Arab Talk With Jess & Jamal

Political analyst and lawyer Diana Buttu discusses Palestinian reaction to Israel hosting foreign ministers of four Arab nations at Kibbutz Sde Boker in the Naqab (Negev) desert. Jess & Jamal talk about the recent developments in Ukraine and reports of war crimes committed.

Jess & Jamal discuss the timing of Israel’s meeting with top diplomats from four Arab countries (Bahrain, UAE, Egypt, and Morocco) and the United States. Was this just another photo op, or are Arabs helping Israel whitewash its Apartheid? Faisal Saleh, founder of the Palestine Museum in Woodbridge, CT talks about the museum’s latest exhibition in Venice, Italy: “From Palestine with Art,” which will be presented at the 59th International Art Exhibition- La Biennale di Venezia starting April 2, 2022. For more information: https://www.palestinemuseum.us/biennale-press-release

Jess & Jamal discuss Ukrainian President Zelenskiy's recent address to the Israeli Knesset, and AIPAC's endorsement of Republicans who claim that Donald Trump won the 2020 election. Dr. Tomomi Kinukawa joins Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi to discuss their grievances against San Francisco State University's administration.

Journalist and author Amira Hass discusses her recent article in Haaretz, "Israel to Decide for Palestinians Which Foreign Lecturers Can Teach at West Bank Universities," a set of procedures published by the Defense Ministry puts further restrictions on who can enter, work and stay in the West Bank. Jess & Jamal examine why private jets belonging to Russian Oligarchs are coming in and out of Israel in recent days. Link for article: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-to-decide-which-foreigners-can-teach-at-west-bank-universities-1.10662018

Dr. Hatem Bazian discusses his article, "Ukraine and Fanon: Racism is “Atmospheric” in Western Discourse," as Western reporters covering Russia’s invasion of Ukraine indulge in well-rehearsed racist tropes. Link to article: https://medium.com/@Prof.hatembazian/ukraine-and-fanon-racism-is-atmospheric-in-western-discourse-be91366f55f6 Jess and Jamal examine why Israel Lobby groups are campaigning to exempt Jewish Oligarchs from sanctions, such as Roman Abramovich, who Forbes in 2005 described as the wealthiest man in Russia.

Social educator and equity program advisor with the Toronto District School Board Javier Davila (Twitter: @XjusticeXpeace) talks about the smear campaign he was subjected to by the Toronto Sun tabloid and B'nai Brith Canada for sharing a resource guide about Palestine. Jess & Jamal discuss the racial media bias exhibited by western reporters in their coverage of the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Jess & Jamal discuss the motives behind a US congressional delegation's trip to Israel, shortly after the release of Amnesty International's report on Apartheid. They also talk about the global fallout out, as a result of a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Journalist and filmmaker Lia Tarachansky discusses settler colonialism in Israel, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem and Amnesty International's report accusing Israel of apartheid. Jess and Jamal examine President Vladimir Putin's endgame, in order to declare victory and withdraw Russian troops and tanks from the border with Ukraine.

Jess & Jamal discuss why leading Israeli politicians have warned for years that their country was sliding into apartheid, yet US lawmakers have been attacking Amnesty International's Apartheid Report. Professors Rabab Abdulhadi and Larry Hanely explain why the administration at San Francisco State University has been trying to dismantle the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas Studies program (AMED.)

Dr. Stavit Sinai, an anti-Apartheid Israeli activist, discusses how international activists were able to shut down UAV Engines in the UK, which is owned by Elbit Systems, one of Israel's largest arms manufacturers and purveyor of war crimes. Jess & Jamal discuss Amnesty's Apartheid Report. Amnesty is expected to join the Human Rights Watch and the Israeli rights group B’Tselem in accusing Israel of the international crime of apartheid.

Jess & Jamal discuss the global impact of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, as Russia denies it is preparing to invade its neighbor, despite stationing around 100,000 Russian troops at various locations along the border, according to Ukrainian and Western officials.

Jess & Jamal discuss the Israeli clampdown on Bedouin protesters in the Naqab (Negev), as they demonstrate against Israel’s “forestation project” which they refer to as a “land-grab” and “creating new facts on the ground.” They also discuss the recent Israeli attacks on Hollywood star Emma Watson after her Palestinian solidarity post.

Photojournalist and author Phil Pasquini discusses Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-CO) Islamophobic remarks calling Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) a member of the “jihad squad” and likening her to a bomb-carrying terrorist. Jess & Jamal discuss “beauty-washing” in Israel as controversy over the Miss Universe pageant heats up.

Palestinian-American civil rights attorney Huwaida Arraf talks about her congressional bid in Michigan’s Thumb region (10th District.) Jess & Jamal discuss previously undisclosed airstrikes in Syria carried out days before the fall of ISIS in 2019 that killed multiple civilians, including women and children, according to US Central Command.

Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi comments on SFSU President Mahoney’s decision to uphold the University’s acceptance of Big Tech’s increasing control over academic discussion, and its complicity with Zionist organizations. Jess and Jamal discuss Israel’s surveillance effort in the occupied West Bank to monitor Palestinians by integrating facial recognition with a growing network of cameras and smartphones. And why was Israel’s ambassador to the UK Tzipi Hotovely was booed and shamed at the London School of Economics?

Elsadig Elsheikh, Director of the Global Justice Program at the Othering & Belonging Institute at UC Berkeley, discusses the recent coup in Sudan. Egyptian-American rising star Shereen Ahmed talks about her acting journey and her role as Eliza Doolittle in “My Fair Lady,” now playing at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco. http://www.orpheumtheatersanfrancisco.org/events/my-fair-lady-6/

Palestinian-American human rights activist discusses Israel’s targeting of six Palestinian NGOs that it labeled as “terrorist organizations.” Jess & Jamal talk about Al-Yusufiyah cemetery part of which Israel plans to convert into a theme park. Palestinians say the project encroaches on a centuries-old Muslim graveyard beneath the eastern wall of Jerusalem’s Old City.

Israeli filmmaker Avi Mograbi talks about his latest documentary, “The First 54 Years – An Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation.” The film builds the handbook of the perfect occupier, based on testimonies from Israeli soldiers and archive footage. Find out where to see the film here: https://www.facebook.com/The-first-54-years-an-abbreviated-manual-for-military-occupation-110161757790646/ Jess and Jamal discuss why it has been a bad week for supporters of Apartheid, as acclaimed Irish novelist Sally Rooney refuses to allow the Israeli publishing house that handled her previous novels to publish her most recent book, “Beautiful World, Where Are You,” due to Israel’s Apartheid practises.

Journalist Daoud Kuttab discusses the Pandora Papers, a massive leak of more than 11 million confidential files to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which revealed the secret offshore holdings of a host of rulers across the Middle East. Jess & Jamal discuss the whitewashing and sportswashing of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), three years after the brutal murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. And the world’s “favorite uncle,” the late Israeli PM and President Shimon Peres, was a sexual predator, according to former ambassador and Labor MK Colette Avital.

Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director of DAWN, says that President Biden’s Middle East policy is just sugar-coated business as usual. “The president’s actions speak louder than his lofty rhetoric on democracy and human rights, as autocrats cash in,” according to DAWN. Jess & Jamal discuss a motion passed by the British Labor Party calling for sanctions against Israel for practicing Apartheid against Palestinians. And, why was a Capitol rioter who recorded a video of herself saying she was looking for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “to shoot her in the friggin’ brain” only charged with a misdemeanor in federal court?