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

On this edition of Parallax Views, Palestinian children's books author Rifk Ebeid, author of Baba What Does My Name Mean?: A Journey to Palestine, You Are the Color, and Birthday Kunafa, joins the show to discuss her books, Palestinian identity and experience, and her animated children's short I Am From Palestine. We'll also discuss how one of her books was censored a Philadelphia library, the need for Palestinians to know their stories and identity, suppression of Palestinian identity, positive and negative feedback she's gotten on her children's books, thoughts on the Gaza protests, centering Palestinian voices, the Nakba ("The Catastrophe" or 1948 Palestinian expulsion) and the Naksa ("The Setback" or the 1967 Palestinian expulsion), Rifk's awareness of her Palestinian identity even going back her early childhood, Ron DiSantis and Republican book banning efforts, the absurdity of being theatened by a children's book, Rif's work in speech language pathology, censorship, and a number of other topics.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Israel has commenced its operation in Rafah. As this was happening I was interviewing Khalil Sayegh, a D.C.-based Palestinian Christian who was born and raised in the Gaza Strip. Khalil is also the co-founder and President of the Agora Initiative, a non-profit that works to promote democracy in the Middle East.
Khalil gives a crash course in the Palestinian perspective on Israle/Palestine in the course of our conversation starting with a discussion of his own background and experiences as a Palestinian who grew up in Gaza. We also end up discussing issues related to how the Palestinian cause, the quest for Palestinian self-determination, can advance forward in these turbulent, uncertain, and grim time of war and bombardment. Among the topics covered are: the need for external pressure to be put on Israel, Israeli obstinance on a two-state solution, Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, Marwan Barghouti, Zionism and anti-Zionism, diplomacy, the Occupation, the West Bank, the shrinking Israeli left, Benjamin Netanyahu, the problem with thinking that a figure succeeding Netanyahu such as Yair Lapid or Benny Gantz will immediately lead to optimal outcomes, the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement, the Nakba and Palestinian displacement, Israeli maximalism, and much, much more!

On this edition of Parallax Views, we've got a trouble feature. First, Jordan Elgrably of the Marza Review and editor of the new volume Stories from the Center of the World: New Middle East Fiction joins the show to discuss Israel and attacks on writers and journalist past and present who forward Palestinian perspectives. We'll also talk about Gaza as a laboratory for laboratory for repressive, surveillance technologies that are then later used in the U.S.; racist depictions of Arabs and Palestinians in U.S. media and the professional Islamophobia industry; social media, the attacks on TikTok, and the way social media has advanced Palestinian perspectives; the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh; and much, much more!

In the second segment of the show, reporter Kevin Gosztola from The Dissenter joins us to discuss his latest article "Israel Could Ban Other Media After Banning Al Jazeera". We discuss the raid of Al Jazeera and the 45-day band being placed on the news organization shortly after World Press Freedom Day.

In the third and final segment of the show, Jonah Raskin, a legendary figure from late 60s/70s left-wing counterculture and activism, speaks with us about his Counterpunch op-ed "Columbia Protests Now and in ‘68". What are the parallels between the days of rage that were the 1960s and 1970s, when FBI COINTELPRO thought to disrupt student activism and the National Guard was sent in to put down protesters in what became known as the Kent State Massacre, and the incredible moment of protest arising on today's college campuses around the issue of Gaza?

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