Arab Talk with Jess & Jamal

Human rights attorney Diana Buttu discusses the death of Nizar Banat, a prominent critic of the Palestinian Authority (PA), while in the custody of PA security forces last week. She also talks about the PA’s crackdown on dissent. Jess & Jamal talk about the continued ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Jerusalem by the Israeli Occupation. They also discuss the broken promise by the Biden Administration to reopen the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem.

Dr. As’ad Abukhalil discusses despotic Arab regimes and their history of normalization with Israel. He also talks about Biden’s foreign policy in the Middle East. Jess and Jamal discuss the death of Palestinian activist Nizar Banat. Banat is a well-known critic of the Palestinian Authority’s leadership. His family alleges that he died after he was badly beaten by PA security forces.

Israeli Jewish activist Ronnie Barkan explains why Israel’s new government will bring no major changes to Israeli policy. The new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is on record as advocating the murder of Palestinians taken prisoner, “I’ve killed lots of Arabs in my life and there’s no problem with that,” he said. Jess and Jamal discuss US double standards when it comes to advocating for Palestinian human rights. They also talk about Egypt’s role in securing the May 21 cease-fire that brought a halt to Israeli bombing of Gaza.

Jillian C. York, Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EFF) Director for International Freedom of Expression, discusses the rights group’s campaign: “Tell Facebook: Stop Silencing Palestine” https://stopsilencingpalestine.com/ Zeina Ashrawi Hutchison, a Palestinian-American activist and DNC delegate from Virginia, discusses why more than 500 Palestinian Americans opposed meeting with Secretary of State Blinken. https://bit.ly/3gggxOV

Journalist Max Blumenthal accuses the Israel Lobby of deceptively editing videos and making up dubious allegations, manufacturing an anti-semitism epidemic to turn the media’s gaze away from dead children in Gaza. Jess and Jamal take a look at who will potentially replace Benjamin Netanyahu in the Israeli government. They also discuss the continued ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan.

Jess & Jamal discuss the Irish Parliament’s motion condemning the “de facto annexation” of Palestinian land by Israel. They also talk about the recent denunciation of the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian by Benjamin Netanyahu for saying the word Apartheid. Arabic Violin Virtuoso Georges Lamman and renowned Latino Guitarist Gabriel Navia talk about their musical collaboration and perform a gift to Palestine.

Journalist Abby Martin discusses the recent Israeli atrocities in Gaza and Jerusalem. She also talks about the US media’s bias towards the Israeli narrative. Her documentary, “Gaza Fights for Freedom,” is now available on YouTube. Jess and Jamal discuss American attempts at resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict while the US ignores Apartheid and human rights violations by Israel.

More than 100 Palestinians, including 18 children have been killed in Gaza due to Israeli airstrikes & bombardment, while Jewish mobs attacked Palestinian families and businesses in Haifa, Jaffa and other towns. Both White House and US State Dept. spokespeople avoided reporters’ questions about whether US President Joe Biden believes Palestinians have a right to self-defense. Discussing this and more, Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi, Director of AMED Studies at SFSU.

Israeli-American activist and author Miko Peled says that only through boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) imposed on Israel can the international community force an end to Israeli Apartheid and ethnic cleansing practices. Jess and Jamal discuss the ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem, as Israeli Colonial Settlers push to evict Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

Human rights attorney Diana Buttu praises Human Rights Watch’s report on Israel and says that Palestinians have experienced Apartheid under Israeli rule for decades. Jess and Jamal discuss whether all the reports and findings about Israeli abuses by Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem and the International Criminal Court will force US politicians to stop giving Israel a pass. Also, will Palestinian elections happen as scheduled?