Podcast
Occupied Thoughts
Hosted by Occupied Thoughts by FMEP · EN
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 goal through its grants program, public programming, and research. www.fmep.org
28episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Meeting Gaza's Needs for Food, Justice, & Accountability
2w ago00:46:29Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Hani Almadhoun, Vice President of Philanthropy at UNRWA USA and co-founder of Gaza Soup Kitchen, an initiative that Hani and his family in Gaza started to feed people in Gaza during the Israeli genocide. Hani and Ahmed speak about Hani's family in Gaza and the work of the Gaza Soup Kitchen from its founding until today. They discuss the mission and work of UNRWA and the role that UNRWA USA plays in supporting it. And they talk about accountability, justice, and ways forward. Hani Almadhoun is the Vice President of Philanthropy at UNRWA USA and co-founder of Gaza Soup Kitchen. Born in the Emirates, Hani’s family fled to the Gaza Strip in the aftermath of the first Gulf War. It was tough adjusting to the harsh conditions in Gaza during the First Intifada, but his family was made whole again when his dad got a job at an UNRWA school teaching English to refugees. A child of an educator, Hani was raised with the mantra of school being the top priority, and in this pursuit, he eventually found his way to the United States, thanks to a university scholarship from the LDS Church. After earning both his Masters in Public Administration and his BA in International Studies and Latin American studies from Brigham Young University, Hani settled in Washington, DC where he fell into the world of fundraising for various causes that spoke to him, including civil rights and social justice groups for Muslim and Arab Americans and charities that serve the Palestinian people and other marginalized communities in the Middle East. Ahmed Moor is a Palestinian-American writer born in Gaza and a Fellow at FMEP. He is an advisory board member of the US Campaign for Palestinian rights, co-editor of After Zionism (Saqi Books) and is currently writing a book about Palestine. He also currently serves on the board of the Independence Media Foundation. His work has been published in The Guardian, The London Review of Books, The Nation, and elsewhere. He earned a BA at the University of Pennsylvania and an MPP at Harvard University. You can follow Ahmed on Substack at: https://ahmedmoor.substack.com and on X at @AhmedMoor. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.
Transcribe →Reeling Israel In: A Conversation with Seth Ackerman
4w ago00:52:42Tap to summarizeIn this conversation, FMEP non-resident Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Seth Ackerman (Jacobin Magazine) about the latter's recent article on a speech by Rahm Emanuel (former White House Chief of Staff to President Obama), and what it might say about current political thinking in the the Democratic Party. They also discuss what opportunities exist in the U.S. to exert pressure on Israel and pursue accountable. For resources and biographies, please visit: https://fmep.org/resource/reeling-israel-in-a-conversation-with-seth-ackerman/ Original music by Jalal Yacoub
Transcribe →On Building Power in the Palestine Movement
Jul 1700:15:57Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Abed Abou Shhadeh, a community organizer based in Jaffa who served as a City Council representative of the Palestinian community in Jaffa-Tel Aviv from 2018 to 2024. The discussion centered on an essay Abed published June 18, 2026 at +972 Magazine: The Palestine movement must seek power over purity - https://www.972mag.com/palestine-bds-power-purity/
Transcribe →The betrayal of Gaza’s journalists
Jul 1601:26:59Tap to summarizeIn this episode of FMEP’s Occupied Thoughts podcast, FMEP President Lara Friedman speaks with Anan Quzmar, a Palestinian researcher focused on the systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists and the broader destruction of Gaza's documentation ecosystem; and Zo Brown (an alias), the founder of Databases for Palestine about Israel's assault on Palestinian journalism – starting even before 10/7/23 – and the failures of international organizations ostensibly devoted to defend journalists, including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). You can follow the work of Databases for Palestine on X at @databases4pal, and Anan at @QuzmarAnan. See the show notes on FMEP's website for resources related to this podcast -- https://fmep.org/resource/the-betrayal-of-gazas-journalists/.
Transcribe →The Biden administration and genocide: An interview with investigative journalist Akbar Shahid Ahmed
Jul 1300:51:26Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor does a deep-dive with award-winning foreign affairs journalist Akbar Shahid Ahmed into the backstory of and some key themes in his new (and eagerly awaited) book: Crossing the Red Line (release date: 9/22/26; available now for pre-order - https://wwnorton.com/books/9781324118190).
Transcribe →TrackAIPAC: A conversation with co-founders Cory Archibald and Casey Kennedy
Jul 1000:51:23Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Cory Archibald and Casey Kennedy, the co-founders of TrackAIPAC, a campaign to that, in its own words, seeks to "reveal and counter the influence of AIPAC and the Israel lobby by systematically documenting their financial contributions to our federal officials." They discuss how the campaign came about, how it has developed, and the criticisms they've received for its work. They also discuss the role of dark money in politics more generally. Cory Archibald and Casey Kennedy are the co-founders of TrackAIPAC. Ahmed Moor is a Palestinian-American writer born in Gaza and a Fellow at FMEP. You can follow Ahmed on Substack at: https://ahmedmoor.substack.com and on X at @AhmedMoor. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.
