The Thin Veil with Ezra Lipp

In this episode of The Thin Veil, Ezra speaks with Israeli writer and activist Einat Temkin —a former United Nations communications officer (2008–2025) and former IDF member —about her journey from growing up in Israel in a liberal Zionist family to becoming an outspoken anti-Zionist Jewish voice. Together, they discuss Israeli society, military indoctrination, Zionism, Hasbara, the decline of the...

What happens when a Palestinian writer and an anti-Zionist Jew agree on the destination—but disagree about some of the language and tactics we use to get there? In this conversation, I sit down with Palestinian American filmmaker, writer, and speaker Mo Husseini for a thoughtful and challenging discussion, filled with agreement, but also some respectful tension. We explore Palestinian identity, Zi...

Rabbi Cat Zavis is a spiritual leader, activist, attorney, and rabbi at Beyt Tikkun — an anti-Zionist Jewish congregation in the Bay Area. In this episode, we explore the process of untangling Judaism from Zionism — and what it means to reconstruct Jewish moral and spiritual life in the aftermath of deep political and theological rupture. We discuss her personal journey through social justice work...

Yassar Dahbour is a Palestinian refugee from Haifa, a Sacramento-based political organizer, president of the Palestine American League , and co-founder of the Sacramento Regional Coalition for Palestinian Rights . Born in a refugee camp in Syria after his family was expelled from Haifa during the Nakba, Yassar grew up surrounded by Palestinian political life, refugee memory, and the dream of retur...

Filmmaker, musician, writer, and abolitionist Matthew Solomon joins Ezra to discuss his new documentary Seeds for Liberation , a film that centers Palestine while tracing the connections between Zionism, U.S. imperialism, policing, Black liberation, the Chicano movement, Indigenous resistance, and broader anti-colonial struggle. Matthew’s previous documentary, Reimagining Safety , explored aboliti...

Julie Wolk is a facilitator, strategist, and creator of Ashkenazi Ancestral Journeys , a spiritual pilgrimage and heritage program that brings Ashkenazi Jews to Poland to reconnect with ancestral lands, Jewish memory, diasporic culture, grief, and political histories that Zionist narratives often teach us to bypass. In this conversation, Julie and Ezra discuss what it means to turn toward Eastern...

What does it mean to practice medicine in Gaza while hospitals collapse, chronic illness goes untreated, children carry water instead of going to school, and entire communities struggle simply to survive? In this episode of The Thin Veil, Ezra speaks with Dr. Musallam Abukhalil, a physician in Gaza and founder of United for Dignity Alliance, a Palestinian-led humanitarian organization providing em...

In this episode of The Thin Veil , Ezra sits down with musician, activist, and La Gente SF frontman Rafa Sarria Bustamante for a wide-ranging conversation on identity, decolonization, Palestine, diaspora, anti-fascism, and political awakening. Rafa reflects on growing up Colombian-Nicaraguan in San Francisco’s Mission District, navigating mixed cultural identity, confronting racism and colorism, a...

In this episode of The Thin Veil , Ezra Lipp speaks with Palestinian artist, musician, producer, and organizer MC Tarik "Excentrik" Kazaleh about diaspora grief, sumud, burnout, and what solidarity asks of people in the West. Tarik reflects on his family’s roots in Palestine, the emotional toll of watching the genocide in Gaza from the diaspora, and why performative empathy is not enough. He also...

In this episode of The Thin Veil, Ezra sits down with artist and organizer Dottie Lux . Dottie shares her journey from a Zionist upbringing to anti-Zionist activism, and how that shift reshaped her identity, her relationships, and her work. She speaks about her time in Palestine doing protective presence in the West Bank with the International Solidarity Movement, and her involvement founding Arti...

Ahmed Sarsour is a poet and artist currently living in Gaza, trying to survive through the ongoing effects of genocide and raise money for his extended family and community through Project Sarsour. After spending much of his life in Sudan as a telecommunications engineer and Palestinian exile, Ahmed fled violence there in 2023—only to return to Gaza just months before the genocide began. In this c...

Ezra sits down with acclaimed musician/songwriter Alexi Murdoch for a wide-ranging conversation on art, activism, and what it means to speak up in a time of crisis. They discuss Alexi’s recent visit to Palestine and what he witnessed under Israeli occupation. The conversation moves between the personal and the political—exploring the tension between creative expression and direct advocacy, and the...

Ezra sits down with Rabbi David Mivasair for a conversation on unlearning, responsibility, and what it means to live out ethical commitments in real time. They explore Connecting Gaza , a grassroots mutual aid project started by Rabbi Mivasair that provides direct support to families in Gaza, and reflect on the limits of traditional political advocacy compared to person-to-person action. The conve...

In this episode of The Thin Veil , Ezra sits down with Sacramento-based musician, educator, and organizer Eli Conley to explore the intersections of identity, music, and movement work. Eli shares his journey from growing up in Richmond, Virginia, to coming out as trans, to becoming deeply involved in anti-racist organizing and community-based activism. The conversation traces how those experiences...

In this conversation, Ezra speaks with Sarah Al Zanoon , a Palestinian-Venezuelan organizer whose family has been directly impacted by the ongoing war in Gaza. They explore Sarah’s experience growing up in the diaspora, navigating identity and belonging, and the process of “decolonizing” her own thinking. Sarah shares what it was like visiting Palestine for the first time, including a moment at a...

For the first episode of The Thin Veil , Ezra welcomes filmmaker Skyler Carrico —whose chance online critique became a turning point in Ezra’s journey toward a deeper understanding of Palestine and the systems shaping our world. Together, they trace their parallel paths of political awakening, including a shared reckoning with the influence of figures like Sam Harris, and what it feels like to con...