IHIP News:🚨 US CITIZENS Committing WAR CRIMES Abroad!! Survivor SPEAKS OUT!!

All right, joining me today is Mohammed. El Kurd. He is an award-winning. Palestinian journalist and writer. He's. an editor-at-large. at Mondoweiss and the first Palestine. correspondent at The Nation magazine. His most recent book. Perfect Victims and the Politics of. Appeal is out now and he brought me my. very own copy. And Mohammed, you were. born and grew up in Sheikh Jarrah, East. Jerusalem. When you were 11 years old, half of your home was taken over under.

an Israeli court order. What happened? Like did you have to. share your house? >> Yeah, I mean share is kind of an. amicable word. It was, you know, we were. forced to live in half of our home. Um. half the other half was taken by. settlers. But to kind of paint an image, I want to say as absurd as it sounds, this is a reality that many, many, many. thousands of Palestinians live with. Our. house and our neighborhood received so. much media attention because we live in.

such a central neighborhood that was. surrounded by all these international. embassies and consulates. So all these. diplomats would watch us be constantly. brutalized and terrorized by the Israeli. military from their balconies. So our. house and our neighborhood became the. center of attention. But what happened. was all of our families in our. neighborhood, the 28 families, they were. all dispossessed, forcibly expelled from. their homes during the 1948 Nakba. And. then they were given these houses by the. United Nations. And um in the '70s,

there were settler organizations, Jewish-American charities actually. registered here as charities, um who have sued us claiming our houses. are are their own with falsified. documents, by divine decree saying that. God. >> on. I have to ask some questions. >> Yes, yes, please do. >> So your family owned a home. >> Yes. >> And then a court, an Israeli court said. you don't own this house anymore. >> Yes, in the '70s. And we. >> '70s. And then that where were these. people from. that came in and lived in half of your.

house? >> The guy in half of my house is from Long. Island. His name is. >> More questions. So a person from Long Island, New York. >> can go to Israel. >> Yes. >> and during if they're Jewish. Okay, if they're Jewish, so I couldn't. do that. >> No, you could not do that. >> and say I want this house and. Who's the boss of who whose house that. is? Who decides this? Why do they think. somebody from New York gets to go take.

your family's home. Explain this to me. like I'm five. >> Well, I think let me It's It's pretty. incestuous. Let me paint you a picture. I mean we we we hear words like the. court and the judicial system and and. eviction and legal and we we we imbue. these words with so much authority, but. what happens is these courts are built. by Israeli settlers, right? The laws, the ethnic cleansing is written into the. law. So it I have been displaced from my. home in accordance to Israeli laws and.

procedures and and protocols. The guy. that displaced me, yeah, is a settler. himself. To To paint you even a more. cartoonish picture, I grew up. um watching this guy called Jonathan. Yousef walk around the neighborhood with. a megaphone in his hand chanting the. most racist Islamophobic [ __ ] right? Against us. This guy was a sitting city. councilman. who approved and rejected housing. building permit applications.

For example, in Jerusalem, where I'm. from in occupied Jerusalem, if you want. to build a home and you're a Palestinian. your chance of getting approved for. building a home. is less than 1%, right? So they control. how much homes we get to build and then. they can come up and conjure up um. whatever fake documents to destroy the. homes we already live in. >> I have a question. I thought Israel was. a democracy. That's democracy in the area. So, you're. telling me that you didn't have the same. rights as other people as this.

cuz I've been told this my whole life. >> No, it's it's. >> Tell me that's a lie. >> No, it's not a democ- I mean I think. anybody with the least bit of critical. thought is able to tell it's not a. democracy. I mean there's even for. Palestinians who who own Israeli who. have Israeli citizenship, there's a. myriad dozens and dozens of laws that. explicitly discriminate against them. And if you even look at the Israeli. nation state law in the Israeli. constitution or what would be their. constitution the Israeli state law, it.

enshrines Jewish settlement as a. national value to promote. This is. written in the state law. >> bothers me. >> Yeah. >> Settler because it sounds quaint. >> Yeah, it sounds. >> let's go settle in for the night and and. watch the NBA game. Or let's watch um. you know, love story on Hulu together. And you'd be like, all right Jennifer, that sounds fun. We'll settle in. So, it. sounds like this quaint thing. But in. your instance. some of them have her from New York. goes I'm sure all expenses paid trip.

