The Mondoweiss Podcast

In February, Students for Justice in Palestine held their 12th annual conference in Los Angeles for a weekend of critical discussion, movement building, and political education. Michael Arria spoke with a member of the group's steering committee about the themes of the conference, the state of Palestine activism on U.S. campuses, and the victories of 2022. After that, we’ll hear about the Stop Cop City protests in Atlanta, and the links between the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange and Israeli police. Adam Horowitz spoke to Kamau Franklin, an activist and organizer in Atlanta involved in the Stop Cop City movement. - - - - - 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 National Students for Justice in Palestine Stop Cop City Movement Atlanta 2 Palestine panel discussion (video) Inside GILEE, the US-Israel law enforcement training program seeking to redefine terrorism, Anna Simonton 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 us 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 West Bank Dispatch Follow us on social media Facebook Mastodon Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Tumblr  

We have two interviews in this episode. First, I’ll talk to Mondoweiss’s Palestine News Director, Yumna Patel, about her new video report published today titled On The Brink: Jenin’s rising resistance. Then we’ll hear from Ahmad Abuznaid, the executive director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, about their legal battle with the Jewish National Fund. First, to the Jenin refugee camp. On January 26 the Israeli army conducted a deadly invasion into the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. In the span of a few hours, the army shot and killed 9 Palestinians. A 10th Palestinian died a few days later from injuries sustained during the raid. It was one of the deadliest single invasions into the Jenin camp, and in the West Bank, in years. It came on the heels of a year-long effort by the Israeli military to quash the resurgence of Palestinian armed resistance. The Jenin refugee camp has a long history of armed resistance to Israel’s occupation. Yumna traveled to Jenin just days after the deadly raid to speak to the people there and hear about what they experienced. Then, back to the United States. In 2019 the Jewish National Fund (JNF) and a group of American Israelis sued the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights (USCPR) over its support for the nonviolent BDS movement. The US Campaign is a fiscal sponsor of the Boycott National Committee, which has ties to various groups in Palestine. According to the lawsuit, some of those groups are terrorist organizations responsible for fire bomb attacks on land owned by the Jewish National Fund in Israel. Activists say this is simply the latest attempt to suppress human rights work. Earlier this month Diala Shamas, a lawyer at the Center for Constitutional Rights and one of the attorneys representing the US Campaign, told The Guardian, “The goal here is to harass the US Campaign [for Palestinian Rights]. This is something that we’re seeing more broadly: smearing human rights advocates with accusations of terrorism, and efforts to drag human rights advocates and protesters into court, into extended litigation that distracts them from their advocacy. In the Palestine context we see that happening a lot, both in the United States and by Israel." In 2021 the case was dismissed by a federal court in Washington DC, but the JNF appealed and it's now back in court. Mondoweiss’s US correspondent Michael Arria spoke with US Campaign Executive Director Ahmad Abuznaid about the legal proceedings, the history of the JNF, and the wider context of this fight. - - - - - 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 View our new video report, "On The Brink: Jenin's Rising Resistance" US Campaign for Palestinian Rights A US human rights group is being sued by pro-Israel organizations over an alleged connection to ‘balloon terror, Michael Arria ‘We will not be silenced, siloed, or stopped’: federal judge tosses lawsuit targeting Palestinian rights group, 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 us 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 West Bank Dispatch Follow us on social media Facebook Mastodon Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Tumblr  

Last year Tony Greenstein published a book that was the culmination of many years of research, titled “Zionism During the Holocaust: The Weaponization of Memory in the Service of State and Nation”. The book examines in great detail the Holocaust mythology that Israel promotes and deploys in a strategic manner to neutralize and smear intellectual and political criticisms of its human rights violations. Greenstein has long pedigree. He has been an anti-Zionist in Britain for more than 40 years. He is a founding member of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the biggest organization in the UK focused on Palestinian human rights. An author and blogger and son of a rabbi, Greenstein is also an active trade unionist. In this episode, Phil Weiss speaks to Tony Greenstein about his new book. - - - - - 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 Tony Greenstein's blog Tony Greenstein's articles at Mondoweiss Buy "Zionism During the Holocaust: The weaponisation of memory in the service of state and nation" from a local bookstore on Bookshop.org 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 us 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 West Bank Dispatch Follow us on social media Facebook Mastodon Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Tumblr  

