More summer fun on Backbeat this week, we never rest, we always bring you the best in vintage and vintage-sounding music every week and this week is no exception. You wanna hear blues? We got it with Howlin' Wolf, Lonnie Johnson and Baby Face Leroy. Jazz from Helen Humes and The Missourians, country from Merle Kilgore, Boots Faye and Idaho Call (who?), plus gospel, Latin and newer music from Brandon Isaac and Bill King. Its a unique music mix.
Today, we confront a claim that shakes the foundations of modern political discourse. A claim made by an Israeli scholar who argues that one of history’s greatest tragedies has been transformed into a political shield. A shield used not to protect the memory of victims, but to justify violence against another people. This is not an easy conversation. It is not comfortable. It is not meant to be.
This is a clear discussion between Owen Jones, a British journalist and political commentator known for confronting power structures and exposing state sanctioned injustice, and his guest Omer Bartov, an Israeli American historian specializing in genocide studies and the manipulation of collective memory.
Even though I believe that Omer Bartov takes the side of Israel, this discussion is very important because it reveals the Palestinian situation and their struggle against Israeli political narratives.
Let’s try to understand how a historical trauma became a political instrument.
The Holocaust stands as one of humanity’s darkest chapters. Millions murdered. Families erased. Communities destroyed. The world vowed “never again.” Never again to genocide. Never again to dehumanization. Never again to silence in the face of mass suffering. But today, some scholars argue that this vow has been twisted. That “never again” has been weaponized into “never question.” That the memory of Jewish suffering has been used to shield a state from accountability, even when its actions mirror the very horrors the world promised to prevent.
Now, let’s see how this transformation happened.
In the decades following World War II, Israel positioned itself as the inheritor of Jewish trauma. The state became synonymous with Jewish identity, Jewish survival, and Jewish memory. Any criticism of Israeli policy was framed as an attack on Jewish existence itself. The Holocaust became not only a historical event, but a political tool. A tool used to silence dissent, deflect scrutiny, and delegitimize anyone who spoke about Palestinian suffering.
According to the scholar at the center of this discussion, this weaponisation did not happen overnight. It evolved through education systems, diplomatic strategies, media narratives, and global alliances. It evolved through the insistence that Israel must always be seen as a victim, even when it holds overwhelming military power. It evolved through the idea that Jewish trauma is eternal, while Palestinian trauma is negotiable, dismissible, or invisible.
Let’s try to understand the consequences of this narrative.
When Palestinian homes are demolished, the world is told it is security. When Palestinian children are killed, the world is told it is self defense. When entire neighborhoods are flattened, the world is told it is necessary. And when anyone questions these explanations, they are accused of hatred, extremism, or denial of Jewish suffering. The Holocaust becomes a rhetorical shield, raised not to honor the dead, but to silence the living.
Today, we examine how this shield has shaped global politics.
Governments hesitate to condemn Israeli actions because they fear being labeled antisemitic. Media outlets soften language to avoid backlash. Universities punish students who speak about Palestinian rights. Human rights organizations are attacked for documenting violations. The scholar argues that this climate of fear is not accidental. It is engineered. It is maintained. It is enforced.
Let’s see what this enforcement looks like.
A journalist publishes evidence of war crimes. Their career is threatened. A professor teaches about settler colonialism. Their contract is not renewed. A student group organizes a protest. Their funding is revoked. A survivor of violence speaks publicly. Their testimony is dismissed as propaganda.
The Holocaust becomes a political firewall, blocking accountability and protecting power.
But today, we confront a different truth.
The scholar insists that honoring the Holocaust means preventing all genocide, not just the genocide of one people. Honoring the Holocaust means recognizing the humanity of all victims, not only those whose suffering fits political narratives. Honoring the Holocaust means refusing to allow its memory to justify new cycles of violence.
Now, let’s try to understand the heart of this argument.
The scholar is not denying the Holocaust. He is not diminishing Jewish suffering. He is not attacking Jewish identity. He is confronting the way trauma has been manipulated to justify oppression. He is confronting the way history has been turned into a weapon. He is confronting the way “never again” has been selectively applied.
