Occupied Thoughts

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Laila Al-Arian, the executive producer for Fault Lines, an award-winning current affairs program on Al Jazeera English. They discuss what it's like to be a journalist in Gaza and how Western journalists have failed their Palestinian colleagues. They also talk about remembering the journalists Israel has killed. On August 25, 2025, the day Peter & Laila spoke, Israel killed at least five Palestinian journalists in Gaza, including an Al Jazeera cameraman. Israel has killed nearly 200 Palestinian journalists in Gaza since 10/7/23.   Laila Al-Arian is a Washington DC-based journalist, journalist, and executive producer for Fault Lines, an award-winning current affairs program on Al Jazeera English. She has produced documentaries on subjects ranging from the Trump administration’s Muslim ban to the impact of the heroin epidemic on children and an investigation into factory conditions in Bangladesh. For her work, she has been honored with a News and Documentary Emmy, Peabody Award, Robert F. Kennedy Award in journalism, National Headliner Award, and has been nominated for 15 News and Documentary Emmys. Prior to joining Fault Lines, Laila worked for Al Jazeera English for four years, covering everything from Guantanamo Bay’s youngest detainee to the re-settlement of Iraqi refugees in the U.S. She received a BA in English literature from Georgetown University and an M.S. from Columbia’s Graduate School of Journalism. Her work has appeared in The Nation, Salon, The Independent, and other publications, and she is co-author of the book Collateral Damage: America’s War Against Iraqi Civilians. Peter Beinart is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He is also a Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York, a Contributing opinion writer at the New York Times, an Editor-at-Large at Jewish Currents, and an MSNBC Political Commentator. His newest book (published 2025) is Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Hilary Rantisi speaks with researcher Randa Wahbe about the Israeli policy and practice of holding Palestinian corpses as part of the broader Israeli regime of control over Palestinians. At present, Israel holds more than 740 Palestinian bodies. Randa describes this practice of control, which can be defined as "necropolitics" and/or "necroviolence,"  and which includes desecration of burial sites and cemeteries. She also describes Palestinian practices of defiance and dignity that aim to counter the impact that this particular form of violence has on Palestinian families and communities. FMEP initiated this conversation after FMEP's partner and friend Awdah Hathaleen was murdered on 7/28/25 by an Israeli settler who invaded Awdah's village, Umm al Khair in Masafer Yatta, and Israel then held Awdah's body, refusing to return it to his family for burial. Women in Umm al Khair, including Awdah's mother, widow, and extended family, launched a hunger strike to demand that Israel return his body for burial without conditions. 10 days after the murder, Israel returned Awdah's body and allowed his family to bury him. Read more about Awdah Hathaleen and the events surrounding his murder, Israel withholding his body, and his village's response here: "Awdah Hathaleen laid to rest after Israel withheld body for 10 days" (Oren Ziv, +972 Magazine, 8/7/25) and "Israel is holding Awdah Hathaleen’s body. His killer roams freely through his village" (Sahar Vardi and Basel Adra, +972 Magazine, 8/5/25)  Also see this 2021 conversation FMEP hosted, "Palestinian Bodies Held Hostage by Israel," with human rights advocate & researcher Budour Hassan and Professor Noura Erakat about Israel’s policy of holding hostage the bodies of slain Palestinians. This conversation drew on Israeli authorities holding the body of Ahmad Erekat, Noura's cousin.  Randa May Wahbe earned her PhD in anthropology from Harvard University. Her dissertation is titled “The Politics of Karameh: Palestinian Dignity and Defiance Against the Necrocarceral State” in which she investigates Israel’s exploitation of the Palestinian dead. Randa currently works in movement advocacy to support progressive groups elevate their voices in the media and is an Adjunct Professor at University of San Francisco. Previously, she served as head of international advocacy for a leading human rights organization in Palestine that defends political prisoners rights, where she led global campaigns during hunger strikes and moments of escalating violence. Hilary Rantisi grew up in Palestine and has been involved with education and advocacy on the Middle East since her move to the US. She is a 2025 Fellow at FMEP and was most recently the Associate Director of the Religion, Conflict and Peace Initiative (RCPI) and co-instructor of Learning in Context: Narratives of Displacement and Belonging in Israel/Palestine at Harvard Divinity School. She has over two decades of experience in institution building at Harvard, having been the Director of the Middle East Initiative (MEI) at Harvard Kennedy School of Government prior to her current role. She has a BA in Political Science/International Studies from Aurora University and a master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago. Before moving to the US, Hilary worked at Birzeit University and at the Jerusalem-based Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center. There, she co-edited a photo essay book Our Story: The Palestinians with the Rev. Naim Ateek. