The Anti-Imperialist Archive

In July 1983, fighting broke out in Lebanon between pro- and anti-Arafat forces. The Amal militia and anti-Arafat factions besieged the Palestinian camps in Beirut and southern Lebanon in an on-and-off onslaught that would last three years and become known as the Camps War. Al Jazeera looks at the events leading to the intifada and Arafat's formal declaration of the Palestinian state in 1988. In the last episode of this six-part series, Al Jazeera looks at the PLO's peace negotiations and the events that led to the second intifada, the PLO's decline and Arafat's death. As always, edited by Ian Anderson (@starsalwayslost), with special thanks / credit to Sina Rahmani + The East is a Podcast. Robin Brickner is our social media coordinator. Our Twitter presence is @AntiImpArchive, and if you would like to reach out directly we have an email address at: antiimperialistarchive@gmail.com We have AIA business cards with QR codes - please email or DM us to have one mailed to you

Masters of their own Destiny is the first episode in Al Jazeera's six-part series on the history of the Palestine Liberation Organisation. It looks at the challenges encountered as Palestinians sought to wrest control of their own destiny from Arab regimes and create an independent Palestinian organisation that would lead the struggle for a national home. In the second episode of this six-part series, Al Jazeera looks at the events that led to the PLO's expulsion from Jordan and the birth of the Black September Organisation. In the third episode of this six-part series, Al Jazeera looks at the Lebanese civil war and the events that led to the PLO being driven out of Beirut after more than 10 years in Lebanon. As always, edited by Ian Anderson (@starsalwayslost), with special thanks / credit to Sina Rahmani + The East is a Podcast. Robin Brickner is our social media coordinator. Our Twitter presence is @AntiImpArchive, and if you would like to reach out directly we have an email address at: antiimperialistarchive@gmail.com We have AIA business cards with QR codes - please email or DM us to have one mailed to you

AnsarAllah’s Resistance to the Business of Empire A webinar with Dr. Isa Blumi Who are AnsarAllah (“the Houthis”)? Why are they fighting so hard against the Saudi regime’s military onslaught – and why should Americans care deeply about it? Here at last is a presentation that puts Yemen’s devastation in a global, historical context. Dr. Blumi’s talk unveils the transnational origins of the war, placing it in the context of Yemen’s relationship with major powers since the Cold War. He tells an even larger story of Yemen’s place in today’s political economy of global capitalism, development, and the war on terror as disparate actors intersect in Arabia. Isa Blumi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Asian, Middle Eastern, and Turkish Studies at Stockholm University. Author of seven books and dozens of articles, his work spans the larger Islamic world with special interest in comparing transformations in the Balkans and Arabia from the 19th century to the present day. He has written two books dedicated to explaining the violence in contemporary Yemen, the first being Chaos in Yemen (2010) and more recently, Destroying Yemen (University of California Press, 2018), which puts Yemen’s devastation since an invasion of the country by a coalition in 2015 in a global, historical perspective. Sponsored by the (Anti-)Raytheon Antiwar Campaign and Massachusetts Peace Action on August 20, 2020 As always, edited by Ian Anderson (@starsalwayslost), with special thanks / credit to Sina Rahmani + The East is a Podcast. Robin Brickner is our social media coordinator. Our Twitter presence is @AntiImpArchive, and if you would like to reach out directly we have an email address at: antiimperialistarchive@gmail.com We have AIA business cards with QR codes - please email or DM us to have one mailed to you

Sayegh believes Arab-Israeli differences are based on profound grievances. Unless these grievances are remedied, he argues, one party will have to capitulate and the other dominate, leading to continuous confrontation and conflict. He questions if it is proper for Israelis to persecute Arabs in return for the world persecuting Jews, arguing Israel exists because of Europe's guilty conscious. He calls for peace based on justice. Sayegh's book Zionist Colonialism can be read here Sayegh presents his critique of the United States policy in the Middle East, which he states is based on a U.S. failure to recognize that intervention in the region created a situation of injustice that cannot be ignored. Sayegh focuses on Palestine, Israel, and the Soviet Union entry into the region. He believes the ongoing occupation of Arab territory by Israel is enabled by the U.S., noting that the U.S. voted against the United Nations General Assembly resolution that recognized the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination. Sayegh sees a double standard in the U.S. view that states have rights over people in the Middle East, while the U.S. is founded on the concept that individuals have primacy over states. As always, edited by Ian Anderson (@starsalwayslost), with special thanks / credit to Sina Rahmani + The East is a Podcast. Robin Brickner is our social media coordinator. Our Twitter presence is @AntiImpArchive, and if you would like to reach out directly we have an email address at: antiimperialistarchive@gmail.com We have AIA business cards with QR codes - please email or DM us to have one mailed to you

