Day 145 roundtable: John Mearsheimer, resistance and famine

For months, we have not been able to broadcast live reports from the Gaza Strip as Israel has imposed a near-total communications blackout.

But The Electronic Intifada’s contributor Abubaker Abed was able to join us from Gaza, on day 145 of Israel’s genocidal attacks, to talk about his life on the ground and what it is like as a reporter trying to do his job under extremely difficult circumstances.

Abubaker told us about a story he recently published with us, which documents the struggle parents face to find basic necessities for their children.

He also talked about malnutrition and starvation as a result of Israel’s continuous siege, attacks against fishers, the ongoing blockade of aid trucks and his plans for the future when the attacks end.

Jump to Abubaker Abed’s segment here.

Professor John Mearsheimer, one of the world’s most influential political scientists, joined us to talk about the US’ role in supporting and co-authoring Israel’s genocide.

He talked about the influence of the Israel lobby – a major focus of his work over the years.

Jump to John Mearsheimer’s segment here.

We also had an update from Ali Abunimah about the latest fallout from The New York Times’ fraudulent reporting on “mass rapes.”

Jump to Ali Abunimah’s segment here.

Jon Elmer provided military analysis of the latest developments on the ground, as fierce confrontations continued in Gaza City.

Jump to Jon Elmer’s segment here.

And I gave a brief news update from Gaza, highlighting stories on the accelerating starvation of children by Israel, and read excerpts from Tamara Nassar’s piece on the self-immolation protest by Aaron Bushnell earlier this week.

Jump to the news segment here.

These are just some of the many topics we cover on The Electronic Intifada livestream. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel.

With Ali Abunimah, Nora Barrows-Friedman, Jon Elmer, Tamara Nassar and Asa Winstanley

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On the issue of whether the system is just plain evil and corrupts everything it touches or it's the almighty lobby; I think there are elements of both at play, but right now, as they're affecting Bidens actions, it's the lobby that's standing in the way. Why on earth wouldn't he staunch the bleeding if he could. This is killing him and his party.
When a windmill is broken, it's best to treat it like a windmill, unless one is obsessed with giant slaying.

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I think it's really important that you've brought us into your dialogue with Mearsheimer. I think it's important that those of us who do advocate for institutional morality in diplomacy - the UN - deal with the reality that as M say's (paraphrasing), "great power maxims trump internationalism every time".
I'm a working-class man, and as such I want morality to dictate my future, naturally. Otherwise, my life would be, and actually is decided by market forces which have no regard for the pain I and my family might experience as a result of the pure profit motive.
There is only the most fragile artifice between that socio-economic contradiction in all of the capitalist G-7 world (including our EU elite brethren) and the one we're always about exporting. Why would there be? So, thank you and know that while Mearsheimer persuades my head, my heart is with you. And my guide remains "One Country"!

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BYW, Meersheimer didn't mention it, but Reagan had won the White House with 10 times Carter's share of the electoral vote and, I'm guessing, he probably had double Bidens approval rating. And those numbers aren't needed by anyone of age at the time. Reagan could do no wrong as the teflon President and Americans had turned their attention inward and were even less aware of anything foreign, even Israel had a tiny audience and what lobby there was, was whistling in the wind of they were up against Reagan.

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Nora Barrows-Friedman

Nora Barrows-Friedman's picture

Nora Barrows-Friedman is a staff writer and associate editor at The Electronic Intifada, and is the author of In Our Power: US Students Organize for Justice in Palestine (Just World Books, 2014).