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, former FMEP President Matt Duss speaks with professor & author Brian Barber, who recently published No Way But Forward: Life Stories of Three Families in the Gaza Strip. The book tells the stories of day-t0-day life under decades of military occupation, building on the close relationships Brian built there through many years of academic research. Brian maintains close contact with the families and finishes the book with a section on each family's harrowing efforts to survive the current genocide in Gaza. Brian and Matt discuss the book -- how Brian came to write it, the contents of it, and the challenge of publishing it -- as well as Brian's experience of encountering Palestinian communities, overcoming unconscious biases, and withstanding direct challenges to the legitimacy of Palestinian voices in order to fulfill a promise and share Palestinian stories.  Brian K. Barber is Professor Emeritus, University of Tennessee and the author of No Way But Forward: Life Stories of Three Families in the Gaza Strip. He currently lives in Washington, DC. His work has addressed how context—from parenting to political systems—impact individual and social development. Among other books, he is editor of Intrusive Parenting: How Psychological Control Affects Children and Adolescents (2002, American Psychological Association), and Adolescents and War: How Youth Deal with Political Conflict (2008, Oxford University Press). Matthew Duss is Executive Vice-President at the Center for International Policy. Before joining CIP, Duss was a visiting scholar in the American Statecraft Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. From 2017-22, Duss was foreign policy advisor to Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt). From 2014-17, Duss was the president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace. From 2008-14 Duss was a National Security and International Policy analyst at the Center for American Progress. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Hilary Rantisi speaks with Palestinian-Canadian lawyer and analyst Diana Buttu. They discuss Palestinian citizens of Israel, who have long navigated Israeli racism and have faced accelerated repression over the last 22 months that has included arrests, threats, and efforts to impeach Palestinian Knesset Member Ayman Odeh and undermine Palestinian political participation inside of Israel. They talk about responses to the Israeli genocide in Gaza, including recent protests and hunger strikes led by Palestinian citizens of Israel as well as growing numbers of Jewish Israelis who are naming Israeli actions in Gaza as genocide. They also look at the new diplomatic wave led by many Western states promising to recognize a Palestinian state and, specifically, how that state recognition is juxtaposed against the International Court of Justice's rulings on Israeli occupation. Finally, Diana reflects on the legacy of the Oslo Accords and the reckoning on those agreements that has never occurred.  Diana Buttu is a Palestinian-Canadian lawyer, analyst, and writer. She is also the Communications Director in Palestine for the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU). Previously, she served as a legal advisor to the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Hilary Rantisi grew up in Palestine and has been involved with education and advocacy on the Middle East since her move to the US. She is a 2025 Fellow at FMEP and was most recently the Associate Director of the Religion, Conflict and Peace Initiative (RCPI) and co-instructor of Learning in Context: Narratives of Displacement and Belonging in Israel/Palestine at Harvard Divinity School. She has over two decades of experience in institution building at Harvard, having been the Director of the Middle East Initiative (MEI) at Harvard Kennedy School of Government prior to her current role. She has a BA in Political Science/International Studies from Aurora University and a master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago. Before moving to the US, Hilary worked at Birzeit University and at the Jerusalem-based Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center. There, she co-edited a photo essay book Our Story: The Palestinians with the Rev. Naim Ateek. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Aseel Aburass, Director of the Occupied Palestinian Territory Department at Physicians for Human Rights Israel and one of the authors of PHRI’s newest report: “Destruction of Conditions of Life: A Health Analysis of the Gaza Genocide.” Peter and Aseel discuss PHRI's Israel's genocide in Gaza, focusing on Israel's destruction of Gaza's healthcare system and Israel's "deliberate destruction of conditions under which life cannot continue." They discuss the emergency need to flood Gaza with aid disbursed by the professional aid organizations with the expertise to properly distribute it, the need to hold the perpetrators of this genocide accountable, and the Israeli medical sector's complicity with the destruction of Palestinian healthcare.  