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Israeli forces pushed deeper into southern Gaza, turning people out of homes and subjecting the rest to no water, heat or power. Hospitals continue to be overwhelmed even as fuel for backup generators is getting dangerously low. Forty people, including many children were killed today when Israeli bombs hit a UN-run school in the Jabaliya refugee camp. More than 600 Palestinians have so far been killed by the 11th day of the assault. Meanwhile outgoing US president George W Bush yesterday emphasized “Israel’s desire to protect itself.” He added that “The situation now taking place in Gaza was caused by Hamas.” In the context of the relentless Israeli attacks and rampant political double-speak we turn today to a voice that is missed by many in the Palestinian rights movement: the late Edward Said. Said was an internationally renowned Palestinian advocate for justice for his people, an accomplished literary theorist, and cultural critic, and a major figure in what came to be called “Post-colonial theory.” His most well-known and seminal book Orientalism, detailed the racist attitudes of Western imperialists toward peoples of the East. Professor Said was a Professor of English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He died on September 25th 2003 at the age of 67, after a prolonged battle with leukemia. Edward Said spoke at a Town Hall meeting in New York on July 25th 1982, about a month after the first Israeli invasion of Lebanon, then home to the PLO as well as hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees. This speech, preserved in the Pacifica Radio Archives is more relevant than ever in the context of the on-going Israeli attack of Gaza. Today we play you excerpts of that speech.

This speech is available from the Pacifica Radio Archives at 1-800-735-0230.