We lost a major voice in defense of the Palestinian people in the midst of a campaign to eradicate them from Gaza and drive them from the West Bank.
The late John Pilger was arguably the most important journalistic voice in the West on the Palestinian question. Consortium News screened his essential documentary Palestine Is Still the Issue in 2021 followed by a discussion with John and the great Israeli historian Ilan Pappé. John died on Dec. 30 in the midst of Israel’s genocide against Gaza, his profound warnings having been ignored about where the crisis was headed.
Israeli historian Ilan Pappé and journalist John Pilger joined CN Live! in July 2021 to discuss the Palestinian conflict and Pilger’s film Palestine Is Still the Issue, shown here in its entirety.
Acclaimed journalist and filmmaker John Pilger discussed the changes that have come over Palestine since the making of his film Palestine Is Still the Issue, released in 1974 and updated in 2002.
A screening of the full documentary is shown before the discussion. Pilger gave Consortium News permission to show the entire film, which is on johnpilger.com, and here on Vimeo. He then appeared on the show for an hour in July 2021 to talk about it.
The Show
The episode is about the past two decades that have seen an extreme turn to the right in Israeli politics with grave consequences for Palestine and its quest for independence, including four major Israeli attacks against Gaza before the 2023 conflict.
Pilger and Israeli historian Ilan Pappé, who appeared in the 2002 film, discussed the worsening situation over the decades for Palestinians and where the future of Palestine and Israel is headed, presaging today’s events.
Pappé is the author of many books, including The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, in which he documents that ethnic cleansing was a long-standing Zionist goal that was planned in detail by Ben-Gurion in the Red House headquarters outside Tel Aviv and included a much greater number of atrocities against Palestinians in the establishment of Israel in the late 1940s than Western establishments acknowledge.
Pappé says it was the start of a process of ethnic cleansing that continues until today.
About the book, Publisher’s Weekly wrote:
“Denied for almost six decades, had it happened today it could only have been called ‘ethnic cleansing.’ Decisively debunking the myth that the Palestinian population left of their own accord in the course of this war, Ilan Pappé offers impressive archival evidence to demonstrate that, from its very inception, a central plank in Israel’s founding ideology was the forcible removal of the indigenous population. Indispensable for anyone interested in the current crisis in the Middle East.”
Produced by Cathy Vogan, with hosts Elizabeth Vos and Joe Lauria.
YouTube Blocks It
In July 2021, YouTube stopped the film after 16 minutes claiming that it was “Spam or deceptive practices.”
YouTube then claimed a copyright violation.
It was the second time YouTube has taken down an episode of CN Live! The first time was in February 2021, when, again without explanation, it removed an interview with journalist Greg Palast about voter suppression in the Georgia Senate run-off race.
John Pilger in his film, Palestine Is Still the Issue (johnpilger,.com)
Maybe if biden’s mob didn’t bankroll israel, supply weapons, and attack the houthi “rebels” who are only targeting israeli bound, (to & from ) shipping things would be different. But that “mob” would only find, or start, another conflict to boost the MIC,s coffers.
Since 1930 the Zionists have been planning the total takeover of Palestine and ethnic cleansing – yet hardly a word about this is read.
Silent Film star, Theodosia Goodman, used the stage name Theda Bara, anagram for Arab Death.
John Pilger saw far far into what was going to happen. He was not afraid, he was honest, he knew from early on
what people can do that is good and the horror they can inflict. Reporters like John are VERY VERY RARE & PRECIOUS!
JOHN LIVE FOREVER !!!!!!!!! from Australia
Youtube is a sleazy whoring operation, obeying our sick, vicious government. Press on, CN. You are an inspiration in The Empire.
I will only say that John Pilger is sorely missed.
Commiserations to his family and the world wide community of seeking truth that John taught us helped us to seek the truth that he educated us to follow him in that discovery. Condolences to his family and the family of humanity .Rest in peace dear friend
I just that Nutenyahoo has ignored calls from the western axis of evil to not bomb Rafah, he’s gonna drop 2,000lb bombs on the place anyway – a place that’s crammed full of Palestinians.
Evil has no bounds with these Zionists
is there a reason we spell ‘zionist’, zionists’ with a capital -Z- ?
like other -isms (capitalism, socialism, hinduism, monarchist, realist etc.). it doesnt need a capital letter and it would put it in its proper perspective of the adjective that it is.