Episodes
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There is so much talking about Israel, the war on Gaza, Lebanon and now Syria, but what about Palestinian politics? In this episode I talked to Dana El Kurd a Palestinian political scientist with a deep knowledge and understanding of Palestinian politics. We started our conversation discussing her book published in 2020 Polarized and Demobilized: Legacies of Authoritarianism in Palestine, from there we move to talk about the incoming Trump administration, the role of Saudi Arabia but more importantly how politics is experienced and imagined in Palestine.
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In the first episode of season 6 I have interviewed Maurcio Lapchik, the Director of External Relations at Peace Now (Shalom Akshav), the largest and longest-standing Israeli movement advocating for peace through public pressure. While we briefly introduced Peace Now to those who don't know yet this organization, we then discussed the current standing of the peace camp in Israel. While the picture is rather grim, Mauricio keeps hoping for the best.
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Missing episodes?
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This is Gaza – a place of humanity and creativity, rich in culture and industry. A place now utterly devastated, its entire population displaced by a seemingly endless onslaught, its heritage destroyed.
Daybreak in Gaza is a record of an extraordinary place and people, and of a culture preserved by the people themselves. Vignettes of artists, acrobats, doctors, students, shopkeepers and teachers offer stories of love, life, loss and survival. They display the wealth of Gaza’s cultural landscape and the breadth of its history.
Daybreak in Gaza humanises the people dismissed as statistics. It stands as a mark of resistance to the destruction and as a testament to the people of Gaza.
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In this season 5 finale episode I had the pleasure to interview Oren Kroll-Zeldin, the author of Unsettled: American Jews and the Movement for Justice in Palestine. Unsettled digs into the experiences of young Jewish Americans who engage with the Palestine solidarity movement and challenge the staunch pro-Israel stance of mainstream Jewish American institutions. The book explores how these activists address Israeli government policies of occupation and apartheid, and seek to transform American Jewish institutional support for Israel.
Oren identifies three key social movement strategies employed by these activists: targeting mainstream Jewish American institutions, participating in co-resistance efforts in Palestine/Israel, and engaging in Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaigns. He argues that these young people perceive their commitment to ending the occupation and Israeli apartheid as a Jewish value, deeply rooted in the changing dynamics of Jewish life in the twenty-first century. By associating social justice activism with Jewish traditions and values, these activists establish a connection between their Jewishness and their pursuit of justice for Palestinians.
In a time of internal Jewish tensions and uncertainty about peace prospects between Palestine and Israel, the book provides hope that the efforts of these young Jews in the United States are pushing the political pendulum in a new direction, potentially leading to a more balanced and nuanced conversation.
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In this very moving and heartwarming interview I had the opportunity to discuss with Fida Jiyris her work, a beautifully written memoir that tells the story of her and her family journey, which is also the story of Palestine, from the Nakba to the present—a seventy-five-year tale of conflict, exodus, occupation, return and search for belonging, seen through the eyes of one writer and her family. Fida reveals how her father, Sabri, a PLO leader and advisor to Yasser Arafat, chose exile in 1970 because of his work. Her own childhood in Beirut was shaped by regional tensions, the Lebanese Civil War and the 1982 Israeli invasion, which led to her mother’s death. Thirteen years later, the family made an unexpected return to Fassouta, their village of origin in the Galilee. But Fida, twenty-two years old and full of love for her country, had no idea what she was getting into.
Stranger in My Own Land chronicles a desperate, at times surreal, search for a homeland between the Galilee, the West Bank and the diaspora, asking difficult questions about what the right of return would mean for the millions of Palestinians waiting to come ‘home’.
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What is cultural memory? How do settlers use it in East Jerusalem to dispossess Palestinians? In this episode I interview film maker and scholar Yair Agmon. Known for short movies like Once Upon a School (2023), Like a Beating Heart (2022) and Our Heroes (2016), Yair is now working on his PhD at UCLA 'Dwelling on The Past: Memory, Discard, and Dispossession at The City of David National Park,” which explores how settlers in East Jerusalem use memory to give purpose and meaning to a territorial project in Palestinian East Jerusalem'.
