It Could Happen Here - Palestinian Solidarity at the World Cup

Episode Date: December 20, 2022

The 2022 World Cup has been incredibly significant for the Arab and Muslim world for many reasons. Shereen highlights the beautiful outpouring of support we’ve seen for the Palestinian cause during the tournament and how this has been the driving force of a renewed unity for the Arab world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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I've been wanting to do an episode about the World Cup for a while, but I felt like there was just so much to cover, and it was also happening in real time, so I wanted to wait a bit so I could have enough stuff to pull from. I will say I am recording this on Monday, December 19th. It is the day after the weekend where France lost to Argentina and Argentina are now our World Cup champions. I'm happy about that. And then Morocco did lose last week to France, which was devastating to me and my family and the rest of the Arab world, because we would have loved to see them beat their colonizers. But they got really far. And I want to talk about the impact that that's had. They did come in fourth when they lost to Croatia this

weekend as well. So just in case y'all needed to know that. But I will say I am really happy for Argentina. And maybe it was because Morocco lost to France, but I wasn't mad seeing France losing. And all the celebrations I've seen from people celebrating Argentina have been so heartwarming. And yeah, but anyway, I wanted to focus on something that I think has been so unprecedented and beautiful and singular and I think deserves more coverage. And that is this show of Palestinian solidarity that has been happening during the World Cup. It is so cool. And I want to talk about why it's happening, the circumstances that could lead to this happening, and what it means. Because I think it's very significant moving forward when it comes to Palestinian rights and Palestinian support.

So, let's get into it. There's a great article by British-Palestinian writer Hamza Ali Shah titled, Palestine is the biggest winner at this year's World Cup. And this article did such a good job compiling some key moments, so I'm going to be referencing from it a lot as we continue this episode. Okay, here we go. Despite the Western media doing its best to ignore it, the World Cup has seen a huge tidal wave of Palestinian solidarity, and it's united the Arab world in a huge tidal wave of Palestinian solidarity, and it's united the Arab world in a really special way, and also highlighted just how many people, Arab and non-Arab alike, support the Palestinian

cause. And so, not to be too cheesy, the biggest winners of this World Cup, in my opinion, haven't even had a team at all competing, and that's the Palestinians. The World Cup has been characterized by unforeseeable developments and dramatic quote-unquote upsets, which is a word I don't even really like, even if it's grammatically correct when it's used in fucking sports jargon, but I don't like it because it kind of sounds like a bad thing because it's like upset, boohoo. But really, I think surprises like this are a really good thing because what these upsets usually mean is simply that the underdog won, which is a narrative I will always support. So these surprises really started with Argentina's loss to Saudi Arabia, which

shocked everyone. The faces in the stadium, jaws on the floor, everyone was shocked. I watched it with my mom. It was, it was incredible. And it was truly a beautiful game. I highly recommend you at least watch some clips from it. It was fucking cool. And I don't know, it came out of nowhere. It was really beautiful. And after this victory, King Salman of Saudi Arabia ordered that day that they won a public holiday. To say the least, everyone was losing their minds. And these surprises seemed to be endless in this World Cup, mostly because, as I said, the obvious teams were losing to the underdogs. And coming out of this, one of the most consistent themes has been this overarching Palestinian solidarity that has unfolded, particularly among fans of Arab nations.

The 2022 World Cup was already significant on its own. It's held in Qatar, making it the first World Cup to be held in the Arab world and the Muslim world, and only the second held entirely in Asia after the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan. The Arab world is obsessed with soccer. An understatement to say obsessed. I shit you not. It's a huge part of Arab culture, Middle Eastern culture. And so this was already a huge deal to start with.

