Voices Of The Middle East And North Africa

This week, we bring you a conversation on the latest dramatic political developments in Sudan with Elsadig Elsheikh, the Director of the Global Justice program at the Haas Institute at UC Berkeley Later in the program, award-winning multidisciplinary artist, and author Niloufar Talebi joins us to talk about her new opera Abraham in Flames, inspired by the stunning imagery of the late iconic Iranian poet Ahmad Shamlou's life and poetry.

Elsadig Elsheikh is the Director of the Global Justice program at the Haas Institute, where he oversees the program’s projects on food system, global equity, and human rights.

It was February 11th, 1979, after a few moments of silence on Radio Tehran's broadcast, the voice of Jamshid Adili goes "In sedaaye enghelaab-e mardom-e Iran ast" -- "This is the voice of the Revolution of the Iranian people." He went on to repeat the announcement as if he was trying to reassure the audience that the revolution had brought an end to monarchy in Iran. The streets became flooded with euphoric people celebrating the triumph of the revolution and the end of Mohammad Reza Shah’s rule and the Pahlavi Dynasty. The victory was the culmination of 18 months of demonstrations, bloody clashes, massive industrial actions, a general strike and three days of armed confrontation between the revolutionaries and the most loyal forces of the Shah. But why did Iran of the 1970s, with its well-off middle class, massive military might and powerful international allies, experience a revolution? And what were the origins of the revolution? The 1979 revolution has come to be known as the “Islamic Revolution” beca

This week, we speak with New York-based visual artist Mariam Ghani about her new documentary "What We Left Unfinished", which is part of a long-term research, film, exhibition and book project centered around five unfinished Afghan feature films shot, but never edited, between 1978 and 1992. Later in the program, we talk about the new play "Scenes from 71 Years" currently on stage at Potrero Stage in San Francisco. The play offers a snapshot of the life under the grip of the Israeli occupation from 1948 until the present.

On Tuesday, April 9th, over 6 Million Israeli voters headed to polling stations to choose their next government in a race that displayed all shades of right-wing blocs in Israel. Results as of Thursday evening indicate that the incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is leading. His main rival the Blue and White alliance led by former Chief of the Israeli army Benny Gantz, scored the same number of seats. But with most right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties vowing to ally with Netanyahu, Gantz conceded the race even before the end of vote counting. Pundits have mourned the Israeli left, predicting perhaps what could really be the final nail in the coffin of the two states solution. With a total of 65 seats out of the 120 in the Israeli Parliament (the Knesset) Netanyahu is now expected to form what is considered “the most right-wing and ultra-Orthodox government Israel has ever seen”. In the lead up to the election, Palestinian citizens of Israel were engaged in a heated debate over whether they should

After months of street protests, people in Sudan finally got rid of the country’s long time dictator Omar Al- Bashir, but the celebration soon turned into anger when they realized one military rule is replaced by another- As one protester put it- we did not protest to replace one thief with another So what is next for Sudan? And what in store for the movement for democracy and social justice there? We will get the answers from Khalid Medani who is an Associate Professor of Political Science and Islamic Studies at McGill University in Canada And with Israeli elections topping the headlines in the past few days, we’ll get a palestinian view on the elections from the Jerusalem based writer Budour Hassan.

This week, we get an update on the political developments in Algeria after the official resignation of the President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. We speak again with Dr Thomas Serres of UC Santa Cruz. Later in the program We hear from the Syrian illustrator Dima Nachawi. We talk about the art scene, especially in exile, and the importance of creative work in preserving a nation’s collective memory.

Algeria has been in happy turmoil for the past seven weeks, with millions of people in the streets reclaiming their rights to genuine representation from a tired and corrupt old regime. President for 20 years, Abdelaziz Bouteflika has not only accepted to peacefully resign, but he has even apologized to the Algerian people. To get a better sense of the dramatic political changes that are taking place in Algeria Khalil spoke with UC Santa Cruz Professor, Dr. Thomas Serres. They talk about the ongoing street protests and the possible political formations in the near future-

It’s been 8 years since the Syrian people revolted against Bashar Al Assad regime. During these years Syrian art has flourished inside and in the diaspora, documenting loss, exile, resistance and resilience. We speak with Syrian artist Dima Nachawi, she is an illustrator and the founder of the Memory Initiative for Syrian Culture. Last year, Dima was featured as part of BBC’s “100 inspiring and influential women from around the world.” We talk about Syria, the art scene especially in exile, and the importance of creative work in preserving a nation’s collective memory. She spoke to us from her home in Beirut, Lebanon. To see Dima’s work, visit her portfolio on: https://www.behance.net/dimanashawaaf8 And on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Dima4480 Al Jumhuriyha article referenced in the interview https://www.aljumhuriya.net/en/content/i-%E2%80%9Cabnormal%E2%80%9D

This week, we speak with Eli Clifton, contributor editor of lobelia, about the recent controversies surrounding Representative Ilhan Omar, who has been questioning the US’s unconditional support for Israel as well as the influence of AIPAC, the powerful lobby that is instrumental in shaping US foreign policy in the Middle East. Later in the program, we’ll hear from 5 Yemeni women activists who speak about the impact that the war has had on their lives and how their view their role as Yemeni women, politically and socially.