In this 50th episode of the Mondoweiss Podcast, our founder and senior editor Phil Weiss speaks to Matthew Teller about his new book, Nine Quarters of Jerusalem: A New Biography of the Old City. The book mixes travel writing and history with the savage politics of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in a city loved by people all over the world. Teller is a British journalist who worked for years in the Middle East. His reports have appeared in the BBC, the Times of London, The Guardian and many other places. - - - - - 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 Matthew Teller’s website Follow Matthew on Mastodon and Twitter Purchase the book, Nine Quarters of Jerusalem 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 to Podchaser, 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 us 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 Follow us on social media Facebook Mastodon Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn

Last month the U.S. held its midterm elections. A "red wave" never materialized as many predicted, but Republicans did take control of the House. Our U.S. correspondent Michael Arria caught up with author and Georgetown University adjunct professor Josh Ruebner to talk about how Israel factored into the races and what we should expect from the new congress on Palestine. Ruebner is the author of Israel: Democracy or Apartheid State? and Shattered Hopes: Obama’s Failure to Broker Israeli-Palestinian Peace. He is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University. - - - - - 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 Josh Ruebner’s website Follow Josh on Twitter There are plenty of opportunities for Palestine advocacy following the U.S. midterm elections, Mitchell Plitnick 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 to Podchaser, 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 us 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 Follow us on social media Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Tumblr

Mondoweiss has been covering the “No Tech for Apartheid” movement for over a year now. In October 2021 hundreds of workers at Google and Amazon published an open letter in The Guardian condemning Project Nimbus, a billion dollar contract between the two tech companies and the Israeli government. The deal helps provide cloud services to the Israeli Defense Forces. The letter reads: “We cannot look the other way, as the products we build are used to deny Palestinians their basic rights, force Palestinians out of their homes and attack Palestinians in the Gaza Strip – actions that have prompted war crime investigations by the international criminal court.” A lot has happened since that letter ran, as the No Tech for Apartheid movement has continued to grow. Our U.S. correspondent Michael Arria checked in with two organizers to talk about its current state and what might come next. Ariel Koren is an activist and was formerly a product marketing manager at Google for Education. Earlier this year Koren was forced out of her job after facing retaliation from the company over her activism. Bathool Syed is an activist and content strategist at Amazon. We’ll also hear some testimonials from Google and Amazon workers from a video the campaign published a few months ago. - - - - - 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 No Tech for Apartheid campaign website Organized labor vs. Project Nimbus, Mondoweiss Podcast Google worker says company tried to relocate her to Brazil after she criticized contract with Israel, Michael Arria Google worker who protested Israel contract says she was forced to quit, Michael Arria How Google advances the Zionist colonization of Palestine, Yarden Katz Google and Amazon workers want companies to end contracts with Israeli military, 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 us 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 West Bank Dispatch Follow us on social media Facebook Mastodon Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Tumblr

Our fall fundraising campaign is underway and generous supporters have agreed to match your donations. Mondoweiss is a reader and listener-funded non-profit news publication. This gives us the independence to report on events in Palestine accurately and comprehensively because we answer to you, our readers and listeners. In the past 3 years we’ve invested pretty heavily to grow our team of reporters and contributors. We now have 4 full-time staff in Palestine, 5 full-time staff in the U.S., and many regular contributors all over the world. And I’ll be honest, growing a non-profit news organization in today’s media landscape is a pretty risky move. But we believe the movement for Palestinian liberation is in a transformative moment. And we believe that Mondoweiss plays a critical role in centering Palestinian and anti-Zionist voices. That’s why we’ve taken this risk to grow our staff in these uncertain times, and it’s why we need your support. Please visit our website at mondoweiss.net to learn more about our fundraising campaign and chip in. Your contribution will be matched, doubling your impact. Thanks so much! The Canadian group Independent Jewish Voices today is releasing a report titled “Unveiling the Chilly Climate - The Suppression of Speech on Palestine In Canada.” Researchers Sheryl Nestel and Rowan Gaudet spent the last year gathering information and testimonials about the repression faced by academics, students and Palestine solidarity activists across Canada. This is the first study to use ethnographic methodology and qualitative analysis to describe both the overarching effects of this repression as well as the deeply personal impact it has on activists, artists, students and professors. While many people active in the Palestine solidarity movement are familiar with the tactics described in the report, it is shocking to read the dozens of testimonials collected and understand the extent and scope of the suppression efforts. I spoke to Sheryl and Rowan last week about the report and what can be done to counter these attacks. - - - - - 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 Report: Unveiling the Chilly Climate – The Suppression of Speech on Palestine in Canada, Sheryl Nestel and Rowan Gaudet at IJV The ADL declares war on Palestine solidarity groups, Michael Arria Palestinian students facing increased harassment on Israeli campuses, Jessica Buxbaum UVM president rejects antisemitism charges, but university remains target of pro-Israel groups, Michael Arria The IHRA and The JDA, Michael Arria in The Shift newsletter Professors fight to defend Palestine and protect academic freedom, David Spero The manufactured campus antisemitism hysteria intensifies, David Samel Trump’s executive order on antisemitism is only meant to suppress Palestine solidarity on campus, California Scholars for Academic Freedom Pro-Palestine campus groups are being targeted via federal complaints thanks to the Trump administration, 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 us 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

