In Episode 67 of The Enlightenment Podcast, Hanan and Shamim are honored to be joined by Cherien Dabis, the Emmy-nominated Palestinian-American filmmaker, writer, and actress whose work has reshaped how Palestinian stories are told on screen.

Cherien’s latest film, All That’s Left of You, shortlisted for Best International Feature Film at the Oscars, is being hailed as a definitive cinematic chronicle of Palestinian dispossession, memory, and survival. The film confronts the realities of loss, exile, and endurance with rare emotional honesty and artistic power.

Her debut feature Amreeka won the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize at Cannes and became the most screened Arab-directed film in U.S. cinema history. Since then, Cherien has built a remarkable career bridging independent Palestinian cinema and mainstream Hollywood, directing episodes of major television series including Ramy, Only Murders in the Building, and Ozark.

This is a vital conversation about storytelling, erasure, and why Palestinian narratives matter now more than ever.

Cherien Dabis’ Work:

All That’s Left of You → watermelonpictures.com/films/all-thats-left-of-you 

Amreeka → amazon.com/Amreeka-Yussuf-Abu-Warda/dp/B002T921C0 

Cherien Dabis’ Social Media:

Facebook → facebook.com/cheriendabis

Instagram → instagram.com/cheriendabis

X (Twitter) → x.com/CherienDabis 

The Enlightenment Podcast Social Media:

feedlinks.link/enlightenmentpodcast

#TheEnlightenmentPodcast #CherienDabis #PalestinianCinema #AllThatsLeftOfYou #Amreeka #FreePalestine #Gaza #PalestinianStories #EndTheOccupation #CinemaAsResistance #ArtAndJustice #Palestine #IsraelGaza #OscarShortlisted

“She helped run one of the most transformative political campaigns in modern U.S. history—and then turned her attention to a different battlefield: culture. From Capitol Hill to Hollywood, she is helping reshape how Palestine is seen, heard, and defended.”

In Episode 66 of The Enlightenment Podcast, hosts Hanan and Shamim are honoured to be joined by Rania Batrice, a Palestinian-American political strategist, organiser, and cultural advocate who went from serving as Deputy Campaign Manager for Bernie Sanders to mobilising Hollywood’s most influential artists and cultural workers for Palestine.

Rania played a key role in one of the most significant progressive political movements in U.S. history. Since then, she has redirected her strategic expertise toward cultural organising, working behind the scenes to help actors, filmmakers, musicians, and public figures speak out against Israel’s genocide in Gaza, despite intense censorship, intimidation, and career threats.

In this episode, we explore how art, politics, and advocacy intersect, and why culture has become one of the most powerful battlegrounds in the global struggle for Palestinian liberation. Rania explains how narrative control shapes public opinion, why Hollywood matters politically, and what it takes to build effective solidarity in an era of mass repression of pro-Palestinian voices.

This episode is about power, storytelling, and resistance—and how movements grow when political strategy, culture, and moral clarity come together. At a time when Gaza is under genocide and truth is under attack, Rania Batrice’s work shows how culture can become a tool for liberation rather than complicity.

Rania Batrice’s Work:

Website → batrice.associates/rania 

Palestine Children Relief Fund (PCRF)  → pcrf.net/donate 

Rania Batrice’s Social Media:

Facebook → facebook.com/raniabatricepage 

Instagram → instagram.com/rbatrice 

X (Twitter) → x.com/RaniaBatrice 

The Enlightenment Podcast Social Media:

feedlinks.link/enlightenmentpodcast

#TheEnlightenmentPodcast #RaniaBatrice #FreePalestine #GazaGenocide #PalestineSolidarity #HollywoodForPalestine #ArtAsResistance #CulturalActivism #EndIsraeliApartheid  #CeasefireNow #PoliticalStrategy #BernieSanders #TruthToPower #PalestinianLiberation

 “She picked up a paintbrush at fourteen, inside a besieged strip of land the world prefers to see only through rubble and statistics. What emerged instead were explosions of colour—women, nature, memory, and life—painted from inside Gaza itself.”

