Since the small team at Unsettled started producing the show seven and a half years ago, we've published almost 100 episodes — personal stories, expert interviews and reported documentaries. To keep going in 2025, we need the support of listeners like you. We're participating in a collaborative fundraising campaign to support independent journalism called NewMatch. Now until December 31st, donations of up to $1,000 will be matched, dollar for dollar. Donate here: https://unsettled.fundjournalism...
Dec 24, 2024•3 min•Ep. 100
In this episode of Unsettled, we hear from Ali Awad, a 26-year-old activist and translator living in Tuba, a village in a region of the west bank called Masafer Yatta in the south Hebron Hills. Ali’s livelihood and wellbeing have always been vulnerable to Israeli settler violence and threats of expulsion by the government. But since October 7th 2023, it's been like nothing he's ever seen. Ali shares about the past few months of restricted movement, violence from settlers, and his efforts to stay...
Dec 03, 2024•34 min•Ep. 99
With the one year anniversary of October 7th last Monday, Unsettled followed up with previous guest Matt Duss to ask him about President Biden's approach to foreign policy, military escalations in Lebanon, and what the upcoming U.S. presidential election may mean for the U.S.' policy towards Israel. Matt is a past president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, and he was the foreign policy advisor to Senator Bernie Sanders for five years. He is currently the Executive Vice President of the C...
Oct 15, 2024•24 min•Ep. 98
It’s currently high holiday season, the holiest time in the Jewish calendar. Rosh Hashanah, was last week and Yom Kippur begins tonight at sundown. The one year anniversary of October 7th fell in between. This year, there's a new resource — a High Holidays directory created by Rabbis for Ceasefire. Since their formation after October 7th, 2023, there are now hundreds of members of Rabbis for Ceasefire. They’ve provided pastoral care to college students participating in encampments, led Jewish ri...
Oct 11, 2024•25 min•Ep. 97
On October 31, 2023, Unsettled aired an interview with 22-year-old Shahd Safi, a university student and freelance journalist from Gaza. At the time, she was living in her grandparents house in Rafah, a couple miles away from her own home where she’d evacuated after October 7th. She was living with her siblings and cousins, unable to go to school or even leave the house much. For the past year, Shahd has had to make impossible calculations in order to survive. By December, her family was running ...
Oct 10, 2024•30 min•Ep. 96
Today is October 7th, 2024. One year ago, thousands of militants led by Hamas launched a multi-front attack on Israeli towns and military bases, killing over 1,100 people and abducting over 250. Israel responded to the October 7th attack with one of the most destructive military campaigns in history, displacing most people in the already poverty-stricken, besieged Gaza Strip. To date, Israel has killed at least 41,000 people in Gaza– but experts say the numbers are likely higher, given that Gaza...
Oct 07, 2024•32 min•Ep. 95
On October 14th, 2023, we set up a voicemail and invited listeners to share their thoughts and feelings with us. We received messages of grief, fear, and anger at the violence in Israel-Palestine. Now, somehow, we’re coming up on a year of atrocities and massacres, and the destruction of countless families and homes. Like many of our listeners, we’ve been thinking about the upcoming anniversary of October 7th. So we wanted to open up our voicemail again. Send us your thoughts and messages– maybe...
Sep 30, 2024•1 min•Ep. 94
Last Wednesday on July 31st, Hamas’s top political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran. Haniyeh came to the capital city of Tehran for the presidential inauguration when an explosive device went off in the guest house where he was staying. Just hours before, Haniyeh had met with Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israel hasn’t taken responsibility for the attack, but they're widely believed to be responsible– especially given Israel’s history of targeted political assassinations...
Aug 09, 2024•32 min•Ep. 93
On Tuesday April 30th, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik called the New York Police Department to clear the campus of students who had erected an encampment in solidarity with Palestine. Columbia's encampment was one of hundreds of similar campus demonstrations across the United States, many of which were also removed by the police. Unsettled visited Columbia's encampment the week before it was cleared, and spoke to some of those involved about what they hoped to achieve through thei...
May 17, 2024•46 min•Ep. 92
For this episode of Unsettled, we’re doing something we’ve never done before: premiering a new song. Aly Halpert makes music used in synagogues and Jewish song circles. If you listened to our last episode featuring Rabbi Miriam Grossman, you heard Aly’s tune for the prayer 'Ashrei' as part of a service led by Rabbis for Ceasefire. Today, Aly is releasing a new song called 'Ayeka': the first time she has used her music to directly respond to the violence in Israel-Palestine. Aly spoke to Unsettle...
