The brothers welcome Maya Wind, the author of Towers of Ivory and Steel, a searing critique of the Israeli academic establishment’s complicity in the regime of apartheid and genocide. They discuss the role played by Israeli universities in the establishment and maintenance of the Zionist project in Palestine, the nexus between universities and political repression and military violence, the appalling treatment of Professor Nadera Shalhoub-Kevorkian, and the urgent need for an academic boycott of the Israeli university system.

Towers of Ivory and Steel: How Israeli Universities Deny Palestinian Freedom (2024)
https://www.versobooks.com/en-ca/products/3009-towers-of-ivory-and-steel

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Date of recording: June 5, 2024.

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Music by Hadiiiiii

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The brothers welcome the political analyst Mouin Rabbani (@MouinRabbani) to the show to discuss the broader implications of Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza, the loss of Israeli military credibility, the implications of the recent ICJ and ICC decisions for Israel’s growing global isolation, and the growing sense that we may be at an inflection point in the Zionist conflict with the Palestinian people as Israel becomes more of a liability than an asset, politically, militarily and electorally.

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Date of recording: May 21, 2024.

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Music by Hadiiiiii

*The hosts are doing another Q&A for Patrons only! Sign up at Patreon.com/MakdisiStreet to submit your questions and get access to all the bonus content, including the first Q&A and the latest bonus episode!*

The brothers welcome Professor Stephen Walt to the show to discuss US foreign policy in the Middle East, the role of the Israel lobby in influencing US decision-making, and how all these dynamics may develop in the wake of Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza.

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Date of recording: May 14, 2024.

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The brothers welcome Elham Fakhro to the show to discuss the shifting patterns of relations between the states of the Arab Gulf and the established metropoles of the Arab world, the interplay of education and political transformation, the trend towards normalization with the Zionist state and recent developments in attitudes towards and relationships with Iran.

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Date of recording: Apr 23, 2024.

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The brothers welcome historian and journalist Vijay Prashad (@vijayprashad) to the show to discuss the emergence of Palestine as the keystone struggle of the Global South, the importance of the PLO, the question of sovereign national interests vs. solidarity with Palestinian liberation, and the radical student movements rising up across the West.

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Date of recording: April 30, 2024.

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The brothers welcome the historian Rashid Khalidi of Columbia University to the show to discuss the history of the Palestinian people’s struggle against the Zionist project in Palestine, the colonial affiliations of Zionism, the background to the 1948 Nakba, and the role of Arab and Palestinian leaders and forms of resistance in bringing about change.

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Date of recording: Apr 16, 2024.

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[Producer's note: This is a preview of the latest bonus episode of Makdisi Street. You can listen to the entire episode by subscribing to the Patreon for as low as $5 a month and get access to other great bonus content. Since we want to make as much content accessible as possible, we have unlocked this for the YouTube channel.]

The brothers discuss the latest developments in and around Palestine, including European denial and complicity, the role of the ICJ and other systems of accountability in international politics, the possible expansion of the conflict, and whether dogs wag tails or tails wag dogs.

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Date of recording: Apr 13, 2024.

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Music by Hadiiiiii