From the Foundation for Middle East Peace (FMEP), Occupied Thoughts amplifies the voices of FMEP grantees and partners, offers critical framing, and promote new ideas and new angles on the many issues connected to achieving justice, security, and peace for Palestinians and Israelis. FMEP works to defend and support Palestinian rights, end Israel’s occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, and ensure a just and secure future for Palestinians and Israelis. FMEP advances this ...
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"Centering Human Life, Disrupting Injustice Without Replicating It:" 2025 FMEP Fellow Hilary Rantisi
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41:15In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP's Sarah Anne Minkin speaks with Hilary Rantisi, one of FMEP's 2025 non-resident Fellows. They discuss Hilary's work as a longtime educator seeking to teach the critique of power, her childhood and many years living in the West Bank, and how she understands the dynamics of the current moment in the context …
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Mapping Life & Land: Beirut Urban Lab
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1:06:01In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Dr. Nour Joudah speaks with Ahmad Gharbieh, professor at the American University of Beirut and co-founder of the Beirut Urban Lab, an interdisciplinary research space. They discuss the process and value of critical cartography, which analyzes maps as instruments of power, looking at who has the auth…
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Genocide and self-involvement: on being Israeli as Israel commits a historic crime
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47:22In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor interviews Israeli author, academic, and political commentator Ori Goldberg about how Israeli society reckons - or not - with Palestinians, with committing this genocidal war in Gaza, and with the centrality of the military in Israeli society. The two discuss Ori's path to becoming a diss…
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The Escalation of Israel's Gaza-fication of the West Bank
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49:47In this episode of FMEP’s Occupied Thoughts, FMEP’s Lara Friedman speaks with preeminent journalist Dalia Hatuqa about the current realities of Israel violence carried out both by the Israeli military and Israeli civilians (settlers) against Palestinians in the West Bank -- including the situation in the months leading up to 10/7/23; the dangerous …
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A toxic environment for those who dare to question: Prof. Katherine Franke w/ Peter Beinart
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48:40In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart interviews Professor Katherine Franke, former faculty at Columbia University’s law school, about student activism and escalating repression at Columbia since October 7th, 2023. Katherine Franke just retired from Columbia, saying “I have come to the view that the Columbia University adm…
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Introducing 2025 Fellow Ahmed Moor: When "the urgency of the need isn't met by the pace of change."
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39:31In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP’s Sarah Anne Minkin speaks with writer Ahmed Moor, one of FMEP’s 2025 Palestinian Non-resident Fellows, about his family and background, the values that guide his writing, and how he understands and engages with Palestinian survival in this moment. They also discuss urgent questions around navigating activ…
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Holding Israel & the US Accountable for Gaza
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52:06In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP's 2025 Palestinian Non-residential Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Sarah Leah Whitson, Executive Director of DAWN, a research and advocacy organization focused on U.S. policy in the MENA (Middle East/North Africa) region. They discuss DAWN's approach to analyzing U.S. interests and policy as well as a range …
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Why Some Israelis Refuse To Serve in the IDF
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29:30In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Atalya Ben Abba and Mattan Helman of the Israeli Refuser Solidarity Network. They discuss what makes a person refuse to serve in the Israeli military, how the Israeli military treats refusers, and the surprising solidarity inside military prisons. Resources: Refuser Solidar…
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Phoenix of Gaza: a 360° view of Palestinian agency and life
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1:08:35In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Nour Joudah speaks with Cal State University-San Bernadino Professor Ahlam Muhtaseb. Dr. Muhtaseb is co-founder of the Phoenix of Gaza XR, an interactive virtual reality experience that captures the untold stories of Gaza’s people and its transformation and provides a deep dive into the lives of tho…
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In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart and analyst Maha Yahya discuss the new developments in Syria. They look at how Syria's new leaders governed in the areas they controlled over the last few years, why some Syrian minorities are fleeing to Lebanon, and whether Turkey will pursue the Kurds in Syria.Maha Yahya is director …
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Connecting the Bullets: Guns on the Kitchen Table to Organized Crime to Crimes Against Humanity
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1:01:41In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP's Sarah Anne Minkin speaks with attorney and activist Meisa Irshaid, activist and author Rela Mazali, and Professor Jonathan Metzl about the proliferation of guns in civilian spaces in Israel/Palestine. They discuss the the acceleration of organized crime and gun violence in Palestinian communities inside …
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Eyewitness to Israel's Intentionally Created Health Apocalypse in Gaza
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1:25:49In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP President Lara Friedman speaks with Dr. Tammy Abughnaim, an American physician who has been to Gaza twice since 10/7/23, serving as a humanitarian physician and has worked at Al-Aqsa Hospital and Nasser Medical Complex; and Dr. Yara Asi, assistant professor at the University of Central Florida in the Schoo…
