According to an update on the World Health Organization website from July 27th:
“Nearly one in five children under five in Gaza city is now acutely malnourished.”
Additionally: “It is not only hunger that is killing people, but also the desperate search for food. Families are being forced to risk their lives for a handful of food, often under dangerous and chaotic conditions. Since 27 May, more than 1,060 people have been killed and 7200 injured while trying to access food.”
Our guest for this show is Dr. Assal Rad. Dr. Rad received her PhD in Middle Eastern History from the University of California, Irvine in 2018. Her PhD research focused on Modern Iran, with an emphasis on national identity formation, and identity in post-revolutionary Iran. She’s also author of “The State of Resistance: Politics, Culture, and Identity in Modern Iran.
More recently Dr. Rad has used her platforms on Twitter and Instagram to expose and deconstruct what can only be described as institutionalized media malpractice concerning coverage of the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, and regarding Israel’s unprovoked attack on Iran between the 13th and 24th of June. These topics form the basis for our rather free-form conversation, where I also answer her questions about my brief detention and torture by Israeli forces in the West Bank, back in May.
For more information about Dr. Rad’s academic work and public advocacy, follow her on Instagram and Twitter: @assalrad_
