This Week in Palestine - 22.04.24-29.04.24

With the US elections right around the corner, we take a look at the key implications the result will have on Palestine. From the idea of voting for 'the lesser evil', to the impact on the ongoing genocide in Gaza, as well as the effect on organising for all marginalised communities across the US, we give you a comprehensive background on things to keep in mind if / when voting. Nerdeen Kiswani, an outspoken activist and founder of Within our Lifetime, provides answers to these topics.

To close up our series, we bring forth the key principles that define what is actually needed for liberation, not simply 'peace'. We begin the episode by looking at the key historical details that have brought us to where we are today, before delving into the idea of anti-Zionism, as well as the roles that different components within the movement (such as peaceful and armed resistance) have in our shared path forward. In this episode, we have the honour of welcoming Dr Ramzy Baroud, editor of the Palestine Chronicle, who has written extensively on the topic of liberation as opposed to peace, and gives his insights.

Palestinians who were able to remain in their historical homeland during the Nakba of 1948 represent a small but significant proportion of the Israeli population today. In this episode, we speak with Rami Younis, a Palestinian journalist and TV presenter, and ask a range of questions revolving around life growing up in a society built on the ruins of your own people, as well as the dramatic overtly genocidal shift since October 7th 2023.

Something that often confuses Western audiences about the Palestinian struggle is how some Arab states, who would be expected to support the Palestinians, in actual fact have deep relations with the Israeli state. This, among other issues such as a potential future Israeli-Saudi normalisation deal are the topic of Part 3: Arab Normalisation. In this episode, we bring you the insights of Dr. Imad Harb, director of research and analysis at the Arab Institute in Washington DC.

We are often adamantly told by politicians that the Two State Solution is 'the only solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict'. In this episode, we visualise what they mean when they say this, going through each of the key features of what the Two State Solution really means. Very quickly, we see that the proposal is not only logistically impossible to implement, but also a solution based off a mistaken view of what the Palestinian struggle really represents. The Two State Solution will never be a solution.

The one time Palestinians and Israelis were apparently close to peace was in 1993 at the signing of the Oslo Accords. 30 years on, peace has never looked as unlikely as it does now, which begs the question, what was in these 'peace' agreements and can they really have been as comprehensive as they are often nowadays made out to be? In this episode, we take a look at the context and the specifics of the Oslo Accords themselves, painting a picture to show that their downfall was not only expected, but inevitable.

June was the 9th month of the Israeli onslaught of Gaza, in this episode we briefly summarise the key events. Most notable is the new status quo emerging in Gaza, a status quo intended to exhaust its inhabitants and to cause maximum destruction to civilian infrastructure. Additionally, we saw tensions flare up along the Lebanese border, with all-out war looking increasingly likely unless a ceasefire is reached in the meantime, another topic of discussion in this episode.

Director of the documentary The Truth: Lost at Sea, and survivor of the Freedom Flotilla massacre, Rifat Odeh, takes us through his experience on the boat that attempted to break the siege and deliver much needed humanitarian aid to Gaza. We begin by asking the question why a humanitarian mission was necessary, before developing into the dark scenes that the Israeli military unfolded on the aid workers, as well as diving into the propaganda machine that attempted to save Israel's image. This comes during a crucial time where a new flotilla looks to leave for the same mission to Gaza in 2024. The Documentary, The Truth: Lost at Sea produced by Rifat Odeh: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XXgc6hFKqzI&rco=1

On Orthodox Easter, we take a look at this small but significant part of the Palestinian population. From how external forces have shaped the proportion of religious diversity in the holy land, to the role that Christians play in the fight for liberation, we take you on a quick, but thorough deep dive into who Palestinian Christians really are.

As the international escalation between Iran and Israel begins to die down again for now, in this episode we shift our attention back to the reality on the ground in Gaza from the last week. In this time, we saw the uncovering of mass graves containing over 300 bodies, many of which with evidence of serious human rights abuses such as torture and mutilation. We also shortly turn our attention to the growing demonstrations on US college campuses demanding divestment from companies profiting off the genocide in Gaza.