Unsettled

Last week, Producer Ilana Levinson talked to Arie Hasit at his home in Israel, in the midst of a deadly war. Arie and his family, including two small kids, have been spending much of their time in bomb shelters. After Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing more than 1,300 Israelis, mostly civilians, and taking 199 Israeli hostages, Israel responded by declaring war. Since then, the Israeli Defense Forces have been heavily bombing the Gaza Strip,  cutting off access to electricity, water, food, internet, and supplies.  As of October 18th, over 3000 people in Gaza are dead, and one million are displaced after Israel sent orders for Palestinians in the Northern part of the Gaza strip to evacuate to the south. 

In this conversation, Ilana and Arie, who grew up going to the same synagogue and and summer camp discuss what it was like to be in Israel on October 7th, and what Israel's obligations are toward its own citizens as well as the Palestinian people of the Gaza strip as the war continues continues. 

Arie Hasit is the associate dean of the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary, which trains Masorti (Conservative) rabbis for Israel and the international community, as well as runs pluralistic Jewish leadership programs. He worked for many years in congregational rabbinic work, and currently volunteers with pastoral care in his local community and with youth across Israel. He and his family live in Mazkeret Batya.

The United States has always been Israel’s strongest ally, and President Biden has pledged his steadfast support for Israel since Hamas's surprise attack over the Gaza border on October 7. Many American supporters of Israel and even Israeli officials have celebrated President Biden for his “moral clarity” in this moment. But others have heard something else from Biden: a "carte blanche" for Israel to respond with overwhelming force.

To better understand the U.S. role in this war, Unsettled producer Max Freedman speaks to Matt Duss: former foreign policy adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders, and now Executive Vice President at the Center for International Policy. They discuss the geopolitical context for Hamas's attack; how the U.S. provides diplomatic cover for Israel on the international stage; and why the Biden administration appears disinclined to restrain Israel from committing war crimes in Gaza.

Unsettled is produced by Emily Bell, Max Freedman, and Ilana Levinson, with support from Asaf Calderon. Music in this episode from Blue Dot Sessions.

Referenced in this episode:

• President Biden Delivers Remarks on the Terrorist Attacks in Israel, October 10, 2023.
• President Biden: The 2023 60 Minutes Interview, October 15, 2023.
• Amir Tibon, "Bernie Sanders Initiates Congressional Letter Urging Trump to Change Gaza Policy In Light of Protests." Haaretz, April 13, 2018.
• Mikhael Manekin, "Why the Safety of Israeli Hostages Must Come First." The  New York Times, October 15, 2023.
• Matt Duss on X, October 17, 2023.

On Saturday, October 7, Hamas launched a surprise attack across the Gaza border, killing more than 1,300 Israelis, mostly civilians, and taking at least 150 Israeli hostages, most of whom are still captive in the Gaza Strip. Israel responded to the attack by declaring war and cutting off food, water, and electricity to the Gaza Strip. On Friday, October 13, Israel ordered 1.1 million people in the northern part of the Gaza Strip to evacuate as it prepares for a ground invasion, and Israeli air strikes have already killed over 2,600 people in Gaza. 

As this crisis unfolds, Unsettled is bringing you the voices of many different people who are affected by the violence, as well as expert analysis and context. Today, producer Ilana Levinson speaks to Isam Hamad: an organizer of 2018's Great March of Return, and manager of a medical equipment company in Gaza City.

Unsettled is produced by Emily Bell, Max Freedman, and Ilana Levinson, with support from Asaf Calderon. Music in this episode from Blue Dot Sessions.

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?

Unsettled is produced by Emily Bell, Max Freedman, and Ilana Levinson, with support from Asaf Calderon. Music in this episode from Blue Dot Sessions.

• Tareq Baconi, Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance (2018)
• "Tareq Baconi: Hamas, Explained" (2019, republished 2021)
• Al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network

Earlier today Hamas launched an attack on Israeli towns near the Gaza border, and has also been launching rockets towards Israeli population centers as north as Tel Aviv. Hundreds of Israeli soldiers and civilians are dead and dozens have been taken captive. The fact that Hamas has been able to breach Israeli defenses and launch an attack of this magnitude inside of Israel has stunned the Israeli public. 

Events are developing rapidly. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has declared war and Israel has launched air raids on Gaza. Hundreds of Palestinians have been killed thus far, most of them in clashes inside of Israel. It seems likely that the situation will continue to escalate: the Israeli minister of energy signed an order to cut electricity to Gaza, and Israeli leaders are considering a full ground invasion of the Gaza Strip. 

Some Israelis are hearing sirens and have to run to shelters; but for Israelis living in the more southern parts of Israel, those sirens indicate a more grave threat. Palestinians live under constant, daily threat of violence and destructio n, in Gaza, civilians are running for shelter from air raids as well, and Netanyahu’s declaration of war means something we don’t yet know. 

