and staff attorney Dylan Saba about their mission to protect Palestinian activists from harassment, and the power of intersectional liberation movements.You can learn more about Palestine Legal here:https://palestinelegal.org/And if you'd like to join the network of attorneys that Palestine Legal works with to defend activists, reach out here:https://palestinelegal.org/contactThis episode is living proof that if you're not a 5-4 Premium member, you're not hearing every episode! To get exclusive Premium-only episodes, access to our Slack community, and more, join at fivefourpod.com/support.5-4 is presented by Prologue Projects. Rachel Ward is our producer. Leon Neyfakh and Andrew Parsons provide editorial support. Our researcher is Jonathan DeBruin, and our website was designed by Peter Murphy. Our artwork is by Teddy Blanks at Chips NY, and our theme song is by Spatial Relations.Follow the show at @fivefourpod on most platforms. On Twitter, find Peter @The_Law_Boy and Rhiannon @AywaRhiannon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy Monday! Sam is off today, but in honor of Indigenous People's Day he spoke with Peter D'Errico, professor emeritus of legal studies at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst,  about his recent book Federal Anti-Indian Law: The Legal Entrapment of Indigenous Peoples. But first, Emma spoke with Orly Noy, editor at Local Call and chair of B'Tselem's executive board, to discuss the recent fighting between Palestine and Israel.  Emma also walked through on the UAW's labor action, Donald Trump's assessment of RFK, a devastating earthquake in Afghanistan, and Gavin Newsom's regressive veto campaign, before stepping back to look at the role of Israel's ongoing apartheid state and Bibi Netanyahu's genocidal government in pushing this conflict to its breaking point. Orly joins the show from Jerusalem, as she updates Emma on the state of war within Israel and Palestine, even as far from the primary conflict as Jerusalem is. Next, Noy parses through Bibi Netanyahu's response as a perfect encapsulation of his political agenda, completely committing his power to punishing Gaza and Palestine, and shoring up his own political station. Expanding on this, Noy walks through the failure of the Israeli government to even provide safety for Israelis, dedicating their forces to a genocidal response and leaving civilian safety to civilian organizers, before she and Emma step back and assess the evolution of Netanyahu's approach (or lack thereof) to Palestine, pulling every maneuver to bypass them politically, while maintaining a strict and severe military occupation. Wrapping up, Noy assesses Hamas' outcast role in Palestinian politics and military resistance, and why ground invasion would be an incredibly dangerous development for the already criminally fragile open-air prison that is Gaza. Professor D'Errico then walks through the evolution of the doctrines of settler colonialism in what is now the United States, with the doctrine of Christian discovery that launched the colonial era from Spain and England setting the stage for the US' own domestic justification for the “manifest destiny” agenda. Expanding on this, D'Errico and Sam explore the central cases in the establishment of Chief Justice John Marshall's ‘Marshall Doctrine' in Indian Law, which actively committed to the perspective of Christian dominion and discovery, and asserted the native peoples as a sub-human class unable to look after their land. Next, they look to the post-Marshall evolution of the doctrine, with the Court carrying its vision forward while slowly obscuring its origins, seeing it affirmatively cited even by supposedly progressive justices like RBH, without reference to Christianity. After expanding on the Marshall Doctrine's secondary purpose as a reinforcement of federal domination over the states, D'Errico wraps up by walking through the contemporary battles over the Marshall Doctrine, the push for full assimilation of Native territories, and the need to bring the origins of the doctrine back into full public view. And in the Fun Half: Emma and Matt watch Jordan Peterson's homophobia get easily sliced by Jim Jeffries, Lucy from Tallahassee dives into her perspective on DeSantis' culture war, and Mustafa Barghouti makes an impactful appearance on CNN in the wake of Hamas' attacks this weekend. Nancy Mace has no response to her support for alleged perpetrators and SA supporters Jim Jordan and Matt Gaetz, Jacob from Alabama discusses the Marriage Penalty on social benefits, the UK's right-wing spiral continues, and Alfred from Texas puts forward a counterfactual to assuage European culpability on Indigenous Peoples Day, plus, your calls and IMs! Check out Peter's book here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/federal-antiindian-law-9781440879210/ Check out Orly's work here: https://www.972mag.com/writer/orlyn/ Become a member at JoinTheMajorityReport.com: https://fans.fm/majority/join Subscribe to the ESVN YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/esvnshow Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! http://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: http://majority.fm/app Check out today's sponsors: Ritual: Essential for Men is a quality multivitamin from a company you can actually trust. And get this—Ritual is offering my listeners 30% off during your first month.  Visit https://ritual.com/MAJORITY to start Ritual or add Essential For Men to your subscription today. Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattBinder @MattLech @BF1nn @BradKAlsop Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on Youtube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Subscribe to Brandon's show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Subscribe to Discourse Blog, a newsletter and website for progressive essays and related fun partly run by AM Quickie writer Jack Crosbie. https://discourseblog.com/ Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com/ The Majority Report with Sam Seder - https://majorityreportradio.com/

This week Lara and Michael sit down with student and activist Soha Khatib, a senior at UIC and board member at Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at her University. We discuss the events that led up to her and her classmates teaming up with Palestine Legal to file a civil rights lawsuit against the University for their disparate treatment of Palestinian students. She explains how she and other members of SJP were barred from entering an informational Zoom setting pertaining to a study abroad program inside 48. While flyering she explains the university staff called the cops and one police officer grabbed a female student by her hijab. She also tells us about subsequent meetings she's had with study-abroad personnel and the climate for Palestinian activists on campus at UIC. The episode speaks to the overall connections between oppressive state forces like the police, zionist think tanks, and higher education institutions in the United States. 

In this episode of "Occupied Thoughts," FMEP's Lara Friedman speaks to Amal Thabateh, who is the Michael Ratner Justice Fellow at Palestine Legal, about the stunning attacks that have taken place targeting Fatima Mohamed for her May 12th commencement speech at the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law's graduation ceremony and the broader context of the fight to defend free speech and activism in support of Palestinian rights.

