Israel & Palestine

2023: A Turning Point for Israel/Palestine?
It’s been an exceptionally long and bloody stalemate. And with the far right anti-democracy government of Netanyahu turning its wrath on Jewish Israelis, and opinion in the US and the world showing real shift, our guest Mitchell Plitnick of ReThinking

Michigan Moves Forward, Arkansas Clamps Down on Rights
When Republicans win power, they use it. Obama tried bipartisanship. There was little, if any, perceptible change. In the following campaign in 2016, Trump said “I made a promise to the forgotten men and women of this country that I

The Israeli Far Right 2023: The Mask is Off
Suddenly in 2023, the aspiration of being the only democracy in the middle east is unraveling itself from within. With its turn to the far right, antidemocratic political Zionism is overpowering traditional spiritual and cultural Zionism. On this show, The

The State of Israel vs The Jews
In walling out Palestinians, the State of Israel has walled in themselves. Former Zionist Israeli Defense Forces paratrooper Sylvain Cypel speaks to us from Paris about his evolution. As a Jewish Frenchman, he says how that country’s experience with Algeria

People Refusing to be Erased
The world sees the “flare up” but not the ongoing banal policies that are at cause. The State of Israel is copying the successful “settling” of the American west, so what options for resistance are open to Palestinians being evicted,

Jewish Israeli: Time to Hold Israel Accountable at The Hague
Interviewed in Israel, Jewish author Larry Derfner says Israel has never been held accountable and argues the International Criminal Court is right to investigate Israel for war crimes. Boycott, Divest,and Sanction has been ineffective and that the right has used

Trump and Pompeo Dictate New Map on Africa//Franco Still Dead
The world is as they say it is. Never mind the people who actually live there, Trump and Pompeo decided and imposed new boundaries between Morocco and Algeria. It may start a war between them but at least it gets

Biden’s Better Foreign Policy?
The slogan was Build Back Better. In terms of foreign policy, our guest today Foreign Policy In Focus’s John Feffer says: “Thanks in no small part to Donald Trump, the United States just doesn’t matter much anymore,” our leadership is

Trump and Netanyahu’s “Peace Deal”
The president calls it a “previously unthinkable regional transformation.” But perhaps it both solidifies the power of medieval monarchies masquerading as modern states, as it ramps up sales of US weapons systems to them. Retired US Army Major Danny Sjursen

The Jewish Tradition of Anti-Zionism
How is it that Jewish liberals felt the State of Israel was exempt from criticism applied elsewhere? Our guest today Benjamin Balthaser, who teaches multi-ethnic literature at Indiana University, talks about a little known history: Most liberal and left Jewish

One State: A Reality But Not Yet a Solution
A two state solution to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict is no longer possible. In his book Paradigm Lost: From Two-State Solution to One-State Reality, our guest Ian S. Lustick, political science professor at U of Penn, reveals that Israel changed drastically

Trump-Netanyahu Deal: Disappearing a People
Trump calls it the “Deal of the Century.” Just announced with much fanfare, a new peace plan for Israel and Palestine. Only with no Palestinian participation. The ceremony was with Trump, Netanyahu, Jared Kushner, and Sheldon Adelson, and some may

Christmas/Hanukkah Are About Strength Through Generosity, Not Dominance
It’s more than the similar time of year. According to guest Rabbi Michael Lerner, of Tikkun Magazine and chair of the Network of Spiritual Progressives, both holidays mark times in which people without power successfully took on the powers of

Trump Order Threatens Jews and Free Speech
A new executive order by President Trump stamps a radical new definition on the meaning of anti-semitism. Its purpose is to clamp down on freedom of speech. A Chicago area rabbi says her congregants have said “this feels like the

The Crucial December 12th British Election Explained
Consumed with Brexit, the old upper and lower class divisions are themselves divided. According to professor Kenneth Surin, a Brit teaching at Duke, the decision made by voters in the upcoming general election will be of major importance. On one

