The Palestine Pod

This week Lara and Michael discuss the egregious case of the Lapid's occupying a stolen Palestinian house and announcing it as a "new beginning" on Instagram. We cover a couple of instances of Germany silencing both Palestinian and anti-Zionist Jewish activists. Lara talks about the so-called "Doomsday settlements" and how over 7 decades of occupation is already a Doomsday scenario: We discuss the anniversary of Algerian independence, talk about the deep bond between Palestinians and Algerians, and recall how Algerian resistance to colonialism lasted for over 100 years. We cover the latest news in the phenomena of Arab Zionists (an Arab Zionist NATO?). We conclude with an update about the Ben & Jerry's fiasco - the company sued its parent company Unilever for circumventing their decision to refrain from selling their products in the occupied West Bank. Michael stays unimpressed with the PR tactics of the company. The duo query the meaning of the word “anomaly.”

This week Lara and Michael are back to break down the latest in Palestine-related news. We start by covering the latest decision of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals which ruled (after some funny business) that BDS is not a protected form of free speech. This decision runs counter to the bevy of other judges across the nation who have found the opposite. The ACLU is poised to take this case to the Supreme Court and let those old gargoyles of jurisprudence weigh in on the matter. We also cover the recent decision by the European Union to resume funding to Palestinian human rights organizations the occupation baselessly accused of terrorism. The EU stated that there was no evidence to support the claim, but that didn't stop them from freezing funds for over a year! Lara covers a motif that appears in various news outlets wherein a story of an Israeli being "lightly wounded" takes the front page over the ongoing genocide of the Palestinian people at the hands of Israelis. We take time to cover the story of Ahmad Manasra, a child who has been tortured by the occupation in their jails since he was 13.  We ridicule Pelosi’s reading a settler-colonial poem in response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade and the PA’s decision to turn over the bullet used to murder Shireen Abu Akleh to the Americans for some reason. Israel is keeping the US out of the loop on covert attacks in Iran and Ukraine takes the occupation to task for failing to provide medical supplies (likely because they are too busy disfiguring Palestinians).

This week Lara and Michael sit down with language teacher, musician, and Jewish anti-zionist activist Nur. A video of Nur being attacked by settlers in Massafer Yatta went viral and she sits down with us to recount the incident. She describes how the settlers threw a rock through her car window injuring her and how the occupation forces followed suit by assaulting her and her friends. The settler who attacked Nur and her friends was not even held for questioning (obviously). We discuss the plight of the people of Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills. Nur tells us that everyone inside ‘48 must go through a mental transformation that allows them to connect with their hearts and not their minds, or nothing will ever change.

This week Lara and Michael sat down with the CEO of Zaytoun Publicity, 2x Award-winning Palestinian storyteller, and TEDx speaker, Jenan Matari. We talk about how she found her voice as a Palestinian woman and developed the courage to speak out for Palestinian liberation. Jenan asserts the importance of Palestinians in exile in the collective liberation of Palestine. We cover how she was forced to leave the corporate world and how that incident helped her take control of her own destiny. Jenan takes us through her family history dating back to the early 1300s when one of her ancestors. a Sufi sheik opened up a center in Al Quds/Jerusalem that was frequented by Muslims from all over the world. Jenan tells us the inspiration for starting Zaytoun Publicity was to center BIPOC entrepreneurs, actors, directors, and other creatives that don't get the media coverage or publicity they deserve. Zaytoun Publicity seeks to bridge that gap. Michael cracks jokes the whole episode like it's an involuntary tic.

This week Lara and Michael sat down with award-winning journalist for Al Jazeera, Jamal Elshayyal. We cover the occupation's continued attack on the press in the wake of the execution of Shireen Abu Akleh. The occupation once again killed another Palestinian female journalist, Ghufran Harun Warasneh, and attacked her funeral procession (but you probably haven’t heard about this because she doesn’t hold an American passport). Lara talks about how terrifying it is that the occupation is doubling down and murdering more journalists. Jamal provides us the context that it might be that they are acting out most because they are near the end of their tether. Jamal relives his experience aboard the Mavi Mamara in 2010, the humanitarian flotilla headed towards Gaza that was shot at in international waters by the occupation commandos who then boarded the ship and took everyone hostage. Jamal's was the last signal broadcasting before the Israelis cut power. Michael queries Jamal about the insides of Gaddafi's intelligence compound where Jamal discovered some wild stuff in the wake of the Libyan revolution.

