The so-called "humanitarian pause" in Israel's assault on Gaza ended just days ago, and already nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed. The Israeli military released a map dividing Gaza into over 2,000 small sections. They say they will notify Palestinians in each of these sections when they plan to bomb or invade it so that the Palestinians can move to a different section. People have compared this to the Hunger Games or similar dystopian stories. As a result, Palestinians in Gaza continue to be squeezed into smaller and smaller spaces with nowhere to go and not nearly enough food, medicine, and fuel entering the area to sustain human life. The international community continues to wring its hands without doing anything to stop Israel. In fact, led by the Biden administration in the United States, most of the Western nations continue to stand firmly behind Israel. Biden wants to lift the few small restrictions on arms transfers that do exist between the Unit

Israeli bombs continue to rain down on the Palestinian residents of Gaza. As of this recording, over 9,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed, a figure that includes over 3,700 children. Multiple experts on international law and the history of genocide have said that Israel’s actions do indeed amount to genocide. In this episode of the podcast, we’re going to hear a program staged by the Palestine Festival of Literature on November 1, titled: But We Must Speak: On Palestine and the Mandates of Conscience. The event featured: Michelle Alexander, the acclaimed civil rights lawyer and author of The New Jim Crow; Professor Rashid Khalidi in conversation with National Book Award winner Ta-Nehisi Coates; Pulitzer Prize-winning Mojave American poet Natalie Diaz; Scholar and international legal expert, Noura Erakat; and poet, activist, and Mondow

The impact of the Israeli occupation of Palestine extends far beyond the disputed borders of the region. Israeli companies – many with close ties to the government and military – export weapons and surveillance technology across the globe. Palestinians and their communities serve as test subjects, where potential clients can witness the impact of Israeli technology in an urban warfare setting. Award-winning journalist Antony Loewenstein details this dynamic in his book "The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World". It was published by Verso earlier this year. Mondoweiss U.S. correspondent Michael Arria recently spoke to Lowenstein about his reporting. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical, independent coverage of events in Palestine, Isr

Earlier this summer, we announced that Mohammed El-Kurd, the Palestinian poet, journalist, and activist, was joining our staff as the Culture Editor. This is the first podcast episode Mohammed has produced for us, and we're excited to share it with you. He is joined by the playwright Raeda Taha. – – – Support our work Help us continue our critical, independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate. Articles and Links mentioned in the show Follow Raeda Taha on Instagram. The martyr's daughter: a review of ‘Where Can I Find Someone Like You, Ali?’, Jamal Najjab Subscribe to our free email newsletters.</li

Today we’re excited to share an episode from the Latitude Adjustment Podcast looking at the role Christian Zionism plays in continuing persecution of Palestinians. Eric Maddox completed his graduate research in Conflict Transformation from Dheisheh Refugee Camp in the Occupied West Bank, collecting oral histories from the 1948 War. He is the founder and director of the Palestine Podcast Academy, and the host of Latitude Adjustment Podcast. He interviewed Rev. Dr. Don Wagner, a friend of Mondoweiss, and expert on Christian Zionism. From Latitude Adjustment's show notes: While there have been different strains of Christian Zionism dating back to the Sixteenth Century, the most politicized, powerful, and violent iteration of the movement has its roots in the contemporary Christian Evangelical Church. Modern Christian Zionists hold that the ethnic cleansing of roughly 750,000 Palestinians from their homes i

Today we have two interviews from our US correspondent, Michael Arria.  First he speaks with Josh Ruebner about the shifting politics around U.S. aid to Israel, and later, he checks in with the victim of an anti-Palestinian smear campaign at Florida State University. We begin with U.S. aid to Israel. The fight in Congress continues to build over the billions of dollars we send to Israel every year. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen is the latest to call for conditioning US aid to Israel, joining other high profile figures such as Bernie Sanders, Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and others. At the same time, however, a high-profile delegation of Democrats in the House Representatives were in Israel meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu. This trip was sponsored by the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, and they have been furiously promoting it online over the past several days. Many, if not all of the Congress members on t

Mondoweiss was founded by Phil Weiss, a career journalist, while he was on staff at The New York Observer. In 2006 a wealthy young man named Jared Kushner bought the Observer. After tolerating Phil’s writing on Israel for a brief period, Phil was forced out by Kushner, but he was allowed to keep his blog. Phil is a magnanimous guy and he credits Kushner with freeing him from the world of mainstream journalism to pursue his interest in Israel and the fascination with it that much of American Jewish society clings to. We get asked a lot about the name of the site, Mondoweiss. It was the name of the blog version when it was hosted at the Observer and Phil kept it when he left. One definition of the word “mondo” is “very, or extremely”. So the name “Mondoweiss” was meant as a lighthearted joke that the site would be “extremely Weiss”, because initially Phil was the only author. But the site has grown and evo

