Arab Talk With Jess & Jamal

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.

Award-winning journalist and former Ferris Professor at Princeton University Daoud Kuttab discusses the “Royal Feud” in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He also talks about the future of Palestinian elections. Jess and Jamal talk about racist remarks by the chairman of the far-right Zionist party & Israeli lawmaker Bezalel Smotrich, who recently threatened to expel Palestinians from their ancestral land.

Palestinian-British filmmaker Farah Nabulsi talks about the making of “The Present,” which was nominated for the 93rd Academy Awards in the Best Live Action Short Film category. Jess and Jamal discuss Emmanual Macron’s government’s anti-Muslim rhetoric as the French presidential elections approach. They also talk about the trial of Derek Chauvin who knelt on George Floyd’s neck and ignored Floyd’s cries for help for over nine minutes leading to his death. The landmark trial is set to be a defining moment in the nation’s reckoning over race and policing.

Palestinian legal expert and analyst Diana Buttu weighs in on the Israeli and upcoming Palestinian elections. Jess and Jamal discuss the recent mass murders in Atlanta and Boulder and the intractable problem of gun control in the United States.

Dr. Stavit Sinai talks about why she'll refuse to pay a fine to a German court for disrupting a speech by a former Israeli Knesset member. Jess & Jamal discuss the protests in Jordan due to the tragic death of COVID-19 patients in a hospital. They also talk about the rise of racist verbal and physical attacks on Asian Americans.

Guests Palestinian-American activist Suhair Nafal and her lawyer Haytham Faraj discuss their win over a defamation suit brought against Nafal by Rebecca Rumshiskaya, an Israeli soldier. Faraj calls the victory “important for preserving the Arab American and Palestinian communities’ First Amendment rights to free speech, including political speech.” Jess and Jamal discuss the upcoming Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for May 22. They also look back at how the pandemic has upended our lives, one year later.

Attorney Yafa Jarrar talks about the Israeli military court sentencing of her mother, Palestinian politician Khalida Jarrar, to two years in prison. Jess and Jamal discuss opposition to the International Criminal Court's decision to proceed in investigating Israel for war crimes. The US claims Israel has been targeted unfairly. Phil Pasquini reports from Washington, DC about QAnon and the myth of Donald Trump's re-inauguration.

Jess and Jamal discuss the recent shifts on discourse about Israel in the United States, with recent comments by politicians and challenges in US media. Also, former students at AMED at San Francisco State University, Dr. Loubna Qutami and Saliem Shehadeh, describe the systematic attacks on the program by hate groups and the lack of support by the university’s administration.

Jess & Jamal discuss global warming and the cold weather that triggered a wave of blackouts across Texas, leaving millions of residents shivering in the dark. Our guest this week is Sani Meo, publisher of "This Week in Palestine" (http://thisweekinpalestine.com). Sani Meo talks about the different themes the magazine has been featuring for the past twenty years, and the challenges he is facing to keep publishing a quality magazine under Israeli occupation and additional restrictions due to COVID-19.

Legal expert Diana Buttu discusses the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) ruling that it has jurisdiction over the territories occupied by Israel in 1967, opening the way for an inquiry into allegations of Israeli war crimes in the region. Jess and Jamal discuss President Biden’s approach to human rights in the Middle East, specifically Saudi Arabia and Palestine. They also discuss Donald Trump’s impeachment trial.

Jewish Israeli activist Ronnie Barkan says that Israel is demonstrating “Medical Apartheid,” and not vaccine leadership, by not providing COVID-19 vaccines to approximately five million Palestinians who live under Israeli rule. Jess and Jamal discuss the saga of Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green who faces a House vote to strip her from committee assignments, over her history of trafficking in racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and baseless conspiracy theories.

Jess and Jamal discuss a recently discovered video showing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a QAnon-supporting Republican, trying to force Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib to retake their congressional oaths on the Bible. They also discuss “A Regime of Jewish Supremacy from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea: This Is Apartheid,” a position paper released by B’Tselem, a leading Israeli human-rights organization https://www.btselem.org/publications/fulltext/202101_this_is_apartheid

Jess and Jamal discuss the challenges that President Joe Biden faces repairing the damage caused to US allies overseas, while domestically confronting COVID-19, soaring unemployment and undoing many of Trump’s executive orders. Phil Pasquini reports from Washington, DC about the heightened security that will remain in the US capital for weeks to come, even after Joe Biden’s inauguration.

Jess and Jamal discuss the rising threat of white supremacy in the US. They analyze the events that led to the storming of the US Capitol and the second impeachment of Donald Trump. Israeli Filmmaker Ram Loevy talks about his recent film, "The Dead of Jaffa." The film is about a Palestinian Israeli couple who are torn between their emerging parental responsibility and a very real fear of police retribution. The film is streamed for free on LinkTV.org.

Arab Talk reporter Phil Pasquini provides an update from Washington, DC about the storming of the US Capitol and the looting and vandalism that ensued. Jess & Jamal discuss the security failure and the damage caused to the U.S. global standing by Trump's presidency.

Human rights attorney Huwaida Arraf discusses President-elect Joe Biden’s nominations to fill government positions in his administration, and their impact on the progressive movement in the Democratic Party. She also talks about Biden’s policies in the Middle East and his position towards the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Jess & Jamal discuss the impact left on the Middle East after the death of Mohamed Bouazizi, who set himself on fire ten years ago, sparking the Tunisian Revolution that became the catalyst for the Arab Spring.

Jess & Jamal discuss the recent purchase of Beitar Jerusalem, known as the “most racist soccer team in the world,” by Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Nahyan, a first cousin of the de facto Emirati ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed. They also discuss Israel’s systematic targeting of Palestinian children.

Jess & Jamal discuss whether Iran will strike back at Israel or the US over the assassination of its top nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, and if Trump will risk a 'full-fledged war' with Iran by bombing its nuclear facilities. They also discuss the alarming rise of COVID-19 deaths in the US, as the American public awaits emergency authorization for the vaccine with a target date of December 10.