Occupied Thoughts

In this episode of "Occupied Thoughts," Kristin speaks with Fayrouz Sharqawi of Grassroots Al-Quds to unpack what is happening in Jerusalem and across Palestinian communities in the wake of the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. For resources mentioned in this podcast, please visit: https://fmep.org/resource/podcast-palestinians-rising-from-jerusalem-to-umm-al-fahm-ft-fayrouz-sharqawi-kristin-mccarthy/

In this episode of “Occupied Thoughts,” Professor Sherene Seikaly offers historical framing and comparisons necessary for understanding what’s happening with Palestinians now, from the general strike to the ongoing Nakba to questions of Palestinian leadership. For full bios, see: fmep.org Original Music by Jalal Yaqoub

In this episode of "Occupied Thoughts," FMEP's Kristin McCarthy is joined by Salem Barahmeh to discuss the general strike Palestinians across Palestine led on Tuesday, May 18th. Salem Barahmeh is the Executive Director of the Palestine Institute for Public Diplomacy (PIPD). For bios, please visit: fmep.org Original Music by Jalal Yaqoub

In this episode of "Occupied Thoughts," FMEP's Sarah Anne Minkin speaks with Nooran Alhamdan about Palestinians in the US, shifts in American politics, where she finds Palestinian leadership, the Nakba, and what gives her hope. Nooran published this recent column in the Washington Post and co-moderated the recent event, "The Palestinian Nakba: What Happened in 1948 and Why It Still Matters" (which FMEP cosponsored). Original music by Jalal Yaqoub

On this episode of "Occupied Thoughts" FMEP's Sarah Anne Minkin interviews Widad Assaf, the Legal Coordinator of FMEP partner Human Rights Defenders Fund (HRDF), about the connections between Palestinians inside of Israel and in Gaza, Jerusalem, the West Bank, and the diaspora. Widad describes the discrimination, human and civil rights violations, and police violence that Palestinian citizens of Israel face.

In this episode of "Occupied Thoughts," FMEP's Sarah Anne Minkin talks with Sawsan Zaher, the Deputy General Director of Adalah, the Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel. In this conversation, she describes what the last week has been like for Palestinian citizens of Israel, who have faced enormous violence from Israeli Jews and been incited against by Israeli politicians, misrepresented by Israeli media, and unprotected and targeted by the Israeli police. The High Follow-Up Committee - the highest political body representing Palestinian citizens of Israel - is now urgently calling for international protection for Palestinian citizens. For full bios and more resources, please visit: https://fmep.org/resource/podcast-on-the-organized-violence-against-palestinian-citizens-of-israel-w-sawsan-zaher-sarah-anne-minkin/ Original music by Jalal Yaqoub

In this edition of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP’s Lara Friedman speaks with Dr. Carol Daniel Kasbari (Middle East Institute) about the the violence today in Israel/Palestine, including both its immediate triggers and its deeper causes linked to the Palestinian experience - on both side of the Green Line - of the Nakba not as a single moment of dispossession and tragedy, but as an ongoing process that continues to this day. Original Music by Jalal Yaqoub

FMEP hosted a conversation with three Palestinian thought leaders - Ines Abdel Razek, Zaha Hassan, and Nadia Hijab - to discuss what is happening now and reflect on how the events unfolding over the past several weeks speak to the larger story of Palestinian dispossession, Israeli domination, and the international community’s failed approach to resolving the question of Palestine.

The struggle in Sheikh Jarrah is again on center stage this week. Once again, Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah are facing imminent evictions, approved by Israeli courts. And once again, Palestinians of Sheikh Jarrah are resisting efforts to remove them from their longtime homes — and they are once again being met with violence and repression from Israeli authorities and settlers. To discuss this struggle and the dynamics in Jerusalem, and how they are part of a broader struggle against escalating Israeli policies of Palestinian dispossession in Jerusalem and beyond, FMEP President Lara Friedman is joined by Aseel AlBajeh, a legal researcher and advocacy officer at Al Haq, and Budour Hassan, author and journalist.

In this new episode of "Occupied Thoughts," Peter Beinart interviews Zaha Hassan and Daniel Levy about the new Carnegie Endowment for International Peace report, "Breaking the Israel-Palestine Status Quo," co-authored with Hallaamal Keir and Marwan Muasher. The report aims to offer new ways forward, arguing that "[i]nstead of reviving a moribund peace process or simply abandoning U.S. engagement, President Joe Biden’s administration should place a rights-based approach at the center of its strategy." Original music by Jalal Yaqoub