In Episode 65 of The Enlightenment Podcast, Hanan and Shamim are honoured to be joined by Malak Mattar, a young Palestinian artist from Gaza whose work has become one of the most recognisable visual languages of contemporary Palestinian resistance.

Born in Gaza in 1999, Malak is a self-taught artist who began painting as a teenager during Israel’s repeated assaults on the Strip. In just a few years, her vibrant, emotionally charged paintings have reached international audiences, exhibited across Europe and beyond. Her work is instantly recognisable for its bold use of colour, recurring imagery of women and nature, and its deep grounding in Palestinian daily life, memory, and survival.

Malak’s art does not document destruction—it insists on presence. It speaks to hope, resilience, femininity, and the lived experience of growing up under siege, offering a powerful counter-narrative to how Gaza is usually portrayed in Western media.

This episode is a reminder that Palestine is not only a site of suffering—but of imagination, creativity, and enduring life.

Malak Mattar’s Work:

Website → malak-mattar.com 

Etsy → etsy.com/shop/MalakArtStore 

Malak Mattar’s Social Media:

Facebook → facebook.com/people/Malak-Mattar / facebook.com/MalakMattarArtist

Instagram → instagram.com/malakmattarart/

X (Twitter) → x.com/MalakMattarart 

The Enlightenment Podcast Social Media:

feedlinks.link/enlightenmentpodcast

#TheEnlightenmentPodcast #MalakMattar #PalestinianArt #Gaza #ArtAsResistance #GazaUnderSiege #FreePalestine #PalestinianArtists #WomenInArt #CultureIsResistance #PalestinianCulture #GazaGenocide #EndTheOccupation #VisualResistance

“In July 2025, two Israeli soldiers were dancing at a music festival in Belgium. Hours later, they were in handcuffs—being questioned by federal police on war crimes charges. For the first time in 77 years, a European country arrested Israeli soldiers for crimes committed against Palestinians.”

In Episode 64 of The Enlightenment Podcast, Hanan and Shamim are joined by Dyab Abou Jahjah, the Lebanese-Belgian activist, writer, and political organiser who is co-founder of the Hind Rajab Foundation—an organisation that is fundamentally reshaping how war crimes against Palestinians are pursued under international law.

For more than three decades, Dyab has fought for Palestinian rights—from grassroots organising in Antwerp to legal advocacy at the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice. Through strategic legal filings, jurisdictional challenges, and relentless pressure on European institutions, the Hind Rajab Foundation has launched what many consider the most serious legal challenge to Israeli impunity in generations.

This conversation is about more than one arrest—it’s about the collapse of impunity, the power of legal resistance, and why accountability is no longer theoretical.

Dyab Abou Jahjah Works: 

Hind Rajab Foundation → https://www.hindrajabfoundation.org/donate 

March 30 Movement → https://30-3.org/ 

Hind Rajab Foundation Social Media:

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/HindRajabFoundation/

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/hindrajabfoundation/

X/ Twitter → https://x.com/HindRFoundation 

Dyab Abou Jahjah Social Media:

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/aboujahjah/

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/aboujahjah/ 

X/ Twitter → https://x.com/Aboujahjah 

Youtube → https://www.youtube.com/@AbouJahjahD 

The Enlightenment Podcast Social Media:

feedlinks.link/enlightenmentpodcast

#TheEnlightenmentPodcast #DyabAbouJahjah #HindRajabFoundation #WarCrimes #AccountabilityNow #EndIsraeliImpunity #JusticeForPalestine #FreePalestine #GazaGenocide #InternationalLaw #ICJ #ICC #HumanRights #ArrestWarCriminals #Palestine

