Democracy Now!

We speak with analyst Matt Duss, former foreign policy adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders, about the U.S. political response to Israel's bombardment of Gaza. The third Republican presidential debate on Wednesday saw candidates pledge unwavering support for Israel with rhetoric that was frankly barbaric," according to Duss. This is just knuckle-dragging hawkishness to feed their base," says Duss, who comments on Congress censuring Palestinian American Rashida Tlaib, Bernie Sanders's stance on a ceasefire, and the parallels between Ukraine and Palestine. As a Ukrainian American, I also stand in solidarity with people under occupation."

Israel's bombing campaign in Gaza has killed more than 10,500 Palestinians, including dozens of family members of award-winning Palestinian American writer, poet and physician Dr. Fady Joudah. It is really beyond words to describe what it means to be a Palestinian in this moment," says Joudah, who calls for the humanization of the people of Gaza and allowing more Palestinian voices into the public spotlight. Palestinians in the West are only alive when they are dying, and that is abhorrent and unacceptable."

As tens of thousands flee northern Gaza amid an intensifying Israeli ground invasion, most operations have been halted at al-Quds Hospital in Gaza City due to limited fuel supplies and Israel's bombardment nearby. We have completely run out of all solutions," says Nebal Farsakh, spokesperson for the Palestine Red Crescent Society, which operates the hospital, where thousands of civilians are sheltering. Israel's evacuation order is impossible to follow without killing patients in critical care. Evacuating them means killing them."

U.N. Human Rights Chief Calls for Gaza Ceasefire, Citing Living Nightmare", Palestinian Journalists Condemn Deadly Israeli Attacks on Colleagues, CIA Director Heads to Qatar, Where Talks Are Underway to Free Hostages Held by Hamas, Israel Bans Antiwar Protests, Criminalizes Consumption of Terrorist Materials", 300 Prominent Ukrainians Show Support to Palestinians; Belgian Leader Calls for Sanctions on Israel, Activists, Congressional Staffers, USAID Employees Demand Gaza Ceasefire, Thousands Flee Sudan's Darfur Region Amid Spiraling Humanitarian Disaster, 2023 Will Be the Hottest Year on Record, Torrential Rains, Flooding in Somalia Kill Dozens After Years of Drought, Fire at Houston-Area Chemical Plant Prompts Evacuations, Shelter-in-Place Orders, Front-Runner Donald Trump Boycotts as 2024 Republican Hopefuls Hold Third Debate, SAG-AFTRA Reaches Deal with Hollywood Studios to End Actors' 118-Day Strike, Bangladeshi Garment Worker Killed by Police as Protests Continue to Demand Fair Wages

We speak with 87-year-old Holocaust survivor Marione Ingram, who has been protesting outside the White House calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Ingram says experiencing anti-Jewish hate, losing family members to the Nazi killing machine and surviving the Allied bombing of Hamburg as a child all inspire her to speak out for peace. What Israel is doing will not end this conflict. It will only exacerbate it," says Ingram. She calls the vote to censure Palestinian American Congressmember Rashida Tlaib shameful" and describes her as a hero." We also hear from leading Holocaust scholar Omer Bartov, who recently signed an open letter warning of the potential for genocide in Israel's assault on Gaza. The refusal of the Israeli government to find any kind of compromise with the Palestinians ... is what led and keeps leading to this ongoing and increasingly violent confrontation between Israel and the Palestinians," says Bartov.

As the death toll from Israel's relentless assault on Gaza tops 10,000 and millions around the world march in the streets for a ceasefire, the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday voted to censure the only Palestinian American in Congress. By a vote of 234 to 188, lawmakers officially rebuked Congressmember Rashida Tlaib for her criticism of Israel, including her defense of the slogan from the river to the sea" as a Palestinian call for freedom and equality; 22 Democrats joined Republicans in the vote. The cries of the Palestinian and Israeli children sound no different to me," Tlaib said in an emotional speech before the vote. What I don't understand is why the cries of Palestinians sound different to you all."

