Middle East Monitor Conversations

Israel's war on Gaza shows no sign of letting up with over 30,000 Palestinians dead and 70,000 wounded since 7 October 2023. With Israel seemingly preparing a full scale military operation in Rafah and reports the north of Gaza are heading for a famine, the humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged Strip is set to get worse. Hospitals and medics are key to Gaza's survival, but they are also targets for the Israeli military, with over 600 healthcare facilities, attacked according to the United Nations. Dr Amagad Elsherif went to Gaza with a team of doctors from Canada and the US, where he encountered a tired and overstretched medical system full of unpaid healthcare workers, children suffering from a variety of traumatic injuries and uncertainty over where Israel will attack next. He also saw a surprising sense of resilience, strength and ambition among Gaza's children to go on living. Dr Elsherif joins MEMO conversations to share his experiences. Elsherif is a thoracic surgeon in Canada who has returned to Gaza since this interview was carried out.

The Zionist movement and Israel's first Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, sought to revive the biblical Book of Joshua and use it to give the state a new identity. Here Israel was Joshua and the Palestinians were the Canaanites, but who is Joshua and can better understanding of his story help dismantle Israel's narrative and its treatment of Palestinians? In the late 1950s, gatherings would take place at Israeli Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion's house. Scholars, generals and ministers would debate and study the Book of Joshua, which is the sixth book of the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament and follows the story of Joshua who led the Israelite conquest of the Canaanites. Largely reviled by Jews down the ages, the Zionist movement and David Ben-Gurion sought to revive the biblical text and use it to give Israel a new identity. Israel was Joshua and the Palestinians the Canaanites in this reinvention of the narrative and each Israeli prime minister since Ben-Gurion has cast themselves as the new Joshua. The Zionist and Israeli reading of Joshua provided the moral framework for the occupation of Palestine and Tel Aviv's excessive militarisation. Who is Joshua, how did Israel reinvent the narrative and what possibilities does the biblical text have for dismantling both Israel's Joshua narrative and treatment of the Palestinians? Joining us to explore this is Rachel Havrelock.A Professor of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago, Rachel Havrelock also directs the Freshwater Lab, focused on water protection as a means of political reconciliation and climate change adaptation. Rachel’s latest book, 'The Joshua Generation: Israeli Occupation and the Bible', tells the story of how the Bible became militarised yet still holds lessons for de-escalation and cohabitation. While writing 'River Jordan: The Mythology of a Dividing Line' , Rachel became involved in environmental peacebuilding with the Israeli-Palestinian-Jordanian NGO Ecopeace Middle East. Rachel also researches and writes about oil pipelines and how to make the transition from fossil fuels.

As The Soil and the Sea premiers in London this month, Rugo discusses the harrowing stories from the Lebanese Civil War which he unearthed in his new film and the generational impact of these life changing events.  In this week’s MEMO in Conversation we speak to acclaimed filmmaker Daniele Rugo about his new documentary The Soil and the Sea, which premiers in London this month. The documentary brings to light harrowing stories from the Lebanese Civil War that have long been hidden away, buried along with victims in undiscovered mass graves across the country.Rugo's film grapples with the nation's collective trauma and concerns over the reopening of wartime wounds that still fester. But can Lebanon heal without truth and reconciliation? We ask Rugo about the importance of the film in helping Lebanon recover from the trauma of the civil war and get his thoughts on the lessons from the past in understanding the generational impact on Palestinians subjected to genocide in Gaza by Israel.  Rugo is an award-winning filmmaker and author. His previous film About a War explored social change through the stories of former militiamen from Lebanon’s civil war. He is Professor of Film at Brunel University London and has been a Senior Fellow at the London School of Economics (LSE).

Lebanon's history of civil unrest means its political landscape is based on sectarianism, which have repeatedly caused its governments to collapse and pushed the country to the brink of civil war. But how does its conservative Christian movement mould society? And how does it differ from other prominent traditional groups that have a firm grasp on the country's affairs?Lebanon is famed for having 18 different religions, a multitude of different political parties and a large cultural and media output. However, the Mediterranean country is also characterised by a political system based on sectarianism, governments that constantly fall, terrible economic woes and the it seems to be in a permanent state of crisis. Lebanon is not isolated from the rest of the world, unlike some other states in the world in crisis, rather it is globalised and reflects wordily trends. Christian political conservatism is a key feature of the Middle Eastern country's political landscape and is both a local dynamic and heavily influenced by conservative movements across the world. But what does Christian conservatism mean and how does it compare to non-Christian traditionalism seen in groups like Hezbollah? Joining us to answer this question is Chloe Kattar. Dr Chloe Kattar is an Early Career Leverhulme Fellow at the University of Oxford. Her project examines the links between Islamophobia and right-wing thought. Right-wing groups around the world have displayed strong anti-Islam sentiment in recent years, she seeks to rethink this connection as a global rather than a Western phenomena, by offering the first historical account of the ways in which Islamophobia became a tenet of global conservatism in past decades. A historian by formation, Dr. Kattar obtained her PhD from the University of Cambridge where she examined right-wing intellectual circles and production during the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1982). Excerpts of this work have been published in academic journals such as the Historical Journal and the Arab Studies Journal and she has spoken at multiple conferences in Beirut, Paris, Berlin, and Amsterdam. She was previously a lecturer in the History of the Middle East at Northumbria University. In her spare time, she writes analysis and personal opinions on Lebanon and the Middle East on her instagram page leb.historian.

