Occupied Thoughts

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP’s Sarah Anne Minkin speaks with Ali Awad, writer & activist from Tuba in Masafer Yatta, and Cassandra Dixon, a carpenter from Wisconsin. On March 7th, Cassandra was present on Ali’s grandfather’s land in Tuba when Israeli settlers attacked. One of them hit Cassandra with a stick and fractured her skull, giving her a concussion. In this podcast, Ali and Cassandra discuss the attack and its aftermath, including appeals to the Israeli authorities to hold the perpetrators accountable, and put this attack into the context of an overall escalation of state-backed settler violence in Masafer Yatta. For more: https://fmep.org/resource/25844/ Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Non-resident Fellow Peter Beinart speaks to Maya Berry (Arab American Institute) and Jim Cavallaro (University Network for Human Rights) about the Biden Administration's recent decision to rescind Cavallaro's nomination to the serve as an independent expert on the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Their discussion explores the Biden Administration's pitiful profile on Palestinian human rights, and an optimistic take on where the Democratic Party might be headed. For resources and more information, please visit: https://fmep.org/resource/the-cost-of-a-palestine-caveat-biden-admin-chooses-politics-over-human-rights-expertise/

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP's Sarah Anne Minkin speaks with Haggai Matar about the growing Israeli protest movement against the Netanyahu government's plans to remake the Israeli government, and how to understand it in light of Israeli apartheid and the escalating violence against Palestinians. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

In this episode of "Occupied Thoughts," FMEP's Kristin McCarthy speaks to Rafat Sub Laban (human rights lawyer) and Amy Cohen (Ir Amim) about the Sub Laban family's 40-year legal battle against settlers (and the State) over their home in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. Facing a March 15th eviction deadline, the Sub Laban family needs international attention and intervention. This family's story is not unique, and the broader, systemic processes behind the forcible dispossession of Palestinians in Jerusalem is also discussed. For resources mentioned in this webinar, please visit: https://fmep.org/resource/we-are-determined-to-stay-one-palestinian-familys-story-of-dispossession-in-jerusalem/

In this fourth webinar episode in FMEP and Al Shabaka’s four-part series, Learning and Unlearning Palestine, Saleh Hijazi (BDS Movement), Nadya Tannous (Palestinian Youth Movement) and Tariq Kenney-Shawa (Al Shabaka) explore what allyship and solidarity with the Palestinian liberation struggle has looked like, and what it can and should look like moving forward.  Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

FMEP non-resident fellow Maha Nassar speaks with Berkeley Law Students for Justice in Palestine members Malak Afaneh and Risa Nagel about the pro-BDS bylaw that nine Berkeley Law student clubs passed last fall, the national uproar that followed, and where things stand now. For more, see: https://fmep.org/resource/backlash-and-perseverance-the-uc-berkeley-lsjp-bylaw-and-its-aftermath/ Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

In this episode of "Occupied Thoughts," FMEP's Sarah Anne Minkin talks to Yara Asi, who is one of two 2023-2024 Non-Resident Fellows joining FMEP. Dr. Asi discusses her background, explains why and how the public health lens is so uniquely important to understanding Palestinians’ lives and experiences of oppression, and analyzes this moment in time and history for Palestinians. For more information on Yara, and resources mentioned in this podcast, please visit: www.fmep.org/resource/introducing-yara-asi-2023-fmep-non-resident-fellow

In this episode of "Occupied Thoughts," FMEP's Sarah Anne Minkin talks to Rabea Eghbariah, human rights attorney, doctoral student at Harvard Law School, and one of FMEP's 2023-2024 Palestinian Non-Resident Fellows. Listen to Mr. Eghbaria discuss his background, his work as a human rights attorney and a scholar, and his analysis of this moment in time and history for Palestinians. For more information on Rabea, and resources mentioned in this podcast, please visit: www.fmep.org/resource/introducing-rabea-eghbariah-a-2023-fmep-fellow Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

In the third episode in FMEP and Al Shabaka’s four-part series, Learning and Unlearning Palestine, this webinar - featuring Dr. Maha Nassar, Dr. Yara Hawari, and Inès Abdul Razek - explored how the “dialogue discourse” has been used to undermine the Palestinian liberation movement, including through the insistence to engage in “peace” projects. For more information on the speakers and resources mentioned in this podcast, please visit: https://fmep.org/event/learning-unlearning-palestine-pt-3-normalizing-and-peacemaking-as-discourses-of-violence/

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Nonresident fellow Peter Beinart is joined by Nathaniel Berman (Brown University) and Sawsan Zaher (human rights attorney) to discuss the notion that the Israeli Supreme Court - even before the proposed judicial reforms - is a protector of human rights and democratic principles in Israel. This conversation addresses the current protests against Netanyahu's overhaul, and the historic role the Israeli Supreme Court has played in systematically oppression (or allowing the oppression of) Palestinians. For more information and resources for this podcast, please visit: https://fmep.org/resource/the-delusion-of-israels-supreme-court-as-pillar-of-democracy/