Occupied Thoughts

This session examined humanitarian conditions and issues of international law and accountability, including the ongoing genocide case before the International Court of Justice. Panelists: Raz Segal (Stockton University), Sherine Tadrous (Amnesty International), Chris Gunness (Former UNRWA spokesperson); co-moderated by MEI’s Khaled Elgindy and FMEP’s Lara Friedman. Recorded 5-3-2024. For more info...

What comes next? This session examined the prospects for reconstruction and governance in Gaza as well as implications of the ongoing crisis for internal Palestinian politics and the future of the Palestinian national movement. Panelists: Abdelhadi Alijl (Social & Political Scientist), Nour Odeh (Political Activist), Mouin Rabbani (Jaddaliya); co-moderated by MEI’s Khaled Elgindy and FMEP’s Lara F...

Khaled Elgindy of the Middle East Institute (MEI) and Lara Friedman of the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP) speak with Sarah Anne Minkin (FMEP) about "The Gaza Catastrophe: 2024 Congressional Briefing Series." The Congressional Briefing Series is an educational program conducted annually by the Middle East Institute’s Palestinian Affairs Program and the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FME...

This session assessed the current situation on the ground in Gaza, how we got here, including the events of October 7, as well as conditions in the West Bank, along the Israel-Lebanon border, and broader regional dynamics. Panelists: Mkhaimar Abusada (Al-Azhar University of Gaza) & Mairav Zonszein (International Crisis Group); co-moderated by MEI’s Khaled Elgindy and FMEP’s Lara Friedman For more...

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Shraddha Joshi and Asmer Safi, two student activists organizing for Palestinian solidarity at Harvard University. Harvard is withholding both of their degrees due to their campus activism. Peter, Shraddha, and Asmer discuss the dynamics and motivations that draw students into pro-Palestinian activism, the messages that cam...

In this episode of "Occupied Thoughts," FMEP non-resident fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Sapir Sluzker Amran about her identity as a Mizrachi, queer activist - and her recent action to document and disrupt right-wing Israeli settlers attacking a convoy of aid at the Gaza barrier. For bios and resources, please visit: https://fmep.org/resource/a-look-from-the-radical-israeli-left-a-multi-front-ba...

On Nakba Day 2024 - commemorated amidst Israel's ongoing genocidal war on Gaza - FMEP is re-releasing a very special podcast produced last year in partnership with Project48. This project was created to commemorate the 75 years of the Palestinian Nakba, sharing the voices of 10 powerful Palestinian artists, sharing their works and that of other iconic Palestinian creators. Featured artists are: Ah...

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Professor Sahar Aziz of Rutgers University about the current attacks on academic freedom and why the US House of Representatives is investigating Rutgers and its Center for Security, Race and Rights, which Sahar directs. They also discuss the dangers of exceptionalizing Israel and the future of American universities more b...

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Non-resident Fellow Rania Batrice speaks to Mary Annaïse Heglar, a climate justice writer and essayist. The two discuss the intersection of the movement for Palestinian liberation and the movement for climate justice, why and how the two converge around indigineity and people's relationship to the land - - as well as a holistic vision for organizing for j...

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with analyst Seth Binder about the technicalities of U.S. aid to Israel. They discuss the ways in which U.S. aid to Israel works differently from U.S. aid to other countries, the legal requirements & questions surrounding U.S. aid to Israeli military units that commit human rights abuses, and the question of whether, and in wha...

This podcast is the audio recording of a webinar featuring Miranda Cleland, Defense for Children International-Palestine, & Hamdi Shaqqura, Palestinian Center for Human Rights, in conversation with 2023 FMEP Fellow Dr. Yara Asi. To see links to the resources mentioned in the webinar, go to the landing page for this webinar: https://fmep.org/resource/dead-disabled-displaced-detained-orphaned-the-to...

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, political analyst Khalil Sayegh joins FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart to look at the current situation on the ground in Gaza, where Sayegh's family is located, including a discussion of the military and political dynamics of both Israel and Hamas. Looking towards the future, Sayegh discusses the ways the in which Israel has made Gaza unlivable and has no plan to mak...

