We can never trust these instruments of power | Norman Finkelstein

06/14/24 • 85 min

We are living through a moment of social and political upheaval - one that has somehow aligned the Houthi rebels in Yemen, South Africa’s greatest legal minds and students across the wealthiest campuses in the world.

They’re all fighting for Gaza, and against an increasingly isolated Israeli government and its Western backers. So are we witnessing a historic tipping point?

Norman Finkelstein has documented the Israel-Palestine conflict for over 4 decades, with a particular focus on Israel’s actions in Gaza.

As the son of Holocaust survivors, he became particularly critical of Israel’s use of history as a propaganda tool to shut down critique - something he documents in his book ‘The Holocaust Industry’.

Since October 7, he’s been one of the most prolific voices speaking out - accusing Israel of carrying out a Genocide - and describing Gaza as a concentration camp.

In this episode of The Big Picture podcast, we speak to him about the value of international law, the historic turning point in Palestinian advocacy and his view on Israel’s moral argument for its own existence.

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They’re all fighting for Gaza, and against an increasingly isolated Israeli government and its Western backers. So are we witnessing a historic tipping point?

Norman Finkelstein has documented the Israel-Palestine conflict for over 4 decades, with a particular focus on Israel’s actions in Gaza.

Since October 7, he’s been one of the most prolific voices speaking out - accusing Israel of carrying out a Genocide - and describing Gaza as a concentration camp.

Previous Episode

Fiona Lali took down Suella Braverman, now she's going after the government

Fiona Lali wants to bring down the British government, as well as capitalism.

The marxist organiser turned independent candidate in the upcoming UK general elections says there’s a link between the powerful protest movement for Palestine and the widespread anger felt by young people and workers alike.

Lali went viral in May when she confronted former British Home Secretary Suella Braverman on TV, in what many saw as a powerful rebuttal of Braverman’s views on the university encampments protesting for Gaza.

This week on The Big Picture Podcast, we speak with Lali about how she took on one of the most divisive political figures in the country, and what she wants to change now that she’s become a politician.

Next Episode

What investigating the Iraq War taught me about Gaza | Les Roberts

In 2004, Les Roberts smuggled himself into Iraq as his own government was in the midst of bombing and occupying the country.

His mission was to find out how many civilians had been killed in the devastating US-led invasion, because Western media was refusing to cover it.

When he published his findings in the Lancet Report, that between 100,000 and 600,000 people had been killed - it was dismissed and scorned. Years later, his estimate has been accepted as true.

Inside Iraq, Roberts witnessed the horrors of America’s indiscriminate bombing campaign, and the terror it inflicted on the people of Iraq, and Iraqi children in particular.

Today, he watches as a similar horror is unleashed on children in Gaza.

More than 37,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli airstrikes since October 7, including more than 15,000 children.

Many health officials, including Roberts, believe that number is likely conservative, as it doesn’t account for thousands missing or trapped beneath the rubble of their homes, nor those who have died from the spread of disease and famine.

This week on The Big Picture Podcast, we speak with Dr Les Roberts, an epidemiologist and Professor Emeritus at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

Dr Roberts spent his career documenting death and disease in conflict zones - including in Rwanda, the Congo and Iraq.

You can read his opinion piece on the accuracy of the death toll in Gaza for Time Magazine here: https://time.com/6909636/gaza-death-toll/