This talk was delivered on April 18, 2024 at Swarthmore College and explores how Hasbara uses exceptionalism propaganda to rationalise, minimize and normalize Israel’s genocidal project against the Palestinian people.
The Depravity of Israeli Society
Climate Change Adaptation in Bolivia
During the months of February and March I traveled across Bolivia having meetings with mostly public sector actors, as well as giving presentations. I met with Ministers, Vice Ministers, university Rectors/Vice-Rectors, a Governor, a former mayor, numerous local officials, and representatives of several NGO’s. The discussions focused on environmental problems and potential solutions. They ranged from the biggest most visible problems, such as deforestation from fire and mercury contamination from artisanal gold mining, to contamination of surface waters, destruction of aquifer recharge zones, and development encroachment into sensitive, protected areas. Also discussed was the ineffectiveness of government to protect public health and safety from hazards, including the absence of environmental jurisprudence, as well as their inadequate disaster readiness resulting in increased injuries and loss of life and property. Several initiatives are being explored to bring resources to bear on these problems.
Israel Does Not Deserve to Exist Nor Is It Worthwhile to Preserve It
The scholar, Yeshayahu Leibowitz, who Isaiah Berlin called the conscience of Israel, warned that, “If Israel did not separate
church and state, it would give rise to a corrupt rabbinate that would warp Judaism into a fascistic cult. Religious nationalism is to religion what National Socialism was to socialism,” warned Leibowitz, who died in 1994. He understood that the blind veneration of the military, especially after the 1967 war that captured the West Bank in East Jerusalem was dangerous and would lead to the ultimate destruction of democracy. “Our situation will deteriorate to that of a second Vietnam, to a war and constant escalation without prospect of ultimate resolution,” he wrote. He foresaw that, “The Arabs would be the working people and the Jews, the administrators, inspectors, officials and police, mainly secret police. A state ruling a hostile population of 1.5 million to 2 million foreigners would necessarily become a secret police state. With all that implies for education, free speech and democratic institutions. The corruption characteristic of every colonial regime would also prevail in the state of Israel. The administration would have to suppress Arab insurgency on the one hand and acquire Arab quiz links on the other. There is also good reason to fear that the Israeli Defense Force, which has been until now, a people’s army would, as a result of being transformed into an army of occupation to generate and its commanders who will have become military governors, will resemble their colleagues in other nations.” He warned that the rise of virulent racism would consume Israeli society. He knew that prolonged occupation of the Palestinians would spawn concentration camps for the occupied, and that in his words, “Israel would not deserve to exist and it will not be worthwhile to preserve it.” – from the broadcast
21st Century Genocide & Ethnic Cleansing
Religious and ethnic hating Zionist extremists perpetrating genocide and apartheid upon the Palestinians just as their own Nazi oppressor did to them is hard to fathom. Zionist extremists have systematically occupied the Palestinian’s territory and herded them into the Gaza Strip, a large, open air prison. The latest resistance by the dehumanized Palestinians has served as a pretext for the Zionist extremists to undertake their ‘final solution’. If you want to know the true history of this land theft, imprisonment, and now ethnic cleansing, watch this documentary: Al-Nakba: The Palestinian catastrophe
Julian Assange & Prison Abolition
Chris Hedges and Stella Assange in conversation about the depravity and barbarism of the prison industrial complex and, in particular, Julian Assange’s experience in Belmarsh Prison. Chris has worked in the prison system for many years and has great insight into the carceral state. There are 1.68 million prisoners languishing in prisons in the United States of America today, second only to China in total number of incarcerated persons per capita.
Are Intentional Communities Cults?
For better or worse, I have a great deal of personal experience with cults and intentional communities. As this article explores, the two are largely synonymous with one another. As our world becomes more complex, chaotic and confusing, increasing numbers of people are vulnerable to the sensemaking of cults and intentional communities. Beware!
Report Back from Venezuela
I was on this trip. There is so much to report. The commune movement for local democracy and self-reliance is amazing with thousands of communes, both urban and rural, nationwide. Meanwhile this important work which is crucial for the future of humanity is being crushed by the sanctions imposed on Venezuela by the US government.
I encourage everybody to attend this webinar to learn the truth of what’s really going on in Venezuela. The lies perpetrated by the US government acting on behalf of the US-based oil companies and former Venezuelan oligarchs will be dispelled.
Human Rights in the United States: 2023 Report
How Family Estrangement May Benefit Trauma Survivors
No one estranges from people who make them feel safe.
KEY POINTS
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- Despite its potential benefits, family estrangement continues to be stigmatized.
- Survivors require safe and valuable relationships and group dynamics.
- Survivors need to exert their agency.
It’s been years since I’ve seen or spoken to my mother, and it was one of the best decisions of my life.
I was the perfect daughter who earned straight As, behaved well, and acted as a caretaker for my mother and younger brother. Then, I realized I had survived childhood emotional and physical neglect perpetrated by my parents, which negatively impacted my ability to thrive as an adult. When I decided to become estranged from my mother (my father had died years earlier), I made substantial progress in trauma recovery. My decision was not popular within my family, community, or society, yet it was necessary.
Family estrangement is a misunderstood and stigmatized experience. When trauma survivors discuss their estrangements with others, they are often met with judgment, gaslighting, and sometimes even victim blaming. Family estrangements can be short-term, long-term, or permanent, and there are many reasons why survivors may need to initiate and maintain estrangements. Understanding these needs might help decrease the stigma surrounding estrangement, allowing survivors to feel understood and supported.