This episode marks the second of a two-part series featuring interviews with Rabbis on the subjects of Antisemitism and anti-Zionism, and the problems that arise when the two topics are conflated, either through misunderstanding or to serve political interests. Rabbi Brant Rosen founded the Tzedek congregation in Chicago. Like Rabbi Lynn, Rabbi Brant is also a member of Jewish Voice for Peace. You can find more information about his book “Wrestling in the Daylight”, and his other works and writings, on the post for this episode at LatitudeAdjustmentPod.com Support Latitude Adjustment Podcast on Patreon  

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89: Rabbis Discuss Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism (2 of 2)

This episode marks the first of a two-part series featuring interviews with Rabbis on the subjects of Antisemitism and anti-Zionism, and the problems that arise when the two topics are conflated, either through misunderstanding or to serve political interests. Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb has the distinction of being one of the first female rabbis in the world, and her outspoken positions on Palestinian human rights have often placed her at odds with the political positions of the Israeli government and with its supporters. We’ll hear about her experiences as leader in a religious community overwhelmingly dominated by men, her first encounters with Israel as a very young woman (including her argument with David Ben-Gurion as a teenager), and how her Jewish identity informs her advocacy for human rights. She’s also a pretty amazing artist. Support Latitude Adjustment Podcast on Patreon

88: Rabbis Discuss Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism (1 of 2)

As the formal US occupation of Afghanistan comes to an ignominious close, human rights defender Basir Bita joins us again from Kabul. We discuss the recent offensive by the Taliban that has seen it taking large swathes of the country, the varied interests and involvement of the key international players in Afghanistan’s present and future, and perhaps most critically, the legacy of US abandonment of those Afghans who have put their lives on the line to aid its two decades of foreign occupation. Support us on Patreon

87: Will We Just Forget Afghanistan?

The IWW, or Industrial Workers of the World, was founded in Chicago in 1905, in part as a response to the traditional craft based structure of organizations like the American Federation of Labor, which organized laborers into unions according to their respective trades. If you go to their website today you’ll note that the IWW still proudly promotes itself as “one big union”, that is one union for all workers, united by class struggle. Dr. Peter Cole is a professor of history at Western Illinois University and a researcher specializing in the history of social movements. He’s also the author of several books, and was co-editor of Wobblies of the World: A Global History of the IWW. 

86: One Radical Union: A History of the IWW

This episode is the second part of a two part series. In part two we focus on the work of the Allamin Foundation, and of Hamsatu Allamin the organization’s founder. The Allamin Foundation works on the ground in Northeastern Nigeria with survivors of Boko Haram. Episode one is focused on the origins of Boko Haram, its framing in the media, and some of the problems that have arisen in the national and international responses to the organization. If you think that the world needs more of what you heard here, then please support our 100% independent podcast through our Patreon page.

85: Boko Haram Survivors (2 of 2)

 Today’s show is the first of a two-part series on Boko Haram. For this episode we speak to Mercy Ette. Mercy is a Nigerian journalist and a visiting research fellow at the University of Leeds. Where she is working to establish a survivor group to tackle stigmatization and isolation among survivors of Boko Haram. Allamin Foundation, which is featured in the second part of this two part series, is one the local partners on this project. I should also note that Mercy’s partner on this project at Leeds is Nicolas Sutil, our guest from episode 78.  In part one we learn who and what Boko Haram is, the different ways they have been framed in the media, and about some of the problems that have become evident in the state-level and international responses to this organization. If you think that the world needs more of what you heard here, then please support our 100% independent podcast through our Patreon page.

84: What is Boko Haram? (1 of 2)

 On May 8th, 85 people were killed in a bomb attack near a school in Kabul. Many of those killed were young women. The bomb was detonated in a part of Kabul that is home to the Hazara, an Afghan minority group that has been a frequent target of attacks, including a massacre in a maternity war last year that killed 24 people. The Hazara are a predominantly Shia-Muslim ethnic minority in Afghanistan, and a community that has suffered a long history of brutal persecution and oppression.  Previous guest, and nonviolence activist, Basir Bita joins us again from Kabul, Afghanistan, but this time we’ll be talking about his community, the Hazara, about the personal impact that the May 8th attack had on him and on his family, and about the looming withdrawal of remaining US forces, set for September 11 of this year. Be sure to check out our previous interview with Basir in Episode 39. Latitude Adjustment Podcast is 100% listener supported. Please sign up today to make a monthly donation through our Patreon page.

83: US Afghanistan Withdrawal and the Hazara

For this second of two episodes about current events in Palestine we will be focusing specifically on the situation in East Jerusalem, and in the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. East Jerusalem, which contains the old city, has been illegally occupied by Israel since the Israeli military captured it, along with the rest of the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights, in the “Six Day War” of 1967. Since that time its Palestinian residents have been the targets of ongoing harassment, violence, and forced displacement by illegal Jewish settlers. The most recent instance of this ethnic cleansing campaign targeted residents of east Jerusalem's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood. When Palestinians attempted to protest and resist a brutal crackdown was waged by the Israeli authorities, a crackdown that is now reverberating across the West Bank, inside Israel, and in the form of yet another horrific Israeli bombing campaign on Gaza. We hope that what you hear in this show inspires you to share it and to take action. More details on how you can get involved can be found in the post for this episode at: LatitudeAdjustmentPod.com 

82: Palestinian Voices - East Jerusalem

This episode is the first of a two part series we are doing on Palestine. This episode focuses on voices from Gaza, while the next episode highlights voices from east Jerusalem. You don’t need to listen to them in any particular order, but we strongly recommend that you listen to both in their entirety.  You will hear a lot today about the psychological toll that repeated wars, devastation, poverty, deprivation, and abandonment by the international community have had on the 2 million residents of one of the most densely populated stretches of land on earth.  We hope that what you hear inspires you to share this show with others and to take action. You can find more info on how to get involved in the post for this episode at: LatitudeAdjustmentPod.com 