Auto safety expert, Byron Bloch, joins us to tell the story of how citizens in conjunction with the Sierra Club defeated a highway widening boondoggle in Maryland. Then we welcome microgrids manager at the Green Justice Coalition, Sari Kayyali, to tell us how microgrids in his community have saved money and the environment. Finally, we catch up with the director of Progressive Democrats of America, Alan Minsky, in Washington DC to talk about high speed rail and the post-Bernie progressive movement.Byron Bloch is an independent consultant and court-qualified expert in Auto Safety Design and Vehicle Crashworthiness. Over the years, he has fought for safer fuel tanks, stronger seats, the need for airbags, better truck underride guards, and has testified on these safety issues at Congressional Hearings, and to NHTSA. He contributed to the Sierra Club's successful campaign to strongly oppose and stop the proposed widening of the 1-270 and Capital Beltway and the scheme to also add privatized toll lanes.What we have to do is refocus and say, “We are a people-oriented nation. Not a vehicle-oriented nation.” And if you look at it in those terms—people-oriented nation— then you say, “Well, what are the economics, what are the health and safety issues that affect people?” But instead, it becomes the almighty vehicle-ization of the nation and that means more lanes, more traffic, more lanes, and then more traffic.Byron Bloch Activist and auto safety expertThe corporate state arrives in different manifestations— the military industrial complex, the Pentagon, and this is what's going on at the state level. It doesn't get many national headlines, but it's the merger of corporations with state government. And there's a lot of secrecy involved, a lot of phony promises, a lot of misleading rhetoric, and the legislators are compromised by the campaign contributions and the pressure from the governor's office.Ralph NaderSari Kayyali is a mechanical engineer and the Microgrids Manager at Microgrids Chelsea and Chinatown Power.The technology around clean electric generation—solar panels and battery storage—are experiencing a revolution. Just in the last decade alone, solar panels have dropped to a third of what they used to cost to manufacture. Battery storage has improved dramatically in terms of energy density, cost, and reliability. And so, a lot of places around the country are looking to these as solutions. Microgrids have been around for a while, they don't necessarily need to use clean technology but specifically clean microgrids are really catching on all around the country, and around the world.Sari Kayyali Microgrids Manager at the Green Justice CoalitionAlan Minsky is a lifelong activist, and Executive Director of Progressive Democrats of America. Alan has worked as a progressive journalist for the past two decades, he was Program Director at KPFK Los Angeles from 2009-2018, and he has coordinated Pacifica Radio's national coverage of elections. He is the creator and producer of the political podcasts for The Nation and Jacobin, as well as a contributor to Common Dreams and Truthdig.There's a whole bunch of elements that the progressive movement hasn't been that attentive to. Including things like industrial production and the transformation it requires between business and government to transform American society, so that it's operating on clean energy, so that its industrial manufacturing doesn't have breaks in supply chains… So I got involved with a lot of projects that aren't that common for progressives to be involved in.Alan Minsky, Executive Director of Progressive Democrats of AmericaIn Case You Haven't Heard with Francesco DeSantis1. CNBC reports that the FTC is mulling a proposal to bar Meta (formerly Facebook) from monetizing the data of minors. This follows the agency's allegation that the company violated a 2020 privacy order. The FTC quoted an independent assessor who found “several gaps and weaknesses in Facebook's privacy program” that posed “substantial risks to the public.” Hopefully, this action will put other tech companies on notice regarding monetization of children's data.2. Dr. Steve Feldman, a Jewish dermatologist, is being penalized by the state of Arkansas for his refusal to sign a loyalty pledge to the state of Israel, the Arkansas Times reports. After giving a lecture to medical students in Little Rock, he was prompted to check a box agreeing not to boycott Israel, which he refused to do. As a result, the state is withholding his payment for the lecture. The Arkansas Times also refused to sign the pledge. Feldman said “What's nuts is they're asking a newspaper to say they won't boycott Israel, they're asking Americans who have a conscience, who know Israel is keeping Palestinians from their homes.” The ultra-conservative Supreme Court declined to hear the newspaper's legal challenge to the state law, and therefore it is still in place.3. In Rochester, New York, Coca-Cola is building a new facility. The company predicts this development will yield 250 new jobs. However, the Rochester Beacon has broken down the corporate welfare the conglomerate stands to receive in exchange: $41 million in state and local subsidies, or about $164,000 for each job created.4. A stunning expose in the Guardian shines a light on the beef industry, and specifically, their “messaging machine.” “The beef industry has developed a ‘Digital Command Center” that tracks media outlets and social media for more than 200 beef-related topics” Based in Denver, Colorado, the project which “looks like a military operation” is staffed 24/7 with personnel redundancies to “make sure someone's always watching.”5. In another law enforcement bombshell, longtime LAPD SWAT officer, Sgt. Timothy Colomey, has blown the whistle on the reality of the elite unit. According to Sgt. Colomey, LAPD SWAT is controlled by a violent inner circle known as the “SWAT Mafia” which has perpetuated itself using “excessive force...insubordination, sabotage and cover-ups.” Colomey has put his allegations into a detailed new deposition, available at the LA Times.6. The Department of Education Office for Civil Rights has officially opened an investigation into charges that the George Washington University discriminated against Palestinian students, according to the GW Hatchet. Palestine Legal, which filed the complaint on behalf of three GW students, responded to the news by writing “This is an important step that shows the Office of Civil Rights is taking anti-Palestinian discrimination seriously.” Radhika Sainath, a senior staff attorney at Palestine Legal added “Even if pro-Israel groups don't like it and complain, the law is clear – Palestinian students are entitled to the same educational opportunities and services as other students.”7. In other Palestine news Rep. Rashida Tlaib held an event commemorating the Nakba – literally the catastrophe – of May 15th, 1948 when 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled from their homeland. This event was originally slated to be held at the Capitol Visitors Center, but Speaker McCarthy blocked the ceremony, per CNN. Tlaib responded with a statement, saying, “Speaker McCarthy wants to rewrite history and erase the existence and truth of the Palestinian people, but he has failed to do so.” Finally, Bernie Sanders stepped in and facilitated the event in the Senate HELP Committee hearing room.8. AL.com reports that the Democratic Party of Alabama has abolished the DNC-mandated minority caucuses for youth, LGBTQ, and disabled Democrats. Until now, “those caucuses had the power to nominate at-large members to ensure representation proportionate to Alabama Democratic voters.” State party boss Joe Reed had long opposed theses caucuses, which dilute the influence of the state's Black caucus on the executive committee. Former Senator Doug Jones, the only Democratic Senator in Alabama since 1997, is quoted saying “What the leadership of the Alabama Democratic Party did — was to essentially say that we don't represent the Democratic electorate in Alabama anymore.”9. Kimberly Gardner, St. Louis's elected prosecutor, is being forced to resign from her position under threat from the Missouri state government, per the Missouri Independent. Gardner, a reformist prosecutor, has drawn ire from conservatives and the police union in St. Louis since her tenure began; this came to a head when the Republican legislature threatened a state takeover of her office. In her resignation letter, Gardner wrote “I can neither enable nor allow the outright disenfranchisement of the people of the City of St. Louis.”10. The International Committee of the Democratic Socialists of America announced on Twitter that the Washington DC Council has passed a unanimous resolution urging President Biden to “dismantle the US blockade” and remove Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Today on the show, we welcome Palestinian American lawyer and activist Dima Khalidi, who is the founder and director of Palestine Legal, an independent organization, with headquarters in Chicago, IL,  that provides legal advice, advocacy, litigation support and dedicated to protecting the civil and constitutional rights of college students and grassroots activists within the US who speak out for Palestinian freedom by challenging efforts to threaten and legally bully activists into silence and inaction. Dima shares her Palestinian backstory, that led to the establishment of Palestine Legal, in 2012, where she currently serves as the organizations director.  We discuss her well renowned father, Rashid Khalidi,  who is the Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University and has co-authored several books and was born the year of the Palestinian Nakba i and dedicated his life to the cause and how, was it  growing up as the daughter of this highly acclaimed and recognized Palestinian  intellectual, author and activist. Dima highlights the challenges the organization faces on multiple fronts, including vis a vis IHRA, Anti-Semitism, BDS, and  the prevalent 'Palestinian Exception' when it comes to free speech and right to boycott in the US, and shares the most  egregious cases they have handled to date, and highlighed milestones and key successes. Dima shares her views on the future of Palestine advocacy in the U.S. and where in her expert opinion, where the Palestinian solidarity movement is headed? Learn more about Palestine Legal: https//palestinelegal.orgInstagram: @pal_legalListen to episodes, wherever you listen to podcast and view episode on YouTube.Subscribe, like, share and rate episode.Follow: @freepalestinepod on instagram and YouTube@lamabazzari@linahadid@cravingpalestine@palestinelobby

