The East is a Podcast

Concrete Imaginings: Building a Liberated Palestine An In-Person and Livestreamed ConferenceWednesday, February 28, 2024   Panel 1 Introductory Remarks by Professor Frances Hasso (@nasawiyya)   “The Urgency of Anti-Imperial Feminism: Lessons from Palestine” Walaa Alqaisiya, Ca' Foscari University of Venice (via Zoom) (08:30-38:30) This talk maps the epistemic, political, and moral grounds informing the urgency of anti-imperial feminism that Palestine brings into sight. Combining decolonial and Third-Worldist Marxist theoretical approaches, the first part of the talk unpacks the functionality of gender to the onto-epistemic foundations of Zionist settler colonialism under US-led imperialism. The second part discusses how the centering of the Palestinian national question redefines the moral and political parameters of feminist and queer mobilisation. In doing so, the last part shows the limitations and tensions that post-structural feminist and queer approaches carry, when dealing with the question of liberation, violence, and development in global South contexts, such as Palestine. (25 minutes)   “Christian Zionism, Displacement, and the Role of Travel” Jennifer Kelly, University of California, Santa Cruz (via Zoom)(~39:00-1:03:00) A central tenet of Falwell’s Moral Majority, founded in 1979, was unequivocal support for Israel and, by 1983, he began his first of many “Friendship Tours to Israel,” which included meetings with government officials and tours of Israeli military installations. Today, Christian Zionism tours follow this template, pairing pilgrimage with celebrations of Israel’s sustained displacement of Palestinians. At the center of displacement in Jerusalem, for example, is a biblical theme park—run by settlers—planned for Silwan that comprises a cable car, a seven-story Jewish cultural center on Wadi Hilweh land, and shopping centers and homes for settlers. And, during this current genocidal war on Gaza, Christian Zionists across the U.S. are once again eagerly seeing Israel’s destruction of Gaza as a sign of end times and calling for unchecked Israeli control over all of Palestine. In this paper, I show not only how tourism is never a thing apart from colonial state violence, but also how tourism is part of the fabric of a U.S. Christian Zionism that both enables and facilitates Palestinian displacement. (25 minutes)   Art credit:  "Untitled 2022" by Heba Zaqout, artist and fine arts teacher, martyred 13 October 2023 with two of her children in Gaza.

*This is a preview of the latest bonus episode. Sign up for $5 a month to access the entire conversation and help keep the show going or watch the full episode on our YouTube channel*   Trying out a new live format and was joined by friends of the show Alex Aviña (@Alexander_Avina) and Louis Allday (@Louis_Allday) for an angry deep dive into some of the terrible articles written on the Gaza genocide. Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQH3uMQU3mk&ab_channel=TheEastisaPodcast Some of the "articles" we discussed https://damagemag.com/2024/03/05/seven-realities-of-israel-palestine/ https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v45/n21/adam-shatz/vengeful-pathologies

Paris Yeros (@parisyeros) teaches at the Federal University of ABC in Brazil.  Guest host and friend of the show Bikrum Gil (@bikrumsinghgill) discuss Paris' latest article published in Agrarian South, "A Polycentric World Will Only Be Possible by the Intervention of the ‘Sixth Great Power" Read the article here https://www.agrariansouth.org/2023/12/16/a-polycentric-world-will-only-be-possible-by-the-intervention-of-the-sixth-great-power/   Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast Check out the Anti-Imperialist Archive https://feeds.libsyn.com/437079/rss

Tankie therapy session as we watch the newest atrocities unfolding at al-Shifa, make historical parallels with the Argentine Dirty War and the 1857 War in India, the Battle of Algiers and the film Downfall... with Nora (@norabf), Matteo (@capassomat) , Mikey (@karaokecomputer), Sina (@UrOrientalist), and Alex (@Alexander_Avina).   Watch the video edition on The Anti-Empire Project YouTube channel   Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast    

Political commentator Vijay Prasad and activist Frances Hasso discuss Palestine's ties to the Global South, escalating violence in Gaza, historical context, international solidarity, call for political restart, redefining global institutions, navigating state power, advocating for UN reform, and global accountability for conflict involvement.

Ottawa-based Physician Dr. Yipeng Ge (@yipengGe) reflects on being attacked by the Zionist lobby for speaking out on the Gaza genocide and his subsequent trip to Rafah as part of a medical delegation. Watch the episode on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel   Support www.patreon.com/east_podcast

The podcast delves into emotional struggles in conflict zones and media manipulation of atrocities. They explore global reactions to conflicts, exposing manufactured consent in warfare and Gaza's humanitarian crisis. The conversation reflects on colonial narratives in New Zealand and Palestine, emphasizing the importance of hope in resistance.

Abdaljawad Omar is a PhD student and part-time lecturer in the Philosophy and Cultural Studies Department at Birzeit University. Watch the video edition on The East is a Podcast YouTube channel https://youtu.be/tDkaO2lmD4o  Check out his articles on Mondoweiss https://mondoweiss.net/author/abdaljawad-omar/ Listen to his episodes on Millenials are Killing Capitalism https://millennialsarekillingcapitalism.libsyn.com/turning-grief-into-defiance-abdaljawad-omar-on-resistance-possibility-in-palestine  Interview with Louis Allday https://www.ebb-magazine.com/essays/an-unyielding-will-to-continue     Consider supporting the show www.patreon.com/east_podcast

Duke Professor Frances Hasso (@nasawiyya) interviews visual artist and filmmaker Jumana Manna for the third episode of her Palestine Seminar.   https://www.jumanamanna.com/ Professor Hasso will be convening a conference titled, "Concrete Imaginings: Building a Liberated Palestine" on Feb 28th, 2024.  It will be livestreamed and open access.  Live stream link https://duke.zoom.us/j/93556167414 Detailed schedule available here https://tickets.duke.edu/Online/default.asp?BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::permalink=concreteimaginings&BOparam::WScontent::loadArticle::context_id= From the syllabus: "My initial goal was to give a platform to Palestinian artists and intellectuals working in Palestine but with limited opportunities to work or share their work outside of a permanent crisis mode produced by the myriad forms of violence attached to Israeli colonization. This violence regularly reaches university campuses and touches every dimension of life. The syllabus is idiosyncratic in the sense that it represents my intellectual and pedagogical interests for this seminar. I encourage people to use it as an educational resource and to take parts for their own teaching." Download syllabus https://franceshasso.files.wordpress.com/2024/02/the-palestine-seminar-sp-2024-syllabus.pdf

Exploring the complexities of the Palestine question in a global context, historical significance of Palestinian insurgency, Iran's impact on national liberation movements, and China's role in aiding Iran's support for Palestine.