On this edition of Parallax Views, Israel has commenced its operation in Rafah. As this was happening I was interviewing Khalil Sayegh, a D.C.-based Palestinian Christian who was born and raised in the Gaza Strip. Khalil is also the co-founder and President of the Agora Initiative, a non-profit that works to promote democracy in the Middle East.

Khalil gives a crash course in the Palestinian perspective on Israle/Palestine in the course of our conversation starting with a discussion of his own background and experiences as a Palestinian who grew up in Gaza. We also end up discussing issues related to how the Palestinian cause, the quest for Palestinian self-determination, can advance forward in these turbulent, uncertain, and grim time of war and bombardment. Among the topics covered are: the need for external pressure to be put on Israel, Israeli obstinance on a two-state solution, Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, Marwan Barghouti, Zionism and anti-Zionism, diplomacy, the Occupation, the West Bank, the shrinking Israeli left, Benjamin Netanyahu, the problem with thinking that a figure succeeding Netanyahu such as Yair Lapid or Benny Gantz will immediately lead to optimal outcomes, the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement, the Nakba and Palestinian displacement, Israeli maximalism, and much, much more!

On this edition of Parallax Views, we've got a trouble feature. First, Jordan Elgrably of the Marza Review and editor of the new volume Stories from the Center of the World: New Middle East Fiction joins the show to discuss Israel and attacks on writers and journalist past and present who forward Palestinian perspectives. We'll also talk about Gaza as a laboratory for laboratory for repressive, surveillance technologies that are then later used in the U.S.; racist depictions of Arabs and Palestinians in U.S. media and the professional Islamophobia industry; social media, the attacks on TikTok, and the way social media has advanced Palestinian perspectives; the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh; and much, much more!

In the second segment of the show, reporter Kevin Gosztola from The Dissenter joins us to discuss his latest article "Israel Could Ban Other Media After Banning Al Jazeera". We discuss the raid of Al Jazeera and the 45-day band being placed on the news organization shortly after World Press Freedom Day.

In the third and final segment of the show, Jonah Raskin, a legendary figure from late 60s/70s left-wing counterculture and activism, speaks with us about his Counterpunch op-ed "Columbia Protests Now and in ‘68". What are the parallels between the days of rage that were the 1960s and 1970s, when FBI COINTELPRO thought to disrupt student activism and the National Guard was sent in to put down protesters in what became known as the Kent State Massacre, and the incredible moment of protest arising on today's college campuses around the issue of Gaza?

On this edition of Parallax Views, a triple feature on campus protests and the Antisemitism Awareness Act that just passed Congress. First up, Mel Buer, a staff writer for the The Real News, joins us hot off her Democracy Now appearance to discuss her on-the-ground experiences and reporting on the UCLA Gaza protests. Then, Chris Habiby joins the show to discuss the Antisemitism Awareness Act bill that just passed in Congress and other legislation that could muffle Palestinian and Arab voices in America. And, finally, Richard Silverstein of the Tikun Olam blog joins returns to discuss the campus protests and what he refers to as the powerful backlash alliance against them, the ADL's Jonathan Greenblatt, Bill Aickman, Israel-Russia relations and the Russian oligarchs in Israel, his message to liberal Zionists, and much, much more.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Prof. Jodi Dean, who was recently relieved of teaching duties after the publication of her Verso blog post "Palestine speaks for everyone" on April 4th, 2024. In said piece she described the sight of Hamas paragliders breaking through Israel's air defenses to get into Israel as "exhilarating". Although many have condemned her blog post, even a number of commentators who disagree with her, chief among them Sohrab Ahmari of Compact Magazine, have argued that relieving Dean of her academic duties amounts to viewpoint discrimination that goes against standards of academic freedom. This is the basis for the conversation.

This is sure to be one of the most controversial episodes of Parallax Views to date. I encourage my listeners to read Dean's original blog post as well as the piece it was responding to: Judith Butler's October 19th, 2023 London Review of Books essay "The Compass of Mourning". Another piece that I would argue is necessary reading for this episode is Judith Butler's response to Jodi Dean that is also at Verso's blog entitled "There Can Be No Critique".