>> Yeah. >> to Jerusalem and once they get into your. house, they're living in half of it. >> Yeah. >> And you're 11. >> They're they're expelling us from our. house with the help of the military and. the police. >> How are they treating you these New. Yorkers? >> I mean with absolute with absolute. brutality. You know, with absolute. brutality. I We we grew up witnessing. this the. the most egregious horrific settler. violence. And you're right, settler is. such a quaint word. It is really. colonial violence that we have. experienced, right? Colonial.

>> more like terrorist. >> Yeah, and it it it is brutality. Yeah. >> I have had I have two sons. And 11 years. old all ages are very vulnerable. 11. years old child, it's before hormones, but really can pretty much figure life. out. And I can't imagine how. traumatizing and terrorizing that would. be to see your parents so scared. and feel powerless. And you hurt for. yourself, but it's a really.

It's a really difficult position to be. in as a child when you see your parents. scared. It really kind of [ __ ] with you. a little bit cuz your parents have. always been kind of the rock. Explain to. me and to the. my listeners and viewers. what kind of trauma that is. And I And I. know it's personal, but I think it's. important because it's happening right. now, and. I'm from Oklahoma originally. People. from rural Oklahoma are subsidizing this. type of thing. and happening. So, explain to me what.

that was like for you when these people. come in and hostilely take over your. home where you live as a family with. your parents. >> I think there's an an amazing thing I. mean absolutely it is very horrific and. traumatizing, but it's when things. happen collectively when they are. happening in mass. You really don't. realize how absurd and abnormal they are. and until you leave. It wasn't until I was 16 that I realized. that. it's not normal to be strip searched. each time you leave your house. It. wasn't until I was. 14 that I realized oh, police are not.

supposed to be this brutal. It wasn't. you know, and. that kind of like. collective experience builds a certain. camaraderie. And Palestinian people have. managed to remain resilient despite all. of this. Another thing also I should say. is that the Israelis have been quite. genius in their divide and conquer. strategy because in our in Jerusalem, what we deal with is home expulsions and. home demolitions. Whereas in the West. Bank, people deal with the loss of.

freedom of movement. They have to deal. with settler programs. Their villages. get set on fire. Whereas in the Gaza. Strip, people are dealing with literal. bombs and. living for. days and weeks under the rubble before. they die, right? So, there's this kind. of hierarchy of violence that makes each. of us say, "Oh, this is as bad as it is. as bad as it is, it's not so bad because. at least have it a little bit less crazy. than the my neighbor." And that makes it.

impossible to to really reckon with the. scope of the violence. You know, I think. Palestinians at large are very stunted. It's It's It's And I think it's a coping. mechanism because how can you. How can you not have any rights? How can. you not. have any ability to fight back or resist. without being maligned and terrorized? You know, how can you cope with that? >> It It's really stunning. I read an. article about a doctor. who went to Gaza and he was helping.

people and he just said it really broke. him. The The way The suffering, the. death, the you know, so many children if. they haven't been killed, they're. amputees. And. it's really devastating as we all sit. here and and we're all told a bunch of. stuff. Like my whole life I was told, you know, Israel is a big democracy. So, I'm like, that I support democracy, that. sounds. >> Yeah. >> Well, all the people around them are. terrorists. I'm like, well, God, 9/11. was [ __ ] up. Yeah, those are those.

people bad. And meanwhile, I'm working on living in. the Bible Belt dealing with Christian. nationalists and all sorts of things, right? And now as we see and the truth is. coming out as to what's happening to. your people, to your homeland and it is. objectively a genocide. I find it very offensive that when you. express empathy. for. Palestinians. that you're It's suggested that you're a. bigot. I think that is a really. diabolical form of gaslighting.

