Arab Talk with Jess & Jamal

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/ Je...

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 brut...

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 agai...

Attorney Stanley Cohen explains why a group of lawyers, activists and researchers from various countries submitted a petition to the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights on September 16, demanding that the African Union revoke its recent decision to admit Israel as an observer state. Jess & Jamal discuss a standalone bill introduced by US Democrats to provide Israel with $1 billion for...

The Palestine Museum founder, Faisal Saleh, shares his vision of researching and preserving Palestinian history, culture, and art. To learn more: https://www.palestinemuseum.us/ Virtual online auction: https://pmu.betterworld.org/auctions/ihs-pmus-auction Jess & Jamal examine US foreign aid, as the Biden administration contemplated imposing new conditions on aid to Egypt due to human rights abuses...

Brazilian Political Cartoonist Carlos Latuff talks about his activism and lifework, which spans from South America to the Middle East and beyond. Learn more about Carlos https://latuffcartoons.wordpress.com/ Jess and Jamal discuss the escape of six Palestinians from high-security Israeli prison. They also reflect on the global impact of 9/11, twenty years on.

Professor Abdelkader Berrahmoun from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California explains the reasons and historical background that led to the recent diplomatic breakdown between Algeria and Morocco. Jess & Jamal evaluate the withdrawal from Afghanistan, which was described by President Biden as an “extraordinary success.” They also discuss the recent meeting between...

Israeli PM Naftali Bennett said that he will work to convince Biden to abandon his plan to reenter the Iran nuclear deal. Our guest Samuel M. Hickey from the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation argues the opposite in his article, “How Iran’s Research Reactors Prove the Nuclear Deal is Still Working.” Jess & Jamal discuss the recent demonstrations to end the Israeli blockade on Gaza. And...

Heather Barr, interim co-director of the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, discusses the plight of Afghan women after the Taliban have seized power in Afghanistan. She spoke to us from Pakistan. Jess & Jamal discuss what went wrong in Afghanistan. They also talk about the resurgence of Covid in Israel, as former Israeli PM Netanyahu vacations in the US.

Author Mona Hajjar Halaby talks about her newly published book, “In My Mother’s Footsteps: A Palestinian Refugee Returns Home.” Mona is a Palestinian-American educator specializing in conflict resolution in the classroom, as well as a social historian. Jess & Jamal discuss new Israeli attempts to draw the United States into conflict with Iran. They also talk about the Taliban’s blitz across Afghan...

Cultural activist Hisham Ben Khamsa provides nuanced analysis from the capital Tunis after President Kais Saied sacked the prime minister and suspended parliament. Tunisia is coping with economic, social and health crises, with the coronavirus pandemic overwhelming its hospitals. Jess & Jamal comment on the Israeli High Court’s decision to postpone ruling on the evictions of Palestinian families l...

Journalist May Shigenobu discusses controversy over the opening ceremony at the Tokyo Olympics and Japanese politics during an uptick in Coronavirus cases. Jess & Jamal comment on Ben & Jerry’s statement in the New York Times. They also discuss Tunisia’s crisis after its president Kais Saied suspended parliament.

Professor Rania Masri and Anis Germany, MD talk about the dire political situation in Lebanon, as the Lebanese people struggle through economic collapse. Jess & Jamal discuss the Israeli meltdown over Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, as the company announces that it will end sales of its popular products in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

Author and human rights activist Miko Peled talks about the shifting sentiments among Jewish Americans towards Israel. He also discusses Israel’s racist Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law. Jess and Jamal examine the Palestinian security forces and the crackdown on critics of Palestinian President Mahmood Abbas. **This show is dedicated to the memory of Terry Collins, co-Founder, President and v...

Human rights attorney Diana Buttu discusses the death of Nizar Banat, a prominent critic of the Palestinian Authority (PA), while in the custody of PA security forces last week. She also talks about the PA’s crackdown on dissent. Jess & Jamal talk about the continued ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Jerusalem by the Israeli Occupation. They also discuss the broken promise by the Biden Administr...

Dr. As’ad Abukhalil discusses despotic Arab regimes and their history of normalization with Israel. He also talks about Biden’s foreign policy in the Middle East. Jess and Jamal discuss the death of Palestinian activist Nizar Banat. Banat is a well-known critic of the Palestinian Authority’s leadership. His family alleges that he died after he was badly beaten by PA security forces.

Israeli Jewish activist Ronnie Barkan explains why Israel’s new government will bring no major changes to Israeli policy. The new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett is on record as advocating the murder of Palestinians taken prisoner, “I’ve killed lots of Arabs in my life and there’s no problem with that,” he said. Jess and Jamal discuss US double standards when it comes to advocating for Palestinian...

Jillian C. York, Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EFF) Director for International Freedom of Expression, discusses the rights group’s campaign: “Tell Facebook: Stop Silencing Palestine” https://stopsilencingpalestine.com/ Zeina Ashrawi Hutchison, a Palestinian-American activist and DNC delegate from Virginia, discusses why more than 500 Palestinian Americans opposed meeting with Secretary of Stat...

Journalist Max Blumenthal accuses the Israel Lobby of deceptively editing videos and making up dubious allegations, manufacturing an anti-semitism epidemic to turn the media’s gaze away from dead children in Gaza. Jess and Jamal take a look at who will potentially replace Benjamin Netanyahu in the Israeli government. They also discuss the continued ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah...

Jess & Jamal discuss the Irish Parliament’s motion condemning the “de facto annexation” of Palestinian land by Israel. They also talk about the recent denunciation of the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian by Benjamin Netanyahu for saying the word Apartheid. Arabic Violin Virtuoso Georges Lamman and renowned Latino Guitarist Gabriel Navia talk about their musical collaboration and perform...

Journalist Abby Martin discusses the recent Israeli atrocities in Gaza and Jerusalem. She also talks about the US media’s bias towards the Israeli narrative. Her documentary, “Gaza Fights for Freedom,” is now available on YouTube. Jess and Jamal discuss American attempts at resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict while the US ignores Apartheid and human rights violations by Israel.

More than 100 Palestinians, including 18 children have been killed in Gaza due to Israeli airstrikes & bombardment, while Jewish mobs attacked Palestinian families and businesses in Haifa, Jaffa and other towns. Both White House and US State Dept. spokespeople avoided reporters’ questions about whether US President Joe Biden believes Palestinians have a right to self-defense. Discussing this and m...

Israeli-American activist and author Miko Peled says that only through boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) imposed on Israel can the international community force an end to Israeli Apartheid and ethnic cleansing practices. Jess and Jamal discuss the ethnic cleansing of Jerusalem, as Israeli Colonial Settlers push to evict Palestinian families from the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.

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 elect...

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 a...