My primary reason for reaching out to Prof. Dean was in regard to academic freedom and the issue of viewpoint discrimination. If speech has ideational content, it should be debated freely in the halls of academia no matter how much we may disagree with said content. Since October 7th, I have strived to be sensitive when discussing anything related to Israel/Palestine especially as someone who has friend in both Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. It is my hope that listeners will engage with me in respectful dialogue and critique of this episode but also my episodes in general. Your feedback is welcome.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Middle East scholar Prof. James M. Dorsey of The Turbulent World w/ James M. Dorsey Substack blog returns for another update on the situation of Israel/Palestine and the broader Middle East. This hour and a half conversation delves into many different areas including:

- The Gaza War

- Violence in the West Bank

- The past month of tensions between Iran and Israel starting with Israel's attack on an Iranian consulate compound and Iran's strike in response; the Biden administration's response to the Iran attack; the 7-year-old Bedouin girl injured in the Iranian strike

- The U.S. foreign policy establishment and Iran hawks

- The Gaza protests at Columbia University and other campuses around the U.S.

- Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his policy on Palestine, and related matters related to Bibi

- Will the situation of Gazans really fundamentally change in a post-Netanyahu Israel?

- Khan Younis mass graves allegations

- UNRWA situation and Israel's information war (which Dorsey argues Israel is losing)

- The different flavors of both Zionism and anti-Zionism; militant anti-Zionism vs. conciliatory anti-Zionism

- The genocide discourse, legal definition of genocide, and war crimes/human rights violations

- Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Hamas, and the Arab street

- Nancy Pelosi's conspiracy theory about Gaza protests being tinged by the influence of foreign powers

- Personal anecdote from James about an experience he had involving Zbigniew Brzezinski and Iran

- Extreme rhetoric within Israel, especially amongst elements in Israel's army and amongst religious leaders; Rabbi Mali's comments suggesting the Israel kill Palestinian women to prevent the births of future Palestinian boys

- And much, much more

On this edition of Parallax Views, the University of Maryland's Prof. Shay Hazkani, a former Israeli journalist turned historian, joins the show to discuss the major themes of his book Dear Palestine: A Social History of the 1948 War and documentary The Soldier's Opinion in light of the Gaza War, settler violence in the West Bank, and the October 7th Hamas attack. Prof. Hazkani provides a fresh, illuminating perspective on the 1948 Arab-Israeli War that contributes a great deal to discussion of Israel/Palestine. Specifically, he takes the approach of looking at how non-elites, especially soldiers, viewed/perceived the war compared to elites on both the Israeli and Arab sides of the conflict. We'll delve deep into this as well as Prof. Hazkani's battles with the Israeli Supreme Court over the fight to declassify documents in Israel's archives; how Prof. Hazkani's work overlaps with that of the Israeli New Historians like Benny Morris, Avi Shlaim, and Ilan Pappe (as well as how it differs from those works); propaganda and the mythologies of war (and how said propaganda and myths are generated); some of the myths that Prof. Hazkoni specifically busts in the book; the damage books like Joan Peters' From Time Immemorial have caused to properly understanding Israel/Palestine; the Arab Liberation Army; how then-recent American Jewish immigrants perceived events unfolding at the time compared to Jews who had immigrated prior; and much, much more. And yes, we will discuss all of this within the context of the current Gaza War and violence in the West Bank. Prof. Hazkoni will delve into his fears about what is transpiring currently, especially with regards to messianic right-wing elements in Israeli society like the Religious Zionists, as well as how the parallels between 1948 and today. All that and more on this must-listen edition of Parallax Views!

On this edition of Parallax Views, Project Censored's Mickey Huff joins us to discuss Project Censored's State of the Free Press 2024, the media watchdog group's annual round-up of the most censored news stories in the United States. However, rather than just a straight rundown of this year's annual Project Censored offering, Mickey and I use this conversation to take the opportunity to discuss the recent controversy over the Columbia University pro-Palestinian Gaza protests, John Fetterman's comparing those protests to the Charlottesville "Unit the Right" rally, and Senator Tom Cotton calling for vigilante violence against protesters. With calls for the National Guard to be brought to Columbia University to put an end to the protests, Mickey and I reflect on the Kent State Massacre of 1970, the anniversary of which will be on May 4th.

Additionally we'll discuss:

- Mainstream media coverage of the Gaza war as well as the leaked New York Times memo telling journalists to avoid words and phrases like "genocide", "ethnic cleansing", and "occupied territories" when covering Israel/Palestine-related issues.

- The importance of the right to protest to a functioning democracy

- The lack of trust in corporate media and the worrying state of journalism today

- Remembering Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg

- Project Censored's coverage of PFAS or toxic "forever chemicals" and why this environmental story needs more coverage

- And much, much more

EDIT - NOTE: I used the term "outside agitators" at some point in the conversation when I was thinking more about isolated bad apples and agent provocateurs. Misuse of words on my part.