“For six years, he documented Israeli war crimes when most institutions refused to look. Then, in the middle of a genocide the world claimed was ‘too complicated,’ he helped organise something many said was impossible—a sold-out Wembley Arena concert, 12,500 people strong, raising £1.5 million for Palestine.”In Episode 63 of The Enlightenment Podcast, Hanan and Shamim are joined by Frank Barat — documentary filmmaker, activist, organiser, and one of the most important behind-the-scenes figures in the global Palestine solidarity movement.Frank spent six years documenting Israeli war crimes through the Russell Tribunal on Palestine, helping to build one of the most comprehensive people’s archives of international law violations. He has edited landmark books with Noam Chomsky, Angela Davis, and many others, preserving testimony and analysis that mainstream institutions worked hard to suppress.Just three months ago, Frank helped pull off what many believed could never happen: a sold-out Wembley Arena benefit concert for Palestine, featuring major artists and raising £1.5 million for Palestinian relief—proving that culture, when mobilised with integrity, remains one of the most powerful tools of resistance.Frank is also Executive Producer on Annemarie Jacir’s acclaimed new film Palestine 36, which recently premiered to standing ovations and is a must-see on the big screen.This episode is about movement-building, cultural resistance, and what it really means to stand with Palestine when it matters most.Frank Barat’s Works:On Palestine → https://bit.ly/3MwCT0Y Freedom Is a Constant Struggle: Ferguson, Palestine, and the Foundations of a Movement → https://bit.ly/3KTYm3p Other Mentioned Books and Films:Understanding Power: The Indispensible Chomsky → https://bit.ly/3KsfZHzPalestine 36 → https://www.watermelonpictures.com/films/palestine-36The Voice of Hind Rajab → https://www.imdb.com/title/tt36943034/All That’s Left of You → https://www.watermelonpictures.com/films/all-thats-left-of-you The Enlightenment Podcast Social Media:feedlinks.link/enlightenmentpodcast#TheEnlightenmentPodcast #FrankBarat #Palestine36 #RussellTribunal #CulturalResistance #ArtistsForPalestine #GazaGenocide #FreePalestine #EndTheOccupation #SolidarityInAction #StopTheGenocide #IsraelPalestine #AntiColonialism #TruthToPower #BDS

“In October 2023, while the world watched Gaza burn from their screens, one man walked into the inferno. A plastic surgeon who could have been earning millions on Harley Street instead chose to operate—43 days straight—under relentless bombardment. Sometimes without anesthesia. Sometimes sleeping on operating tables, wiped down with disinfectant. Today, that surgeon, now Rector of the University of Glasgow, joins us.”

His eyewitness testimony helped bring Gaza’s genocide case to the International Court of Justice. Germany banned him. France banned him. Pro-Israel groups attempted to end his medical career. His only ‘crime’: speaking out and bearing witness to the genocide in Gaza.

In Episode 62 of The Enlightenment Podcast, Hanan and Shamim are honored to be joined by Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah, the British-Palestinian plastic and reconstructive surgeon and one of the world’s leading experts in conflict medicine. Dr. Abu Sitta has worked in 12 war zones and, over the past two years, has become perhaps the most indispensable medical witness to Israel’s atrocities in Gaza.

This episode is a devastating, urgent, and necessary conversation about truth-telling under fire and the courage it takes to document a genocide in real time.

Dr. Ghassan Abu-Sittah's Work:

The Ghassan Abu-Sittah Children’s Fund → https://gascf.org/ 

American University of Beirut Global Health Institute → https://ghi.aub.edu.lb/

The Enlightenment Podcast Social Media:

feedlinks.link/enlightenmentpodcast

#TheEnlightenmentPodcast #GhassanAbuSittah #DrAbuSittah #GazaGenocide #Gaza #Palestine #ConflictMedicine #MedicalWitness #EndTheOccupation #FreePalestine #StopTheGenocide #GazaUnderAttack #HealthcareUnderSiege #ProtectMedicalWorkers #TruthToPower #ICJGenocideCase #IsraelPalestine

Over 110 family members. That’s how many Dr. Ramzy Baroud has lost in Gaza’s genocide. And he stopped counting a year ago. Among them: his sister, Dr. Soma — the 166th doctor murdered by Israeli forces. And his 11-year-old cousin Lema, an aspiring journalist who hoped to be the voice of her generation, killed alongside her parents and four siblings when Israeli warplanes flattened their shelter. Lema had been documenting the genocide on her phone.

