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[00:00:00] We are now joined by T Hickeyi [00:00:04] and he is a comedian, an activist and he [00:00:08] was kidnapped by Israel. He was abused [00:00:12] like many other flotillaa members. He [00:00:15] was aboard one of the flotillas, a Samur [00:00:17] flotillaa to bring aid and break the [00:00:19] siege on I pronounced your name [00:00:21] incorrectly. I'm going to say it again. [00:00:23] Hi. [laughter] [00:00:24] >> No worries. Ah, like and you you were [00:00:26] perfect in the rehearsals. Uh [00:00:28] >> I know I practiced it. Still got it [00:00:31] wrong. [00:00:32] >> Not at all. Really lovely to be here [00:00:34] with you, Minar. Really uh I've uh heard [00:00:36] lots of great things and I've seen lots [00:00:37] of great things myself. So it's a [00:00:38] pleasure to be here. [00:00:40] >> Well, thank you. It's an honor to be [00:00:41] here and I you know I want to get your [00:00:43] perspective on my opening monologue here [00:00:45] with Machado and the Nobel you know [00:00:48] prize committee who have made their [00:00:49] positions extremely clear when it comes [00:00:51] to Israel and Palestine effectively [00:00:55] supporting the live stream live stream [00:00:57] genocide. What's your take on uh on this [00:01:01] development? I mean my take on Machado [00:01:04] winning I think I got a perverse kind of [00:01:07] pleasure out of it if um if that doesn't [00:01:10] sound too bizarre because it's just the [00:01:12] perfect piece of evidence that you would [00:01:15] need for any young or older activist to [00:01:18] illustrate to them that the world is now [00:01:20] upside down as you say. um if somebody [00:01:23] who has kind of prided herself on being [00:01:26] an interventionist on somebody who's [00:01:28] pro- force on somebody who's pro- [00:01:30] imperialism who is literally begging the [00:01:33] US to come and exploit and extract [00:01:36] wealth from her country. If this type of [00:01:38] individual wins the Nobel Peace Prize, [00:01:41] it's almost like the logical conclusion [00:01:44] of neoliberalism. It's the final piece [00:01:48] of the jigsaw to try and convince [00:01:49] somebody that we're fighting for the [00:01:52] world now. The world is upside down and [00:01:54] the people who rule the world are [00:01:55] laughing at us. They're making a laugh, [00:01:57] a laughingtock out of the idea of a [00:02:00] Nobel Peace Prize. Somebody who's, you [00:02:02] know, based their career on being the [00:02:04] opposite of being peaceful is now the [00:02:07] recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. and [00:02:09] she goes on Fox News to to celebrate her [00:02:13] victory and and champions people like [00:02:15] Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu. [00:02:17] It's just two fingers to us or whatever. [00:02:20] And I think what we need to do as a [00:02:22] global community of activists, whether [00:02:25] we're pro Palestine or whether we're [00:02:26] just pro- humanity or both, is to [00:02:29] realize that we are in a fight and that [00:02:32] the elites are laughing at us and we can [00:02:34] either allow them to continue laughing [00:02:36] at us and to cowtow and to to bow down [00:02:39] to to authority or we can fight back in [00:02:42] our numbers. And I'm excited that I feel [00:02:44] like there's never been more people [00:02:46] right now who have woken up to the way [00:02:48] that the world really works. The way [00:02:50] particularly the western perspective, [00:02:52] the racist, orientalist, capitalist, [00:02:55] exploitative mindset, so many people are [00:02:58] waking up and you can choose to go back [00:03:00] to sleep if you want. But if you are [00:03:03] awake, you have got this moment now [00:03:06] where you can try and be part of really [00:03:08] changing things and challenging the [00:03:10] system. I have to say I'm excited by [00:03:12] that. [00:03:13] >> I'm excited too. And you know, we've [00:03:15] seen just this massive wave of people [00:03:18] around the world who have woken up maybe [00:03:21] we've even disagreed with in the past [00:03:23] and they are now standing in solidarity [00:03:25] with uh Palestine and just you know what [00:03:28] this genocide has also done is kind of [00:03:30] pop help people pop through those [00:03:32] propaganda bubbles and see the US empire [00:03:35] for for what it is and maybe say okay [00:03:37] maybe we were lied to about these [00:03:38] previous wars as well. And really [00:03:40] there's no such thing as a humanitarian [00:03:42] intervention. Um but then you have [00:03:45] people um like Bono from YouTube. Yeah. [00:03:50] Bono from YouTube and other celebrities [00:03:52] who have uh stood with apartheid Israel [00:03:56] even in the face of a genocide. Um and [00:03:59] he's Irish. I mean what what is your [00:04:01] take on that? [snorts] [00:04:02] >> I mean Bono is the most unirish person I [00:04:05] can think of. First of all, he's [00:04:07] extraordinarily cockshore, which is very [00:04:09] unirish. Like, if you know any Irish [00:04:11] people or if you've been to to Ireland, [00:04:13] we're falling over ourselves to [00:04:15] apologize for our very existence. Like, [00:04:17] we're a very humble type of person. And [00:04:20] that's the first and foremost way that I [00:04:22] just don't recognize Bono as one of my [00:04:24] kin at all. But the most fundamental way [00:04:27] and the most embarrassing way to be [00:04:28] serious for a moment is that it really [00:04:31] is quite embarrassing for Irish people [00:04:32] to see somebody so in the public eye to [00:04:35] kind of renounce his own identity in a [00:04:38] way. Like if you don't see the [00:04:39] Palestinian struggle in the Irish [00:04:42] struggle, they're they're so comparable [00:04:44] in so many ways. The exact same colonial [00:04:46] playbook that was used to dehumanize [00:04:48] Irish people and to destroy Irish [00:04:50] culture and way of life is being meated [00:04:53] out against the Palestinians right now, [00:04:54] except on a scale that even the Irish [00:04:56] can't identify with. So Bono has sold [00:04:59] his soul in in my opinion. Bono has made [00:05:01] the decision that his own corporate [00:05:03] interests and his own deals with Israeli [00:05:05] banks are more important to his own [00:05:08] soul, I think. Um and that's the [00:05:10] juncture that we're at. I mean that's [00:05:11] where Ireland is at right now as a [00:05:14] country. We have a we have a reputation [00:05:16] for being pro Palestine. I think our [00:05:18] government are they're not particularly [00:05:20] Zionist. Uh they're no more soulless [00:05:23] than any other government in Western [00:05:25] Europe. But what they are is completely [00:05:28] dependent upon the US. Ireland is almost [00:05:31] like a vassal state of the US at this [00:05:34] point. And we're so scared that if we, [00:05:37] you know, if we piss off the US, if we [00:05:39] piss off Donald Trump, then our economy [00:05:41] will will go to pieces overnight. So [00:05:43] we're at this juncture where it's [00:05:45] literally our pocketbook or our soul and [00:05:48] we're fighting for our own soul and our [00:05:50] own identity. I think as as a people [00:05:52] that not not only overcame our own [00:05:55] colonial struggles but stand with [00:05:57] oppressed people all over the world. [00:05:58] That's what Irishness is to me. That's [00:06:00] what Irish republicanism is and and [00:06:02] Irish anti-imperialism. And uh that's [00:06:04] the fight that we're in right now. And [00:06:06] it's we're at that juncture. That's what [00:06:07] our presidential candid candidacy is [00:06:10] about at the moment. We're we're in the [00:06:11] midst of a presidential election. Um, [00:06:13] and I think that's the case all over [00:06:14] Europe and the world. Gaza has exposed [00:06:16] us all. Has exposed everyone and there's [00:06:19] there's going there's no going back. [00:06:20] It's going to be a before Gaza genocide [00:06:23] world and an after Gaza genocide world. [00:06:25] I'm absolutely convinced of that. [00:06:28] >> That's a very good point. And you know, [00:06:30] every single Irish person I've ever met, [00:06:32] even here in the United States or when [00:06:34] I've traveled abroad, every single one [00:06:36] of them without question, you know, they [00:06:39] find out I'm Palestinian. I'm [00:06:40] Palestinian American. I lived under [00:06:42] Israeli occupation. I witnessed the [00:06:43] brutality of the, you know, the [00:06:44] apartheid state and they find out I'm [00:06:47] Palestinian and they just are just going [00:06:49] nuts. Like, we are, we love the [00:06:50] Palestinian people. We stand in [00:06:52] solidarity. Israel is a genocidal [00:06:54] apartheid regime. [00:06:56] You can't find that here even on the [00:06:58] streets of America. So, the solidarity [00:07:00] is so loud and we love it and we're so [00:07:04] proud of our Irish brothers and sisters. [00:07:06] But, [00:07:07] >> if you come and visit us, if you come [00:07:09] and visit us, um, like you're so