The brothers welcome Aslı Bâli, Professor of Law at Yale Law School and President of the Middle East Studies Association. They discuss the increasingly repressive academic climate in the United States over the question of Palestine led by private sector as well as the current Trump Administration, how anti-Palestinian racism is used as a wedge issue in contemporary culture wars, how Zionist and rightwing organizations seek to criminalize dissent by claiming that it is discriminatory, and then how this politics is connected to the increasingly repressive Pax Americana in the Middle East itself. Finally, they discuss the stakes of fighting for international law and human rights, and the minimum duty of solidarity with Palestinians incumbent upon ethical scholars committed to justice.
Watch the episode on our YouTube channel
Date of recording: January 28, 2025.
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Music by Hadiiiiii
*Sign up at Patreon.com/MakdisiStreet to access all the bonus content, including a live conversation with Samir Makdisi*
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