Israel’s military invasion of the Jenin Refugee Camp, dubbed “Operation Home and Garden” came to an end late Tuesday night. It left at least 12 Palestinians dead, and one Israeli soldier. Israel has, predictably, declared the operation a success. They say 120 Palestinians were arrested and weapons caches were destroyed, including bomb making materials. The Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, said: “in the last two days we interrupted the weapon production process, seized thousands of bombs, some small and some large, and destroyed dozens of factories, workshops and laboratories.” Our reporters have not yet been able to verify his claim that “dozens” of locations related to the armed resistance in Jenin were destroyed. While the military and political leadership in Israel gloats, Palestinians in Jenin are telling a different story of the largest attack on the camp  since 2002’s Operation Defensive Shield. In this assault, Israel deployed up to 2,000 troops backed by

Alice Rothchild is doctor, writer, filmmaker and activist who has spent decades in key social justice movements. She is the author of three books,  Broken Promises, Broken Dreams: Stories of Jewish and Palestinian Trauma and Resilience was released in 2007, On the Brink: Israel and Palestine on the Eve of the 2014 Gaza Invasion, came in 2014, and Condition Critical: Life and Death in Israel/Palestine, was published in 2017. This year Cune Press will publish her first young adult novel, Finding Melody Sullivan. It is the story of a half-Jewish, half-Catholic, 16-year-old girl told against the backdrop of the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Phil Weiss spoke to Alice recently about the book, and about her journey from a Conservative Jewish upbringing in New England to become an outspoken activist for Palestinian freedom. - - - - - Support our work <span style="font-

The Al Aqsa Mosque compound in Jerusalem encompasses several key sites central to Islam, including the Dome of the Rock, the third holiest site for Muslims, where the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have ascended to heaven, where he spoke to God. The compound sits on the Temple Mount, where the ancient Hebrew temple once stood. Today we have a conversation with our Palestine news team about the events surrounding Al Aqsa during Ramadan this year. As readers of our site and listeners to this podcast are surely aware, the Israeli government carried out several raids of the Al Aqsa compound in the last few weeks, leaving one Palestinian dead and hundreds injured and arrested. The Zionist propaganda machine has been working overtime to paint Palestinians as poor caretakers of these sacred spaces, claiming that children playing soccer, or the very presence of fireworks prove that they don’t deserve to be there in the first place. Yumna Patel, our Palestine News

Protests continue in Israel. Last week, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walked back his government’s push to overhaul the Israeli judicial system, but did not abandon the effort. Instead, the government will take it up again in a few months when the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, returns from its spring recess. As part of the agreement to delay the legislation, a new national guard force will be created under the control of the National Security Minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir. Dr. Yara Hawari, senior political analyst at the Palestinian thinktank Al-Shabaka, says, "Itamar Ben-Gvir is an extremist, he’s someone who has consistently called for violence against Palestinians throughout his political career." In today’s episode, Mondoweiss Palestine News Director Yumna Patel speaks with Dr. Hawari about developments in the protests, and what they mean for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation and apartheid. - - - - - <

In February, Students for Justice in Palestine held their 12th annual conference in Los Angeles for a weekend of critical discussion, movement building, and political education. Michael Arria spoke with a member of the group's steering committee about the themes of the conference, the state of Palestine activism on U.S. campuses, and the victories of 2022. After that, we’ll hear about the Stop Cop City protests in Atlanta, and the links between the Georgia International Law Enforcement Exchange and Israeli police. Adam Horowitz spoke to Kamau Franklin, an activist and organizer in Atlanta involved in the Stop Cop City movement. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at htt

We have two interviews in this episode. First, I’ll talk to Mondoweiss’s Palestine News Director, Yumna Patel, about her new video report published today titled On The Brink: Jenin’s rising resistance. Then we’ll hear from Ahmad Abuznaid, the executive director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, about their legal battle with the Jewish National Fund. First, to the Jenin refugee camp. On January 26 the Israeli army conducted a deadly invasion into the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. In the span of a few hours, the army shot and killed 9 Palestinians. A 10th Palestinian died a few days later from injuries sustained during the raid. It was one of the deadliest single invasions into the Jenin camp, and in the West Bank, in years. It came on the heels of a year-long effort by the Israeli military to quash

Last year Tony Greenstein published a book that was the culmination of many years of research, titled “Zionism During the Holocaust: The Weaponization of Memory in the Service of State and Nation”. The book examines in great detail the Holocaust mythology that Israel promotes and deploys in a strategic manner to neutralize and smear intellectual and political criticisms of its human rights violations. Greenstein has long pedigree. He has been an anti-Zionist in Britain for more than 40 years. He is a founding member of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the biggest organization in the UK focused on Palestinian human rights. An author and blogger and son of a rabbi, Greenstein is also an active trade unionist. In this episode, Phil Weiss speaks to Tony Greenstein about his new book. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independent cover