welcome [00:07:11] and I'll show you around Cork and [00:07:12] particularly the north of Ireland. [00:07:14] >> But, uh, the thing I'm finding with [00:07:15] Palestinian friends in the diaspora [00:07:17] Palestinians when they come here, they [00:07:19] they they want they start looking at [00:07:20] house house prices [laughter] [00:07:23] >> because I heard that before. Yeah, it [00:07:25] sounds like Ireland is a place where [00:07:27] where we are welcomed and we are [00:07:29] rejoiced and we we appreciate that. [00:07:30] Yeah, [00:07:31] >> we understand. We understand. Let's just [00:07:32] put it that way. We understand. [00:07:34] >> Yeah. Well, that's very kind of you. Um [00:07:36] we really appreciate that. And you know, [00:07:38] right now we have uh countries like the [00:07:41] UK who are basically cracking down on [00:07:44] all of the solidarity. I mean just today [00:07:47] the UK um removed Hayat this is an HTS [00:07:54] alada affiliated group operating inside [00:07:57] of Syri they removed them off the terror [00:07:59] list right [00:08:01] >> but then they've designated groups like [00:08:03] Palestine Action who have disrupted [00:08:06] Israel's weapons factories and and their [00:08:09] um operations as the terrorists [00:08:12] like so much irony in that. Talk [00:08:15] [snorts] to me about that. [00:08:17] >> I mean, I I as an Irish person again, [00:08:21] like there's this perverse sense of [00:08:23] watching Britain kind of in this ongoing [00:08:28] uh making a fool out of itself process [00:08:31] that began with Brexit and again now [00:08:33] seems to be coming to its zenith with [00:08:37] this Starmer government that has just [00:08:41] lost its own sense of self. It's [00:08:44] extraordinary to me watching Britain to [00:08:49] make the decision to leave the EU [00:08:51] because apparently it wanted to take [00:08:53] back control of its country, take back [00:08:55] control of its borders, which obviously [00:08:57] is a kind of a post empire [00:09:00] uh racist kind of longing for an [00:09:02] imperial past that apparently was [00:09:04] brilliant. But obviously most of the [00:09:06] rest of the world, particularly in the [00:09:07] global south, would say that it was just [00:09:09] about genocide and wealth extraction and [00:09:11] and the Irish would agree with that. But [00:09:13] you have this nostalgia for empire and [00:09:15] you take your country back apparently uh [00:09:18] which has been an economic disaster for [00:09:20] Britain. And then it seems in the last [00:09:22] two years what you do is you you you [00:09:24] switch the the levers of power from [00:09:28] Brussels to Tel Aviv because it feels [00:09:31] like Britain is back under the control [00:09:33] of a foreign government again and it [00:09:36] just happens to not be the EU anymore [00:09:37] and it's it's Israel. I mean, I I I I [00:09:41] again, maybe it's because I'm Irish or [00:09:43] I'm pro Palestinian or maybe I'm just a [00:09:45] human being still with a brain and a [00:09:47] soul, but the last week the British [00:09:50] media have been exclusively focused, it [00:09:52] seems to me, on an Israeli football club [00:09:56] and whether their fans should be allowed [00:09:59] to travel to Birmingham for a match or [00:10:01] not and whether that amounts to [00:10:02] anti-semitism. like Britain and the [00:10:05] British media and the British [00:10:07] establishment should be absolutely [00:10:08] ashamed of themselves that they're [00:10:11] focusing on the concerns of a Zionist [00:10:15] like football club with [00:10:18] supporters that hit the streets of [00:10:21] European cities [00:10:23] shouting and singing songs about raping [00:10:26] and murdering Arabs. And this is the [00:10:29] main point of discussion in the British [00:10:32] establishment in the British media. [00:10:34] Britain should be looking and hanging [00:10:36] its head in shame at not just the [00:10:38] historical role that it played in [00:10:40] creating all this horror and hell for [00:10:43] Palestinians with the Balfur act and so [00:10:46] and so so on. and moreover its shameful [00:10:51] role in providing diplomatic cover, [00:10:55] weapons and money for this racist [00:10:57] aparathite rogue state to continue its [00:11:00] extermination [00:11:01] and starvation of a civilian population. [00:11:04] Britain as always is guilty of rank [00:11:06] hypocrisy and as always has its [00:11:10] priorities all wrong. But I would call [00:11:13] on the British patriots, you know, who [00:11:15] have been tormenting me and other