Episode Details

I just Googled “Quds Day,” which was yesterday. Though millions of people in dozens of countries rallied for Palestine and against Zionism, I couldn’t find any Western mainstream media stories. Instead, I got a long list of non-Western outlets: Al-Jazeera, CGTN, Xinhua, Al-Mayadin, Press TV…

And speaking of Press TV, here is a rough transcript my interview, alongside Shabbir Rizvi, during rolling coverage of Quds Day protests.

-KB

Welcome to another edition of the News Review. In this edition, people across the world have taken part in the international Quds Day rallies taking to the streets as Israel continues its genocidal war in the Gaza Strip. Protesters across Iran waved Palestinian flags and condemned the Israeli regime for its crimes in the besieged territory. The participants also slammed the U.S. over its support for Tel Aviv. Iranians called on the international community to take action and stop the onslaught in Gaza. Protesters also demanded an end to Israel's decades-long occupation of Palestine.

International Quds Day was also observed in the Syrian capital, Damascus, where hundreds of Palestinian refugees attended the ceremony. The attendees also saluted the parading resistance fighters elsewhere in Yemen and Sana'a. They reaffirmed their unwavering support for Palestine in another Million Man March. Pakistan and Bahrain were also among those West Asian countries that held nationwide rallies. Jordanians also staged a massive protest in the city of Erbid, which they called Friday of Anger. They fully rejected the Arab country's normalization agreements with Israel.

Rallies have also been held in several other countries across the world, including in London, Tanzania, India, Malaysia and Nigeria.

International Quds Day was established by the late founder of Iran's Islamic Republic, Imam Khomeini, in 1979. It aims to maintain and raise awareness about the plight of the Palestinian people and their struggle. It is held on the last Friday of the holy month of Ramadan in most countries and on the last Sunday of the month in some others.

To discuss the significance of International Quds Day, we have with us Shabir Rizvi, political commentator, who's joining us live from Chicago. We are also joined by Kevin Barrett, political commentator, who is joining us live from Morocco. Thank you very much to both of you gentlemen. Let's begin with Mr. Shabir Rizvi. Tell us about the international Quds Day rallies. When are they going to be held in the U.S.? Is it going to be on Sunday or was it today? And what is the significance of these rallies, particularly at this point in time?

Shabbir Rizvi: That's a great question. The rallies are starting now. As you can see behind me, I am in Chicago. This rally is just getting started. We are actually in front of the Zionist consulate here, which gives us a good opportunity to make our voices heard, to make our discourse heard. Chicago has a large Palestinian community, one of the largest Palestinian communities in the United States. So we will have this demonstration today. Then we have it tomorrow. And then Joe Biden is actually coming here Monday. And so we plan to demonstrate then.

I would say something that's very different about the United States as opposed to more other countries is that there's a heavy police presence here. You can't see it in my camera, but on the other side, there are a lot of cops. To the opposite of me, there are a lot of cops, and there's a line of cops protecting the Zionist consulate, which is over there. And it just really goes to show you how many people are pouring into the streets of the fruits of the Islamic revolution that was started by Imam Khomeini and the cause of Quds Day and how it's become international to the point of even being on American soil attended by thousands of people