In Palestine, on Friday, March 30, Land Day, thousands of Palestinians demonstrated. This began six weeks of protests leading up to the 70th anniversary of the Nakba on May 15. Israeli soldiers fired at the demonstrators with live ammunition killing 17 and wounding over one thousand. We speak with author and activist Miko Peled about the violent occupation of Palestine by Zionists. The United States is a top supporter of the occupation through funding of the Israeli military and providing cover for Israeli violations of international law in the United Nations. Peled emphasizes that activists in the US have a responsibility to take action to end the occupation of Palestine and outlines many ways to do this, including an aggressive BDS campaign and support for legislation in Congress. Peled says “Israel” is an illegitimate state and the area should be called Palestine. He also speaks about his newest book, “Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five.”
Listen here:
Relevant articles and websites:
History of Ethnic Cleansing in Palestine: the Nakba by AlJazeera
Palestinians will not Cease to Demand their Rights by Basem Naim
For the First Time in 70 Years, Palestinians return to their Villages by Shatha Hammad
Violence Continues in Palestine, Israel Denounced by AlJazeera
Guest:
Miko Peled is a writer and activist born and raised in Jerusalem. Driven by a personal family tragedy to explore Palestine, its people and their narrative he has written a book about his journey called “The General’s Son, Journey of an Israeli in Palestine.” The book covers the work in which Peled’s family has been involved since his grandparents immigrated to Palestine in the early 20th century, describing their work and their life in detail. Peled’s maternal grandfather, Avraham Katznelson was a signer on the Israeli Declaration of Independence; his father Matti Peled was a General in the Israeli army; in the 1970’s his father pioneered an Israeli Palestinian dialogue and eventually met with Yasser Arafat in an effort to convene him to recognize the State of Israel and adopt the Two State Solution. In 1997 Miko’s sister Nurit lost her daughter Smadar in a suicide bombing in Jerusalem and that was what finally drove Miko to embark on the journey to discover Palestine.