Politicized Pain

When violence erupts in Israel-Palestine, talking in public about Palestinian suffering is often met automatically with an assertion of Israeli suffering — as if one somehow cancels out, or even justifies, the other. It feels like compassion has become a scarce commodity. How do we grieve publicly without negating the experience of the “other side"?

This episode is not an expert interview, it's a conversation between two friends: one American, one Israeli. Unsettled producers Ilana Levinson and Asaf Calderon discuss empathy and anger, power, trauma, and responsibility.

Unsettled is produced by Emily Bell, Asaf Calderon, Max Freedman, and Ilana Levinson. Original music by Nat Rosenzweig. Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions.

• “Want to help Israelis? Become an anti-Zionist” (Asaf Calderon, +972 Magazine, 5/19/21)
• “What it’s like to have a Jewish terrorist in the family” (Asaf Calderon, Haaretz, 5/3/17)
• Spotify playlist: Unsettled essentials, May 2021