Transcripts For ALJAZ Al Jazeera Correspondent Identity And Exile P1 20240711

Joe biden is putting himself front and center. This was an event to discuss the Affordable Care act. But the president elect questions on other topics and he had a message to the man he will replace. And his refusal to accept the result. I just think its an embarrassment. Great, frankly. The only thing that how can we save this tax and i think it will not help the president s legacy. I think that i know from my discussions with foreign leaders of us for that they are hopeful that the United States Democratic Institutions are viewed once again as being strong and endure. And, but i think at the end of the day, you know, its all going to come to fruition in january 20th. All foreign leaders calling joe biden to congratulate him. Trump, secretary of state americas top diplomat, has called the result into question. It will be a smooth transition to a 2nd term administration. Hey, were ready. The world is watching whats taking place that were going to count all the votes. When the process is complete, the electors selected, theres a process, the constitution lays it out pretty clearly. Various Government Agencies and departments its been reported have been ordered by the white house not to help with the president ial transition because in its view, the result is still in doubt. That hasnt stopped joe biden, pushing ahead with planning for day one, even without the immediate assistance of the chump administration. And the leader of the republicans in the senate says the dilly, want to create problems. I dont think anything thats occurred so far in iraqs an ordinary process of moving through the various steps that i indicated and allowing if there is a new administration to work through the transition, all of these steps will be taken at the appropriate time. This election has already seen a lot of legal challenges there might be another one coming as the Biden Campaign considers going to court to force Donald Trumps team to start planning for the handover of power. Alan fischer. Aljazeera washington. Meanwhile, the u. S. Supreme court has begun hearing arguments in a case which could strip 20000000 people of medical insurance justices have already signaled that theyre unlikely to strike down all of the Affordable Care act. A key piece of president obamas legacy thats known as obamacare. President trump and other republicans want. The law struck down the hearing comes as a 1000000. People have been infected with coronavirus across the u. S. In just 10 days. Russian peacekeeping troops are being deployed in a corner. Kyra back following a deal to end 6 weeks of fighting. The disputed region is internationally recognized as part of us survive, john, but is controlled by Ethnic Armenians as areas of spend the day celebrating, whats been seen as a win delivering swathes of territory to their country. But in neighboring armenia, it sparked public outrage. Mass protests have been taking place across peru after marte of his car was removed as president. Protesters fought with Police Outside congress in the capital, lima. His car remains very popular despite the accusations of corruption that led to his impeachment. Manuel medina was sworn in as perus new president on tuesday. Ethiopias Central Government has vowed to continue a military operation in the Northern Tier gray region until a number of conditions are met. They want the regions leaders to face trial and a new administration to be set or planned for all of their missiles to be destroyed. Prime minister of the ahmed ordered the offensive into grey almost a week ago. Those were the headlines close with all of those stories on a website at aljazeera dot called next on aljazeera. Its aljazeera correspondent, also with more news. My name is matthew cassel. Im a photographer and a journalist. I grew up jewish in america and i support the palestinian struggle against occupation. My support for palestinians has made me feel like an outsider in my own community and my family. Its made me question whether its possible to be both jewish and a critic of zionism. I was raised with the narrative of israel is a dream realized for the jewish people, a safe haven after the horrors of the holocaust. But my world changed when i crossed my 1st israeli checkpoint, i was 21. It was the 2nd intifada and id never seen war an occupation that moment had a profound impact on me. Ive spent much of the last decade living and working in the middle east documenting the palestinian plight. My journey takes me home to the u. S. To explore what design is and means in america today, and the jewish communities relationship to israel. I this is chicago. My hometown where i grew up, my mom and dad spent several years traveling and teaching in afghanistan before coming back to raise my sister and me. They divorced when i was a kid and my mom left chicago, but my dad, so lives here. My dad is not Health Issues since i was a teenager, but his biggest struggle was being uninsured. Watching him cope with his illness as an uninsured american was one of the things that drew me towards fighting for social change. He dance just to put it as a skill and only too comfortable except for some problems in my lungs. I feel pretty good. Now he looks a lot better than last time to go another few hard ground operation, thousands of people die and all the time. And you know, because they dont have insurance, you know, and its not just the money, but its the psychology its create, you know, just everything stacked against you. And the little guy gets screwed down. Easy country so that if you live and shit in our shit or my mom raised me with a strong sense of social justice, which for her stems from a jewish faith. She took me to Hebrew School and i was bar mitzvah. At 13 these days identify secular, but i took away from my religious upbringing was the importance of fighting against injustice and standing up for the oppressed. Ready years later, i applied those lessons to israel and saw that palestinians were being denied their rights. Israeli Palestinian Conflict is a polarizing issue within the Jewish American community, including within my own family. When my mom saw me at a protest in chicago carrying a palestinian flag, she told me i was no longer her son. We stopped talking. I was devastated to see the politics become this personal i went to speak with ari hart who are grew up with in chicago. Ari is now a modern orthodox rabbi in new york. And over