Parallax Views w/ J.G. Michael

On this edition of Parallax Views, in 2009 a documentary came out entitled Defamation. Directed by Israeli filmmaker Yoav Shamir, the film sought to explore the phenomena of antisemitism, the perceptions of what is an isn't antisemitic, the question of whether criticism of Israel is the same as antisemitism (or, in the words of many Israel supporters "The New Antisemitism" that seeks to dress hatr...

On this edition of Parallax Views, investigative journalist Ken Silverstein returns to the show hot off the major story he broke for The New Republic last week: "Off Leash: Inside the Secret, Global, Far-Right Group Chat | The New Republic" . Ken has blown the lid off a secret chat group created by Erik Prince, the founder of the controversial private military company Blackwater, that includes a w...

On this edition of Parallax Views, recorded in May, a lengthy, almost 3 hour conversation with Yakov Hirsch. You can Yakov's writings at his new Substack here . Although Hirsch is perhaps best-known as professional poker player, he has in recent years began commenting on the psychology of what he calls "Hasbara Culture". Hasbara, for those unfamiliar, is more or less a term that means propaganda a...

On this edition of Parallax Views, Rutgers University's Director of the Center for Security, Race, and Rights, Sahar Aziz, returns to the program to discuss the recent House Committee on Education and the Workforce hearings on antisemitism and why they resemble something more akin to the McCarthyite witch hunts of the House on American Activities during the Cold War than an honest effort to combat...

On this edition of Parallax Views, Israeli investigative reporter Meron Rappaport joins the show to discuss a MAJOR story he helped break last week with 972 Magazine, Local Call, and The Guardian: Israel's Covert War Against the ICC. According to the bombshell reporting Meron and others have done, Israel has engaged in a nearly long surveillance program against the International Criminal Court. Su...

On this edition of Parallax Views, longtime California-based progressive activist Mirvette Judeh tells the story of her only political journey and how she and a group of activists scored a victory for the the #CeasefireNow movement that is seeking to make calling for a ceasefire in Gaza a priority in California Democratic Party politics. Mirvette recently penned a piece that appeared in Antiwar. C...

On this edition of Parallax Views, are major US officials like National Security Spokesman John Kirby, the former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, and Sen. Ted Cruz throwing US military veterans under the bus in an attempt to excuse Israel's conduct in Gaza? This became a question for some after John Kirby said "We did it to" in Iraq and Afghanistan in response to a question...

On this edition of Parallax Views, a MASSIVE, wide-ranging conversation with Hussein Ibish, a Senior Resident Scholar at The Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington and a contributor to publications like The Atlantic and the UAE's The National, that delves into the history of the Israel/Palestine conflict and where it is headed. We go through the diplomatic failures, the formation of Israeli and...

On this edition of Parallax Views, Osgoode Hall Law School of York international law scholar Prof. Heidi Matthews joins us in the first segment to discuss the ICC (International Criminal Court) and its announcement that it will seek arrest warrants for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's Minister of Defence Yoav Gallant, and Hamas leaders like Yahya Sinwar in relation to the Gaza...

On this edition of Parallax Views, the Uncommitted movement, which seeks to push Democratic voters to vote "Uncommitted" rather than "Joe Biden" in the Democratic primaries over Biden's policies on Israel/Palestine and the Gaza War, has been in the news lately alongside the student encampments and Gaza War protests. The movement has garnered much criticism, but what's it all about? Uncommitted New...

On this edition of Parallax Views, the Middle East Institute's Geoffrey Aronson returns to the program to discuss his Responsible Statecraft article "There is no 'plan for Palestine' because Israel doesn't want one" . Also relevant to this conversation is a piece I HIGHLY RECOMMEND reading that Geoffrey wrote for his Substack entitled "The Second War for Palestine" . Elements of that Substack piec...

On this edition of Parallax Views, Israeli commentator Ori Goldberg, who has become well-known since the Gaza war began for his criticisms of Netanyahu and the state, or mindset, of Israeli society since October 7th. In a previous life he was a Middle East scholar who specialized in studying Iran. We start the conversation off with that as Ori gives his thoughts on the death of Iranian President E...

On this edition of Parallax Views, noted Dutch-Palestinian Middle East analyst and Jadaliyya magazine co-editor Mouin Rabbani took time out of his busy schedule to discuss a number of topics related to the Gaza War and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict more broadly. We begin the conversation by delving into the news of the International Criminal Court (ICC) seeking arrest warrants for Netanyahu and...