>> It's gaslighting. >> That is really irritating me. I want to. ask you this. These are There's a big. questions that everybody always ask. politicians. >> Yeah. >> Does Israel have a right to exist? >> No. >> And. And then the one thing they say is does. Israel have a right to exist as a Jewish. state? What does that mean? >> Well, let's talk first of all about the the. question itself. What does the question. even mean? It makes no [ __ ] sense, right? That question Yeah, does anything.

have a right to exist? Human beings have. rights. But the the the idea This is, by. the way, the the the the history of the. question does Israel have a right to. exist is a question formulated by the. now-defunct Israeli Ministry of. Strategic Affairs. And it is launched at. people like you and me to distract us. from talking about the focal point. So, you could be talking about genocide or. children being murdered or being people. being thrown thrown from their homes, and the journalist or the diplomat will. ask you, "Does Israel First, I have to. set the terms of engagement before.

anything else. Do you believe" And so, the whole conversation is derailed, and. now we're talking about rights for. countries that do not exist like the. rights that do not exist for countries. So, the whole question is a non-starter, and it's meant. like the function of it is meant to be. as a distraction. So, I'm very impressed. and pleased when when when people are. able to just say, "This is not a. priority right now," right? And also, no no state has a right to exist, particularly No, I don't want to live in. a theo- theological state. I don't want.

to live under religious rule, right? I. don't want to Yeah. And And that's not a. controversial thing to say. But I think. people who are confronted with this. question. what should be What would be most. helpful for them is to redirect and. focus on the important thing, because, you know, in debate terms in the in in. the world of debate, does Israel have a. right to exist is a is a red herring, right? It's a So, it's a fallacy of. debate. >> Well, I always think when I hear that, like, well, does Oklahoma have a right. to exist? It used to be Indian.

territory. Um that's where the, you know, the. Europeans that came over and pushed all. the Indians to Oklahoma cuz they were. like, "Oklahoma sucks. Y'all can have. that land." And then the people in. Kansas were like, "Well, we want that. land." So, it exists. Oklahoma exists. I. raised my kids there. I own a house. there. I um I love the Oklahoma City. Thunder. It exists. Um, and so then if it people were to. say, "Does Oklahoma have a right to. exist as a Christian nation?" Which.

nobody ever would ever ask, "Does. Oklahoma have a right to exist?" The. only you ever hear is with Israel. And. Israel exists. Yeah. I don't know what. to do about it. The water's out of the. bottle. But then it gets to, "Does. Israel have a right to exist as a Jewish. state?" So, I have questions for you. about this. I'm an atheist, okay? I do. not like any sort, whether it's Muslim, Jewish, Christian. I think a lot of. people that think the same way living. together cook up a lot of bad ideas. >> For sure. >> It's my opinion. Like look at the. suburbs in American cities. >> Right.

>> All white, all bad ideas. >> Yeah. >> So, does Israel have a right to exist as a. Jewish state? Does that mean that if I. decided I wanted to move to Israel, this great democracy as they pitch it, would I have rights? >> No, you would not have Non- non-Jews. would not be full equal citizens in. Israel. But my family who's lived there. for many many generations, for for. decades and decades and decades, we're. all over the place in the diaspora. Um, some families in Jordan, some families.

in Kuwait because we've all been. expelled and we can't come we can't ever. come back. But any Jewish person, they. could be born in the Philippines and. have no ties whatsoever. They can just. apply and get citizenship and live in. Palestinian houses. You know what I. mean? >> With premier rights. >> Yes, with premier rights. With with. you they would be tried healthcare. >> Healthcare that Americans pay for, by. the way. Yeah. Um, they would be uh. tried in civil courts while we're tried. in military courts. It's It is It's the. most absurd cartoonish It's, you know,

the colonial world that Americans read. about in high school. It still exists. It still exists on steroids. Is You. sometimes. when I first came to this country, I. would tell people my experience living. under Israeli rule, and I felt almost. ridiculous saying it because it sounded. so cartoonishly evil that. I wondered if people thought I was. lying. But thank God we have, you know, an abundance an abundance of evidence. But again, the the question about. whether Israel has a right to exist is. just about putting you in.