the years, we have been able to have an open dialogue about the conflict in israel, palestine. Ari was preparing for to shop for a jewish holiday that commemorates the destruction of the 1st and 2nd temples in jerusalem over 2000 years ago. I mean, i think the idea that theres brokenness in the world and theres brokenness in israel that resonates very deeply with me and that the world is not perfected yet. And that theres, that theres profound alienation and this profound exile in the world. And that we need to be working towards fixing that. Thats how i resonate with you. So this is the library. Yeah, this is called the bait me drosh like my dress actually like study house of study during the week. Its full of tables and about 40 people sit in this room and study these books out loud in like a very rewarding spectacular. We can practice that. You sit, face to face with a study partner, its kind of like you almost clash like youre supposed to argue as opposed to kind of getting to be like, oh, you think, i mean this what i think it means this is about ideas. Its a fight over ideas and its like a holy fight that kind of debate is all the thing. Theres a famous joke about the mother censor child off to you shiva. You know, through the use of the Jewish School here. And when the child comes home, she doesnt ask, you know, did you get a good grade or did you give a good answer . She asked, oh, did you ask a good question today . Asking good questions. Thats the heart of jewish education. I think it comes from both the texts and also from the experience of being different in a lot of different you know, societies throughout history. I think what karl marx and freud and people who really thought about things in from a different perspective than the in the normal stream at the time. I think that was part of their jewish experience. You know, its your that can agitator a little bit just because youre kind of different. So you identify as a supporter of israel as a zionist. Yeah. Ok. How did you, how did you come to that . I believe in zionism because i believe that the jewish people is something unique to offer to the world in terms of ethical and spiritual moral teachings. And i think that the state of israel is the best thing thats happened to jewish people in 2000 years is the greatest opportunity weve had to actualize our highest values, i think is really interesting. We were talking about how kind of, you know, questioning is the essence of judaism. But that doesnt seem to be happening a lot these days within the Jewish Community. There are some sectors of the Jewish Community that are more open to questions and some that are less open to those questions. Israel is like a dream. And when the dream gets realised, its complicated because almost in the dream, its the reality. I grew up with a similar narrative about this dream being realized in israel, you know, for the jewish people. But then when i went and actually saw what was going on, there is one i saw the other side of it, which is a nightmare to be quite frank, for the palestinians on the other end. And all of that just seemed the opposite of the lessons. I had, i had grown up with being raised jewish. Its hard to see the suffering of, of someone who is, was trying to harm you. Its also hard to hold 2 narratives. Its hard to hold the narrative of. Wow, this was the best thing that happened to my people, and this was like the worst thing that happened to that people. And thats a very difficult place to be and feel like you have to choose, you know, and i personally believe its possible to hold both. And i think there are jewish leaders and jews who do who are able to occupy both narratives. But its not easy. Its very difficult. Hey, they were yeah. Im still close with my sister lane. Shes a Community Organizer in the bronx. I joined her for a protest she was helping to organize in new york. So whats going on here today . Why are these people out here . And these are the protesting the murder of trayvon. Right. Whats your role in all this and more, a good thing with kind of people we had out here. We had to put together the call for this night like a profile body weight. And i looked away, did i just we did, i thought it would just say it justice. Oh, how about where i live in the south bronx, its the poorest congressional districts in the United States. You have kids getting harassed. The stats are frustrated, brutalized, and in some cases even murdered by the police. I wanted to talk to laney about what she recalled from our jewish upbringing and what she remembered about my mom disowning me, your. Its always good to go where you are happening in 2006 when i had a falling out with, with mom. Yes, thats right. Can you talk about it because i can just talk about what happened. I think i understand what happens. So what was it like growing up jewish and a lot of bagels and bialys. Thats the only thing thats going to take away from it is the beer. It was the bagels. Part of it was that i never felt like every lead. Its a religion, but especially as i grew up and started somewhere and more about the role of judaism, specifically in the context of israel that i felt like it distanced me even further. And i can see that a lot of the people around me, a lot of the jewish folk that i grew up with. They started to have similar feelings. Some young jews of my generation, like my sister, have grown disenchanted with judaism, in part because of its connection with israel. The Jewish American community is predominately progressive on social issues, but its hard to find Common Ground on the issue of palestinian rights because many are unwilling to criticize israel. I went to the annual, celebrate israel day parade in new york to gauge how strong support is for israel among some in the community. The mayor of new york and other politicians could be seen marching up for god. And in fact was why you are here. I love this wonderful country with very generous and Beautiful People that happy to hear that some people are critical of israel and its treatment towards palestinians in the occupation while they have to get better educated. And they were there with years ago. They would you, again, if they were serious, they would not tell me the money the city might call, the mayor said it best, you know, when the parents put down their weapons of the peace, when its whats on the weapons that we know is there is a Palestinian People and they deserve a state of their own, but that has to be done