This week Lara and Michael sit down with our first repeat guest, Adnan Barq. Adnan is a journalist and documentary filmmaker based in Jerusalem, Palestine. We discuss the things he saw at the funeral for Shireen Abu Akleh, and how it was the largest funeral procession in Palestinian history starting all the way from Jenin and breaking the occupation barriers by ending up in Jerusalem. We talk about how the people of Palestine are united but disheartened by the media coverage which obfuscates Palestinian life even after death. We also considerwhat it's like to choose the camera when the oppressor uses a gun. Adnan coins the term Karenizer and you heard it here first folks.

This week Lara and Michael sit down with famed Palestinian human rights lawyer, scholar, and professor of law, Dr. Noura Erakat. We discuss how international law was shaped by colonial powers in order to facilitate imperial expansion and how international law in practice has favored the settler-colonial project far more than Palestinians. We chat about a time when Palestinians used "guerilla diplomacy" to their advantage to champion the cause of Palestinian liberation. Dr. Erakat tells us that there is no silver bullet for what will bring down the occupation, but we all ought to be kinder to each other in our various pursuits whether our strategy is armed resistance, legal, political, or cultural. She posits that it is the combination of all these things will provide Palestinians the ability to claim freedom one day.

This week Lara and Michael cover the heinous assassination by the Israeli occupation of the beloved Palestinian journalist for Al Jazeera, Shireen Abu Akleh. Lara and Michael discuss the audacity of murdering Shireen in broad daylight while still trying to gaslight people into believing something else happened. We note how Israel murdering journalists is actually par for the course, having murdered over 45 journalists since 2000. Lara and Michael cover Shireen's funeral procession which was attacked by Zionist occupation thugs while the world watched and the persistence of the Palestinian spirit to fend off the occupation army and honor Shireen in the streets of Palestine. Lara points out how Abbas is always late the to the party, and Michael honors the memory of Shireen as well as her body of work which lives on through every person she inspired.

This week Lara and Michael discuss the decision of the Israeli Supreme Court to ethnically cleanse 2400 Palestinians from their homes in the south Hebron hills in the region of Masafer Yatta. The IOF designated land that Palestinians have lived on for many generations as a “firing zone,” as a means to confiscate the land and confiscate Palestinians from their homes. This move comes on the heels of news that the occupation approved thousands of illegal settlements on Palestinian land for Jewish settlers only. Lara and Michael cover the continued effort by settlers to break into the Al Aqsa compound. Lara and Michael talk about the Apartheid State’s pathetic attempt to dress up the apartheid wall. Michael comments on cases where Israeli police are pressured to drop murder cases where Jewish Israelis are the suspects and Palestinians are the victims and concludes by commenting on the recent news that the ADL has declared war on anti-zionists and leftist groups.

This week Lara and Michael sit down with actor, musician, and strong Palestinian ally Michael Malarkey. We talk about how Michael Malarkey came to his understanding of the situation in Palestine, what motivated him to speak out in support of Palestinians, and we do a deep dive into Michael's family history where we learn his grandfather was born in Nazareth. Malarkey's research into Palestine sent him down a rabbit hole of US imperialism, and the global domination of capitalist interests. We discuss using social media as a tool to educate people and the material consequences of being so outspoken in support of Palestine. Michael Malarkey talks about the importance of siding with your own humanity over a collective or individual identity. We cover the ways in which history has been whitewashed in Palestine and connect that to the ongoing debate about Critical Race Theory in the United States. Finally, we wrap up by discussing Michael Malarkey's upcoming music and film projects and how he hopes to make more art with Palestinian filmmakers and musicians.