Irish [00:11:18] Republicans and anti-imperialists for my [00:11:20] whole life, my whole career, you know, [00:11:23] the Britain First Brigade. Where are [00:11:25] they? I mean, how could you be Britain [00:11:28] first and have your spiritual leader [00:11:30] Tommy Robinson over on a jolly in Tel [00:11:33] Aviv at the moment? How could you be [00:11:34] Britain first when most labor [00:11:36] politicians are prioritizing the Israel [00:11:40] lobby are happy to go after activists at [00:11:44] the behest of the Israel lobby. It [00:11:46] doesn't seem like it's Britain first at [00:11:48] all. It feels like it's Israel first in [00:11:50] Britain at the moment. And and I would [00:11:52] just call on on the the British patriots [00:11:54] to stand up and take back control of [00:11:56] your country again. [00:11:59] And we're seeing a a very prime example [00:12:02] of this Israel first uh that you [00:12:04] described in this recent arrest by the [00:12:07] Met police of this British Palestinian [00:12:10] NHS doctor Rah Alwan. She was arrested [00:12:14] today um for a speech that she gave a [00:12:18] pro Palestine at a pro Palestine [00:12:20] demonstration in London and they say [00:12:22] that it was incitement against Israel [00:12:24] and implied support for resistance [00:12:26] forces. Um, can I get your reaction to [00:12:29] this news and what you make of this [00:12:31] incredible wave of authoritarianism [00:12:34] sweeping the UK right now? [00:12:37] >> Well, again, it's just extraordinary to [00:12:40] me that, you know, before we get on to [00:12:43] Rakma, who I'm very proud to say I've [00:12:45] met several times and I'm I'm friends [00:12:47] with. Um, you know, say if you look at [00:12:50] Bob Villain and the Glastonbury [00:12:53] controversy. So Bob Villain, they have [00:12:56] lyrics in their songs that challenge the [00:12:58] British establishment, like really spicy [00:13:01] lyrics about the Queen and other aspects [00:13:03] of, you know, um, the British [00:13:06] establishment, as I say, that, by the [00:13:07] way, I would agree with. And I think [00:13:09] it's like really strong punk music, but [00:13:11] it's very challenging. If you were a [00:13:13] British nationalist or a proud British [00:13:15] imperialist, you would find a lot of [00:13:17] their lyrics, you know, challenging. [00:13:19] They've never once had any issue [00:13:21] whatsoever. They've never been banned. [00:13:23] They've never been censored. Nobody took [00:13:26] any notice of them in the British [00:13:28] establishment. Suddenly, they started [00:13:30] criticizing Israel and they were having [00:13:32] their visas revoked. They were like a [00:13:34] national scandal. And again, I thought [00:13:36] to myself, where is the British [00:13:39] establishment? Where are the British [00:13:40] patriots? They're losing their mind over [00:13:42] Israel. Like just so bizarre. And in the [00:13:46] case of Rakma, I think the problem with [00:13:49] her and and activists like her is that [00:13:51] she's unrepentant. And what what the [00:13:54] British establishment and I suppose the [00:13:57] Israel lobby wants is repentance. They [00:13:59] want us to say sorry for making their [00:14:03] Zionist feelings uh a bit hurty. They [00:14:06] want us to say sorry for being pro [00:14:08] Palestine. They want us to say sorry for [00:14:10] being anti- genocide. And the best of [00:14:13] us, I think, and the most thoroughgoing [00:14:15] like Rakma won't do that. And it feels [00:14:18] to me like it's a personal thing with [00:14:21] Wes Streeting. It's a personal thing [00:14:22] with some of the hierarchy of the Labor [00:14:24] Party. They want to make an example of [00:14:26] her because she is unrepentant. Because [00:14:29] she is a problem for them, because she's [00:14:31] very articulate. She's a doctor. She [00:14:34] states her case very, very clearly. [00:14:36] She's Palestinian. And she they want to [00:14:39] get rid of people like that. They want [00:14:40] to suppress people like that. So I urge [00:14:42] people to stand with her, but I also [00:14:44] urge people in around her to to be more [00:14:47] like her. The moment that you start [00:14:49] making peace with Zionists, I think, and [00:14:52] trying to assuage them in any way, then [00:14:53] they savage you, as happened with Jeremy [00:14:56] Corbin. So stand up and be proud of our [00:14:59] position. It's not a radical position. [00:15:01] Our position is we're against the murder [00:15:04] of babies. We're against the targeting [00:15:07] of healthare