On this edition of Parallax Views, the University of Connecticut's Prof. Jeremy Pressman, Director of Middle East Studies at UConn and author of The Sword is Not Enough: Arabs, Israelis, and the Limits of Military Force, joins the show to discuss the myths of the 2000 Camp David Summit and Taba talks. During recent appearances in media programs such as Morning Joe w/ Joe Scarborough, former Secret...

On this edition of Parallax Views, Prof. Joel Beinin joins the program to discuss his July 2023 972 magazine essay "A century after its founding, the Israeli Communist Party is at a crossroads" . In said essay, Prof. Beinin gives a history of Communism and the Communist Party in Israel/Palestine that offers an insight into how the Left dealt with issues such as Zionism, anti-Zionism, Arab national...

On this edition of Parallax Views, Leila Hilal, an international human rights lawyer and the former co-director of the New America Foundation Middle East Task Force, joins the show to discuss her experiences as an advisor to Palestinian negotiators, Israel/Palestine, Israel's assault on Gaza, the situation in the West Bank and settler violence, misunderstandings about UNRWA, the U.S.'s refusal or...

On this edition of Parallax Views, Palestinian children's books author Rifk Ebeid, author of Baba What Does My Name Mean?: A Journey to Palestine, You Are the Color, and Birthday Kunafa, joins the show to discuss her books, Palestinian identity and experience, and her animated children's short I Am From Palestine. We'll also discuss how one of her books was censored a Philadelphia library, the nee...

On this edition of Parallax Views, Israel has commenced its operation in Rafah. As this was happening I was interviewing Khalil Sayegh, a D.C.-based Palestinian Christian who was born and raised in the Gaza Strip. Khalil is also the co-founder and President of the Agora Initiative, a non-profit that works to promote democracy in the Middle East. Khalil gives a crash course in the Palestinian persp...

On this edition of Parallax Views, we've got a trouble feature. First, Jordan Elgrably of the Marza Review and editor of the new volume Stories from the Center of the World: New Middle East Fiction joins the show to discuss Israel and attacks on writers and journalist past and present who forward Palestinian perspectives. We'll also talk about Gaza as a laboratory for laboratory for repressive, su...

On this edition of Parallax Views, a triple feature on campus protests and the Antisemitism Awareness Act that just passed Congress. First up, Mel Buer, a staff writer for the The Real News, joins us hot off her Democracy Now appearance to discuss her on-the-ground experiences and reporting on the UCLA Gaza protests. Then, Chris Habiby joins the show to discuss the Antisemitism Awareness Act bill...

On this edition of Parallax Views, Prof. Jodi Dean, who was recently relieved of teaching duties after the publication of her Verso blog post "Palestine speaks for everyone" on April 4th, 2024. In said piece she described the sight of Hamas paragliders breaking through Israel's air defenses to get into Israel as "exhilarating". Although many have condemned her blog post, even a number of commentat...

On this edition of Parallax Views, Middle East scholar Prof. James M. Dorsey of The Turbulent World w/ James M. Dorsey Substack blog returns for another update on the situation of Israel/Palestine and the broader Middle East. This hour and a half conversation delves into many different areas including: - The Gaza War - Violence in the West Bank - The past month of tensions between Iran and Israel...

On this edition of Parallax Views, the University of Maryland's Prof. Shay Hazkani, a former Israeli journalist turned historian, joins the show to discuss the major themes of his book Dear Palestine: A Social History of the 1948 War and documentary The Soldier's Opinion in light of the Gaza War, settler violence in the West Bank, and the October 7th Hamas attack. Prof. Hazkani provides a fresh, i...

On this edition of Parallax Views, Project Censored's Mickey Huff joins us to discuss Project Censored's State of the Free Press 2024, the media watchdog group's annual round-up of the most censored news stories in the United States. However, rather than just a straight rundown of this year's annual Project Censored offering, Mickey and I use this conversation to take the opportunity to discuss th...

On this edition of Parallax Views, Sean Tomilson, a PhD candidate in Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona, a graduate of West Point, and a U.S. Army veteran, joins the show to discuss his March 2024 Responsible Statecraft piece entitled "What the French evisceration of Algeria has to do with Gaza today" . We'll discuss the "Philippeville massacre" of 1955 and the r...