As Always, Enjoyed Hafta, But A Minor Quibble
I support the Palestinian right to a dignified existence. But I found the comparison of Zionist movement to European imperialism intellectually lazy. Jewish diaspora were never a nation-state, and mostly stateless, with intermittent periods of stability and prosperity. Whatever declared purpose Zionism may have had, it got accelerated as a refugee movement. In our contextual bias, we tend to equate Zionism with Hindutva. The latter is an elite, exclusionary near-fascist movement. Zionism at its peak was a movement of stateless persecuted people looking for shelter. One way to see today’s problems is from the lens of state oppression, the way the Indian state oppresses Kashmiris and tribals. Jews are not going to leave, much like people displaced in Partition are never going back home. One way to solve this problem is to inculcate democratic values in Palestinians and seek concessions from democratic Israel through non-violent-means. A painful, nuanced and long-drawn process.
Anonymous
It’s safe to say that as a nation, we’ve hit a moral rock-bottom from which we’re not going to recover anytime soon.
- If you live in Delhi NCR, it’s a continuous cycle of floods in summers, poisonous gas in winters
- We’ve not been this openly Islamophobic ever
- People are getting fired from jobs left, right and centre, no one cares
- There’s credible evidence of both the Election Commission and the Supreme Court being compromised, no one cares
- We cater to genocidal maniacs like Netanyahu and Putin
- We suck up to Trump because we quite clearly lack substance
As a nation, I guess we fucked up :) (pardon the language).
Vipul
Hi NL team,
I am writing a letter for the first time though I have been an on-off listener for years. I really enjoy the fearlessness and disregard for authority that Abhinandan has. His rants also help to get some of my frustration out.
I am writing because I am worried about the extent of radicalisation I see in my younger cousins, in comparison to the liberal childhood I had. I remember clearly, I was in tenth standard when the high court decision for the Babri Masjid-Ram Mandir conflict came out. It had no effect on my colleagues. I am shocked by the extent of religious polarisation in young people, and worried that my future children will be bigoted and extremist, and far more illiberal than me. How does one cope with this radicalisation of friends and family? For example, I remember Anand Ranganathan being a regular member of Hafta, how do you guys process the conveniently fact-choosing, rabid hate-mongering monologuer he has become?
Thanks for being the rare liberal voice in the media!
Mukta
I am writing to register my disgust at the views expressed by Prof Jangid on the 18/10 episode of Hafta, especially when he said Hamas didn’t “deserve” to take part in ceasefire negotiations, justifying this view by the story of the Nepali student whom Hamas took hostage.
Israel has killed babies in neonatal ICUs. Five-year-old Hind Rajab’s little body was found riddled with bullets after the IDF shot 335 rounds in her family’s car. Israel has murdered journalists, doctors, UN workers. If we started telling individual stories of Israel’s brutality throughout its occupation, hundreds of podcast episodes wouldn’t suffice. It’s unbelievable that after two long years of livestreamed genocide, academics like Jangid can explain away Israel’s violence as being committed by a “legitimate” state while presenting Hamas militancy as disproportionate and asymmetrical.
Always grateful to Jayashree for pushing back and being the voice of reason. You’re my favourite!
Mukta
Jeevan
Hi Team Newslaundry, I just bought a subscription of Newslaundry – not just for the great journalism you do but also because you promised Manisha an extra samosa for her birthday if I did. Please make sure she gets that well-deserved samosa for all the amazing work she does week after week on TV Newsance. Her wit and sharp commentary about the state of TV News are the highlight of my weekends.
Thanks to the whole team for keeping news honest and people centric. And, happy birthday Manisha!
Warm wishes,
Jeevan
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