Welcome to Gorilla Radio, recorded June 12th, 2024
The 76th anniversary of the Nakba was commemorated last month. "Nakba" is roughly translated from Arabic as "the catastrophe" and refers to the campaign of murder and destruction that drove the native Palestinian population from their towns, villages, and lands to make way for the nascent Zionist state now known as 'Israel'. That entity celebrates every May 15th its 1948 "independence", sharing the infamous date forever with the commemoration of Palestinian determination to be joined again with that which was stolen.
As terrible as the initial ethnic cleansing of the last century was - seeing as many as 800,000 people killed, injured, or made homeless - what is happening today is by magnitudes worse; and though it's been called the second Nakba, (or Nakba 2.0 in triumphalist graffiti scrawls found among the ruins of Gaza) another word being invoked to describe the current horror is: Holocaust.
Dan Kovalik’s a lawyer, educator, labour, peace, and justice activist, democracy defender, journalist, author, and filmmaker. His book titles include: ‘Cancel This Book: The Progressive Case Against Cancel Culture’ the “Plot to” series on American efforts to undermine the governments and economies of Iran, Venezuela, and Russia, ‘No More War: How the West Violates International Law by Using ‘Humanitarian’ Intervention to Advance Economic and Strategic Interest’, and ‘Nicaragua: A History of US Intervention & Resistance’. He was in Palestine last December, meeting Palestinians and researching his recently released book, ‘The Case for Palestine: Why It Matters and Why You Should Care’.
Dan Kovalik in the first half.
And; Israel's martial bellicosity is no revelation to its neighbours, all of whom have been attacked, or experience still: regular bombing by its air force, assassinations, and acts of either direct, or sponsored terrorism. None arguably moreso than Lebanon. As Gaza burns, and the West Bank and East Jerusalem are assailed by settler fanatics and their government allies, a broader war between Israel and Lebanon smoulders.
Dimitri Lascaris is an activist, journalist, and lawyer. Dimitri too served as Justice Critic for both the Quebec provincial Greens and the Green Party of Canada, narrowly missing leadership of the latter in 2020. He's been traveling extensively in and reporting from West Asia for several months, most recently in Lebanon. His video reports and articles from the Middle East are available at his site, DimitriLascaris.org, where I found his recent piece, 'Israel's War Against Nature'.
Dimitri Lasacris and the fires of war burning across the border in the second half.
But first, Dan Kovalik making The Case for Palestine.
Song: ‘Once the Last Palestinian’s Killed’
Artist: David Rovics - Songs from a Holocaust
Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, broad/webcasting since 1999. Check out the Archive at Gorilla-Radio.com, GRadio.Substack.com, and the GR blog at: https://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.com/
Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Dan Kovalik, Dimitri Lascaris June 12, 2024