"Arabs have lived in the land of Palestine for more than 1,300 years, establishing a unique culture there. They respect and have sympathy for Jews and other refugees of the war, but do not appreciate the aggressive activities the Zionists have engaged in to seize power in the land." Date: April 11, 1947 Speaker: Dejany, Abuney W. As always, edited by Ian Anderson (@starsalwayslost), with special thanks / credit to Sina Rahmani + The East is a Podcast. Robin Brickner is our social media coordinator. Our Twitter presence is @AntiImpArchive, and if you would like to reach out directly we have an email address at: antiimperialistarchive@gmail.com We have AIA business cards with QR codes - please email or DM us to have one mailed to you

Between 2006 and 2011, a high-stakes negotiated prisoner exchange took place between Israel and Hamas, the group that governs the Gaza Strip. During that time, the two sides did not have any direct contact, so mediators from Egypt, Germany and Ireland were involved. At stake were the terms of exchange between one captured Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, and a large number of Palestinian prisoners. This film goes behind the scenes of that remarkable five-year operation. Al Jazeera Arabic reporter Tamer Almisshal and his team secured access to those at the centre of the complex negotiations, including a rare interview with senior Hamas leader Marwan Issa as well as former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. It is a story of deadlines, brinksmanship, intelligence and ultimately of deal-making: in exchange for the release of Shalit, Israel released 1,027 Palestinian prisoners. In early 2021, Hamas claimed to hold a further four Israeli prisoners, captured in the 2014 war. While Israel disputed their full claim, it raised the question of whether a new round of prisoner exchange negotiations may be on the cards. A portion of the documentary is in Arabic - if you want to watch the documentary it can be found here: https://youtu.be/y4AwzA8x5sE?si=JQwH5p7mLloAEQxT As always, edited by Ian Anderson (@starsalwayslost), with special thanks / credit to Sina Rahmani + The East is a Podcast. Robin Brickner is our social media coordinator. Our Twitter presence is @AntiImpArchive, and if you would like to reach out directly we have an email address at: antiimperialistarchive@gmail.com We have AIA business cards with QR codes - please email or DM us to have one mailed to you

Professor Samir Amin discuses with Aijaz Ahmad on developments in Egypt over the last one year. Samir Amin details the correlation of forces in Egypt today and identifies the current phase as the beginning of a long period of democratic change with its ups and downs. Professor Samir Amin in conversation with Aijaz Ahmad on the realignment of the reactionary forces -- the US and NATO, the Monarchies in the region, and Israel.   As always, edited by Ian Anderson (@starsalwayslost), with special thanks / credit to Sina Rahmani + The East is a Podcast. Robin Brickner is our social media coordinator. Our Twitter presence is @AntiImpArchive, and if you would like to reach out directly we have an email address at: antiimperialistarchive@gmail.com We have AIA business cards with QR codes - please email or DM us to have one mailed to you

1990 Town Hall Meeting with Nelson Mandela on Palestine, Cuba and other issues. The clip is a collection of extracts from a 1990 town hall meeting, held in New York City and chaired by Ted Koppel of ABC Networks. The meeting formed part of Nelson Mandela's first visit to the USA immediately following his release from prison. As always, edited by Ian Anderson (@starsalwayslost), with special thanks / credit to Sina Rahmani + The East is a Podcast. Robin Brickner is our social media coordinator. Our Twitter presence is @AntiImpArchive, and if you would like to reach out directly we have an email address at: antiimperialistarchive@gmail.com We have AIA business cards with QR codes - please email or DM us to have one mailed to you