In this 50th episode of the Mondoweiss Podcast, our founder and senior editor Phil Weiss speaks to Matthew Teller about his new book, Nine Quarters of Jerusalem: A New Biography of the Old City. The book mixes travel writing and history with the savage politics of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians in a city loved by people all over the world. Teller is a British journalist who worked for years in the Middle East. His reports have appeared in the BBC, the Times of London, The Guardian and many other places. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at</s

Last month the U.S. held its midterm elections. A "red wave" never materialized as many predicted, but Republicans did take control of the House. Our U.S. correspondent Michael Arria caught up with author and Georgetown University adjunct professor Josh Ruebner to talk about how Israel factored into the races and what we should expect from the new congress on Palestine. Ruebner is the author of Israel: Democracy or Apartheid State? and Shattered Hopes: Obama’s Failure to Broker Israeli-Palestinian Peace. He is an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independ

Mondoweiss has been covering the “No Tech for Apartheid” movement for over a year now. In October 2021 hundreds of workers at Google and Amazon published an open letter in The Guardian condemning Project Nimbus, a billion dollar contract between the two tech companies and the Israeli government. The deal helps provide cloud services to the Israeli Defense Forces. The letter reads: “We cannot look the other way, as the products we build are used to deny Palestinians their basic rights, force Palestinians out of their homes and attack Palestinians in the Gaza Strip – actions that have prompted war crime investigations by the international criminal court.” A lot has happened since that letter ran, as the No Tech for Apartheid movement has continued to grow. Our U.S. correspondent Michael Arria checked in with two organizers to talk about its current state and what might come next. Ariel Koren is an activist and was formerly a product marketing manager at Google for

Our fall fundraising campaign is underway and generous supporters have agreed to match your donations. Mondoweiss is a reader and listener-funded non-profit news publication. This gives us the independence to report on events in Palestine accurately and comprehensively because we answer to you, our readers and listeners. In the past 3 years we’ve invested pretty heavily to grow our team of reporters and contributors. We now have 4 full-time staff in Palestine, 5 full-time staff in the U.S., and many regular contributors all over the world. And I’ll be honest, growing a non-profit news organization in today’s media landscape is a pretty risky move. But we believe the movement for Palestinian liberation is in a transformative moment. And we believe that Mondoweiss plays a critical role in centering Palestinian and anti-Zionist voices. That’s why we’ve taken this risk

Stefan Christoff is an organizer with Musicians For Palestine. Hundreds of musicians from around the world signed on to their first statement of support for Palestinian freedom in 2021. Today, the group is announcing 700 new signers and releasing a second statement It reads, in part, “As musicians we can contribute to breaking the wall of silence and protest these great injustices taking place against the Palestinian people…We believe that now, more than ever, is the time to respect the Palestinian peaceful picket line by declining invitations to events that are subsidised or sponsored by the Israeli state, its lobby groups or complicit cultural institutions.” I spoke with Christoff about the work to organize musicians, and we listen to a few of the artists that have signed the statements, including Brian Eno, Damon Davis, and Asher Gamed

Dorothy Zellner was 22 years old when she joined the staff of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC, in Atlanta Georgia. She recruited student volunteers for the Freedom Summer Project in 1964 and helped design the logo for the Black Panthers, in 1966. Dorothy has been active in feminist movements and the Palestine solidarity movement for  many years. Phil Weiss, founder and senior editor of Mondoweiss spoke to Dorothy recently. This wide ranging conversation covers the threat of fascist movements here in the United States, the importance of organizing for Palestinian liberation within Jewish communities, and the backlash that Jews can face in their own families for criticizing Israel. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at <a title="Donate

On August 18th of this year, the Israeli military raided the offices of seven Palestinian civil society organizations. They ransacked the offices, stole files and other property, and sealed the doors in an attempt to prevent them from operating. Twenty-five United Nations’ “Independent Experts” issued a declaration on August 24th condemning “Israel’s escalating attacks against Palestinian civil society.” The declaration continued, “These actions amount to severe suppression of human rights defenders and are illegal and unacceptable.” These Independent Experts are calling on UN member states “to take effective measures afforded by international law to put an end to these abuses.” David Kattenberg spoke with two of the authors of the August 24th declaration. Francesca Albanese is the “Special UN Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967.” Mary Lawlor is “Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defender

On August 5th, Israel launched a three day operation in the besieged Gaza Strip. They dubbed it “Operation Breaking Dawn”. Israel’s acting Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, promote the operation as a preemptive strike to quash what he said were concrete threats by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement in Gaza. Over the course of three days 49 Palestinians were killed, including 17 children. According to our documentation, while many PIJ members and affiliates were indeed targeted, the majority of those that were killed were civilian noncombatants. The operation was the second major Israeli offensive on Gaza since last year. It also happened to fall just a few months before Israel’s upcoming elections at a time when Israel’s current prime minister and his party are struggling in the polls. In the wake of the attack many Palestinians accused Israeli officials of using Gazans as sacrificial pawns in their political games, while Lapid, and others in his governmen