We look at the results of Tuesday's U.S. elections with The Nation's Amy Littlefield and John Nichols, who say the results leave no doubt that protecting and expanding abortion rights is motivating voters across the country. Ohio approved a state constitutional amendment to protect reproductive access, overcoming numerous procedural hurdles from opponents, and Democrats won key races for the governor's mansion in Kentucky and the Virginia statehouse based on enduring voter anger over abortion restrictions. This is one of the best nights for Democrats in an off-year election that we've seen in a very, very long time," says Nichols, who adds that the results suggest the electorate is more progressive than pundits often claim. Littlefield notes that after decades of abortion being treated as a third rail in U.S. politics, Democrats now need the abortion rights movement more than the movement needs them."

Either Kill Us All or Let Us Live": Civilians Have Nowhere to Go as Israel Decimates Gaza, Israeli Mourners Mark One Month Since Oct. 7 Hamas Attack; Grieving Mom Slams Netanyahu, G7 Calls for Pauses" in Israeli Assault as U.S. Rebuffs Idea of Post-Conflict Occupation of Gaza, Over 150 Killed in West Bank Since Oct. 7.; Prominent Palestinian Activist Ahed Tamimi Arrested, House Censures Rashida Tlaib, Congress's Only Palestinian American, Abortion Rights and Democrats Score Major Victories One Year Ahead of National Elections, Iranian Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Narges Mohammadi Begins Hunger Strike from Prison Cell, Countries Draft Tenuous Loss and Damage Fund Plan Ahead of COP28, Facebook Whistleblower Says Meta Is Aware That Platforms Harm Kids, Ignores Warnings, California Court Convicts Captain of 2019 Scuba Boat Fire and Drowning, SAG-AFTRA Resuming Talks with Studios in Hopes of Ending 4-Month Strike, SCOTUS Hears Arguments on Guns for Domestic Abusers, Agrees to Hear Bump Stock" Case

Former President Donald Trump lashed out from the witness stand at the judge and prosecutor in his New York civil fraud case Monday. He could be forced to dissolve much of his real estate empire and bar his family from doing business in New York. The scene was pretty incredible to witness," says Lauren Aratani, reporter for the Guardian US who is covering the trial. The court is now determining how much the Trumps must pay in damages as the case enters the penalty phase.

As protests across the U.S. denounce President Biden for refusing to support a ceasefire in Gaza while arming Israel's deadly bombardment of Palestine, polls conducted by the Arab American Institute reveal Biden's support among Arab American voters is plummeting, dropping from 59% to 17% since the 2020 presidential election. Something horrible is happening to these people, and this administration is turning a blind eye to it," says James Zogby, the institute's president. There are going to be electoral consequences." He argues the United States has blown it" in the Middle East after decades of disappointments.

As the U.N. secretary-general repeats his call for an immediate ceasefire, the death toll in Gaza has topped 10,000, including 4,000 children. We speak to an American doctor who just left Gaza and the founder of the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, which runs the only pediatric cancer unit in Gaza. Israel has just ordered the hospital with the unit to be fully evacuated. They're not getting care right now because their hospitals are under attack," says PCRF founder Steve Sosebee, who describes medical workers trying to evacuate to Egypt or continuing to provide care while sheltering in the hospital. We can't heal their bodies until this conflict stops." Dr. Barbara Zind, a pediatrician who arrived in Gaza to support the PCRF a day before the Hamas attack, describes finding shelter and rationing food and clean water. After nearly a month trapped in Gaza, she was finally evacuated through the Rafah border crossing and arrived back home on Monday.

U.N. Warns Gaza Is Becoming a Graveyard for Children" as Israel Bombs Hospitals, Ambulances, Netanyahu Rules Out Ceasefire, Says Israel Will Take Responsibility for Security in Gaza, Israeli Minister Calls Nuclear Attack on Gaza An Option", South Africa Recalls Ambassador to Israel, Citing Collective Punishment" of Palestinians, Not in Our Name": Jewish Peace Activists Rally at Statue of Liberty to Demand Gaza Ceasefire, Pakistan Bulldozes Homes of Refugees to Enforce Mass Deportation of Afghan Immigrants, Zelensky Rules Out Elections in Ukraine as Russian Assault Continues, Trump Takes Witness Stand in $250 Million Civil Fraud Trial, Second Officer Acquitted of Homicide Charges over 2019 Killing of Elijah McClain, Dozens of Stop Cop City" Activists Appear in Georgia Court to Face RICO Charges, Father of Highland Park Shooter Pleads Guilty to Misdemeanors After Helping Son Obtain Assault Rifle, On Election Day, Virginia's Legislature Is Up for Grabs; Ohio Voters Will Decide Abortion Rights

Israel says it is responsible for an attack on a convoy of ambulances outside Gaza's largest hospital on Friday that killed at least 15 people. Meanwhile, doctors in Gaza lack the resources to provide adequate care to the sick and injured, thanks to Israel's blockade of water, food and fuel from entering the besieged region. For more on the rapidly deteriorating state of medical care in Gaza and Israel's illegal targeting of medical providers, we speak with Dr. Alice Rothchild, a retired OB-GYN who has long worked in Palestine and is a member of the steering committee of the Jewish Voice for Peace Health Advisory Council.

