Arab Talk with Jess & Jamal

Jess & Jamal discuss the recent indictment of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust. They also discuss US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement that the Trump administration is reversing its stance on Israeli settlements in the West Bank which are considered illegal under international law, a move that was condemned by Palestinians and m...

Jess & Jamal interview Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi (San Francisco State University) & Dr. Simona Sharoni (Merrimack College) about the recent Israeli attacks on Gaza, which resulted in the death of at least 24 Palestinians, including a father and his two children. They also discuss anti-Semitism, white supremacy and attacks on academic freedom.

Jess and Jamal discuss the recent revelations that two former employees of Twitter were charged with spying for Saudi Arabia by snooping into thousands of private accounts seeking personal information about critics of the Saudi royal family. They also discuss Representative Andy Levin’s fact-finding visit to the West Bank and his criticism of the Israeli Occupation.

Jess and Jamal discuss the recent vote by the US House of Representatives to endorse the Democratic-led impeachment inquiry into President Trump. The vote was 232-196 to approve a resolution that sets out rules for an impeachment process, and it was only the third time in modern history that the House had taken a vote on an impeachment inquiry into a sitting president. Jess and Jamal also discuss...

Jess and Jamal discuss the mass protests that have challenged governments and captured attention around the world. They analyze the reasons behind the ongoing demonstrations in Lebanon, and whether the Lebanese government will be able to end decades of corruption and economic mismanagement. Jess and Jamal also talk about the fate of the Kurds in Syria after they were thrown under the bus by Presid...

Jess & Jamal discuss Trump’s letter to the President of Turkey, Recep Erdogan. In it, he tries to persuade Erdogan to negotiate by lobbing insults at him — saying Erdogan could be viewed as “the devil,” and “don’t be a fool.” He also tells Erdogan that he could destroy the Turkish economy. How will Turkey react? And is the US ready to lose its strategic alliance with Turkey? Jess and Jamal also ta...

Jess & Jamal discuss the major shift in US military policy in Syria, as President Trump gives his endorsement for a Turkish military operation that would sweep away American-backed Kurdish forces near the border in Syria. Turkey considers the Kurdish forces to be a terrorist insurgency; some members in Congress view them as the most reliable partner in fighting ISIS. They also discuss the arrest o...

Jess & Jamal discuss the recent popular protests against Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi which have spread to at least eight cities, including Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez. The protests appear, in part, to have been sparked by a series of videos posted by Egyptian exile Mohamed Ali. Jess & Jamal also discuss the continuing saga of Donald Trump’s impeachment and the President's obsession wit...

Jess & Jamal discuss the recent announcement by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to launch a formal investigation that could lead to impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump. In a detailed, nine-page complaint, a whistleblower said "senior White House officials" worked to "lock down" all records of a presidential phone call this summer, out of fear that they "had witnessed the president ab...

Jamal interviews Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi about the results of the Israeli elections and their impact on Palestinian Israeli citizens, and other Palestinians living under Israeli Occupation. Dr. Abdulhadi also discusses the recent controversy surrounding Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau as pictures and a video have resurfaced showing him in “blackface.” She also discusses the renewed attacks on her by A...

Along with Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi, Jess & Jamal discuss Benjamin Netanyahu’s last-ditch efforts to distract from his corruption charges and attract Israeli right-wing voters before national elections next week. Dr. Abdulhadi also discusses the systematic smear campaigns by hate groups funded by the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, which has been contributing millions of dollars to anti-M...

Jess & Jamal discuss U.S. District Judge Anthony Trenga’s recent ruling that the federal government's watchlist of "known or suspected terrorists" is unconstitutional. Judge Trenga ruled that the Terrorist Screening Database (TSDB) violated due process because there was no clear standard for people to be included or removed from the list. They also discuss the reasons behind the resignation of Jas...

