For decades, Christians in the Middle East have witnessed their numbers dwindle due to war, occupation and sectarianism, threatening centuries of cultural and religious pluralism that characterized the region. In his recent article "The Damascus Church Bombing and the Collapse of Middle East Christianity," Daoud Kuttab discusses the imperative of reversing this trend. Daoud Kuttab is a former Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University and publisher of Milhilard.org, dedicated to the ...
Jun 29, 2025•54 min
Despite pledging during his election campaign to end America's involvement in "endless" and "forever wars," President Trump ordered a strike on Iranian nuclear sites, risking entangling the U.S. in another conflict in the Middle East. Dr. Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, Senior Lecturer in Modern Middle Eastern History at the University of York, discusses Israel’s attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, Iran’s massive retaliation, and the escalating risks moving forward.
Jun 22, 2025•53 min
Jess & Jamal discuss the recent developments of the Israeli attack on Iran. Professor William A. Schabas talks about the escalating pressure on the International Criminal Court to abandon its case against Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity. President Trump recently issued an executive order sanctioning four of the judges presiding over the case. Schabas is a Professor of International Law at Middlesex...
Jun 16, 2025•49 min
The Madleen set sail from Sicily on June 1st as part of the renewed Freedom Flotilla Coalition, aiming to establish a humanitarian corridor to Gaza. On board are 12 international human rights defenders from seven countries, including prominent Swedish activist Greta Thunberg. Huwaida Arraf, a human rights lawyer and former chair of the Gaza Freedom Flotillas, stated from Sicily that the mission directly challenges what she described as Israel’s illegal and genocidal blockade, as well as its viol...
Jun 08, 2025•55 min
Jess and Jamal discuss the ongoing widespread hunger in Gaza. Jens Laerke from OCHA highlighted that Gaza is the only territory where the entire population is at risk of famine, underscoring the severity of the crisis. Recently, a new aid distribution initiative backed by the US and Israel, operated independently of the UN by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, began functioning in the region. However, tensions surrounding aid access have led to violence. On Tuesday, at least 47 Palestinians were ...
Jun 01, 2025•53 min
Susan M. Akram, Clinical Professor and Director of the International Human Rights Clinic at Boston University School of Law, discusses a significant report she co-authored and published through the University Network for Human Rights. Titled "Apartheid in Israel: An Analysis of Israel's Laws and Policies and the Responsibilities of U.S. Academic and Other Institutions," the report presents a detailed legal analysis demonstrating how Israel's treatment of Palestinians meets the internationally re...
May 17, 2025•48 min
In an upset victory, Canadians elected Liberal Party candidate Mark Carney as Prime Minister, defeating Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre, who had been leading by a wide margin as recently as four months ago. In his recent article, "How about a foreign policy that is truly a force for good?" Canadian author and activist Yves Engler explains how Carney’s actions so far are not a turn for the better.
May 13, 2025•54 min
Jess & Jamal discuss the drone attack on "Conscience," the Freedom Flotilla Coalition’s civilian ship, anchored in international waters 14 miles off the coast of Malta. The ship was scheduled to take on board humanitarian activists from over 21 countries, then cut a humanitarian corridor to Gaza to deliver food, water and other life essentials to Palestinians in Gaza, among them Greta Thunberg and retired U.S. Army Colonel Ann Wright. Israel has imposed a complete siege on Gaza since March 2...
May 04, 2025•50 min
Jewish Israeli dissident Ronnie Barkan, co-founder of "Boycott from Within," discusses the First Jewish Anti-Zionist Congress to be held in Vienna, Austria, on June 13, 2025. The congress aims to ensure anti-Zionist voices are heard globally, and that Israel is not the single legitimate representative of all Jewish people. Vienna was chosen as the location because it is the birthplace of Zionism. The congress features prominent speakers, such as Israeli historian and author Ilan Pappe, Holocaust...
Apr 27, 2025•58 min
Since the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, he has passed freely through France’s airspace in early February and April of this year. French lawyer Sarah Sameur, a member of the Council for JURDI, Jurists for the Respect of International Law, explains how France has been derelict as a signatory to the Rome Statute in not apprehending the plane. She rebuts French officials' claims that France’s airspace did not fall under its jurisdiction in this case.
Apr 13, 2025•59 min
Award-winning independent investigative journalist Lila Hassan discusses her recent article in Drop Site News entitled, "Archiving Gaza: The Race to Save Evidence of War Crimes and Mass Destruction." She talks about the challenges facing journalists, human rights organizations and investigators to collect and save evidence of war crimes, and their dangerous efforts to dodge censorship and document the horrors of Israel's war against Gaza.
Mar 30, 2025•59 min
Geopolitical analyst and journalist Sean Mathews discusses his article for Middle East Eye, "How Trump's Gaza ceasefire imploded". More than 700 Palestinians in Gaza, many of them women and children, have been killed by Israel since it broke the ceasefire. Netanyahu described the strikes as “just the beginning." However, the United States bears responsibility for the ongoing carnage because it is U.S.-made 2000-pound bombs that have been annihilating entire neighborhoods, killing mostly noncomba...
Mar 23, 2025•49 min
Dr. Lama Rimawi discusses anti-Palestinian racism in the US, which aims to censor and erase Palestinians and their narratives from the public sphere either directly through punitive measures or indirectly by eliciting fear of punitive measures to deter anyone from sharing Palestinian narratives.
Mar 17, 2025•53 min
Jess & Jamal discuss the renewed fears of starvation during the holy month of Ramadan as Israel blocks aid to Gaza, violating its ceasefire deal with Hamas. Over a dozen human rights experts have denounced Israel for resuming what they described as "weaponized starvation" in Gaza.