Gazan poet, journalist and peace activist Ahmed Abu Artema describes how he lost five members of his family, including his 12-year-old son, in an Israeli airstrike on his house on October 24. Abu Artema was seriously injured and sent Democracy Now! an audio message from his hospital bed. Israel didn't bombard my house, didn't kill my child by mistake. It's the Israeli strategy," he says. Israel's problem is Palestinian existence itself."

Tens of thousands marched from Washington, D.C.'s Freedom Plaza to the White House Saturday in the largest pro-Palestinian demonstration in U.S. history. Democracy Now!'s Messiah Rhodes, Maria Taracena and Hany Massoud spoke to protesters who condemned the U.S. government's support for Israel and called for a ceasefire in Gaza. We also play excerpts from speakers at the protest rally, including lawyer Noura Erakat, musician Macklemore and writer Mohammed El-Kurd.

As the Palestinian death toll in Gaza nears 10,000, calls for ceasefire are growing around the world. This is a paradigm-changing moment," says Shibley Telhami, who discusses the shifting public opinion on conflict in Israel and Palestine and its potential impact on Joe Biden's reelection campaign. Telhami is a professor of peace and development at the University of Maryland and senior fellow at the Center for Middle East Policy.

Israel Intensifies Gaza Land and Air Assault as Death Toll Tops 10,000, Israeli Airstrikes Kill 45 People in Al-Maghazi Refugee Camp, Gaza Evacuations Resume as Israel Blocks Crossing for Certain Nationalities, Israeli Drone Attack on Lebanon Kills Grandmother and Four Children, Blinken Holds Talks with Turkish Foreign Minister After Ankara Recalls Ambassador to Israel, Hundreds of Thousands March to Demand Ceasefire in Gaza, End to Israel's Occupation, 50+ Arrested at Capitol Hill Protests Demanding Gaza Ceasefire, Jazmine Hughes Leaves NYTimes After Condemning Gaza Assault in Violation of Newsroom Policy, Nonviolent Protest Temporarily Stalls Weapons Shipment to Israel from Port of Oakland, Arab Student at Stanford Struck by Hit-and-Run Driver in Suspected Hate Crime, Earthquake Strikes Western Nepal, Killing at Least 157, Toxic Haze Blankets Indian Capital New Delhi, Filipino Journalist Juan Jumalon Murdered During Live Radio Broadcast

At least 23 people were arrested in Boston on Thursday as faith leaders and clergy led a peace rally to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. The interfaith protest targeted Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey to pressure them to stand up for Palestinian lives. We share footage and voices from the rally.

We speak with Josh Paul, a former State Department official who resigned last month to protest continued arms sales to Israel amid its bombardment of Gaza, writing in a viral letter that one-sided U.S. support for Israel is shortsighted," destructive" and contradictory." Media reports say many others inside the State Department are equally frustrated with the U.S. role in the conflict. Paul tells Democracy Now! he tried to raise his concerns with his superiors but found no appetite for that discussion" and that unlike all other U.S. arms sales that take humanitarian concerns into account, Israel gets a blank check. Paul says the overall message inside the Biden administration is: Don't question the policy because it's coming from the top."

A leaked document from Israel's Intelligence Ministry dated less than one week after the October 7 Hamas attack proposes the permanent transfer of Gaza's residents to Egypt. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed the document's authenticity but dismissed it as a mere concept paper," while Egypt and much of the Arab world has publicly opposed the forced displacement of millions of Palestinians. But the exposed plans have confirmed many Palestinians' fears that Israel's ultimate goal during its current offensive is their ethnic cleansing from Gaza, a reenactment of the 1948 Nakba that saw about 700,000 Palestinians pushed out of their homes and turned into refugees during the creation of Israel. For more, we hear from Israeli journalist Yuval Abraham, a writer for +972 Magazine and Local Call, who says that while the Intelligence Ministry is not particularly powerful, this is an official state document essentially recommending the government to carry out an ethnic cleansing of Gaza." Meanwhile, radical settlers in the West Bank are increasingly using the war on Gaza as cover to push Palestinians out of their homes and villages, often under threat of lethal violence. Death is now everywhere, and things are deteriorating really, really quickly," says Abraham.