We discussed his work, the question of memory and how the City of David has become more than an archeological site.
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Today the guest of Jerusalem Unplugged is Asaf Elia/Shalev the author of Israel's Black Panthers that tells the story of the young and impoverished Moroccan Israeli Jews who challenged their country's political status quo and rebelled against the ethnic hierarchy of Israeli life in the 1970s. Inspired by the American group of the same name, the Black Panthers mounted protests and a yearslong political campaign for the rights of Mizrahim, or Jews of Middle Eastern ancestry. They managed to rattle the country's establishment and change the course of Israel's history through the mass mobilization of a Jewish underclass. Most of the leaders of the Black Panthers were located in Musrara, a previously Palestinian inhabited neighborhood of Jerusalem that in 1948, due its proximity with the Green Line became a sort of no man's land taken over by poor Mizrahi jews who had nowhere else to go.
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For the series dedicated to current events, today we have the privilege of speaking with John Lynden, executive director of ALLMEP - the Alliance for Middle East Peace. ALLMEP is an impressive coalition, bringing together over 160 organizations and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis. Their mission is to build cooperation, justice, equality, a shared society, mutual understanding, and ultimately lasting peace between their communities.
In times of crisis, ALLMEP works to add stability. They foster cooperation initiatives that increase impact on the ground. And they cultivate an environment more conducive to peace over the long term through their tireless efforts.
In our conversation today, John will share insights into ALLMEP's vital work, as well as his perspectives on the fragile peace camp in Israel and Palestine following the events of October 7th. We'll discuss the challenges they face, the grounds for hope, and how people of good faith can support peace building.
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Welcome to the first episode exploring the current war on Gaza. In today's episode with Gilad Halpern we'll be taking an in-depth look at the current situation within Israel itself - examining the state of Israeli society and the complex political dynamics at play.
Israel remains a deeply divided nation, with sharp social and ideological rifts running through its population. From the secular vs. religious divide, to the longstanding left-right political schisms, Israeli society is characterized by a plurality of viewpoints and identities.
On the political front, Israel's government is currently led by one of the most right-wing coalitions in the country's history, igniting concerns over the trajectory of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, minority rights, and the preservation of democratic norms. We'll analyze the key players, policy positions, and controversies surrounding the current administration.
As we navigate this complex landscape, it's important to remember that this is just one part of a larger, multi-faceted issue. In upcoming episodes, we'll turn our focus to Palestinian society from the voices and perspectives of those living under Israeli occupation. We'll also examine the stances and roles of the so-called "international community" of nations in relation to this conflict.
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Welcome back for part two of our comprehensive exploration of Zionism on Jerusalem Unplugged. In our previous episode, Arie Dubnov provided invaluable insights tracing the diverse ideological currents and forces that shaped the Zionist movement from its origins through the tumultuous events surrounding Israeli statehood in 1948.
Today, we continue this illuminating discussion as Professor Dubnov analyzes the roles played by the pre-state paramilitary organizations like the Haganah, Irgun, and Lehi. Their histories and divergent ideological leanings foreshadowed the fissures that emerged within the Zionist movement after 1948.
From there, Professor Dubnov will guide us through the critical periods of the late 1940s following independence and the transformative 1967 Six-Day War. His nuanced perspectives shed light on how Zionist thought and praxis continuously evolved in response to changing regional realities.
Finally, we'll bring the conversation into the present as Professor Dubnov examines the multifaceted manifestations and ongoing debates surrounding Zionism's place in contemporary Israeli society and the world at large.
Drawing from his extensive scholarship, including his current work on the interwar ties between Zionist and British imperial thinkers, this second part promises to be a masterclass on the rich histories and reverberations of one of modern history's most influential nationalist ideologies.
