Triple Blockade
The Israeli Attack on Gaza, Free Speech, and Democracy
Saturday: June 9, 2018, 6:00-8:30pm EST
Moderator: Tom Kiely
Alison Weir – A Prequel Appraisal: My 2001 Visit to Gaza (go to 0:0)
Citing censorship and the “new antisemitism,” Alison Weir will first provide an overview as to why this particular panel on Gaza was recently banned by the annual Left Forum Conference while several others were allowed to proceed. Alison will then take us on a journey with her back to 2001 when she traveled solo to Gaza to investigate for herself the state of affairs she sensed the U.S. media was not telling us. While today’s reporting on Gaza is often absorbed with Hamas and rockets, Alison can attest to the fact that the living conditions in the Gaza Strip remain the same. What she witnessed over 15 years ago was but a preview to come of the brutal, harsh treatment of the people of Gaza . . . and their indomitable spirit to survive.
Ziyad Shihadah – Being Gazan: Transcending the Psychological Blockade (go to 27:36)
Born in a refugee camp in the Gaza Strip, Ziyad’s own family story illustrates the deprivations of social displacement. Dispossessed, Gazans endure the ignominy of economic and psychological oppression. While there are many individuals such as Ziyad who have achieved success, as a people Gazans are perennially discredited, marginalized, and misrepresented by stereotypes such as "Hamas followers." In spite of desperate circumstances, Gazans continue their resistance (or peaceful resistance) in the Great March of Return and other acts of unparalleled bravery, determination, and inspiration.
Samir Salem – Documenting Gaza: A Visual Catalog of Brutality and Resistance (go to 55:12)
Samir Salem, an award-winning activist filmmaker, will present original videos created primarily for the organization If Americans Knew. His first video is a timeline of the history of Gaza, presenting viewers with a documentation of incremental genocide. Other videos demonstrate the blockade and siege of Gaza, or focus on the lives of children and disabled people who were killed by Israeli forces. Samir shares some on-the-ground footage of the Great March of Return, and ends with a message from Gazan youth who describe their struggle to survive the unimaginable hell known as the Israeli Occupation.
Kathy Shihadah – Invisible Blockades: Impediments to Peace in Gaza (go to 1:24:39)
The ten-year siege of Gaza by Israel constitutes a visible blockade, most dramatically evidenced by the withholding of food as the population is slowly and cruelly starved. The planned scarcity of medicine, electricity, and fresh water is likewise visibly inhumane. There are actually, however, a multitude of attendant invisible blockades, existing in varying degrees of mendacity, barbarity, and plunder. There is the blockade on information in which the mainstream media grossly misrepresents and underrepresents all Palestinians. There is the blockade on justice in which the U.S. government blames the victim, excuses the perpetrator, and colludes in genocide. There is the blockade on advocacy and relief efforts in which Israel and pro-Israeli groups proactively thwart help for the besieged Gazan populace. Now there is a new-fashioned blockade call the “new antisemitism” which in a frightening precedent against free speech halts legitimate criticism of Israel. A recent phenomenon, the “new antisemitism” blockade keeps money flowing, rewards Israel's bad behavior, and perpetuates and deepens Gaza's suffering. Egregiously, it blocks Gaza's ability to call for justice.
Q&A (go to 1:56:25)