Category: Briefings

We begin with the latest round of peace talks for a ceasefire in Gaza to avoid a wider war in the Middle East which, following the assassination of the top Hamas negotiator, are now minus a representative from Hamas as its hardline leader in the tunnels under Gaza appears to be waiting for a military retaliation on Israel from Hezbollah and Iran. Joining us to assess how the prolonged agony from Netanyahu’s war in Gaza will impact our election politics and Monday’s Democratic Convention in Chicago is Rashid Khalidi, the Edward Said Professor Emeritus of Modern Arab Studies at Columbia University. He is the former editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies, and was President of the Middle East Studies Association, and an advisor to the Palestinian delegation to the Madrid and Washington Arab-Israeli peace negotiations from October 1991 until June 1993. His books include The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917- 2017 , Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. has Undermined Peace in the Middle East and The Iron Cage: The Story of the Palestinian Struggle for Statehood.

The Origins and Definition of Settler Colonialism Which Used to Be Applied to Australia, Canada and the US But is Now Being Used to Label Israel

Then we explore the origins and definition of settler colonialism which was previously applied to the troubled histories of genocide in Australia, Canada and the United States but is now being applied to Israel following the brutal invasion of Gaza ignited by the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7. Joining us is Adam Kirsch, the author of several books of poetry and criticism.  A 2016 Guggenheim Fellow, he is an editor at the Wall Street Journal’s Weekend Review section and is the author of the new book, just out, On Settler Colonialism: Ideology, Violence, and Justice.

Bangladesh: The Latest Example of the US Not Acting According to Its Democratic Ideals

Then finally we examine the latest example of the US not acting according to its democratic ideals but in its so-called interests which in the case of Bangladesh were outsourced to Modi’s India. We discuss how the US Ambassador in the capital Dhaka sided with the students but the Biden Administration backed the despotic leader to the bitter end and now the students are trying to run the country after ousting Sheikh Hasina who had killed hundreds of them. Joining us is Dr. Sumit Ganguly, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Political Science at Indiana University in Bloomington. His books include India Since 1980, India, Pakistan, and the Bomb: Debating Nuclear Stability in South Asia, The Oxford Handbook of India’s National Security and his latest, The Oxford Handbook of Indian Politics.