Peter, Your interview on CNN with Fareed Zakaria was excellent. Hopefully, it was a good exposure to Fareed himself. His views on Israel/Palestine are somewhat lacking depth.
Bought a few copies of your book as gifts to some of my Jewish friends who might even read it.
Fareed has been frustrating in his views for decades, now - he has been an apologist in the effort to assimilate. His interview w Hasan Minhaj was very telling as an example of a Millennial talking to a Boomer POC who does not have strong confidence in the value of his own identity. MAGA and other sympathizers want to dismiss Identity as a factor in how one sees/perceives the world, but that is asking for the impossible. By definition, we all have "biased"/limited experiences based on our "identities" that "color" our understanding of the world. Fareed has always been so very resistant to admitting this and seeing him talk to Hasan, we learn that it has been for the simple reason that he was trying to fit in.
Can you explain how you determine which interviews remain behind a paywall and which become public? Which migrate to YouTube and which stay here?
Many creators publishing through Patreon or Substack offer their premium subscribers the ability to comment and participate in live segments or post advance patron-only versions of content. After a period of time, though, most content becomes “public domain,” either “as-is” or in edited form. I believe interviews such as this (and many others still locked away for a relatively tiny group of already-persuaded patrons) could be effective tools in building consensus around solidarity with Palestinians— IF we could share them.
You (correctly) note in your 2021 essay The Four Questions that Explain American Attitudes Towards Israel that the “game-changer” is listening to Palestinians. You make the same point several times in Being Jewish after the Destruction of Gaza (sometimes in cringe objectifying passages in which you describe the radical realization that Palestinians are People, Too) and have spoken about this frequently during your promotional tour for the book as the most powerful point of intervention for folks wedded to romantic Judeo-centric notions of Zionism. You observe that Jewish communal organizations, Zionist forums, and synagogues almost never feature Palestinian perspectives or real-life Palestinians. Ta-Nehisi Coates makes the same argument about the intentional and consequential exclusion of these “nothing about us without us” voices in mainstream media. Most US Jewish and non-Jewish self-identified Zionists will not have the clarifying opportunity to see first-hand the undeniable violence of Israeli Apartheid and ongoing Nakba.
In addition to your gifts as a writer and your standing as an older (I can write that, I’m also north of 50), immigrant, observant Jew who has opened to the public your decades-long journey towards ever-stronger critique of Jewish nationalism, the relationships you have cultivated with Palestinian journalists, academics, strategists, and friends are arguably your most valuable contribution to the discourse. I treasure this library of conversations and am certain I am not alone.
Please share more widely* or explain why you do not.
*If all these interviews are already published without restrictions, where do I find them?
What a treasure Rashid and Peter! 💜💜💜
Very good discussion, thank you.
Peter, Your interview on CNN with Fareed Zakaria was excellent. Hopefully, it was a good exposure to Fareed himself. His views on Israel/Palestine are somewhat lacking depth.
Bought a few copies of your book as gifts to some of my Jewish friends who might even read it.
Fareed has been frustrating in his views for decades, now - he has been an apologist in the effort to assimilate. His interview w Hasan Minhaj was very telling as an example of a Millennial talking to a Boomer POC who does not have strong confidence in the value of his own identity. MAGA and other sympathizers want to dismiss Identity as a factor in how one sees/perceives the world, but that is asking for the impossible. By definition, we all have "biased"/limited experiences based on our "identities" that "color" our understanding of the world. Fareed has always been so very resistant to admitting this and seeing him talk to Hasan, we learn that it has been for the simple reason that he was trying to fit in.
Even those who are deeply informed about this most urgent of issues will walk away from this interview with their knowledge much enriched.
Can you explain how you determine which interviews remain behind a paywall and which become public? Which migrate to YouTube and which stay here?
Many creators publishing through Patreon or Substack offer their premium subscribers the ability to comment and participate in live segments or post advance patron-only versions of content. After a period of time, though, most content becomes “public domain,” either “as-is” or in edited form. I believe interviews such as this (and many others still locked away for a relatively tiny group of already-persuaded patrons) could be effective tools in building consensus around solidarity with Palestinians— IF we could share them.
You (correctly) note in your 2021 essay The Four Questions that Explain American Attitudes Towards Israel that the “game-changer” is listening to Palestinians. You make the same point several times in Being Jewish after the Destruction of Gaza (sometimes in cringe objectifying passages in which you describe the radical realization that Palestinians are People, Too) and have spoken about this frequently during your promotional tour for the book as the most powerful point of intervention for folks wedded to romantic Judeo-centric notions of Zionism. You observe that Jewish communal organizations, Zionist forums, and synagogues almost never feature Palestinian perspectives or real-life Palestinians. Ta-Nehisi Coates makes the same argument about the intentional and consequential exclusion of these “nothing about us without us” voices in mainstream media. Most US Jewish and non-Jewish self-identified Zionists will not have the clarifying opportunity to see first-hand the undeniable violence of Israeli Apartheid and ongoing Nakba.
In addition to your gifts as a writer and your standing as an older (I can write that, I’m also north of 50), immigrant, observant Jew who has opened to the public your decades-long journey towards ever-stronger critique of Jewish nationalism, the relationships you have cultivated with Palestinian journalists, academics, strategists, and friends are arguably your most valuable contribution to the discourse. I treasure this library of conversations and am certain I am not alone.
Please share more widely* or explain why you do not.
*If all these interviews are already published without restrictions, where do I find them?