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When chaos erupted in Amsterdam between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Ajax fans, photographer Annet de Graaf watched the violence unfold across the city first-hand.
Her footage of Maccabi fans attacking a Dutch resident went viral, and was picked up by several media outlets, who then spun a different narrative that it was the Israelis being attacked.
Headlines poured in about antisemitic attacks in Amsterdam. But these stories largely overlooked on-camera, blatant, anti-Arab racism from Maccabi supporters.
In an exclusive interview, de Graaf tells Mehdi that outlets like CNN, BBC World News, and the New York Times “told the opposite of what happened in that footage.” She adds that they erased the responsibility of the Maccabi fans behind the attacks because “the truth is inconvenient.”
Watch the video above to hear how de Graaf witnessed the violence unfold and how she’s handling the fallout from the misuse of her footage — and the threats against her from the Islamophobic far right in the Netherlands.
For more on the Amsterdam rioting, and how it was misrepresented by the mainstream media, be sure to check out academic Marc Owen Jones’s latest piece for Zeteo: Innocent Israelis, Bad Arabs? How the Media Scripted Amsterdam's Soccer Violence
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You’ve seen Piers Morgan interview Mehdi plenty of times over the past year. This week, Mehdi and Morgan flipped roles for the first time, with our editor-in-chief sitting down for an exclusive interview with the controversial British broadcaster in New York.
Their discussion starts with Mehdi offering a twist on a classic Morgan question: “Do you condemn Benjamin Netanyahu's terrorism against the children of Gaza?”
As difficult as it is for a defiant Morgan to use the T-word to describe Netanyahu’s brutal actions in Gaza, he goes even further to avoid using the G-word to describe Israel’s relentless assault on the embattled strip.
“I think to use the word genocide about what Russia is doing there is the wrong term, and I shouldn't have used it,” says Morgan.
“I look at Piers Morgan, I say here's this uncensored person, very bold, outspoken, opinionated man. He says, ‘Syria is a genocide. Burma is a genocide. Ukraine's a genocide’… Israel? ‘No, it's not a genocide,’” Mehdi says to Morgan, perhaps stunned by the latter’s new stance.
Oh, and wait until you hear Morgan’s response to Mehdi’s questioning about his amplification of the ‘beheaded babies’ lie!
Our editor-in-chief’s exclusive interview with the outspoken British broadcaster was taped a day after former president Donald Trump held a hate-filled rally at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, which Morgan proudly attended.
“My view of Trump has evolved a lot because I know him personally, I like him personally, some of the things he does I think are very effective, some of the things he does I think are completely wrong,” Morgan tells Mehdi.
Mehdi presses Morgan to defend his friend Trump’s insane rhetoric, unhinged behavior, and long-standing racism. Morgan, you’ll be shocked to hear, pushes back hard.
Watch the full and explosive interview above to hear why Morgan doesn’t think Netanyahu is a terrorist and doesn’t think Trump is a fascist, and what he makes of the US and UK media bias in favor of Israel.
If you are a paid subscriber to Zeteo (thank you!), this exclusive interview is available to you in full, and you can also leave your comments below. Free subscribers get a 15-minute preview of this special interview with Piers Morgan. So do consider becoming a paid subscriber today!
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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We all know Donald Trump said and did a lot of racist, offensive, and Islamophobic things when he was president the first time round - and is promising to do so again if he wins a second term next week.
It seems, however, that he has not said or done enough to deter the endorsement of a growing minority of Muslim Americans, such as Imam Belal Alzuhairi of The Great Mosque in Hamtramck, Michigan.
“I never claimed that he is infallible,” Alzuhairi tells Mehdi. “I never claimed that he is a saint. I never gave him a blank check. I see him as a leader who, in our discussions, committed to supporting values that matter deeply in our community… We said these are the five points, he said I agree 100% with you.”
The imam not only stood on stage at a Trump rally in Michigan to announce his endorsement, in what became a viral online moment, but he also separately met with the Republican nominee – something the Harris campaign, reportedly, refused to do (though they have met with other Muslim and Arab groups in that key swing state).
“The other party [Democrats] does not have any time for us and does not have any regards for us as Muslims,” says Alzuhairi. “Now, they understand that… we're not in your pockets. I mean, we have alternatives.”
Mehdi, of course, pushed back on the idea that Trump can be trusted or considered “the peace candidate” or the candidate of “family values,” in the provocative words of Imam Alzuhairi.
You’ll have to watch the full interview above to hear how heated their discussion got!
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Note to Subscribers: Interested in chatting with Mehdi on Zoom TODAY? He’ll be hosting a Town Hall ‘Ask Me Anything’ where he’ll be talking about this year’s elections, voting, and taking your questions! This live online event will be at 3pm PT / 6pm ET / 10pm GMT and is exclusively for paid subscribers. Please register via the link at the bottom of this email.
“In this country, four generations on, we don’t matter, we don’t belong, that we’re still othered, and that it doesn’t matter how much blood, sweat, life you give, you’re still seen as the enemy within.” — Sayeeda Warsi
Muslims don’t matter. That’s not just the reality for a lot of Muslims living in Western countries like the United States and the United Kingdom, where Islamophobia has gone mainstream in both politics and the media.
It’s also the name of a new book from Sayeeda Warsi, the British baroness and former Conservative cabinet minister, which examines her fear and heartbreak when it comes to the way in which even the perception of being a 'Muslim’ results in dehumanization and bigotry.
Mehdi recently traveled to London and sat down for a wide-ranging conversation with Baroness Warsi on the growth of Islamophobia in the US and the UK and how Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza, in the wake of the Oct 7th attacks, has resulted in further hatred directed at Muslims across the globe.
The two also discuss the state of the UK’s Conservative Party with Warsi, who served as the country’s first Muslim cabinet member, recently resigning the Conservative whip, saying her party has moved too far to the Islamophobic right.
“I think that the Conservative Party's relationship with the Muslim community is deeply toxic and flawed,” Warsi tells Mehdi.
Gaza also comes up, with Warsi condemning the UK’s support for “war crimes” against the Palestinians under both Conservative and Labour governments. In 2014, Warsi quit David Cameron’s Conservative-led coalition government in protest over the then Israeli assault on Gaza.
Watch the full interview above, it’s a great conversation. Paid subscribers can watch the full 37-minute interview, while free subscribers can watch the first 5 minutes.
Paid subscribers: Register via the link below for today’s Town Hall with Mehdi…
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With less than two weeks to go until election night, Academy Award-winning filmmaker and Michigan native, Michael Moore, talks to Mehdi about why Kamala Harris is losing voters in that key swing state.
“We're not going to ask the Muslim community to vote for the people that are funding and doing the slaughter. So that means Vice President Harris is going to lose about 40,000 Arab and Muslim votes.” Moore tells Mehdi.
To his point, Harris is already feeling the brunt of this as new polls show her lead over Donald Trump has disappeared and, although time is running out, Moore argues that the answer to the vice-president’s problem is clear.
“You don't have to do a lot,” he says. “You just have to say that when you are president on January 20th, this ends, the slaughter of civilians ends. I'm not going to continue that… I am not Joe Biden.”
Many have pleaded with the Harris campaign to break away from Biden’s policies on Gaza since she began her presidential campaign, but to no avail. Moore is disappointed with the lack of change so far, as you’ll hear him discuss in the interview.
Watch the full conversation above to hear how history could be repeating itself and what a lot of Arab-American voters are telling Michael Moore is their preferred alternative to the two-state solution in the Middle East.
If you are a paid subscriber, the interview is available in full, and you can also leave your comments below. Free subscribers get a six-minute preview of this special interview with Michael Moore. Do consider becoming a paid subscriber today!
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On this week’s episode of ‘Mehdi Unfiltered,’ Mehdi Hasan exposes the details of “The General’s Plan”:
"Israel enjoys such impunity on the international stage - thanks to the blind support it gets from the United States - that its political and military leaders don’t just bomb, besiege, starve, and ethnically cleanse civilian areas, they brag about it. They advertise it. They give their genocide a name. The General’s Plan."
Watch Mehdi’s monologue above to learn who Giora Eiland is, how this plan came to be and how, despite Israelis openly bragging or discussing it, there’s been very little coverage of it in Western media.
Joining Mehdi on the show is Democratic Congressman Ro Khanna of California’s 17th congressional district. Khanna was recently part of a Congressional delegation that traveled to the Middle East and also met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I think it's important for progressive voices to be in the room, and I was very, very, candid with him,” says Khanna.
Mehdi pressed Khanna on several topics, including the options the US has when it comes to holding Israel accountable and why it doesn’t use them.
Khanna said: “Should the United States have done more, and should we do more, to hold Netanyahu accountable? The answer is absolutely yes… if I were to say, look, you know, we're going to continue to not give you offensive weapons, etc., he will say you were on the losing end of that [Congressional] vote.”
Watch the full interview above to hear more from Khanna about what Democrats are and not doing in the campaign, and why he thinks Elon Musk could have been on the side of the Democrats this election.
In the show, Mehdi reminds us of the Biden administration’s terrible record so far, but also of the awful policies that Donald Trump (and the people around him) implemented in Israel and Palestine when he was president. He is joined by Palestinian-American political analyst Omar Baddar to discuss this and what a potential Trump presidency might mean for Palestinians.
“Donald Trump by the time he left office, was indisputably the most pro-Israeli, anti-Palestinian president in US history. We don’t need to rehabilitate or whitewash Donald Trump in order to critique Biden or Harris,” says Mehdi.
Baddar adds that “The Biden Harris policy so far on Palestine and Israel has been just a despicable horror from beginning to end. It's been a year now of watching this genocide unfold day after day on our phones.” And, on Trump’s recent assertion that Biden is holding Netanyahu back, but that he would allow Bibi to ‘finish the job’, Baddar says: “That could be the significant escalation and flat out endorsement from the White House of Israel taking over all of North Gaza and pushing Palestinians completely out of it and beginning that process in the West Bank as well, and saying that we recognize, you know, Trump already recognized the legitimacy of Israeli settlements and what that expansion looks like.”
Listen to the full conversation above where they also cover the current situation in Northern Gaza, Trump’s anti-Palestinian track record, and why there’s even an illegal Israeli settlement named after him.
DON’T MISS THIS LIVE EVENT TOMORROW:
The F Word: Fascism, Trump, and the Threat to American Democracy
In a special event organized by Substack, Mehdi and Steve Schmidt of The Warning with Steve Schmidt will discuss the political dynamics surrounding Donald Trump and the MAGA movement, consider the broader implications for US democracy, and won't shy away from tough questions about the movement’s ideological direction.
When: Wednesday, October 23, 8 p.m. ETWhere: Only on this link, for the Substack App
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“I don't think we should be writing blank checks to any country that we're allied with. I think that's a very sensible way to conduct foreign policy.”- John Legend on conditioning aid to Israel
Last week, we shared a wide-ranging exclusive interview with John Legend that covered a lot of ground: from homelessness and criminal justice, including current propositions on the ballot in California, to the 2024 presidential election and the war in Gaza.
We thought it’s worth re-sharing the section on Gaza, Israel, and Kamala Harris in particular. That’s the part you can watch above, now available, free, to all of our subscribers. (Paid subscribers to Zeteo can still also watch the full discussion here.)
Legend answers Mehdi’s questions, from what Harris needs to do to win votes in swing states like Michigan, to the dehumanization of Palestinian children, to why more people in Hollywood aren’t speaking out the way he is now.
“They've seen people lose their agent or lose jobs from it,” Legend tells Mehdi, in a rather blunt exchange. “They're afraid they'll suffer professional consequences.” He also shares why he’s choosing to be vocal and isn’t scared of being “punished”.
It’s a great discussion, and the first time the award-winning artist has opened up in this way on Israel and Gaza. Give it a watch and let us know your thoughts in the comments!
As always, if you believe in the work we’re doing at Zeteo, do consider becoming a paid subscriber. We are not supported by ads or corporate sponsors, and so all the work we do has been possible because of individual paid subscribers, who we cannot thank enough.
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In this new episode of Mehdi Unfiltered, Mehdi calls out Democratic Presidential Candidate Kamala Harris for her failure to win over Arab American and Muslim voters and distinguish herself from Biden when it comes to Gaza and conditions on aid to Israel.
“Just saying ‘Trump Trump Trump’ is not enough for most people; the reality is that most people, Muslims included, don’t just want to vote against something, they want to vote for something,” Mehdi says.
Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar joins Mehdi to discuss Harris’s performance among Arab Americans, telling Mehdi that Harris’s efforts to win over the Arab American and Muslim community are, “not enough.”
“You cannot do outreach to a community when you cannot deliver the thing that they are asking for. And so, unless and when that happens, I am afraid that these voters are not going to come over and vote for her,” Omar says.
Watch Mehdi’s full interview with Rep. Omar to hear the two discuss more on Harris’s strategy, AIPAC, and Omar’s own re-election campaign.
Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha, who managed to escape occupied Gaza at the beginning of the war, talks to Mehdi about Israel’s continued assault on the strip, as well as the US media’s failure to uplift Palestinian voices during the war.
“The only people we are seeing on TV are some officials who are giving us some statistics, some statements, condemning. But we don't get to hear the real people about whom they are talking,” Abu Toha says. “I have been trying to go on CNN and BBC, and there is no room for us to speak about our personal stories.”
Listen to the full conversation to hear more about Israel’s plans for Northern Gaza, what it’s like for Abu Toha to try to communicate with family in Gaza, and his reaction to Israel’s killing Yahya Sinwar.
Sudan
With more than 8 million people displaced, there are no signs of a ceasefire in Sudan. The genocide continues as the nation’s army fights against the Rapid Support Forces; a paramilitary group supported by a few other countries.
On the show, Mehdi interviews Sudanese artist and producer Khalid Albaih, who discusses the latest on the war and how the targeting of journalists is affecting it.
“It's incredibly hard to find any source of credible news. And that makes even the situation worse because the war became kind of a media war between the videos that the RSF soldiers shoot about themselves and the videos that the army soldiers shoot about themselves,” Albaih says.
Be sure to watch the rest of this week’s episode above. Let us know what you think and who you would like to see on the show next.
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On this week’s episode of Mehdi Unfiltered, Mehdi explains the Israeli military policy driving their genocidal campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon.
“The Dahiya doctrine calls for the Israeli military to intentionally, deliberately, cynically, inflict long-lasting and disproportionate damage onto the enemy, no matter how bad the civilian consequences,” Mehdi says. “AKA, exactly what we’re seeing in Lebanon now, and in Gaza for the past year.”
Why doesn’t the US media give Israel’s Dahiya doctrine any coverage? Mehdi does a deep dive into the history behind the policy, that of which mainstream media has failed to bring attention to.
To discuss Israel’s new front of the war in Lebanon, Lebanese academic and London School of Economics Professor, Fawaz Gerges joins the show. Gerges talks to Mehdi about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s latest message to the Lebanese people, in which Netanyahu called on the Lebanese people to, “stand up and take their country back” from Hezbollah or face the same suffering Israel has inflicted on Gaza.
“What Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition are trying to do is to instigate a civil war in Lebanon. They're calling on the Lebanese to rise up to revolt against Hezbollah, knowing full well that Hezbollah is an integral part of the social fabric [in Lebanon],” Gerges says.
Watch the full discussion above to hear Mehdi and Fawaz discuss why Israel’s military strategy is so ineffective, the killing of Hezbollah Leader Hassan Nasrallah, and how the war in Gaza could change the international order forever.
Also on the show, human rights activist Dr. Mahrang Baloch joins to tell Mehdi the story of how after being named one of Time Magazine’s 100 Next, the Pakistani government barred her from traveling to New York to be recognized by Time and attend their gala this week.
Baloch, who has been speaking out against Pakistan’s abuse and killing of the country’s Baloch minority, tells Mehdi that she was prevented from traveling to New York for the gala because the government knew she “would expose their war crimes in Balochistan.”
“For years, our people have suffered enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and unimaginable human rights violations. And the US is [Pakistan’s] biggest ally ,” Baloch says to Mehdi. “Not a single person that belongs to the Baloch community is safe.”
Listen to Mehdi’s interview with Dr. Mahrong Baloch to hear more about what the recognition from Time Magazine means to her and her minority community, as well as why other countries are turning a blind eye to Pakistan’s abuse.
After Elon Musk’s surprise appearance at a Trump rally this past weekend, Mehdi is joined by the authors of “Character Limit,” – a new book about Musk and his disastrous Twitter takeover.
"From bringing back formerly suspended accounts like that of former President Donald Trump and a variety of white supremacists and card-carrying antisemites, to then suspending accounts of journalists tracking the location of his jet using public sources, one thing is clear about Elon Musk, he is not the hero in this story,” Mehdi says. “But he thinks he is.”
Watch Mehdi’s interview with the authors, Ryan Mac and Kate Conger, to hear more about Musk forming his own echo chamber, his decisions to reduce content moderation on Twitter, and his rise into the far-right MAGA world.
Be sure to watch the rest of this week’s episode above. Let us know what you think and who you would like to see on the show next.
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When most people think of John Legend, they think of his hit songs and albums, his ‘EGOT’ status, and even his role on ‘The Voice.’ But Legend also happens to be an A-list celebrity who isn’t afraid to speak out on political issues, even when it comes to more contentious causes.
Not only is Legend a longtime advocate for criminal justice reform, but he also has a long history supporting the Democratic Party, endorsing Hillary Clinton in 2016, Joe Biden in 2020, and now, Kamala Harris.
But Legend, in this exclusive and wide-ranging conversation with Mehdi, isn’t afraid to criticize Harris and the Democrats’ unconditional support for Israel’s assault on Gaza, nor does he hold back from denouncing the dehumanization of Palestinians and the ongoing killing of Palestinian kids.
Watch the 45-minute interview above (free subscribers can watch the first 11 minutes), in which the two discuss the latest initiatives on prison reform from Legend’s nonprofit Free America, as well as the award-winning musician’s views on the DNC and Kamala Harris, Donald Trump and J.D. Vance, and of course, Israel, Gaza, and U.S. arms sales. '
Don’t forget to join the conversation in the comments below!
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This interview is part of Zeteo’s special content marking one year since the attacks on Oct. 7 and the genocidal war in Gaza that has followed.
12 months after a brutal attack and the hostages have yet to be released. 12 months of an incomprehensible genocide that has shown no signs of coming to an end. We are 12 months on, and rather than ending the war on Gaza and bringing the hostages home, Israel has now expanded its violent campaign to new frontiers, with the tacit approval of the US, endangering millions more across a whole region - perhaps even beyond.
Over the last week and in the coming days, Zeteo is sharing special coverage marking the one year since October 7. Scroll down to see some of the pieces you may have missed.
Neither Mehdi nor the guest on today’s segment of ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ expected this to be what one year on from October 7 would look like. Zahiro Shahar Mor, the nephew of former Israeli hostage Avraham Munder, 79, came on the show back in June to share the story of his uncle who was taken hostage by Hamas. Mor was also protesting and campaigning, along with many other families of hostages, for a ceasefire and an end to the violence.
In August though, Mor’s uncle’s body was tragically found in a tunnel in Khan Yunis. Officials have not determined the cause of death. For Mor, the loss of his uncle has only made him louder in opposition to his government’s handling of the genocide, the conflict, and the hostages still being held in Gaza.
“A year has passed, and you know every chance, every avenue, every road, to some kind of agreement was torpedoed,” says Mor. “I don't believe Netanyahu one bit. He speaks differently in Israel and abroad.”
Watch Mehdi’s interview with Mor above. His pain and frustration are palpable. His loss is unspeakable, because it could have been preventable. He’s now calling for external, international invention to help bring the violence to an end.
Be sure to catch Mehdi’s interview with Gaza-based Palestinian journalist Hind Khoudary, who joins the show from occupied Gaza to mark one year of the genocide. She speaks about feeling abandoned and the media’s complicity in the dehumanization of Palestinians:
More of our content marking one year on from October 7:
If you value the work we’re doing, consider becoming a paid subscriber so that we can continue our mission of offering original and meaningful content that highlights voices and perspectives you won’t find in the mainstream news.
For those of you who are already paid subscribers, thank you. We hope you appreciate what we’re doing at Zeteo and recognize your role in making all of it possible. None of this would be possible without you.
Stay tuned for more…
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This interview is part of Zeteo’s special content marking one year since the attacks on Oct. 7 and the genocidal war in Gaza that has followed.
Processing what Palestinians in occupied Gaza have been living through for a whole year now is nearly an impossible task, and yet, much of mainstream media continues to ignore or deny Israel’s war crimes in the strip.
But Palestinian journalists like Hind Khoudary, the guest on this special segment of ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’, are putting their lives on the line to fight against media complicity – literally. Since the start of the war, Khoudary has amassed nearly 1.5 million followers between Instagram and Twitter, putting her life on the line as she reports on the frontline of an ongoing genocide. Constant Israeli bombardment, the killing of Palestinian journalists, and regular internet outages make Khoudary’s voice invaluable for Gaza and those trying to stay informed about Gaza.
Over the last week and in the coming days, Zeteo is sharing special coverage marking one year since October 7th. Scroll down to see some of the pieces you may have missed.
Khoudary is one of the few remaining journalists in occupied Gaza, with Israel having spent the past year killing at least 127 journalists and media workers there, and continuing to block foreign journalists from entering the strip. After all the bloodshed, she tells Mehdi how disappointed she is to have seen so little support from her colleagues in the West.
“Not only they abandoned us, but the whole Western media was complicit,” says Khoudary.
“We are the only source for all of these news organizations to report on what's happening,” she explains to Mehdi, adding that she is not only reporting on the horror stories in Gaza, but living them too.
“It's not only like we're reporting this, but we're also living every single detail. Like when we report about famine, we're not eating food, when we report about diseases, we’re being sick, when we report about people not being able to leave, we’re also not being able to leave.”
Watch the full interview above, and also see Khoudary react to an old interview of hers from 2017, as well as describing what life in Gaza is like today.
More of our content marking one year on from October 7:
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On the heels of the release of his latest book “The Message,” his first nonfiction work for seven years, the award-winning author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates joined ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ to discuss the book’s focus on Palestine, and the reception it has received from the mainstream media – including a shocking interview on CBS. In their discussion, Coates discusses topics for the first time since the start of his book tour – including his view of President Biden’s Zionism, and his advice to Vice President Kamala Harris on arms sales to Israel.
For his new book, which explores how mainstream narratives shape and sometimes distort our experience, Coates traveled to Senegal, South Carolina in the US, and the occupied West Bank.
“What I'm trying to do with this book is get out of the way. I'm trying to clear space, hopefully for Palestinian narrators and storytellers, and in a larger sense, you know, for Arab storytellers at large,” he tells Mehdi.
The Palestine section of his book was under attack early in the tour, with one interview on CBS going viral for the bigoted framing and aggressive nature of the questions that Coates was asked by host Tony Dokoupil.
“I was a little surprised, and then I realized what was going on, I was in a fight,” he says, about that interview. “So it was right there, you know, as a pop quiz, but I had studied.”
Mehdi asks Coates about the Biden administration and its steadfast support for Israel - while silence on Palestinian suffering. “[Biden] basically said to a Jewish audience ‘We know you wouldn't be safe without Israel’… That's your job, Joe… Are you saying that you're not going to protect Jewish Americans, who are Americans?” asks Coates, referencing remarks made by the president during a White House meeting with Jewish-American leaders last October.
As for Kamala Harris, the jury is out, he says, but the hope is there. “I hope Kamala will be better… the struggle is not just our skin color, it’s principle also. This is extremely, extremely important… it's a kind of soul death for the struggle to just say, hey, we're just going to go along with this,” Coates explains.
Watch the full interview above to discover why Ta-Nehisi Coates decided to come back from his break on nonfiction writing, what it took for him to publish a book critical of Israel at a time like this, and what he says that makes Mehdi “feel seen.”
Paid subscribers can watch the full discussion above (free subscribers can watch a 5-minute preview). And for paid subscribers, don’t forget to join the conversation in the comments below!
Be sure to check out more of our content marking one year on from October 7:
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“The sheer hypocrisy of many of the countries in the West to condone this [genocide in Gaza], to me, is shocking. It’s appalling. And therefore we have to speak up.” - Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim
The story of Anwar Ibrahim is one of the most remarkable in modern day politics.
After being kicked out of the Malaysian government by his own mentor in 1998, Ibrahim quickly became the leader of Malaysia’s opposition movement, only to later be imprisoned on false and politically motivated charges.
Today, Ibrahim has gone from sitting in solitary confinement to sitting in the highest seat in Malaysian politics, after winning the premiership in 2022 at the ripe age of 75. He now leads one of the world’s fastest growing economies, and one of the most diverse countries in his part of the world, which also happens to be a Muslim-majority democracy.
Mehdi traveled to Kuala Lumpur to sit down with Prime Minister Ibrahim for a wide-ranging interview on his fascinating political journey; his growing ties to Russia and China; Trump, Islam and Islamophobia; and of course, his ferocious criticisms of the Gaza genocide and Western support for Israel.
Paid subscribers can watch the full discussion above (free subscribers can watch a 10-minute preview). And for paid subscribers, don’t forget to join the conversation in the comments below!
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On this week’s ‘Mehdi Unfiltered,’ Mehdi unpacks Israel’s “violent and reckless” assault on Lebanon and the false propaganda behind it.
“The Israeli government wants you to believe that this is all about security, about protecting ordinary Israelis at the Northern border. And that this war isn’t against Lebanon or the people of Lebanon, but only against Hezbollah,” Mehdi explains. “The problem is that, like with Gaza, their ministers can’t stop sounding genocidal in public when they talk about Lebanon.”
American University of Beirut professor Karim Makdisi joins the show to discuss Israel’s latest attacks on Lebanon – including Israel’s explosive pager attacks – and how Israel’s offensive is only increasing Lebanese support for Hezbollah.
“It is a pure act of terrorism,” Makdisi tells Mehdi. “They didn't even want to kill. They wanted to maim and blind people, you know, several thousand people… and these are the kinds of things, ironically, where those that deeply oppose Hezbollah in Lebanon become a lot more sympathetic.”
Watch the monologue and panel interview – which also features the Center for International Policy’s Matt Duss, former Bernie Sanders foreign policy advisor – to hear more about the humanitarian toll in Lebanon, how likely it is that Iran will get involved, and how another war could impact the US presidential election.
Also on the show, Mehdi is joined by renowned author and historian William Dalrymple to discuss his latest book, ‘The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World’. The book makes the case that, for over a millennia, India was an international powerhouse that shaped civilizations around it – it was ‘the heart of ancient Eurasia’ – and that its advances and influence have been erased. The two also discuss Israel’s war in Gaza and why William has been so outspoken while other authors and historians have remained silent.
“I have the freedom to speak out,” he tells Mehdi. “If, as an author, you know something to be untrue and you know a great injustice is going on, it's your duty to do this.”
Be sure to watch this week’s episode above and tell us what you think about Mehdi’s monologue, the discussion on Lebanon and William Dalrymple. We love hearing from you!
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Bomb threats to schools in Ohio attended by immigrants, an assassination attempt on a presidential candidate, and an increase in threats to federal judges are just a few examples of the heightened level of political violence in the United States.
Much has been written about Donald Trump’s hateful rhetoric and incendiary language but what will happen if he loses the election? A study last year showed that violence is gaining mainstream acceptance, with one-third of Republicans saying that violence may be the answer to saving the US.
As the election approaches, can we totally discount the idea of a ‘civil war’ in the US?
Some say that this has all been a long-time coming. Jack Goldstone, an expert on Civil Unrest, practically predicted January 6th, writing alongside Peter Turchin less than two months before the 2020 election: “Is the US likely headed for still greater protests and violence? In a word, yes.”
In fact, Goldstone had already predicted over 25 years ago that in the 21st century, the US would elect a populist America-first leader who would inflict division and chaos onto the country.
Jack Goldstone, Professor of Public Policy at George Mason University joins this episode of ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ together with one of the top experts on fascism, New York University’s History Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat, the author of ‘Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present.’
“What it would mean is an end to the lawful processes that we believe in. Revolutions have changed, they're more peaceful than they used to be, and we could have civil strife that changes our institutions,” said Goldstone.
Ben-Ghiat cautioned that as “we saw on January 6th, [for them] violence is the way you change history. And that goes back to fascism, and it's also part of communism… This is what demagogues do, they have to condition people to see violence differently.”
Watch the important, and at times disturbing, discussion above to hear the analysis of this particular political moment, what role language and rhetoric play in setting the stage for upheaval, and even whether a coup may be in the cards.
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On October 14, 2023, a week after the Hamas attacks on Israel, and just days after Joe Biden falsely claimed he had seen photos of beheaded Israeli babies, a 6-year-old Palestinian-American boy called Wadee Alfayoumi was brutally murdered in his home after being stabbed 26 times. His mother, Hanaan Shahin, was also stabbed and left critically injured.
Shahin’s landlord, 71-year-old Joseph Czuba, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, and, crucially, two counts of hate crimes. Czuba pleaded not guilty and faces trial later this month.
