Over the next few days, Unsettled is going to bring you the voices of many different people who have been affected by this week's devastating escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza. We’re starting with an episode about Hamas, whose surprise attack across the Gaza border on October 7th "completely ruptured the reality we thought we were operating in," says Tareq Baconi.

Tareq Baconi is the author of Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance, billed as "the first history of the group on its own terms." Shortly after the book was published in 2018, Tareq was a guest on Unsettled; he spoke with producer Max Freedman about the origins of Hamas and its complicated relationship with the state of Israel. Earlier this week, Max called Tareq again, to get his analysis of Hamas's recent moves. Why this kind of attack, and why now?

Tareq Baconi: "There's no going back"

Unsettled is a podcast about Israel-Palestine and the Jewish diaspora. We're here to provide a space for the difficult conversations and diverse viewpoints that are all too rare in institutional American Jewish communities.

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On Tuesday April 30th, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik called the New York Police Department to clear the campus of students who had erected an encampment in solidarity with Palestine. Columbia's encampment was one of hundreds of similar campus demonstrations across the United States, many of which were also removed by the police. Unsettled visited Columbia's encampment the week before it was cleared, and spoke to some of those involved about what they hoped to achieve through their protest.

The Columbia Encampment

For this episode of Unsettled, we’re doing something we’ve never done before: premiering a new song.

Aly Halpert makes music used in synagogues and Jewish song circles. If you listened to our last episode featuring Rabbi Miriam Grossman, you heard Aly’s tune for the prayer 'Ashrei' as part of a service led by Rabbis for Ceasefire. Today, Aly is releasing a new song called 'Ayeka': the first time she has used her music to directly respond to the violence in Israel-Palestine. 

Aly spoke to Unsettled producer Ilana Levinson about her inspiration for  'Ayeka', her writing process, and what she hopes the song will do for listeners.

'Ayeka': a new song from Aly Halpert

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, grief and rage have brought thousands of people to the streets to demand a ceasefire. One of the many groups that have mobilized in the U.S. is Rabbis for Ceasefire. One of these rabbis is Miriam Grossman, who led until recently the congregation Kolot Chayeinu in Brooklyn, New York.

Unsettled producer Ilana Levinson recently sat down with Rabbi Miriam to ask her what it means to be a rabbi for ceasefire, especially when so many rabbis and other Jewish leaders are standing in lockstep with the state of Israel. Where in Jewish texts and traditions does she find the call to oppose the war? How does she keep going?

Rabbi Miriam Grossman: “We act and we do not wait for hope”

The last time we featured Isam Hamad on Unsettled was a few days after the October 7th attacks, when Israel had just begun its bombardment of the Gaza Strip. At the time, Isam and his family — including his 93-year old father and a son with cerebral palsy — were still in their home in Gaza City. But a few days later, they were forced to evacuate south to the city of Rafah, near the Egyptian border.

Before this war, the population of Rafah was about 250,000. Now, it’s over a million, with many families living in tents and some on the streets. Isam lives in a three-story house with 46 other people. Recently, he was able to get a family reunification visa from Ireland, because one of his children was born there. But he’s still waiting for approval to leave.

In this episode, producer Ilana Levinson talks to Isam Hamad about leaving his home, living in Rafah, and the difficult choices ahead.

An update from Isam Hamad

Just before Thanksgiving, we asked listeners to call in and tell us about how they’re navigating conversations with their families, friends, and communities in this moment—as Israel responds to the October 7th attacks with unprecedented destruction in Gaza. What has worked in getting through to loved ones, and what hasn’t? How are people are managing these relationships, or coping with their feelings about them?

On this episode—a collaboration between Unsettled and Jewish Currents magazine's On the Nose podcast—Unsettled producer Ilana Levinson joins Jewish Currents editor-in-chief Arielle Angel and associate editor Mari Cohen to listen to clips from callers describing the ruptures in their families, their attempts to repair relationships while sticking to their values, and their strategies for getting through to stubborn loved ones. They explore questions of when it is our obligation to keep arguing, and when it’s better to take a break—or give up completely. And they zoom out to think about what this moment says about the future of Jewish American institutional life.

Tareq Baconi: "There's no going back"

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