Palestine Pt. 13: Al-Aqsa Flood and the Resistance Axis w/ Matteo Capasso

The Al-Aqsa Flood operation, which took place one year ago today, was perhaps one of the most important blows against U.S. imperialism that we’ve ever seen—both ideologically and materially. Nothing can ever be the same—and it shouldn’t, because what we considered normal, if we even thought about it at all, was a nightmare for the vast majority of people on the planet. The Global South and the Resistance Axis that has taken up the fight against the U.S. and Israel’s ethnic cleansing campaign in Gaza, have shown themselves to be a leading force against U.S. imperialism, earth’s greatest enemy. 

In this episode, we’re going to explore the Al-Aqsa Flood military operation from a year ago and contextualize it within the broader resistance movement against U.S. imperialism and the Zionist entity (Israel) that helps to uphold it. And we’ve brought on the perfect guest to walk us through it all. Matteo Capasso is Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Venice. His research focuses on the impact of US-led imperialism across the modern Middle East and North Africa. He is the Editor of Middle East Critique and the author of Everyday Politics in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, published by Syracuse University Press.

In today’s episode we’ll take a deep dive into the history of resistance in the region and its context in broader resistance movements in the Global South. We’ll explore the history of Hamas, Hezbollah, and other parts of the resistance, talk about the overall impact that the Palestinian resistance has had, and explore how we in the imperial core can contribute to the destruction of the U.S. empire and support the resistance against it in the Global South.

Further Resources

• Middle East Critique
• Everyday Politics in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, by Matteo Capasso
• The Thorn and the Carnation (Part I), by Yahya Al-Sinwar
• The urgency of anti-imperialist feminism Lessons from Palestine Walaa Alqaisiya 
• Palestine and the Ends of Theory, Max Ajl
• The Hegemony of Resistance: Hezbollah and the Forging of a National-Popular Will in Lebanon, Abed Kanaaneh
• The Imperialist Question: A Sociological Approach, Matteo Capasso
• Al-Aqsa Flood: Imperialism, Zionism and Reactionism in the 21st Century, Hassan Harb
• Join us in supporting Palestine at MECA, Anera, or the Palestinian Red Crescent Society

Related Episodes:

• Palestine Pt. 11: Israel and the U.S. Empire w/ Max Ajl
• [UNLOCKED] How the North Plunders the South w/ Jason Hickel
• Upstream's ongoing series on Palestine

Cover art: Beesan Arafat

Intermission music: “From Ansar to Asklan” by George Kirmiz, reissued by Majazz project, an archival record label and alternative research platform reissuing and remixing vintage Arab vinyl and cassettes.

Upstream is a labor of love—we couldn't keep this project going without the generosity of our listeners and fans. Subscribe to our Patreon at patreon.com/upstreampodcast or please consider chipping in a one-time or recurring donation at www.upstreampodcast.org/support

If your organization wants to sponsor one of our upcoming documentaries, we have a number of sponsorship packages available. Find out more at  upstreampodcast.org/sponsorship

For more from Upstream, visit www.upstreampodcast.org and follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Bluesky.

You can also subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.