 It has been 13 years since Egyptians took to the street and changed their political landscape, but who was behind the protests that ousted President Hosni Mubarak? And what happened to the movement that forced him out? 11 February marks the 13th anniversary of the ousting of long-term Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak. A popular uprising, known as the Arab Spring, began a few weeks earlier and the pressure of the street protests forced Mubarak to leave power. 2011 looked set to be the year Egypt entered a new democratic era, however, the 2013 coup against the country's first democratically elected President, Mohamed Morsi, soon shattered these hopes. The protests were lead by the Revolutionary Youth Council, but what was this movement and what happened to them? Joining us to answer this question is Rusha Latif. Rusha Latif is a researcher and writer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. A first-generation Egyptian American, she travelled to Cairo in 2011 to conduct ethnographic research on the uprising. Her interests include social movements and revolutions; the study of gender, class and race/ethnicity; Islamic studies; and Middle Eastern studies. She is the author of Tahrir's Youth: Leaders of a Leaderless Revolution.

UNRWA isn't only an aid agency, it is vital for advocating for the rights of Palestine refugees on a global stage, is that why Israel seeks to shut it down? Join this week's MEMO in Conversation as we discuss why UNRWA is being targeted. This week's special episode of MEMO in Conversation features an in-depth discussion with Dr Lex Takkenberg about the recent decision by Israel's western allies to suspend funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). This controversial move comes at a perilous time as a humanitarian catastrophe unfolds in Gaza due to Israel's military aggression.To analyse the context, consequences and complexities around this funding cut and discuss the history of UNRWA, we speak to Takkenberg who has extensive experience working in various roles within UNRWA. He helps unpack key issues related to the rights of Palestinian refugees under international law and why their plight remains unresolved more than 70 years after the formation of the UN agency set up to support them.We explore the allegations prompting the funding cuts as well as the devastating impact the measures will have on desperately needed aid programmes. The discussion provides insight into Israel's decades- long hostility towards UNRWA and why the agency serves a vital symbolic purpose for advocating for the rights of Palestine refugees on the global stage. This timely interview sheds light on an unfolding crisis threatening stability in an already volatile region.Dr Lex Tekkenberg is a Dutch national, who currently serves as senior adviser with Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) and is a non-resident professor at the Institute of International Humanitarian Affairs. Dr Takkenberg worked with UNRWA from 1989 until late 2019, most recently as the first Chief of its Ethics Office. Prior to that, he held a range of other positions with the UN body, including as General Counsel, Director of Operations, and (Deputy) Field Director in Gaza and Syria. Before joining UNRWA, he was the Legal Officer of the Dutch Refugee Council for six years.

Israel's sense of invincibility and security were shattered on 7 October 2023 and now its atrocities are playing out in full view of the world, but has it lost its international legitimacy?On 6 October 2023, Israeli leaders were feeling confident of their international standing. Normalisation with the UAE, Bahrain, Morocco, Sudan and talks in the air about impending normalisation with Saudi Arabia. The Palestinian issue seemed forgotten, the status quo allowed Tel Aviv to close Gaza off from the world, settlers to steal more land in the occupied West Bank and everyone seemed to have given up on the idea of a Palestinian state. On 7 October, Israel's sense of invincibility and security with the status quo came crashing down. But despite the political disaster of the Hamas attack, some within the Israeli government saw it as an opportunity to expel and ethnically cleanse Gaza of Palestinians, believing they would have immunity. However, the ongoing atrocities playing out in full view of the world, with growing anger in the West, outrage in the international community and a genocide case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) indicate that Israel has lost a lot of its international legitimacy. Additionally, with talks of a ceasefire and the failure of the Israeli occupation army to crush Hamas, Israel has been left unable to achieve any of its stated goals in Gaza. Join us as we speak to former Israeli negotiator Daniel Levy on what the current situation means for Israel and for Palestinians. Daniel Levy is the president of the US/Middle East Project (USMEP), which strives to advance a dignified Israeli-Palestinian peace; an end to occupation, discrimination and refugeehood in which international legality is upheld, respecting the rights of all people.From 2012 to 2016, Levy was director for the Middle East and North Africa at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Prior to that he was a senior fellow and director of the New America Foundation’s Middle East Taskforce in Washington D.C. Levy was a senior adviser in the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and to Justice Minister Yossi Beilin during the Government of Ehud Barak (1999-2001). He was a member of the official Israeli delegation to the Israel/Palestine peace talks at Taba under Barak and at Oslo B under Yitzhak Rabin (1994-95).  Levy was born and educated in the UK where he now resides and where he graduated with an MA and BA from King's College, Cambridge. He has testified before the UN Security Council three times during 2020-2022. 

