The death toll in the latest escalation of the Israel-Palestine conflict has climbed past 16,000 this week, including more than 7,000 children, with thousands more still missing under collapsed buildings and rubble in Gaza.
If you’re looking for a more ‘humanitarian’ way into the complexities of the issue, then this interview with Dr Gabor Maté, an internationally renowned physician from Canada who specialises in trauma and addiction, and is, himself, a Holocaust survivor, is a very good place to start.
Dr Maté is interviewed by his daughter, Hannah, and describes himself as a “former Zionist” and Jewish youth leader who is now implacably opposed to the actions of Israel and its ongoing oppression of the Palestinian people.
Dr Maté doesn’t mince words. He describes Israel as practicing a form of ‘Apartheid’ (Michael Brull has previously written in New Matilda here on the issue of Israel and Apartheid) and he refers to the citizens of Gaza living in a “concentration camp”. A recent story on his personal website describes Israel as engaging in the “ethnic cleansing” of Palestinians.
If you’re looking for other voices on the issue, Dr Maté also highly recommends reading and watching other scholars on the issue, including Ilan Papé and American Jewish academic Norman Finkelstein. If you can stomach the interviewer, this video features Finkelstein being interviewed by disgraced Murdoch journalist Piers Morgan.
Dr Maté also recommends that people follow the US-based media service Democracy Nopw, headed by Amy Goodman. You can watch their latest video below, and follow them on Youtube here.