Since the deadly attack on an Israeli music festival on October 7, 2023, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has ramped up to what is now a regional war and Hamas has become a widely vilified group. But what and who is Hamas? On today’s show, host Esty Dinur speaks with Helena Cobban, who co-authored Understanding Hamas: And Why That Matters with Rami G. Khouri. Cobban highlights Hamas’ origins in the as a political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, its rise due to dissatisfaction with the Oslo Accords, and its evolution from an anti-Jewish to an anti-Zionist stance

Helena Cobban  is a writer and researcher on international affairs who lives in Washington DC. She is president of Just World Educational and former columnist for The Christian Science Monitor.  She is the author or co-author of several previous books including The Palestinian Liberation Organisation (1984), Re-engage! American and the World After Bush (2008), and When the Rain Returns: Toward Justice and Reconciliation in Palestine and Israel (2007).

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