The Palestine Pod

War Crimes Bingo

This week Lara and Michael cover the bloody massacre by zionist forces in occupied Jenin. Zionist forces injured 16 and murdered 9 Palestinians in Jenin including an elderly woman. They then stormed the pediatric unit and fired tear gas at babies. They spent the next 24 hours dropping bombs on Gaza, and they shot at an ambulance responding to the massacres, hence, war crimes bingo. Israeli terrorism was encouraged by their elected officials who tweeted in support of the massacre. We also connect the brutal murders in the United States by police forces who are trained by zionist occupation thugs. Memphis police department is one such department, we cover the murder of Tyre Nichols. In Atlanta, the environmental activist Tortuguita was murdered by police attempting to disrupt the development of a massive police training compound known as "cop city." Also, the NYPD has at least 16 offices globally including one in Palestine. Decolonization means police abolition. 

Within our grasp

This week (technically last week) Lara and Michael cover the martyrs of Palestine. Some were murdered defending their land from foreign occupation forces, and others were murdered for simply existing as Palestinians in Palestine. It's becoming so common for children in Palestine to be murdered by zionists that many people are walking around with notes in their pockets. We read two such testimonies left by victims of colonial violence. We cover the UN resolution which continues to add to the already well-established paper trail at the international level. We discuss the decision to reverse course by Harvard Kennedy School. We also cover the vandalizing of the Armenian Covenant in Jerusalem by the people who purport to be taking care of the land. Finally, we cover some of the most chronically online zionists, and the absolute fairy tale they live in. 

Can’t plug a boat with a rifle

This week Lara and Michael cover the martyrs murdered by the occupation in the first week of January. We discuss the ongoing ethnic cleansing in Masafer Yatta, as well as the irony of the settlers in 48' protesting this new government as if it's actually different from previous governments (it's literally Bibi, again). We cover the phenomena of zionists online endorsing BDS and talk about Netanyahu's fascist decree about an unquestionable, and exclusive right to settlement. Finally, we cover the story of the former Executive Director, Ken Roth at Human Rights Watch who had his fellowship rescinded by the Dean of Harvard Kennedy School. 

Free the HLF5 with Nida and Zaira Abu Baker

This week Lara and Michael sit down with Nida and Zaira Abu Baker, daughters of Shukri Abu Baker one of the Holy Land Foundation 5. Shukri is a political prisoner prosecuted in a wave of unjust rulings following post-9/11 hysteria. The ACLU said the prosecution was part of a pattern of the US government targeting faith-based charities "on the basis of unsubstantiated evidence and without even basic due process protections". We discuss the resurgence of the campaign to Free Shukri Abu Baker and the other two members of the HLF5 who remain unjustly imprisoned. We talk about the absolute delusion of the largest exporter of terrorism in the world (the US government) convicting a Muslim family and community man on preposterous charges related to terrorism. In doing so they destroyed the lives of all 5 families and a charity that helped to improve the conditions for impoverished people across the world. 

 

Unintentional Sniper

This week on the Palestine Pod, Lara and Michael cover the significance of the shows of Palestinian solidarity at the World Cup in Qatar by players and fans. The Pod then covers the murder of a 16-year-old Palestinian girl Jana Zakarneh by Israeli snipers who shot her 4 times as she stood on the roof of her home in occupied Jenin during a recent occupation raid on the Palestinian city as well as the reckless reporting by Western outlets such as the BBC, CNN, and the NYT that followed, acting as cover for Zionist crimes by failing to publish who killed her in their headline, and worse, acting as an arm for the Zionist propaganda machine by swiftly publishing the official Zionist response (that they “unintentionally” sniped her) without the slightest bit of scrutiny. Lara explores the chronic state of hypocrisy that is the Zionist ideology, oscillating between lies like the land was empty, the Palestinians don’t exist, they left freely and occasional spurts of truth like the recent bombshell admissions portrayed in the documentary Tantura by Israeli filmmaker Alon Schwarz who interviewed elderly Zionist terrorists giddy to describe the murder, ethnic cleansing and rape they committed of Palestinians on camera. Michael continues to remind us that none of these people have any right to represent Judaism which is categorically opposed to this evil that they spread. Lara and Michael finish by commenting on the recent interview of Israeli MP Zvika Fogel where he explained that Zionists were too merciful to Palestinians leading Michael to conclude that this just means they want to do even more murder.