Join CODEPINK and Meera Shah of Palestine Legal to learn about the anti-BDS legislation calls earlier this year and its impacts on movements for Palestine solidarity, and various forms of divestment.

We're back with another episode of Rhiannon's movement lawyering series! In this episode, Rhiannon talks with Palestine Legal's senior staff attorney Radhika Sainath and staff attorney Dylan Saba about their mission to protect Palestinian activists from harassment, and the power of intersectional liberation movements.The full version of this premium episode is currently available exclusively to our subscribers. To join, visit https://www.fivefourpod.com/support.5 to 4 is presented by Prologue Projects. Rachel Ward is our producer. Leon Neyfakh and Andrew Parsons provide editorial support. Our production manager is Percia Verlin. Our website was designed by Peter Murphy. Our artwork is by Teddy Blanks at Chips NY, and our theme song is by Spatial Relations.Follow Palestine Legal (@pal_legal), Peter (@The_Law_Boy), Rhiannon (@AywaRhiannon) and Michael (@_FleerUltra) on Twitter and Instagram. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week Lara and Michael sit down with the Michael Ratner Justice Fellow at Palestine Legal, Amal Thabateh. We talk about the growing support for Palestine on college campuses that intersects with other anti-racist struggles. We cover how this support is increasingly being censored and chilled by lobbyists, think tanks, and apartheid apologist groups in a way that harkens back to McCarthyism in the 1950s. We chat about the environment at CUNY that is producing some of the best Palestinian legal minds in the country, and finally, Amal assures us that most of the people who get involved with this work come out whole despite the difficult odds we face. 

In this episode we welcome Robin DG Kelley back to the podcast. Robin DG Kelley is the Gary B. Nash professor of American History at UCLA. He is the author of seven books, and the editor or co-editor of even more.  For this episode, Kelley returns to the podcast to talk about the 20th Anniversary Edition of Freedom Dreams: The Black Radical Imagination.  We talk to Kelley about what has been added to the new edition of the book, and discuss some of the ways that Freedom Dreams has been taken up during and in the wake of what Kelley terms “Black Spring” the protests following the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and others.  Kelley also talks a bit about the context in which Freedom Dreams was written and why he's restored a previously unreleased epilogue to the book.  Beyond that we ask several questions about the original text itself, drawing from the great reservoir of Black radical visions that continue to animate Freedom Dreams 20 years after its release.  Just a quick plug Robin is currently raising funds for Palestine Legal which is an independent organization dedicated to defending and advancing the civil rights and liberties of people in the US who speak out for Palestinian freedom. We'll include a link to that fundraiser in the show notes.  We'll also include a link to purchase the new 20th anniversary edition of Freedom Dreams from Massive Bookshop. Speaking of Massive our book club for incarcerated readers with Massive Bookshop and Prisons Kill was able to fund copies of the 25th Anniversary Edition of Scenes of Subjection to all 41 its participants, so thank you very much to all of you who supported that campaign! We will be announcing our December book soon so keep an eye out for that.  And we also hit our goal of adding 30 patrons for the month of November. Thank you to everyone who continues to support us. If you appreciate and enjoy conversations like this, become a patron of the show. You can do it for as little as $1 per month and be a part of the amazing group of folks who make this show possible.  Links/References: Purchase Freedom Dreams from Massive Bookshop Conjuncture: Against Pessimism (hosted by Jordan Camp) with Robin DG Kelley Robin & LisaGay's fundraiser for Palestine Legal. More on Palestine Legal Midnight On The Clock Of The World - (our first interview with Robin DG Kelley)

Last month a US court of appeals upheld an Arkansas law that prohibits state contractors from boycotting Israel. The 9-1 decision reversed a previous ruling that determined the law was unconstitutional. Despite the fact that over 30 states have adopted similar laws, it was the first full federal appeals court ruling on the subject. The decision was written by Judge Jonathan Kobes, a Trump appointee the American Bar Association rated as unqualified when he was nominated. The Arkansas story dates back to 2018 when a local paper, the Arkansas Times, refused to sign a pledge promising to refrain from boycotting Israel in order to obtain an  advertising contract with a public university. The paper's publisher, Alan Leveritt, sued the state over the law. He was represented by the ACLU. Leveritt has said he's not a supporter of BDS, but launched the complaint over First Amendment concerns. U.S. correspondent Michael Arria spoke with Amal Thabateh, the Michael Ratner Justice Fellow at Palestine Legal about the ruling and its potential legal impact going forward. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate Articles and Links mentioned in the show Arkansas' anti-BDS law violates the First Amendment, says court, Michale Arria In landmark ruling, Court of Appeals allows states to enforce anti-BDS pledges, Mitchell Plitnick ‘Boycott' is a powerful film that needs to be seen, Michael Arria Subscribe to our free email newsletters. Share this podcast Share The Mondoweiss Podcast with your followers on Twitter. Click here to post a tweet! If you enjoyed this episode, head over to Podchaser and leave us a review and follow the show! Follow The Mondoweiss Podcast wherever you listen Amazon Apple Podcasts Audible Deezer Gaana Google Podcasts Overcast Player.fm RadioPublic Spotify Stitcher TuneIn YouTube Our RSS feed We want your feedback! Email dave@mondoweiss.net Leave us an audio message at SparkPipe More from Mondoweiss Subscribe to our free email newsletters: Daily Headlines Weekly Briefing The Shift tracks U.S. politics Palestine Letter Follow us on social media Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Tumblr