And I think these two things together, the fact that it's very cultural and the fact that this is the first time it's been on an Arab stage, I think these two things together, the fact that it's very cultural and the fact that this is the first time it's been on an Arab stage, I think these two things together created the seed for Arabs and Middle Easterners to really come together in a way we've never really seen. And this first World Cup in the Arab world has captured in this symbolic way this reality where Western powers have receded in the face of their challengers. Morocco, they reached the semifinals and they played France, their colonizers, which was so symbolic. Saudi Arabia humiliated one of the tournament favorites, Argentina, and then Tunisia did the same to its former colonizer, France. Japan, they beat Germany and Spain. This traditional

power imbalance in global soccer and what it means for geopolitics, I feel like it can no longer be taken for granted or ignored. As many as 5 million Moroccans live abroad, mostly in Europe, and they've celebrated the team's victories in huge street celebrations in France and Belgium and Spain and the Netherlands and just internationally. For Moroccans living outside of Morocco and for so many other migrants from the Arab world or Africa, they've been driven by decades of desperation in their home countries to risk everything to reach Europe, only to suffer abuse and contempt. So this achievement after achievement was a huge pivotal milestone. And I think this drive has been coupled with the show of Palestinian pride in Qatar as well.

There was no Palestinian team at the World Cup, and yet the Palestinian flag was everywhere, team at the World Cup, and yet the Palestinian flag was everywhere, not only in the hands of celebrating Moroccan players and fans, but also at every game and on the streets of Doha and Qatar. It was just overwhelming and so amazing to see. And these displays, they shocked some Israeli journalists who had been assured by their own government that the U.S. brokered Abraham Accords that had happened between Israel and Morocco and other Arab states. They thought that this signaled that the Arab world had relinquished any pretense of advocacy for Palestinian rights. But as we see with a lot of sports, soccer creates its own form of civil society. And especially because it's a huge international game in a way that no other sport really is,

and also being played in a region where civil society has largely been suppressed by authoritarians, it's made it clear in this World Cup that the arab public is not willing to follow their unelected leaders in accepting the brutality against palestinians and what human rights organizations have called israel's apartheid system aka israel's ethnic cleansing of palestinians violence brutality murder the list can go on i'm sure you've heard me on my soapbox before, but it always bears repeating. My point is that the Arab public and the people in these Arab nations do not represent and do not necessarily believe in these leaders that, again, they did not elect. It's all authoritarian, dictatorships, and just corrupt government that, I I mean we can get into history another time

but the disablement of so many of these governments have been because of the western world to say the least I don't know different episode I'm getting distracted sorry even countries that did not qualify for the world cup are surging with this united Pride and pro-Palestinian sentiment. The Palestinian cause is obviously near and dear to the hearts of many Arabs across the world. And again, not only is this the first time the World Cup has been hosted in an Arab country, it's also probably the first time there has been such a large gathering and concentration of Arabs across nationalities gathered all in one place. And again, at almost every single game, there have been fans holding the Palestinian flag or banners that say Free Palestine in the stadium. In their matches against Australia

and Belgium respectively, Tunisian and Moroccan fans each unfurled a huge Free Palestine flag in the 48th minute, which is very significant because this is in reference to the 1948 Nakba, which translates to the catastrophe. The Nakba deserves millions of episodes on its own, but essentially it was the mass expulsion and ethnic cleansing of at least 750,000 Palestinian refugees in 1948 when the state of Israel was formed. A side note that I do want to mention here is that there is an incredible film on Netflix right now that you should all go watch. It's called Farha. F-A-R-H-A. It's about the Nakba. And there's never been a film like this before. And the Israeli government has been doing this like smear campaign against it and has been calling it all sorts of terrible things. made it so successful. They've outdone the haters, I guess, to say the least. And it's doing really well. And it's because of these supporters that it's doing so well. So I mean, sorry to get a

little bit tangential here, but I really encourage you to watch Farha on Netflix right now. There's never been a film about this catastrophe, the Nakba. So I highly encourage everyone to watch or even just like put it on in the background while you're doing something else so it counts as views. Just keep supporting it. I think this is a really important time and it feels really significant that this is all happening at the same time. So anyway, go watch that film. But Tunisia and Moroccan fans each at the 48th minute in reference to this catastrophe, they unfurled this huge Free Palestine flag. And by waving that Palestinian flag, Moroccan fans and players expressed a very public dissent from the choices of their government and of the Western powers,