Feb 20, 2024•21 min•Ep. 91
Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, grief and rage have brought thousands of people to the streets to demand a ceasefire. One of the many groups that have mobilized in the U.S. is Rabbis for Ceasefire. One of these rabbis is Miriam Grossman, who led until recently the congregation Kolot Chayeinu in Brooklyn, New York. Unsettled producer Ilana Levinson recently sat down with Rabbi Miriam to ask her what it means to be a rabbi for ceasefire, especially when so many rabbis and other Jewish lea...
Feb 13, 2024•30 min•Ep. 90
The last time we featured Isam Hamad on Unsettled was a few days after the October 7th attacks, when Israel had just begun its bombardment of the Gaza Strip. At the time, Isam and his family — including his 93-year old father and a son with cerebral palsy — were still in their home in Gaza City. But a few days later, they were forced to evacuate south to the city of Rafah, near the Egyptian border. Before this war, the population of Rafah was about 250,000. Now, it’s over a million, with many fa...
Jan 23, 2024•29 min•Ep. 89
Just before Thanksgiving, we asked listeners to call in and tell us about how they’re navigating conversations with their families, friends, and communities in this moment—as Israel responds to the October 7th attacks with unprecedented destruction in Gaza. What has worked in getting through to loved ones, and what hasn’t? How are people are managing these relationships, or coping with their feelings about them? On this episode—a collaboration between Unsettled and Jewish Currents magazine's On ...
Dec 12, 2023•58 min•Ep. 88
As of Thursday, November 30th, a temporary ceasefire is in place between Israel and Hamas. The truce allows for an exchange of hostages who have been held in Gaza by Hamas since October 7th for Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel, and for desperately needed humanitarian aid to enter the Gaza Strip. At this point, 69 hostages have been released by Hamas and 150 Palestinian detainees have been released by Israel. Palestinian prisoners being released have been called terrorists, with an Israel...
Nov 30, 2023•29 min•Ep. 87
It's hard to find anyone in Israel who isn't shaken to the core by the magnitude of Hamas' attack on October 7. For many in Israel, their pain and shock has translated into support for bombing Gaza. But despite public pressure, some Israelis do voice opposition to the war - even people who have deep personal connections to the victims of October 7. One of these dissenting voices has been the comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassi. Since October 7, Noam has dedicated her social media platform not to comed...
Nov 13, 2023•23 min•Ep. 86
It’s been a month since October 7, when Hamas fighters killed 1,400 Israelis and captured more than 200 hostages. It’s also been a month of Israel's retaliation: air raids and ground operations in the Gaza Strip that have killed almost 10,000 Palestinians, destroyed infrastructure, and limited access to basic necessities. For the past month, Palestinians in the West Bank have also faced increased violence from settler-soldier militias. In this episode, we hear from the villages of Susiya and Umm...
Nov 06, 2023•36 min•Ep. 85
On Friday, October 27th, Israel cut off internet in the Gaza Strip for 36-hours, as it expanded its ground operations. This total internet blackout left Gaza without the ability to communicate, both internally and with the outside world. Human rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch warned that without the internet, their ability to document war crimes and other abuses had become increasingly difficult. The internet was restored on Sunday October 29th. Unsettled spoke with wri...
Oct 31, 2023•16 min•Ep. 84
Last week, Producer Ilana Levinson talked to Arie Hasit at his home in Israel, in the midst of a deadly war. Arie and his family, including two small kids, have been spending much of their time in bomb shelters. After Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing more than 1,300 Israelis, mostly civilians, and taking 199 Israeli hostages, Israel responded by declaring war. Since then, the Israeli Defense Forces have been heavily bombing the Gaza Strip, cutting off access to elect...
Oct 19, 2023•35 min•Ep. 82
The United States has always been Israel’s strongest ally, and President Biden has pledged his steadfast support for Israel since Hamas's surprise attack over the Gaza border on October 7. Many American supporters of Israel and even Israeli officials have celebrated President Biden for his “moral clarity” in this moment. But others have heard something else from Biden: a "carte blanche" for Israel to respond with overwhelming force. To better understand the U.S. role in this war, Unsettled produ...
Oct 17, 2023•28 min•Ep. 81
On Saturday, October 7, Hamas launched a surprise attack across the Gaza border, killing more than 1,300 Israelis, mostly civilians, and taking at least 150 Israeli hostages, most of whom are still captive in the Gaza Strip. Israel responded to the attack by declaring war and cutting off food, water, and electricity to the Gaza Strip. On Friday, October 13, Israel ordered 1.1 million people in the northern part of the Gaza Strip to evacuate as it prepares for a ground invasion, and Israeli air s...