Since the launch of the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel and the collapse of the Oslo Peace Process in the early aughts, the college campus has been a locus of American political conflict over Israel/Palestine. As student Palestine solidarity activists have attempted to introduce BDS resolutions across the country, Israel advocacy organizations have responded by building a vast organizing infrastructure to intervene in student debates about Israel, painting campuses as threatening and hostile places for Jewish students and pushing for greater restrictions on pro-Palestine student speech. In only the latest example, members of the NYU law school's Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter—half of them Jewish—are facing media defamation for a statement the group sent to the law school listserv. How does it transform campus activism and the experience of individual students when outside organizations and media commentators get involved? Is it misleading to frame these conflicts as simply a fight between two opposing camps? What do you do when your mom forwards you Bari Weiss's substack? Jewish Currents Editor-in-Chief Arielle Angel, Assistant Editor Mari Cohen, and Contributing Editor Joshua Leifer discuss these questions and the recent NYU events with Dylan Saba, Jewish Currents fellow and Palestine Legal staff attorney.  Books and Articles Mentioned: “https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/to-the-antisemites-who-sit-next-to?s=r (To the Antisemites Who Sit Next to Me in School)” by Tal Fortgang   “https://davidlat.substack.com/p/nyu-law-erupts-in-controversy-over?s=r (NYU Law Erupts In Controversy Over Alleged Anti-Semitism)” by David Lat  “https://jewishcurrents.org/whos-trying-to-kill-bds-on-campus (Who's Trying to Kill BDS on Campus? An Interview with Josh Nathan-Kazis)” by Rachel Cohen  “https://jewishcurrents.org/how-israel-advocates-shut-down-a-unions-motion-to-endorse-bds (How Israel Advocates Shut Down a Union's Motion to Endorse BDS)” by Isaac Scher https://twitter.com/YehudaKurtzer/status/1516808603981819907 (Twitter exchange) between Yehuda Kurtzer and Joshua Leifer  https://www.ajc.org/Jewish-Millennial-Survey-2022/American-Jewish-Millennials (AJC's Survey on American Jewish Millennials)  “https://bariweiss.substack.com/p/everybody-hates-the-jews?r=exstm&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&utm_source=twitter&s=r (Everybody Hates the Jews)” by Bari Weiss   “https://jewishcurrents.org/does-everybody-really-hate-the-jews (Does Everybody Really Hate the Jews)?” by Mari Cohen  “https://jewishcurrents.org/princeton-students-voted-to-boycott-machinery-used-by-israel-proponents-of-israel-are-countering-with-misinformation (Princeton Students Voted to Boycott Machinery Used by Israel. Proponents of Israel Are Countering with Misinformation)” by Isaac Scher “https://jewishcurrents.org/maccabee-games (Maccabee Games)” by Jess Schwalb “https://jewishcurrents.org/deborah-lipstadt-vs-the-oldest-hatred (Deborah Lipstadt vs. ‘The Oldest Hatred')” by Mari Cohen    “https://www.jta.org/2022/04/21/united-states/american-university-muslim-student-group-withdraws-from-interfaith-seder-with-hillel-over-its-israel-support (American University Muslim student group withdraws from interfaith seder with Hillel over its Israel support)” by Andrew Lapin “https://www.jta.org/2022/02/24/united-states/israel-studies-endowment-revoked-over-professors-israel-criticism-at-university-of-washington (Donor yanks Israel Studies endowment at U of Washington over professor's Israel criticism)” by Andrew Lapin  “https://www.972mag.com/us-media-palestinians/ (US Media Talks A Lot About Palestinians—Just Without Palestinians)” by Maha Nassar “https://jewishcurrents.org/waging-lawfare (Waging Lawfare)” by Natasha Roth-Rowland Thanks to Jesse Brenneman for producing and to Nathan Salsburg for the use of his song “VIII (All That

In this episode we hear from Phyllis Bennis of the Institute for Policy Studies and Joseph Gerson of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security. Bennis & Gerson discuss the importance of an immediate ceasefire, withdrawal of Russian troops, an off-ramp for sanctions against Russia, as well as negotiations and compromises to avoid a protracted war or worse. Next, we meet activists for Palestinian human rights--Amal Thabateh with Palestine Legal and Cynthia Franklin with Jewish Voice for Peace and Against Canary Mission.

In this episode Mondoweiss's US correspondent Michael Arria updates us on some key stories he is tracking in his weekly politics newsletter The Shift. After that Michael speaks to Zoha Khalili, a staff attorney at Palestine Legal about the organization's 2021 year-in-review report. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate Articles and Links mentioned in the show Remembering Madeleine Albright and the Berkeley Commencement, Nadia B. Ahmad Madeleine Albright's legacy is a reminder that Clinton's Iraq policy was murderous too, Michael Arria Middle East Studies scholars overwhelmingly vote to endorse BDS, Michael Arria Bowman says voting for extra Iron Dome funding won't stop him from fighting for Palestine, Michael Arria DSA disbands Palestine solidarity working group as furor over Bowman continues, Omar Zahzah Palestine Legal's 2021 Year-in-Review: Palestinian Uprising Generates Record Solidarity—and Fierce Backlash Punk Planet magazine archive Share this podcast Share The Mondoweiss Podcast with your followers on Twitter. Click here to post a tweet! If you enjoyed this episode, head over to Podchaser and leave us a review and follow the show! Follow The Mondoweiss Podcast wherever you listen Amazon Apple Podcasts Audible Deezer Gaana Google Podcasts Overcast Player.fm RadioPublic Spotify Stitcher TuneIn YouTube Our RSS feed We want your feedback! Email dave@mondoweiss.net Leave us an audio message at SparkPipe More from Mondoweiss Subscribe to our free email newsletters: Daily Headlines Weekly Briefing The Shift tracks U.S. politics Palestine Letter Follow us on social media Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Tumblr

On this edition of Parallax Views, later on in the program we'll be talking to one of the most prominent leaders in the Palestinian liberation movement, Dr. Hanan Ashrawi. Dr. Ashrawi was the first woman to be elected a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 2009, served as the official spokesperson of the Palestinian delegation to the Middle East peace process from 1991-1993, and participated in the 1991-1992 Madrid peace conference as a member of the Palestinian Leadership Committee delegation. Hanan will join me to discuss the Palestinian struggle, human rights, and U.S. policy on Palestine with a focus on said policy during the Presidencies of Donald J. Trump and now Joe Biden. We'll also discuss Dr. Ashrawi's encounter with the South African anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela, the expulsions of Palestinians from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah district of East Jerusalem, the human rights and international law approach to Israel/Palestine, the propaganda matrix around Israel/Palestine, hope for the future of the Palestinian cause, and much, much more! That, however, will be in the second segment of today's show. First, Grant F. Smith of IRmep (Institute for Research: Middle East Policy) returns to the show to discuss the upcoming Israel Lobby Con (Transcending the Israel Lobby at Home and Abroad) on March 3rd. Speakers include the aforementioned Dr. Ashrawi, Israeli journalist Gideon Levy, CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou, Paul Noursi of the Virginia Human Rights Coalition, Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, Rev. Don Wagner, academic Sut Jhally, the Council on American-Islamic Relations' (CAIR) Edward Ahmed Mitchell, and Palestine Legal's Radihka Sanith. The conference will cover a number of topics such as Christian Zionism, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement), human rights and Democracy in Israel, Israel and the U.S. national security state, free speech for Palestinian activists, and much, much more. You can attend the conference by visiting the Israel Lobby Con website and purchasing a ticket. The Annual Israel Lobby Con at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on March 3rd (IRL and Zoom tickets available)

