It's another EmMajority Report Thursday! Emma speaks with Ussama Makdisi, professor of history at the University of California, Berkeley, to discuss the subject matter of his book Age of Coexistence: The Ecumenical Frame and the Making of the Modern Arab World. Then, she speaks with Rune Moller Stahl, assistant professor in political economy at Copenhagen Business School, to discuss his recent piece in Jacobin entitled "Tesla Has Bitten Off More Than It Can Chew by Picking a Fight With Swedish Unions." First, Emma runs through updates on Israel’s ongoing ethnic cleansing of Gaza, the UAW’s expansion, the GOP primary, GOP policy, and GOP politics, before touching on some of the opening statements at the International Court of Justice. Ussama Makdisi then joins, diving right into the deep historical context of the case against Israel at the ICJ, looking first at the roots of Zionism in the 1800s as a response to intense antisemitism in Europe, and as a project that took inspiration from Europe in its nationalist, colonialist solution. Expanding on this, Professor Makdisi explores the prevalence of multi-religious coexistence across the Middle East in that era, particularly between Arabs and Jews, how that extended to Palestine, and the culture of denialism around both pre-Nakba Palestinian culture, and the Nakba itself, before touching on the roots of said issues in the west’s Islamophobia, and antisemitism. After briefly touching on the inspiration Israel takes from the white supremacist regimes of South Africa and Jim Crow USA, Ussama and Emma discuss the establishment of Israel within the context of Europe’s greater colonial project in the Middle East, before wrapping up the interview by touching on South Africa’s case at the ICJ.  Rune Moller Stahl then walks Emma through the evolving multi-industry and multi-national strike against Tesla in the Nordic countries, beginning with Tesla technicians walking off their jobs in demand of a collective agreement, before sympathy strikes swiftly spread across unions throughout Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland. After expanding on the cultural divide between Elon Musk’s anti-union attitude and the Nordic model, Professor Stahl parses through the distinct roles of unions in the United States and Sweden, and how they differ in power, organizing, and action.

And in the Fun Half: Emma is joined by Brandon Sutton as they tackle John Fetterman’s turn as he speaks against South Africa’s case against Israel at the ICJ, Nick from Pittsburgh dives into political organizing in PA, Corey from Indianapolis discusses ZuckNuts, and Donald Trump gives a genuine answer on the GOP’s fanatical pro-life segments. PBD and Co. discuss yoga pants, Gage from Salt Lake City on the lingering presence of 1/6, and Armando in Portland tackles the DEI-Airline conspiracy. Chris Christie gets props from Trump, and it’s not for dropping out, plus, your calls and IMs!

Check out Ussama's book here: https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520385764/age-of-coexistence

Check out Rune's piece here: https://jacobin.com/2023/12/tesla-swedish-unions-nordic-elon-musk-labor-green-transition

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