FMEP is honored to host Josh Paul, Tariq Habash, and Annelle Sheline for their first joint public appearance and conversation over their individual decisions to resign from their jobs in the Biden Administration over the President’s policy on Israel, Palestine, and the ongoing war in Gaza. We discuss the Biden Administration’s policy and decision-making, and the possibilities for changing course,...

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, 2023 FMEP Fellow Dr. Yara Asi joins FMEP's Dr. Sarah Anne Minkin to discuss Israel's March 2024 attack on Al Shifa hospital, the largest and most important medical center in Gaza, known as the heart of the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip. In addition to looking at the details of Israel's assault on Al Shifa and the area around it, Dr. Asi discusses the des...

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Rania Batrice speaks with journalist Ryan Grim about the limitations of mainstream media's reporting on Israel's war on Gaza and the opportunities and potential for independent journalism focused on Israel & Palestine more broadly. Addressing the high stakes of U.S. politics, they also speak about repression against advocates for Palestinian life a...

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with writer Ahmed Moor about a range of urgent issues, including how the conversation about post-war Gaza doesn’t include Palestinians, the ethics of not voting for Joe Biden, and in what ways the Palestine solidarity movement can change Washington. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart is joined with Steven Simon, former Director of the National Security Council in the Obama Administration. The two discuss what the conversation in the White House in regards to U.S. policy towards Israel, as it was in the Obama Administration and possibly now in the Biden Administration. For bios and resources, see: https://fmep.org/...

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Rania Batrice and analyst Krystal Ball look at the controversy surrounding allegations of widespread and systematic sexual assault by Hamas on October 7th. This conversation does not ask “was there or wasn’t there sexual assault on October 7?” Rather, it focuses on the harm caused by biased media reports and the absence of independent and thorough...

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP’s Sarah Anne Minkin speaks with Nour Joudah, Assistant Professor at UCLA and one of FMEP’s 2024 Palestinian Non-Resident Fellows. Nour speaks of her background, her Palestinian identity, and her research that looks not only at indigenous survival but at indigenous life, knowledge, and duration. She discusses the meaning of this moment in time for Palestin...

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellows Rania Batrice & Peter Beinart speak about Arab American politics and why the Biden administration is out of step with Democratic Voters. They look at the political organizing around the Michigan primary this week, the Arab American political awakening, and discuss whether there is anything President Biden can do to win back progressive voters. FME...

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP’s Lara Friedman speaks with Dr. Assal Rad.  Dr. Rad is a scholar of Middle East history. She works on research and writing related to U.S. foreign policy issues, the Middle East, and contemporary Iran. Her writing can be seen in Newsweek, The National Interest, The Independent, Foreign Policy and more, and she has appeared as a commentator on BBC World, A...

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP’s Sarah Anne Minkin talks to Rania Batrice, political strategist, activist, coalition builder, and one of FMEP’s 2023-2024 Palestinian Non-Resident Fellows. Rania discusses her background, the vision and values guiding her wide-ranging work, and the urgent and high-stakes political opportunities for Palestinians and their allies in this US election year. ...

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Yara Asi speaks with Alex de Waal of the World Peace Foundation and Tufts University and author of the January 21, 2024 article in the Guardian entitled “Unless Israel changes course, it could be legally culpable for mass starvation.”  In this discussion of widespread hunger and impending famine in Gaza, Drs. Asi & de Waal look at Gaza in relation...

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP’s Lara Friedman speaks to Middle East policy journalist, analyst, and author Omar Rahman about the regional impacts and implications of Israel's ongoing war on Gaza. Omar is currently a fellow at the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, where he focuses on Palestine, Middle East geopolitics, and American foreign policy in the region, and he is also a no...

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP’s Lara Friedman speaks to international legal expert in business and human rights Tara Van Ho about the latest twist in the ongoing controversy involving the Chicago-based financial services company Morningstar Inc. and its subsidiary Sustainalytics, over how it deals with Israel and the Occupied Palestinian territories. Specifically, the podcast explores...