workers and journalists. [00:15:10] were against US imperialism [00:15:13] and all its machinations. We don't have [00:15:15] to be ashamed of that at all. That [00:15:16] should actually be the orthodox [00:15:18] uncontroversial position. [00:15:20] >> Absolutely. And you took a very um noble [00:15:23] stance with what you just said. You uh [00:15:25] boarded the Sumud Flatillaa a few weeks [00:15:28] ago. you just returned home and you were [00:15:31] subject like you and all the other [00:15:33] flatilla members that were um arrested [00:15:35] and detained, kidnapped I should say, uh [00:15:37] were um you know you faced a lot of [00:15:40] abuse, zip tied, you were a forced to [00:15:43] watch hours of October 7th propaganda. [00:15:47] Tell us about what has happened what [00:15:49] happened when you were kidnapped and [00:15:51] what has happened since you've returned [00:15:53] home. [00:15:54] I yeah, I think we were saying [00:15:56] beforehand, I'm a kind of a delayed [00:15:57] reaction guy. So, I I would probably [00:16:00] process what happened months down the [00:16:02] line. I would say the main thing I'm [00:16:04] dealing with since I came home is I I [00:16:06] mean, this might sound stupid, but I [00:16:08] didn't quite get my head around how [00:16:10] worried my family would be. Um, and they [00:16:13] were really traumatized. And I think [00:16:15] I've talked to one or two um Leila [00:16:17] Hagazi in in the US today about it. And [00:16:20] I think none of us were prepared for the [00:16:22] fact that we wouldn't be able to get any [00:16:23] messages out whatsoever. So that's the [00:16:26] key thing that really upset my family [00:16:27] because I suppose I'm so vocal online [00:16:29] and they were worried that they might [00:16:31] make an example out of me and when they [00:16:32] couldn't uh get through to me and they [00:16:35] didn't hear from me, they were starting [00:16:36] to fear the worst that I don't know that [00:16:38] I would be physically tortured or or [00:16:40] whatnot. So, but that's all part of the [00:16:42] fear game that the Israelis play. It's [00:16:45] um and I should say I should preface [00:16:47] what I'm about to say by saying that [00:16:49] what we experienced is really nothing on [00:16:53] what Palestinians experience all the [00:16:54] time. And we're very aware of that. And [00:16:55] it's not just a mantra. It's something [00:16:57] that we need to be very, you know, uh [00:16:59] consistent when when we're speaking [00:17:02] about this because we will never [00:17:03] experience what it's like to to have the [00:17:06] full, you know, uh um torture situation [00:17:10] because we have passports of privilege. [00:17:12] the you know the Israelis know that [00:17:13] whatever they do to us we were going to [00:17:15] get out and for me I'm I'm lucky I'm [00:17:18] going to have the opportunities to speak [00:17:19] to people like yourself but there are [00:17:21] many Palestinians that don't have that [00:17:23] opportunity they don't have the [00:17:25] passports and it re I really found it [00:17:27] chilling when I was incarcerated and you [00:17:30] know they they weren't letting me sleep [00:17:32] they didn't give us access to medicine [00:17:34] we couldn't see doctors we couldn't get [00:17:36] a message out um you know people needed [00:17:39] their insulin and they were left without [00:17:40] insulin for days on in no no drinking [00:17:44] water, you know, um you're you're kind [00:17:47] of frightened into thinking you're going [00:17:48] to be there indefinitely. [00:17:50] And I mean, I was trying to keep myself [00:17:52] sane more than anything else. But I was [00:17:53] lying on my bed with like there's 11 or [00:17:56] 12 other lads kind of low-key losing [00:17:59] their mind in the room with me. And I [00:18:01] just thought to myself, if they're [00:18:02] treating us like this with the passports [00:18:04] that we have, like I don't even want to [00:18:08] think about what they're doing to [00:18:10] Palestinians, many of whom are children, [00:18:13] in these torture camps right now. And [00:18:15] that was the most chilling thing I I [00:18:17] could possibly imagine. And I suppose if [00:18:19] they thought that by treating us bad, it [00:18:22] was going to turn us off this kind of [00:18:25] mission to try and document and expose [00:18:28] their crimes and their their atrocities [00:18:31] and to advocate for the Palestinian [00:18:33] cause. Obviously, the opposite is the [00:18:35] case. I think a 100,000 people have [00:18:37] already signed