and as well as other Arab autocrats, to abandon the Palestinians to their fate. And as they advanced, Morocco was able to sustain the attention on these issues. And their players proved time and time again that they are more than deserving to be playing on this world stage. Morocco was also the first African team to make the semifinals of the World Cup, which is also a significant achievement and a lovely slap in the face to anyone who doubted them. The Moroccan defense was incredible, maybe some of the best defense I've ever seen. But due to soccer's globalization, the top players in soccer have for decades all played in Europe's elite leagues. And this was

the first World Cup in which all five African teams were coached by African coaches rather than by European ones, and Morocco's coach in particular appears to have made an exceptional difference. During Tunisia's game against France, a Tunisian fan ran onto the pitch and he waved a Palestinian flag, cartwheeling in the process. The crowd erupted into chants of Palestine as he was dragged away by security, and in a different match at the stadium, fans chanted, with spirit and blood, we will redeem you, oh Palestine. They chanted this in Arabic. And this occurred on the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, November 29th, and it felt very poetic. And then when Morocco knocked the former champions Spain out of the tournament, the Moroccan team posed for the standard celebratory team photo,

and instead of holding the Moroccan flag, they all held a Palestinian one. A winning team holding up the flag of another country has literally never happened before. And the fact that it's a Palestinian flag, I don't know, man. Chills. I'm obsessed. Obsessed. But okay, I feel like I'm going to get more rambly and distracted. So before I do that, let's take a break. I could not think of a witty segue to get there, but here are some ads. there, but here are some ads. Welcome. I'm Danny Thrill. Won't you join me at the fire and dare enter? Nocturnal Tales from the Shadows, presented by iHeart and Sonora. An anthology of modern day horror stories inspired by the legends of Latin America. From ghastly encounters with shapeshifters to bone-chilling brushes with supernatural creatures.

I know you. Take a trip and experience the horrors that have haunted Latin America since the beginning of time. Listen to Nocturnal Tales from the Shadows as part of My Cultura podcast network. Available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, we're back. I also wanted to mention what, in my opinion, is the most iconic image of the 2022 World Cup. And that is when Morocco's Sofiane Bouffal was dancing with his mom after his team's brilliant upset victory over Portugal in the quarterfinals. They were dancing and happy and she's wearing a hijab and it was just this pure display of joy. And it just felt really familial to me. And it felt that way to a lot of Middle

Easterners and Arabs and Moroccans. This moment, this dancing between him and his mom, it was a statement of pride and of priorities and a reminder that as the mother of another great football player, Zina Dean Zidane, she once said that, quote, some things are bigger than football. Bouffal and his mother, like the majority of Morocco's players and coaches, they live in European cities, and they're part of that continent's vast, marginalized, and embattled migrant underclass. Again, she wore a hijab, something that she would be barred from doing if she was a teacher or a public servant in France. Against all of that, this moment on the field was captured in a moment of unbridled joy that was so pure and so human and just reminded everyone, I hope, reminded me and my family of who we are. reminded everyone, I hope, reminded me and my family of who we are. And again, I think this is really significant when you think about the geopolitical implications that we've seen

during these games, with countries like Morocco playing against the teams of the countries that colonized them, aka when they played with France. It really feels like this beautiful blossoming of culture against all odds of trying to suppress it. So, outside the stadiums, this theme remained the same when it came to Palestinian solidarity. A Saudi Arabian vendor selling flags of different countries, he went viral after he was spotted giving customers an extra Palestinian flag as a free gift with any purchase. And so this uplifting message that has been repeated time and time again during this World Cup is that Palestine can never be removed from the hearts of the people. And there are so many heartwarming videos like the one I mentioned, and I urge everyone to follow Palestinian accounts to keep up. If you're curious, I know the World Cup is technically over now, but these

videos are so fun and joyful to watch. I really felt so much joy watching them. This outpouring of support for Palestine is reminiscent of an earlier time in history when the Arab world was also united in its support for Palestine. The Palestinian cause was once a driving force in the policy direction of the Arab world, and it reached its zenith in the 1960s when nations like Syria, Jordan, and Egypt, they went to war against Israel with the anti-imperial objective of regional Arab unity and Palestinian liberation. However, those aspirations were stomped out in 1967 when israel quote unquote won the six-day war or the june war which is also known as the 1967 arab israeli war or the third arab israeli war just a very quick history lesson here this war was fought between israel and a coalition