in a way thats going to protect this. Hes hard. Every jew is designed. Everyone is going to do is youre going to these are not hard lines. So much time are there that his state of israel, stockholm, god, will make all the other. Thats why im here to show my support there too as a source for you know, the route there in support of directly by my living there. I think its also israel survive a lot of times the kind of upon the support of other nations, such as america. What about the treatment towards the palestinians and the occupation about it . How do you describe whats happening in the west bank and the way i was raised my appreciation for the fact of the that israel, the entire land of israel is the home of the jewish people. I dont know if you guys, i do not view this occupation. There is a necessity for a jewish home and there was a right look. And if you look at, if you look at history, world historical rights mean it was home. But how do you justify the creation of a homeland for jewish people in israel, and the loss of a homeland for another people, the palestinians, the homeland i think there really is now studying state of fresh my own history. If there was, there wasnt a palestinian state, there was a people who were living there, is that not right . Their health, their policies, they were after all jewish, they will still be living and living in the biblical land of israel. People understand the complexity of the region, understood that it wasnt just primarily jews, primarily arabs. Its what the u. N. Proposed a post a partition is a partition plan. Theres a state for them that is there for us. But except here we can all my earlier understand the pressure to sympathize or empathize with whats happening with the palestinians who are facing their own kind of oppression. And so do i my own friends that i have and i have a lot of guilt about the way theyve been that way. That its ourselves, that situation. Why do you feel the guilt if youre not israeli . Its i think she was that recognizing that its my state now really i got it. Like i got it. Where were you born 10633 the constitution and theyre still going through things. I cant imagine if youre here today that the jews are safe yet because of israel, the federal government is not a government. Its going to be sort of like it is a 100 percent. But it was the only people that i found critical of israel, where a small Ultra Orthodox Jewish group called military carter. They believe that the creation of the state of israel challenges gods authority. We know the holocaust, our feelings died. Its in our blood, yet were not going to seek to god that were going to turn away from. You would say that we dont respect the believe in your protection. Im not, but its a catastrophe. The concept of oppressing a people stealing the land. Thats not the ticket to what really is in the us or at least the strongest political message of the day came after the parade. When rightwing, american and israeli politicians took the stage, the overwhelming majority of the American People will stand with israel, whatever it takes and people will laugh a little flavor, no effect. No bad though. Maybe that is buil than anything im going to put on the flame. And i want to thank you for that. And people dont think about making the fusion that were being given back to the 967 line. And telling you fairy 3, you 2 will know it to happen, the minute they would be there was not the one being being at the parade. I saw many People United with fervor for israel, and it seemed that their support for israel was strongly connected to their jewish identity. I felt even more alienated from the Jewish American the narrative of israel built on the memory of the holocaust doesnt leave much room for understanding the palestinian story. I went to the museum of tolerance in new york, part of the Simon Wiesenthal center, a jewish human rights organization. I wanted to hear their perspective on the conflict in israel palestine. The holocaust happened. But why did it happen . Having because hate speech happened because of bullying, its because of bigotry having to all these terrible things. So our job is to basically educate the next generation of people to not let that happen. Again. We have power of images. These are, you know, images that were in advertisements around the u. S. Over the last, you know, 200 years you know, new kind of looking at, well, how does that make people of different race or creed or colors feel . Yeah, everybody finds something offensive here. You know, at some point everyone there was video is a funny advertisement. Oh, it wasnt funny. Everyone knows what this video poker says. Extremists of hamas, even lets talk about a little bit what social justice means to the greater Jewish Community in the u. S. To go back to Civil Rights Movement. You know, there were so many issues that were involved in the africanAmerican Community. And i think social justice is always been something really, really important. And have you ever tried to take that lens of seeing oppression where it happens and look at it from the palestinian perspective . Yeah, absolutely look, you know, i just, i dont see it. I dont see it quoted with most of the things you see around here. You know, you see rwanda here, you see, darfur, you see mass killings, i mean, you see syria where over a 100000 people have been killed my civil war. But you know, a lot of people do equate it to, lets say the Civil Rights Movement in this country where you have an oppressed minority that is struggling for equal rights in the same way that martin i, i dont, i dont see the comparison at all. I just dont see it as the antisemitic to be anti scientists to be opposed to the idea of zionism. You know, i design is a bit, is almost a difficult term in todays day and age. It is news and what is there in term . You know that now theres a state of israel signed, it was during the return design state of israels a fact today. Its very common thing to say. Im not an antisemite. I mean, and i design asst and that is very complicated. You know, if someone believes that you know that israel should kind of not be there and those jews should be wiped off the face of the planet or thrown into the sea. You know, thats, thats, you know, thats nonsense. And i sign is thats a magic. And why do you think its so hard to discuss, really israel and the us . Is it hard . I have found that it is difficult to talk about zionism in america. But a growing number of young