On March 29th The Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State will bring together academics, researchers, artists, and filmmakers from seven countries, for a 2-day conference titled "Forty Years & More: International Conference on Iranian Diaspora Studies" The conference will mark the 40th anniversary of the 1979 Iranian Revolution by understanding the ways that Iranians as exiles, immigrants, and as second and third generation hyphenated citizens of their respective nations, have met with both challenges and opportunities of diaspora experience. Malihe Razazan spoke with Dr. Persis Karim, director of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State about the upcoming conference and the significance of recognizing and understanding the Iranian diaspora

This week, we speak with Ahmad Abu Ertema, a Gaza based journalist and author, and one of the organizers of the Gaza’s Great March of Return, as well as historian Jehad Abu Salim who is also staff member of the American Friends Service Committee about the Great Mach, The impacts of Israel's decade-long blockade of the Gaza strip. Later in the program, Dr. Persis Karim, the director of the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies at San Francisco State University joins us to talk about the center’s upcoming conference marking the 40th anniversary of the Iranian revolution.

From poster child for colonial struggles in the nineteen fifties and sixties, Algeria has transitioned to a country that is still struggling to perfect its own democratic system fifty years later, trying to attain the long-promised emancipation that so many had died for. Today, the streets of Algiers and other major cities are filled with passionate and enthusiastic crowds, men and women, made up of mostly people under thirty, demanding their rights to choose their own government and control their own destinies. After three weeks of huge popular demonstrations by the Algerian people, ailing president Abdelaziz Bouteflika agreed Monday to not run for a fifth straight term, which was the most prominent and urgent demand by the protestors. Today we speak with Professor Thomas Serres of UC Santa Cruz about the current situation and how it echoes the Arab Spring that preceded it as well as the 1988 youth rebellion of Algiers.

This week, we revisit the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean region specifically in Greece, to see where things stand, and the similarities with the refugee and migrant crisis at the US southern border. We speak with Pan Zanetakis, a human rights worker with the Greek organization HumanRights360, and Chicago based Attorney Leena Odeh who spent most of last year working with asylum seekers in Greece.

This week , we speak with exiled Egyptian socialist activist Hossam El-Hamalawy about the legacy of the Arab Spring in his country - and in the middle east and north Africa region. Despite the bleak economic situation and unspeakably ferocious political repression in Egypt, El- Hamalawy explains why he is still hopeful that - in the long term - the revolution will survive and overcome.

This week, we unpack the story of the young Saudi woman Rahaf Mohammed Al Qnun. Rahaf who decided to seek asylum abroad, with writer and analyst Hana Al-Khamri(@hanaalkhamri ). Later in the program, researcher and former student activist Mohammad PourAbdollah talks to us about the most recent labor protests at the Haft Tapeh Sugar Cane factory in Iran.

Nearly three decades after Omar Al Bashir came to power, the Sudanese regime is facing a formidable challenge posed by a fresh wave of unrest. Popular uprisings are not new to Sudan. This most recent wave of protest over a month ago in the northeastern city of Atbara. Locals took to the streets over a government decision to triple the price of bread, protests swiftly escalated into anti-government rallies, marches and work stoppages rocking several cities and towns, with union and professional associations joining. Protestors are now demanding for Bashir to step down. According to the Guardian, the government of Omar al-Bashir in Sudan has launched an “alarming” crackdown on journalists. At least five reporters have been detained by the national intelligence security services and are being held at undisclosed locations. Dozens of others have been arrested and held before being released. According to human rights organization, more than 1000 people have been arrested and at least 40 people have been killed.

Nearly three decades after Omar Al Bashir came to power, the Sudanese regime is facing a formidable challenge posed by a fresh wave of unrest, which started in the northeastern city of Atbara on December 19. Protests which first erupted over a government decision to triple the price of bread have swiftly escalated into anti-government rallies, marches and work stoppages that have rocked several cities and towns. Who are the protestors? What are their demands? What role do the civil society groups play in these protests? What has been the regime’s response to the protests? And what is the genesis of the economic crisis that the country is experiencing? We put these question to Kalid Medani of McGill University-

This week, we speak with award-winning Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki about her academy award-nominated film Capernaum, which won the Jury Prize at Cannes film festival in 2018 Later in the program, Issa Golitzen Farajaje joins us to talk about his collaboration with Aswat, the Bay Area's Premier Arab Music Ensemble, to research and perform a concert of Sufi music from the Arab world.

After 4 years of a devastating war in Yemen, this week we delve into the complexities of living with war, through the eyes of a group of Yemeni women. We will hear from them talking about their activism and what roles they took on in their communities and families since the beginning of the war in 2015 But first we discuss the pro-Israel backlash against Palestine activism on US campuses. The backlash is not a new tactic, but in recent years, lawsuits have been increasingly used to intimidate students and faculty and silence any criticism of Israel. So does this backlash look like in the Trump era and is it working? To talk about that and more, we are joined by Zoha Khalili, attorney with the organization Palestine Legal and Dr. Loubna Qoutami, a post-doctoral fellow at University of California Berkeley and a member of the Palestinian Youth Movement.