In this field-produced, bonus episode, the Moment of Truth team interviews pro-Palestinian, student protestors and campers at encampments at UCSC‘s Quarry Plaza, and at Stanford University, in the courtyard in front of the Stanford campus bookstore—one of the longest-lived encampments in the nation. There is a lot of misunderstanding and projection onto these student protestors (we should include faculty and staff protestors too.) This show is about letting such students speak for themselves and also addressing charges of anti-semitism, the presence of a troubling sign at the UCSC encampment and the violent “counter-attacks” at UCLA from those who are generally pro-Israel and/or pro-war. Discussion of some of the myths, controversies and questions around the encampments.
Corrections and Updates:
The sign hung by “outsiders” on a UCSC encampment fence, and which student protestors painted over with red paint, read: “Death to all Israelis” not “to all Jews,” nor to “Israel” as incorrectly reported in this episode. Again, encampment protestors say this sign was not hung by anyone within the camp (as stated by their media liason), although photos of this sign went viral within the Santa Cruz community very quickly after a photo was posted on Reddit. The MOT team did verify that the sign had been painted over with red paint, sighting the sign roughly two days after the sign first appeared.
The UC system-wide union UAW 4811 (graduate student employees, TA’s, researchers, etc.) continues to be on-strike in support of these students, with both UCLA and UC Davis as the next two “stand up” strikers, walking out on Tuesday, May 28th. The UAW 4811 recently won an injunction request from the UC system, seeking to stop the strike.
Correction: Hind Rajib was not killed in a bombing, but an IDF tank attack (shelling, gunfire) on her and her family’s car: https://indianexpress.com/article/who-is/hind-rajab-columbia-university-hind-hall-9300961/
Resources and Show Notes:
An article on deeper listening and compassion regarding college campus, pro-Palestinian protests: https://startswith.us/2024/05/08/navigating-clash-of-conflicting-college-protest-narratives/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&utm_campaign=05092024&utm_content=btn&_kx=ndrqPLuSbhZvfgwtATfssk9w8RFjNufJbP3OOZYGalU.TAzfUF
Is Israel committing genocide? Recent article in the New York Review of Books by Aryeh Neier: https://www.nybooks.com/articles/2024/06/06/is-israel-committing-genocide-aryeh-neier/
Regarding Israeli expansion and phrasing in the Likud Party Platform, echoing “from the river to the sea”:
Regarding funding for Hamas by the Netanyahu-led Israeli government: https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2023-10-20/ty-article-opinion/.premium/a-brief-history-of-the-netanyahu-hamas-alliance/0000018b-47d9-d242-abef-57ff1be90000
Israeli officials, including former Prime Minister Ehud Barack, discuss funding of Hamas by Israeli government: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7USRq1RkWB/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
Regarding what really happened on Oct. 7, 2023: https://prospect.org/world/2024-03-20-what-really-happened-on-october-7/
https://www.snopes.com/articles/465623/oct-7-hamas-attack-and-israeli-retaliation/
Regarding political prisoners and prisoners of war in Israel: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/11/israel-opt-horrifying-cases-of-torture-and-degrading-treatment-of-palestinian-detainees-amid-spike-in-arbitrary-arrests/
Regarding journalistic challenges to the Sheryl Sandberg documentary and the New York Times article on “systematic rapes,” Oct. 7th. (Note: none of this implies that no rapes happened on Oct. 7, nor after.)
“Electronic Intifada” has done the most in-depth reporting on the Sandberg film, Screams Before Silence, with more mainstream news reports on problematic, if not totally untrue, aspects of this documentary in the Times of London, more recently.
Also: the online news and commentary program “Rising” from The Hill.
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