Earlier this month Israel launched airstrikes across Gaza. In our last episode, Mondoweiss’ Palestine-based staff talked about the historical and political context of this attack. Our Gaza Correspondent, Tareq Hajjaj, spoke movingly about what he experienced first hand during the assault. Listen to it here. This week we’re excited to share an episode of the North Untapped podcast, hosted by Alex Cosh, a Canadian journalist and managing editor of The Maple. North Untapped is a weekly show about Canadian politics, foreign policy and history. In this episode, Alex speaks to Michael Bueckert, vice president of Canadians for Justic

Last Friday, August 5, 2022, the Israeli military launched airstrikes across the Gaza Strip. In response, hundreds of rockets were fired from Gaza by the Palestinian Islamic Jihad resistance group. Most of these were intercepted by Israel’s air defense systems. The few that managed to make it through caused relatively minor damage to a few cars and buildings. In contrast, 48 Palestinians died from the three days of Israeli air bombardment. This included 17 children. One of the first Palestinians to be killed was only 5 years old. In this episode, our Palestine news team joins the podcast to talk about what led to the violence this past week, its impact on Palestinian and Israeli politics, and what Palestinians in Gaza lived through over the past week. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at <a href= "https://mondoweiss.net/dona

We are about halfway through the primary election season in the United States. This cycle has seen an explosive growth in spending from political action committees tied to pro-Israel lobby groups such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC. In this episode Michael Arria and I speak with Beth Miller from JVP Action and campaign consultant Peter Feld about how this direct campaign engagement from Israel lobby groups is affecting elections. But first, I asked Michael to update us on the Michigan primary where Democrat Andy Levin lost in a high-profile race that attracted a flood of money from the Israel lobby PACs. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate Articles and Links mentioned in the show <a href

In May, 2021, fighting broke out between Palestinian resistance groups in Gaza and the Israeli military. Three hundred Palestinian residents of Gaza were killed, including 66 children, and thousands more were injured. The United Nation’s Human Rights Council set up a Commission of Inquiry to identify the “root causes'' of the violence. On June 7th of this year the Commission presented its first report to the UN Human Rights Council. Unlike past UN commissions of inquiry on violence between Israelis and Palestinians, the mandate of this Commission is not time-limited. It is not subject to annual renewal. And it is not restricted to examining the immediate circumstances that led to its formation. Rather, it was told to take its time, and examine the “underlying root causes of recurrent tensions.” In further contrast with past commissions and Special Rapporteurs on the occupied Palestinian territories, this Commission has been tasked with examining the situation in both t

Last week U.S. President Joe Biden met with senior Israeli and Palestinian leaders in a whirlwind trip through the Middle East. Biden had several top-level goals for this trip. He wanted to deepen connections between the U.S. and Israeli militaries, continue the so-called “normalization” efforts between the Israeli government and regional Arab states, and convince the Saudi Arabian government to increase oil production in order to lower global prices and offset the economic impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine. He also managed, in classic off-script Biden fashion, to acknowledge that the Palestinian struggle against Israeli occupation is just like the Irish struggle against the British – although in this case Biden is unconditionally supporting the British. Joining us today are Mondoweiss staff reporters who covered the trip. Phil Weiss is the founder and Senior editor of Mondoweiss. Yumna Patel is our Palestine News Director based in Bethlehem. Michael

Last month a US court of appeals upheld an Arkansas law that prohibits state contractors from boycotting Israel. The 9-1 decision reversed a previous ruling that determined the law was unconstitutional. Despite the fact that over 30 states have adopted similar laws, it was the first full federal appeals court ruling on the subject. The decision was written by Judge Jonathan Kobes, a Trump appointee the American Bar Association rated as unqualified when he was nominated. The Arkansas story dates back to 2018 when a local paper, the Arkansas Times, refused to sign a pledge promising to refrain from boycotting Israel in order to obtain an  advertising contract with a public university. The paper’s publisher, Alan Leveritt, sued the state over the law. He was represented by the ACLU. Leveritt has said he’s not a supporter of BDS, but launched the complaint over First Amendment concerns. U.S. correspondent Michael Arria spoke with Amal Thabateh, the Michael

In this episode I talk to Nooran Alhamdan, a recent Masters graduate of Georgetown University about the action she and other graduates took to confront Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, over U.S. support for Israel. The audio in this episode is a bit choppy, so thanks for your patience. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate Articles and Links mentioned in the show Blinken congratulated me on graduating. I confronted him about Shireen Abu Akleh<spa

