The Mondoweiss Podcast

Today we have a conversation with Sam Bahour. Sam is a Palestinian-American businessman, born in Youngstown, Ohio, and now living in Ramallah, Palestine. He is currently an independent director at the Arab Islamic Bank, a policy analyst at Al-Shabaka, The Palestinian Policy Network, and an advisory board member of the Open Society Foundations’ Middle East and North America Office. He spoke to Mondoweiss founder and senior editor Phil Weiss. - - - - - 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 The Tallest Man in Ramallah: Michael Chabon Roams the West Bank with Sam Bahour Articles by Sam Bahour at Mondoweiss 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 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 COVID-19 in Palestine Follow us on social media Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn Tumblr

On Thursday of this past week, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would give Israel an additional $1 billion dollars in military aid for its missile defense system known as the Iron Dome. Progressives in the House had earlier managed to strip the bill as an attachment to a must-pass government funding bill known as a continuing resolution. In response, Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer put the legislation on the floor as a stand-alone bill without going through the normal committee process, or what is called regular order. I spoke to Beth Miller, Senior Government Affairs Manager at JVP Action, about the political maneuvering that brought the bill to floor and to it’s ultimate passage. - - - 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 - - - SHOW NOTES: Follow JVP Action on Twitter – https://twitter.com/jvpaction Follow Beth Miller on Twitter – https://twitter.com/bethavemiller House overwhelmingly approves Iron Dome funding in 420-9 vote – https://mondoweiss.net/2021/09/house-overwhelmingly-approves-iron-dome-funding-in-420-9-vote/ Just 9 votes — but ‘bitter’ House debate is an advance for progressive stance on Israel – https://mondoweiss.net/2021/09/just-9-votes-but-bitter-house-debate-is-an-advance-for-progressive-stance-on-israel/ No, Iron Dome doesn’t save Palestinian lives, by Khaled Elgindy – https://www.mei.edu/publications/no-iron-dome-doesnt-save-palestinian-lives - - - SUBSCRIBE TO ONE OF OUR FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTERS: Daily Headlines – https://mondoweiss.net/sign-up-for-daily-headlines-delivered-straight-to-your-inbox/ Weekly Briefing – https://mondoweiss.net/weekly-briefing/ The Shift tracks U.S. politics – https://mondoweiss.net/the-shift/ COVID-19 in Palestine – https://mondoweiss.net/2021/05/only-4-of-palestinians-are-fully-vaccinated-as-curfews-lift-in-gaza/ - - - FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook – https://facebook.com/mondoweiss Twitter – https://twitter.com/mondoweiss Instagram – https://instagram.com/mondoweiss YouTube – https://youtube.com/MondoweissVideos

Michael Arria and Dave Reed speak with Michael Bueckert, the Vice-President of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East. The organization just published a voting guide ahead of the upcoming Canadian elections. He updated us on the politics of Palestine in the Great White North. - - - 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 - - - SHOW NOTES: Follow Michael Bueckert on Twitter – https://twitter.com/mbueckert CJPME’s 2021 Election guide – https://www.cjpme.org/elections_guide_2021 CJPME’s 2021 Election tracker – https://www.cjpme.org/election_tracker_2021 Follow CJPME on Twitter – https://twitter.com/CJPME Follow CJPME on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/230321560327198 Follow the Anti-BDS Troll App Twitter account – https://twitter.com/AntiBDSApp - - - SUBSCRIBE TO ONE OF OUR FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTERS: Daily Headlines – https://mondoweiss.net/sign-up-for-daily-headlines-delivered-straight-to-your-inbox/ Weekly Briefing – https://mondoweiss.net/weekly-briefing/ The Shift tracks U.S. politics – https://mondoweiss.net/the-shift/ COVID-19 in Palestine – https://mondoweiss.net/2021/05/only-4-of-palestinians-are-fully-vaccinated-as-curfews-lift-in-gaza/ - - - FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook – https://facebook.com/mondoweiss Twitter – https://twitter.com/mondoweiss Instagram – https://instagram.com/mondoweiss YouTube – https://youtube.com/MondoweissVideos

Mondoweiss founder and senior editor Phil Weiss speaks to Khaled Elgindy about the first meeting between President Joe Biden and newly installed Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Earlier this year Bennett joined centrist politician Yair Lapid to build an unusual coalition of rightwing, centrist, and liberal political parties to topple Benjamin Netanyahu. This government marks the first time Palestinian Israeli political parties are included in a governing coalition. Bennett is a far-right political figure opposed to Palestinian statehood and ending settlement expansion, and he’s focused on Iran as the greatest threat to Israeli security. Khaled Elgindy is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute where he directs the Program on Palestine and Israeli-Palestinian Affairs. Prior to that he was a fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. Elgindy was an adviser to the Palestinian leadership on permanent status negotiations with Israel from 2004 to 2009, and was a key participant in the Annapolis negotiations of 2007 and 2008. He is the author of the book, Blind Spot: America and the Palestinians, from Balfour to Trump.