On this edition of Parallax Views, Sean Tomilson, a PhD candidate in Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona, a graduate of West Point, and a U.S. Army veteran, joins the show to discuss his March 2024 Responsible Statecraft piece entitled "What the French evisceration of Algeria has to do with Gaza today". We'll discuss the "Philippeville massacre" of 1955 and the reaction to it during the Algerian War of Independence and its parallels with the October 7th Hamas attack and Israel's response to it. Sean argues that the military logic of "total victory" may not be achievable for Israel in Gaza and that there's many lessons to be gleaned from the French experience in Algeria in this regard. We'll also look at the systemic roots of both conflicts and the errors made strategically by France in regards to Algeria. What can this tell us about the Israel-Palestine conflict and how Israel has waged its military operations in Gaza since October 7th? Also, where does the logic of total victory lead and how can the brutal civilian causalities inflicted actually inflame future conflict? All that and more on this edition of Parllax Views.

On this edition of Parallax Views, in the first segment Karen Dolan, a Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies who heads of said institute's Criminalization of Race and Poverty project, stops by to discuss Biden's policies in relation to the economy, the border/immigration, and Gaza/Israel-Palestine. In the course of this segment we'll delve into where Biden appears to be leaning into the progressive base's goals and where he is wildly out-of-step with the progressive base. During the conversation Karen and I go through her two most recent articles: "Parsing Biden’s 2024 State of the Union Address" and "Biden’s populist budget marks the overdue end of trickle-down economics". Some of the key issues we cover our green energy policy, corporate price-gouging, inflation, child tax credits, the Pentagon budget, taxation of the wealthy, and more.

In the second segment of the show, UCLA law professor Richard Abel, known for his work on apartheid South Africa (his work was even promoted by Nelson Mandela!), joins the show to discuss his trilogy of books on autocrats and autocracy. The third entry in this series Prof. Abel has penned is entitled How Autocrats Seek Power: Resisting Trump and Trumpism and deals heavily with the events of and leading up to the January 6th insurrection. We'll discuss a number of issues, have a respectful back-and-forth about the U.S.'s own relations with autocratic states that the U.S. consider allies, get Richard's thoughts on people who are conscientiously abstaining from voting for Joe Biden over Gaza, chat about Trump and conspiracy theories, and much, much more. Prof. Abel will also talk about his work criticizing the Bush and Obama administration during the War on Terror and why he considers Trump more dangerous than previous presidential administrations.

On this edition of Parallax Views, we delve into the controversial world of deathmatch wrestling with deathmatch wrestler Mike Krueger. For those unfamiliar with deathmatch wrestling, it is by far the most extreme variant of professional wrestling imaginable. When watching a deathmatch promotion like Game Changer Wrestling (GCW), Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW), Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW), Underground Empire Wrestling (UEW), or any number of others similar promotions you can expect to see things that you'd never see in a mainstream pro wrestling promotion like WWE. This includes wrestler diving off balconies into glass, wrestler being thrown into flaming tables, and competitors using objects like light tubes and barbed wire bats as weapons. It is, in other words, the "outlaw" form of pro wrestling that is often heavily criticized for it's blood-n-guts gruesomeness.

And yet, deathmatch wrestling has cultivated a rather diverse audience. On one hand there's the "anti-woke" fans of Rob Black's notorious XPW. On the other there's Game Changer Wrestling, which has become popular especially with some in the LGBTQ+ community for its inclusiveness.

Additionally, despite its violence, deathmatch wrestling also has some famous fans. The Muslim gonzo punk novelist Michael Muhammad Knight, for example, is on record as being a fan of legendary deathmatch wrestler Necro Butcher. And then there's the RackaRacka Brothers aka Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou, known for directing last year's A24-distributed sleeper horror hit Talk to Me, who are not only making a documentary on deathmatch wrestling, but have actually participated in deathmatches.

And they aren't the only celebrities who have been involved in deathmatch wrestling. Actor David Arquette, known for the Scream movies (as well as his infamous stint in mainstream wrestling as the short-lived World Heavyweight champion of WCW), did a deathmatch with one of the genre's biggest names: Nick Gage. Additionally, rock stars like Glenn Danzig, Korn's Jonathan Davis, Slayer's Kerry King, and former Danzig bassist Josh Lazie as well as rap duo the Insane Clown Posse made appearances or were involved with XPW in the late 90s/early 2000s.

The deathmatch performance art shows of New York's Casanova Valentine have gained the attention of punk rock and urban hipster youths at bars. And VICE has tackled the topic in multiple documentaries, most notably in in season 3 of the popular TV show Dark Side of the Ring's "The Ultra-Violence of Nick Gage" episode.

