"Soldiers Are Everywhere, Settlers Are Everywhere, People Are Afraid to Leave Their Homes" (w/ Issa Amro)

Working People

Every day the Palestinian civilian death toll is rising dramatically as Israel continues with its genocidal bombing and ground invasion of Gaza, and as settler and military violence towards Palestinians in the West Bank intensifies. "It's a closure, it's a curfew, in many places in the West Bank," Issa Amro says. "It's not normal life these days. Soldiers are everywhere, settlers are everywhere, people are afraid to leave their homes, they don't go to work, they don't go to school, they don't go to universities." After losing touch with Issa during the day because he was escaping from settlers who were chasing him in Hebron, we managed to reconnect over the phone and record a nine minute conversation about the hell working people in Palestine are going through right now and what their fellow workers in the US and Canada can do to stop the slaughter. Issa Amro is a Palestinian human rights defender living in Hebron, in the Occupied West Bank. He is the co-founder and former coordinator of the grassroots group Youth Against Settlements. Days prior to this recording, Issa was evicted from his home in Hebron and tortured by Israeli troops.

A note about the audio: After hours of silence and failed phone calls, Issa contacted Max to inform him that he was temporarily safe and had 10 minutes to speak over the phone. Dropping everything he was doing, Max quickly opened his computer, began a QuickTime recording, and called Issa on speakerphone. We apologize for the sub-par audio quality.

Additional links/info below…

• Issa's Facebook page, Twitter/X page, and Instagram
• Youth Against Settlements website, Facebook page, Twitter/X page, and Instagram
• Danya Al-Saleh, Mondoweiss, "We Are Millions, We Are Billions, We are all Palestinians: Stand with Palestine in DC on November 4th"
• Amy Teibel, AP, "Palestinian Activist Is Expelled by Israeli Forces from His Home in a Volatile West Bank City"
• Wafaa Shurafa, Jack Jeffery, & Lee Keath, AP, "Israeli Troops Advance Toward Gaza City as the Palestinian Death Toll Rises Above 9,000"
• Bethank McKernan, The Guardian, "‘A New Nakba’: Settler Violence Forces Palestinians Out of West Bank Villages"
• Taj Ali, Tribune, "Organising Against Apartheid: Why Union Solidarity With Palestine Matters"
• Ahmad Al-Bazz, Nadia Péridot, & Ross Domoney, The Real News Network, "Israel's West Bank Checkpoints, from the Eyes of Palestinian Workers"
• Maximillian Alvarez, The Real News Network, "Livestream: UK Workers Demand Ceasefire & an End to Israel’s Occupation of Palestine"
• Marc Steiner, The Real News Network, "‘The American Government Is the Only One That Can Stop This’: Ending the Genocide in Gaza"
• Marc Steiner, The Real News Network, "‘Something Is Different This Time’ Israel’s War in Gaza Continues"
• Chris Hedges, The Real News Network, "‘No Sanctuary’: Israel’s Long War on Gaza"

Permanent links below...

• Working People Patreon page
• Leave us a voicemail and we might play it on the show!
• Labor Radio / Podcast Network website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• In These Times website, Facebook page, and Twitter page
• The Real News Network website, YouTube channel, podcast feeds, Facebook page, and Twitter page

Featured Music (all songs sourced from the Free Music Archive: freemusicarchive.org)

• Jules Taylor, "Working People" Theme Song