Gaza Death Toll Tops 9,200 as U.N. Experts Warn Time Is Running Out to Prevent Genocide", Israeli Strike Kills Palestinian Journalist Mohammad Abu Hattab and His Family, Israeli Raids on Occupied West Bank Kill 9 Palestinians, Including Children, Hezbollah Chief to Make First Speech on Gaza Amid Mounting Violence on Israel-Lebanon Border, House Approves $14.3 Billion Military Aid Package for Israel, We Choose Humanity": Chile's Gabriel Boric Condemns U.S. Support for Israel's Massacre in Gaza, Multifaith Protests Demanding Gaza Ceasefire Continue Across the U.S. Despite Police Crackdown, Cornell Cancels Classes After Student Posts Antisemitic Mass Shooting Threats, 100+ Activists Stage Die-in in Front of Raytheon as Arms Maker Projects Profits from U.S. War Funding, Russia Deratifies International Nuclear Testing Ban, Only Israel Stands with U.S as UNGA Votes for 31st Straight Year to Condemn U.S. Embargo on Cuba, Mexico Announces Plans to Rebuild Acapulco After Hurricane Otis; Europe Hit by Record Wind and Rain, FBI Raids Home of NYC Mayor Adams's Top Fundraiser in Campaign Financing Probe, Sam Bankman-Fried Faces 110 Years in Prison After Guilty Verdict in FTX Fraud Case, Ex-Memphis Police Officer Pleads Guilty in Beating Death of Tyre Nichols, Domestic Abuse Survivor Tracy McCarter Sues NYC, Police Officers over Wrongful Arrest

As pressure builds for a ceasefire after 27 days of Israel's bombardment of Gaza, author and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates joins us in a broadcast exclusive interview to discuss his journey to Palestine and Israel and learning about the connection between the struggle of African Americans and Palestinians. The most shocking thing about my time over there was how uncomplicated it actually is," says Coates, who calls segregation in Palestine and Israel evil." There's no way for me, as an African American, to come back and stand before you, to witness segregation and not say anything about it." Coates acknowledges the suppression of those advocating for Palestinian rights but says this is not new for Black writers and journalists. I have to measure my fear against the misery that I saw."

As the overall death toll from Israel's 27-day bombardment tops 9,000, we speak with Just Vision's Fadi Abu Shammalah in Gaza about his family's experiences on the ground as the besieged territory runs out of water, food and fuel. We have only one thing: that we are being killed," says Shammalah, who calls for Americans to keep going" in demonstrations for Palestinian rights. We are being killed by your taxes."

U.N. Warns Israel's Attacks Could Amount to War Crimes" as Gaza Death Toll Passes 9,000, Biden Responds to Rabbi Calling for Gaza Ceasefire: We Need a Pause", Protesters Hold Die-in in Office of Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Jack Reed, Jordan Recalls Ambassador to Israel over Gaza's Unprecedented Humanitarian Catastrophe", Iran Warns of Grave" Consequences If Israel Continues Gaza Assault, Ukraine's Military Commander Says War with Russia Has Reached a Stalemate, Republican Senators Confront Tommy Tuberville over Holding Up Military Confirmations, House Rejects Resolution to Expel New York GOP Rep. George Santos, House Tables Censure Resolution Against Palestinian American Rep. Rashida Tlaib, Oregon Teachers Strike for Higher Wages and Smaller Class Sizes, Pharmageddon": Pharmacists and Technicians Launch Wildcat Strikes at CVS and Walgreens, Healthcare Activist Ady Barkan, Who Championed Medicare for All, Dies of ALS at 39

