Occupied Thoughts

Since the Palestinian Authority’s killing of political activist Nizar Banat in June, Palestinians have been holding protests in Ramallah and other parts of the West Bank. The PA has responded with tear gas, stun grenades, and harassment of human rights defenders and journalists, in what has been described as a “concerted crackdown on freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest.” In recent weeks, dozens of protesters – including prominent human rights activists – were detained by PA security forces. While the detainees have since been released, the crackdown highlights the Palestinian leadership’s diminishing tolerance for dissent as well as a deeper crisis of legitimacy. What’s behind these latest protests as well as the PA’s crackdown against them? What is the relationship between the protests in Ramallah and recent Palestinian popular political mobilizations in Gaza, Jerusalem, and inside the Green Line? And what do these Palestinian initiatives mean for the overarching struggle against ongoing Israeli occupation and dispossession?

In this episode of "Occupied Thoughts," FMEP's Lara Friedman speaks with Budour Hassan (JLAC) and Noura Erekat (Rutgers) about Israel’s policy of holding hostage the bodies of slain Palestinians – an issue that has broken through into the news a bit with the continued holding of the body of Ahmad Erekat, and last week with a US Congresswoman, Rep. Rashida Tlaib, tweeting about another case: “Meet Mai Afana's mother, Khuloud, who is fighting to be able to bury her daughter & begin her healing. Mai was a mother, loving daughter & successful PhD student. She was killed by the Israeli government last June. Israel won't release her body to her family.” What is this policy? How does it impact Palestinians? How does Israel justify it? What do Israeli courts and international law say? And what does this policy disclose about the broader dehumanization of Palestinians, both by Israel and by the international community? For bios are resources, please visit: https://fmep.org/resource/palestinian-bodies-held-hostage-by-israel/

FMEP's Lara Friedman speaks to Kerem Navot's Dror Etkes about the appointment of a prominent settler to the number 2 position in the Ministry of the Interior - the ministry that has authority over construction in Israel-controlled parts of the West Bank -- despite the fact that this person lives in an illegal outposts where he built his house illegally (under even Israel law) and despite the fact that for years he led a company devoted to taking Palestinian land in the West Bank. Dror looks at what this appointment, at its approval by Israel's Attorney General, means in terms of Israel rule of law, Israeli policies, and the mainstreaming of the settlers' agenda. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub

In this episode of "Occupied Thoughts," FMEP's Peter Beinart interviews Yousef Munayyer and Dahlia Scheindlin about the Israeli intelligence firm NSO Group, which leases military-grade surveillance tools to authoritarian regimes around the world. A new investigation revealed a list of more than 50,000 phone numbers that had been targeted by NSO's spyware tools and included human rights advocates, journalists, and world leaders. This week, Yousef published "Exporting the Tools of Apartheid" in Jewish Currents and Dahlia published "Why Israel is more concerned about Ben & Jerry’s than the Pegasus revelations" in the Guardian.

Join FMEP and Palestinian analysts discussing the current state of Palestinian leadership and how Palestinians are contending with multiple layers of authoritarian rule (Israel, the PA, and Hamas). The discussion will address issues including: What are the challenges to Palestinian liberation? What roles - positive and negative - do the Palestinian Authority and Hamas play? What role does Palestinian civil society play in mobilizing against Israel and the PA? What can Palestinian resistance to Israel look like? What is behind Hamas’s rise in popularity since the most recent escalation with Israel? What is the status of the uprising against the PA and how is it part of a larger struggle against occupation, annexation, and apartheid? And how do Palestinians inside of Israel and in the Diaspora - from Lebanon to the U.S. - fit into the puzzle of Palestinian liberation?  With Tareq Baconi (Crisis Group) and Inès Abdel Razek (PIPD), moderated by FMEP’s Lara Friedman.  Original music by Jalal Yaquoub

In this episode of “Occupied Thoughts,” FMEP's Kristin McCarthy talks to Avner Gvaryahu (Breaking the Silence) about a new collection of testimonies from former Israeli soldiers highlighting the IDF's complicity in settler violence - and the larger system within which Israeli soldiers and settlers operate. You can read the new collection - entitled "On Duty: Settler Violence in the West Bank" - online here: https://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/inside/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/OnDuty-Testimonies-En.pdf

In this episode of "Occupied Thoughts," Peter Beinart interviews FMEP President Lara Friedman about the potential blowback Ben & Jerry's faces for their decision to stop selling their products in Jewish settlements in the Occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. Lara is an expert in the efforts to exploit U.S. laws (state and federal) and courts to quash criticism and activism challenging Israeli policies, which she has been documenting for years. Her databases are available on www.fmep.org. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, Lara Friedman talks to Arab Spring veteran activist Iyad El-Baghdadi about the way forward for Palestinians -- both on the ground in Palestine and in the diaspora. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub. Full bios available at https://fmep.org/resource/palestine-at-the-intersection-of-regional-global-and-historical-struggles/

From the Daily Show and Saturday Night Live, to Egypt’s Bassem Youssef, to Israel’s Eretz Nehederet, comedy has long played a powerful role in shaping how people think about politics and the world around them, and challenging them to question their own assumptions and the political status quo. FMEP hosted world-famous Palestinian-American actress, political commentator, disability rights advocate, and Palestinian rights activist Maysoon Zayid; and Israeli former-UN-staffer-turned-comedian Noam Shuster, subject of the recently-released short film by Al Jazeera, Reckoning with Laughter, to discuss the role comedy can play in advancing justice for Palestinians.

Aseel AlBajeh (Al Haq), Dr. Yara Hawari (Al Shabaka), and Mona Shtaya (7amleh)join FMEP's Sarah Anne Minkin to discuss grassroots protests in the wake of the murder of prominent Palestinian activist Nizar Banat, and the PA’s violent response to those protests. The discussion touches on questions including: who are the people going out to protest against the PA and what are their demands? What risks do they face in protests? What is behind the PA’s violent response? Where might things go from here? And how is the uprising against the PA part of a larger struggle against occupation, annexation, and apartheid?