March 22 - Republicans Drive a Wedge Between Pro-Israel Donors and the Democratic Base; Yemen Falls Apart; An Israeli Activist on Divestment and Boycott

Full Program

Part 1

With House Speaker Boehner set to visit with Prime Minister Netanyahu in Israel at the end of the month, we begin with the apparent strategy of the Republicans, in collusion with Netanyahu, to defund the Democrats by driving a wedge between donors and the Democratic base that could put Hillary Clinton in a bind as she tries to win over the Democratic base that is increasingly disillusioned with Israel, at the expense of alienating big donors who make support for Israel a top priority. Peter Beinart, a Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York who is also a senior columnist for Ha’aretz and is the author of “The Crisis of Zionism”, joins us.

Part 2

Then we look into the civil war erupting in Yemen between forces of the ousted president and the Houthi tribesmen from the north who have captured most of the country. Dr. Sheila Caripico, a Professor of Political Science and International Studies at the University of Richmond and author of “Civil Society in Yemen: The Political Economy of Activism in Modern Arabia” joins us to discuss the rebel takeover of Yemen’s third largest city Taiz and the claims by the so-called Islamic State that its affiliate was responsible for the suicide bombings at Zaydi Shiite mosques that killed 130 people.

Part 3

Then finally we speak with Ronnie Barkan, an Israeli activist, conscientious objector and co-founder of “Boycott from Within” who is regularly shot at by his own army with rubber bullets and tear gas as he demonstrates with Palestinians against settlements and the occupation. We discuss the clear right-ward tilt in Israeli politics and Ronnie Barkan’s work with the Jewish ultra-Orthodox community in their struggle against on-going attempts by the government to force conscription of the ultra-Orthodox into the Israeli army.