Oct 16, 2023•30 min•Ep. 80
Over the next few days, Unsettled is going to bring you the voices of many different people who have been affected by this week's devastating escalation of violence in Israel and Gaza. We’re starting with an episode about Hamas, whose surprise attack across the Gaza border on October 7th "completely ruptured the reality we thought we were operating in," says Tareq Baconi. Tareq Baconi is the author of Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance , billed as "the first his...
Oct 13, 2023•20 min•Ep. 79
Earlier today Hamas launched an attack on Israeli towns near the Gaza border, and has also been launching rockets towards Israeli population centers as north as Tel Aviv. Hundreds of Israeli soldiers and civilians are dead and dozens have been taken captive. The fact that Hamas has been able to breach Israeli defenses and launch an attack of this magnitude inside of Israel has stunned the Israeli public. Events are developing rapidly. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has declared war and Israel ...
Oct 07, 2023•2 min•Ep. 78
For more resources on the topics discussed in this episode: Women Wage Peace Women of the Sun AChord Abraham Initiatives To hear more from Groundwork: https://groundworkpodcast.com/. Credits Groundwork is hosted by Sally Abed and Dina Kraft and produced by Yoshi Fields. Today’s story is by Maria Rashed and scored by Joel Shupack. Art and design by Nick Acosta. Groundwork is a joint production of New Israel Fund and the Alliance for Middle East Peace....
Jul 20, 2023•27 min
Israel is often called "the only Democracy in the Middle East,” with activists, politicians, and even journalists pointing to Israel's Supreme Court as a prime example. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to weaken the Israeli judiciary, sending Israeli Jews into the streets en masse to protest. For months, Israelis have been engaged in marches, strikes, and even boycotts to stop what many are calling a judicial coup. But for millions of Palestinians who live under Israeli rule, the Supr...
Mar 31, 2023•21 min•Ep. 77
Awdah Hathaleen lives in the village of Umm al-Khair, in the South Hebron Hills: a region of the West Bank where Israel has full civil and military control. At the start of 2023, the Israeli military announced plans to forcibly evacuate more than a thousand people from eight villages in the South Hebron Hills. Even though Umm al-Khair is not one of those eight villages, Awdah says life has still become much more difficult for his family and community in the past year. You can hear more from Awda...
Jan 27, 2023•13 min•Ep. 76
Musa Abdullah Ali Awad lives in the village of Isfey al-Fauqa. Isfey is located in a part of the West Bank called Masafer Yatta, where Israel has total civil and military control. While the Israeli military has claimed for decades that much of the area is a “firing zone,” they were prevented from forcibly evacuating the villages because of an ongoing legal case. Last spring however, Israel’s High Court of Justice issued its final ruling – in favor of the military and against the Palestinians. At...
Jan 23, 2023•8 min•Ep. 75
Masafer Yatta is in Area C of the West Bank, where Israel has total civil and military control. For decades, the Israeli military has claimed much of the area as a “firing zone.” They were prevented from forcibly evacuating the villages by an ongoing legal case. But last spring, Israel’s High Court of Justice issued its final ruling — in favor of the military and against the Palestinians. Since then, the people of Masafer Yatta have been waiting for the other shoe to drop. And two weeks ago, the...
Jan 17, 2023•11 min•Ep. 74
To commemorate five years of Unsettled, we’re closing out 2022 by diving into our archive. Each member of the team has picked a favorite past episode to republish. For this episode, producer Asaf Calderon shares Politicized Pain, a conversation between two friends processing what it means to grieve when pain is public and political, originally released in May of 2021. Help shape the future of Unsettled by filling out this listener survey ! It should take only 5-10 minutes to complete....
Dec 08, 2022•32 min•Ep. 73
To commemorate five years of Unsettled, we’re closing out 2022 by diving into our archive. Each member of the team has picked a favorite past episode to republish. For this episode, producer Emily Bell shares a documentary produced in collaboration with the +972 podcast. The documentary tells the story of Amal Sumarin, who lives with her family in East Jerusalem, in the Palestinian village of Silwan. However, they have been at risk of being forcibly evicted from their home for decades. This epis...
Dec 06, 2022•39 min•Ep. 72
To commemorate five years of Unsettled, we’re closing out 2022 by diving into our archive. Each member of the team has picked a favorite past episode to republish. For this episode, producer Ilana Levinson shares The Great March, a report originally released in 2019, on a mass demonstration in the Gaza Strip attended by thousands. The Great March of Return was originally planned to last six weeks, but continued for many months. How did it all begin, and who are the protestors who risked their li...
Dec 01, 2022•35 min•Ep. 71
