Jerusalem Unplugged Podcast

Welcome back for part two of our comprehensive exploration of Zionism on Jerusalem Unplugged. In our previous episode, Arie Dubnov provided invaluable insights tracing the diverse ideological currents and forces that shaped the Zionist movement from its origins through the tumultuous events surrounding Israeli statehood in 1948. Today, we continue this illuminating discussion a...

In this first installment of a special two-part series, Jerusalem Unplugged takes a deep dive into the origins and development of Zionism leading up to the establishment of Israel in 1948. I am joined by Professor Arie Dubnov, an expert on the histories of this influential nationalist ideology.  Over the course of this thorough yet riveting episode, Professor Dubnov p...

For this episode I had the pleasure to interview Loren Lybarger, a long time resident of Palestine who devoted a few years studying the Palestinian community of Chicago which is home to one of the largest, most politically active Palestinian immigrant communities in the United States. For decades, secular nationalism held sway as the dominant political ideology, but since ...

In this second episode dedicated to the Balfour Declaration I have republished the presentations made by Professor Avi Shlaim and Salim Tamari at: 'The British Legacy in Palestine: Balfour and Beyond' conference held at the Palestinian National Theatre on 2 November 2017.  This was a joint event from the Kenyon Institute and the Educational Bookshop, and supported by the B...

Cherished and hated by many, the Balfour Declaration is certainly considered one of the most controversial documents in recent history. In this first episode of a series dedicated to this document, I will discuss the origins of the Declaration and offer several explanations in the attempt to understand why the British promised a Jewish National Home for the Jewish people i...

*Country of Words* taps into the power of Palestinian literature to defy conventional linear, chronological, and artificial national frames of representation. Despite the fact that an unprecedented number of the world's population live as refugees, exiles, or stateless people, the logic of the nation-state continues to loom large over literary studies. Delving into the dec...

(Episodio in Italiano) In questa puntata di Jerusalem Unplugged ho il piacere di pubblicare il mio intervento insieme a quello di Maria Chiara Rioli e Arturo Marzano come relatori del seminario Palestina - Israele Dal sionismo delle origini al 1948: eventi, documenti, interpretazioni che ha avuto luogo all'universita' di Bologna Dipartimento di Storia, il 22 Gennaio 2024 o...

American Jews began debating Palestinian rights issues even before Israel’s founding in 1948. Geoffrey Levin recovers the voices of American Jews who, in the early decades of Israel’s existence, called for an honest reckoning with the moral and political plight of Palestinians. These now‑forgotten voices, which include an aid‑worker‑turned‑academic with Palestinian Sephard...

This is an edited recast of the podcast I recorded with Oliver Webb-Carter, founder of Aspects of History home - Aspects of History.  After the horrific attacks of 7th October our editor discussed the long running Israel Palestine conflict with historian and author Roberto Mazza. Covering the growing Zionist movement in the early 20th century, to the Balfour Declaration th...

In the Old City of Jerusalem, 80 kilometres from the war in Gaza, another religious conflict is taking place. An Australian property developer, aided by a group of armed Jewish settlers, has attempted to occupy a prized piece of land in the Armenian Christian quarter. Even though a deal to build a hotel was overturned, Armenian families are threatened with eviction from ho...

What is settler colonialism? How does this concept relate to Israel and Palestine? What about other countries? These are all great questions which I discussed in this episode with Arnon Degani. Arnon is currently a Fellow at Molad – Center for the Renewal of Israeli Democracy, specializing in the history of Zionism, Palestinian nationalism, and the Israeli-Palestinian conf...

I'm thrilled to bring you a thought-provoking talk by my good friend and friend of the podcast Louis Fishman. Our conversation today delves deep into the complex dynamics of the Middle East, focusing on "Israel, Palestine, Turkey in the post-Oct. 7th reality: A Historical Look Toward the Future." The talk was given at Northwestern University of Nov. 8. There's a twist to today'...

As the war keeps raging in Palestine, thousands have been killed, thousands are living under threat of immediate death, hundreds of hostages are still held somewhere in Gaza, the West Bank is on the brink of exploding, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism are on the rise, polarized views leave no room for dialogue, I choose to publish an interview I recorded some time ago and I...

