Peter Beinart joins us to discuss how Jewish faith and practices have been used (and abused!) to justify the war on Gaza.

Peter Beinart is an American journalist, political commentator, and professor at CUNY. He is an editor-at-large for Jewish Currents, and author of Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza (2025). He frequently publishes his foreign policy analysis and political commentary through his personal newsletter, The Beinart Notebook: https://peterbeinart.substack.com/

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Across the Divide is a podcast of the Bethlehem Institute of Peace and Justice (BIPJ). Learn more about BIPJ at BIPJ.org.

In this episode of Across the Divide, Daniel discusses current events in Palestine and the US. This episode explores the UN Report on violence against children and genocide in Palestine, Israeli expansion in the Middle East, RFK Jr’s lies on Fox News, and Mamdani’s comments on the democratic party and Palestine. You won’t want to miss this!

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Follow Across the Divide for more on ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠⁠⁠‪@AcrosstheDividePodcast‬⁠⁠⁠

Across the Divide is a project of the Bethlehem Institute of Peace and Justice (BIPJ). Learn more about BIPJ at BIPJ.org

Sign up for the Christ at the Checkpoint conference here: https://www.christatthecheckpoint.bethbc.edu/

#israel #palestine #gaza #bethlehem #holyland #christianity #bible #faith #zionism #christianzionism #Mamdani #RKJR #UN

References/Links

UN REPORT, published on June 18, 2026. “The essence ofchildhood has been destroyed.”

65 Palestinian students arrested by Israel in occupied WestBank this year: Rights group (Middle East Monitor)

UN experts deeply concerned over ‘scholasticide’ in Gaza- 18April 2024

Michel Foucault: Biopolitics and Biopower

Israel seized more land from neighbors since 2023 thanit has in decades (AP NEWS)

Greek Orthodox Patriarchate denounces Israeli seizureof church land in Jerusalem

Mamdani's Interview on ABC

JFK on Fox News

CBC news piece on UN Report

JVP Fact Sheet

Pew Research Group- Jewish Population Change

Minority Rights Group - Palestine Population

Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS)

No Mention of Gaza in the DNC’s 2024 Autopsy?Seriously?

In this episode, researcher and author Ben Lorber unpacks the complex, deeply polarized conversations surrounding anti-Jewish bigotry today. We break down why politicians conflate anti-Zionism with antisemitism, how to distinguish principled criticism of Israel from genuine hate speech, and whether ADL data gives us an accurate picture of the crisis. Finally, Ben shares a roadmap for building safety through intersectional solidarity, offering crucial advice for activists fighting for Palestinian liberation.

Ben Lorber is a Senior Research Analyst at Political Research Associates and the co-author of *Safety Through Solidarity: A Radical Guide for Fighting Antisemitism*. Veteran movement organizer and writer, he specializes in monitoring far-right movements, antisemitism, and white Christian nationalism.

See Jerusalem Declaration on Antisemitism here: https://jerusalemdeclaration.org/

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Continuing our conversations on Judaism and Palestine, Shira Klein reflects on the horrors of the holocaust and the role they played in legitimizing the necessity and logic of Zionism.

Shira Klein is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of History at Chapman University. Her academic work focuses on Italian Jewry, Jewish migration, and the Holocaust. Shira is also on the board of directors of Academics for Peace, a nonprofit that works with scholars to help shift public opinion about Palestine Israel

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In this episode of Across the Divide, Daniel sits down with Reverend Munther Isaac to discuss current events in Palestine and the US. This episode offers a sharp critique of Christian Zionism and sheds light on the brutality of life under occupation. You won’t want to miss this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRtIWva4K_4

https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/55188

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In this special announcement episode, co-hosts Daniel, Jen, and Abeer come together to share a major milestone: the official merger of Across the Divide with the Bethlehem Institute for Peace and Justice. It is a celebratory, forward-looking look at the next chapter of the podcast’s journey.

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To learn more about BIPJ, visit bipj.org

This is part II of Daniel's conversation with Shalom Shore who used to be a Ultra Orthodox rabbi and is now an anti-zionist advocate for Palestine. This conversation will blow your mind!

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Shalom Shore joins Daniel for a candid conversation about his previous (strange) life as an Ultra Orthodox Rabbi in Jerusalem. The conversation takes some twists and turns that you don't want to miss.

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#israel #palestine #judaism #history #jerusalem #religion

This episode is a part of Across the Divide’s Monthly Book Club. To join Across the Divide’s Book Club, become part of our Patreon community  at https://www.patreon.com/c/AcrosstheDivide 

In this episode, Jen has a conversation with Rifat Kassis on the Kairos II document, authored by Palestinian church leaders in October 2025. Rifat describes how the realities of genocide and settler colonialism has led to the newest Kairos document as a theological assessment of the dire situations that Palestinians are facing as well as an appeal to the global church to repent from complicity and engage in costly solidarity with their Palestinian siblings.

Rifat Kassis is the General Coordinator of Kairos Palestine and Global Kairos for Justice, being one of its founding members. Follow Rifat on his Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/rifat.kassis) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/rifatkassis15/ )

Kairos Palestine Document & Study Guide- https://thepjn.org/kp2studyguide 

BDS Resources- https://bdsmovement.net/ 

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Across the Divide partners with Peace Catalyst International to amplify the pursuit of peace and explore the vital intersection of Christian faith and social justice in Palestine-Israel.

#israel #palestine #gaza #kairos #repentance #solidarity #bds #faith 

Christopher Hays joins Abeer to explore the ethics of the New Testament and the teachings of Jesus on “welcoming the stranger” and it relates to debates around immigration and citizenship.

Christopher is president Scholar Leaders, and a biblical scholar committed to the transformation of theological knowledge into missional practice, he has worked in projects ranging from authoring scholarly volumes to establishing church-based ministries to victims of forced migration. He holds degrees from Wheaton and Oxford. His most recent book in English is Eight Million Exiles: Missional Action Research and the Crisis of Forced Migration.

Support our work at Across the Divide: https://www.patreon.com/AcrosstheDivide

Follow Across the Divide for more on ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠⁠⁠‪@AcrosstheDividePodcast‬⁠⁠⁠

Across the Divide partners with Peace Catalyst International to amplify the pursuit of peace and explore the vital intersection of Christian faith and social justice in Palestine-Israel.