Arab Talk with Jess & Jamal

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?

After Zoom and Facebook succumbed to Israeli Lobby pressure and deleted their event “Whose narrative? What Free Speech for Palestine?”, Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi, Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas (AMED) Studies at SFSU, and Dr. Sean Malloy, Dept. of History at UC Merced join the show. Jess and Jamal discuss how attacks by Israeli Settlers on Palestinians in Jerusalem and Hebron receive hardly any coverage in US media, but an errant missile fired from Syria into Israel becomes headline news. They also talk about how former police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty on all counts for the murder of George Floyd, yet far right-media outlets cast doubt and characterize the verdict as not impartial.

Dr. Hatem Bazian talks about what Muslims can do to help one another and communities in need during Ramadan with COVID still devastating many people. He also discusses the raging Islamophobia in Europe and the United States. Jess and Jamal discuss the recent attacks by the powerful Israeli lobby AIPAC targeting Rep. Betty McCollum (D) for introducing multiple pieces of legislation that would bar Israel from using US military aid to arrest Palestinian youth. They also talk about the recent killing of 20-year-old Daunte Wright by former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter.