Last Wednesday, Border Patrol detained me for nearly twenty hours. I have never felt my citizenship more acutely than I did in detention. Not when I first held my passport, not when I cast my first ballot, not in any of the moments when citizenship is ceremonially affirmed. I felt it there, where my freedom was uncertain but my privilege was not. More
The victory of incumbent Lula in the Brazilian presidential election was a surprise. The longtime leftist politician ran second in the first round behind far-right challenger Flavio Bolsonaro—the son of disgraced former leader Jair Bolsonaro—and no one in the history of Brazilian democracy had come from behind to win in the second round. But by mounting a huge get-out-the-vote effort, Lula defied all predictions. More
For the past 100 years, the Middle East (aka West Asia) has been defined by two major power brokers: Israel and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Both were created by the British Empire as it was breathing its last. The political origin of Israel dates back to the infamous Balfour Declaration, whereas the origin of More
The elections were certainly a rebuke of the most corrupt and preposterous world leader since the bunga-bunga days of Silvio Berlusconi. Believe me, I have no illusions about the Democrats, but we must take our victories where we can, hold the ground and move on. As my old mentor Dave Brower always warned, “When they win, it’s forever; when we win, it’s a stay of execution, requiring eternal vigilance to maintain.” But it’s not every day–or even every decade in this country, which, need I remind you, is not France–some of the worst people in the world take it on the chin and some of them, like AIPAC and Elon Musk, directly in the balls. And that’s something to celebrate for a few hours, at least. Victories, and the knowledge that we can take on and defeat entrenched power, can build movements. The challenge is to sustain and grow them and that work begins, like, right now… More
This week on CounterPunch Radio, Eric Draitser sits down with Yoav Litvin and Ilan Pappé to discuss their new book, Wired to Steal: Zionism and the Shaping of the Western Mind, just published by Interlink Books.
Wired to Steal is a powerful blend of investigative narrative, history, and behavioral neuroscience. Cutting through and dismantling propaganda, it exposes how the ruling classes of settler colonial projects hijack the human brain’s fear circuitry, systems of addiction, empathy pathways, and identity mechanisms to make oppression feel normal, even righteous.
Yoav Litvin is a doctor of neuroscience, award-winning photographer, and writer.
Ilan Pappé is recognized globally as one of the world’s foremost historians of Israel/Palestine. He is a professor of history at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies and Director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter.
You can order Wired to Steal directly from Interlink Books.
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In this episode of Counterpunch Radio, Rebecca Maria Goldschmidt speaks with Nasser Mashni, Palestinian-Australian activist and president of the Australia Palestine Advocacy Network. The son of a generation of Palestinians displaced by the ’48 Nakba, Mashni shares stories of growing up in the Palestine Liberation movement in the Australian diaspora and the growth of the movement since the 1970s. Unphased by relentless smear campaigns and lawsuits, Mashni emphasizes the breadth and depth of the movement, which unites Aboriginal Australians, Jews, unionists, queers, churchgoers, and others to advocate for Palestinian rights and challenge Australian complicity in the Gaza genocide.
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This week on CounterPunch Radio, Erik Wallenberg and Joshua Frank talk with Cole Rockarts about their new book Fired Up About Unions, published by Between the Lines. Cole is a labor educator, organizer, and writer. They have worked in public- and private-sector unions in Canada and the US since 2016.
Cole will be kicking off their book tour in Los Angeles at Skylight Books on November 5.
Pre-order a copy of Fired Up About Unions from AK Press.
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