In this episode we’re excited to share an interview with Michael Lynk, the 7th Special Rapporteur for the human rights situation in the Palestinian Territories, appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Michael’s term in that role just ended and he spoke to scientist, author and activist David Kattenburg about the state of things in Palestine and reflections on his service. Before we get to that interview, we wanted to let you know about a new video report produced by our Palestine News Director, Yumna Patel. As readers of the site and listeners of this podcast know, Yumna is based in Bethlehem where she covers breaking news and produces video reports and documentaries. On Thursday, May 5, we’ll premier a new video report titled Inside Israeli Apartheid. For decades Palestinians have accused Israel of the crime of Apartheid, imposing two different legal systems on the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea: one system privileges Jews

In this episode we’re going to hear a program organized by the Adalah Justice Project and the American Friends Service Committee earlier this month, marking the Land Day anniversary and the beginning of Ramadan. The first Land Day in Palestine took place on March 30, 1976, when Palestinians organized large demonstrations and a nation-wide strike against Israel's plan to seize Palestinian land to build Jewish-only settlements. They were met with brutal Israeli repression and the massacre of six Palestinians. On Land Day in 2018, more than 100,000 Palestinians joined the historic Great March of Return in Gaza to protest Israel’s inhumane blockade and demand that millions of Palestinian refugees be given the freedom to return to their homes. This year, the Islamic holy month of Ramadan began on April 1. The day before, on Land Day, the Israeli government unleashed a new round of violence on Palestinians. In the program you’ll hear Palestinian activists from

In this episode Mondoweiss’s US correspondent Michael Arria updates us on some key stories he is tracking in his weekly politics newsletter The Shift. After that Michael speaks to Zoha Khalili, a staff attorney at Palestine Legal about the organization's 2021 year-in-review report. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate Articles and Links mentioned in the show Remembering Madeleine Albright and the Berkeley Commencement, Nadia B. Ahmad <a href= "https://mondoweiss.net/2022/03/madeleine-albrights-legacy-is-a-r

In this episode we have a conversation with Phil Weiss and Yakov Hirsch about the cultural sources of pro-Israel movements in American politics. For several years now Hirsch has examined what he calls "hasbara culture" -- the ways that a discourse of Jewish victimhood has conquered Jewish, Israeli, and even American political culture. Hirsch explains how this “hasbara culture” worldview has been propagated by Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli politicians, by anti-antisemitism organizations like the Anti-Defamation League, and by, quote, “Never Again” journalists with prominent platforms, notably Jeffrey Goldberg, Bari Weiss, Bret Stephens and Yair Rosenberg. Having the hasbara culture world view is what it means to be a “good Jew” these days according to Hirsch, and we must confront this alternative reality if there is to be justice in the land from the river to the sea. When the conversation begins, Yakov is describing in detail the events surrounding

In this episode, Mondoweiss Executive Editor Adam Horowitz speaks to Lana Tatour about the recent report from Amnesty International declaring that Israel practices apartheid in order to oppress and dominate Palestinians. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate Articles and Links mentioned in the show Amnesty report: The limits of the apartheid framework, Lana Tatour (Midd

Terry Rogers is a retired community health nurse in New York who has long been active in solidarity with Palestine. Phil Weiss spoke to her last month about the political and moral challenges involved when privileged American activists engage in these movements. Though it is essential that more Americans learn about Palestine — and educate other Americans about what they’ve seen – the goal of the movement is for Palestinians to speak for themselves about their persecution and not rely on American spokespeople. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate Articles and Links mentioned in the

The Trump administration's “Abraham Accords” were championed as historic peace agreements, despite the fact they actually normalized relations between authoritarian regimes and facilitated massive weapons deals. Mondoweiss’s US. correspondent Michael Arria spoke with Beth Miller, Senior Government Affairs Manager at Jewish Voice for Peace Action about the impact of the agreements and recent congressional efforts to enhance them. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate Articles and Links mentioned in the show JVP Action's website <a href= "https://twi

In this episode our U.S. correspondent Michael Arria speaks to Huwaida Arraf, a Palestinian-American peace activist, human rights lawyer, and now candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in Michigan. Arraf launched her campaign to unseat an incumbent Republican. However, at the beginning of this year redistricting placed her in a race for an open seat. Last week, Michael asked Huwaida about growing up in Michigan, how she first became an international peace activist, and why she’s now turned toward electoral politics. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate Articles and Links mentioned

In October 2021, the Israeli government designated six Palestinian civil society organizations, “terrorist institutions”, claiming the groups had ties and were channeling money to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine. The PFLP is a secular Marxist-Leninist, and revolutionary socialist organization founded in 1967 and, like several other Palestinian political factions, is considered by Israel to be a “terrorist organization.” The Israeli designation aimed to criminalize the work of the six organizations and cut their international funding. It sparked widespread condemnation from human rights groups across the globe. Recently, our Palestine News Director, Yumna Patel, sat down with Sahar Francis, the General Director of the Ramallah-based group Addameer, one of the civil society groups targeted by the Israeli government. <span style="fo