of arab states and it ended after israel Israeli tanks and infantry advanced on a heavily fortified region of Syria called the Golan Heights. They successfully captured the Golan Heights after this the next day. On June 10th in 1967, a UN-brokered ceasefire took effect and the Six-Day War came to an abrupt end. The casualties between the two opposing sides are basically incomparable. I'm going to say some stats here, but just bear with me. Between 776 and 983 Israelis were killed and 4,517 were wounded. 15 Israeli soldiers were captured. 517 were wounded. 15 Israeli soldiers were captured. Arab casualties were far greater. Between 9,800 and 15,000 Egyptian soldiers were listed as killed or missing in action. An additional 4,338 Egyptian soldiers were captured. Jordanian losses are estimated to be 700 killed in action with another 2,500 wounded. The Syrians were estimated to have sustained between 1,000 and 2,500 killed in action.

Between 367 and 591 Syrians were captured. It's an incomparable, an insurmountable loss. And I might go as far to say it was a massacre, because it was so unbalanced. Casualties were also suffered by the UNEF, the United Nations Emergency Force, that was stationed on the Egyptian side of the border. In three different episodes, Israeli forces attacked a UNEF convoy, as well as camps in which UNEF personnel were concentrated, as well as the UNEF headquarters in Gaza. And this resulted in one Brazilian peacekeeper and 14 Indian officials killed by Israeli forces, with an additional 17 peacekeepers wounded in both groups. That's your history lesson for today, at least for now. But as you can imagine, this was a huge loss for the Arab world.

In addition to sealing the Golan Heights, this war led Israel to seizing and occupying all remaining Palestinian territories. And, as you know, or should know by now, Israel has maintained its control of the land at the expense of the Palestinians, with Arab leaders not able to do much in protest over these years. Especially after this 1967 loss, a lot of Arab leaders almost seemed indifferent. When we fast forward to 2020, something happened that seemed like a decisive death blow to the hopes of Palestinian solidarity. In 2020, the Abraham Accords were signed, and these were a series of joint normalization statements between Israel and Arab countries that would theoretically pave the way for increased business and diplomatic relations. The implication was that Israel could afford to maintain its apartheid rule and still enjoy warm relations with the Arab world because their politicians, too, were happy to willfully neglect the Palestinians.

Officials from Bahrain, the UAE, and Morocco all signed the supposed quote-unquote peace treaty with Israel. However, as we've seen from this year's World Cup, the Arab people do not agree with their politicians or their decisions. Again, most of these decision makers are not elected by their people. There's a lot of corruption at play, and I think it's very important to always separate a government from its people, as we're seeing especially in Iran right now, which is something that makes me very emotional and deserves to be talked about more. I can't do it justice in this one sentence, but I urge you all to keep spreading awareness about Iran, please. What they're doing to protesters is inhumane and truly medieval. Recent polls indicate that the Arab public

widely disapproves of the Abraham Accords, strongly disagreeing with the prospect of normalizing ties with Israel as long as the Palestinians remain oppressed. The experience of Israeli journalists in Qatar can be seen as this decisive confirmation that the treatment of Palestinians will actually be what dictate the trajectory of normalization. Israeli journalists broadcasting live have been interrupted by rallies of people chanting pro-Palestinian slogans and waving Palestinian flags. An Egyptian man went viral after he leaned into the camera and said, live on Israeli television, Viva Palestine. Fans refusing to speak to Israeli channels has also been a hilarious common occurrence. One particular exchange included Moroccan fans posing for the camera before swiftly walking off upon realizing it was for

an Israeli media outlet. The reporter's response was one of shock, repeatedly citing that a peace agreement had been signed by Morocco, thereby assuming that the Moroccan people themselves endorsed the notion that Israel's crimes could be whitewashed and forgotten. And again, I highly recommend you watch these videos. They have brought me a joy that I haven't felt in literal years. And it's just beautiful and most importantly, hilarious to see. I highly recommend. There are silver linings sometimes to life, and I feel like there are enough terrible things happening where a little joy is fine and seeing Israeli journalists being humiliated. Thank you. Thank you, world. There's a thread on Twitter of World Cup football fans refusing to speak to Israeli channels. I'll try to put that in the notes somewhere, but regardless, highly recommend looking up these videos.