A former top United Nations official in New York joins us for an in-depth interview about why he has resigned after publicly accusing the U.N. of failing to address what he calls a text-book case of genocide" unfolding in Gaza. Craig Mokhiber is a longtime international human rights lawyer who served as director of the New York Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. His resignation letter (embedded below) has gone viral. In one of his first interviews since leaving his post, Mokhiber tells Democracy Now! the U.N. follows a different set of rules" when addressing Israel's violations of international law, refusing to utilize its enforcement mechanisms and thus effectively" acting as a smokescreen behind which we have seen further and worsening dispossession of Palestinians." He says it is an open secret inside the halls of the United Nations that the so-called two-state solution is effectively impossible," and calls for international actors to push for a new paradigm" in the region based on equality for all." We also discuss the inaction of the International Criminal Court, global suppression of pro-Palestinian advocacy, bad-faith accusations of antisemitism and more.

We get an update on Gaza's largest refugee camp, Jabaliya, which was hit by a massive Israeli airstrike Tuesday that destroyed housing blocks in the densely populated settlement and killed at least 50 Palestinians and wounded over 150 others. Israel claims it was targeting a Hamas commander accused of helping to orchestrate the militant group's October 7 attack inside Israel. Yousef Hammash, who was born and raised in Jabaliya and is the advocacy officer in Gaza for the Norwegian Refugee Council, describes it as a small city within a city" and one of the most crowded places on Earth." Speaking from Khan Younis, Hammash also chronicles dire humanitarian conditions in the so-called safe southern region of Gaza and says he hopes his two young children can see a brighter future."

Israeli Strikes Kill at Least 50 Gazans in Jabaliya as Overrun Hospitals on Brink of Catastrophe, Rafah Border with Egypt Opens for Foreign Nationals and Some Injured Gazans, Antiwar Protesters Disrupt Blinken and Austin Senate Hearings to Call for Ceasefire, GOP Wants to Divert IRS Funding to Fulfill Biden's Request for $14 Billion for Israel, Baited by Fox, White House Likens Palestinian Rights Protests to Charlottesville, Bernice King Corrects Record on Her Father After Misleading Tweet by Amy Schumer, A Text-Book Case of Genocide": New York's U.N. Rights Chief Steps Down over Response to Gaza Assault, Chile and Colombia Recall Ambassadors to Israel; Bolivia Cuts Diplomatic Ties with Israel, Houthis Say They Launched Air Attacks in Southern Israel, Iranian Authorities Detain, Beat World-Renowned Human Rights Lawyer Nasrin Sotoudeh, China-Mediated Plan to Repatriate Rohingya Refugees to Burma Advances Despite Fears of More Violence, Pakistani Police Arrest Afghan Nationals as Crackdown on Immigrants Intensifies, King Charles Expresses Deepest Regret" for Colonial Violence in Kenya But Does Not Offer Apology, Michigan Closes Cases Against Public Officials Responsible for Flint Water Crisis

The United Auto Workers union has reached tentative agreements with Ford, Stellantis and General Motors, and workers are returning as they end a historic six-week strike against the Big Three automakers based in Detroit. Under the deals, workers will get major raises over the length of the contracts, as well as improved benefits. They will be life-changing for some of the lowest-paid members of the union," says legendary labor journalist Jane Slaughter, founder of Labor Notes. The UAW's success is largely attributed to union president Shawn Fain's stand-up strike" strategy, in which workers walked off the job at more locations each week in response to lack of progress at the bargaining table. Fain is part of a new wave of reformist leaders who were intent on reversing losses from the Great Recession, when the union made historic concessions to keep the car companies afloat. None of this would be happening if it were the old UAW," says Slaughter.

We speak with Israeli historian Ilan Pappe about Israel's escalating war on Gaza, as well as a leaked document from the country's Ministry of Intelligence that suggests permanently expelling Gaza's entire population to the Sinai Desert in Egypt. This is a massive operation of killing, of ethnic cleansing, of depopulation," says Pappe. He also says the only way to secure the release of the more than 200 hostages held by Hamas is to agree to an all-for-all swap for the thousands of Palestinian political prisoners held by Israel, including many women, children and elderly people. This is the only way to release the people who were taken." Pappe is a leading critic of the Israeli occupation, a professor of history and the director of the European Centre for Palestine Studies at the University of Exeter. His books include The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, A History of Modern Palestine: One Land, Two Peoples and The Idea of Israel: A History of Power and Knowledge.