Aseel Aburass is a humanitarian professional with non-profit experience, specializing in human rights and health in conflict settings. She currently serves as Director of the Occupied Palestinian Territory Department at Physicians for Human Rights Israel, where she leads legal and humanitarian interventions, documents violations, and advocates for systemic change and accountability. Peter Beinart is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He is also a Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York, a Contributing opinion writer at the New York Times, an Editor-at-Large at Jewish Currents, and an MSNBC Political Commentator. His newest book (published 2025) is Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Hilary Rantisi speaks with Rania Elias, former director of  the Yabous Cultural Centre and the Jerusalem Festival. They speak about Palestinian culture in Jerusalem, both the powerful potential for activities like dance and music to revive Palestinian society as well as the challenges of maintaining culture under occupation. They discuss Israeli efforts to repress Palestinian culture, including through arrests, detention, and other forms of control, including against children. They look at the experience of child incarceration and the impact of repression on personal and collective levels.  Rania Elias is a Palestinian cultural advocate who has dedicated her career to promoting the arts, cultural development, and artistic events. For over two decades, she led the Yabous Cultural Centre and the Jerusalem Festival, transforming Yabous from an abandoned cinema into the largest cultural hub in Jerusalem. Elias has managed and coordinated numerous cultural events, festivals, and art exhibitions, while advocating for gender equality and women's rights. She has contributed to various cultural organizations and is deeply involved in defending the social and political rights of Palestinian women. In addition to her leadership roles, she has been recognized internationally for her contributions to cultural preservation and activism, earning prestigious honors such as a nomination for the Chevalier de L'Ordre de la Légion d'Honneur of France in 2021. Hilary Rantisi grew up in Palestine and has been involved with education and advocacy on the Middle East since her move to the US. She is a 2025 Fellow at FMEP and was most recently the Associate Director of the Religion, Conflict and Peace Initiative (RCPI) and co-instructor of Learning in Context: Narratives of Displacement and Belonging in Israel/Palestine at Harvard Divinity School. She has over two decades of experience in institution building at Harvard, having been the Director of the Middle East Initiative (MEI) at Harvard Kennedy School of Government prior to her current role. She has a BA in Political Science/International Studies from Aurora University and a master’s degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Chicago. Before moving to the US, Hilary worked at Birzeit University and at the Jerusalem-based Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center. There, she co-edited a photo essay book Our Story: The Palestinians with the Rev. Naim Ateek.  Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Yuli Novak, executive director of the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem, about how and why B'Tselem has concluded that Israel is now and has been committing genocide in Gaza for nearly two years. Yuli describes Israeli leaders' statements of intent, Israeli military officers' orders and actions, and the catastrophic results on the Palestinian people in Gaza. Yuli and Peter discuss the urgency for international intervention to stop Israel's brutal actions in Gaza, how Israeli Jewish society justifies the genocide, and the dangers that Palestinians face without protection from the Israeli regime, including the danger that Israel may apply its genocidal policy to other areas under its control, including the West Bank. Read B'Tselem's new report, "Our Genocide," on their website: https://www.btselem.org/publications/202507_our_genocide From the report: “For nearly two years, Israel has been committing genocide in Gaza, acting in a systematic, deliberate way to destroy Palestinian society there through mass killing, causing serious bodily and mental harm and creating catastrophic conditions that prevent its continued existence in Gaza. Israel is openly promoting ethnic cleansing and the destruction of life-sustaining infrastructure for individuals and the group, with 2 million people starved, displaced, bombed and left by the world to die. The genocide must be stopped.” Yuli Novak is the Executive Director of B'Tselem. From 2012-2017, she was Executive Director of Breaking the Silence. In 2022, she published (in Hebrew) the memoir Who Do You Think You Are?, which will be published in English in 2025.  