Just, again, beautiful, beautiful stuff. And as I mentioned, Israeli journalists often seem bewildered as to why they are being boycotted. An Israeli reporter told the New York Times, I really changed my mind here in Qatar. We are not human beings for them. They want to wipe us out from the map, which is obviously not true, and language like this is one of many Zionist talking points that are all stupid. And while Israeli journalists speculate about being wiped out, that is in fact the lived reality for Palestinians under Israeli rule. Also, there is a video that was captured, and I'm sure there are many more instances like this where it was not captured on video, but the Israeli police were violently cracking down on Palestinians, including children, who were celebrating Morocco's previous wins in occupied

East Jerusalem. They were celebrating Morocco becoming the first African or Arab country to reach the semifinals, and they were literally beaten up. There's no defense in this video. That's the thing that I can't get over is the IDF acts in a way that is so indefensible and so obvious. And you can say maybe similar things about the police here. It's mind-blowing that they've been able to terrorize Palestinians for basically a century now. I also want to play this video. Well, you're going to hear the audio. There is a Palestinian activist online that I really admire. He's always posting really great things and he sometimes posts funny things, which are very Taha and his handle is s-b-e-i-h dot j-p-g. And there is a video that he posted about basically what Israel has been doing just throughout even the past week when this World

Cup is happening. And I feel like he'll say it better than me paraphrasing it. So here he is. Let's go through everything Israel has been doing to Palestinians in the past week or so during all this hype of Morocco making it to the semifinals. And these are the reasons why so many people are carrying and waving the Palestinian flag at the World Cup right now, including the Moroccan team after their matches. First, we have Palestinians who are celebrating Morocco's wins being attacked by Israeli occupation forces. They're out here waving the Morocco flag, trying to celebrate with them. And of course it has to be cut short with Israeli soldiers coming and hitting everyone.

Then we have a 16-year-old child named Jenna Zakarne, who was on the roof of her house when she was shot in the face by Israeli forces during another illegal raid of the city of Jenin. We have another 16-year-old Palestinian child, a boy named Diyat Rimawi, who was also killed by Israeli forces in west of Ramallah. On top of Diyat Rimawi, who was also killed by Israeli forces in west of Ramallah. On top of those two, we have four Palestinian men also killed by Israeli forces. Mujahid Hamid, Ata Shalabi, Tariq Damaj, and Sudqi Zakarni. Israeli forces demolished another Palestinian home in a town near Jericho, then another Palestinian home in the town of Tayyiba. Israeli occupation forces fired tear gas at journalists who were

covering the Palestinian protests against the illegal Israeli settlement expansions in the town of Bid Dejan. You'd think that we're done, but there's more. We have an Israeli soldier brutally beating a young Palestinian man in Nablus. The soldier sits on top of him and punches him in the head. In the east of Hebron, Israeli forces cut down 50 olive trees belonging to Palestinian farmers. And of course, Israeli settlers continue to break into Al-Aqsa Mosque under the protection of Israeli occupation forces. This is why everyone is waving a Palestinian flag at the World Cup. This is why that Tunisian man randomly ran through the match with the Palestinian flag or why Israeli reporters are being ignored and shunned.

These are the reasons why. Not because of anti-Semitism, it's because Israel is literally killing Palestinians. They'd rather just blame it all on anti-Semitism instead of simply holding Israel accountable for their actions. Everything I just listed happened in the past like 10 days. Putting aside everything that Israel has been doing to Palestinians for the past, what, almost 100 years now. So don't be surprised when people stand with the people of Palestine. Last week marked six months since Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Ekle was assassinated by Israeli forces.