up for the next flotilla [00:18:40] mission. So, Israel has got one trick. [00:18:42] It's to escalate their violence, their [00:18:46] hatred. You know, I give you one very [00:18:48] quick example. When we were pretty much [00:18:50] causing a riot on one of the wings of [00:18:52] our prison to try and get Paddyy, a [00:18:54] 75year-old Irishman, his insulin, [00:18:57] instead of bringing a doctor, they [00:18:59] brought SWAT teams, you know, with dogs [00:19:02] and guns. And that's Israel. They don't [00:19:04] have a diplomatic empathetic bone in [00:19:07] their body. All they know is violence [00:19:09] and then escalated violence. And that's [00:19:11] that's all they do. They said, "We don't [00:19:13] have any doctors for animals." They view [00:19:16] us as obviously they view Palestinian [00:19:18] Palestinians as animals or less than [00:19:20] animals I would say and their allies. [00:19:22] And I think that level of hateful [00:19:25] um ideology has a shelf life and I I do [00:19:29] believe that that the Zionist entity is [00:19:31] is entering its final days. I do believe [00:19:34] that. [00:19:36] And you know, the ceasefire has been in [00:19:38] place for about a week now, and Israel [00:19:40] has killed, [00:19:42] I would say, 100 Palestinians since the [00:19:45] ceasefire was announced. They've [00:19:48] violated it what, over 90 times since [00:19:51] the ceasefire was announced. Um, where [00:19:54] do you see this going? [00:19:57] >> I mean, the ceasefire for me from the [00:19:59] Western perspective is kind of like it's [00:20:01] a it's an attempt at hoodwinking. It's [00:20:03] kind of like trying to tell the [00:20:05] activists who have dedicated a lot of [00:20:08] time and energy over the last two years. [00:20:10] It's trying to assuage them and kind of [00:20:12] say, "Look, we've got this peace plan. [00:20:14] You know, everything's going to be dandy [00:20:16] D. Israel's going to stop all this [00:20:18] killing stuff that you've been seeing on [00:20:20] your phones. I mean, it may not be real [00:20:22] anyway. It's probably AI. But if you [00:20:24] have seen some stuff that you feel is [00:20:25] real, that's going to stop. We've got a [00:20:27] peace plan. It's a hoodwink. It's [00:20:30] obviously not real for the reasons that [00:20:32] you've just outlined. We the the [00:20:33] extermination hasn't stopped. The [00:20:35] starvation hasn't stopped. So, I think [00:20:38] it provides a kind of a a kind of a [00:20:40] crossroads for the pro Palestine, [00:20:43] pro-humanity community. Either we can be [00:20:46] hoodwinkedked by empire again and allow [00:20:50] ourselves to kind of to tail off and [00:20:52] say, "Look, we've been doing this a long [00:20:53] time. we're tired and I'm sure it'll [00:20:56] improve now that there's a ceasefire has [00:20:58] been called. Or we can refocus and kind [00:21:02] of think to ourselves, what do we need [00:21:03] to do now to stand with Palestinians as [00:21:07] they seek proper justice and liberation [00:21:11] for their cause? And I I think it's it's [00:21:14] a moment where some people who aren't in [00:21:16] it for the long haul might feel the [00:21:17] desire to fall away. and other people [00:21:20] will look at it as an opportunity to [00:21:22] like take a helicopter view almost and [00:21:24] see that Gaza is just the beginning. [00:21:27] We're we're in the midst of, as I was [00:21:29] saying at the start, in a fight for our [00:21:31] own humanity and our own futures. And [00:21:33] without being cheesy about it, like [00:21:35] we're fighting for the world that our [00:21:37] kids are grow going to grow up in as [00:21:39] well. I mean, one of the main [00:21:40] motivations for me, even though I really [00:21:42] missed my kids unbearably and my heart [00:21:45] was broken when I was on the flotilla, [00:21:47] thinking about them, but I did go on the [00:21:49] flotilla for my kids in a way because I [00:21:52] love them and I want them to grow up in [00:21:54] a world that doesn't normalize looking [00:21:56] the other way when people are being mass [00:21:59] murdered and starved to death. I want [00:22:01] them to grow up in a world where they [00:22:03] believe that they are just as good, no [00:22:06] better or worse than any other kid in a [00:22:09] in a truly egalitarian world. That's [00:22:12] what I'm fighting for. It's not here [00:22:14] right now. It's not achievable tomorrow, [00:22:16] but that's what I think we need to fight [00:22:18] for. So, some kind of half-hearted pissy [00:22:22] ceasefire and peace