The United Nations Refugee and Work Agency (UNRWA) plays a critical role in the lives of millions of Palestinians. Setup in 1949 to support the 750,000 Palestinians expelled by Israel in the 1948 Nakba, the agency performs a number of functions from providing emergency aid and medical care, to running schools across the occupied Palestinian territories and the neighbouring Arab countries which host Palestine refugees. The decision by a number of western states to pull funding to UNRWA, citing an ongoing investigation by the agency into whether 12 former employees were involved in the 7 October attack on Israel, came just hours after the International Court of Justice released it preliminary verdict in South Africa's case against Israel for war crimes and potential genocide committed in Gaza. Many feel the decision was political and aimed at punishing the Palestinians. To assess the impact of the withdrawal of funding and the possible motivations behind it, we are joined by former UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness. An award winning journalist, Gunness was UNRWA spokesman between 2007 and 2020 and a BBC correspondant for 25 years. He is founder and director of the Myanmar Accountability Project, a legal initiative which brings criminal prosecutions against war criminals in the Myanmar junta.

 How does the International Court of Justice (ICJ)'s ruling that Israel must prevent and punish the direct and public incitement to genocide and prevent a genocide taking place affect its manoeuvres in Gaza and will its main supporters and funders have to change tack?What does the International Court of Justice (ICJ)'s almost unanimous voted to call on Israel to ensure no acts of genocide are carried out against Palestinians in Gaza mean for Israel's supporters? Join us for MEMO in Conversation with legal expert from Law for Palestine, Kathryn Ravey, as we explore the anticipated ramifications on third-state responsibility, prevention and complicity. Ravey reveals details of the work of Lawyers for Palestine and the actions it will be taking following the ICJ judgment. We also look at the global fallout, probing whether the ICJ's credibility is at stake amid Gaza's symbolic significance in the global narrative between the Global North and the Global South.Dedicated to international human rights, Ravey focuses on corporate accountability and justice for marginalised communities. Her background centres on advancing human rights through evidence-based research, strategic communication and meaningful stakeholder engagement to work for a more equitable world. She completed a master's degree in Human Rights at London's UCL, focusing her dissertation on "Equity within Economic, Social and Cultural Rights: Unpacking the Standard of 'Maximum Available Resources'."

More and more young American Jews are disillussioned with Israel and believe in the protection of Palestinian lives in the occupied territories and have been at the forefront of protests calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. But what's made distance themselves from Tel Aviv?'Israel is at the core of Jewish identity worldwide and its existence provides security for Jews everywhere.' This often repeated narrative, which aside from ignoring the diversity of belief, opinion and politics of world Jewry, is one we hear wheeled out to supress and oppress Palestinians. Israel has constructed it's legitimacy on its Jewish identity and things like its war on Gaza are justified as being necessary for protecting the identity of the state and therefore Judaism. While the Zionist movement and Israel have a long history of being rejected by large swaths of the Jewish community, Westerners, particularly Americans, strongly associate the two together and thus hold the belief that to oppose Israel is to oppose Judaism and therefore it is anti-Semitic. During the Cold War, Jews in America were encouraged to see Israel as part of their identity and this was reinforced through institutions, charities, education, media and other avenues. While dissent existed, by the 2000s Israel enjoyed wide support among American Jewry. However, over the last decade a new generation of American Jews openly questioned the idea of Israel and opposed its treatment of Palestinians. The ongoing war on Gaza has seen opposition to Israel's actions rise up among Jews under the age of 40, leading many to wonder whether a generational chasm has opened up between older and younger American Jews and Israel? Helping us to understand this generational shift is Simone Zimmerman. Simone is the co-founder of IfNotNow, a grassroots organisation mobilising the American-Jewish community against the Israeli occupation of Gaza and calling for a ceasefire in the enclave. Simone was also featured in a film 'Israelism' in 2023, which is currently touring, and follows her and an American veteran of the Israeli military Eitan, as they turn against Israel’s occupation of Palestinians and question the support for Israel among US Jews.