Trump and “Disloyal Jews”//The Corpse of Franco and Democracy in Spain
Did Trump mean to be anti-Semitic with his insistence that Jewish Americans who vote Democratic are disloyal? According to our first guest, civil justice advocate and attorney Mark Bello, without question yes, Trump is anti-Semitic. And he says Trump is

Angela Davis: Rising Star Again
After nearly 50 years, she’s back in the news, and she keeps on pushing. Angela Davis gained fame/notoriety as the Afro-coiffed California professor/activist speciously charged with helping Jonathan Jackson trying to free his brother George, author of Soledad Brother, from

Obvious Migrant Solution//CNN Fires Professor
A wall isn’t going to work. What will work is addressing the reasons desperate Central Americans walk a thousand miles. Foreign Affairs columnist Patrick Lawrence suggests ways to alleviate the conditions causing the caravan. And on part two, why did

Using “Anti-Semitism” to Defeat Jeremy Corbyn
He’s spoken openly about his concern for justice for Palestinians. As Jeremy Corbyn is continuing to rise as he leads the traditional left Labour Party of the United Kingdom, his detractors are working feverishly to discredit him as an anti-Semite.

Israel’s New Nation-State Law: Codifying Apartheid
At least it’s now out in the open. All Israelis who are not Jewish have had their rights diminished. Given the longstanding discrimination against non-white non-European Jews, Palestinians and Druze are now just third class citizens. Prime Minister Netanyahu described

Saudi Power in Washington: Harming America in the Middle East
Americans are just beginning to learn about our deadly role for the Saudi war in Yemen. For many decades and many presidents, the Saudi royal family has held great sway in Washington. Today the famine and cholera outbreak in Yemen,

16 Year Old Girl Takes on Israeli Military
If you are a sixteen year old girl, standing up to the men of the Israeli military is highly risky. You may not have heard of Ahed Tamimi. She is being held in an Israeli jail for slapping an Israeli

Free Speech Threatened By Anti-BDS Bill
Now and in the future, if certain opinions are not popular with the government in power, they can be prosecuted. Under the current bill S 720, which actually has Democratic sponsors, if a person even inquires about which companies may

BDS at 12: The Fight Against it Shows It’s Working
It took a long time but Boycott, Divest, and Sanctions worked to end South African Apartheid. Now powerful forces are working in the US congress to penalize businesses and individuals who express support for BDS against the State of Israel.

US Pilots As Bait in War With Syria
In the 21st century, it seems every new war is a “humanitarian intervention.” Our guest on this show, Jim Kavanagh of Counterpunch defines that as just more “missionary imperialism.” As the US quickly ramps up its war against the government

Israel: Nationalism Replaces Religion
It’s starting to fade. The unquestioned backing by Jewish Americans for the State of Israel is slipping. As author Allan C Browfield discusses, Zionism actually has a short shelf life among Jewish Americans. Before 1948, it was condemned by most

Time to Ditch The Saudis?//Clinton Foundation: Smoke But No Fire? Really?
Through twelve administrations, the US has been tight with the Saudi government. On part one, Medea Benjamin talks about her new book: Kingdom of the Unjust: behind the US-Saudi Connections. She argues it’s time to cut the cord, they are

Under and Over 70: The Israel Divide
Is the dream over? The socialist democratic Israel our parents generation dreamed of is not the right wing Israel we see today.What’s happening with Jewish Americans who are under 70? Why does the right wing Israel lobby still have so

DNC Platform on War: Not Hopeless
It’s been called the most progressive Democratic Party platform ever, but in terms of foreign policy, it’s pretty much as militaristic as ever. On this show, Phyllis Bennis, of the Institute for Policy Studies dissects the foreign policy aspects of

A Tough Vote Forward
With Trump as president, it would be a major effort to just move back to the center. With Hillary Clinton, and sustained pressure from progressives, forward motion is possible, if difficult. This is for progressives thinking about the election. Michael