Slouching Towards Gaza (12/25/13)
This post offers an account of pivotal events in the history of Israel/Palestine from 1947 to the present through the reflections of a number of informed and articulate commentators. — Vincent Di Stefano WEBAMP Sound
Two days after Christmas in 2008, the isolated and densely populated city of Gaza was visited by volley upon volley of deadly missile and mortar fire. The intense bombardment of what has been described by the United Nations Development Programme as "one of the most densely populated places on earth" continued unabated for a period of three weeks. By the end of the assault, over 1,400 Palestinians had been killed and more than 5,000 wounded, many seriously. Between three and four hundred of the dead were children. A total of 13 Israelis were killed during the same time, four of them by the action of their own troops. This post offers a fifth-anniversary commemoration of this tragic and highly destructive assault which commenced on the 27th of December 2008 and ended on the 18th January 2009. It offers an account of pivotal events in the history of Israel/Palestine from 1947 to the present through the reflections of a number of informed and articulate commentators.
The Voices
Chris Hedges (New York Society for Ethical Culture, January 2009)
Richard Falk (Middle East Monitor Conference, London, Dec. 2010)
Sara Roy (University of Sydney, Ideas, October 2008)
Tanya Reinhart (University of Sydney, Ideas, October 2006)
Mustafa Barghouti (TUC Radio, March 2004)
Edward Said (U. of California, Berkeley, March 2003)
David Ben-Gurion (June 1947, Talking History Archive, Dec. 2004)
Ilan Pappe (University of Bern, Switzerland, November 2012)
Robert Fisk (Interview with Cindy Sheehan, September 2010)
Eyal Weizman (KPFA, Against the Grain, April 2009)
Mads Gilbert (Unusual Sources, January 2010; Muslim Perspectives, January 2010; Sounds of Dissent, Nov. 2012)
The Poetry
Suheir Hammad. Gaza Suite. 1: Gaza
Vincent Di Stefano. Careful Now (Excerpt). Music composed and performed by Nico Di Stefano
The Music
Gilad Atzmon and Orient House Ensemble. Dal'Ouna on the Return
Rim Banna. The Wall
Yggdrasil. Al Dabaran
Sirocco. Nomads
The Ida Raichel Project. Azini (Comfort me)
Digital Samsara. C#
Jocelyn Pook. Migrations
Steve Kahn and Rob Mounsey. I See a Long Journey
The Herd. Kids Learn Quick
Digital Samsara. 7am
Outlandish and Sami Jusuf. Try not to Cry
Produced by Vincent Di Stefano (LINK)