Dopo tante richieste personali, ho pensato di organizzare un webinar non-accadmeico dedicato alla questione israelo-palestinese e ad Hamas, un'occasione unica per esplorare il contesto storico che ha plasmato gli eventi contemporanei che hanno portato all'attacco del 7 Ottobre e la conseguente risposta di Israele. Durante questa sessione di 50 minuti, approfondiremo le ori...

We open season 5 without any celebration. The current war on Gaza, the brutal killings of civilians perpetrated by Hamas and the equally brutal response by the State of Israel carpet-bombing Gaza indiscriminately and essentially pushing Palestinians towards a second Nakba could not be a good time to celebrate 100 episodes of Jerusalem Unplugged.  In this new release I talk...

In this fast moving conversation with Lauren Banko we discussed her first book 'The Invention of Palestinian Citizenship 1918-1947' and the question of Palestinian citizenship as a product of colonial rule, but also adopted by local Palestinians. We also discussed hew new projects like 'Medical Deportees: narrations and pathographies of health at the borders of Great Brita...

The Holy Land was the destination for many Muslim pilgrims during the late medieval and early modern period. In addition to worshipping on Jerusalem’s Haram al-Sharif, Muslim pilgrims in the Holy Land also visited important Christian holy sites, such as the Mount of Olives, the Tomb of Mary, and the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. With fada’il al-Quds (“Merits of Jerusalem”)...

On September 6, 1918, twelve individuals met at the residence of the military governor of Jerusalem.1 The room was filled with tension as the governor was trying to win the confidence of those who were still skeptical and suspicious of British rule. A few months earlier, in December 1917, General Allenby had led the British troops into Jerusalem, ending Ottoman rule in the...

This is the first episode of a short series dedicated to the British Military rule of Jerusalem between 1917 and 1920 introducing the almost forgotten figure of Ronald Storrs. Following the conquest of the city, the British established military rule which lasted until 1 July 1920. From the perspective of the local population the government of the city had passed from Ottom...

In this episode I discussed with Gabriel Schwake his latest book Dwelling on the Green Line, looking at the question of Israeli settlements built around the Green Line separating Israel and Palestine. Concealed within the walls of settlements along the Green-Line, the border between Israel and the occupied West-Bank, is a complex history of territoriality, privatisation an...

Izzeldin Abdul Aziz Bukhari is the self-taught chef and founder of SacredCuisine; a culmination of Izzeldin’s life experiences that are deeply embedded in his Sufi roots. It embodies everything he values and aspires to instill. Originating from Bukhara – Uzbekistan, his family migrated to the Old City of Jerusalem in 1616 AD to teach Sufism. As a young adult he moved to th...

Led by General Allenby, British troops entered Jerusalem in December 1917, ending Ottoman rule and opening a new and crucial era in the history of Jerusalem and Palestine. The history of Jerusalem has traditionally been depicted as the quintessential history of conflict and strife, of ethnic and communal tensions and of incompatible national narratives and visions. The tra...

Following the first conversation with Awad Halabi (episode 49) as we discussed his work on the Nabi Musa festival, we are glad to celebrate and discuss in more details his latest book Palestinian Rituals of Identity. In this second part dedicated to the Nabi Musa Festival we will focus on the origins of the festival, its development with a particular focus on the late Otto...

Chandler is a Ph. D. candidate at Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel. He holds two M.A. degrees in the fields of Semitic languages, Hebrew Bible, and archaeology from Trinity International University in Deerfield, IL. He is a faculty member and the former Dean of Administration at Jerusalem University College. He is also a member of ARCH Jerusalem, an NGO devoted to...

In this Ramadan/Passover/Easter episode I sat down with Fadi Boukaram - aka @cedrusk - and spent some time talking about words and names that changed  throughout time and travelled unimaginable distances. I recommend all listeners of Jerusalem Unplugged to subscribe to @cedrusk on whatever social media you are on as you will enjoy and learn lots of interesting and entertai...