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In this first installment of a special two-part series, Jerusalem Unplugged takes a deep dive into the origins and development of Zionism leading up to the establishment of Israel in 1948. I am joined by Professor Arie Dubnov, an expert on the histories of this influential nationalist ideology.
Over the course of this thorough yet riveting episode, Professor Dubnov provides profound insights into the complex ideological currents, key figures, and pivotal moments that shaped the Zionist movement from its early beginnings through the tumultuous events surrounding Israeli statehood and Nakba. His analysis sheds light on the layered histories that gave rise to one of the most impactful nationalist movements of the modern era.
This first part lays the essential groundwork for understanding Zionist thought and praxis. But the journey is far from over. In the forthcoming second episode, Professor Dubnov will pick up the thread in 1948, tracing how Zionism evolved and manifested in different forms over subsequent decades up to the present.
Preparing listeners for a thought-provoking exploration, this two-part series promises to provide an illuminating episode on the multifaceted ideas, events, and ongoing impact of Zionisms. Stay tuned for part two of this comprehensive analysis.
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For this episode I had the pleasure to interview Loren Lybarger, a long time resident of Palestine who devoted a few years studying the Palestinian community of Chicago which is home to one of the largest, most politically active Palestinian immigrant communities in the United States. For decades, secular nationalism held sway as the dominant political ideology, but since the 1990s its structures have weakened and Islamic institutions have gained strength. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and interview data, Palestinian Chicago charts the origins of these changes and the multiple effects they have had on identity across religious, political, class, gender, and generational lines. The perspectives that emerge through this rich ethnography challenge prevailing understandings of secularity and religion, offering critical insight into current debates about immigration and national belonging.
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In this second episode dedicated to the Balfour Declaration I have republished the presentations made by Professor Avi Shlaim and Salim Tamari
at: 'The British Legacy in Palestine: Balfour and Beyond' conference held at the Palestinian National Theatre on 2 November 2017.
This was a joint event from the Kenyon Institute and the Educational Bookshop, and supported by the British Council Palestine.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vx4-l_4iZF0&t=4s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoH_0LKSxHw&t=4452s
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Cherished and hated by many, the Balfour Declaration is certainly considered one of the most controversial documents in recent history. In this first episode of a series dedicated to this document, I will discuss the origins of the Declaration and offer several explanations in the attempt to understand why the British promised a Jewish National Home for the Jewish people in Palestine, when in fact the British were just crossing the Suez Canal in their efforts to defeat the Ottoman Empire.
Bibliography suggested:
Lorenzo Kamel, Imperial Perceptions of Palestine (IB Tauris, 2020)
Gabriel Polley, Palestine in the Victorian Age (IB Tauris, 2022)
Lawrence Davidson, 'The past as prelude: Zionism and the Betrayal of American Democratic Principles, 1917-1948' (2002)
Jehuda Reinharz, 'Zionism in the USA on the eve of the Balfour Declaration' (1988)
James Renton, The Zionist Masquerade (Palgrave, 2004)
James Renton, 'Flawed Foundations: the Balfour Declaration and the Palestine Mandate' (2016)
Jonathan Schneer, The Balfour Declaration: the Origins of the Arab-Israeli Conflict (2010)
Avi Shlaim, 'The Balfour Declaration and its Consequences' (2005)
Leonard Stein, The Balfour Declaration (1961)
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Country of Words: A Transnational Atlas for Palestinian Literature is a digital-born project that retraces and remaps the global story of Palestinian literature in the twentieth century, starting from the Arab world and going through Europe, North America, and Latin America. Sitting at the intersection of literary history, periodical studies, and digital humanities, Country of Words creates a digitally networked and multilocational literary history—a literary atlas enhanced. The virtual realm acts as the meeting place for the data and narrative fragments of this literature-in-motion, bringing together porous, interrupted, disconnected, and discontinuous fragments into an elastic, interconnected, and entangled literary history.
