In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP’s Sarah Anne Minkin speaks with FMEP Fellow Jehad Abusalim about the aftermath of the most recent escalation, the relationship between the Nakba and the ongoing violent realities of Gaza, and questions of how to talk about and envision Gaza within broader frameworks of Palestinian liberation and freedom. 

Jehad Abusalim is the Education and Policy Coordinator of the Palestine Activism Program at the American Friends Service Committee. He is completing his PhD in the History and Hebrew and Judaic Studies joint program at New York University. His research focuses on Arab and Palestinian intellectual discourse on Zionism, antisemitism, and the plight of the Jewish people in Europe between 1870 and 1948. Jehad also studies the social and political history of the Gaza Strip, focusing on the continuing impact of the Nakba on life in Gaza before and after 1948. Mr. Abusalim has been published in the Washington Post, al-Jazeera, the New Arab, and Vox. 

Sarah Anne Minkin, PhD is FMEP’s Director of Programs & Partnerships. She leads FMEP’s programming, works to deepen FMEP’s relationships with existing and potential grantees, and builds relationships with new partners in the philanthropic community. She is an affiliated faculty member at University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Right-Wing Studies. 

Resources from Jehad Abusalim: 

Twitter profile: @JehadAbusalim, and his threads about the recent Gaza assault. 

Most recent publication, the co-edited anthology Light in Gaza: Writings Born of Fire, published by Haymarket books. 

May 2021 Washington Post article, The Gaza cease-fire is no excuse for the world to look away

May 2020 Journal of Palestine Studies article, The Great March of Return: An Organizer's Perspective

An AFSC resource for learning more about Gaza: https://gazaunlocked.org/

Original Music by Jalal. Yaquoub.