This episode about events in Palestine is hosted by Jon Nelson and includes segments from the Old Mole archive as well as news about an upcoming film screening.
During Israel's 2014 war on Gaza, Laurie Mercier talked with historian and Middle-East specialist Juan Cole about events in Gaza. In this archive presentation, they discuss Israel's motives in launching its attack, and the history of Israel's occupation of Palestine, attacks on Hamas, and expansion of settlements in the West Bank. In addition, Laurie and Professor Cole discuss the role of the US: the failure of much of the US mainstream media to report adequately on events in Palestine; the US support for Israel; the impact of financial contributions on corrupt US legislators; and the possibility that the US could make all the difference by withholding its veto of UN security-council measures censuring Israel. The discussion also addresses the Boycott-Divest-Sanctions movement and various boycott targets, and the surge in global support for Palestinians prompted by the use of photography and video to expose Israel's actions in killing non-combatants, especially young people who comprise the majority of the population in Gaza. You can read more on Juan Cole's blog, Informed Comment.
In this segment from December 2023, Jan Haaken speaks with Mohammed Nabil, Palestinian rights activist, who hails from Kahn Younis in the south of Gaza. Mohammed speaks of the anguish of those who have loved ones in Gaza, the difficulties of knowing what is happening on the ground, the sometimes desperate and always resourceful efforts of Gazans to survive, and the inadequate and hypocritical response from the international community despite repeated declarations endorsed by the United Nations of the Palestinian right to thrive in peace and freedom. Mohammed holds BAs in School Counseling and Psychology and Middle Eastern Studies, along with an MS in Critical Theory and Creative Research.
WRR: Hamas as Neo-colonial strategy
In this segment from October 2023, Patricia Kullberg looks at the story behind the story of the devastating violence unfolding in the Middle East. Some analysts argue the conflict is fueled by the neo-colonial strategy of suppressing progressive voices in favor of extremist regimes that the US (or its proxies) can either crush or control. Kullberg reads excerpts from an article by author and commentator Mehdi Hasan, titled “How Israel Went From Helping Create Hamas to Bombing It,” published in The Intercept on 2/19/2018. She follows with excerpts from Stephen Zunes’s article published 10/11/23 in the Progressive, “Hamas, Israel and the U.S. Have Learned Nothing.” Zunes is Professor of Politics at the University of San Francisco.
Screening: Spaces of Exception
Jan Haaken speaks with Kristin Lene Hole, Associate Professor in and Director of the School of Film at Portland State University. They talk about the screening on October 22nd of the 2018 documentary film SPACES OF EXCEPTION, directed by Malek Raamny and Matt Peterson. The film grew out of a multi-media project titled "The Native and the Refugee" which profiles an American Indian reservation in the United States and a Palestinian refugee camp in the Middle East and explores the shared experiences of people under settler colonial regimes. SPACES OF EXCEPTION will be screened on Tuesday, October 22nd at 5:30 pm in Lincoln Hall room 75. Following the screening, there will be a discussion with the directors. The event is free and open to the public.
Image: Flag of Palestine (Wikimedia, public domain) and Old Mole Variety Hour logo: KBOO Portland, Oregon
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