Israeli Settlements 360

In an interview for PeaceCast with Ori Nir of Americans for Peace Now, Dahlia describes the concept and goals of the series, decisions about topics and interviewees, main takeaways, lessons and surprises that emerged in the process.

Lara Friedman, President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace and a former US diplomat in the Middle East, examines settlements in the context of negotiations, the US role in the peace process and why negotiations have so far failed.

Hagit Ofran, director of the Settlement Watch program at Peace Now, provides a detailed look at the current number of settlers and communities, their location and growth, and analyzes the meaning of the data for a two state solution.

Civil rights lawyer Abir Joubran-Dakwar directs the Department of Occupied Territories at the Association for Civil Rights in Israel. She discusses how settlements and occupation affect all aspects of Palestinian life and livelihood.

Yishai Fleisher is the international spokesperson for the Jewish community of Hebron. He examines life in the divided city, explains why Israel should be sovereign over all the land, and what role settlements play in that vision.

Dan Rothem, director of Commanders for Israel’s Security (CIS) and an expert on the security and negotiations geography of the West Bank, weighs the argument that West Bank settlements contribute to Israeli security.

Human rights lawyer Michael Sfard, author of The Wall and the Gate, explains how Israel built a legal foundation for settlement, and a system to govern settlers through civil law, while Palestinians are ruled by martial regime to this day.

Gershom Gorenberg, author of The Accidental Empire: Israel and the Birth of the Settlements, 1967-1977, discusses the historic ideology of Israeli settlements, and the role of the state – led by Labor – in settling the land conquered in 1967.