May 15 is the day each year that the Nakba, the ethnic cleansing of Palestine by Israeli, is commemorated in Palestinian society. This year as a feature of that commemoration a call was issued by the Palestinian National committee and some 14 organizations in Gaza.
The focus of the commemorative statement this year is Gaza. In the wake of the Israeli assault on Gaza in the summer of 2014, only a handful of those in the international community who had pledged financial support to rebuild Gaza have given any support whatsoever, and countless Gazans continue to try to keep their families together while living in the ruins of their bombed out houses. Perhaps many countries are withholding support because they feel that Israel will again assault Gaza and destroy everything that was rebuilt, as has happened in the past. The reality is that the Israeli economy benefits from the destruction of Gaza. Much of International money sent for reconstruction is spent in Israel to purchase building materials and other supplies for the rehabilitation. For Israel the rebuilding of Gaza is a stimulus for their already burgeoning economy. How sick is that?
We present the Nakba Commemorative statement issued by the Palestinian Boycott National Committee and signed by 14 Gazan organizations.
Our feature presentation this week is a recorded interview with the late Palestinian scholar, Edward Said, who for many years was a Professor at Columbia University. Prof. Said died from Leukemia in 2003. The interview focuses on his most celebrated work, Orientalism, which was published in 1978. An important scholarly work, Orientalism uncovers the multiple ways Western culture stereotypes, caricatures, and vilifies Arabian culture. Although often attacked by various critics, Orientalism is well documented and has more than withstood the test of time and all the criticism. This excerpted commentary by Edward Said also features analysis by Prof. Sut Jhally of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Professor Said observes that Islam's followers have long been regarded, and treated, as a lower form of life by western elites, a profound injustice with tragic consequences.
This Week In Palestine (a weekly part of Truth and Justice Radio) is an award-winning three-quarter-hour segment of news from Palestine and discussion of issues relevant to the Palestinians' struggle for freedom from Israel's brutal military occupation and colonization of their homeland. It speaks from the point of view of Palestinians and those who care about them. It's a regular part of Truth and Justice Radio, aired Sundays 6-10am ET on WZBC 90.3FM, Newton, MA, streaming and archived for two weeks at wzbc.org; TJR's website, truthandjusticeradio.org, has a link to This Week In Palestine archives back thru 1-6-2008; earlier editions are obtainable from radio4all.net or by navigating through our playlists. (At this important time, TJR has been airing a lot of Palestine coverage IN ADDITION to that provided by This Week In Palestine.) We hope you'll write to us at tjr@bluebottle.com if you rebroadcast our work, or have questions or comments.
![<?php echo $config['site_title']; ?>](/static/images/rp-navimg.gif)
![Support the <?php echo $config['site_title']; ?>](/static/images/support.png)