Violent as it may be, deathmatch wrestling is, against seemingly all odds, arguably breaking through to the mainstream. The widely listened to Joe Rogan Experience podcast devoting an entire segment to the subject with the aforementioned Phillippou Bros. should attest to that fact.

What is the appeal of deathmatch wrestling though? Is there more to it than the elements of ultra-violence? And what is it like being a deathmatch wrestler?

Mike Krueger will help answers those questions and more. We'll discuss a number of topics including:

- The punk rock nature of deathmatch wrestling

-  The connection between deathmatch wrestlers and the smaller, more intimate audiences they perform for

- The Mount Rushmore of death match wrestling

- The trendiness of deathmatch wrestling in the past few years

- What drives deathmatch wrestlers?

- The dangerous nature of deathmatch wrestling and the fact that the damage the wrestlers' bodies take in deathmatches can't be fact even if the results are predetermined

- Trauma, psychological issues, and deathmatch wrestlers

- The psychology of deathmatch wrestling

- Old school deathmatch wrestling from Japan: Frontier Martial Arts Wrestling (FMW) and their infamous barbed wire exploding death match between Terry Funk and Atsushi Onita

- Storytelling in deathmatch wrestling

- The wear and tear Mike's body has endured from deathmatch wrestling

- The cut-throat nature of the independent wrestling scene; backstabbing in the scene; promoters that don't pay the talent

- The story of Mike getting hit multiple times with a weed whacker in a match

- The role of muscle memory in pro wrestling

- How do deathmatch wrestlers protect themselves when being hit by glass or lighttubes?

- Has deathmatch wrestling gotten too violent since the time it began? How has the deathmatch wrestling scene changed since Mike got involved in it?

- Mike Krueger's background in amateur wrestling and answering the question of how many deathmatch wrestlers are properly trained

- Why Mike quit pro wrestling and why he more recently made a comeback

- Deathmatch wrestling and how its violence combined with the type of wrestlers it attracts makes people question the "is this fake?" question more so than other forms of wrestling? How wrestlers like the late New Jack made people believe that they may be watching a "shoot" (a real fight)

- The craziest thing Mike has ever seen in a deathmatch

- The falls from high heights that deathmatch wrestlers take onto tables, concrete, etc.

- The So Cal deathmatch wrestling scenes and the late deathmatch wrestler Supreme

- What is "heat" in pro wrestling and how to get it in a match; how Mike has to get heat in a match without talking

- What's it like working matches with barbed wire; Mike talks about preparing for his first ever no-ropes barbed wire match (the ropes are barbed wire); taking hits from glass vs. barbed wire; the worst part of barbed wire matches

- The adrenaline rush the wrestlers get during a match and how the pain often sets in after the match is over rather than during

- How time flows differently for a wrestler during a match

- Feeding off the energy fans and the audiences during a match

- And much, much more!

On this edition of Parallax Views, Jon Hoffman, policy analyst in defense and foreign policy at the Cato Institute, joins the show to discuss his Foreign Policy article "For America, Israel Is a Liability, Not an Asset". Hot off his appearance on MSNBC discussing said article, Hoffman joined me to go further into the main points that he raises throughout the piece. Specfically, Hoffman argues that is time for the U.S. to reconsider its special relationship with Israel. He argues that it has become detrimental to both the U.S. and Israel. This is not, to say, however that Hoffman thinks we should have no relationship with Israel. Instead he argues, as other such as Matthe Yglesias have also done, that it is time for a normalization of the U.S.-Israel relationship. The current nature of the special relationship, he argues, does not serve American interests and does harm to U.S. foreign policy and stability in the Middle East. We delve into such issues as the Gaza War, Israel's lack of an endgame strategy beyond "eliminating Hamas" in regards to Gaza, fury against the U.S. and Israel by the Arab streets in the region, how unconditional support for countries like Israel and Saudi Arabia can undermine belief in the U.S.-led "international rules-based order", the nature of the U.S.-Saudi relationship and oil, the argument that Israel is the U.S.'s necessary "eyes and ears" in the Middle East, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and pro-Israel lobbying efforts, how the special relationship may be empowering right-wing figures like Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu TO THE DETERIMENT of Israel itself (this is likely a key point for people who would dismiss Hoffman's piece as an anti-Israel screed; it isn't regardless of what one's views of Israel and the Gaza War are), what normalization of relations between the U.S. and Israel would look like, and much, much more.