Beyond the Pale | Jewish Culture and Politics

BEYOND THE PALE explores cutting edge Jewish culture and offers local, national, and international political debate and analysis from a Jewish perspective.

Sundays, noon to 1 p.m., on WBAI/New York, 99.5 FM

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Sunday, November 25, 2012 — November 25, 2012: From Gaza to the Rockaways.

As the sound of missiles and gunfire dies down in Gaza and southern Israel, co-hosts Alex Kane and Lizzy Ratner interview Yousef Munayyer and historian Mark Perry about the fall-out from the latest Gaza conflict. "This was a multi-directional attack on all different parts of the Gaza Strip," said Munnayer.

And, almost a month to the day after Superstorm Sandy slammed into the East Coast, Occupy Sandy activist and journalist, Laura Gottesdiener, weighs in on New York's grassroots recovery and the possibility of a just rebuilding effort: "We're very much trying to organize toward a new type of recovery, one that wouldn't further accentuate and reinscribe inequalities..."

November 18, 2012 — As many listeners know, because of damage during Hurricane Sandy, WBAI has been unable to broadcast from its studios at 120 Wall Street. We're told that the building is finally accessible, but it's still not certain when we'll have access to key infrastructure (e.g., telephones, internet, ISDN line). So---thanks to the generosity and engineering skills of Jeannie Hopper, host of WBAI's Liquid Sound Lounge---today's Beyond the Pale was recorded earlier this week at the studios of Clocktower Gallery Radio, ARTonAIR.org.

Host Jenny Romaine talks with Evan Kleinman and Saul Sudin, the co-producers of the new film Punk Jews, which makes its NYC debut at Manhattan's JCC (West 76th Street and Amsterdan Avenue) on Tuesday December 11 (shows at 7 and 9pm). For tickets, and further information about the film, click on punkjews.com.

"Punk Jews" follows an underground Jewish community expressing their identity in unconventional ways that challenge stereotypes and break down barriers. From Hassidic punk rockers to Yiddish street performers to African-American Jewish activists, "Punk Jews" shows an emerging movement in New York City of Jews asserting their Jewish identity, defying the norm, and doing so at any cost."

For up-to-date information and commentary on the Israeli assault on Gaza go to: the institute for middle east understanding, 972mag.com, btselem and electronicintifada.net.

November 11, 2012 — Beyond the Pale is back on the air at last, though WBAI has still not been able to get back into our studios on Wall Street. Hence this week we decided to rebroadcast two still relevant interviews that we aired back in November and December 2007. We talk with:

Avner Cohen, author of Israel and The Bomb about the origins of the long standing U.S. policy of "don't ask don't tell" towards Israel's nuclear progam and subsequent U.S. policy toward India, Pakistan and Iran. His most recent book on the subject was published in 2010 by Columbia University Press: The Worst Kept Secret: Israel's Bargain with the Bomb.
Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine about how conservatives exploit natural disasters, wars and other crises to forward their agenda of radical privatization. Read Naomi Klein's Superstorm Sandy: a People's Shock? in The Nation.

October 7, 2012 — Beyond the Pale will be pre-empted during the balance of October during WBAI's fall fund raising marathon. But this Sunday we're on air with a two-hour fund raising marathon special featuring spokesmen for Breaking the Silence, the Israeli veterans who, since 2004, have gone on the record with their personal experiences to expose the truth of Israel's agenda in the West Bank and Gaza.

We've posted our interview (just click on details below) and stripped out the on-air fundraising. If you haven't contributed to this fall's drive, you can still support WBAI and Beyond the Pale by clicking here.

Sunday, September 30, 2012 — As protests against the Palestinian Authority continue to rock the West Bank, Palestinian policy expert Diana Buttu explains the growing resentment toward the PA's neoliberal economic policies and the failed peace process.

After Zionism:A new anthology by journalists Ahmed Moor and Antony Loewenstein asks readers to imagine the possibility of one state for Israel and Palestine.

The Church of Ryan: the Republican Vice Presidential nominee claims that Catholicism has been one of his greatest political influences, but progressive Catholics like Sister Mary Ellen Lacy take issue with his idea of Catholic values.