In Episode 61 of The Enlightenment Podcast, Hanan and Shamim are joined by Dr. Ramzy Baroud, the Palestinian author, historian, journalist, and lifelong refugee from the Nuseirat camp whose work has become indispensable during the genocide in Gaza. For 25 years, Dr. Baroud has chronicled Palestinian life and resistance with unmatched clarity and courage through the Palestine Chronicle, one of the only remaining independent outlets publishing Palestinian voices from Gaza in real time.

Dr. Baroud is the author of several seminal books on Palestinian identity and struggle—works that have shaped global understanding of the Palestinian experience. He testified before the Gaza Tribunal that found Israel guilty of genocide, and his journalism has become essential reading as Western media continues to obscure, distort, and sanitize Israeli atrocities.

This is a conversation about grief, courage, and the refusal to let a people’s story be erased.

Dr. Ramzy Baroud’s Work:

The Palestine Chronicle (Independent news outlet)  → www.palestinechronicle.com

My Father Was a Freedom Fighter: Gaza's Untold Story  → https://bit.ly/44yXXdc

The Last Earth: A Palestinian Story → https://bit.ly/4rfEjwG

Books Mentioned:

Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid → https://bit.ly/484kYXR 

A People's History of the United States → https://bit.ly/4ojQhmo 

The Enlightenment Podcast Feed:

feedlinks.link/enlightenmentpodcast

#TheEnlightenmentPodcast #RamzyBaroud #PalestineChronicle #GazaGenocide #PalestinianJournalism #PalestineHistory #EndTheOccupation #FreePalestine #StopTheGenocide #GazaUnderAttack #DecolonizePalestine #IsraelPalestine #JournalistsUnderFire #ProtectPalestinianVoices #TruthToPower

For over a century, we’ve all been told that Britain lawfully governed Palestine — that the League of Nations mandated Britain to create a Jewish homeland, and that the international community supported these actions. Professor John Quigley has spent 40 years in legal archives uncovering the truth, and his assertion is that every single one of these claims is a lie.

In Episode 57 of The Enlightenment Podcast, Hanan and Shamim are joined by Professor John Quigley, one of the world’s foremost authorities on international law and the legal history of Palestine. For four decades, Professor Quigley has meticulously examined the British Mandate, the Balfour Declaration, and the legal maneuvers that shaped — and distorted — the fate of Palestine. His conclusion is seismic: Britain’s entire presence in Palestine from 1917 to 1948 was unlawful, and the foundational myths that have justified displacement, partition, and ongoing atrocities are built on legal fraud.

Professor Quigley is Professor Emeritus of International Law at The Ohio State University, and the author of numerous landmark books. His newest work, Britain and Its Mandate Over Palestine: Legal Chicanery on a World Stage, exposes the manipulation, forged legitimacy, and political engineering that set the stage for over a century of Palestinian dispossession.

This conversation is essential for anyone who wants to understand not just history — but the legal foundations of the violence unfolding today.

Professor John Quigley’s Work:Britain and Its Mandate Over 📚 Palestine: Legal Chicanery on a World Stage https://bit.ly/446WY3S

📚 The Legality of a Jewish State: A Century of Debate over Rights in Palestine https://bit.ly/484QWSG 

Enlightenment Podcast Social Media:

https://feedlinks.link/enlightenmentpodcast

#TheEnlightenmentPodcast #JohnQuigley #MandateForPalestine #BritishMandate #PalestineHistory #InternationalLaw #LegalChicanery #EndTheOccupation #FreePalestine #AccountabilityForBritain #DecolonizePalestine #IsraelPalestine #GazaGenocide #HistoricalTruth #BritainOwesPalestine

"She’s a Palestinian-American filmmaker who’s breaking boundaries in Hollywood, amplifying Arab and queer voices, and using cinema as a form of resistance.”