Mar 09, 2025•55 min
Dr. Karameh Hawash-Kuemmerle and Dr. Nidal Jboor co-founders of Doctors Against Genocide talk about their organization's work to prevent future genocides and stop Israel and other countries from targeting hospitals, patients and medical staff. They also talk about the medical community's moral obligation to safeguard life and enhance health universally.
Feb 23, 2025•50 min
In his recent article in The Babbler, "A Ceasefire Is Not Enough – Resisting the next phase of ethnic cleansing in Gaza," Tariq Kenney-Shawa details how this ceasefire could be nothing more than a pause for Israel to regroup and continue its killing and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their ancestral lands. Jess & Jamal discuss Trump's "owning Gaza" and turning it into "a real estate development for the future."
Feb 12, 2025•57 min
Jewish Israeli activist Ronnie Barkan discusses how in Europe measures to repress dissent are rapidly accelerating and becoming more draconian. Laws are rapidly altered to circumvent international law to shield Israeli politicians charged with war crimes, while cracking down on critics of Israel.
Feb 02, 2025•59 min
Jess and Jamal discuss the release of four female Israeli soldiers held by Hamas, as Israel raided the homes of freed Palestinians, warning their families not to celebrate or speak to the media. They also addressed President Trump's proposal to relocate 1.5 million Palestinians from Gaza to Egypt and Jordan.
Jan 26, 2025•54 min
Human rights attorney and activist Stanley Cohen discusses the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, its long-term outlook, why it wasn’t enacted eight months ago, and whether Biden or Trump deserves credit for it.
Jan 19, 2025•53 min
Dr. Mads Gilbert, anesthesiologist and professor of emergency medicine at the University of Tromsø, Norway, discusses Israel's 14-month onslaught on Gaza's healthcare system, killing more than 1,000 healthcare workers, with many others disappeared and tortured. Dr. Gilbert spent more than 20 years working and training Gaza doctors.
Jan 05, 2025•55 min
Dr. Mohja Kahf talks about the fall of the Assad regime and the aspirations of millions of Syrians to see the birth of a democratic and pluralistic Syrian government. Dr. Kahf is a poet, scholar, and professor of English at the University of Arkansas. She was born in Damascus and grew up in the Midwest.
Dec 14, 2024•51 min
Human rights attorney Stanley Cohen discusses Amnesty International's report which accuses Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, saying it has sought to deliberately destroy Palestinians by mounting deadly attacks, demolishing vital infrastructure and preventing the delivery of food, medicine and other aid. Jess & Jamal break down what's behind the fall of the Assad regime in Syria.
Dec 08, 2024•50 min
Saul Takahashi, Professor of Human Rights and Peace Studies at Osaka Jogakuin University, explains why Israel must be expelled from the United Nations. He also discusses the International Criminal Court's (ICC) decision to issue arrest warrants for Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes.
Nov 24, 2024•58 min
Former field organizer for Biden’s 2020 campaign and co-founder of Project 1948, Adam Abusalah, explains how the Harris campaign alienated Arab and Muslim American voters in Michigan with her support for Israel’s actions in Gaza, which he argues contributed to her defeat in this swing state. Trump won Michigan by approximately 80,000 votes.
Nov 10, 2024•50 min
Wasting no time in taking advantage of the aftermath of October 7, Israeli settler organizations recognized an opportunity to immediately expel Palestinians from large swaths of West Bank villages, as well as to lay the groundwork for the more ambitious systematic displacement and reoccupation of Gaza. In his recent article in +972, "Copy-Paste the West Bank to Gaza: Hundreds Join Gaza Resettlement Event," Israeli journalist Oren Ziv explains how the Israeli resettlement movement is gaining plau...
Nov 03, 2024•59 min
Kamala Harris' campaign is struggling to gain traction with Arab and Muslim Americans in the swing state of Michigan. Dr. Ahmed Ghanim, a prominent Muslim leader and former Democratic candidate for Congress in Michigan's 11th district, shared his experience with the Harris campaign. He was invited to attend a Democratic rally in the Detroit area, where Harris appeared alongside Liz Cheney, but was abruptly removed without explanation. Ghanim was informed that if he did not leave voluntarily, the...
Oct 26, 2024•53 min
In her recent report published by Brown University's Watson Institute entitled, "The Human Toll: Indirect Deaths from the War in Gaza and in the West Bank," Dr. Sophia Stamatopoulou-Robbins, a cultural anthropologist and an Associate Professor of Anthropology at Bard College, explains how death will continue to outlive the war in Gaza. She demonstrates what a realistic assessment of the true loss of life and long-term suffering involves.
Oct 20, 2024•53 min
Serge Bakalian, Executive Director of the Arab Film and Media Institute, and Managing Director Maya Labban present the 28th Arab Film Festival. The festival opens on Thursday, October 24th at the Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. The festival will feature the documentary film "Life is Beautiful: A Letter to Gaza" by Palestinian filmmaker Mohamed Jabaly, and special guests, such as Alana Hadid, LIunr, and MC Abdul.
Oct 13, 2024•53 min
Dr. Rania Masri, North Carolina Environmental Justice Network’s Co-Director of Organizing and Policy, discusses the recent attacks on Lebanon and Gaza. A supporter of Dr. Jill Stein, Dr. Masri believes that Vice President Kamala Harris is worse for world peace than former President Donald Trump.
Oct 06, 2024•58 min
Juliette Touma, UNRWA’s Director of Communications, discusses the difficult work the organization is facing to deliver aid in Gaza, while Israel continues to thwart all its humanitarian efforts. Jess & Jamal discuss the implications to the region due to Israel's assassination of Hezbollah's leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Lebanon.
Sep 29, 2024•55 min