The keys are yours now

This week Lara and Michael sit down with heavy hearts to commemorate the passing of Lara's sido. We talk about how zionist gaslighting impacts the grieving process and the pressure Palestinians feel to publicly share information about their family and lineage because of ridiculous zionist claims about Palestinian existence. Lara shares that her grandfather died stateless, without a passport, and he's one of the millions of Palestinians for whom that is a daily reality. We also commemorate the passing of The People's Bubbie, longtime antizionist Jew, feminist, and abolitionist, Shatzi Weisberger. We end by briefly covering the zionist dust-up surrounding the new Netflix movie, Farha. 

Walled Off with Vin Arfuso

This week Lara and Michael sit down with our favorite Pallestalion filmmaker, Vin Arfuso to talk about his upcoming documentary Walled Off. The documentary centers around the Walled Off Hotel in Occupied Bethlehem, Palestine as a means for show asking the brutality of Israeli occupation and apartheid. The hotel has the largest collection of Banksy artwork in one place. The film employs quick cuts and archival footage to dispute zionist propaganda, entertaining the audience with its humor and fast pace. It provides a historic overview of the major players in the story of the ethnic cleansing of Palestine, where we are, and how we got here. Stay tuned for more information about the release of Vin's documentary, Walled Off!

Using your platform with Abby Martin

This week Lara and Michael sit down with one of our generation's most courageous investigative journalists, Abby Martin. Her current work can be seen at Empire Files and she directed the acclaimed documentary "Gaza Fights for Freedom" (2019). Her work took her to Palestine and got her banned from it. She takes us behind the scenes of what it was like to film in Palestine and recounts moments like her infamous interviews where everyday Israelis casually endorse genocide. Abby talks about spending time with the Tamimi family and the warmth of Palestinian culture. Abby shares that many journalist colleagues have emplored her not to talk about Palestine if she wants to keep her job, but she knew that you're not being human if you're not using your platform to call for the freedom of Palestine, and all indigenous peoples and land protectors.  

Greater of Two Evils

This week Lara and Michael break down the results from the latest so-called election from the apartheid state. Usually in politics, you choose the "lesser of two evils" but the latest election shows a lean in the other direction. While still under investigation for his last term Netanyahu is back with a ghastly list of characters including far-right fascist Ben-Gvir. Michael details how Zionists have historically and continue to collaborate with Nazis citing a recent interview with The Electronic Intifada, and a book Secret Contacts Zionism and Nazi Germany. Lara details how Kahanists who are represented by Ben-Gvir took their platform from the Nazis verbatim.  We memorialize the freedom fighter and Afro-Palestinian feminist, Fatima Bernawi. We end by covering the story of Shadi Khoury, a child brutalized by the occupation forces and held in detention, a familiar sequence of events for Palestinian children. 

You’re Not Welcome Round Here

This week Lara and Michael cover the martyrs produced by the zionist raid on occupied Nablus. The spirit of Palestinian resistance can never be broken. We cover the story of Uday al-Tamimi who was gunned down while resisting occupation. He had inspired many Palestinian men to shave their heads in an attempt to thwart Israeli surveillance. Michael rants about how Zionists are being amplified and turned to as experts on antisemitism. They're experts alright, nobody does it better than them. Michael takes zionists to task for pretending to care about Jews while they are beating up elderly Jewish antizionist activists and funding literal Nazis in Ukraine. We also address the Kanye situation and the proliferation of antisemitism and anti-Blackness we've seen in Los Angeles recently, and how all liberation of oppressed people is linked.