Palestinians in Hebron recieving humanitarian food aid from the European Union.

The Economics of Occupation and the Business of Development: A Critical Look at Economics, Business, and Palestinian Rights, Pt. I

Shir Hever, economist with the Alternative Information Center, along with Sam Bahour, Palestinian-American businessman and entrepreneur, made presentations on 14 May 2008 at the Quaker Friends Center in Ramallah, Palestine, on the topic of “The Economics of Occupation and the Business of Development: A Critical Look at Economics, Business, and Palestinian Rights.” 

In the first of two episodes covering these lectures, Shir Hever discusses the issue of development in the economy of occupation, concentrating on the question of the role and impact of international aid funds to the Palestinians.

The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism, by Naomi Klein

Naomi Klein's "The Shock Doctrine" in the Israeli Context

On Thursday, the 26th of June, 2008, Shir Hever, economist with the Alternative Information Center (AIC) spoke with Canadian journalist, author and activist, Naomi Klein. Naomi is the author of No Logo: Taking Aim at the Brand Bullies and Fences and Windows: Dispatches from the Front Lines of the Globalization Debate and a frequent contributor to The Nation, In These Times, The Globe and Mail, and The Guardian.

Her most recent work is, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (September 2007). In this book, she undertakes to show how “disaster capitalism,” which she defines as “orchestrated raids on the public sphere in the wake of catastrophic events, combined with the treatment of disasters as exciting market opportunities,” did not begin in the wake of September 11, 2001. Instead, its origins can be traced back fifty years, to the University of Chicago under Milton Friedman, which produced many of the leading neoconservative and neoliberal thinkers, whose influence is still profound in Washington today.                                                                                                   

Shir spoke with Naomi about Israel’s role in the disaster capitalism phenomenon, the contradictions in Israeli society, which both profits and suffers from the burdens of being a fortress state in constant conflict, and on the discourse among Israeli economists about the role of peace vs. war in the Israeli economy.

On 16 June, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was in Luxembourg for a meeting of meeting of the EU-Israel Association Council, during which the EU voted unanimously to upgrade its relationship with Israel.

Implications of the European Union's Decision to Upgrade its Relationship With Israel

On Thursday, the 19th of June, 2008, we spoke with Professor Yossi Schwartz in the offices of the Alternative Information Center (AIC) in West Jerusalem. Yossi, a professor of history at Tel Aviv University, is founder and current chairperson of the Israeli human rights organization, Hamoked: Center for the Defense of the Individual. He is also co-chairperson on the board of directors of the AIC.    

We discussed the wider implications of the European Union’s decision to upgrade its political and economic relationship with Israel. 

Gilbert Achcar

News from Within Podcast: American, Israeli and Iranian Strategies in the Middle East Conflict

On 29 May, 2008, Michael Warschawski, co-founder of the Alternative Information Center, spoke with Gilbert Achcar at his office in London, England. Gilbert lived in Lebanon for many years before moving to France, where he taught politics and international relations at the University of Paris. Since 2007, he has been a professor of Development Studies and International Relations at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. He is the author of many books, including, The Clash of Barbarisms: The Making of the New World Disorder, Eastern Cauldron: Islam, Afghanistan, Palestine, and Iraq in a Marxist Mirror and The 33-Day War: Israel's War on Hezbollah in Lebanon and Its Consequences, which he co-wrote with Michael Warschawski. 

During this conversation, Achcar and Warschawski discussed the current situation in Lebanon, Iran’s involvement in Iraq and its relations with Syria and the Hezbollah, US foreign policy in the region in the context of the upcoming presidential elections, and the possibility of American and Israeli military strikes on Lebanon or Iran.