Just a few years ago the idea of a pro-Palestine political advocacy group in Washington D.C. seemed ridiculous. But U.S. politics around Palestine are shifting and a number of these groups have sprung up recently. The latest grows out of the nonprofit American Muslims for Palestine who just launched their own affiliated 501c4 organization, Americans for Justice in Palestine Action. Earlier this week Mondoweiss' U.S. correspondent Michael Arria spoke with Dr. Osama Abuirshaid and Ayah Ziyadeh. Correction: An earlier version of the text referred to AJP Action as a political action committee (IRS 527). It is a social welfare organization (IRS 501(c)4.) Dr. Osama Abuirshaid is the Executive Director and a board member of American Muslims for Palestine (AMP). He is a board member of the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO), an umbrella organization of eight major national American Muslim organizations. He lectures frequently on Middle East and American politics. He is a regular commentator on Palestinian and Middle Eastern affairs as well as on the American domestic and foreign policy on various Arabic satellite T.V. channels such as Aljazeera. He authored or co-authored several books in Arabic and he published dozens of studies and articles in Arabic and English, on issues relevant to the Middle East and its political climate. He is the co-author of the controversial study: "Hamas: Ideological Rigidity and Political Flexibility," which was published by the United States Institute of Peace in 2009. He is a community activist and speaker. Abuirshaid completed his PhD in Political Science at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom. Ayah Ziyadeh is AMP's advocacy director. She is a Palestinian-American human rights activist, advocate, and writer who maintains a track record in organizing awareness of Palestine and other crucial human rights issues. She has 5+ years of political and grassroots advocacy as well as lobbying campaign experience. This experience consists of being legislative staff, a lobbying intern working closely with the ACLU, and an organizer working with several different organizations and coalitions, providing her with extensive knowledge of all of the spaces contributing to policy-making and advocacy. Aside from her work, Ayah is completing her master's in International Human Rights at the Josef Korbel School of International Relations. Throughout her graduate experience, she has specialized in Palestinian rights and the dynamics of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine. She has completed an abundance of research and policy work on the issue. - - - 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 - - - SHOW NOTES: Americans for Justice in Palestine Action (AJPA) – https://ajpaction.org/ AJPA Twitter – https://twitter.com/ajpaction AJPA Facebook – https://facebook.com/ajpaction AJPA Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/ajpaction American Muslims for Palestine – https://www.ampalestine.org/ - - - SUBSCRIBE TO ONE OF OUR FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTERS: Daily Headlines – https://mondoweiss.net/sign-up-for-daily-headlines-delivered-straight-to-your-inbox/ Weekly Briefing – https://mondoweiss.net/weekly-briefing/ The Shift tracks U.S. politics – https://mondoweiss.net/the-shift/ COVID-19 in Palestine – https://mondoweiss.net/2021/05/only-4-of-palestinians-are-fully-vaccinated-as-curfews-lift-in-gaza/ - - - FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook – https://facebook.com/mondoweiss Twitter – https://twitter.com/mondoweiss Instagram – https://instagram.com/mondoweiss YouTube – https://youtube.com/MondoweissVideos

Pitasanna Shanmugathas recently graduated with a Master of Global Affairs degree from the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. Earlier this year he spoke with Dr. Lex Takkenberg and Francesca Albanese, authors of the book “Palestinian Refugees in International Law”, now in its second edition. In this conversation they discuss the origins of the Palestinian refugee crisis, its role within international law, and whether Israel's actions constitute apartheid. They also look at the UN Relief and Works Agency, and how the Trump administration’s funding termination impacted that institution. - - - 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 - - - SHOW NOTES: International law sides with Palestinian refugees. But can it solve their plight? (Sam Bahour, +972 Magazine) – https://www.972mag.com/palestinian-refugees-international-law-review/ - - - SUBSCRIBE TO ONE OF OUR FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTERS: Daily Headlines – https://mondoweiss.net/sign-up-for-daily-headlines-delivered-straight-to-your-inbox/ Weekly Briefing – https://mondoweiss.net/weekly-briefing/ The Shift tracks U.S. politics – https://mondoweiss.net/the-shift/ COVID-19 in Palestine – https://mondoweiss.net/2021/05/only-4-of-palestinians-are-fully-vaccinated-as-curfews-lift-in-gaza/ - - - FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook – https://facebook.com/mondoweiss Twitter – https://twitter.com/mondoweiss Instagram – https://instagram.com/mondoweiss YouTube – https://youtube.com/MondoweissVideos

