By Brian E. Frydenborg (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter @bfry1981, YouTube) January 6, 2024 (recorded December 29, 2023 intro/conclusion recorded January 5, 2024); see Brian’s other coverage the Israel-Hamas war here; because of YOU, Real Context News surpassed one million content views on January 1, 2023, but I still need your help, please keep sharing my work and consider also donating! Real Context News produces commissioned content for clients upon request at its discretion. Also, Brian is running for U.S. Senate for Maryland and you can learn about his campaign here.
Twelfth episode on Palestine and Israel—history as well as the current violence—with Palestinian Journalist, Analyst, & Author Rula Jebreal (follow her on Twitter and Instagram and check out her Muck Rack profile here)
Even before October 7, Palestinians and Gazans in particular had been suffering from 3/4s of a century of displacement and oppression. Then, Hamas carried out the most most lethal attack against Jews since the Holocaust, killing some 1,200 Israelis who were mostly civilians and captured some 240 Israelis who Hamas took as hostages into the Gaza Strip. Israel’s reaction was to cut off nearly all supplies to the Gaza Strip, the enclave blocked and partly controlled by Israel that Hamas partly governs, and to launch the most intense military assault anywhere in decades. That history and the current assault are among the topics we discuss.
Rula is uniquely qualified to talk about this history: she has lived it. Born to an African Imam father who worked the Al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalem’s Old City and a Palestinian mother, Rula lost her mother at 5 and her father gave her to an orphanage in East Jerusalem, and the remarkable woman who founded and ran the orphanage became a mother to Rula, who raised her as a Palestinian. Rula’s novel Miral tells the story of several generations of these women living through the tumultuous history of Israel and Palestine and was turned into a movie starring Freida Pinto, Willem Dafoe, and Vanessa Redgrave, the screenplay of which Rula wrote. She holds Israeli citizenship as well as Italian citizenship, as Italy was where lived and worked as a journalist for many years. Her journalism and analysis has taken her around the world, into war zones and the studios of some of the major news networks around the world. On top of all these achievements, she is also a college professor in Miami. The following is my discussion with her.
Notes:
Rula’s novel Miral and the movie based on it
Since I mentioned her unique Vogue profile and photoshoot shot by the legendary Annie Leibovitz:
Some of Rula’s coverage of the current situation:
Rula on the issues prior to Oct 7:
The awesome video of Ben Shapiro being trounced by Rula
Her New York Times op-ed on being a minority in Israel
New York Times profile of Rula
Rula on the rise of global fascism on MSNBC
My article on Israeli vs. American COIN (counterinsurgency)
My take on Israel’s apartheid system in the West Bank
My deep-dive on the 2014 Gaza war and the history of the conflict
The HBO and Israeli Channel 12 miniseries Our Boys I mentioned that highlights the Jewish anti-Palestinian incitement in Israeli society and based on true events from 2014 is discussed here in Time and in The New York Times in the context of Netanyahu accusing it of being “anti-Semitic;” more coverage of the miniseries in The New Yorker and The New York Times; reviews from Variety and CNN
DONATE TO HELP THE PEOPLE OF PALESTINE AND ISRAEL
Palestine Red Crescent Society is basically the Red Cross in Gaza and the rest of Palestine.
IsraAID is Israel’s largest humanitarian organization.
Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), a deeply experienced organization, has provided emergency medical services for people in Gaza for many years.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is the UN agency specifically tasked with helping Palestinians. Several of its aid workers have already been killed in the current round of violence.
The American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee is one of the largest Jewish-focused philanthropic organizations in the world and is helping Israelis on the ground.
Save the Children is one of the premier international aid organizations and has long-operated in Gaza.
© 2023-2024 Brian E. Frydenborg all rights reserved, permission required for republication, attributed quotations welcome
Consider donating if you appreciate this content. Also see Brian’s deep-dive on the 2014 Israel-Hamas war.
Feel free to share and repost this article on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. If you think your site or another would be a good place for this or would like to have Brian generate content for you, your site, or your organization, please do not hesitate to reach out to him!