The third Thursday in November is a National Day of Mourning, where we mourn the genocide of millions of Native people and the theft of Native land, and where we honor the ongoing struggle for Native liberation and Land Back across Turtle Island.In honor of Indigenous Peoples Day last month — and in support of the Indigenous-led week of action People v. Fossil Fuels — the Indigenous Environmental Network, The Red Nation, and the Center for Constitutional Rights held an online discussion with frontline Indigenous Water Protectors: Water Is Our Critical Infrastructure — Lawfare by Oil and Gas Won't Stop Us from Winning. Activists Anne White Hat (Sicangu Lakota Oyate) and Sungmanitu Bluebird (Oglala Sioux) joined Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Attorney Pamela Spees and moderator Advocacy Director Nadia Ben-Yousef to discuss the increasingly desperate tactics by the oil and gas industry to draft and pass laws that target Indigenous people and threaten all those who take an unflinching stance against capitalist violence and the destruction of the Earth. They highlighted the important legal victory by Anne White Hat and other Water Protectors who fought back against Louisiana's industry-developed “critical infrastructure” law—and won! This podcast is taken from that event, with a new introduction from Nadia Ben-Youssef situating the discussion in the context of the National Day of Mourning. Resources:Report from the Indigenous Environmental Network: Indigenous Resistance Against CarbonThe Red Nation and The Red Deal White Hat v. LandryALEC Attacks: How evangelicals and corporations captured state lawmaking to safeguard white supremacy and corporate power, a report from the Center for Constitutional Rights, Dream Defenders, Palestine Legal, The Red Nation, and the US Campaign for Palestinian RightsBail funds for Line 3 protesters  

Lara and Michael are back to the Palestine Pod after a few weeks off (shout-out self-care) and start the episode with a survey of stories from the last few weeks on the ground in Palestine. The Israeli settler colony and its Apartheid regime are up to business as usual, expelling Palestinians from their homes, using the colonial courts to entrench ethnic cleansing, and shooting and killing Palestinians who dare protest against living under Israeli siege. Lara and Michael discuss one of the biggest stories of this summer: the decision by Ben & Jerry's to stop selling their infamous ice cream on settlements built on stolen Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank and the Israeli government's ensuing global public meltdown and disproportionate response. Lara points out that Apartheid Israel's reaction is an indication of its recognition that it is losing legitimacy (despite its frantic efforts to control its image) and fear that other high-profile companies will follow suit calling into question its ever-expanding settlement enterprise and colonial project more generally. Lara and Michael cover a new twist in the Ben & Jerry's saga that is so absurd it could only be satire (but it's real-life). Lara covers Palestine Legal's new infographic laying out the services and support it provides to activists who are being targeted, surveilled, or censored encouraging all activists in making themselves aware of the support available for carrying out the work of the liberation struggle. Lara and Michael comment on the sinister nature of Naftali Bennett's visit to the US to meet with President Biden on the heels of his latest declaration that he would be expanding the illegal settlement enterprise.

Optimists and pessimists share a fundamental orientation: they are determinists, certain that thing will turn out well (or horribly). Because I have no idea how things will turn out (and neither does anyone else), or even what's next, I choose hope as a politics, hope as a state of mind—I get up each morning with my mind set on freedom, pound away against injustice, and end the evening wishing I'd done more. Remember, the day before every revolution, it was deemed impossible, and the day after, it's made to seem inevitable. We're joined in conversation by Dima Khalidi, a brilliant lawyer, radical thinker, and founding director of Palestine Legal, who engages the struggle for Palestinian freedom against a hard, but not impenetrable, wall of racism and reaction.

This week we bring you our last episode before our summer break! We reflect on the passing of our dear friend Nikeeta Slade, co-host of QueerWoc and all around leftist badass. We miss you! (Time stamps from 0:00 to 8:25) We discuss the situation in Palestine, the incarceration of Ashley Diamond, and why rest is so important! We'll be back in mid-August, but will have some fun summer content on patreon! If you love this podcast and want to support us please consider becoming a patron and making a monthly contribution or leave us a paypal donation! In 2021 we're revamping our Patreon and creating more exclusive content and events for all our supporters! If you're unable to contribute financially you can also write us a review, rate us on any app you listen to or tell a friend to tell a friend! As always thank you for listening and you can find all our links below: Our theme song is The Joker by Vodovoz Music Productions. Nikeeta Slade: https://www.syracuse.com/news/2021/05/theres-a-space-that-can-never-be-filled-syracuse-mourns-loss-of-community-organizer.html Palestine resources: Palestine Explainer: https://www.vox.com/2018/11/20/18079996/israel-palestine-conflict-guide-explainer Sheikh Jarrah: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/may/17/palestinians-sheikh-jarrah-jerusalem-city-identity Books to read: https://www.haymarketbooks.org/blogs/321-free-palestine-starter-kit Podcasts to learn more: QueerWOC episode 80 Valentines and Palestine: https://soundcloud.com/queerwoc/80vp IG accounts to follow: @Subhi.Taba: https://www.instagram.com/subhi.taha/ @Adalah Justice Project: https://instagram.com/adalahjusticeproject @The IMEU: https://instagram.com/theimeu @Palestine Legal: https://instagram.com/pal_legal Ashley Diamond: https://www.freeashleydiamond.com Op-Ed: https://www.them.us/story/ashley-diamond-op-ed-trans-woman-lawsuit-abuse-mens-prison CCR: https://ccrjustice.org/ashley-diamond Naomi Osaka: https://www.espn.com/tennis/story/_/id/31543237/naomi-osaka-withdraws-french-open-one-day-fine-threat-harsher-sanctions-skipping-media-obligations Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/bgladiez Paypal: paypal.me/BagLadiez Cashapp: $BgLadiez Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/bgladies Itunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bgladiez/id1073190648?mt=2 Google Play:http://bit.ly/2D7bSJ5 Spotify: http://bit.ly/BagLadiezPod You can Follow us @: Twitter: Bag_Ladiez Instagram: BgLadiez Gmail: bgladiez@gmail.com