cross-examination, making you defend. yourself, removing Israel from the place of. scrutiny and making your character, whether you're a bigot or you're a. racist or whatever, that's not what's. under investigation, and we're no longer. talking about Israel. But Israel is what. it does, right? Zionism is what it does. People can define Zionism in whatever. ways they want, but Zionism in its most. recent crystallization is genocide. It's. a genocidal ideology, and that's why it. must be rejected. This is I think how we. can escape these.

debates, you know, that derail us from. the focal point, by looking at things. materially. Zionism is a racist, colonial, expansionist, brutal, terrorist project, and I'm not saying. that because I'm citing the Zionist. pioneers who have said this in their. early works when they wrote about it. explicitly. And I'm not saying it. because of my opinion, it's because the. evidence is everywhere you look, you. know? The evidence is everywhere you. look. It It's It's It's indisputable. that it's a. >> And they want now the It's my.

understanding that they want the greater. Israel project. >> Yeah. >> And on the idea of soldiers, they have a. badge that expands the map of the. existing footprint of Israel, which is. why you see um. I think it We're up to 2 million people. in Lebanon that are displaced, residential areas getting carpet bombed, people expelled if not killed. Um Um. I've read an article about like dropping. white phosphorus on civilian. populations. >> Um and then obviously, I think Iran is.

because they want to balkanize. that area because Israel has no natural. resources. And. once you see this [ __ ]. like I spent my whole life. like oh my god, the Middle East, that's. [ __ ] up. >> Yeah. >> And it seemed very complicated. >> Yeah. >> And so. >> so far off, right? And. once you see it, you can't really unsee it. And then once. you see how powerful the propaganda is.

with both political parties here, it's. even more diabolical. I mean and then. it's just like what the [ __ ] is actually. going on? It's amazing to me how this. government, Israel, gets away with this. [ __ ] It's unbelievable. And then it's. like now it's like, oh, well, it's just. Benjamin Netanyahu. >> No. >> It's like it's a much bigger problem. than that. Just. >> Genocide is not a one-man show. >> Right. And just like with Trump, if.

Trump dies, we still have a [ __ ]. problem in America. We still have a. fascist problem in America. >> 100%. >> You know, it's not a one-man issue. And. so. >> And Netanyahu's approval rating. is through the roof, you know? Is Is Israelis are. So, but this is I think there's there's. just a a problem with with the whole. logic. This This is a nation, you know, that has built up its military. capabilities and yet it pretends. constantly that it's on the brink of.

extinction. They They raise their. students to believe that ev- We They say. we live in a bad neighborhood. Israelis. have either really public or really. secret peace agreements with almost all. of their Arab neighbors. And yet they. say we live in a bad neighborhood, right? They have gas agreements with. Jordan. They have disagreements with. Egypt. They have a peace agreement with. uh UAE and whatever and the. And yet they tell everybody we live in a. bad neighborhood and everybody wants to. kill us at any time. So, you're living. you have the nukes and you have the. military.

uh support and you have the diplomatic. and economic cover from the US. And you have all of these capabilities. and yet you're constantly living in this. like. siege mentality where you believe you're. on the brink of extension. And so, that. harbors a certain. mentality a a certain like victim. mentality that's like. in my opinion akin to psychosis. It's. like. the biggest question. I ask myself all the time is that. can people's minds be changed? People. who have been so indoctrinated.

because they see the evidence but they. reject it. They reject what they hear, they reject what they see. A- and so, it's it's hard to tell. >> I do think that uh. I don't I can't speak for other people. but I can speak for middle Americans. >> Yeah. >> I do think that their minds can be. changed but there's two avenues that. they can go down. There's one which is like um Tucker. Carlson. Marjorie Taylor Greene, America First. people. >> Yeah. >> And they are using the Palestine issue.

to say they're killing Christians. >> Yeah. >> In Palestine. And um they're spending. our money and they get free health care. and that's not America First and your. tax dollars shouldn't pay for that. Where I come from Mohammed, that's going. to hit hard. That is going to be a very. powerful message. A problem I personally have with that is. because I understand white Christian. nationalism because I grew up around it. They feel the exact same way about. homosexuals, trans people, immigrants.

that they claim Palestinians feel you. know with the oh they're going to throw. them off a roof. They throw gays off the. roof and all this stuff. I'm like sounds. like the gays are getting killed by the. Israelis to me but call me crazy. But, um. so I I worry about but nonetheless, whichever route it goes, I think the dam. is broken. I think the dam regarding. Israel now they've drug us into this war. that Marco Rubio, our own State. Department has acknowledged that. Benjamin Netanyahu drug us into war.