In this episode we have a conversation with Wesam Sharaf, an advocate with the Civil and Political Rights Unit at Adalah — The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel. In May Palestinian citizens of Israel participated in massive protests and boycotts as part of the “Unity Uprisings”. Many Palestinians described these protests as the largest display of unity between the West Bank, Gaza, and '48 Palestine in years. Mondoweiss Palestine Correspondent Yumna Patel talks with Wesam about life after the Unity Uprising for Palestinian citizens of Israel. In the wake of the protests, Palestinian citizens of Israel have continued to be arrested en masse and jailed by Israeli police forces. Despite this, Wesam and other advocates say that air of resistance in Palestinian communities in Israel remains strong. - - - 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 - - - SHOW NOTES: Visit Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel – https://www.adalah.org/en Follow Yumna Patel on Twitter – https://twitter.com/yumna_patel Israeli police are rounding up hundreds of Palestinians to ‘settle scores’ in mass arrest campaign – https://mondoweiss.net/2021/05/israeli-police-are-rounding-up-hundreds-of-palestinians-to-settle-scores-in-mass-arrest-campaign/ - - - SUBSCRIBE TO ONE OF OUR FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTERS: Daily Headlines – https://mondoweiss.net/sign-up-for-daily-headlines-delivered-straight-to-your-inbox/ Weekly Briefing – https://mondoweiss.net/weekly-briefing/ The Shift tracks U.S. politics – https://mondoweiss.net/the-shift/ COVID-19 in Palestine – https://mondoweiss.net/2021/05/only-4-of-palestinians-are-fully-vaccinated-as-curfews-lift-in-gaza/ - - - FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook – https://facebook.com/mondoweiss Twitter – https://twitter.com/mondoweiss Instagram – https://instagram.com/mondoweiss YouTube – https://youtube.com/MondoweissVideos

As events in Palestine continue to develop we're bringing you this special episode in collaboration with the Groundings podcast and friend-of-the-site Devyn Springer. Devyn is a cultural worker, community organizer, and independent researcher. They are a member of the Walter Rodney Foundation, and host of the Groundings podcast. They've written and worked with several media outlets, including Mondoweiss, and produced documentaries such Parchman Prison: Pain & Protest. Today, Devyn and their co-host speak to Mohammed El-Kurd. Mohammed is a poet, writer, and activist from Jerusalem, Palestine. He lives in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood where the Israeli government is trying to forcibly remove his family and other Palestinian families so that Israeli settlers can take over their homes. Protests have been ongoing in Sheikh Jarrah over the last several weeks. Israeli forces escalated the violence by entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as the holy month of Ramadan came to an end, attacking tens of thousands of Muslim worshippers. Hamas, in Gaza, issued an ultimatum to Israel to withdraw its forces from Al-Aqsa and Sheikh Jarrah or it wide launch rockets into Israeli-held territory. The Israeli government ignored the deadline, and since late last week has carried out massive airstrikes against the civilian population in Gaza. As of this recording on Monday, May 17th, Israel has killed over 200 Palestinians in Gaza, including 61 children, and left over 1400 injured. - - - 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 - - - SHOW NOTES: Subscribe to the Groundings Podcast, our partner on this episode – https://groundings.simplecast.com/ Follow Mohammed El-Kurd on Twitter – https://twitter.com/m7mdkurd Follow Devyn Springer on Twitter – https://twitter.com/halfatlanta Solidarity with the Palestinian General Strike across historic Palestine – https://mondoweiss.net/2021/05/solidarity-with-the-palestinian-general-strike-across-historic-palestine/ U.S. Labor must stand with Palestine! – https://mondoweiss.net/2021/05/u-s-labor-must-stand-with-palestine/ - - - SUBSCRIBE TO ONE OF OUR FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTERS: Daily Headlines – https://mondoweiss.net/sign-up-for-daily-headlines-delivered-straight-to-your-inbox/ Weekly Briefing – https://mondoweiss.net/weekly-briefing/ The Shift tracks U.S. politics – https://mondoweiss.net/the-shift/ COVID-19 in Palestine – https://mondoweiss.net/2021/05/only-4-of-palestinians-are-fully-vaccinated-as-curfews-lift-in-gaza/ - - - FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook – https://facebook.com/mondoweiss Twitter – https://twitter.com/mondoweiss Instagram – https://instagram.com/mondoweiss YouTube – https://youtube.com/MondoweissVideos