Making connections between the movement to abolish police and prisons in the US and the struggle for liberation in Palestine and beyond. ——————————————— A historic multiracial rebellion has exploded and sustained across the U.S. in response to the police lynching of George Floyd and others brutalized and killed at the hands of US police. This uprising has coincided with the escalating colonization and annexation of Palestinian land, supported by the white supremacist Trump administration. Organizers on the ground in the U.S. and in Palestine are using this moment to demonstrate the ongoing connections between colonization and modern militarized policing, and why in order to combat U.S. racial monopoly capitalism and imperialism, we must abolish policing, and all aspects of settler carceral regimes. This discussion will bring together activists and scholars to examine movements organizing to dismantle the Prison Industrial Complex (PIC) and free political prisoners as part of liberation struggles led by Black people in the U.S. and Palestinian people in occupied Palestine. Presenters include: Zaina Alsous, an organizer with the Dream Defenders Nyle Fort, a minister, activist, and Ph.D. candidate at Princeton University Derecka Purnell, human rights lawyer, organizer, and writer. Sandra Tamari, Palestinian organizer based in St. Louis, Missouri and is director of the Adalah Justice Project. Randa Wahbi, former international advocacy coordinator at Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association in Ramallah. Co-sponsoring organizations: Jewish Voice for Peace (South Florida and New Orleans chapters), DSA Palestine Working Group, Dream Defenders, Adalah Justice Project, Palestine Legal, and Haymarket Books. Watch the live event recording: https://youtu.be/dND8keciMFo Buy books from Haymarket: www.haymarketbooks.org Follow us on Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/haymarketbooks

What is it like when Proud Boys and Zionists attack you online at the same time? We spoke to Olivia Katbi Smith, national U.S. organizer for the BDS Movement and co-chair of the Portland chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. In the last few weeks, Olivia was one of the targets of a doxxing attack by a member of the Proud Boys. Shortly after, she was named the "Anti-Semite of the Week" by a rightwing organization created to harass pro-Palestinian activists. Michael Arria spoke to Meera Shah, senior staff attorney at Palestine Legal, about their new website that tracks anti-BDS legislation around the U.S. These bills, in both federal and state legislatures, are direct attacks on basic free speech protections and will have repercussions far beyond the movement to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Links: News & Observer: NCSU investigating employee accused of Proud Boys membership. He calls it 'slander.' Willamette Week: Portland's Democratic Socialists of America Co-Chair Is Suing an Alleged Proud Boy for Doxxing Anonymous Comrads Collective: Doxer Gets Doxed: "Proud Boy" Chadwick Jason Seagraves of NCSU DSA's BDS and Palestine Working Group on Twitter BDS Movement Palestine Legal and their new legislation tracker site.

The Palestine Podcast showcases a selection of lectures, talks and interviews featuring leading experts and social justice activists active on the Palestine-Israel issue. Brought to you by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign. Click here to view all podcasts. Subscribe on your favourite platform! Apple PodcastsGoogle PodcastsSpotifyStitcherAcastYouTubeDeezerTuneInPlayer.fmPocketCastsCastroRadio PublicBreakerBlubrryPodcast AddictPodbeanPodcast RepubliciHeartRadio jQuery(document).ready(function($) { 'use strict'; $('#podcast-subscribe-button-11212 .podcast-subscribe-button.modal-632417ae642e2').on("click", function() { $("#secondline-psb-subs-modal.modal-632417ae642e2.modal.secondline-modal-632417ae642e2").modal({ fadeDuration: 250, closeText: '', }); return false; }); }); ===== PP#52 - 'Targeting Transnational Activism for Palestinian Rights' with Huwaida Arraf, Dima Khalidi, Mahmoud Nawajaa, Majed Abusalama and Frances Black [2020-08-26] - (Download here) INFO: In this episode of the Palestine Podcast, we feature an important discussion that took place as part of the 2020 Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival concentrating on the increased targeting of Palestinian and Palestine solidarity human rights defenders, both in Palestine and around the world. About the speakers Huwaida Arraf is a Palestinian-American attorney and human rights activist. Over the past two decades, Huwaida has been involved in a number of legal and grassroots initiatives for Palestinian rights, including the co-founding of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and the Gaza Freedom Flotilla. Dima Khalidi is the founder and director of Palestine Legal, overseeing the organization's array of legal and advocacy work to protect people speaking out for Palestinian freedom from attacks on their civil and constitutional rights.  Mahmoud Nawajaa is a human rights defender and youth organiser from Hebron. He is General Coordinator of the Boycott National Committee (BNC and board member of the Stop the Wall campaign. He was recently imprisoned without charge by Israel for 19 days as a result of his human rights work.   Majed Abusalama is a PhD candidate in Critical Human Geography and Regional Studies at Tampere University (Finland) and a contributing writer to Jadaliyya, Aljazeera English, MiddleEastEye and others. He grew up in Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza and is now based in Berlin. He serves as an international director of We Are Not Numbers organisation in Gaza. Frances Black is an independent Irish Senator, singer and founder of the RISE Foundation, a charitable organisation working with people with a loved one in addiction. A strong advocate for social justice and equality, she was elected to the 25th Seanad in 2016 and initiated the Occupied Territories Bill. We would like to thank our colleagues in the Front Line Defenders  for granting us permission to use the audio of this webinar which was organised by them as part of the 2020 Dublin Arts and Human Rights Festival. Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast reflect the opinions of the speaker(s) only and do not reflect the views of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign unless otherwise explicitly stated. If you like this podcast please visit our website for many more great episodes: https://www.ipsc.ie/the-palestine-podcast You can also find us at the following locations: Website: https://www.ipsc.ie/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IrelandPSC Twitter: https://twitter.com/ipsc48 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/irelandpsc/ YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/IrelandPSC Podcast: https://www.ipsc.ie/the-palestine-podcast And you can donate to our work here: PayPal: https://www.ipsc.ie/get-involved/donate/paypal iDonate: https://www.ifundraise.ie/3553_ireland-palestine-solidarity-campaign.html

Today, we bring you a special on Black and Palestinian solidarity in the face of global systemic racism. In 2019, U.S. police killed 1,099 people, according to Mapping Police Violence, which reports that 24 percent of those murdered (259 people) were Black. Between 2013 and 2019, police killed a total of 7,666 people. Overall, Black people are three times more likely to be killed by police than white people. Other people of color, including Indigenous and Latinx people, are also killed at a much higher percentage. Meanwhile, the United States currently has the largest incarcerated population in the world, with about 2.3 million people in jails and prisons across the country, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. In Occupied Palestine, thousands have been killed or injured resisting Israeli occupation. Also, as a result of poverty and destitution. Israeli police have been arresting and jailing Palestinian activists who resist state-sponsored violence and land grabs. During todays show, you will hear a in-depth discussion from a recent webinar titled Abolition and Liberation on the connections between demands from the Movement for Black Lives to defund the police and abolish the prison industrial complex, and Palestinian calls to tear down Israels apartheid walls and free Palestine. These speakers bring years of on-the-ground experience and strategic thinking to the conversation. Angela Davis has been an activist and liberatory scholar since the 1960s. Her 2003 book Are Prisons Obsolete? laid the strategic groundwork for the current abolition movement, as did the first Critical Resistance Conference, which she co-organized in 1998. She is joined, from Palestine, by Jamal Juma', a leading grassroots organizer since Palestines First Intifada in 1987. A founding member of the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees, Palestine National BDS Committee, Palestinian Association for Cultural Exchange, and Palestinian Environmental NGO Network, Juma' is coordinator of the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign and Stop the Wall. Kristian Davis Bailey, who moderates their conversation, is a co-founder of Black for Palestine and a co-author of the 2015 Black Solidarity with Palestine Statement signed by more than 1,000 Black activists. He was a member of Black Youth Project 100 and Students for Justice in Palestine. Kristian currently works at Palestine Legal and is a member of LeftRoots.