Jewish Americans are challenging the existing narrative. One of them is my friend journalist nora barrows friedman. Its either like theres no discussion about zionism or the discussion is, is, is very, is i honest. And a lot of the American Jewish communities. William ammons of antisemitism that ive found are actually coming from Zionist Organizations and their attempts to conflate sign isnt with judaism lumping all jews into this. One Vulnerable Community is anti semitic. Its, its generalizing a population that were all victims that were vulnerable and saying that we need protection by these ultranationalist trim right wing groups. I flew to chicago to meet a number of people who have come to know over the years and who are actively involved in the debate around israel, palestine. One of those people is kevin kovach, a spoken word artist. Kevin is also the artistic director of young chicago authors, a Community Center for youth empowerment, the power of young people to speak the truth to systems that try to devalue their personhood. I think you all do that better than anyone in the world. Your personhood is the direct resistance to the systems that will do mean in the value into human like me, kevins concern with human rights has led him to speak out against israels occupation. This is put him in direct conflict with his father, a longtime supporter of israel. Kevin published a book of poems, and one of the poems was tuesday. Explaining myself for my father. This time, dad, we were on the wrong side of history. I mean, jews who support israel without question. These are the holy words of imperialists, which is to say mad men, which is the same men who used bulldozers to run over homes and then build new ones. Never acknowledging the horror of what happened there is being ignorant things, said of jews in anger to kindo our worst fears. But dad, very plainly. How many palestinians do you know . We are better than this . We can turn this story right. Work together with the many others to counter what is wrong. I know we can, you taught me to do this work, dad and i believe you it is great not to my mom because on the better of my words. Now thats moving and i can identify with that what motivated you to, to write that poem to you that i love many hes, hes actually like a really sweet and kind man. And he, my mom have taught me a certain sense of justice and so to see him hold on to these archaic beliefs that hes been taught, you know, just the, the myth that israel and america will continue to tell about its own origin. There was a time i guess around like, you know, the last major incursion into gaza where we werent going to speak up on you. My dad does not write, he wrote 5 pages of notes that he wanted to tell me. And i wrote him, this poem, a letter just to him kind of explaining where it is i was coming from. And i read it to him in starbucks and he read me his piece and, you know, we said it was going to be, you know, difficult, but i think he, i think for whatever reason, like it clicked a little bit. I went to kevins house the next morning to talk to him or about his views and to meet his dad. Really, really write this were, you know, being a jew, you have to have a particular sense of everything. Like if i were to have a bill that was just baked, im crazy. Its got to be baked in boiled, you know, when he was school, i went to sunday school. I went to Jewish Day School for little. I was bar mitzvah. But i thought with my rabbi a lot, there was that song that i heard as i was studying for my bar mitzvah care, which is 1987. Song. Why is that . Which talks about moses and abraham being black, i memorized that verse and recited it for my rabbi. And what is your rabbi say he told me to get out of the synagogue . He said that was impossible and so i knew that there was a power that in saying something that was counter to the dominant narrative. Thats interesting because you have a poem also about at the passover seder. And theres a tradition where the youth at the table are encouraged to ask questions. Thats what i thought in part was the thing of judaism is our desire for debate. And thats the beauty of the tradition. You know, the idea of midrash the idea of time would to really wrestle with the meaning of those of these ancient stories that weve been carrying for, you know, nearly 6000 years. That tradition is still alive within the Jewish Community in the u. S. No, of course not. I mean, if we were to fully embrace that aspect of our own conversations, we would be having more and more Public Discourse around israel, palestine. Ive been dismissed from conferences. Ive been disinvited. Ive been shut down. Ive been censored for, for reading poems, the elders, the teachers will say that israel was a land without people for people without land. And my father, my fathers generation, bought into that myth that there were no people in palestine, there were no people in israel. It was just desert, right . Thats the myth that we tell ourselves to feel good about occupying that land and then kicking people out of their homes. Because hand in hand with granting all refusing to be defined by their age of mexican women have bringing out that dancing machine and rediscovering the eating bomb at a time. I don think part of the viewfinder that a lot in america has seen. Is there gang life . This was our foundation. And what we are i tried to do something different. And when i met daisy, he was the best day of my life. I wish that day could have gone on forever, but my past caught up with me and made us all pay the price d. V. M. Back on al jazeera pool or world war alonzo robin in doha. Youre watching aljazeera. These are all top news stories. U. S. President s like joe biden, has called Donald Trumps refusal to co concede the president ial election. An embarrassment, but biden says nothing will stop the transfer of power in january. Thats despite the trumpet, ministration, reportedly refusing to assist the president elects transition team, and blocking them from accessing vital resources. I just think its an embarrassment. Great, frankly. The only thing that how can we save this tax and i think it will not help the president s legacy. I think that i know from my discussions with foreign leaders of us far that they are hopeful that the United States Democratic Institutions are viewed once again as being strong and endure. And, but i think at the end of the day, you know, its all going to come to fruition in january 20th. Meanwhile, the