>> Yeah. >> And I think the dam is broken. And I. think what we're seeing right now is. you're going to see, you know, Jonathan. Greenblatt of the ADL bed-wetting all. over the place just goes bananas all the. time. And uh they're watering down this. anti-Semitism is real. And I I I hate. all forms of bigotry, but also, the. biggest problem I see in America right. now is anti-black racism. >> Yeah. >> It is the fundamental. >> Yeah. >> problem in this country cuz we've just.

removed black representation from the. South. >> Yeah. >> And this is far more pressing to me. >> 100%. >> But your analysis is material. This is. the This what you just touched on is. that you are looking at the world. through a material lens. You're looking. at facts and what's actually happening. materially. But what happens in this. country specifically and in the West. largely is that we focus so much on. words and language. And oh, is from the. river to the sea is from the river to. the sea anti-Semitic or does Israel have. a right to exist? And we're not talking. about real things. Like you said, >> Right.

>> you know, black people in the South have. no representation. Palestinians are. being killed. But yeah, it's it's really. a masterful trap they have set up for us. where we're constantly. drug into speaking about rhetorical [ __ ]. and semantics and blah blah blah. Instead of talking about systemic, procedural, policy-driven violence. >> Yeah, Benjamin Netanyahu always says, uh. uh Iran says, "Death to America." And. I'm like, "So what?" I mean, they they. say. >> They're enemies. >> for 40 years they said death to America.

and they haven't done jack [ __ ] Are you. that triggered by that? >> Also, what Well, he Iran and America are. enemies. Does he expect Iran to chant I. love America? Like what? >> It's I don't know, it's just it's so. ridiculous and you're right cuz they. frame it by all of these words and then. the river to the sea, I watched this. whole like mini documentary on my phone. the other night and it was the Israelis. were saying it from the river to the. sea. And so it's like you can't have it. both ways, but aside from all that. aside from all of that insanity, let's. talk about um Nicholas Kristof's piece.

in the New York Times detailing the rape. of prisoners by Israeli forces um and. this has caused a massive Zionist. meltdown. They were protesting in front. of the New York Times. Benjamin. Netanyahu's bed wedding, he says, "I'm. going to sue the New York Times." I'm. sure Jonathan Greenblatt is just on a, you know, 24-hour tear bender texting. everybody he knows. God only knows what. he's up to. How do you feel seeing this. after mainstream media's complicity.

in whitewashing and demonization of. Palestinian victims and martyring of. Israelis deaths, what how do you feel. about Nicholas Kristof's piece? >> I think the most revealing thing first. of all, as you said, this the the the. rape of Palestinian. prisoners. and honestly the most like horrifying. accounts that you you read, we've been. reading them for a year and a half if. not 2 years. They've been reported on by. Mondoweiss, Middle East Eye, Al Jazeera,

many many many and they've largely been. ignored um by the likes of the New York. Times. Well, the likes of the New York. Times have published, you know, the. widely discredited, widely debunked. screams without words. um article. But the most revealing thing. about the article is that it was. relegated to the opinion section. Right? Much like the article about the. Israeli soldiers using Palestinians as. human shields, it was put in the opinion. section. Much like the article about the. Israeli snipers targeting Palestinian. children in the head and the doctors who.

went and recorded it, it was relegated. to the opinion section. Words from the. IDF, words from the Israeli military, words from the Israeli politicians and. governments and policy makers, they're. all treated as facts. They're put at the. very top of the article in the prominent. first-page news section. And fact and. genocide is relegated to a matter of. debate and a matter of opinion. It's. buried. Um but I want to talk a little bit more. about like kind of the systemic. involvement of the New York Times, right? Because there's one thing, you. know, to be complicit and like turn a. blind eye and obfuscate and not report.