As Israeli tanks and other ground forces enter Gaza, we speak with a doctor in the besieged territory. Dr. Hammam Alloh is working at Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in the area, and says tens of thousands of people have sought shelter to escape Israel's heavy bombardment. He describes making harrowing decisions with rapidly dwindling supplies, such as not resuscitating a patient who went into cardiac arrest because of a lack of ventilators. He also remains steadfast in staying at the hospital, despite Israeli demands to evacuate south. You think I went to medical school and for my postgraduate degrees for a total of 14 years so I think only about my life and not my patients?" he says. This is not the reason why I became a doctor."

UNICEF Warns Israel's Assault on Gaza Is Killing or Wounding 420 Children a Day, Israeli Tanks Press Deeper into Gaza After Netanyahu Rules Out Ceasefire, Condemns Hostage Video, Israeli Military Warns Al Jazeera Correspondent in Gaza to Leave Home or Die, Reporters Without Borders Says Israel Targeted" Journalists in Attack That Killed Issam Abdallah, Sit-in Protesters Across Canada Demand Lawmakers Press for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza, Antisemitic Mob Storms Airport in Russia's Dagestan Region Seeking Israeli Passengers, U.S. Officials Warn of Surge of Hate Crimes Against Muslims, Arabs and Jews, Records Show Police Ignored Warnings Ahead of Maine Gunman's Violent Rampage, Colorado Court Hears Arguments in Lawsuit Seeking to Bar Trump from 2024 Ballot, Pence Drops 2024 Presidential Bid; Rep. Dean Phillips to Challenge Biden for Democratic Nomination, UAW Reaches Tentative Deal with GM, Ending Strike Against Big Three U.S. Automakers, Prison Banned Books Week Highlights Censorship Behind Bars

Amid growing alarm that more Israeli airstrikes will hit hospitals in Gaza, we speak with two physicians about Gaza's medical system and Israel's orders to evacuate key hospitals. Dr. Fadel Naim, head of orthopedic surgery at Al-Ahli al-Arabi Hospital in Gaza, says Israel has bombed all around the hospital." Dr. Mads Gilbert, who has helped provide emergency trauma care in Gaza for over four decades, condemns Israel for using allegations of military activity to attack civilian hospitals without proof. This is all part of this immense intimidation of the Palestinian people in Gaza," says Gilbert, who is trying to enter the besieged territory from Egypt to show concrete solidarity with the Palestinian people."

We look at the reluctance in Congress to censure Israel despite growing grassroots pressure for a ceasefire in Gaza. The narrative on both sides of the aisle is mostly about the right of Israel to defend itself," says Lara Friedman, president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace. Congress has bought, completely, the framing which says that any Palestinian that dies in Gaza ... that's all on Hamas." Friedman explains how the normalization of the racist Kahanist movement by Israel and the U.S. helped lead to today's crisis, and lays out Israel's approach to the ongoing hostage situation in Gaza.

We speak with Illinois Congressmember Delia Ramirez, one of the 18 members of the U.S. House of Representatives who have signed a resolution calling for an immediate deescalation and ceasefire in Israel and Palestine. The only way we move forward is deescalating," says Ramirez. The aid that we send cannot be used to kill innocent lives. It's unacceptable, it's not moral, and I can't stand behind that."

We bring you the voices of Jewish Voice for Peace and their allies who shut down the main terminal of Grand Central Station during rush hour Friday in one of New York's largest acts of civil disobedience in 20 years to demand a ceasefire in Gaza. The multiracial, intergenerational movement says about 400 people were arrested, including rabbis, famous actors and elected officials from the New York State Assembly and Senate and the City Council.

Palestinian Death Toll Tops 8,300 as Israeli Tanks Advance on Gaza City, Families of Israeli Hostages Plead with Netanyahu to Protect Hostages, Call for Prisoner Swap, West Bank Toll Rises to 111 After Israeli Settler Kills Palestinian Harvesting Olives, U.S. and Israel Side Against Overwhelming Majority at UNGA Calling for Gaza Ceasefire, Jewish Voice for Peace Leads Protest of Thousands in NYC's Grand Central Station, Maine Mass Shooting Suspect Found Dead of Self-Inflicted Gunshot, United Auto Workers Wins Tentative Deal with Stellantis and GM, Following Ford, Iranian Teen Assaulted by Morality Police for Not Wearing Headscarf Dies of Injuries, Extinction Rebellion Protesters Demand Germany Decarbonize by 2030, Leading Climate Scientist Saleemul Huq Dies in Bangladesh