u. S. Supreme court has begun hearing arguments in the case which could strip 20000000. People have medical insurance justices have already signaled that theyre unlikely to strike down all of the Affordable Care act. A key piece of president obamas legacy thats known as obamacare. President trump and other republicans want the law struck down. It comes as the number of americans in hospital with covert, 19 has more than doubled since september. Russian peacekeeping troops are being deployed into going to care about following a deal to end 6 weeks of fighting between us or by john and amelia, as their ease of spend, the day celebrating, whats been seen as a way in delivering swathes of territory to their country. But in neighboring armenia, its bombed public anger. Mass protests have been taking place across peru after martin. This car was removed as president. Protesters fought with Police Outside congress in the capital, lima. And while that marino was sworn in as perus new president on tuesday, the funeral for chief palestinian negotiator, saeb erakat will be held later on wednesday after he died on tuesday from covert 1000 complications. Atika served as the chief negotiator in peace talks with israel for 2 and a half decades. He was age 65. Those are the headlines here on ars. There will be back with more news in half an hour next its aljazeera correspondent to stay with us. Kevin cobols, dad came over to discuss how he and his son have differing views on israel. Why dont you just start by talking about what you wrote to, to katherine in that letter that you well, you know, hes done some poetry that to me, sounds very anti israeli. And a lot of it was just, i just wondered if some of his influence was antisemitic. You know, it just seemed to me that what he was saying was that jews should be in israel. And im, im very proud of the state of israel. I wrote in this letter and thats really the just not listen to his poetry anymore and not be involved with him at all in any way, shape or form because i was so angry, you know, and he wrote me a letter in reply, that was a good answer to what i had written, i wasnt aware of the similarities the palestinians are going through. He compares that to you know what it was like before civil rights here and how we werent letting africanAmerican People vote have a say so and go into diners. Stuff like they had, do you think you have an appreciation for why your dad has such a strong attachment to israel . Yeah, i mean i, i mean, weve talked about him and theres a real, some resonance postholocaust of wanting to be in a land where you are say, i understand emotionally. But at what cost, in a lot of ways i think our home is in the world like i think that part of what it means to be jewish is to live in diaspora and make the world a better place. I dont know that we need a nation to do that work. Well, i mean, i see this point of views, but you know, i see so much the good that comes out of that country. You know, ive never been there, but i tend to think its a little more beautiful now. Well, because theres like, more strip malls that we were. If i go there and spend some time there, you can probably argue them more. But i think you look at some of it. Ok. Somebody even the resort areas where theres beautiful beaches, some of the most beautiful therapeutical going to them. Theyve been there. Theyve been there. Its just now palestinians cant enjoy. Well, they should be able to, you know, but they cant because of israeli policy. They cant because of america, america now and that argument. And i dont, im not arguing, i know, but im saying that what he was, i mean at the end its good. You guys are able to talk about these issues because i havent been able to discuss them with my own family. And you know, my mom stopped talking to me for, for a while because we had differing views much like you 2. I think when it comes to somebody like your mom or my understanding for kevin, is i go back, i was fall back on there. Im proud to be an american. Im like him. I fall back on our constitution. So kevin has a right to say whatever he wants, because of his poetry and his stand. He was disinvited by hill, who he was like that he was like a hero for you know, how could you censor, liquid it or did burn books and youre doing the same thing. Should be ashamed of yourselves. As i grappled with questions about faith and identity, i came across the blog of rabbi branch rosen, who was a strong supporter of israel, and who is now outspoken in defense of palestinian rights. Surprisingly, he is now the rabbi of the synagogue that i went to growing up. As you can see, a very huge movement. One of the marks of reconstruction is that we are very public about our disavowal of the concept of jews as a chosen people. We did away with the notion of god as the supernatural deity who controls history and human fate, etc. But god is a force for good and justice in the world. And so for any one, people to say that they are gods chosen more than any other is if we dont believe that as americans, you know, we shouldnt, as jews either. This is the most controversial part of the, of the building. But you know, a lot of people when they saw this, they thought holocaust, which is, you know, i think, yeah, its like rubble. I could see maybe some pm would look, it has sort of a destruction. But to me, i mean other people totally get it when they got it right. I always said i would never be a congregational rabbi. I have no way in hell. I was going to do that. I was very cynical about synagogues, and at this point i think theres any other congregation in the world that would take a rabbi like me. What is different about you from what i do palestinian solidarity work, and i do it as a rabbi. And as a jew, i think its the most jewish thing i can do to stand in solidarity with palestine. Israel narrative, it has a religious power for jews, even jews who consider the same secular. And there is this religious fervor by which they identify with this narrative of growing up in israel, and the zionist narrative has always been central to my judaism. Ive always been very comfortable being a peace activist as an american and protesting against american militarism. But somehow israel will always be off the hook. I think gaza really marked the final breaking point for me. It was just a moment when 3002009 december 2008, january 2009, many civilians including children, were killed. And i just went and i just it was one of those moments where