Today, we bring you a special on Black and Palestinian solidarity in the face of global systemic racism. In 2019, U.S. police killed 1,099 people, according to Mapping Police Violence, which reports that 24 percent of those murdered (259 people) were Black. Between 2013 and 2019, police killed a total of 7,666 people. Overall, Black people are three times more likely to be killed by police than white people. Other people of color, including Indigenous and Latinx people, are also killed at a much higher percentage. Meanwhile, the United States currently has the largest incarcerated population in the world, with about 2.3 million people in jails and prisons across the country, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. In Occupied Palestine, thousands have been killed or injured resisting Israeli occupation. Also, as a result of poverty and destitution. Israeli police have been arresting and jailing Palestinian activists who resist state-sponsored violence and land grabs. During todays show, you will hear a in-depth discussion from a recent webinar titled Abolition and Liberation on the connections between demands from the Movement for Black Lives to defund the police and abolish the prison industrial complex, and Palestinian calls to tear down Israels apartheid walls and free Palestine. These speakers bring years of on-the-ground experience and strategic thinking to the conversation. Angela Davis has been an activist and liberatory scholar since the 1960s. Her 2003 book Are Prisons Obsolete? laid the strategic groundwork for the current abolition movement, as did the first Critical Resistance Conference, which she co-organized in 1998. She is joined, from Palestine, by Jamal Juma', a leading grassroots organizer since Palestines First Intifada in 1987. A founding member of the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees, Palestine National BDS Committee, Palestinian Association for Cultural Exchange, and Palestinian Environmental NGO Network, Juma' is coordinator of the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign and Stop the Wall. Kristian Davis Bailey, who moderates their conversation, is a co-founder of Black for Palestine and a co-author of the 2015 Black Solidarity with Palestine Statement signed by more than 1,000 Black activists. He was a member of Black Youth Project 100 and Students for Justice in Palestine. Kristian currently works at Palestine Legal and is a member of LeftRoots.

Today, we bring you a special on Black and Palestinian solidarity in the face of global systemic racism. In 2019, U.S. police killed 1,099 people, according to Mapping Police Violence, which reports that 24 percent of those murdered (259 people) were Black. Between 2013 and 2019, police killed a total of 7,666 people. Overall, Black people are three times more likely to be killed by police than white people. Other people of color, including Indigenous and Latinx people, are also killed at a much higher percentage. Meanwhile, the United States currently has the largest incarcerated population in the world, with about 2.3 million people in jails and prisons across the country, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. In Occupied Palestine, thousands have been killed or injured resisting Israeli occupation. Also, as a result of poverty and destitution. Israeli police have been arresting and jailing Palestinian activists who resist state-sponsored violence and land grabs. During todays show, you will hear a in-depth discussion from a recent webinar titled Abolition and Liberation on the connections between demands from the Movement for Black Lives to defund the police and abolish the prison industrial complex, and Palestinian calls to tear down Israels apartheid walls and free Palestine. These speakers bring years of on-the-ground experience and strategic thinking to the conversation. Angela Davis has been an activist and liberatory scholar since the 1960s. Her 2003 book Are Prisons Obsolete? laid the strategic groundwork for the current abolition movement, as did the first Critical Resistance Conference, which she co-organized in 1998. She is joined, from Palestine, by Jamal Juma', a leading grassroots organizer since Palestines First Intifada in 1987. A founding member of the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees, Palestine National BDS Committee, Palestinian Association for Cultural Exchange, and Palestinian Environmental NGO Network, Juma' is coordinator of the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign and Stop the Wall. Kristian Davis Bailey, who moderates their conversation, is a co-founder of Black for Palestine and a co-author of the 2015 Black Solidarity with Palestine Statement signed by more than 1,000 Black activists. He was a member of Black Youth Project 100 and Students for Justice in Palestine. Kristian currently works at Palestine Legal and is a member of LeftRoots.

Today, we bring you a special on Black and Palestinian solidarity in the face of global systemic racism. In 2019, U.S. police killed 1,099 people, according to Mapping Police Violence, which reports that 24 percent of those murdered (259 people) were Black. Between 2013 and 2019, police killed a total of 7,666 people. Overall, Black people are three times more likely to be killed by police than white people. Other people of color, including Indigenous and Latinx people, are also killed at a much higher percentage. Meanwhile, the United States currently has the largest incarcerated population in the world, with about 2.3 million people in jails and prisons across the country, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. In Occupied Palestine, thousands have been killed or injured resisting Israeli occupation. Also, as a result of poverty and destitution. Israeli police have been arresting and jailing Palestinian activists who resist state-sponsored violence and land grabs. During todays show, you will hear a in-depth discussion from a recent webinar titled Abolition and Liberation on the connections between demands from the Movement for Black Lives to defund the police and abolish the prison industrial complex, and Palestinian calls to tear down Israels apartheid walls and free Palestine. These speakers bring years of on-the-ground experience and strategic thinking to the conversation. Angela Davis has been an activist and liberatory scholar since the 1960s. Her 2003 book Are Prisons Obsolete? laid the strategic groundwork for the current abolition movement, as did the first Critical Resistance Conference, which she co-organized in 1998. She is joined, from Palestine, by Jamal Juma', a leading grassroots organizer since Palestines First Intifada in 1987. A founding member of the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees, Palestine National BDS Committee, Palestinian Association for Cultural Exchange, and Palestinian Environmental NGO Network, Juma' is coordinator of the Palestinian Grassroots Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign and Stop the Wall. Kristian Davis Bailey, who moderates their conversation, is a co-founder of Black for Palestine and a co-author of the 2015 Black Solidarity with Palestine Statement signed by more than 1,000 Black activists. He was a member of Black Youth Project 100 and Students for Justice in Palestine. Kristian currently works at Palestine Legal and is a member of LeftRoots.

Peter Beinart is joined by Dima Khalida (Founder and Director of Palestine Legal)to discuss the Trump Administration's recent Executive Order regarding antisemitism on college campuses.