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How and Why South African Care About Palestinians
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36:03In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with writer and editor William Shoki about the history of South Africa and Israel, how South Africa's government sees its global role, and how South Africans think about Israel/Palestine in comparison to post-apartheid South Africa. William Shoki is a writer and editor of the on…
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In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Non-Resident Fellow Peter Beinart talks to Eyal Weizman about his work at Forensic Architecture and the recently released "Cartography of Genocide" - an interactive platform that maps Israel's genocidal bombardment of Gaza and use of mass evacuation orders to destroy civilian life. Along with the platform,…
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Understanding Palestinian Pain & Resistance: Reporting from the West Bank
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49:14In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Nour Joudah speaks with journalist Mariam Barghouti about reporting from the ground in the West Bank, views on the Palestinian Authority and Palestinian resistance, and understanding Israeli violence in Gaza and the West Bank within the larger frame of Palestinian history. Mariam Barghouti is a Pale…
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Beyond unipolarity and the 'rules-based international order' toward a "Better Order Project"
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37:06In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with policy experts Zack Paikin and Trita Parsi about the the new report they co-authored, “Toward a Better Security Order,” the first report by the Quincy Institute's Better Order Project. The report is the result of discussions with over 130 experts, scholars, and practitioner…
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Israel’s UNRWA Ban: What it means for Gaza, the UN and the World
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1:14:06On 11/28/24, despite warnings by the international community against such a step, Israel’s Knesset voted overwhelmingly to adopt two laws that effectively ban the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA), the UN agency that has served the needs of Palestinian refugees since 1949, from operating in Israel and the Israeli-occupied territories (West…
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Holding Israeli Media Accountable: Incitement to Genocide is a Crime
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41:27In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP's Sarah Anne Minkin speaks with Israeli human rights attorney Alon Sapir about the legal complaint he recently filed, together with other Israeli attorneys, accusing Israeli media Channel 14 of incitement to genocide against Palestinians and other grave crimes. As Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza continu…
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"The clash between the stories we tell & the reality of life on the ground"
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40:17FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with journalist and author Ta-Nehisi Coates about Coates' new book, The Message. Coates’ website describes this part of the book this way: “Coates travels to Palestine, where he sees with devastating clarity how easily we are misled by nationalist narratives, and the tragedy that lies in the clash between the storie…
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Israel’s Plans for a “New Order” in the Middle East - a conversation with Mouin Rabbani
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49:48In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP President Lara Friedman speaks with Mouin Rabbani about Israel's war on Gaza, its offensive in Lebanon, and how these and other developments fit into Israel's broader objectives in the region, most notably with respect to Iran. Mouin is widely published analyst and commentator on Palestinian affairs, the I…
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The (Bipartisan) Betrayal of Arab Americans
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43:25FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Maya Berry, Executive Director of the Arab American Institute to discuss Maya’s experience testifying on hate crimes before the Senate Judiciary Committee, where several Republican Senators challenged her in expressly anti-Arab ways. For more information and resources, please visit: https://fmep.org/resource/th…
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In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP President Lara Friedman discusses how Palestine is one of the defining issues of the 2024 elections with Rania Batrice, and FMEP 2024 non-Resident Fellow.Read more: https://fmep.org/resource/palestine-in-the-2024-u-s-elections/By Occupied Thoughts by FMEP
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FMEP Non-resident Fellow Rania Batrice talks with Matt Duss (Center for International Policy) about the current state of politics on Israel and Palestine in the U.S..By Occupied Thoughts by FMEP
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In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Non-Resident Fellow Nour Joudah speaks with Philip Proudfoot and Mahdi Zaidan from the Accountability Archive (@archivegenocide), which describes itself as a “crowdsourced record of journalists, politicians, and public figures endorsing or encouraging the ethnic cleansing of Gaza and/or defaming pro-Palest…
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Turning Pain into Power: Feeding Families & Bringing Attention to Gaza
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32:26In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Rania Batrice speaks with Hani Almadhoun, Gaza native, Director of Philanthropy at UNRWA USA, and co-founder, along with his family in Gaza, of Gaza Soup Kitchen. They discuss survival and loss in Gaza, where Hani's parents, siblings, and extended family live, and the project his family created to p…
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Harrison Mann on Immoral Policy, Looming Regional War, and Leaving the Biden Administration
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33:47In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Harrison Mann, a former U.S. Army major and executive officer of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Middle East/Africa Regional Center who resigned in protest of his office’s support for Israel during its Gaza campaign. They discuss Harrison's decision to resign, why gov…
