U.S. State Department Diplomat and Arabic Language spokesperson Hala Rharrit On Resigning in Protest of Israel's War On Gaza and the American Government's Support of and Complicity in the Genocide Taking Place There

 “I voiced concern repeatedly, I was silenced”: ex US diplomat on Gaza | UpFront

Al Jazeera English

 

May 10, 2024

 

Can dissent within the US government have an impact? UpFront talks to a recent State Department resignee, Hala Rharrit. This week, Israel took hold of the Rafah border crossing in southern Gaza, a move that has stoked fears of further death and devastation in the territory. US President Joe Biden had previously warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that an invasion of Rafah was a “red line”. The Israeli move has come as the death toll in Israel’s war on Gaza continues to mount in a war that has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians. Meanwhile, the Biden administration faces growing internal dissent against its policies in the Middle East, most recently marked by the resignation of US Department of State Arabic language spokesperson, Hala Rharrit. Rharrit is the first career diplomat to resign publicly, protesting the government’s response to Israel’s war on Gaza. So what effect is dissent having on US foreign policy? And is the Biden administration at a tipping point in its support of Israel’s war on Gaza? 

 

This week on UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill speaks to Hala Rharrit about dissent within the Biden administration and the government’s foreign policy.

 

VIDEO:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-lzgse32Ug

 

 

Ilan Pappe and Dima Khalidi On The Global Struggle To Fight Against Free Speech Restrictions On Palestine And Independent Journalists, Intellectuals, And Activists In The West Who Seek To Voice Their Solidarity With The Palestinian People in Gaza and Beyond

https://www.aljazeera.com/program/upfront/2023/10/27/the-double-standards-of-free-speech-on-palestine

UPFRONT

October 27, 2023

The double standards of free speech on Palestine amid Israel’s war on Gaza

As the war in Gaza continues, why is the West cracking down on free speech?

A battle is playing out in the realm of public opinion on Israel’s war on Gaza.

While demonstrations have taken place across the globe in solidarity with Palestinians, there have been campaigns to silence critics of Israel’s actions.

Commentators, academics and even common citizens have reported increasing threats and retaliation for expressing their views or voicing solidarity with the Palestinian people, often in countries that proclaim to uphold values of freedom of expression and democracy.

On UpFront, Marc Lamont Hill speaks to Dima Khalidi, director of Palestine Legal, and Ilan Pappe, renowned author and professor of history at Exeter University, about the limits to free speech on the Israel-Gaza war.

 

ANGELA DAVIS ON THE HISTORICAL LINKS BETWEEN PALESTINE AND AFRICAN AMERICANS AND WHAT THEY MEAN

https://www.aljazeera.com/program/upfront/2023/10/27/angela-davis-palestine-is-a-moral-litmus-test-for-the-world

https://www.aljazeera.com/program/upfront/

Angela Davis: ‘Palestine is a moral litmus test for the world’

UPFRONT
October 27, 2023

Citing the late poet June Jordan, political activist Angela Davis stresses the importance of Palestine for other social justice movements.

There has been a long history of solidarity between Palestinians and Black Americans, and these last few weeks have been no exception.

While Israel continues its bombardment of Gaza, numerous Black activists in the United States have come together to demonstrate their solidarity with Palestinians.

These two places are more than 6,000 miles away from each other, with very different histories. So what’s behind this common recognition of a shared struggle?

On UpFront, renowned political activist Angela Davis speaks with Marc Lamont Hill on the history and meaning of Black American solidarity with the Palestinian cause.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:

Angela Y. Davis is Professor Emerita of History of Consciousness and Feminist Studies at UC Santa Cruz. An activist, writer, and lecturer, her work focuses on prisons, police, abolition, and the related intersections of race, gender, and class. She is the author of many books, from Angela Davis: An Autobiography to Freedom Is a Constant Struggle.

 

ABOUT THE PROGRAM HOST:

Dr. Marc Lamont Hill is an award-winning journalist and author and is the Steve Charles Professor of Media, Cities, and Solutions at Temple University. Hill is known for his work addressing the intersections of race, justice, politics and culture. His latest best-selling book is ‘We Still Here: Pandemics, Policing, Protest and Possibility’ which follows on the success of ‘Nobody: Casualties of America’s War on the Vulnerable from Flint to Ferguson’. Hill has received numerous prestigious awards from the US National Association of Black Journalists, GLAAD, and the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.

 

About the show:

Through rigorous debate, Marc Lamont Hill cuts through the headlines to challenge conventional wisdom.