Happy New Year to all of our listeners, and welcome to the first Mondoweiss podcast episode of 2022. In November of last year a Palestinian Day of Solidarity was held in Philadelphia. At the event Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney delivered a proclamation in solidarity with the Palestinians. Our U.S. correspondent Michael Arria spoke with one of the local organizers, Jude Husein. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate Links Philadelphia Mayor Hosts Pro-Palestine Rally Share this podcast<

In today's episode, Yumna Patel speaks with Palestinian farmers working to bring in their olive crop as the harvest season winds down. This is a shorter episode that captures their stories and some of the sounds of the olive harvest. We hope you enjoy this format. Please send me an email, or leave us a message through SparkPipe with your feedback. You can find those links in the show notes.  - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate Links Explore our coverage of the Olive Harvest

Striketober is upon us. Across the United States workers in multiple industries are striking, quitting their jobs, and engaging in solidarity actions demanding better working conditions. The movement for Palestinian liberation has long interacted with labor struggles around the world, and this moment is no different. Michael Arria has been tracking this interaction and recently spoke to organizers in the tech industry working to counter something called Project Nimbus. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate Articles and Links mentioned in the show Google and Amazon workers want companies to end contrac

Today we have a conversation with Sam Bahour. Sam is a Palestinian-American businessman, born in Youngstown, Ohio, and now living in Ramallah, Palestine. He is currently an independent director at the Arab Islamic Bank, a policy analyst at Al-Shabaka, The Palestinian Policy Network, and an advisory board member of the Open Society Foundations’ Middle East and North America Office. He spoke to Mondoweiss founder and senior editor Phil Weiss. - - - - - Support our work Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate Articles and Links mentioned in the show <a h

On Thursday of this past week, the US House of Representatives passed a bill that would give Israel an additional $1 billion dollars in military aid for its missile defense system known as the Iron Dome. Progressives in the House had earlier managed to strip the bill as an attachment to a must-pass government funding bill known as a continuing resolution. In response, Democratic Majority Leader Steny Hoyer put the legislation on the floor as a stand-alone bill without going through the normal committee process, or what is called regular order. I spoke to Beth Miller, Senior Government Affairs Manager at JVP Action, about the political maneuvering that brought the bill to floor and to it’s ultimate passage. - - - SUPPORT OUR WORK: Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate - - - SHOW NOTES: Follow JVP Action on Twitter

Michael Arria and Dave Reed speak with Michael Bueckert, the Vice-President of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East. The organization just published a voting guide ahead of the upcoming Canadian elections. He updated us on the politics of Palestine in the Great White North. - - - SUPPORT OUR WORK: Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate - - - SHOW NOTES: Follow Michael Bueckert on Twitter – https://twitter.com/mbueckert CJPME’s 2021 Election guide – https://www.cjpme.org/elections_guide_2021 CJPME’s 2021 Election tracker – https://www.cjpme.org/election_tracker_2021 Follow CJPME on Twitter

Mondoweiss founder and senior editor Phil Weiss speaks to Khaled Elgindy about the first meeting between President Joe Biden and newly installed Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. Earlier this year Bennett joined centrist politician Yair Lapid to build an unusual coalition of rightwing, centrist, and liberal political parties to topple Benjamin Netanyahu. This government marks the first time Palestinian Israeli political parties are included in a governing coalition. Bennett is a far-right political figure opposed to Palestinian statehood and ending settlement expansion, and he’s focused on Iran as the greatest threat to Israeli security. Khaled Elgindy is a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute where he directs the Program on Palestine and Israeli-Palestinian Affairs. Prior to that he was a fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution. Elgindy was an adviser to the Palestinian leadership on permanent status negotiations with Israel from

Just a few years ago the idea of a pro-Palestine political advocacy group in Washington D.C. seemed ridiculous. But U.S. politics around Palestine are shifting and a number of these groups have sprung up recently. The latest grows out of the nonprofit American Muslims for Palestine who just launched their own affiliated 501c4 organization, Americans for Justice in Palestine Action. Earlier this week Mondoweiss' U.S. correspondent Michael Arria spoke with Dr. Osama Abuirshaid and Ayah Ziyadeh. Correction: An earlier version of the text referred to AJP Action as a political action committee (IRS 527). It is a social welfare organ

Pitasanna Shanmugathas recently graduated with a Master of Global Affairs degree from the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. Earlier this year he spoke with Dr. Lex Takkenberg and Francesca Albanese, authors of the book “Palestinian Refugees in International Law”, now in its second edition. In this conversation they discuss the origins of the Palestinian refugee crisis, its role within international law, and whether Israel's actions constitute apartheid. They also look at the UN Relief and Works Agency, and how the Trump administration’s funding termination impacted that institution. - - - SUPPORT OUR WORK: Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate today at https://mondoweiss.net/donate - - - SHOW NOTES: International law sides with Palestinian refugees. But can it solve their plight? (