And while her death did attract more coverage than is usual, in part to her being an American citizen, it was unfortunately not an exception. Since the year 2000, 50 Palestinian journalists have been murdered. Many, many more civilians, including children, have been murdered. So if media representatives or journalists from an apartheid state can't seem to understand why the reception to their presence has been so cold, they just are better off examining why that is and why their government is actually the one attempting to wipe a people off the map. Even in the weeks during this World Cup, Israel has killed multiple Palestinians,

cup, Israel has killed multiple Palestinians, has murdered multiple Palestinians. They killed a 16 year old girl when she was on her roof searching for her cat. She was shot four times, twice in the head. How can you justify that? They're claiming it was an accident, but it's similar to what police say here when they shoot someone multiple times in the back and then blame it on the person that they murdered and the family that they destroyed, xyz, etc, etc. And just to put it in perspective, Israeli forces have killed over 215 Palestinians this year, making it the deadliest year in over a decade. Israel is the one who does not see Palestinians, as is proven time and time again by their actions, as human beings. Welcome, I'm Danny Thrill. Won't you join me at the fire and dare enter?

Nocturnum, Tales from the Shadows, presented by iHeart and Sonora. An anthology of modern day horror stories inspired by the legends of Latin America. From ghastly encounters with shapeshifters to bone-chilling brushes with supernatural creatures. I know you. Take a trip and experience the horrors that have haunted Latin America since the beginning of time. Listen to Nocturnal Tales from the Shadows as part of my Cultura podcast network, available on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Something so significant is that the public support of Palestinian solidarity has not been confined to only fans of Arab nations. Brazilian fans also proudly raise the Palestinian flag and Uruguay supporters have been spotted donning the kofiya, which is the symbolic black and white scarf that has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance. is the symbolic black and white scarf that has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance. And they're also wearing pro-Palestinian shirts with fans insisting the Palestinian people deserve freedom. One clip that also went viral on social media featured an English fan who, during an interview with an Arabic channel, confessed that his Arabic wasn't really that strong, and then he shouted, free Palestine, in great Arabic. And then

he broke into this free, free, free chant with everyone around him. Again, joyful, beautiful stuff that just proves that this kind of support works and it grows and it spreads. And so all this really goes to show is that while Arab governments have been normalizing relations with Israel, that sentiment is not reflected in the streets, and Arabs and non-Arabs alike are more passionate than ever about the Palestinian cause. Some Palestinians living in Qatar have referred to the World Cup as a, quote, golden opportunity to introduce our cause, and this intent has been received enthusiastically, to say the least. And yet, in the face of such an unavoidable talking point, there has been a striking, if not unsurprising, radio silence from Western media. It's a huge reason why I wanted to talk about this in an episode. I found it so strange that my family and friends who were tuned into

the World Cup were constantly talking about something that hasn't been covered at all by Western media, at least not in a real honest way. If anything, the World Cup has ignited Islamophobic and Orientalist tropes in some Western news coverage, which I think is so shameful. For example, I'm going to go through a little list that Al Jazeera shared. A Dutch newspaper published a cartoon of Moroccan men stealing the World Cup trophy. And this image, they're on a bike and they're grabbing this trophy from a white man. They're depicted as not white, obviously, and it just reinforces these stereotypes of young Arab men in the Netherlands being seen as criminals. Another example is, okay, so when Muslims put up an index finger, it's what we call dhawweed, which is to signify the oneness of God. Because in Islam, there's only one God, just like all the big three as far as religions go.

But when these Muslim teams are winning, the gestures from the players, like sometimes you'll see a player raising an index finger or raising two index fingers. And so this fucking German TV news anchor responded to Morocco's success by suggesting that these players that are raising their index fingers are showing support for ISIS. And some fans have responded to this with humor, but at the same time it's like you're laughing only because it's sad and maddening. Another example is a cartoon in a French newspaper. It depicted Qatar's national team as bearded caricatures that were playing soccer holding rifles and machetes. It is such an ugly cartoon and I have no idea why they insist on making these artistic depictions. I think they

