© 2024 MICHIGAN PUBLIC
91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit 104.1 Grand Rapids 91.3 Port Huron 89.7 Lansing 91.1 Flint
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Stateside Podcast: Lebanese Michiganders reel with Israeli escalation

A neon yellow sign reads "YOU WILL NOT ERASE OUR EXISTANCE."
Rachel Ishikawa
/
Michigan Radio
Pro-Palestine protestors gather in Dearborn in late 2023.

Michigan-based documentarian Razi Jafri has been following the political movement brewing in southeast Michigan's Arab American and Muslism populations over the escalating wars between Israel and Gaza, and Israel and Lebanon.

His current work focuses on the "Uncommitted" movement in the communities of Dearborn, Hamtramck, Dearborn Heights.

In an election year that could come down to the wire, those votes will matter. But the context of Jafri's documentary is larger than just Michigan; for that matter, its scope extends beyond the election. For Jafri and the communities he documents, this is a cause that spans decades, "Whether you go back to 1978, the first invasion of Lebanon from Israel [...] to the nearly 20-year occupation between 1982 to 2000, the community has felt extreme pain over all of these occupations, and bombardments and campaigns."

Add to that the pain and loss that these communities have been experiencing as a result of Israeli attacks on Gaza and the full range of their perspectives begin to come into focus. To better recognize how they've been impacted and what the Uncommitted Movement has done for communities, we will all have to wait for Jafri's documentary. For the full interview, click on the links below.

GUEST ON THIS EPISODE:

  • Razi Jafri, Hamtramck-based documentarian and journalist

[Get Stateside on your phone: subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or YouTube Music today.]

Stay Connected
Aaron Bush is a production assistant with Stateside and a PhD candidate at the University of Michigan's joint program in English and Education.
Laura is Executive Producer of Stateside. She came to Michigan Public from WDET in Detroit, where she was senior producer on the current events program, Detroit Today.