The Unsettled team is following the news closely. We are planning to share voices of people impacted by the unfolding war as well as context and analysis on these events. While we’re working on this, we recommend listening to some of our older episodes that we think can provide context to what’s happening today – specifically our interview with Tariq Baconi about Hamas and a conversation between Asaf and Unsettled producer Ilana Levinson called “politicized pain.” 

Make sure to subscribe so that you don’t miss our upcoming reporting, and follow us on Instagram for updates as well.

For more resources on the topics discussed in this episode:

Women Wage Peace

Women of the Sun

AChord

Abraham Initiatives

To hear more from Groundwork: https://groundworkpodcast.com/.

Credits
Groundwork is hosted by Sally Abed and Dina Kraft and produced by Yoshi Fields. Today’s story is by Maria Rashed and scored by Joel Shupack. Art and design by Nick Acosta. Groundwork is a joint production of New Israel Fund and the Alliance for Middle East Peace.

Israel is often called "the only Democracy in the Middle East,” with activists, politicians, and even journalists pointing to Israel's Supreme Court as a prime example. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to weaken the Israeli judiciary, sending Israeli Jews into the streets en masse to protest. For months, Israelis have been engaged in marches, strikes, and even boycotts to stop what many are calling a judicial coup.  But for millions of Palestinians who live under Israeli rule, the  Supreme Court is just another instrument of their subjugation. To better understand this conflict – who’s on what side and who’s being left out of the conversation – we invited  +972 Magazine Senior Editor Amjad Iraqi back to Unsettled. 

In this episode, Amjad mentions  the Israeli nation state law and the 2021 violence in between Palestinians and Jews in Israel’s so called “mixed cities.”  You can hear more from Amjad on those topics in our 2021 episode, 'Palestinians Rising,' and our  2018 episode, 'The Nation-State Law.' This episode also discusses Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and his right-wing agenda. Ben Gvir  openly identifies as a follower of Kahane, who you can learn about in our 2021 episode, 'Shaul Magid: The Life and Afterlife of Meir Kahane.'

Awdah Hathaleen lives in the village of Umm al-Khair, in the South Hebron Hills: a region of the West Bank where Israel has full civil and military control. At the start of 2023, the Israeli military announced plans to forcibly evacuate more than a thousand people from eight villages in the South Hebron Hills. Even though Umm al-Khair is not one of those eight villages, Awdah says life has still become much more difficult for his family and community in the past year.

You can hear more from Awdah Hathaleen and his cousin Tariq about their life in Umm al-Khair in “The Birthday Party”: a special four-part series Unsettled published last year, reported on the ground in the South Hebron Hills. Follow Awdah on Instagram @awdah.hathaleen.

Unsettled is made by Emily Bell, Max Freedman, and Ilana Levinson, with support from Asaf Calderon. Original Music from Blue Dot Sessions.

Musa Abdullah Ali Awad lives in the village of Isfey al-Fauqa. Isfey is located in a part of the West Bank called Masafer Yatta, where Israel has total civil and military control. While the Israeli military has claimed for decades that much of the area is a “firing zone,” they were prevented from forcibly evacuating the villages because of an ongoing legal case. Last spring however, Israel’s High Court of Justice issued its final ruling – in favor of the military and against the Palestinians. At the beginning of January, the army informed Palestinian officials that they would soon begin carrying out the forced transfer of more than a thousand people from eight villages. One of those eight villages is Isfey – where Musa lives. Here, Musa talks about the only home he's ever known, Isfey al-Fauqa.

This episode of Unsettled is reported and translated by Ali Awad, who was featured in our last episode. Addition translation from Alaa Hassan.

Masafer Yatta is in Area C of the West Bank, where Israel has total civil and military control. For decades, the Israeli military has claimed much of the area as a “firing zone.” They were prevented from forcibly evacuating the villages by an ongoing legal case. But last spring, Israel’s High Court of Justice issued its final ruling — in favor of the military and against the Palestinians.

Since then, the people of Masafer Yatta have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. And two weeks ago, the army informed Palestinian officials that they would soon begin carrying out the forced transfer of more than a thousand people — a war crime, according to international law, now authorized by Israeli courts.

We featured Ali Awad on Unsettled just before and after last year’s court decision. You can still go back to listen to those episodes; they’re called “The Campaign to Save Masafer Yatta” and “Playgrounds for the Military.” We asked Ali to explain what’s happening now.

This week, Unsettled will be bringing you voices from the ground in Masafer Yatta and the South Hebron Hills. Stay tuned for more – and while you wait, make sure to listen to our previous two episodes featuring Ali to learn more about the history and conditions in Masafer Yatta. You can follow Ali directly on Instagram at ali_awad98.