Peter Beinart is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He is also a Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York, a Contributing opinion writer at the New York Times, an Editor-at-Large at Jewish Currents, and an MSNBC Political Commentator. His newest book (published 2025) is Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with UC Berkeley History Professor Ussama Makdisi, who was personally named and targeted by Members of Congress in the recent House of Representatives hearing ostensibly on antisemitism in higher education. Beinart and Makdisi discuss the "surreal" experience of being denounced in Congress as well as the truth and power of the widespread mobilization of people from a wide range of backgrounds, faiths, and generations calling for justice and an end to the genocide in Gaza. They also discuss the long and relatively under-researched history of interconnections among Muslims, Christians, and Jewish communities in the Middle East, the importance of reading history, and the shocking brutality of the genocide in Gaza. As they close their conversation, Makdisi asserts that the urgent and essential task is to make sense of the world in terms that "humanize rather than dehumanize, historicize rather than dehistoricize, advocate for justice and equality rather than ethno-religious supremacy of any sort."  Dr. Ussama Makdisi is Professor of History and Chancellor’s Chair at the University of California Berkeley. He was previously Professor of History and the first holder of the Arab-American Educational Foundation Chair of Arab Studies at Rice University in Houston.  During AY 2019-2020, Professor Makdisi was a Visiting Professor at the University of California at Berkeley in the Department of History. Makdisi was awarded the Berlin Prize and spent the Spring 2018 semester as a Fellow at the American Academy of Berlin. Professor Makdisi’s most recent book Age of Coexistence: The Ecumenical Frame and the Making of the Modern Arab World was published in 2019 by the University of California Press. He is also the author of Faith Misplaced: the Broken Promise of U.S.-Arab Relations, 1820-2001 (Public Affairs, 2010).  His previous books include Artillery of Heaven: American Missionaries and the Failed Conversion of the Middle East (Cornell University Press, 2008), which was the winner of the 2008 Albert Hourani Book Award from the Middle East Studies Association, the 2009 John Hope Franklin Prize of the American Studies Association, and a co-winner of the 2009 British-Kuwait Friendship Society Book Prize given by the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies. Makdisi is also the author of The Culture of Sectarianism: Community, History, and Violence in Nineteenth-Century Ottoman Lebanon (University of California Press, 2000) and co-editor of Memory and Violence in the Middle East and North Africa (Indiana University Press, 2006). He has published widely on Ottoman and Arab history as well as on U.S.-Arab relations and U.S. missionary work in the Middle East.   Peter Beinart is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He is also a Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York, a Contributing opinion writer at the New York Times, an Editor-at-Large at Jewish Currents, and an MSNBC Political Commentator. His newest book (published 2025) is Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Executive Director Stefanie Fox about the evolution of JVP as a Jewish anti-Zionist organization in the US, strategies for growing the movement, and navigating uncomfortable coalition partners, including on the political far-right. They also discuss how JVP thinks thinks about accountability to Palestinian partners, how it approaches electoral work and the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement (BDS), and how to counter the ubiquitous claim that US bases its support for Israel on a commitment to protecting Jewish people rather than on U.S. geopolitical and corporate interests.  Stefanie Fox, MPH (she/her) is the Executive Director of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), a U.S. based, grassroots membership organization mobilizing Jewish communities into the movement for Palestinian rights and freedom and towards a vision of Judaism beyond Zionism. Prior to her 16 years at JVP JVP, Stefanie spent a decade doing racial and economic justice work as a grassroots community organizer, public health practitioner, and policy researcher and analyst. She has written extensively for print media with publications in outlets like Time, Boston Review, The Nation, and has appeared on MSNBC, Al Jazeera English, CNN, and more. Ahmed Moor is a Palestinian-American writer born in Gaza and a 2025 Fellow at FMEP. He is an advisory board member of the US Campaign for Palestinian rights, co-editor of After Zionism (Saqi Books) and is currently writing a book about Palestine. He also currently serves on the board of the Independence Media Foundation. His work has been published in The Guardian, The London Review of Books, The Nation, and elsewhere. He earned a BA at the University of Pennsylvania and an MPP at Harvard University. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Palestinian political analyst Iyad El-Baghdadi about Israel's regional military campaigns, the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and how it's current aggressive posture reflects the attitudes of Israel's founders. Looking forward, the two discuss how the bigger picture provides a framework to suggest what might come next. Iyad El-Baghdadi is a Palestinian political analyst and director of the research center of Kawaakibi Foundation. Peter Beinart is an author, Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace, and a Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York For more information and resources, see: https://fmep.org/resource/iyad-el-baghdadi-on-late-stage-zionism-what-might-it-suggest-for-israels-future/ Original music by Jalal Yaquoub