A free speech battle is playing out on college campuses, as students, professors and others advocating for Palestinian rights across the United States are facing racist attacks and retaliation that threaten their safety and livelihoods. These attacks aim to suppress criticism of Israel and U.S. support of its actions in Gaza. This comes as the U.S. Senate has unanimously passed a resolution condemning Hamas and antisemitic student activities on college campuses." The resolution references a student at New York University's law school whose job offer was withdrawn after they sent a newsletter to classmates expressing unwavering and absolute solidarity with Palestinians in their resistance against oppression toward liberation and self-determination." We're joined by that student, Ryna Workman, who was also suspended from their position as president of the NYU Law Student Bar Association after publicly expressing support for Palestine, and by Dima Khalidi, the founder and director of Palestine Legal, a legal aid organization dedicated to documenting and supporting people who face retaliation for supporting Palestinian rights. Folks are now afraid to speak up, in fear that they might become the next me," says Workman about what Khalidi terms the Palestine exception to free speech."

According to the latest update from the Israeli military, Hamas is still holding at least 229 hostages captured during its October 7 incursion into southern Israel. The group has stated that they will not release all hostages until Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza. To discuss the release thus far of four hostages and prospects for future releases, we speak to Gershon Baskin, who helped negotiate a critical hostage exchange between Israel and Hamas in 2011. I really think this is some kind of negotiating game and competition that exists featuring Qatar and Egypt," says Baskin.

Palestinian poet Ahmed Abu Artema was seriously injured in an Israeli airstrike on October 24 that also killed five members of his family, including his 12-year-old son. Artema helped inspire the Great March of Return, a series of nonviolent protests in Gaza starting in 2018 when thousands of Palestinians marched to the militarized fence separating them from their ancestral homes inside Israel, braving deadly Israeli sniper fire that killed hundreds and injured thousands more. Artema spoke with Democracy Now! about the mass protests in 2019. The Palestinians in Gaza are actually in a real prison," he said. When tens of thousands of Palestinians share in the March of Return, they want to say that we never gave up our right to return."

UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestine refugees, says it is close to running out of supplies in Gaza, where it is sheltering over 600,000 displaced Palestinians. Israel has claimed that they cannot allow fuel to enter the besieged territory because of the supposed risk of it being appropriated by Hamas. We hear from UNRWA spokesperson Tamara Alrifai about the dire humanitarian crisis and the critical lack of food, water, medicine and especially fuel available for the millions stranded" in Gaza. UNRWA is calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and unrestricted aid corridors to address the crisis.

Gaza Is Being Strangled": U.N. Says Israel's Siege Will Lead to More Palestinian Deaths, Gaza Health Ministry Publishes Names of Nearly 7,000 Palestinians Killed in Israeli Strikes, Al Jazeera's Wael al-Dahdouh Returns to Work One Day After Israeli Strike Kills 12 Family Members, EU Appeals for Humanitarian Pause" in Gaza But Stops Short of Ceasefire Call, Vote to Stop This Madness": Palestinian U.N. Envoy Implores UNGA Members to Back Ceasefire, U.S. Forces Attack Iran-Linked Facilities in Syria, Florida Moves to Ban Chapters of Students for Justice in Palestine in State Colleges, Hurricane Otis Kills at Least 27 in Mexico, Leaving Trail of Destruction in Acapulco, Major Protests in Panama Take Aim at Canadian Copper Mine, U.S. Seeks to Turn Page on Fraught Relations with China with High-Profile Official Meetings, Maine Rep. Reverses Stance on Gun Laws, Calls for Ban on Assault Rifles, After Lewiston Massacre

We speak with philosopher Judith Butler, one of dozens of Jewish American writers and artists who signed an open letter to President Biden calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. We should all be standing up and objecting and calling for an end to genocide," says Butler of the Israeli assault. Until Palestine is free ... we will continue to see violence. We will continue to see this structural violence producing this kind of resistance." Butler is the author of numerous books, including The Force of Nonviolence: An Ethico-Political Bind and Parting Ways: Jewishness and the Critique of Zionism. They are on the advisory board of Jewish Voice for Peace.