Stefan Christoff is an organizer with Musicians For Palestine. Hundreds of musicians from around the world signed on to their first statement of support for Palestinian freedom in 2021. Today, the group is announcing 700 new signers and releasing a second statement It reads, in part, “As musicians we can contribute to breaking the wall of silence and protest these great injustices taking place against the Palestinian people…We believe that now, more than ever, is the time to respect the Palestinian peaceful picket line by declining invitations to events that are subsidised or sponsored by the Israeli state, its lobby groups or complicit cultural institutions.” I spoke with Christoff about the work to organize musicians, and we listen to a few of the artists that have signed the statements, including Brian Eno, Damon Davis, and Asher Gamedze. - - - - - 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 Musicians For Palestine Musicians For Palestine Podcast Over 600 artists worldwide sign #MusiciansForPalestine letter, Open Letter 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 us 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

Dorothy Zellner was 22 years old when she joined the staff of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC, in Atlanta Georgia. She recruited student volunteers for the Freedom Summer Project in 1964 and helped design the logo for the Black Panthers, in 1966. Dorothy has been active in feminist movements and the Palestine solidarity movement for  many years. Phil Weiss, founder and senior editor of Mondoweiss spoke to Dorothy recently. This wide ranging conversation covers the threat of fascist movements here in the United States, the importance of organizing for Palestinian liberation within Jewish communities, and the backlash that Jews can face in their own families for criticizing Israel. - - - - - 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 Profile of Dorothy Zellner at the SNCC Digital Gateway site Dorothy Zellner oral history interview (video) From Mississippi to Gaza — Dorothy Zellner reflects on 50 years of struggle, Phil Weiss Hillel’s segregated lunch counter, Phil Weiss Palestinian citizens of Israel hold the key — Zellner, Phil Weiss 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 us 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 August 18th of this year, the Israeli military raided the offices of seven Palestinian civil society organizations. They ransacked the offices, stole files and other property, and sealed the doors in an attempt to prevent them from operating. Twenty-five United Nations’ “Independent Experts” issued a declaration on August 24th condemning “Israel’s escalating attacks against Palestinian civil society.” The declaration continued, “These actions amount to severe suppression of human rights defenders and are illegal and unacceptable.” These Independent Experts are calling on UN member states “to take effective measures afforded by international law to put an end to these abuses.” David Kattenberg spoke with two of the authors of the August 24th declaration. Francesca Albanese is the “Special UN Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967.” Mary Lawlor is “Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders.” - - - - - 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 Israeli army raids, shuts down offices of 7 Palestinian civil society organizations, Yumna Patel Israel threatens attorneys representing Palestinian civil society organizations, Siham Rashid Six months ago Israel tagged Palestinian human rights groups as terrorists. The Biden administration claims it’s still looking over the ‘evidence’, Michael Arria Podcast Episode 27: The Israeli campaign to shut down Palestinian civil society, Yumna Patel ‘It won’t end with us’: Addameer director warns of repercussions of Israeli ‘terror’ designation, Yumna Patel The banning of human rights defenders: Israel and South Africa compared, John Dugard Israel labels leading Palestinian human rights groups ‘terrorist institutions’, Yumna Patel 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 us 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