Occupied Thoughts

FMEP non-resident fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Shawan Jabarin, General Director of Al Haq, the preeminent Palestinian human rights organization, which is now directly targeted and threatened by the Israeli government. On October 22, 2021, the Israeli government declared six Palestinian human rights groups to be “terror organizations” – a designation that effectively outlaws the groups, criminalizes their work under Israeli law and enables Israel to seize assets, arrest staff, prohibit funding, and punish public expressions of support and solidarity. With this terror designation, the Israeli government has escalated its longtime efforts to crush the Palestinian organizations that document Israel’s ongoing violations of Palestinian human rights and seek to hold Israel accountable. Visit www.fmep.org for full coverage of Israel's declaration of war on Palestinian human rights defenders. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP's Lara Friedman speaks with award-winning Palestinian journalist Daoud Kuttab about the case of Mohamed Halabi -- a Palestinian employee of World Vision arrested by Israel in 2016 for alleged support for terrorism and held by Israel ever since. Among other things, they discuss: What does the Halabi case teach the world about Israel's politicization/weaponization of terrorism chargers? And what does it say about the ability of Palestinians to receive justice from an Israeli judicial system that is designed to promote the interests of Israel over the rights of Palestinians? For background, bio, and resources - please visit: https://fmep.org/resource/using-terrorism-charges-to-target-ngos-lessons-from-the-case-of-mohamed-halabi/

In this episode of FMEP's Occupied Thoughts podcast, FMEP's Lara Friedman speaks with Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch, about Israel's "appalling and unjust " designation of 6 leading Palestinian human rights NGOs as "terrorist organizations," including Israeli actions/policies targeting NGOs that preceded the decision, the implications of the designations for Palestinian human rights, and the role of the international community in granting Israel impunity that has for years enabled, fueled, and legitimized Israel's attacks on human rights defenders.

FMEP's Lara Friedman speaks with Sarit Michael (Btselem) and Ines Abdel Razek (PIPD) about the Israeli government's announcement that it has declared a list of Palestinian human rights groups to be “terror organization” -- and act that Israeli lawyer Michael Sfard called “a declaration of war on the entire human rights community.” For bios and more, please visit: https://fmep.org/resource/israel-declares-war-on-palestinian-human-rights-defenders/

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP's Lara Friedman and MEI's Khaled Elgindy speak to Danny Seideman (founder/director of Terrestrial Jerusalem) and Yehuda Shaul (founder of Breaking the Silence) -- two of Israel’s foremost experts on the Israeli policies that uphold and expand occupation and dispossession of Palestinians, both of whom are currently visting Washington, DC -- about the new Israeli government and its idea of "shrkinking" the conflict, about ongoing and new developments on the ground in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, and about the opportunities and challenges facing the Biden Administration.

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP's Lara Friedman speaks with Swedish political scientist Dr. Anders Persson about this week's International Forum on Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism, held in Malmö, Sweden. They discuss what happened in Malmö and what this event means in the context of ongoing efforts to achieve the worldwide adoption and enforcement of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism -- a definition that explicitly conflates criticism of Israel/Zionism with antisemitism. Follow Dr. Persson's work: http://dranderspersson.com; on Twitter at @82AndersPersson. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

FMEP's Sarah Anne Minkin speaks with journalist and activist Basil Adraa and activist and water management expert Natasha Westheimer about the increase in state-backed settler-violence in the South Hebron Hills. Over the last few weeks, both have witnessed and experienced settler and military attacks against Palestinians and solidarity activists. This week, Basil is being targeted by a smear campaign in an effort to undermine his credibility and ability to document human rights abuses. Basil's most recent articles on +972 Magazine include: "I filmed a settler pogrom. Now the Israeli media is smearing me" and "Scenes from a Jewish pogrom" (co-authored with Yuval Abraham) Natasha recently published "Opinion: Israel declares war on Palestinian water" (Haaretz) Basil al-Adraa is an activist, journalist, and photographer from the village of a-Tuwani in the South Hebron Hills. Natasha Westheimer is an Australian-American water management specialist and anti-occupation activist based in Jerusalem. Sarah Anne Minkin, PhD, is the Director of Programs and Partnerships at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub

After the Palestinian prisoner escape, Orly Noy - a journalist, translator of Farsi literature into Hebrew, and political and Mizrahi activist - wrote a post on Facebook in which she described the prisoners as freedom fighters and said that “every Palestinian who survives the occupation and persists in continuing to live is a hero. For that post, Orly was temporarily banned from Facebook. Peter Beinart speaks to Orly about the prisoner escape, Mizrahi identity and politics, and solidarity with Palestinians.  Original music by Jalal Yaquoub

FMEP's Lara Friedman and MEI's Khaled Elgindy speak with Tariq Kenney-Shawa about the Palestinian diaspora, the shifting narrative around Palestine in the U.S., the prospects for change in U.S. politics and policies, how all of this relates to the situation on the ground in Palestine today, and the hopes for achieving Palestinian rights and liberation. For full bios and additional resources, please visit: https://fmep.org/resource/tariq-kenney-shawa-podcast/

This week marks the first anniversary of the Abraham Accords. In this podcast, FMEP’s Lara Friedman talks with the Quincy Institute’s Annelle Sheline about the impact of those accords so far, and where the region is headed in the coming period.