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What happens when the story you grew up believing meets the people whose voices were missing from it?
Peter Beinart joins Preston to discuss how spending time with Palestinians challenged his understanding of Israel, Jewish identity, and the relationship between safety and freedom. They explore his experience of October 7, the history of Palestinian displacement, his comparison with apartheid South Africa, and why he believes the conflict is bigger than Hamas. Peter also reflects on the personal cost of challenging his community’s assumptions and why he argues that nationalism can become a form of idolatry.
Peter is Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the Newmark School of Journalism at the City University of New York, a contributing opinion writer at The New York Times, Editor-at-Large of Jewish Currents, an MS NOW political commentator, and a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He writes the Beinart Notebook newsletter on Substack. His latest book, Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning, is a New York Times bestseller and winner of the PEN/John Kenneth Galbraith Award for Nonfiction.
Chapters
- 00:00 Introduction
- 08:00 Peter’s experience of October 7
- 10:35 Rethinking Israel after meeting Palestinians
- 13:52 The history Peter grew up believing
- 18:44 Understanding 1948: Independence and the Nakba
- 23:43 Grieving October 7 and opposing Israel’s response
- 26:40 Why this conflict is bigger than Hamas
- 32:01 Lessons from apartheid South Africa
- 35:05 Why Peter calls Israel’s system apartheid
- 40:59 America’s role and support for Israel
- 45:19 The personal cost of speaking out
- 48:19 Judaism, Zionism, and nationalism as idolatry
- 52:47 Is there hope for equality and freedom?
- 56:29 Extra Innings: American evangelicals and Israel
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