plan that doesn't [00:22:25] actually really include Palestinians at [00:22:27] all and doesn't have Palestinian [00:22:28] self-determination [00:22:30] seemingly in at any stage of this peace [00:22:32] plan is nothing to get excited about. [00:22:34] It's nothing to to kind of rest in our [00:22:37] laurels about. It should be just a [00:22:39] juncture where we refocus and and take [00:22:42] the fight all the stronger and all the [00:22:44] more determined to US imperialism and [00:22:47] the Zionist entity [00:22:49] >> and that's obviously why all of us are [00:22:51] in this movement whether it's journalism [00:22:52] or activism or you know aborting these [00:22:54] flotillas or speaking up or you know [00:22:56] organizing the protests or the sitins or [00:22:58] disrupt you know all of this we're all [00:23:00] in this because we want our children um [00:23:02] to have a better future and teach them [00:23:04] that you know we don't sit idly by while [00:23:07] a major oppression [00:23:08] is taking place. [00:23:10] >> And I know that this is rooted in your [00:23:12] Irish background. I know you mentioned [00:23:13] it kind of in the beginning, but could [00:23:15] you um kind of explain more why the [00:23:17] Irish are just so different? I mean, you [00:23:19] Irish are just different. You're you're [00:23:21] built different. Why are you built so [00:23:24] different from the rest of the Western [00:23:26] uh countries when it comes to standing [00:23:29] up for Palestinian human rights? [00:23:31] >> We're different because we've been [00:23:32] through some of the same that [00:23:34] you've been through. I mean, that's [00:23:36] basically it in terms of the European [00:23:38] context. The Irish are unusual because [00:23:41] we know colonialism. We know [00:23:43] dehumanization. We know what it's like [00:23:46] to be ripped off our land because the [00:23:49] colonizer deems us to be ethnically [00:23:51] inferior. You know, we know all that [00:23:54] stuff. We, you know, in terms of our [00:23:56] language, our culture, our way of life, [00:23:59] they're still under threat in many [00:24:00] cases. We're trying to rejuvenate our [00:24:02] language at the moment with with some [00:24:04] success actually. But the decolonizing [00:24:07] process is a long road as you know. It's [00:24:09] it's a marathon. It's not a sprint. And [00:24:12] I think when most Irish people, it's not [00:24:14] even an intellectual thing. It's a [00:24:16] spiritual kind of connection in our [00:24:19] bones and in our DNA. When we see people [00:24:21] being mass murdered and slaughtered, [00:24:24] when we see civilian population being [00:24:26] starved to death, and there's no reason [00:24:28] for this so-called famine. You know, [00:24:30] there was a famine in my country, too, a [00:24:32] so-called famine. But the British, a bit [00:24:35] like the Israelis and the Americans at [00:24:37] the moment, were happy just to let Irish [00:24:38] people die, you know, um because they [00:24:41] were in the way, um that's a man-made [00:24:44] starvation. That's not a famine. If [00:24:45] you're an Irish person, you see what's [00:24:47] going on in Gaza at the moment, and you [00:24:49] identify with the colonizer and not the [00:24:52] colonized, I I don't think you're Irish [00:24:54] at all or I think you've lost your mind. [00:24:56] So the the connection with Palestine is [00:24:59] deep. It's real. Um if you travel to [00:25:03] West Belfast today or many parts of [00:25:05] Ireland, but particularly West Belfast [00:25:07] in Derry, you will see as many or more [00:25:10] Palestine flags than you will Irish [00:25:12] colors. Um and you will see murals on [00:25:15] the wall in West Belfast about the [00:25:17] Palestinian struggle and the Irish [00:25:19] struggle and the way that they're [00:25:20] connected together. But I would say you [00:25:23] don't have to be Irish. You don't have [00:25:26] to be from a colonized country to [00:25:29] connect deeply with the Palestinian [00:25:30] cause right now because it is the cause [00:25:32] of humanity. I mean, Nelson Mandela said [00:25:35] it was the moral issue of our time. And [00:25:37] that that becomes more true with every [00:25:39] passing year, I think. And it's it's at [00:25:41] its most true right now. So, it helps to [00:25:43] be Irish. It helps to be colonized. [00:25:46] But I think you just have to have a [00:25:48] pulse really to see that the Palestinian [00:25:50] cause right now is the cause of [00:25:52] humanity. It's a just cause. And that's [00:25:54] why