Today, we step into this uncomfortable space. Today, we examine the claim that the Holocaust has been weaponized. Today, we ask what happens when memory becomes a political tool. Today, we ask what happens when trauma becomes a shield for violence. Today, we ask what happens when truth becomes dangerous.
Let’s see where this leads. Let’s try to understand what this scholar is revealing. Let’s listen carefully, because the implications reach far beyond Israel and Palestine. They reach into the very question of how societies remember, how they justify, and how they repeat the tragedies they claim to oppose.
This is the battle over free speech. This is the battle over historical memory. This is the battle over truth.
And today, we confront it head on.
If you have thoughts, I want to hear them.
Email me at TWIPpodcasts@gmail.com and tell me how you see it.
This is This Week in Palestine.
Indigenous in Music with Larry K and JD Crosstown in our Spotlight Interview (Folk)
You’re tuned in to Indigenous in Music with Larry K, and today, from the deep shores of Ontario, JD Crosstown will be in our spotlight. His music is rooted in story, soul, and tradition. Blending folk, country, and blues. His debut album Takin’ My Time is a reflection of life, growth, and staying true to your path and it’s available now. JD is featured in our current issue of the SAY Magazine, read all about him at our place at our place on the web at www.indigenousinmusicandarts.org/past-shows/jd-crosstown.
Enjoy music from JD Crosstown, The North Sound, Mike Paul Kuekuasheu, Aterciopleados, Teagan Littlechief, Maten, Shauit, Mexican Institute Of Sound, Burnstick, Catus Rose NYC, Melody McArthur, LILI, Diyet & the Love Soldiers, Jessica Hernandez and the Deltas, Chantil Dukart, Blue Moon Marquee, Pony Man, Donita Large, RematriNation, Sinematic, First Floor Highway, The City Lines, Eagle & Hawk, Shub, Sebastian Gaskin, Nicole Gatti, Sean1ne, Enokahe, Def-i, Ariano, Berk Jodoin and much more.
Visit us at www.indigenousinmusicandarts.org to explore our programs, celebrate culture, and connect with powerful voices shaping our communities. Step inside our new Indigenous in Music Directory and meet the incredible Artists and Entrepreneurs who are making an impact today in the music industry.
where there should have been an arena - The Bristol Politics Show, presented by Tony Gosling
https://politicsthisweek.gn.apc.org/2026/07/the-bristol-politics-show-presented-by-tony-gosling-33/
Former UN human rights official and lawyer Craig Mokhiber speaks with hosts Nora Barrows-Friedman and Ali Abunimah about the International Criminal Court’s dismissal of Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan, and explains why any state, let alone Israel, has no inherent legal right to exist.
After a pause in fighting, combat operations continue between the U.S. and Iran. This week on the Resistance Report, Jon Elmer questions the American’s ability to carry out this war.
In Lebanon, Israeli attacks continue on the south. Electronic Intifada contributor Roqayah Chameseddine explains that this reality on the ground clashes with the Lebanese state’s PR campaign.
On the Electronic Intifada Newscast, Israel expands extermination zone in Gaza. Nora Barrows-Friedman brings us the latest headline news from Palestine.
Sonic Café where we keep the revolution of radio alive, from 2024 that was sombr with his breakout alternative track Back to Being Friends, so welcome to the little coastal radio café, bringing you a weekly mix of eclectic music, comedy and pop culture. It’s a thing we call the Sonic Café. I’m your host Scott Clark and this is episode 494.
This time the Sonic Café explores the chicken or the egg concept with a classic movie moment from 1987’s Secret of My Success, where actor Michael J. Fox learns that he can’t get a job because he doesn't have experience, and he can’t get experience because he doesn’t have a job. Sound familiar?
We’ll also flashback to the 1980’s to capture that quintessential 80’s sound with Oingo Boingo. Listen for Dead Man’s Party.
We’ll also mix in Scary Pockets with a cool cover of Kiss, the Prince classic. That plus the Breakers, Out of Control from Dave Allen and the Guilty Ones, a truly bluesy version of Gallows Pole from Alvin Youngblood Hart, a Jazz Club classic from the late tenor man Tina Brooks and of course more.