Best-selling author, foreign correspondent, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges addressed the Middle East crisis with a talk titled "The Genocide in Gaza" on December 6, 2023 at The Sanctuary for Independent Media in North Troy NY. www.mediasanctuary.org Chris Hedges, the former Middle East Bureau Chief for The New York Times, spent seven years covering the conflict between Israel and Palestine. He is the author of numerous books including the New York Times bestsellers War is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America and Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt, which he co-authored with the cartoonist Joe Sacco. He has taught at Columbia University, New York University, Princeton University and the University of Toronto. He has also taught students in the college degree program offered by Rutgers University in the New Jersey prison system for a decade, the subject of his book Our Class: Trauma and Transformation in an American Prison.   This talk was co-sponsored by Jewish Voice for Peace, Albany Chapter; Muslim Solidarity Committee and Project SALAM; Bethlehem Neighbors for Peace; Palestinian Rights Committee-Upper Hudson Peace Action; RPI Muslim Student Association; UAlbany Muslim Student Association; Women Against War. The presentation was made possible by volunteer labor and thousands of small donations from patrons of The Sanctuary for Independent Media. The Sanctuary for Independent Media is a telecommunications production facility dedicated to community media arts, located in an historic former church at 3361 6th Avenue in North Troy, NY. The Sanctuary hosts screening, production and performance facilities, training in media production and a meeting space for artists, activists and independent media makers of all kinds.    Eleanor Stein, Moderator CREW Branda Miller, Director Troy Pohl, Audio Dave Publow, Pre-production and camera Jill Malouf, Editor and camera Karsen Cowan, Camera Eee Pee, Camera Eleanor Goldsmith, Post-production and web Mark Dunlea, Promotion Jon Flanders, Photography Jillian Hirsch, House manager Ri Sandel , Door Mid-Hudson Security Consultants, Audience services Victor Max Valentine, Inner Sanctum Jonathan Segol, KitchenSanctuary Dick Sleeper, KitchenSanctuary Jeanie Steigler, KitchenSanctuary Steve Pierce, Producer   As always, edited by Ian Anderson (@starsalwayslost), with special thanks / credit to Sina Rahmani + The East is a Podcast. Robin Brickner is our social media coordinator. Our Twitter presence is @AntiImpArchive, and if you would like to reach out directly we have an email address at: antiimperialistarchive@gmail.com We have AIA business cards with QR codes - please email or DM us to have one mailed to you

What have we learned from Edward Said on the Question of Palestine? On the twentieth anniversary of his passing, Francesca Albanese explores Said’s profound legacy by delving into Israel’s settler colonial rule in the occupied Palestinian territory. Through a rigorous examination of international law within the context of global empire, Albanese confronts Israel’s colonial injustice and charts a course of action for legal and humanist resistance. Embracing Said’s work within the legal discipline entails upholding the principles of human rights and dignity, challenging oppressive systems and advocating for justice. Francesca Albanese delivers the lecture alongside respondent Nadia Abu El-Haj. Francesca Albanese is an Affiliate Scholar at the Institute for the Study of International Migration at Georgetown University, and a Senior Advisor on Migration and Forced Displacement for the think tank Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD), where she co-founded the Global Network on the Question of Palestine (GNQP), a coalition of renowned professional and scholars engaged in/on Israel/Palestine. She has published widely on the legal situation in Israel/Palestine; her latest book, Palestinian Refugees in International Law (Oxford University Press, 2020), offers a comprehensive legal analysis of the situation of Palestinian refugees from its origins to modern-day reality. She regularly teaches and lectures on International Law and Forced Displacement in European and Arab universities, and speaks frequently at conferences and public events on the legal situation of Palestine. She worked for a decade as a human rights expert for the United Nations, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Relief and Work Agency for Palestine Refugees. In these capacities, she advised the UN, governments, and civil society across the Middle East, North Africa, and the Asia Pacific, on the enforcement of human rights norms, especially for vulnerable groups including refugees and migrants. She holds a Law Degree (with honors) from the University of Pisa and an LLM in Human Rights from the University of London, SOAS. She is currently completing her PhD in International Refugee Law at Amsterdam University Law Faculty. Nadia Abu El-Haj is Ann Whitney Olin Professor in the Departments of Anthropology at Barnard College and Columbia University, Co-Director of the Center for Palestine Studies at Columbia. Among other publications, she is the author of Facts on the Ground: Archaeological Practice and Territorial Self-Fashioning in Israeli Society (University of Chicago Press, 2001), which won the Albert Hourani Annual Book Award from the Middle East Studies Association in 2002; The Genealogical Science: The Search for Jewish Origins and the Politics of Epistemology (University of Chicago Press, 2012); and, most recently, Combat Trauma: Imaginaries of War and Citizenship in Post-9/11 America (Verso, 2022). The annual Edward W Said London Lecture series is supported by The Mosaic Rooms/AM Qattan Foundation and the London Review of Books. Find out more about the series and previous speakers here: mosaicrooms.org/edward-w-said-london-lecture/ As always, edited by Ian Anderson (@starsalwayslost), with special thanks / credit to Sina Rahmani + The East is a Podcast. Robin Brickner is our social media coordinator. Our Twitter presence is @AntiImpArchive, and if you would like to reach out directly we have an email address at: antiimperialistarchive@gmail.com We have AIA business cards with QR codes - please email or DM us to have one mailed to you