Jess and Jamal discuss the recent escalations between Israel and Iran, following a series of Israeli attacks in Iraq and Lebanon and Hezbollah's threats to retaliate. Israel’s state of high alert over potential cross border attacks comes days after U.S. officials leaked confirmation Israel was behind a July bombing at a weapons factory in Iraq. Also, Lebanon has blamed Israel for a drone strike in...

Jess & Jamal discuss President Trump’s tweet quoting from a right-wing conspiracy theorist who called him "the King of Israel." “President Trump is the greatest President for Jews and for Israel in the history of the world…  Jewish people in Israel love him... like he’s the King of Israel” This comes just a day after telling reporters that Jewish people who vote for Democrats are disloyal.

President Trump Puts Israeli Interests Over Members Of Congress - 15 Aug 2019 by News You Can Use with Jamal Dajani & Jess Ghannam

Jess & Jamal discuss the recent terror attacks by white supremacists in the US, and how pundits and journalists have unethically covered it. The most egregious examples are FOX News' Tucker Carlson who told his viewers that the country’s white supremacy problem ‘is a hoax’ and CNN's Jake Tapper who went on a rant likening the Palestinian liberation movement to white supremacy.

Jamal provides a live update from Granada, Spain, shedding some light on the 800-year Arab renaissance in the Iberian Peninsula. Jess and Jamal discuss Israeli Hasbara (Propaganda) and President Trump’s renewed attacks on Representatives Elijah Cummings and Ilhan Omar.

Jess & Jamal discuss Donald Trump’s recent racist attacks on four female lawmakers of color, tweeting that they should "go back" to their countries. Representatives Ocasio-Cortez, Pressley, and Tlaib are from the United States, while Omar became a citizen in 2000. At a Wednesday night rally, Trump’s supporters doubled down against Representative Omar and chanted that Trump should “send her back.”...

Jess and Jamal discuss Benjamin Netanyahu’s (a/k/a Mileikowsky, from Poland via Belarus) recent tweets trying to deny Palestinians a homeland by employing racist DNA science. They also discuss convicted sex offender billionaire Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

Jess and Jamal discuss the mysterious death of former Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi. Egypt’s chief prosecutor has said Morsi “was immediately taken” to a hospital after fainting inside a glass cage in a Cairo courtroom where he was on trial. But five Morsi supporters, including three of his attorneys who were inside the courtroom, said that at least 20 minutes, and perhaps as much as 40 minutes...

Jess & Jamal discuss the recent attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman. The United States, which has accused Iran or its proxies of carrying out a May 12 attack on four tankers off the UAE’s coast as well as the May 14 drone strikes on two Saudi oil-pumping stations, blamed Iran for today's attacks without providing any solid evidence. They also discussed the recent human rights violations...

Jess and Jamal dissect Jared Kushner’s interview on Axios/HBO. His interview with journalist Jonathan Swan revealed Kushner's underlying Zionist and Western attitudes toward the Palestinian people and oppressed people of color in general, as well as his utter lack of credibility or experience in diplomacy. Kushner questioned the Palestinians' right to self-determination, putting the burden on them...

Jess & Jamal discuss one of Benjamin Netanyahu’s biggest setbacks of his political career, as he missed a deadline to form a new coalition government, pushing the Israeli Knesset to dissolve itself, and setting the stage for new elections in mid-September. Jess and Jamal make the case that Trump-Kushner’s so-called Deal of the Century may be the first casualty of Netanyahu’s sinking ship. They als...

Jess & Jamal discuss the political future of Syrian Kurds, after the US Syria envoy James Jeffrey told a press briefing on Wednesday that the Trump Administration did not support Kurdish independence from Syria, instead it envisioned their future as part of “a democratic, peaceful government” in Damascus. They also provide an update on the so-called Deal of the Century.

Jess & Jamal discuss the influence of National Security Adviser John Bolton within the Trump Administration to drag the US into war with Iran. Bolton has a history of abusing U.S. intelligence to justify his foreign-policy goals. Perhaps most notorious was a May 2002 speech at the Heritage Foundation, in which Bolton, then the State Department’s Under Secretary for arms-control issues, accused Cub...