Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael J.G.

On this edition of Parallax Views, a triple feature on campus protests and the Antisemitism Awareness Act that just passed Congress. First up, Mel Buer, a staff writer for the The Real News, joins us hot off her Democracy Now appearance to discuss her on-the-ground experiences and reporting on the UCLA Gaza protests. Then, Chris Habiby joins the show to discuss the Antisemitism Awareness Act bill that just passed in Congress and other legislation that could muffle Palestinian and Arab voices in America. And, finally, Richard Silverstein of the Tikun Olam blog joins returns to discuss the campus protests and what he refers to as the powerful backlash alliance against them, the ADL's Jonathan Greenblatt, Bill Aickman, Israel-Russia relations and the Russian oligarchs in Israel, his message to liberal Zionists, and much, much more.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Prof. Jodi Dean, who was recently relieved of teaching duties after the publication of her Verso blog post "Palestine speaks for everyone" on April 4th, 2024. In said piece she described the sight of Hamas paragliders breaking through Israel's air defenses to get into Israel as "exhilarating". Although many have condemned her blog post, even a number of commentators who disagree with her, chief among them Sohrab Ahmari of Compact Magazine, have argued that relieving Dean of her academic duties amounts to viewpoint discrimination that goes against standards of academic freedom. This is the basis for the conversation.
This is sure to be one of the most controversial episodes of Parallax Views to date. I encourage my listeners to read Dean's original blog post as well as the piece it was responding to: Judith Butler's October 19th, 2023 London Review of Books essay "The Compass of Mourning". Another piece that I would argue is necessary reading for this episode is Judith Butler's response to Jodi Dean that is also at Verso's blog entitled "There Can Be No Critique".
My primary reason for reaching out to Prof. Dean was in regard to academic freedom and the issue of viewpoint discrimination. If speech has ideational content, it should be debated freely in the halls of academia no matter how much we may disagree with said content. Since October 7th, I have strived to be sensitive when discussing anything related to Israel/Palestine especially as someone who has friend in both Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It is my hope that listeners will engage with me in respectful dialogue and critique of this episode but also my episodes in general. Your feedback is welcome.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Middle East scholar Prof. James M. Dorsey of The Turbulent World w/ James M. Dorsey Substack blog returns for another update on the situation of Israel/Palestine and the broader Middle East. This hour and a half conversation delves into many different areas including:
- The Gaza War
- Violence in the West Bank
- The past month of tensions between Iran and Israel starting with Israel's attack on an Iranian consulate compound and Iran's strike in response; the Biden administration's response to the Iran attack; the 7-year-old Bedouin girl injured in the Iranian strike
- The U.S. foreign policy establishment and Iran hawks
- The Gaza protests at Columbia University and other campuses around the U.S.
- Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his policy on Palestine, and related matters related to Bibi
- Will the situation of Gazans really fundamentally change in a post-Netanyahu Israel?
- Khan Younis mass graves allegations
- UNRWA situation and Israel's information war (which Dorsey argues Israel is losing)
- The different flavors of both Zionism and anti-Zionism; militant anti-Zionism vs. conciliatory anti-Zionism
- The genocide discourse, legal definition of genocide, and war crimes/human rights violations
- Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Hamas, and the Arab street
- Nancy Pelosi's conspiracy theory about Gaza protests being tinged by the influence of foreign powers
- Personal anecdote from James about an experience he had involving Zbigniew Brzezinski and Iran
- Extreme rhetoric within Israel, especially amongst elements in Israel's army and amongst religious leaders; Rabbi Mali's comments suggesting the Israel kill Palestinian women to prevent the births of future Palestinian boys
- And much, much more

On this edition of Parallax Views, the University of Maryland's Prof. Shay Hazkani, a former Israeli journalist turned historian, joins the show to discuss the major themes of his book Dear Palestine: A Social History of the 1948 War and documentary The Soldier's Opinion in light of the Gaza War, settler violence in the West Bank, and the October 7th Hamas attack. Prof. Hazkani provides a fresh, illuminating perspective on the 1948 Arab-Israeli War that contributes a great deal to discussion of Israel/Palestine. Specifically, he takes the approach of looking at how non-elites, especially soldiers, viewed/perceived the war compared to elites on both the Israeli and Arab sides of the conflict. We'll delve deep into this as well as Prof. Hazkani's battles with the Israeli Supreme Court over the fight to declassify documents in Israel's archives; how Prof. Hazkani's work overlaps with that of the Israeli New Historians like Benny Morris, Avi Shlaim, and Ilan Pappe (as well as how it differs from those works); propaganda and the mythologies of war (and how said propaganda and myths are generated); some of the myths that Prof. Hazkoni specifically busts in the book; the damage books like Joan Peters' From Time Immemorial have caused to properly understanding Israel/Palestine; the Arab Liberation Army; how then-recent American Jewish immigrants perceived events unfolding at the time compared to Jews who had immigrated prior; and much, much more. And yes, we will discuss all of this within the context of the current Gaza War and violence in the West Bank. Prof. Hazkoni will delve into his fears about what is transpiring currently, especially with regards to messianic right-wing elements in Israeli society like the Religious Zionists, as well as how the parallels between 1948 and today. All that and more on this must-listen edition of Parallax Views!

On this edition of Parallax Views, Project Censored's Mickey Huff joins us to discuss Project Censored's State of the Free Press 2024, the media watchdog group's annual round-up of the most censored news stories in the United States. However, rather than just a straight rundown of this year's annual Project Censored offering, Mickey and I use this conversation to take the opportunity to discuss the recent controversy over the Columbia University pro-Palestinian Gaza protests, John Fetterman's comparing those protests to the Charlottesville "Unit the Right" rally, and Senator Tom Cotton calling for vigilante violence against protesters. With calls for the National Guard to be brought to Columbia University to put an end to the protests, Mickey and I reflect on the Kent State Massacre of 1970, the anniversary of which will be on May 4th.
Additionally we'll discuss:
- Mainstream media coverage of the Gaza war as well as the leaked New York Times memo telling journalists to avoid words and phrases like "genocide", "ethnic cleansing", and "occupied territories" when covering Israel/Palestine-related issues.
- The importance of the right to protest to a functioning democracy
- The lack of trust in corporate media and the worrying state of journalism today
- Remembering Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg
- Project Censored's coverage of PFAS or toxic "forever chemicals" and why this environmental story needs more coverage
- And much, much more
 
EDIT - NOTE: I used the term "outside agitators" at some point in the conversation when I was thinking more about isolated bad apples and agent provocateurs. Misuse of words on my part.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Sean Tomilson, a PhD candidate in Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona, a graduate of West Point, and a U.S. Army veteran, joins the show to discuss his March 2024 Responsible Statecraft piece entitled "What the French evisceration of Algeria has to do with Gaza today". We'll discuss the "Philippeville massacre" of 1955 and the reaction to it during the Algerian War of Independence and its parallels with the October 7th Hamas attack and Israel's response to it. Sean argues that the military logic of "total victory" may not be achievable for Israel in Gaza and that there's many lessons to be gleaned from the French experience in Algeria in this regard. We'll also look at the systemic roots of both conflicts and the errors made strategically by France in regards to Algeria. What can this tell us about the Israel-Palestine conflict and how Israel has waged its military operations in Gaza since October 7th? Also, where does the logic of total victory lead and how can the brutal civilian causalities inflicted actually inflame future conflict? All that and more on this edition of Parllax Views.