Last Friday, as the holy month of Ramadan came to a close, Israeli forces stormed the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. Mondoweiss’ Palestine correspondent, Yumna Patel reported that: “The height of the violence took place inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, where tens of thousands of Palestinian worshipers had gathered inside the Mosque and the surrounding courtyard for evening prayers on the last Friday of Ramadan. Video footage from the scene shows people in prayer when armed Israeli forces stormed the compound, firing sound bombs, tear gas, and rubber bullets at worshipers.” By Monday, events had escalated. Hamas issued an ultimatum to Israel: withdraw from Al-Aqsa and the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood by 6:00 pm, and release all the Palestinians detained by police during the recent tensions in Jerusalem, or there would be retaliation. Shortly after 6pm, Hamas launched several barrages of rockets from Gaza targeting Jerusalem and other cities farther inside Israeli territory than in past rounds of violence. The Israeli reaction has been brutal. Airstrikes and land-based attacks on Gaza are still ongoing as we record this episode. Well over 100 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israeli attacks, many of them children. High rise apartment and office buildings are being specifically targeted, leaving hundreds people homeless and destroying the offices of many regional and international media outlets. We spoke with Yumna today for a brief update. After that, Phil Weiss talks to Dr. Norman Finkelstein about the recently released Human Rights Watch report that says Israel is guilty of apartheid. This groundbreaking report, as Dr. Finkelstein explains, indicts Israel for its current policies and practices, and for the full history of its efforts to engineer Jewish supremacy in Palestine. - - - 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 - - - SHOW NOTES: Hundreds injured as Israeli forces attack Palestinian worshipers in Jerusalem - https://mondoweiss.net/2021/05/hundreds-injured-as-israeli-forces-attack-palestinian-worshipers-in-jerusalem/ Israel kills 20 Palestinians in Gaza, injures hundreds in Jerusalem as Al-Aqsa tensions flare - https://mondoweiss.net/2021/05/israel-kills-9-palestinians-in-gaza-injures-hundreds-in-jerusalem-as-al-aqsa-tensions-flare/ Dr. Norman Finkelstein - http://normanfinkelstein.com/ Human Rights Watch's report, "A Threshold Crossed: Israeli Authorities and the Crimes of Apartheid and Persecution" - https://www.hrw.org/report/2021/04/27/threshold-crossed/israeli-authorities-and-crimes-apartheid-and-persecution Yumna Patel: Human Rights Watch finds Israel guilty of ‘crimes against humanity of apartheid, persecution’ - https://mondoweiss.net/2021/04/human-rights-watch-finds-israel-guilty-of-crimes-against-humanity-of-apartheid-persecution/ Phil Weiss: Israel cast its fate–‘Apartheid’ –with Nation-State law and dismissal of Palestinian state, says Human Rights Watch - https://mondoweiss.net/2021/05/israel-cast-its-fate-apartheid-with-nation-state-law-and-dismissal-of-palestinian-state-says-human-rights-watch/ - - - SUBSCRIBE TO ONE OF OUR FREE EMAIL NEWSLETTERS: Daily Headlines: https://mondoweiss.net/sign-up-for-daily-headlines-delivered-straight-to-your-inbox/ Weekly Briefing: https://mondoweiss.net/weekly-briefing/ The Shift tracks U.S. politics: https://mondoweiss.net/the-shift/ COVID-19 in Palestine: https://mondoweiss.net/2021/05/only-4-of-palestinians-are-fully-vaccinated-as-curfews-lift-in-gaza/ - - - FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Facebook: https://facebook.com/mondoweiss Twitter: https://twitter.com/mondoweiss Instagram: https://instagram.com/mondoweiss

On university and college campuses across the United States and Canada, student activists are organizing for Palestinian liberation under the banner of Students for Justice in Palestine, or SJP. As the student-led movement has grown dramatically over the last 20 years, so has anti-Palestinian pushback from Zionist groups and their allies. Organizations like Canary Mission, StopAntiSemitism.org, and other similar rightwing groups have focused a lot of their attention on the student activists of SJP. Despite this, the movement on campuses is strong and shows little signs of slowing down. Earlier this year, the National Students for Justice in Palestine organization held its 10th annual conference. In today’s episode Michael Arria speaks with three SJP activists about how the movement has grown over the last 10 years, and where it is headed in the future. Support independent media covering events in Palestine! Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate Connect with us online Website: https://mondoweiss.net Facebook: https://facebook.com/mondoweiss YouTube: https://youtube.com/MondoweissVideos Instagram: https://instagram.com/mondoweiss Twitter: https://twitter.com/mondoweiss