In Episode 59 of The Enlightenment Podcast, Shamim and Hanan sit down with Rolla Selbak, the award-winning Palestinian-American filmmaker, activist, and podcaster whose work challenges stereotypes and reclaims the narrative for marginalized communities through the power of storytelling.

Rolla first made waves with her debut feature film Three Veils, the first Arab-American lesbian feature film, which she wrote, directed, and produced. The film broke new ground for Middle Eastern representation and earned international acclaim for its courage and honesty. She’s also the creator of the Safina Filmmaker Project, an initiative that supports and uplifts independent Arab and Palestinian filmmakers around the world, and the host of the Safina Filmmaker Lounge Podcast — available on Apple Podcasts — where she features conversations with filmmakers redefining Arab cinema.

Beyond her creative work, Rolla is a passionate advocate for inclusive filmmaking, authentic representation, and creative freedom in spaces that have long silenced Palestinian and Arab voices.

This episode celebrates not just cinema — but the courage to tell your story when the world tries to erase it.

🎥 Rolla Selbak’s Work:

Three Veils → https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1470173/

CHOKE (Short film) → https://vimeo.com/rollaselbak/choke

Finjan (Short film) → https://vimeo.com/rollaselbak/finjan 

Safina Filmmaker Project → https://www.safinafilmmakerproject.com/about 

Safina Filmmaker Lounge Podcast → https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/safina-filmmaker-lounge/id1785331690 

🌍 Rolla Selbak’s Social Media:

Rolla Selbak Official → Website https://www.rollaselbak.com/

Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rollaselbak/

Enlightenment Podcast Social Media:

https://feedlinks.link/enlightenmentpodcast

#TheEnlightenmentPodcast #RollaSelbak #ThreeVeils #SafinaFilmmakerProject #SafinaFilmmakerLounge #PalestinianFilmmaker #ArabCinema #QueerCinema #WomenInFilm #PalestinianStorytelling #FreePalestine #ArtAsResistance #FilmmakersForPalestine #DecolonizeTheScreen #ArabRepresentation #PalestineWillBeFree

 “He’s treated the wounded under fire, been shot by an Israeli sniper, and spent over five decades fighting for Palestinian liberation through medicine, unity, and nonviolent resistance.”

In Episode 58 of The Enlightenment Podcast, Shamim and Hanan are joined by Dr. Mustafa Barghouti — a Palestinian physician, political leader, and General Secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative (Al-Mubadara) — whose lifelong mission bridges the frontlines of healthcare and the frontlines of freedom.

For more than 50 years, Dr. Barghouti has embodied the spirit of steadfastness (sumoud) — healing the injured, documenting Israeli war crimes, and building Palestinian democracy from within. From his political awakening during the 1967 war, to being shot by an Israeli sniper while treating the wounded, to his ongoing efforts to unify Palestinian leadership across divisions, Dr. Barghouti’s journey stands as a testament to moral courage and national resilience.

This episode is not just about politics — it’s about humanity, healing, and the unstoppable will of a people fighting for life against all odds.

Dr. Mustafa Barghouti’s Work:

🩺 Palestinian Medical Relief Society → https://www.pmrs.ps 

Infrastructure and Health Services in the West Bank (Red Book) → https://bit.ly/43GlUPs

The Ploy of the Century : Dimensions and Confrontational Strategies → https://bit.ly/3LnfkqO 

Dr. Mustafa Barghouti’s Social Media:

Facebook → https://www.facebook.com/mbarghouti1/

Instagram → https://www.instagram.com/mustafa_barghouti/

X (Twitter) → https://x.com/MustafaBarghou1?

Enlightenment Podcast Social Media:

https://feedlinks.link/enlightenmentpodcast

#TheEnlightenmentPodcast #MustafaBarghouti #AlMubadara #PalestinianResistance #FreePalestine #GazaGenocide #MedicalResistance #NonviolentResistance #PalestinianUnity #PalestineWillBeFree #EndTheOccupation #DecolonizePalestine #PalestinianLiberation #Sumoud #JusticeForPalestine #HealthcareUnderOccupation