i felt i, i cant, im not going to apologize for this anymore. I cant accept this is about persecuting palestinians. And as a jew, as a rabbi, as a human being of conscience, i just felt i couldnt continue to rationalize it anymore. Of course the question was a more existential question. It was, what do i do now . I mean i can i be a rabbi and say these things going to be a jew and say these things. I was just very honestly sharing my own grief. Breaking with this narrative that had been a part of my identity for most of my life. But what is it about you jewish faith that makes you, that compels you to speak out in defense of palestinian rights, the central most sacred story of, of my faith. The exodus story is a story at its heart that demands that we stand with the oppressed and that we call it the oppressor. And that our god is a god who harkens to the cry of the oppressed in the mans that we do the same. Now if theres anything thats complicated, its that theyre being oppressed by my people. That i admit is painfully complicated. But that means we need to start unpacking that the attacks on september 11th, 2001, were turning point for me. I became politically active and protested u. S. Wars in afghanistan and iraq through my antiwar activism, i was introduced to the arab American Community and that had some up with a palestinian american and political activist living in chicago. How many arabs are there in chicago . We think theres 250000 arabs in illinois. The vast majority of them are in cook county, southwest chicago, southwest suburbs cycle and yeah, 70 percent of them are palestinians. When did they leave palestine to come here . But the vast majority came after 967. 00 when Israel Occupied the west bank and the guy was surveying, does, and jerusalem. Yeah. Are they happy being here . Do they want to go back . Whats, whats the feeling you get from . I mean, listen, everybody wanted to go back to their homeland. I think most of them still want to go back to their homeland, most of those who actually left their homeland. But about people like you were born and raised palestinian americans like being in their parents villages. They like visiting them a lot in jerusalem. That sort of thing. Does that mean that they would leave everything that they know in the United States and go to palestine . Arab americans palestinian americas, i doubt it. But you know, there is this really visceral connection to the, to the homeland. In 2003, i started living and working in the occupied west bank and began running articles for websites like the electronic intifada. I later became friends with its director on the up and you know, who advocates for a one state solution to end the conflict i started looking into when theyre going to find intifada had all the connotations, not just of people protesting or throwing stones against heavily armed you know, troops in the towns and cities, but the idea of cultural resistance, cultural revival standing up to papua the reason palestinian voices are excluded at the same reason that historically africanamerican voices have been excluded in this country. Its about marginalizing people who dont have power. I went to alis home to talk about his familys experience, being forced to flee in 1948, and about growing up as a child of refugees. A, a, b, you and i am a huge. The 2 arent right . So what is home for you . I hate that question. I never know how to answer it. I mean home is where i live in chicago. Home is where my parents and jordan home is where my parents came from in palestine. So home can mean many things, but ive always been a little bit jealous of people who have a simple answer that question. And you wont meet many palestinians who have a simple answer to it. I mean, palestine is home, but its unattainable for so many people. What happened in 104748 was the destruction of palestine, as people knew it and of a way of life and of communities that existed for generations and generations. And the beginning of a life of exile and dispersion that exists to this day. After returning from the occupied west bank, i became close to palestinians living in chicago, including people like massada, who owns a popular falafel restaurant where i worked up. Some of them get a pretty good sense and its a good time to browse the other stuff and charge them that its coming in. Ok, im sad. Im a family live in logan square, where theyre turning our house into another restaurant named from a side of herself. They celebrated ramadan by breaking the fast with an if tar dinner chatting is awesome. Yak, going downstairs to try to break the facts of the day. Its a good one. Did this, its good and im going to go out there these days one day and it doesnt. And right that come in all day because im bored. The whole world heard about it coming down south is a Palestinian Refugee from gaza, who won the popular talent show arab idol. Earlier this year. He managed to make it out of the siege on the gaza strip, in order to reach the competition, legal wrangling, game and speeches to make it to me and be blunt no visit, didnt get that much work. So you open sultans market. The restaurant here i came, i dont know how i can take him, how to speak english, and how to swim, ride the bike to drive to work and make money. If thats the, how do i think i was that is that then . If you know what, i mean, i guess soon to come for a job you asked for food for my family. I remember i was bringing kids from block to refugee camp and the ones being on a tour of the United States because they were photographers. And we had an event and i asked if you wanted to donate food to that event, that it would be an opportunity to meet me on the say, you know, people actually probably wouldnt know what we are in prison. See because the system really for part of the south side, its one of the most dangerous areas of the United States and not a house with the highest rates of gun related homicides. When black folks from the south side talk about not having opportunities, you can see theres very little in terms of development. Here is where the palestinian community, when it 1st came to chicago, they came to the southwest side here and they made money. And a lot of them have moved out into the suburbs, some in the palestinian community. Chicago have been involved in political activism for palestinian rights back home. My friend runs the arab American Action network. If youre a zionist, then you support the notion that an american jew from new york has more right to live in palestine than your father. Then my father, the United States, supports israel with 4000000000 dollars a year high. We help our people back home with their liberation is maybe to change some minds here, spread awareness, you protest raise money for humanitarian aid, that sort of thing. 