things or like use passive voice. I. mean, I remember this like a crazy. a crazy. there was a time where where when Israel. bombed a cafe in Gaza. This is like. 2014. And the the headline was like. cafe goers find themselves poised for. tragedy. That was the headline or. something like that. >> this kind of [ __ ] It's insane. >> It's crazy. But beyond the obfuscation. and the redlining and the talking out. the sides of their mouths, correspondents that are currently.

reporting. on the matter, on Israel, on Israel, on. Palestine, have direct ties to the Isabel Kershner. Two of her sons served in the Israeli. military while she's actively. reporting on us. Her husband works at a think tank whose. whose job explicitly stated is to. enhance the image of Israel in the. Western world. And she reports for the. Times. Uh Ronen Bergman worked in the Israeli. military intelligence. And he what and. he's reporting at the Times. And the.

examples are countless. So it's not just. complicity of like bad editorial. standards, but there is literally. material ties that the New York Times. and other mainstream papers have to the. state of Israel. Meanwhile, if a. Palestinian journalist, let alone like. comment or like a post that is. misconstrued in any some way that shows. them as biased, they're immediately immediately fired. Arabs and Muslims are literally I hear. this from people at the New York Times. and people other Arabs and Muslims are.

literally prevented from reporting on. the matter because they're they're told. they're too attached to it. They're too. emotional about it. They're activists or. whatever. Meanwhile, people whose sons. who themselves who they themselves have. served in the Israeli military can. report on it without any scrutiny. It's insane. >> It's It's completely insane. And also. when you pile on the fact. that First, I want to say that story. about the kids getting sniped. BBC, Al. Jazeera, and others reported it. Doctors saw the MRIs. Very substantial,

rock-solid factual reporting. >> 100%. >> The head and in the heart. That was the. one where I was just like. they're assassinating little kids. They're assassinating like sniping. little kids. That was for me like just a. complete changing moment for me. Um not. changing cuz I didn't have an opinion to. change. >> It was a threshold a threshold crossed. >> was very eye-opening. But then when you. find out that I think it's 260. journalists is the last count. Maybe you.

know the most current one. But the last. I heard was 260 journalists. A few are. American citizens that have been killed. by Israel. And then you think about. people who are journalists. and their loyalties are to a genocidal. war criminal homicidal regime. over their [ __ ] fellow workers. There's such a moral rot to that. It is. so. morally. >> It's asinine. >> rotten. It like it it cuz I'm so loyal.

Like one of my best traits is I'm. fiercely loyal. I'm fiercely loyal to my. friends and to my family. And I I do not. understand that type of disloyalty to. your co-workers, disloyalty to facts, disloyalty to integrity, >> Mhm. >> to the truth. And I feel like there is a. a line with the moral rot that we're. experiencing here. Um when I find out that politicians when. I lived in Oklahoma that were Democrats.

that are Democrats and I thought well. they're so liberal. These people are great people and I'm. speaking about like Cory Booker or Chuck. Schumer. When you're a woman that lives in a red. state where there's a total abortion ban. and the politicians were crazy Christian. nationalist you're trying to put the. Bibles in schools and all this crazy. [ __ ]. You hear somebody like Cory Booker or. Chuck Schumer speak and you're like oh. my god these people are amazing. >> Yeah. >> Because the politicians in the backdrop. of where I lived. >> Horrible eyes low. >> Horrible right? So then you find out.

like what did it for me was after Kamala. lost like why aren't they fighting? Why are they voting for Kristi Noem or. little Marco? Why are they confirming. all these people? Why aren't they. fighting this guy? And then you really start digging into. it and you realize they take a bunch of. AIPAC money and I just feel like. taking money from those types of. organizations has to break you. And then it just breaks every other. component of your life. And the through. line is like.

our politicians that are voting to. support that they are way more plugged. in to top intel. >> Of course. >> Then then. >> they're doing. >> Yes. >> They know what they're doing and they're. okay with that. I mean the racism. against Arabs and Muslims in this. country is so so so so rampant and so. institutionalized. it's. it's unbelievable but I think. I don't think the Democratic Party has a. chance of survival if they don't change. course on Palestine.

