Occupied Thoughts

Featuring: Daniel Seidemann (Terrestrial Jerusalem), Dana El Kurd (Non-Resident Fellow at the Middle East Institute) & Munir Nuseibah (Al-Quds University). Co-moderated by Lara Friedman (FMEP) & Khaled Elgindy (MEI).

Recorded February 11, 2022. This podcast is Part 1 of an 8-part series of webinars/podcasts. For more information regarding this series, and links to the other sessions, please see: https://fmep.org/resource/2022-congressional-briefing-series-israel-palestine-hot-topics-in-congress/

In this session we explored issues related to Israeli policies in Jerusalem, including ongoing displacement of Palestinian residents and expansion of Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem, why Jerusalem continues to serve as a catalyst for Palestinian protest (and Israeli violence in response), and how Jerusalem continues to be at the heart of Palestinian and Israeli national aspirations.

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts podcast, FMEP’s Lara Friedman speaks with +972 Magazine’s Amjad Iraqi about recent attacks against Israelis and related Israeli fears that are dominating the news cycle, and as well as the ongoing structural Israeli violence against Palestinians – including both day-to-day policies that implement Israeli apartheid and acts of collective punishment (which Amjad wrote about recently for +972 Magazine -- https://www.972mag.com/edition/collective-punishment-palestinians/) – that rarely makes headlines. Amjad also offers insights into how the current situation is both similar and different from the events that led to the outbreak of major violence and protest last summer.

Featuring Lana Tatour (University of New South Wales, Australia) Dr. Yara Hawari (Al-Shabaka), and Tareq Baconi (Al-Shabaka). Co-moderated by Lara Friedman (FMEP) & Khaled Elgindy (MEI).

Recorded April 1, 2022. This podcast is Part 8 of an 8-part series of webinars/podcasts. For more information regarding this series, and links to the other sessions, please see: https://fmep.org/resource/2022-congressional-briefing-series-israel-palestine-hot-topics-in-congress/

In this session we explored how years of fragmentation of the Palestinian people are today being challenged/overcome, both in terms of connections across the Green Line and grassroots engagement and connections around the world.

Featuring Ahmed Abu Artema (Palestinian writer and activist) and Marwa Fatafta (MENA Policy Manager at Access Now). Co-moderated by Lara Friedman (FMEP) & Khaled Elgindy (MEI).

Recorded March 25, 2022. This podcast is Part 7 of an 8-part series of webinars/podcasts. For more information regarding this series, and links to the other sessions, please see: https://fmep.org/resource/2022-congressional-briefing-series-israel-palestine-hot-topics-in-congress/

In this session we explored issues surrounding Palestinian civil society, and in particular human rights defenders and democracy activists, and the challenges and threats they face — including direct attacks by Israel, targeting by Palestinian authorities, and apathy/indifference from the international community in the face of these attacks.

Featuring Omar Barghouti (Palestinian human rights defender & co-founder of the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement), Brian Hauss (ACLU) and Olivia Katbi (North America Coordinator for the Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) Movement). Co-moderated by Lara Friedman (FMEP) & Khaled Elgindy (MEI).

Recorded March 18, 2022. This podcast is Part 6 of an 8-part series of webinars/podcasts. For more information regarding this series, and links to the other sessions, please see: https://fmep.org/resource/2022-congressional-briefing-series-israel-palestine-hot-topics-in-congress/

In this session we explored issues surrounding growing grassroots protest of Israeli policies, including via support of boycotts, divestment campaigns, and calls for sanctions (BDS) — and the parallel rise in efforts, including in Congress, to delegitimize and legislate against such protests.

Featuring Jawad Boulus (Palestinian human rights lawyer), Sahar Francis (Addameer), and Shibley Telhami (Brookings/University of Maryland). Co-moderated by Lara Friedman (FMEP) & Khaled Elgindy (MEI).

Recorded March 11, 2022. This podcast is Part 5 of an 8-part series of webinars/podcasts. For more information regarding this series, and links to the other sessions, please see: https://fmep.org/resource/2022-congressional-briefing-series-israel-palestine-hot-topics-in-congress/

In this session we explored issues surrounding Palestinian public views, and Palestinian Authority/PLO policy, related to Palestinians killed and imprisoned by Israel, and how this issue has become enmeshed in debates in Congress over U.S. assistance for Palestinians.

Featuring Umar al-Ghubari (Zochrot), Hani Almadhoun (UNRWA USA) and Francesca Albanese (Georgetown University). Co-moderated by Lara Friedman (FMEP) & Khaled Elgindy (MEI).

Recorded March 4, 2022. This podcast is Part 4 of an 8-part series of webinars. For more information regarding this series, and links to the other sessions, please see: https://fmep.org/resource/2022-congressional-briefing-series-israel-palestine-hot-topics-in-congress/

In this session we explored issues surrounding Palestinian refugees, including the plight of refugees inside and outside of Palestine, the role of UNRWA and the debate it engenders in Congress, and the Palestinian demand for a “Right of Return.”

Featuring Mkhaimar Abusada (Al Azhar University in Gaza City), Jehad Abusalim (American Friends Service Committee), and Tania Hary (Gisha). Co-moderated by Lara Friedman (FMEP) & Khaled Elgindy (MEI).

Recorded Feb 25, 2022. This podcast is Part 3 of an 8-part series of webinars. For more information regarding this series, and links to the other sessions, please see: https://fmep.org/resource/2022-congressional-briefing-series-israel-palestine-hot-topics-in-congress/

In this session we explored issues related to Gaza, including the longstanding Israeli blockade and deliberate isolation of Gaza from the rest of Palestine and the world; the competing and complementary roles of Hamas, the Palestinian Authority, Israel, and Egypt; and how Gaza fits into the broader Palestinian picture.

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts podcast, FMEP's Lara Friedman speaks with preeminent journalist Dalia Hatuqa about Palestinian domestic politics, this week's normalization "summit" in the Negev, and the long-feared/long-predicted escalation of tensions/violence in the entire area between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River, coinciding with Ramadan, Easter, and Passover, which many fear will turn into an even bloodier re-play of the events of summer 2021.

Featuring Paul O’Brien (Amnesty International), Dr. Maha Nassar (University of Arizona), and Peter Beinart (CUNY), in conversation with Lara Friedman (FMEP)

For full bios & links to resources mentioned in this podcast, see: https://fmep.org/resource/policing-the-narrative-israel-apartheid-in-the-us-debate/

Last month, Amnesty International published a detailed and thorough report examining Israel’s treatment of Palestinians and concluding that it meets the legal definition of the crime of apartheid. With this conclusion, Amnesty joined the ranks of international and Israeli NGOs, including Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem, and Yesh Din, as well as Palestinian organizations and advocates, including Al Haq and Al Mezan, who have likewise concluded that that Israel’s treatment of Palestinians amounts to the crime of apartheid. And just last week, UN Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk articulated the same conclusion in an official report to the UN Security Council.

In this webinar/podcast, we explore another aspect of this issue: the dynamics and tactics (some new, some old) on display in the responses from defenders of the status quo to the growing use and acceptance of the apartheid framing — including deflection and misdirection aimed at shifting focus away from factual findings and delegitimization and demonization of human rights defenders and Palestinian rights activists.