Also playing basketball to delay death, a comedy short from Sheng Wang, plus Chevy Chase beats the Lamb Fry eating record. All that plus some other neat stuff thrown in along the way. So let’s get to it, from 2014, She’s A Beast, this is Lenny Kravitz, and we’re the Sonic Café.
Gaza Corner started on KALW.org (91.7fm) in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2010.
It is produced in two formats: a long version (15-30 minutes) and a 6 minute version that airs on NPR affiliate KALW during Morning Edition and All Things Considered.
This short version Gaza Corner leans into a late May +972 podcast, that features Israeli scholar Nurit Peled-Elhanan, the author of Palestine in Israeli School Books: Ideology and propaganda in education. Nurit opens by discussing how Palestinians are depicted in Israeli education.
A weekly 30 minute review of international news and opinion, recorded from a shortwave radio and the internet. With times, frequencies, and websites for listening at home. 3 files- Highest quality broadcast, regular broadcast, and slow-modem streaming. France, Cuba, and Germany.
In this edition of Radio Curious we honor and pay tribute to folk singer Ronnie Gilbert, who died on June 6, 2015 at the age of 88. She is well known for her powerful contralto voice as a member of the Weavers, the extraordinarily popular folk music quartet that in 1950s and 1960s. She also had careers as an actor and a psychologist.
From the Radio Curious archives, recorded in September 1996, Ronnie Gilbert describes her introduction to music and dance, how the Weavers came together; their blacklist experience; her thoughts about turning 70 years old when this program was recorded in 1996; and her friendship and work with Holly Near. We conclude with Holly Near recalling her friendship with Ronnie Gilbert.
The books Ronnie Gilbert recommends are “The Moors Last Sigh” by Salman Rushdie, “Making Movies” by Sidney Lumet and “Eyewitness: A Personal Account of the Unraveling of the Soviet Union” by Vladimir Pozner.
In the first half of the episode, we discuss 5 tactics MAGA uses to avoid healthy discourse in conversations and ways you can identify and steer the conversation in a healthier direction.
In the second half of the episode, we discuss an essay by Stacy Muhammad entitled ‘The Politics of Consequence’ and connect Hollywood’s influence on culture to the division we are seeing in American life today.
A Limburger Lounge spotlight delving into a world from a bygone era and you might be glad it's gone after you come back from it, Ukelele's make fun teaching instruments, and a Celebrity Slip up with a song about smiling, which celebs know how to do far too well, much like used car salesmen in this case.
On December 6, 2023, an Israel airstrike murdered Refaat Alareer, a poet, writer, editor and teacher. This show is a memorial to his life and work. We present an interview with Refaat Alareer and Laila El-Haddad, co-editors of “Gaza Unsilenced. Written in the aftermath of the 2014 Israeli pogrom. Many of their statements bear directly on the situation today. In an excerpt from the talk “Revolution, Nothing Less,” Bob Avakian speaks to the importance of Internationalism, The Whole World Comes First.
Without a Rational Strategy Trump’s Iran War Continues with No End in Sight; US–Israel to Integrate their Military Budgets To Shield Funding from Congressional Opposition; New IPS Progressive Blueprint: 'Forging a Democracy that Works for All'
If you’re a parent trying to decide where your child should go to school, you’d prefer to have a choice, right? After all, everyone likes to have options. But the appealing rhetoric of school choice is being used by the right-wing to undermine and underfund public schools, while allocating public subsidies to wealthy families. Today on Sea Change Radio we are talking about school vouchers. Currently, eighteen states have a universal private school choice program, and more are likely on the way. But the expansion of the school voucher system has been made with minimal oversight and has led to waste, fraud, and abuse. The cost to public education is tremendous, as public revenue that would otherwise support public schools (which still educate roughly 90 percent of American students) is redirected to private, religious, and largely unregulated institutions. Our guest this week is ProPublica reporter Jennifer Smith Richards who is here to tell us what she has learned about the damaging effects of school vouchers across the country. We look at the history of the concept in the US, examine issues of abuse and discrimination in Arkansas and Florida, and discuss the very powerful messaging tool embedded in the term “school choice.”
