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 its Iron Dome missile system, after the funding was struck off a government spending bill amid p...
Sep 23, 2021•53 min
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, while US Congress progressives renewed effort to prohibit the delivery of US-made bombs to Isr...
Sep 16, 2021•56 min
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.
Sep 10, 2021•56 min
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 Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz.
Sep 02, 2021•55 min
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 did Rep. Rashida Tlaib send the right message to Mahmoud Abbas?
Aug 27, 2021•54 min
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.
Aug 20, 2021•54 min
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 Afghanistan, as American negotiators are trying to extract assurances from the Taliban that they will ...
Aug 12, 2021•58 min
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 living in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood of Jerusalem.
Aug 06, 2021•57 min
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.
Jul 29, 2021•53 min
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.
Jul 23, 2021•55 min
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 volunteer programmer at KPOO San Francisco.
Jul 15, 2021•56 min
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 Administration to reopen the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem.
Jul 02, 2021•57 min
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.
Jun 24, 2021•55 min
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 human rights. They also talk about Egypt’s role in securing the May 21 cease-fire that brought a hal...
Jun 17, 2021•51 min
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 State Blinken. https://bit.ly/3gggxOV
Jun 11, 2021•56 min
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 and Silwan.
Jun 04, 2021•53 min
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 a gift to Palestine.
May 27, 2021•56 min
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.
May 20, 2021•52 min
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 more, Dr. Rabab Abdulhadi, Director of AMED Studies at SFSU.
May 14, 2021•56 min
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.
May 07, 2021•55 min
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 elections happen as scheduled?
Apr 29, 2021•55 min
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 any coverage in US media, but an errant missile fired from Syria into Israel becomes headline news. T...
Apr 22, 2021•57 min
Dr. Hatem Bazian talks about what Muslims can do to help one another and communities in need during Ramadan with COVID still devastating many people. He also discusses the raging Islamophobia in Europe and the United States. Jess and Jamal discuss the recent attacks by the powerful Israeli lobby AIPAC targeting Rep. Betty McCollum (D) for introducing multiple pieces of legislation that would bar Israel from using US military aid to arrest Palestinian youth. They also talk about the recent killin...
Apr 16, 2021•57 min
Award-winning journalist and former Ferris Professor at Princeton University Daoud Kuttab discusses the “Royal Feud” in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. He also talks about the future of Palestinian elections. Jess and Jamal talk about racist remarks by the chairman of the far-right Zionist party & Israeli lawmaker Bezalel Smotrich, who recently threatened to expel Palestinians from their ancestral land.
Apr 08, 2021•51 min
Palestinian-British filmmaker Farah Nabulsi talks about the making of “The Present,” which was nominated for the 93rd Academy Awards in the Best Live Action Short Film category. Jess and Jamal discuss Emmanual Macron’s government’s anti-Muslim rhetoric as the French presidential elections approach. They also talk about the trial of Derek Chauvin who knelt on George Floyd’s neck and ignored Floyd’s cries for help for over nine minutes leading to his death. The landmark trial is set to be a defini...
Apr 01, 2021•50 min
Palestinian legal expert and analyst Diana Buttu weighs in on the Israeli and upcoming Palestinian elections. Jess and Jamal discuss the recent mass murders in Atlanta and Boulder and the intractable problem of gun control in the United States.
Mar 25, 2021•56 min
Dr. Stavit Sinai talks about why she'll refuse to pay a fine to a German court for disrupting a speech by a former Israeli Knesset member. Jess & Jamal discuss the protests in Jordan due to the tragic death of COVID-19 patients in a hospital. They also talk about the rise of racist verbal and physical attacks on Asian Americans.
Mar 19, 2021•54 min
Guests Palestinian-American activist Suhair Nafal and her lawyer Haytham Faraj discuss their win over a defamation suit brought against Nafal by Rebecca Rumshiskaya, an Israeli soldier. Faraj calls the victory “important for preserving the Arab American and Palestinian communities’ First Amendment rights to free speech, including political speech.” Jess and Jamal discuss the upcoming Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for May 22. They also look back at how the pandemic has upended our l...
Mar 11, 2021•53 min
Attorney Yafa Jarrar talks about the Israeli military court sentencing of her mother, Palestinian politician Khalida Jarrar, to two years in prison. Jess and Jamal discuss opposition to the International Criminal Court's decision to proceed in investigating Israel for war crimes. The US claims Israel has been targeted unfairly. Phil Pasquini reports from Washington, DC about QAnon and the myth of Donald Trump's re-inauguration.
Mar 05, 2021•53 min
Jess and Jamal discuss the recent shifts on discourse about Israel in the United States, with recent comments by politicians and challenges in US media. Also, former students at AMED at San Francisco State University, Dr. Loubna Qutami and Saliem Shehadeh, describe the systematic attacks on the program by hate groups and the lack of support by the university’s administration.
Feb 26, 2021•58 min