2010, the f. B. I. Came to my home and other members of the aaa and have been targets of an f. B. I. Yes to geisha which had some beliefs as a way to silence their activism. Its an uphill battle, but were making a lot of progress in the last few years. Handsome and i were at the same rally where my mom told me that i was no longer her son. I asked him if you remembered it, that she was, she was at the rally. I dont know that thats what it was. Yeah, thats right. Because he was carrying out a zionist sudden was on the antis and inside. I think that says that if you thought you thought you had your bike with your flag. Yeah, i got a phone call. You got a phone call. Ok, while i was riding the bike. Say, mack put that bad word flag down now. Really . Yeah, i never told you that, oh my good. No, you didnt tell me, but that was a long time ago. I was really upset. And thats what you consider the day you were disowned while i was disowned, she said, you know, that flag is everything that im against. And you know, she said, well, youre not my son, youre not your grandfathers grandson. And what about your mom today . We talk how some believes that the real power to change minds about the conflict in israel, palestine lies in Community Organizing and exposure to palestinian culture. More people learned about palestine and about the occupation from the writing of one poem and the publishing of one song. Then you know, maybe our work here in 10 years was only after we incorporated hip hop instruction and creative writing into our Youth Program that we were able to start doing the political work that we can do with them. Many grassroots organizations like the arab American Action network, are focused on bringing the palestinian narrative to the American Public to challenge the United States longstanding support for israel. I wanted to know why the u. S. Is so steadfast in its support for israel. So i went to the university of chicago to talk with john mearsheimer, a professor of political science. He, along with his colleague stephen walt, wrote a controversy, a book called the israel lobby, in which they look at pro israel Interest Groups and the effect they have on us foreign policy. Israel lobby is essentially an Interest Group. Its an Interest Group thats comprised of some american jews, not all american jews, by any means, and a good number of non jews, especially christian evangelicals, and what we sometimes call christian scientists. How influential is it exactly . The israel lobby is one of the 2 or 3 most powerful Interest Groups in the United States. Every american president since the 1st george bush has been in favor of creating a palestinian state. But because of the lobby, its impossible for any president , including president obama, to put pressure on israel, to stop building settlements and to allow the palestinians to have their own state. There is nothing wrong with creating a powerful Interest Group. Their behavior is as american as apple pie, i wanted to see for myself how the lobby influences americas foreign policy. So i went to washington 6 string with 4 of the people this fall to their members of congress in the house and the senate. You told us, its like your representatives, whats on their minds and how this country should be run. The Zionist Organization of america holds its annual Advocacy Mission to capitol hill, in the u. S. Senate building. More than a dozen members of congress from both houses came to speak at the z. O. A. Lobbying event and show their support for israel. Joe, this is where you want it. So you know, i had a whole lot of thank you. It was good to see. You know what he told me. Im going to say this is were going to have and say no more money for the long post. The road to the if the, if you want to have sent another come to this microphone to see how do we know us here in terms of the we would be if the, if you are another annual lobbying event in washington, held by christians, united for israel drew thousands of attendees to the convention center. God gave them the land by water, right by right of ownership. He owned it, he could give it to anyone he desired to, and he gave it to abraham, isaac and jacob by their children for robart. He doesnt care what the United Nations thinks, what the soviet union thinks, what the poor ted thinks, what the white house thinks the land belonged to the jewish people. Because after filming the event for most of the day inside the convention center, my colleague was grabbed on the street outside detained. And how does footage taken by private security hired by q 5 . What was it that q 5 didnt want people to see . Mr. Speaker, a nuclear iran is one of our Biggest National security threats and the number one existential threat to our ally, the democratic jewish state of israel. Both the 0 enqueue 5 were lobbying for a bill to increase sanctions on iran. The resolution passed almost unanimously in the house of representatives. One week before a more moderate iranian president was to take office. From what i saw in washington, the israel lobby has a strong presence and influence with legislators. But not everyone believes that the power of the lobby is insurmountable. The lobby is very powerful, but its not the 800 pound gorilla thats literally planted in the scalds of the state department in the white house. Forbidding american policy from changing from those who exaggerate its power actually play right into its hands. Dan flush, there is an author and member of the Advisory Council of j. Street, a liberal pro israel lobbying organization, recently formed to challenge more conservative lobbying groups. So why do we see u. S. Politicians while theyre campaigning, even president obama before he was elected, why do we see them coming out and making statements . Very supportive of israel while thats the 1000000000. 