Occupied Thoughts
Occupied Thoughts by FMEP
From the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP), Occupied Thoughts amplifies the voices of FMEP grantees and partners, offers critical framing, and promote new ideas and new angles on the many issues connected to achieving justice, security, and peace for Palestinians and Israelis.
FMEP works to defend and support Palestinian rights, end Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, and ensure a just and secure future for Palestinians and Israelis. FMEP advances this goal through its grants program, public programming, and research. www.fmep.org
FMEP works to defend and support Palestinian rights, end Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, and ensure a just and secure future for Palestinians and Israelis. FMEP advances this goal through its grants program, public programming, and research. www.fmep.org
Episodes
Mentioned books
Nov 25, 2025 • 1h 1min
Queerness and Liberation: A Discussion about 'Fire in Every Direction' with Tareq Baconi
FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor is joined by Palestinian analyst Tareq Baconi to discuss his newly published book, "Fire in Every Direction."
For bios and resources, please visit: https://fmep.org/resource/queerness-and-li…ith-tareq-baconi/
Nov 18, 2025 • 57min
Jewish Institutions and Anti-Zionism
In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Arielle Angel and Alissa Wise about Jewish navel-gazing, Jewish institutions, and growing the anti-Zionist movement.
For bios and resources, please visit: https://fmep.org/resource/jewish_institutions_anti_zionism/
Nov 12, 2025 • 54min
“Without memory, there can be no justice" - Archiving the Gaza Genocide
In this episode of FMEP's Occupied Thoughts podcast, FMEP President Lara Friedman speaks with Zo Brown (an alias), the founder of Databases for Palestine about the project, and about why actively working to preserve evidence and memory of Israel's genocide of Gaza -- and actively working to fight the erasure of both -- is central to the achievement of accountability and justice. You can follow the work of Databases for Palestine on X (https://x.com/databases4pal) and at https://databasesforpalestine.org/, and you can support it via Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/databases4pal).
Nov 11, 2025 • 1h 6min
Jordan, the Gulf, and American Policy in Palestine
FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Annelle Sheline of the Quincy Institute about Jordan, the Gulf and US policy on Palestine. They also discuss the Biden administration's complicity in genocide, who is profiting from the mass killing, and what careerism means for those who have chosen to continue to serve in the State Dept.
Resources and bios at: https://fmep.org/resource/jordan-the-gulf-and-american-policy-in-palestine/
Nov 4, 2025 • 1h 3min
The Palestine Laboratory, A Conversation with Antony Loewenstein
FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with author and journalist Antony Loewenstein about his upbringing in Australia, his film "Germany's Israel Obsession", and the seminal book he published in 2023, "The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World", and the possibility of a one-state outcome after a genocide.
Oct 29, 2025 • 58min
The International Solidarity Movement and the Freedom Flotillas
In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with civil rights attorney and activist Huweida Arraf about Huweida's work to co-found the International Solidarity Movement as well as the different flotilla efforts, including the 2008 Freedom Flotilla, which arrived in Gaza; the 2010 Mavi Marmara, which was stormed by Israeli troops, who killed and injured participants; and the latest attempts to enter Gaza by sea to break the blockade.
Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.
Oct 24, 2025 • 54min
Media, BDS, and Lessons from 25 Years of Solidarity Work
In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Mondoweiss editor Adam Horowitz about the role that Mondoweiss, an independent news organization, has played in the struggle for Palestinian rights over the past 25 years. They also discuss the moral case for the cultural boycott of Israel and what constitutes justice after genocide.
Adam Horowitz is the Executive Editor of Mondoweiss, where he has worked since 2008. He is the former Director of the Israel/Palestine Program for the American Friends Service Committee and holds a master’s degree in Near Eastern Studies from New York University.
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.
Oct 21, 2025 • 39min
Attacks on the First Amendment Continue
In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Jenin Younes, National Legal Director at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC). They focus on Freedom of Speech in the United States, looking at the Covid pandemic and speech restrictions at that time and the acceleration of the assault on speech by Israel advocates. They discuss the contours of a principled speech position in the United States today.
Jenin Younes is National Legal Director at the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC). She is a civil liberties attorney with a focus on free speech. In September 2025, the Washington Post published this profile of Jenin: "This free-speech defender makes enemies left and right."
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.
Oct 17, 2025 • 54min
The Starvation Regime and Plausible Deniability for War Crimes
In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with human rights attorney Sari Bashi and policy expert Bushra Khalidi about the current state of humanitarian aid in Gaza, the bureaucracy of restrictions -- including the stated purpose of restricting aid -- and whether international law continues to carry meaning after two years of genocide. Recorded on October 14, 2025.
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.
Sari Bashi is a human rights lawyer, writer, analyst, senior leader and public speaker with 20 years of experience advocating for human rights, litigating international humanitarian duties, leading multidisciplinary teams in complex and dynamic situations, creating systems to enhance organizational effectiveness, forging strategic partnerships based on shared values, fundraising and managing risk. She is the co-founder and former executive director of Gisha-Legal Center for Freedom of Movement (www.gisha.org), the Israeli human rights organization promoting the right to freedom of movement for Palestinians, especially residents of the Gaza Strip. She served as Program Director for Human Rights Watch and as a member of its Executive Committee, leading the organization’s global research and supervising a staff of 270 people in 80 countries working on 16 regional and thematic human rights issues. She is an award-winning author of Maqluba: Upside-Down Love, a memoir-love story published in Hebrew, Italian and Dutch (forthcoming). She has also served as the Israel/Palestine country director at Human Rights Watch and research director at Democracy for the Arab World Now. She is currently working as an independent consultant and human rights lawyer, writing expert legal opinions, conducting mapping, research and analysis for international organizations, lecturing publicly and writing short and long form narrative pieces.
Bushra Khalidi is the Policy Lead for the Occupied Territories at Oxfam, where she leads advocacy, campaigns, and humanitarian policy to address pressing global challenges. At Oxfam, Bushra prioritizes collaborative efforts to influence policy reforms and drive impactful campaigns that support vulnerable communities worldwide. Her work reflects a deep commitment to advancing equitable policies and fostering sustainable development.
Original music by Jalal Yacquoub.
Oct 13, 2025 • 54min
Accountability After Genocide and the Emerging Left-Right Consensus on Israel in America
In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Matt Duss, Executive Vice-President at the Center for International Policy and former foreign policy advisor to Senator Bernie Sanders. They discuss the Israeli genocide in Gaza and the new ceasefire; changes in public assessments of Israel's standing in the U.S. and political relationships with Israel, including changing relationships with Israel among prominent Trump supporters as well as Bernie Sanders's late recognition of genocide; and what accountability looks like for the genocide, including for members of the Biden administration.
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.
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.