Palestinian diplomat and scholar Hanan Ashrawi joins us from Ramallah in the occupied West Bank and says the unfolding catastrophe in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli bombardment has killed over 7,000 people so far, is equally the fault of the United States. The U.S. is certainly a partner in crime with Israel," says Ashrawi, noting that the bombs raining down on Gaza right now are largely produced in and paid for by the U.S. Israel is guilty of slaughter, of massacres, of ethnic cleansing, of genocide. These are the terms that describe a reality that is happening before your own eyes, Mr. Biden."

We speak with Al Jazeera correspondent Youmna ElSayed in Gaza, where an Israeli airstrike killed the family of the news outlet's Gaza bureau chief Wael Dahdouh on Wednesday. The Qatar-based news network is one of the few international outlets with reporters in Gaza. The Israeli strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp killed at least 25 in total, and Dahdouh had fled to the refugee camp with his family after Israel ordered residents of northern Gaza to vacate their homes. He learned of the deaths of his wife, son, daughter and grandson while reporting live on the air. When we say there's no safe place in Gaza, we're not lying," says ElSayed, who criticizes Israel for its history of targeting media. The killings on Wednesday came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly urged Qatari leaders to pressure Al Jazeera to tone down its coverage of the war. Palestinian authorities say the death toll from Israel's 20-day bombardment of the Gaza Strip has topped 7,000, including over 2,900 children.

Israeli Tanks Enter Northern Gaza Strip as Palestinian Death Toll Passes 7,000, Al Jazeera Gaza Bureau Chief Loses Wife, Daughter, Son and Grandson to Israeli Airstrike, Hamas Rocket Fire Wounds Six in Israel, U.N. Security Council Fails to Pass Resolution to End Deadly Israeli Assault on Gaza, House Elects GOP Hard-Liner Mike Johnson as Speaker, Ending Weekslong Legislative Standstill, Not in Our Name": Jewish American Protesters Occupy Lawmakers' Offices Demanding Gaza Ceasefire, Gunman Kills 18 in Maine; Suspect Is Army Reservist and Weapons Trainer, Judge Reinstates Charges Against Ex-Officer Who Killed Eddie Irizarry, UAW Reaches Tentative Deal with Ford After 6 Weeks on Strike, White Nationalist Arrested and Charged in Hit-and-Run Killing of Mika Westwolf

Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez discusses his new report on The Current Migrant Crisis," about how U.S. policy toward Latin America has fueled historic numbers of asylum seekers. He argues U.S. economic warfare" against countries like Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela is what motivates many migrants to risk the journey north. We're seeing this enormous increase from these three countries. What do all these three countries have in common? They are all being subjected to United States sanctions," says Gonzalez. The sanctions are reducing the ability of people to survive in the region, and then we're surprised by all these people appearing at the border."

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Viet Thanh Nguyen says a ceasefire is desperately needed in Gaza, where Israeli bombardment has killed more than 6,500 Palestinians since October 7. Wars lead to an 'us vs. them' mentality: 'We are good, they are evil,'" he says. Nguyen is among more than 750 writers who signed an open letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, after which the 92NY, a major cultural institution in New York City, canceled his speaking engagement there.

We are joined by the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen to discuss his new book, A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, a History, a Memorial. Last week the 92NY, a major cultural institution in New York City, canceled an event with Nguyen after he joined 750+ writers in signing an open letter calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. His memoir explores his family's personal history as refugees from Vietnam dealing with the impacts of U.S. imperialism. Civilian stories are war stories, too," says Nguyen. He says the U.S.'s greatest acts of anti-Asian violence occur internationally and continue today. I see total continuity between what the United States has done in the Philippines, in Korea, in Japan, in Laos, in Cambodia, in Vietnam and now with Palestine."

Despite growing international condemnation, Israel has rejected calls for a ceasefire of its continued assault on Gaza. Israeli forces carried out indiscriminate attacks, killing and injuring civilians, and in some cases that we documented, ... entire families were wiped out," says Amnesty International researcher Budour Hassan, who shares testimonies of Gazans from a new report on Israeli war crimes. Meanwhile, Israel continues to attack civilians in the occupied West Bank, and the number of Palestinians held in Israeli jails since October 7 has doubled. This level of pressure, of coercion, of oppression that Palestinians have been facing in the West Bank ... has received such scant attention because all eyes now are on Gaza," says Hassan.

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