we should never coto or we should [00:25:56] never be embarrassed to be pro [00:25:58] Palestine. And the the companies and the [00:26:01] corporations and the nations that want [00:26:03] to criminalize us and want us to cau, [00:26:06] they're the ones that should be [00:26:07] criminalized. They're the ones who [00:26:08] should be called out. They're the ones [00:26:10] who should be boycotted, not us. [00:26:14] >> And Ty, you're also a comedian. This is [00:26:18] my final question for you. How easy has [00:26:20] it been for you to be a comedian with [00:26:23] your politics to tour around the world [00:26:26] to play the shows? What has been your [00:26:28] experience and your successes um as an [00:26:30] Irish comedian? [00:26:33] >> I suppose in terms of comedy, I haven't [00:26:35] done much standup in the last couple of [00:26:37] years. I struggle with kind of um [00:26:40] standing on a stage and making jokes at [00:26:42] the moment. Um and that's no shade on [00:26:46] people who who are doing standup. [00:26:47] they're maybe just better at it than I [00:26:49] am at finding the funny on on stage. I [00:26:51] find that easier online because I feel [00:26:53] like satire and I'm building a a full [00:26:57] new satire show at the moment called now [00:27:00] and not on our watch with Nicole [00:27:02] Jenna's. We've shot a first few episodes [00:27:04] of it and we're hoping to just make that [00:27:06] show ourselves and not go to the [00:27:08] Netflixes and the BBC's of the world [00:27:11] anymore. Not that they'd have us anyway, [00:27:12] I suppose, at this point. But, uh, just [00:27:14] to not to keep trying to get crumbs off [00:27:16] the King's Table, just to try and make [00:27:17] stuff ourselves. That's really been the [00:27:20] goal. But, I I suppose like I'd always [00:27:22] been making satire, but never in my life [00:27:24] that I would imagine it would have the [00:27:25] reach it has had in the last year or or [00:27:29] more. Not just for me, but for many of [00:27:30] my my friends and and colleagues online [00:27:33] as well. It just feels like satire [00:27:35] reaches people um to tell them the truth [00:27:38] about the way the world works in a way [00:27:40] that I can't reach them when I'm just [00:27:42] kind of pontificating or chatting to [00:27:44] camera. It really is such a useful [00:27:46] useful tool at the moment. But um but I [00:27:49] suppose to to conclude on the comedy [00:27:52] front, I it's worth reminding people I [00:27:54] suppose that when I started off making [00:27:56] sketches about this cause or or or the [00:28:00] genocide, it was actually Palestinians [00:28:02] who who told me to do it. Like you're [00:28:04] saying, I was very nervy about saying or [00:28:06] doing anything like comedic about a [00:28:10] genocide. I mean, I had been making [00:28:12] sketches, comedy sketches about the [00:28:14] British Empire and and whatnot, but like [00:28:16] this was a distant thing. I was making [00:28:18] sketches about, you know, the partition [00:28:20] of India. I mean, the the the the wounds [00:28:23] aren't so raw as an ongoing live stream [00:28:26] genocide. But actually, it was my [00:28:27] Palestinian friends in Ireland that [00:28:29] said, "Get in there. Satire has a huge [00:28:32] role to play, and you'll never find [00:28:34] anything as easy to satarize as Israeli [00:28:37] propaganda." And boy, boy was right. [00:28:40] [laughter] [00:28:43] >> That's true. There's too much in there. [00:28:46] And they're just such a propagandized [00:28:48] society that [00:28:49] >> they kind of just out themselves, you [00:28:52] know, like they don't have to do much [00:28:53] work. [00:28:54] >> Well, this is it. I I what I said at the [00:28:56] time was like I think I I believe that [00:28:58] these people are satarizing themselves. [00:28:59] I'm not sure what much I how much I can [00:29:01] add, but apparently apparently there was [00:29:03] a little to go. [00:29:05] Well, you're doing an incredible job and [00:29:07] we really appreciate all of your [00:29:09] activism and your efforts to expose the [00:29:11] Israeli propaganda machine. I mean, I as [00:29:14] a Palestinian um you know, commend you [00:29:16] for all that you've done and we [00:29:18] appreciate the solidarity and we hope to [00:29:21] support your new show. [00:29:22] >> Oh, thank you so much. Well, absolute [00:29:24] pleasure pleasure talking to you and uh [00:29:26] yeah, look, ally for life. So, so please [00:29:28] reach out. I'm happy happy to do my [00:29:30] little bit. Thank you so