Anger can motivate a voter to the polls, to the streets and even to the White House. L Joy brings Assistant Professor of Political Science Davin Phoenix to the front of the class to discuss his book "The Anger Gap: How Race Shapes Emotion in Politics" to explore anger as a political resource that mobilizes black and white Americans differently. Our neighborhood political strategists also talks to Radhika Sainath of Palestine Legal about anti-boycott legislation being passed in various states across the country. Our Guests Davin L. Phoenix is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Irvine. His research examines how race interacts with different spheres of American politics to shape the attitudes, emotions, and behavior of both everyday people and elites. He is a recipient of the 2016–17 University of California Hellman Fellowship and the 2017–18 Dean's Honoree for Teaching Excellence Award. Radhika Sainath is a senior staff attorney at Palestine Legal, where she oversees the organization’s casework on free speech, censorship and academic freedom. Together with the Center for Constitutional Rights, she brought a landmark lawsuit against Fordham University after it refused to grant club status to Students for Justice in Palestine. Prior to joining Palestine Legal, Radhika represented clients in individual and class action civil and constitutional rights cases involving discrimination, human rights abuses, and prison conditions at one of California’s most prestigious civil rights firms. Radhika has successfully litigated numerous state and federal class actions and other federal civil rights cases. Radhika is a frequent commentator on media outlets including MSNBC, Democracy Now!, Al Jazeera English, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, theWashington Post, Jezebel, Politico, the Village Voice and more. Her writing has appeared in The Nation, Jacobin and Literary Hub. Radhika is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and the University of California, San Diego. Prior to attending law school, Radhika organized workers across the U.S. and Canada with the Union of Needletrades, Industrial, and Textile Employees (now UNITE-HERE). She is based in Palestine Legal’s New York City office and is admitted to the California and New York state bars.

Malihe Razazan of VOMENA speaks with attorney Zoha Khalili from Palestine Legal about Congresswoman Ilhan Omar's proposed resolution to protect the right to boycott. This comes after the US House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution condemning the BDS movement.

Since the overthrow of long-time dictator Muammar Al Qadafi in 2011, with the support of NATO, Libya was thrown into chaos with no foreseen end. For the past few years a power struggle has emerged between the internationally recognized government led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj and the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army led by General Khalifa Haftar who receives military support from regional powers, and the US and Russia The latest episode in this power struggle started in April with the advancement of General Haftar towards the Capital, Tripoli. The confrontations have so far claimed hundreds of lives. Also earlier this month an air strike by the Haftar forces on the Tajoura immigration detention centre in eastern Tripoli claimed the lives of at least 40 refugees and migrants, and injured more than 80. Amnesty International said that around 600 people were trapped in the detention center with no way to escape, AND called for the attack to be independently investigated as a war crime. Khalil Bendib speaks with Ali Ahmida, Professor of Political Science at the University of New England in Maine. He asks him about the regional and international players who are fueling the conflict as well as latest on the battle for Tripoli . Next we speak with attorney Zoha Khalil from Palestine Legal about the resolution proposed by congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota which aims to protect the use of boycott as a constitutionally protected free speech and as a tool for social change. It comes around the same time, the congressional Democrats are advancing an non-binding resolution to condemn the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions or the BDS movement against Israel. Although the resolution does not reference Israel or BDS specifically it is understood to be in response to national and state legislations attempting to criminalize those engaging in boycott activities against Israel.

After 4 years of a devastating war in Yemen, this week we delve into the complexities of living with war, through the eyes of a group of Yemeni women. We will hear from them talking about their activism and what roles they took on in their communities and families since the beginning of the war in 2015 But first we discuss the pro-Israel backlash against Palestine activism on US campuses. The backlash is not a new tactic, but in recent years, lawsuits have been increasingly used to intimidate students and faculty and silence any criticism of Israel. So does this backlash look like in the Trump era and is it working? To talk about that and more, we are joined by Zoha Khalili, attorney with the organization Palestine Legal and Dr. Loubna Qoutami, a post-doctoral fellow at University of California Berkeley and a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement.

This week, Roqayah and Kumars speak with Liz Jackson, a founding staff attorney for Palestine Legal and Cooperating Counsel with the Center for Constitutional Rights. We talk to Liz about the surveillance and harassment of Palestine solidarity activists on US college campuses by the far-right and governments. We learn more about the pernicious Canary Mission website which smears activists as anti-Semites and supporters of terrorism, and other efforts to suppress boycott, divestment, and sanction efforts targeting Israel. Liz also describes efforts by Trump's Department of Education to expand the definition of anti-Semitism to include criticism of Israel and Israeli policy toward Palestinians. We also discuss several pieces of anti-BDS legislation at the state and national levels, and the ways in which Palestine Legal is working to safeguard the right to protest Israeli apartheid. Liz explains that the best way to combat the avalanche of repression is to bring BDS more and more into the mainstream. Finally, we examine the campus free speech frenzy from the perspective of Palestine activism, and discuss whether free speech absolutism is actually the best foundation upon which to build a movement for justice in Palestine. You can follow Palestine Legal on Twitter at @pal_legal and visit Palestine Legal online to learn about ways you can support their work. A transcript for this episode will be provided upon request. Please send an email to deleteuracct @ gmail to get a copy sent to you when it is completed. If you want to support the show and receive access to tons of bonus content, subscribe on our Patreon page for as little as $5 a month. Also, don't forget to subscribe, rate, and review the show on iTunes. We can't do this show without your support!!!

Palestine Legal's executive director Dima Khalidi joins us this week to talk about the current situation in Gaza, the movement around boycotting, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel, Israeli and Zionist influence on U.S. politics and elections and attacks on the rights of Palestinians.

Arab Talk Co-Host Jess Ghannam interviews Liz Jackson, attorney for Palestine Legal (www.palestinelegal.org) about recent legal attacks on Palestine Solidarity Groups across the US.

Palestine Legal founder and director Dima Khalidi joins the show to talk about Governor Andrew Cuomo's executive order against the BDS movement, which includes a provision to blacklist companies or groups which boycott or divest from Israel. Khalidi breaks down the constitutional and free speech concerns created by this order and also places it within the context of a broader trend in state legislatures to crack down on the BDS movement. She also highlights recent cases where students have been criminalized for their Palestinian solidarity activism. 

The director of Palestine Legal, Dima Khalidi, joins the show to discuss a reporting documenting hundreds of attacks against Palestinian human rights activists in the United States over the past two years. Khalidi addresses the escalation by Israeli advocacy groups against activists on college and university campuses. Khalidi highlights how Israeli consulate officials are spying on students, how students threatened are forced to pay for their own security or cancel events, and what organizations like Palestine Legal are doing to push back against states moving to pass legislation to discourage boycotts and divestment campaigns against Israeli apartheid.  During the discussion part of the show, hosts Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola talk about the US airstrike against a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netyanahu's speech at the UN General Assembly, right-wing human rights activist Thor Halvorssen's effort to have a story on him censored, and some of the Clinton emails mentioning WikiLeaks.