In this episode we have a conversation with Wesam Sharaf, an advocate with the Civil and Political Rights Unit at Adalah — The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel. In May Palestinian citizens of Israel participated in massive protests and boycotts as part of the “Unity Uprisings”. Many Palestinians described these protests as the largest display of unity between the West Bank, Gaza, and '48 Palestine in years. Mondoweiss Palestine Correspondent Yumna Patel talks with Wesam about life after the Unity Uprising for Palestinian citizens of Israel. In the wake of the protests, Palestinian citizens of Israel have continued to be arrested en masse and jailed by Israeli police forces. Despite this, Wesam and other advocates say that air of resistance in Palestinian communities in Israel remains strong. - - - SUPPORT OUR WORK: Help us continue our critical independent coverage of events in Palestine, Israel, and related U.S. politics. Donate tod

As events in Palestine continue to develop we're bringing you this special episode in collaboration with the Groundings podcast and friend-of-the-site Devyn Springer. Devyn is a cultural worker, community organizer, and independent researcher. They are a member of the Walter Rodney Foundation, and host of the Groundings podcast. They've written and worked with several media outlets, including Mondoweiss, and produced documentaries such Parchman Prison: Pain & Protest. Today, Devyn and their co-host speak to Mohammed El-Kurd. Mohammed is a poet, writer, and activist from Jerusalem, Palestine. He lives in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood where the Israeli government is trying to forcibly remove his family and other Palestinian families so that Israeli settlers can take over their homes. Protests have been ongoing in Sheikh Jarrah over the last several weeks. Israeli forces escalated the violence by entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound as the holy month of Ramadan ca

Last Friday, as the holy month of Ramadan came to a close, Israeli forces stormed the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem’s Old City. Mondoweiss’ Palestine correspondent, Yumna Patel reported that: “The height of the violence took place inside the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, where tens of thousands of Palestinian worshipers had gathered inside the Mosque and the surrounding courtyard for evening prayers on the last Friday of Ramadan. Video footage from the scene shows people in prayer when armed Israeli forces stormed the compound, firing sound bombs, tear gas, and rubber bullets at worshipers.” By Monday, <a title= "Israel kills 20 Palestinians in Gaza, injures hundreds in Jerus

On university and college campuses across the United States and Canada, student activists are organizing for Palestinian liberation under the banner of Students for Justice in Palestine, or SJP. As the student-led movement has grown dramatically over the last 20 years, so has anti-Palestinian pushback from Zionist groups and their allies. Organizations like Canary Mission, StopAntiSemitism.org, and other similar rightwing groups have focused a lot of their attention on the student activists of SJP. Despite this, the movement on campuses is strong and shows little signs of slowing down. Earlier this year, the <a title= "National Students for Justice in Palesti

Earlier this year, Mondoweiss contributing writer Sarah Doyal reviewed the new book, Except For Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics, from authors Marc Lamont Hill and Mitchell Plitnick. Sarah wrote: “Delving into the phenomenon long-named in leftist circles as [quote] “Progressive Except for Palestine” [end quote], Hill and Plitnick meticulously deconstruct progressives’ neglect of the Palestinian cause. They explain the ways in which the singular exception of Palestine from demands for equal rights betrays not only Palestinians but the progressive movement itself.” She went on to say: “Except for Palestine is a crucial and ultimately hopeful tool that better equips progressives to combat injustices within their own political circles.” On today’s show Josh Ruebner speaks with Marc Lamont Hill and Mitchell Plitnick about how they came to be advocates for Palestinian liberation, what needs to be done to push the struggle forward, and thei

This episode is all about elections. On March 23rd Israel held its fourth national election in two years. And starting in May Palestinians in the occupied territory will be holding their first elections in 15 years. Both elections will serve as a referendum on the current leaders, and both will give us insight into what the future may hold, both for Palestinians living under Israeli occupation and, perhaps, Palestinians world-wide. First, Mondoweiss founder and senior editor Phil Weiss talks with the Israeli human rights activist and writer Yossi Gurvitz to unpack the results of the Israeli election and talk about what comes next. Later, Al-Shabaka Senior Analyst Dr. Yara Hawari and Mondoweiss contributi

Zaina Arafat joined Mondoweiss Associate Editor Allison Deger to discuss her new novel, YOU EXIST TOO MUCH. This program was part of the Mondoweiss Book Club, a go-at-your-own-pace program that explores new and contemporary Palestinian fiction. Join for free at https://mondoweiss.net/bookclub/. Support Mondoweiss with a tax-deductible donation. Links: – Read an exclusive excerpt of Zaina's novel at our website: https://mondoweiss.net/2021/02/book-club-zaina-arafats-outstanding-debut-novel-you-exist-too-much/ – Zaina's official website: https://zainaarafat.com/