You know, it is absolutely atrocious. that Donald Trump is is in power. >> It is. >> Kamala's loss should serve as a lesson. you know and we've we've understood from. like intel that was recently. released that her stance on Gaza has. really hurt her chances of winning. And. but what Democrats do is that they cater. to a non-existent voter. They want to. like all do things at once and design is. so mad at them and we're mad at them and. they need to move on past it because.

that's where the majority is. People, I. think across the board in America, even. people who don't know are, I think, more. and I think polls polls verify this. I. think people are more pro-Palestinian. because it's it's. it's not hard to make up your mind once. you open. you even the headline could be whatever. it is and they can obfuscate it in. however way they want and they can talk. about it in the passive voice and they. could hard the the pictures speak for. themselves. >> Yes, and.

to put it this is going to sound very. American of me, but. Americans. were our our culture is predicated a lot. on film. And one thing that we've done really. well. >> Yeah. >> is films, Hollywood. And it's a part of. our cultural identity. And we root for. underdogs. We root for um justice. At. least in our minds we think we do. Does. American foreign policy has it always. done that? That's another podcast for.

another day that I'm sure we could go on. and on about. But in our minds, at the. top of it, we think. >> Yeah. >> we root for the underdog. >> We root for the underdog. We want to. right wrongs. And the Democrats need to. tap into that because I believe that is. a collective in the American psyche. And. I have to tell you a lot of people in. middle America don't care. >> Yeah. >> about Palestine. Don't know, don't want. to know, don't care. Just don't want to. pay for it. And.

the argument that Democrats can make so. that this is something that is succinct. across all party is that we have to. protect universal human rights. And we. truly are the party of life. They lie to. you and say that they're the party of. life. They lie to you and say they're. party of family. All of the things that. we're talking about fall under that. umbrella. Now, when I had moved out. here, people that are more. plugged into international news, like I.

said, once I have seen this, it's. it's unsettling. It sits kind of at the. top of your brain all the time what's. happening over there and and how some of. our politicians I expect Maga to do it. to fund all of that. The Democrats are. the ones that disappoint me the most on. that. They take money from that. Um but I agree that it it is going to be. a defining line for the Democrats that. they are going to have to acknowledge. that. And if they don't acknowledge the. genocide, if they are genocide deniers. or genocide obfuscators, then they.

cannot make a moral argument for. anything under that. >> Yeah, pe- people have completely lost. faith. in electoralism but specifically in the. Democratic Party because they are they. they saw Biden fund and facilitate a. genocide. while making all kinds of like moral. attacks against his opponent. It made. No no no. no credibility what- whatsoever but I I. really think, you know, Palestine in a lot of ways has broken.

American politics. >> It has. >> And we. the the American expression is that the. chickens are coming home to roost, right? Yeah, the chickens are coming. home to roost. >> Do you feel a little bit of hope that. people are opening their eyes, that. you're sitting at a podcast table from a. woman that's from the Bible Belt who now. knows about what's happening in your. homeland and the murders and the. genocide and the war crimes and that I. care? Do you feel a little bit of hope.

that there's a collective awakening? >> I I feel hope and the hope also is is. backed by statistics and um I also. believe that hope as corny as this. sounds I really believe it's like a. political commitment a political. obligation. We cannot win if we do not. believe that we will win. But on top of. my hope I just. also feel. such. a need and a necessary sorry I I need. and it's such a necessity for people to. be more brave. I think it's time for us.

to raise the ceilings about Palestine. about other things. But after 3 years of. genocide we cannot be still stuck in. debates about what is this mean and what. is this phrase mean and what does that. mean? We have to talk about life and. death and either you're with life. or you're against it. >> I completely agree Mohammed. Thank you. so much. I want to. >> promote Mohammed's book. >> Thank you that's kind of you. >> and the politics of appeal Mohammed El. Kurd. Please like this episode and order.

Mohammed's book or go to your local. bookstore. Support local. Um this is. something we all need to pay attention. to and something we all have to have. compassion for and something we all need. to hold our politicians feet to the fire. for because we cannot be complicit in. this. Mohammed thank you. >> Thank you very much it's a pleasure. Thank you thank you.