On Tuesday, in the wake of a contentious hate crimes hearing in the Senate in which Palestinian voices were not platformed and in which Wadee’s name was barely mentioned, Mehdi sat down with Shahin and civil rights attorney Maaria Mozaffar, from the Muslim Civic Coalition, for an exclusive interview. They talked about Shahin’s memories of Wadee, the ‘Wadee Act’ in the House and Senate, and her conversations with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.
Please do watch the full interview with Hanaan Shahin, which we are not pay-walling and making free to all subscribers, above.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe -
This week, we have a bonus episode of ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ because there’s no shortage of news to cover.
On Sunday, we saw another assassination attempt on former President Trump at his golf club in West Palm Beach, Florida, with the alleged shooter having an AK47-type rifle on him. As upset as the Republicans are, their outrage over this second assassination attempt on Trump has its limits. It stops at gun control.
Congressman Maxwell Alejandro Frost, a Democrat from Florida, the first member of Generation Z to be elected to Congress, and the former National Organizing Director for March for Our Lives, the youth-led movement in support of gun control, joins Mehdi in studio to talk about the attempted attack and the failure of gun reform in in the US so far.
Also on the show, Zeteo contributor, award-winning actor and activist Cynthia Nixon discusses Barnard College’s latest restrictions on its faculty when it comes to speech, freedom of expression, and pro-Palestinian sentiment on its campus. Nixon is a Barnard alumna and had a lot to say, including on the recent suspensions of students, which left many without health insurance and, in some cases, even housing.
And finally, justice correspondent for The Nation, Elie Mystal discusses Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance’s dangerous peddling of fake stories about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio. It’s led to serious threats against Springfield schools, hospitals, city officials, and the city’s Haitian population. Mystal is of Haitian descent and recently wrote for the Nation: ‘White People Have Never Forgiven Haitians for Claiming Their Freedom’. He joins the show to talk about his piece; the racist, Republican-led narrative being pushed; and the bigger picture.
We hope you enjoy this week’s bonus episode of ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’. Be sure to join the conversation in the comments - including telling us what you thought of this week’s guests. (We really do read what you have to say!)
And in case you missed it, be sure to check out Mehdi’s exclusive interview with Jill Stein from Monday.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe -
This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit zeteo.com
In this special episode of ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’, Green Party presidential candidate Dr. Jill Stein and her running mate professor Butch Ware join ‘Mehdi Unfiltered’ for a wide-ranging and challenging interview.
Stein sat down for an hour-long interview with Mehdi where he covered her stance on Israel and Gaza; whether she helped Trump in 2016 and whether she is helping him again in 2024; her own controversial record on Russia and Syria; and the long-standing failures of the Green Party on her watch.
The almost 1-hour interview, above, with Stein and her running mate Ware, is available in full for our paid subscribers. (Free subscribers get a preview.)
For those of you who are paid subscribers, do join the conversation in the comments.
A NOTE FROM MEHDI:
I see some lively and critical discussions in the comments below. To be clear, I do tough interviews. Jill Stein and Butch Ware merited a tough - but fair - interview. I'm amused that some people enjoy my interview style when it is a guest they dislike, but dislike my interview style when it's a guest they like. I hope you all watch the full interview, which we did at length, to give both guests an opportunity to address multiple contentious issues.
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The Occupied Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank are home to one of the oldest Christian communities in the world. But today in Gaza, the Israeli bombardment of churches and Palestinian Christian neighborhoods is pushing that community to the brink of extinction. And in the occupied West Bank, Israeli settler expansion and travel restrictions not only make it difficult for Palestinian Christians there to practice their faith, but can even classify them as illegals in their own home.
Khalil Sayegh, a Palestinian Christian and former resident of both occupied Gaza and the occupied West Bank, joins Mehdi to discuss the consequences of Israel’s war, and how Israeli aggression isn’t only killing the Palestinian Christians of today, but the Palestinian Christians of tomorrow as well.
“We’re less than a thousand [Christian] people in Gaza, we’re allowed to only marry Christians, and there are almost no Christians to marry anymore,” says Khalil, who lost his father and sister in Israel’s genocide against Palestinians.
Watch the full interview above to hear why Sayegh is not allowed to return to his homeland of Palestine, his reasoning as to why Christian evangelicals in the US are turning a blind eye to the Christians of occupied Gaza, and his heartbreaking stories of loss from the embattled strip.
This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit zeteo.com/subscribe - Visa fler