know because it's gone people riled up in the past. It's almost like they're like poking the bear. So it's kind of annoying that it's so childish in my opinion. But again, terrible depiction of Arabs. What's new? And then another example is a photo caption in a British newspaper stated that Qataris are not used to seeing women in western clothing when in reality about 87% of Qatar's population is from other countries including western ones and this caption was later removed. Another example, yes there's still more, is that a French journalist joked about there being a lot of mosques in Qatar as if that was something like notable to be aware of. Yeah, no shit. People are fucking Muslim in Qatar. And then a Danish TV

channel literally compared Morocco's players who were celebrating by hugging their mothers on the field. They compared them with monkeys on live television. TV2 News, they showed a segment in which the anchor Soren Lippert, he held up an image of monkeys embracing while talking about Morocco's national team players hugging their mothers. And while comparing black and brown people with monkeys is a common, unsurprising, racist trope, it was still pretty upsetting to see it happen in this year of 2022. Whatever. I just think the obvious Orientalist nature of Western news really came out in full force for some of this coverage. But yeah, I just think these kind of depictions and coverage, it reinforces stereotypes that are harmful and shameful.

And it further makes immigrants and people of color in countries that they immigrate to just get terrorized. And I just wanted to bring up some examples to remind you that news sucks most of the time. Okay. The World Cup and all the joy and pride that's come from it is all my family, and I'm sure most Arab families have talked about for the last month. And I feel like it barely registers here. You have no idea how happy I've seen my parents and my mom in particular just texting me updates or watching a game with me. We're all so united in a way that I haven't felt before. And it's just really beautiful. And it reminds you that borders are all made up. And

in the end, we're all the same people fighting for the same things. Notoriously, large sections of US and British media have engaged in the practice of deceptive framing and untrue coverage when it comes to covering Israel's treatment of Palestinians. We've seen this in inaccurate headlines, the twisting of words, and the general constant anti-Palestinian and pro-Israel bias that is almost always present when Western media talks about Palestine. And if Palestine rises in the political agenda, Western media is quick to disparage it. In the UK, when a Labour Party candidate made reference to Palestine during a campaign in 2021, the liberal-leaning New Statesman magazine referred to it as, quote, unhinged and an obsession. British-Palestinian writer, again, Hamza Ali Shah,

writes in his article, do people suffering from decades of cruelty deserve support? Apparently not, if they're Palestinian. It's characteristic of this bias that, while human rights have been a hot topic throughout the World Cup, and fans across the world are being commanded to speak out against injustice, the outpouring of Palestinian solidarity has largely been ignored. And this, unfortunately, isn't surprising. But it doesn't make it any less disappointing. He continues, As it maintains its rule, Israel has spent years, with unconditional assistance from the Western world, cracking down and suppressing Palestinian solidarity. We are under no illusions that the outpouring of support at the World Cup will cause the occupation to grind to a halt or prevent Palestinians from being killed. As a British Palestinian, he says,

I often see the misery of my family, who are living under occupation gets swept under the carpet by the international community. As a British Palestinian, he says, Cup has been heartening because it provides new grounds for hope and it shows that this is by no means a solo struggle and that the commitment to Palestinian liberation remains as unshakable as ever. That was the end of his article and that's a great place to end because that was fucking great and poetic and i hope that you also go watch the movie farha on netflix it's uh really important and it all goes hand in hand with supporting the palestinian people and continuing to raise awareness because that's a huge reason why we've gotten this far and uh the culmination of all of that being broadcast from the World Cup internationally has just been really, really incredible and beautiful to watch. And yeah, that's the episode.

Until next time, I don't know, go watch Farah. That's the only thing I can really say. And I hope you all have nice holidays, whatever you do. Yeah. Have fun. Goodbye. It Could Happen Here is a production of Cool Zone Media. For more podcasts from Cool Zone Media, visit our website, coolzonemedia.com, or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

You can find sources for It Could Happen Here updated monthly at coolzonemedia.com slash sources. Thanks for listening. You should probably keep your lights on for Nocturnal Tales from the Shadow. Join me, Danny Trails, and step into the flames of fright. An anthology podcast of modern day horror stories inspired by the most terrifying legends and lore of Latin America. Listen to Nocturnal on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.