Arab Talk With Jess & Jamal

Susan M. Akram, Clinical Professor and Director of the International Human Rights Clinic at Boston University School of Law, discusses a significant report she co-authored and published through the University Network for Human Rights. Titled "Apartheid in Israel: An Analysis of Israel's Laws and Policies and the Responsibilities of U.S. Academic and Other Institutions," the report presents a detailed legal analysis demonstrating how Israel's treatment of Palestinians meets the internationally recognized legal definition of apartheid. Building on this conclusion, the report goes further to explore the ethical and legal obligations of academic institutions in the United States when engaging with or supporting a state accused of committing the crime of apartheid. It underscores that, rather than facing punishment, students and others who protest these injustices should be afforded protection under the UN Declaration on the Rights of Human Rights Defenders.

In an upset victory, Canadians elected Liberal Party candidate Mark Carney as Prime Minister, defeating Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, who had been leading by a wide margin as recently as four months ago. In his recent article, "How about a foreign policy that is truly a force for good?" Canadian author and activist Yves Engler explains how Carney’s actions so far are not a turn for the better.

Jess & Jamal discuss the drone attack on "Conscience," the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s civilian ship, anchored in international waters 14 miles off the coast of Malta. The ship was scheduled to take on board humanitarian activists from over 21 countries, then cut a humanitarian corridor to Gaza to deliver food, water and other life essentials to Palestinians in Gaza, among them Greta Thunberg and retired U.S. Army Colonel Ann Wright. Israel has imposed a complete siege on Gaza since March 2, not allowing an ounce of food or water in, and the 2.3 million Palestinians there are in imminent danger of starving to death.

Jewish Israeli dissident Ronnie Barkan, co-founder of "Boycott from Within," discusses the First Jewish Anti-Zionist Congress to be held in Vienna, Austria, on June 13, 2025. The congress aims to ensure anti-Zionist voices are heard globally, and that Israel is not the single legitimate representative of all Jewish people. Vienna was chosen as the location because it is the birthplace of Zionism. The congress features prominent speakers, such as Israeli historian and author Ilan Pappe, Holocaust survivor Stephen Kapos, Nakba Survivor and researcher Salman Abu Sitta, Dalia Sarig, co-founder of the “Not in our Name” initiative founded by Jews in Vienna, and others, including our guest Ronnie Barkan.

Since the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he has passed freely through France’s airspace in early February and April of this year. French lawyer Sarah Sameur, a member of the Council for JURDI, Jurists for the Respect of International Law, explains how France has been derelict as a signatory to the Rome Statute in not apprehending the plane. She rebuts French officials' claims that France’s airspace did not fall under its jurisdiction in this case.

Award-winning independent investigative journalist Lila Hassan discusses her recent article in Drop Site News entitled, "Archiving Gaza: The Race to Save Evidence of War Crimes and Mass Destruction." She talks about the challenges facing journalists, human rights organizations and investigators to collect and save evidence of war crimes, and their dangerous efforts to dodge censorship and document the horrors of Israel's war against Gaza.

Geopolitical analyst and journalist Sean Mathews discusses his article for Middle East Eye, "How Trump's Gaza ceasefire imploded". More than 700 Palestinians in Gaza, many of them women and children, have been killed by Israel since it broke the ceasefire. Netanyahu described the strikes as “just the beginning." However, the United States bears responsibility for the ongoing carnage because it is U.S.-made 2000-pound bombs that have been annihilating entire neighborhoods, killing mostly noncombatants and infants.

Dr. Lama Rimawi discusses anti-Palestinian racism in the US, which aims to censor and erase Palestinians and their narratives from the public sphere either directly through punitive measures or indirectly by eliciting fear of punitive measures to deter anyone from sharing Palestinian narratives.

Jess & Jamal discuss the renewed fears of starvation during the holy month of Ramadan as Israel blocks aid to Gaza, violating its ceasefire deal with Hamas. Over a dozen human rights experts have denounced Israel for resuming what they described as "weaponized starvation" in Gaza.

Dr. Karameh Hawash-Kuemmerle and Dr. Nidal Jboor co-founders of Doctors Against Genocide talk about their organization's work to prevent future genocides and stop Israel and other countries from targeting hospitals, patients and medical staff. They also talk about the medical community's moral obligation to safeguard life and enhance health universally.

In his recent article in The Babbler, "A Ceasefire Is Not Enough – Resisting the next phase of ethnic cleansing in Gaza," Tariq Kenney-Shawa details how this ceasefire could be nothing more than a pause for Israel to regroup and continue its killing and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their ancestral lands. Jess & Jamal discuss Trump's "owning Gaza" and turning it into "a real estate development for the future."

Jewish Israeli activist Ronnie Barkan discusses how in Europe measures to repress dissent are rapidly accelerating and becoming more draconian. Laws are rapidly altered to circumvent international law to shield Israeli politicians charged with war crimes, while cracking down on critics of Israel.

Jess and Jamal discuss the release of four female Israeli soldiers held by Hamas, as Israel raided the homes of freed Palestinians, warning their families not to celebrate or speak to the media. They also addressed President Trump's proposal to relocate 1.5 million Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan.

Human rights attorney and activist Stanley Cohen discusses the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, its long-term outlook, why it wasn’t enacted eight months ago, and whether Biden or Trump deserves credit for it.

Dr. Mads Gilbert, anesthesiologist and professor of emergency medicine at the University of Tromsø, Norway, discusses Israel's 14-month onslaught on Gaza's healthcare system, killing more than 1,000 healthcare workers, with many others disappeared and tortured. Dr. Gilbert spent more than 20 years working and training Gaza doctors.

Dr. Mohja Kahf talks about the fall of the Assad regime and the aspirations of millions of Syrians to see the birth of a democratic and pluralistic Syrian government. Dr. Kahf is a poet, scholar, and professor of English at the University of Arkansas. She was born in Damascus and grew up in the Midwest.

Human rights attorney Stanley Cohen discusses Amnesty International's report which accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, saying it has sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by mounting deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid. Jess & Jamal break down what's behind the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.

Saul Takahashi, Professor of Human Rights and Peace Studies at Osaka Jogakuin University, explains why Israel must be expelled from the United Nations. He also discusses the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes.

Former field organizer for Biden’s 2020 campaign and co-founder of Project 1948, Adam Abusalah, explains how the Harris campaign alienated Arab and Muslim American voters in Michigan with her support for Israel’s actions in Gaza, which he argues contributed to her defeat in this swing state. Trump won Michigan by approximately 80,000 votes.

Wasting no time in taking advantage of the aftermath of October 7, Israeli settler organizations recognized an opportunity to immediately expel Palestinians from large swaths of West Bank villages, as well as to lay the groundwork for the more ambitious systematic displacement and reoccupation of Gaza. In his recent article in +972, "Copy-Paste the West Bank to Gaza: Hundreds Join Gaza Resettlement Event," Israeli journalist Oren Ziv explains how the Israeli resettlement movement is gaining plausibility.