Episode Description
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In this episode, Antony traces how the post-9/11 “War on Terror” helped shape today’s political and media climate including the normalization of anti-Palestinian racism across many Western elite circles. He revisits the early messaging of “tolerance” from George W. Bush alongside the reality of Afghanistan, torture, rendition, and Guantánamo Bay, and connects that legacy to contemporary narratives about Israel/Palestine, media accountability, and the ongoing denial of Palestinian identity and history.
Antony also reflects on what it means to speak as a Jewish critic of Israeli policy, the kinds of abuse and accusations that follow, and the ongoing attempt to frame resistance as “terror” while state violence is legitimized. He argues that neoconservative thinking never truly disappeared, and that while public support for Palestinians has risen, elite media and political institutions continue to enable dehumanization and avoid accountability.
Overlay sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/mar/14/iraq-war-9-11-george-bush-post-truth
https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/book/Paul-McGeough-In-Baghdad-9781741142198
https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/costs/human