Rania Khalek Dispatches

It’s springtime for fascists in Israel as the secular war criminals are being replaced by an alliance of the far-right, with religious extremists and organizers of racist mob violence. The head of America’s Union for Reform Judaism called the appointment of Itamar Ben Gvir as public security minister akin to “appointing David Duke, one of the heads of the KKK, as attorney general.” To discuss this and more, Rania Khalek was joined by Ali Abunimah, director of The Electronic Intifada and author of “The Battle for Justice In Palestine.”Follow Ali on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AliAbunimah?s=20&t=ioocS-46SPCvVtScMCkY1Q Follow The Electronic Intifada on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/electronicintifada 

The US-dominated unipolar world has rapidly eroded, and the recent victory of Lula in Brazil provided a new lift for those struggling against imperialism in the Global South. Are imperialist powers less able to impose themselves on the Global South with past tools of invasion, coups, assassinations? To discuss the past and present tools used by the United States against popular movements and revolutionary struggles seeking self determination, Rania Khalek was joined by Vincent Bevins, author of the Jakarta Method and a journalist who has worked in Asia and Latin America.Listen to every episode of Rania Khalek Dispatches anywhere you get podcasts.Apple: https://apple.co/3zeYpeW Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3za9DRK

BT’s Rania Khalek sat down with Palestinian icon and revolutionary Leila Khaled in Beirut, Lebanon to discuss her life and participation in the Palestinian struggle for liberation.

The US and Europe have tried to make Africa a battleground in their Cold War against Russia and China. They‘ve even labeled Africa as NATO’s “Southern Neighborhood” and are using AFRICOM as a mechanism to control the continent under the guise of protecting it from malign Chinese and Russian influence.What does this mean for sovereignty and independence across Africa and how are African countries pushing back?  To help break it all down Rania Khalek was joined by Mikaela Nhondo Erskog, a researcher at the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research and a member of No Cold War and the Dongsheng News Collective.Article discussed in the episode: Africa Does Not Want to Be a Breeding Ground for the New Cold Warhttps://thetricontinental.org/newsletterissue/africa-new-cold-war/ Listen to every episode of Rania Khalek Dispatches anywhere you get podcasts.Apple: https://apple.co/3zeYpeW Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3za9DRK

Iran’s protests have been more enduring than previous waves. Some call it a CIA-backed color revolution while others say it is a popular movement. There have been significant incidents of armed violence. And there is no doubt that Iran’s enemies will take advantage of any sign of weakness as they do in all countries deemed rogue. To better understand what's going on and what we can expect, Rania Khalek was joined by Mohammad Marandi, professor of english literature and orientalism at the University of Tehran.Listen to every episode of Rania Khalek Dispatches anywhere you get podcasts.Apple: https://apple.co/3zeYpeW Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3za9DRK

Rania Khalek is joined by UN Special Rapporteur Prof. Alena Douhan who returned from a 12-day visit to Syria where she assessed the negative impact of sanctions across the country. Upon her return, she called for the sanctions, which she deems illegal and a violation of human rights, to be lifted immediately. Prof. Douhan holds the UN position of Special Rapporteur on the Negative Impact of Unilateral Coercive Measures on Human Rights. Read her statement here: https://www.ohchr.org/en/node/104160

The US is trying to reshape NATO into an anti-China alliance while demanding that the EU join in. So far the US has been somewhat immunized from the consequences of cutting economic ties with Russia. For Europe though, the outcome of sanctions has been much more dire as winter approaches.  A decoupling from China would be even more devastating to Europeans, as indicated in the recent meetings with Macron and Scholz. Is the EU really willing to commit economic suicide for the US as it’s already doing with its Ukraine policy?To discuss this and more, Rania Khalek was joined by Arnaud Bertrand, a commentator on economics and geopolitics based in Shanghai. Listen to every episode of Rania Khalek Dispatches anywhere you get podcasts.Apple: https://apple.co/3zeYpeW Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3za9DRK

The crisis of Western capitalism has led to the election of an ultra-right party in Sweden, with historical connection to the Nazi movement. The drive for escalation with Russia prompted Finland and Sweden to join NATO, placing themselves on the frontlines of a war in which they have nothing to gain. While it may appear that NATO is all about countering Russia, the U.S. is in the process of reconfiguring it into an anti-China military alliance, which would cause even more economic devastation to the EU. To discuss this and more, Rania Khalek was joined by writer and journalist Lily Lynch. Lily’s articles discussed in this episode:Sweden’s Pariahs https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/293 Looking East https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/287 Useful Spectres https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/280 Joining the West https://newleftreview.org/sidecar/posts/joining-the-west?pc=1442 

How did 9/11 change the direction of the US left? What about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the election of Obama and then Trump, the Arab Spring, Russiagate and now the war in Ukraine? How has the new Cold War against Russia and China created new lines of differentiation and what is the path forward?Brian Becker, host of The Socialist Program, joined Rania Khalek to talk about this and more in part 2 of their discussion about the US left. You can watch Part 1 here: https://youtu.be/Hf-lS_ljOdc Check out Socialist Reconstruction, the recently published book Brian contributed to: https://1804books.com/products/socialist-reconstruction-a-better-future Listen to every episode of Rania Khalek Dispatches anywhere you get podcasts.Apple: https://apple.co/3zeYpeW Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3za9DRK

Katie Halper joins Rania Khalek to talk about the aftermath of her getting fired from The Hill for criticizing Israeli apartheid as well as the ongoing cynical weaponization of anti-Semitism to discredit advocacy for Palestinian human rights. The segment that got Katie fired from The Hill: https://youtu.be/_3xLOxx1ggQListen to every episode of Rania Khalek Dispatches anywhere you get podcasts.Apple: https://apple.co/3zeYpeW Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3za9DRK