00 question, isnt it . Is that not the lobby . Well, its here. Its fear that money will go pour into the coffers of their opponents. Its fear theyll be criticized. How can we pressure of the American Government to change its policy with regard to its, i think, is a question of mobilizing and persuading and encouraging the American Government that this is what is needed for, for fundamental justice. This is what is needed also for israel sake. Can you, i think the occupation has been both a moral and a strategic disaster for israel. And it is going to lead to the ultimate, the destruction of the jewish state. Unless it ends. How do you define yourself . Are you pro israel . Are you a zionist . Well, i dont know what zionism means anymore. It means its one of these words that lost any meaning. I consider myself very much pro israel in the sense that i believe that the jewish people need a homeland of their own and a place of refuge, even in todays world. Dont you think its kind of hard for people from my generation, especially to kind of grasp the idea of, of a state for only one people . That is israel, its harder and harder as the memory of the extreme antisemitism of the 20th century get recede farther and farther away. My role as an american jew is to fix whats broken there, but i dont think my role is to demolish the whole premise of the jewish state. I dont accept that dan fleshly is fighting to preserve zionism and israel. But for some zionism itself is the problem. Philip weiss runs a profile is to me a news website called mondo weiss out of his home north of new york city. He started the site because he found it hard to publish progressive views on israel palestine in the mainstream us media. I dont think im that radical. I just think im a liberal and im trying to rescue American Jewish tradition. Restore us to some of our ideals. This is the motto. Its clear. Someone who is critical of the american israel relationship is generally relegated to the blogosphere or to british publications. The internet is more demanding than any other form of journalism ive been in, and ive been in journalism 3040 years and i spend unfortunate mount of time, i mean a lot of time here in documenting whats happening in israel and palestine. Theres now a lot of competition as a journalist thats all ive ever pushed for is greater coverage of you know, a lot of the atrocities. And i really think thats happening in a big way. What does it mean to be a zionist today . Scientism is his muslim come see as its getting as much land with his few non jews on it as possible. That is the absolute operating system of zionism. From the start, i mean there idealistic things about zionism. Hi, i want to embrace aspects of zionism in rejecting it. If i had been in central europe, in the 1900 or the turn of the century or 920, i think i would, might well have been a zionist. There were real conditions that created zionism. Those conditions are over in europe. They are over in the United States and zionism is an anachronism. The cake is baked, its occupation and ethnic cleansing. Lets end zionism damn flush there. Raise concerns that the rhetoric of some on the left demonize israel, which he says makes it harder for others to criticize israels actions. Philip weiss doesnt agree with the jim crow south demonized in the north. Yeah. We demonized their atrocities happening in israel and palestine and were going to demonize that same regime that allows that to happen. That allows that the cleansing and its an important part of this delegitimization is explaining what is going on. I will never apologize for apartheid or support for apartheid. Never. I will oppose it, and i will bear witness against it. Thats my duty. That is what i owe the palestinians to come back to the people who are complicit in that and say no. That identification of zionism and judaism in the United States is breaking up and its just couldnt happen too soon. Its just a wonderful movie that i am participating. Ive always felt that the most important thing for americans to understand about whats happening in israel palestine is for them to look critically at the narratives they hold about the conflict. And most importantly, to see whats happening from the palestinian perspective. Im headed to the middle east to retrace my experience there, and talk to palestinians about their stories in the 2nd of identity exile Matthew Council travels to the middle east to retrace his steps, refugee rise of the worlds palestinian population and see the conflict through the eyes of those who live it, it breaks my heart to see this man who is going like a father to yearn for a place that he may never see. I dont mean israel, i mean, go out about my country, which is here a correspondent. Got some very cold air, plunging down across canada, fading out across the western side of the United States behind this large band of cloud, his ak cold fronts to the the west of that. Thats where that cold air is sliding across much of that western side of north america will see quite a temperature contrast because ahead of that system still getting up into the low twentys there in d. C. 23. 00 celsius, a 22. 00 for new york. But look at this for a temperature contrast 23. 00 in chicago. One celsius there minneapolis and its going to be the cold air that wins out just 9 celsius there for chicago. As we go on through a way to stay wetter, weather blustery conditions making its way away from the east. The sable some heavy downpours possibility of some localized flooding. And you can see have a wet weather runs right down towards the southeast of the u. S. Down towards florida. Where of course, we have tropical storm, hanna. This has been with us for a good way come off to sunday signing up on a system here. And there we go, as curly back is pushed through cuba across southern parts of florida. Now making its way into the gulf of mexico gradually pushing its way further north, which as we go through wednesday and thursday come the weekend. It will reach the deep south coast around alabama. As donald trump been good for america, everything is in disarray. The media of course, take in every debate that they can to demolish the fact that america has been a force for good in the world. From the American People get inspiration from him and the other half cringe your weekly, take on u. S. Politics and society. Thats the bottom line. Ready i just think its an embarrassment. Cringe frankly. U. S. President elect joe biden says Donald Trumps refusal to concede will last health is legacy, will stop the transfer of power. There will be a smooth transition to a 2nd term, an issue. This is trumps allies refused to back down and instead focus on trumps legal challenges the whole roman watching off their Alliance Headquarters here in also coming up clashes on the streets of lima