81: Palestinian Voices: Gaza - Resilience & Mental Health

For this episode we catch up with Indian journalist, and previous guest, Meena Menon to discuss the current status of press freedom in India, and in particular how the subject relates to reporting on the COVID pandemic. According to RSF (Reporters Without Borders) 2021 Global Press Freedom Index, India holds a rank of 142nd. Be sure to catch part one of this two-part discussion (Episode 79) about the current COVID crisis in India, as well as our interview with Meena, in Episode 25, about reporting in India, and from Pakistan as an Indian correspondent. Visit the post for this episode at LatitudeAdjustmentPod.com for more resources and for information on where you can donate and get involved with organizations working on the ground in India. 

80: Press Freedom and COVID in India

This episode is the first of a two-part discussion about the erupting COVID crisis in India. Be sure to catch episode 80 as well, which deals with the status of press freedom in India and how it relates to reporting on the pandemic.  Those following the world news headlines for the past few days will be aware that that Mumbai and its surrounding state of Maharashtra are at the epicenter of a massive spike in COVID cases, with India far and away leading the world, and with an infection rate that shows no signs of slowing down during its second wave. Our guest is Amitabh Sinha, an editor with the Indian Express, based in Pune, about 150 kilometers from Mumbai. Visit the post for this episode at LatitudeAdjustmentPod.com for more resources and for information on where you can donate and get involved with organizations working on the ground in India. 

79: India's COVID Crisis

Perhaps one of the least represented perspectives we’ve covered on this show is that of the forests that feed and shelter us, provide our medicines, replenish our soil, sustain our wildlife, color our landscapes, and which address the most basic of all human needs, the need to breathe.  Originally from Chile, Nicolas Salazar Sutil currently resides in the UK where he’s a professor at the University of Leeds. Nicolas founded Forest Guardians in 2019 in response to wildfire emergencies happening around the world. With a focus in communication, education, and advocacy, Forrest Guardians designs and delivers online courses focused on ecological apprenticeships, indigenous forest schooling, and traditional ecological knowledge, and in partnership with Earth Law Centre they consult on the legal rights of forests. That’s right, the trees have rights too, and given that we wouldn’t be able to breathe without them, that’s a very good thing.  There’s also a time sensitive matter that we would like to bring to your attention. Nicolas’ organization is about to commence with “Guardians of the Forest”, an online course lead by practitioners from 30 different nations who will focus on traditional forest knowledge to understand the spiritual, ecological, cultural, and legal aspects of forest guardianship. The deadline is Monday, May 3rd, 2021. Look here for more information about the Guardians of the Forest course, and about Nicolas’ other work with Forest Guardians.

78: What Can Forests Teach Us?

For this bonus episode I’m going to be doing something I’ve rarely done on this show, I’m not going to interview anyone. This is me speaking with no notes or preparation, just off the cuff and from the heart about some issues that have weighed heavily on me for a long time, issues that I think a lot of people in my line of work are afraid to talk about, especially in the US. It deals with why we rarely see Western media and Western nonprofits representing the perspectives of Palestinian youth with any depth or nuance. I first recorded the following remarks as a video on my phone. If you want to watch the video version you can do so by visiting the original Facebook post. This audio version has been lightly edited for pacing and clarity.

The Problem With "Peace Projects" In Palestine

For this re-released episode we've included our original interview, completed in late 2018, and we catch up with Bruno for a detailed update about his current work with No Name Kitchen. If you want to skip to the new interview from April 2021 it starts at: 43:43  Bruno Morán is from Asturias, Spain, and is a co-founder of No Name Kitchen, an NGO that provides food, sleeping bags, basic necessities, and a community space for refugees in transit along the Serbian and Bosnian borders with Croatia. In addition to providing basic services, No Name Kitchen has also become a primary point of contact for those who have been pushed back from the Croatian border, and as a result the organization has found itself involved in documenting and sharing the growing number of reported abuses by the Croatian border police against those who are seeking to cross into the EU, people who have no legal means of registering themselves in bordering countries. In this episode we cover what is happening on the ground, the practical challenges of running a small front line organization, and some advice on how you can get involved in global events in your community.

Revisited: No Name Kitchen - Update

Less than a week after the January 6th attack on the US Capital building attorneys Diala Shamas and Tarek Ismail co-authored a piece for the Washington Post titled, "Calling the Capital riot 'terrorism' will only hurt communities of color."  Our conversation explores some of the less publicized consequences of anti-terrorism legislation and law enforcement priorities going back decades, to the Oklahoma City bombing in 1995. Diala Shamas is an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York and Tarek Ismail is an associate professor at the CUNY School of Law.

77: How Counter-Terrorism Laws Harm Minorities

A journey around the world through conversation. News reporting is heavily influenced by business & political models that capitalize on narratives of crisis, war, and disaster. As a result we get a distorted view of what life actually looks like for large segments of the planet, as we’re conditioned to accept stereotypes, political narratives, and judgements that have little basis in reality. Through open conversation and personal stories, Latitude Adjustment will highlight places & communities that are either deprived of context or altogether absent from the media landscape and from our mental maps of the world. As your host, I‘ll also be sharing tips from my years of solo travel. I’ll try to balance a healthy skepticism of political correctness with contempt for oppressive power structures, but work with me, I’m learning and my aim is to inspire others to learn along with me as I confront my own ignorance. Each episode will end with an invitation for you to participate in the conversation.

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