Podcast Ep 12: Gaza Fights for Freedom

On episode 12 of The Electronic Intifada Podcast, Nora and Asa speak with journalist and filmmaker Abby Martin of The Empire Files about her new documentary, Gaza Fights for Freedom.

Before that, Nora and Asa chat about the latest revival of the “Labour anti-Semitism crisis” smear campaign in the UK’s general election campaign, and its relationship to an attack by the far-right Jewish Defense League in Canada.

In the opening narration of her film, Abby Martin says: “Gaza is not defined by how it copes with oppression, but by its struggle for freedom.”

Israeli authorities banned Abby and her team from traveling to Gaza to produce the film from the ground.

Undeterred, Abby talks about how she worked with Gaza-based producers, photojournalists and cinematographers who filmed breathtaking footage of the everyday effects of Israel’s occupation and siege, and the weekly protests as part of the Great March of Return.

“When I saw the footage come back … we were stunned by the cinematic brilliance of it,” she tells The Electronic Intifada Podcast.

One of the filmmakers, Moaz Mousa, ran toward the bullets fired by Israeli snipers during the demonstrations. “It’s courage that’s really unmatched, I think, by anyone else that I know in this field of work, and I think that really just speaks to how strong Palestinian journalists are,” Martin explains.

The footage – including searing sequences of the marches, filmed by overhead drones – “puts you inside these protests,” she says, offering a counter to the mainstream narrative about the Palestinian fight for liberation.

You can rent or buy Gaza Fights for Freedom on Vimeo, and watch the trailer below.

Articles we discussed

JDL Canada thugs attack York students, then cry anti-Semitism (Nora Barrows-Friedman)
Justifying Israel’s bloodshed in Gaza (Maureen Clare Murphy)
Why did Israel bomb Gaza? Because it can (Omar Karmi)

Production assistance and music by Sharif Zakout

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Comments

Labour

Permalink Frank Dallas replied on Fri, 11/29/2019 - 11:36

What you say is quite right. The accusation is that to be Left is to be anti-semitic. The pseudo-intellectual Dave Rich appeared on the Panorama programme and made exactly that claim. Rich is influential in the CST, of course. This is the classic double bind. It is Kafka brought to life. The lie is applied to you, if you defend yourself against the lie it proves the lie is true. The accusers are absolutely virtuous and can't be questioned. They are immune from all criticism and anyone who does criticise is guilty. No evidence is permitted to contradict the lie.
You can't defeat this by emollience. Conniving with the view that the accusers are innocent, that their victimhood puts them beyond criticism is the short route to tyranny. There has to be a robust rejection of the initial lie and the violence, oppression and injustice which are being defended must be consistently exposed.