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The Core Truths About Palestine and Israel
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46:22In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with writer Ahmed Moor about why Israel/Palestine is not exceptional, why Palestinians turn to armed resistance, and why neither Palestinians nor Jewish Israelis will leave the land between the Jordan river and the Mediterranean Sea. Ahmed Moor is Palestinian-American writer who…
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The Assault on the Khalidi Library in Jerusalem
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32:00In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Columbia Professor Emeritus Rashid Khalidi. They discuss how and why Jewish settlers are trying to take over the Khalidi Library in Jerusalem and the history of Israel's treatment of Palestinian educational institutions. They also reflect on the current war, looking at its …
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Witnessing in the West Bank & Gaza with Riham Jafari
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24:40In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Rania Batrice speaks with Palestinian communication and advocacy specialist Riham Jafari about Gaza and the West Bank, focusing specifically on the impact of the last nine months on women and girls, on the health system in Gaza, and on the use of starvation as a weapon against the Palestinians in Ga…
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In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Professor Yael Berda about Israel's de facto annexation of the West Bank. A few days ago, the Guardian reported that “[t]he Israeli military has quietly handed over significant legal powers in the occupied West Bank to pro-settler civil servants working for the far-right mi…
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The Gaza Catastrophe, Part 2 — The U.S. Role & Responsibility
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1:09:47This session reviewed and analyzed the role Congress & the Executive have played vis-a-vis Israel and Palestine in general, and Gaza in particular, both before and since 10/7/23.Panelists: Josh Paul (former official at the U.S. Department of State), Zaha Hassan (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace), Tess McEnery (Middle East Democracy Center…
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The Gaza Catastrophe, Part 3 — International Law & Humanitarian Crisis
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1:17:32This 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…
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The Gaza Catastrophe, Part 4 — What Comes Next?
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1:23:04What 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-mo…
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Introduction to the Gaza Catastrophe: 2024 Congressional Briefing Series
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22:48Khaled 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 Pro…
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The Gaza Catastrophe, Part 1 — How We Got Here
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1:14:00This 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 …
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Centering Gaza, Punished in College: What it's Like to be a Campus Activist Against this War
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51:11In 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 in…
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A Look From the Radical Israeli Left: A Multi-Front Battle Against Fascism & Jewish Supremacy
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37:22In 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-lo…
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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 ico…
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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 Isr…
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Why Palestine Is Part of (& Central To) the Movement for Climate Justice
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40:11In 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 - -…
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What Does it Mean for the US to Condition Aid to Israel?
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22:42In 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 righ…
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Dead, Disabled, Displaced, Detained, Orphaned: The Toll of Israel’s War on Palestinian Children
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1:02:44This 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/resourc…
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Updates on Gaza & Looking to the Future: Mass Depopulation & Continued Violence
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41:48In 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 Isr…
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RESIGNED: The Former Biden Admin Officials Who Left Their Jobs Over Gaza
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1:18:16FMEP 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-m…
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“Incitement, Destruction, Willful Flouting of Int'l Law”: Israel’s Assault on Al Shifa Hospital
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40:47In 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…
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Rania Batrice & Ryan Grim on the Urgency & Need for Independent Journalism
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58:30In 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 r…
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What Comes After the Destruction of Gaza?
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40:34In 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 Yaquou…
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Biden & Israel: What it’s Like to Make Policy in the White House
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47:39In 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 Administrati…
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Media Bias in Reporting on Sexual Assault on October 7th - Breaking Down the Damage
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46:30In 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 re…
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Introducing Nour Joudah, 2024 FMEP Palestinian Fellow
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25:48In 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 discuss…
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