Ahmad Abuznaid was recently named the Executive Director of the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights. In the wake of Trayvon Martin’s murder in 2012, Ahmad co-founded the Dream Defenders. He has interned at the International Criminal Court, presented before the United Nations’ Human Rights Committee and was the Director of the National Network for Arab American Communities. Michael Arria and Dave Reed spoke to him about the future of the Palestine solidarity movement, challenges to expanding BDS work, and how the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights is engaging with Jewish anti-occupation groups. Support Mondoweiss with a tax-deductible donation. <span s

In December 2020 Haymarket Books published Palestine: A Socialist Introduction featuring essays from a number of activists and thinkers inside the Palestine solidarity movement. The book was edited by Sumaya Awad and brian bean. Sumaya is the Director of Strategy and Communications for the Adalah Justice Project. brian is a founding editor of Rampant Magazine and is a socialist activist and writer. Our US Correspondent Michael Arria spoke to Sumaya and brian back in December when the book was released. Support Mondoweiss with a tax-deductible donation.</

Just after the U.S. election in November of last year, our US politics correspondent, Michael Arria, spoke to Zeina Ashrawi Hutchison about the outcome and what it means for Palestinian-American's engaging with the US political system. Zeina is a Palestinian-American activist and DNC delegate from Virginia. You can read Michael's interview with Zeina here. We've covered Joe Biden a lot here at Mondoweiss. Here are some stand out pieces worth taking another look at: <a title= "VIDEO: Sarah Lazare and Branko Marcetic discuss Biden’s foreign policy and the state of the Democratic Party" href= "https://mondoweiss.net/2020/06/video-sarah-lazare-and-branko-marcetic-discuss-bidens-foreign-policy-and-the-state-of-the-democratic

Mondoweiss Palestine Correspondent Yumna Patel interviews Ramallah-based analyst Diana Buttu about the story of 2020 -- normalization. Buttu discusses the impact of the normalization deals between Arab countries and Israel, the Palestine Authority's strategy (or lack thereof) in confronting the threat, and the challenges that lie ahead in 2021. Links: Mondoweiss: Palestinians are fed up with normalization, and how their leaders have handled it New York Times: The U.A.E.-Israel Flight Is Nothing To Celebrate  Sign up for our free newsletters at mondoweiss.net/newsletters/ Music by Podington

What is it like when Proud Boys and Zionists attack you online at the same time? We spoke to Olivia Katbi Smith, national U.S. organizer for the BDS Movement and co-chair of the Portland chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. In the last few weeks, Olivia was one of the targets of a doxxing attack by a member of the Proud Boys. Shortly after, she was named the "Anti-Semite of the Week" by a rightwing organization created to harass pro-Palestinian activists. Michael Arria spoke to Meera Shah, senior staff attorney at Palestine Legal, about their new website that tracks anti-BDS legislation around the U.S. These bills, in both federal and state legislatures, are direct attacks on basic free speech protections and will have repercussions far beyond the movement to end the Israeli occupation of Palestine. Links: News & Observer: <a href= "https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article247422330.html"

SHOW NOTES Phil Weiss talks to Palestinian novelist Susan Abulhawa about her latest book, AGAINST THE LOVELESS WORLD. Adam Horowitz talks to organizers of the Palestine Writes Literature Festival, which launched online today. Click here to read Bill Mullen’s review of Susan Abulhawa’s “Against The Loveless World”, and here to watch to Phil’s full interview with Abulhawa. The Palestine Writes Literature Festival is u

Yumna Patel visits Palestinian farmers attacked by Israeli settlers during the annual olive harvest. Michael Arria, author of THE SHIFT newsletter on U.S. politics around Palestine talks about the outcome of the 2020 election, what it means for Democrats and the impact it may have on the struggle to end the Israeli occupation. View Yumna's video report Farmers Under Attack here: https://mondoweiss.net/2020/11/palestines-olive-harvest-farmers-under-attack/ Subscribe to Michael's weekly newsletter, THE SHIFT, here: https://mondoweiss.net/the-shift Music by Poddi

Yumna Patel is the Palestine correspondent for Mondoweiss. Yumna discusses the impact the Trump presidency has had on the ground in Palestine, and what Palestinains are thinking about this year's tumultuous U.S. election cycle.

Phil Weiss is the founder and Senior Editor of Mondoweiss. Phil talks about the impact the Trump presidency has had on Jewish American communities and organizations, what he's looking for on election night and beyond, and what a Biden presidency could mean for the Palestine solidarity movement.

Michael Arria is the U.S. correspondent for Mondoweiss. We talked about the role Israel/Palestine played in this election cycle, what he's looking for on election night and the days after, and what the Palestine solidarity movement should expect under a second Trump term or a Biden presidency.