The Palestine Pod

Return is inevitable with Dr. Salman Abu Sitta

This week Lara and Michael sit down with the acclaimed Palestinian researcher, Dr. Salman Abu Sitta, a Nakba survivor who has dedicated his life to the Palestinian liberation struggle. Dr. Salman Abu Sitta is the founder and President of the Palestine Land Society in London, dedicated to the documentation of Palestine’s land and people. He is the author of over 400 articles and papers on Palestine, as well as several books. Notable among them is a series of atlases documenting Palestine at different time periods including Atlas of Palestine 1948, Atlas of Palestine 1917-1966, Atlas of Palestine 1871-1877, The Return Journey Atlas, and the Atlas of Palestine; Land Theft by the Jewish National Fund. He is most known for mapping Palestine and developing a practical plan for implementing the right of return for Palestinian refugees. More details about Dr. Abu Sitta's work can be found at www.plands.org. 

Netanyahu tapes and a fake ceasefire

This week, we discuss the bizarre declaration by Milekowsky (aka Netanyahu) that he is proudly committing war crimes by imposing a total siege on the Gaza Strip cutting of all food, medication, fuel, and other aid from entering the besieged territory. We also refer to a number of the Israeli violations of Phase 1 of the ceasefire and cover the onslaught of colonial violence in the West Bank dubbed Operation Iron Wall as well as other stories from the last few weeks. 

Reparations and Restitution with Lena El-Malak

This week Lara and Michael sit down with Lena El-Malak a Palestinian-British author and lawyer to discuss her new book, Stolen Nation. 

Release Dr. Abu Safiya

This week, Lara and Michael do a deep dive into the kidnapping and torture of Dr. Husam Abu Safiya, Director of Kamal Edwan Hospital, and a Pediatrician by Israeli occupation forces starting in late December 2024, following months of steadfastness and advocacy aimed at stopping Israeli attacks on the hospital and ending Israel's siege on the Northern part of Gaza. Lara critiques mainstream media's reporting of his abduction and Michael reminds that mainstream media has been used as a tool to whitewash the crimes of the Global North, by providing historical and contemporary examples. Lara and Michael call for the urgent release of Dr. Abu Safiya, all healthcare workers, and the thousands of Palestinian political prisoners held unjustly by Israel. 

Close Guantanamo with Mansoor Adayfi 441

This week Lara and Michael sit down with Mansoor Adayfi, a Yemeni citizen who was wrongfully kidnapped at the age of 18, sold to the CIA, and spent 15 years in Guantanamo before being released without charge or trial. After surviving the torture and terrorism of the United States government, Mansoor is now working tirelessly for accountability in accordance with international law, including an apology, reparations, and the closure of the torture facility where 15 detainees remain, their fates unknown. Released in parallel with the 23rd anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo Bay, this episode hopes to contribute to the urgent campaign to close this abomination of the US so-called "War on Terror." For more on Mansoor's experiences, check out his book "Don't Forget US Here". 

Suing the US government for violating the Leahy Law

This week Lara and Michael cover the new lawsuit brought by Palestinian-Americans and DAWN against the U.S. State Department under the Administrative Procedure Act seeking to oblige the U.S. government to comply with the Leahy law and cease military assistance to Israel which is involved in grave violations of human rights through the conduct of its occupation forces in Gaza and the West Bank. Michael comments on Israel’s occupation of hundreds of square kilometers of Syrian land in the aftermath of the vacuum created by the fall of Bashar Al-Assad and Lara characterizes this as an act of aggression under international law which has hardly been described as such by mainstream corporate media. Lara refers to the latest reports from international organizations characterizing Israel’s conduct as genocide including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Lara mentions an Israeli massacre of seven children from the same family in the Northern Part of Gaza and the frustration that accompanies the lack of policy change in the face of the most horrific admissions by Israeli soldiers of their crimes reported by the leading Israeli newspaper Ha’aretz. 

The Legacy of MOVE with Mike Africa Jr.

This week Lara and Michael sit down with Mike Africa Jr., author and Legacy Director of MOVE, a Philadelphia-based activist collective and liberation movement. Mike recalls the history of the MOVE and the 1985 Move bombing, during which Philadelphia police fired thousands of rounds at MOVE members in their homes killing six adults and five children. Mike Africa Jr. addresses police impunity and efforts to seek justice for the MOVE bombing, which are ongoing until today. Mike Africa Jr. expresses solidarity with Palestinians undergoing genocide and describes his awakening to the Palestinian struggle for freedom. Lara asks Mike Africa Jr. what justice would look like for him. Mike Africa Jr. responds that it begins with getting back his family's house which was taken by the US government through the legal process known as eminent domain.

Accountability for Complicity with Genocide with Damia Taharraoui

This week, Lara and Michael sit down with Damia Taharraoui, a lawyer at the Paris bar, who recently filed a criminal complaint for complicity with genocide and incitement to genocide in Paris against an NGO whose members blocked the entrance of humanitarian aid into Gaza and posted about it on social media, calling on others to join them in their efforts. Damia explains the importance of holding perpetrators of atrocity crimes accountable, how open source investigation was facilitated in this case because of the individuals’ brazenness, the difference between extraterritorial and universal jurisdiction, and the political context and public discourse in France when it comes to struggling for Palestinian rights. Lara contextualizes this case as part of a pattern of emboldened perpetrators of the Gaza Genocide gleefully posting their crimes on social media noting that the Hind Rajab Foundation recently filed a submission before the ICC with evidence connecting 1000 Israeli soldiers to crimes in Gaza.

Live from Beirut with Rania Khalek

This week, Lara and Michael sit down with acclaimed Lebanese-American journalist, Rania Khalek. Reporting from Beirut, Rania comments on Israel’s use of a 2000-pound bunker-buster bomb on a residential building filled with families in Central Beirut on the evening of November 22, 2024. Noting that killing sleeping families was a policy first rolled out in the Gaza Genocide through the use of the Israeli AI “Where’s Daddy”, Lara asks Rania to elaborate on the similarities and differences between Israel’s assaults on Gaza and Lebanon. Rania comments on the ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant. Michael provides an update on the Israeli occupation's military losses in Lebanon. Lara reminds listeners of the essential truth that Palestinians are struggling for their freedom against colonialism, which is the gravest affront to a people’s right to self-determination.

The Announcement of the Nakba

This week Lara and Michael cover the formal announcement by Apartheid Israel of the plan to not allow for the return of Palestinians to the Northern part of Gaza while it continues to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from there towards the center and southern part of Gaza. Michael comments on the recent fiasco in Amsterdam where Israeli hooligans chanted genocidal songs celebrating that there were no schools in Gaza because there were no children left, while committing acts of violence and destruction of property. Predictably, the Global North's politicians and media painted the incident, whereby genocide apologists were confronted by locals for their anti-Palestinian threats as "anti-semitic" and a "pogrom". Michael explains his theory as to why it happened, namely to strike fear into Jewish communities in Europe for the purpose of recruiting more people to settle in Israel and the OPT. Lara references Professor Avi Schlaim's findings that Iraqi Jews left their homelands after Mossad orchestrated terrorist attacks in Baghdad in the 1950s.