Country of Words taps into the power of Palestinian literature to defy conventional linear, chronological, and artificial national frames of representation. Despite the fact that an unprecedented number of the world's population live as refugees, exiles, or stateless people, the logic of the nation-state continues to loom large over literary studies. Delving into the decentralized and deterritorialized history of Palestinian literature, the story of an entire nation-in-exile living through repetitive cycles of occupation and in multiple diasporas can facilitate an understanding of extranational forms of literary production. Ultimately, Country of Words seeks to offer new perspectives and approaches that simultaneously include and transcend national literary frames.
https://countryofwords.org/
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(Episodio in Italiano)
In questa puntata di Jerusalem Unplugged ho il piacere di pubblicare il mio intervento insieme a quello di Maria Chiara Rioli e Arturo Marzano come relatori del seminario Palestina - Israele Dal sionismo delle origini al 1948: eventi, documenti, interpretazioni che ha avuto luogo all'universita' di Bologna Dipartimento di Storia, il 22 Gennaio 2024 organizzato da Caterina Bori con la collaborazione di Francesca Biancani e Cigdem Oguz.
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American Jews began debating Palestinian rights issues even before Israel’s founding in 1948. Geoffrey Levin recovers the voices of American Jews who, in the early decades of Israel’s existence, called for an honest reckoning with the moral and political plight of Palestinians. These now‑forgotten voices, which include an aid‑worker‑turned‑academic with Palestinian Sephardic roots, a former Yiddish journalist, anti‑Zionist Reform rabbis, and young left‑wing Zionist activists, felt drawn to support Palestinian rights by their understanding of Jewish history, identity, and ethics. They sometimes worked with mainstream American Jewish leaders who feared that ignoring Palestinian rights could foster antisemitism, leading them to press Israeli officials for reform. But Israeli diplomats viewed any American Jewish interest in Palestinian affairs with deep suspicion, provoking a series of quiet confrontations that ultimately kept Palestinian rights off the American Jewish agenda up to the present era.
In reconstructing this hidden history, Levin lays the groundwork for more forthright debates over Palestinian rights issues, American Jewish identity, and the U.S.‑Israel relationship more broadly. We also discussed American Jews in the post October 7 world and the question of anti-Semitism on American campuses.
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This is an edited recast of the podcast I recorded with Oliver Webb-Carter, founder of Aspects of History home - Aspects of History.
After the horrific attacks of 7th October our editor discussed the long running Israel Palestine conflict with historian and author Roberto Mazza. Covering the growing Zionist movement in the early 20th century, to the Balfour Declaration through to the British Mandate for Palestine, the 1948 war and the Six Day War in 1967 Roberto discusses how we got to where we are today and whether there is any prospect for peace.
This is the link of the original podcast:
Aspects of History - Israel Palestine with Roberto Mazza | RSS.com
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In the Old City of Jerusalem, 80 kilometres from the war in Gaza, another religious conflict is taking place. An Australian property developer, aided by a group of armed Jewish settlers, has attempted to occupy a prized piece of land in the Armenian Christian quarter. Even though a deal to build a hotel was overturned, Armenian families are threatened with eviction from homes their community has held for centuries. Bedross tells us everything we need to know about the Armenians in Jerusalem and their struggle against armed settlers.
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What is settler colonialism? How does this concept relate to Israel and Palestine? What about other countries? These are all great questions which I discussed in this episode with Arnon Degani. Arnon is currently a Fellow at Molad – Center for the Renewal of Israeli Democracy, specializing in the history of Zionism, Palestinian nationalism, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He recently released the Hebrew podcast series "Hesket Oslo," examining the Oslo Accords, and is currently working on the English adaptation, "Still Processing." His doctoral research focused on the integration of Palestinian Arabs into Israeli society from 1948 to 1967, as revealed through daily encounters with Israeli officials, and his upcoming manuscript titled "Our Arabs" explores this topic in depth. He is contributor to the scholarly and intellectual debate on if and how the settler-colonialism comparative framework benefits the study of Israel and Palestine. We hope you will enjoy this conversation.
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