Transcribe →The Urgent Threat to Dr. Abu Safiya's Life: "They Brought Me Here to Kill Me"
Jul 900:32:25Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Naji Abbas, Director of the Prisoners and Detainees Department at Physicians for Human Rights Israel, about the Israeli army's policies and practices of kidnapping and disappearing Palestinians into detention, where torture is rampant. Among the 5000 Palestinians detained without charge are 14 senior Palestinian doctors from Gaza, including Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, director of Kamal Adwan Hospital in Gaza, whose condition has deteriorated. Following his most recent visit to Dr. Abu Safiya, attorney Nasser Odeh reported "tangible and immediate danger" to Dr. Abu Safiya's life due to a "dramatic escalation in the assaults and torture" inflicted by Israeli prison guards against Dr. Abu Safiya. Ahmed and Naji place the detention of Gaza's doctors within the logic of genocide, as it is part of the dismantling of the healthcare services people need to live. Resources from Physicians for Human Rights Israel: "Physicians for Human Rights Israel Warns of Imminent Danger to Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya's Life": https://www.phr.org.il/en/imminent-danger-to-dr-hussam-abu-safiyas-life/ Physicians for Human Rights Israel's podcast, Diagnosing the Barriers: https://open.spotify.com/show/0uwVBdUIerZZpdRY5pIygT See especially their newest episode, "Gaza Needs its Doctors -- Release the 14," featuring PHRI's Maha Loulou and Lee Caspi: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1FINJyQYJlPO97shWJNOhQ Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya to his lawyer: “This is the last time you will see me… They brought me here to kill me" "Torture of Medical Staff from Gaza in Israel • Report and Testimonies" See also B'Tselem's report "Living Hell: the Israeli Prison System as a Network of Torture Camps" Naji Abbas is Director of the Prisoners and Detainees Department at Physicians for Human Rights Israel. Follow PHRI Ahmed Moor is a Palestinian-American writer born in Gaza and a Fellow at FMEP. You can follow Ahmed on Substack at: https://ahmedmoor.substack.com and on X at @AhmedMoor. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.
Transcribe →The Ethnic Cleansing of Umm al Khair: A conversation with Eid Suleman and Andrey X
Jul 800:45:38Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Eid Suleiman, a resident of the village of Umm al Khair in Masafer Yatta in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, and Andrey X, a journalist and solidarity activist who is an Israeli citizen. They discuss settlers attacks and expansionism, who the so-called Hilltop Youth are, and the fact that the settler apparatus for dispossessing Palestinian people and confiscating their land operates as Israeli state policy. They also discuss Palestinian efforts to sustain their families and communities, the solidarity activists who offer support, and the concrete differences in how Palestinians and non-Palestinian solidarity activists are treated by the Israeli army and Israeli police. Eid Suleman is a human rights activist and member of the Umm al Khair community in the Israeli-occupied southern West Bank. Andrey X is a journalist and solidarity activist. You can follow him in these places: https://www.instagram.com/the.andrey.x/ or https://x.com/the_andrey_x. Ahmed Moor is a Palestinian-American writer born in Gaza and a Fellow at FMEP. You can follow Ahmed on Substack at: https://ahmedmoor.substack.com and on X at @AhmedMoor. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.
Transcribe →Born into Apartheid: The Work of Dismantling Jewish Supremacy
Jul 100:59:32Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Yuli Novak, executive director of the Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem. Their conversation covers a wide range of topics as Yuli addresses why it matters to understand the Israeli system from the inside. They discuss how Israelis were mobilized so quickly into supporting and committing genocide; the meaning and impact of the Zionist movement producing the Israeli apartheid state; and the expectation that Israeli violence and repression will continue to increase. Yuli states her belief that positive change is not coming soon, but the Israeli Jewish population has both the responsibility and ability to act to dismantle the paradigms of Jewish supremacy and militarism and work for both justice and equality. Yuli Novak is the Executive Director of B’Tselem. From 2012-2017, she was Executive Director of Breaking the Silence. In 2022, she published (in Hebrew) the memoir Who Do You Think You Are?, which will be published in English in 2026. Ahmed Moor is a Palestinian-American writer born in Gaza and a Fellow at FMEP. He is an advisory board member of the US Campaign for Palestinian rights, co-editor of After Zionism (Saqi Books) and is currently writing a book about Palestine. He also currently serves on the board of the Independence Media Foundation. His work has been published in The Guardian, The London Review of Books, The Nation, and elsewhere. He earned a BA at the University of Pennsylvania and an MPP at Harvard University. You can follow Ahmed on Substack at: https://ahmedmoor.substack.com and on X at @AhmedMoor. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.
Transcribe →Welding the U.S. & Israel Together
Jun 3000:36:34Tap to summarizeIn this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with FMEP President Lara Friedman about the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which Congress is currently deliberating. Lara & Peter discuss what the NDAA is as well as how new legislation could undermine efforts to end U.S. military aid to Israel. Lara Friedman publishes a comprehensive review and analysis of Middle East-related developments on Capitol Hill every week that Congress is in session and has been following the developments with the NDAA very closely. In her June 19, 2026 discussion of the NDAA (and other bills), Lara wrote: "A clear through-line connecting all of these bills and lists of amendments is the effort in Congress to use every available legislative vehicle as an engine to expand/deepen US-Israeli military cooperation, coordination, operations, inter-operability/inter-dependence, procurements, and integration — in a manner that will be very difficult for any future Congress or president to unwind. Together these measures seek to codify the transformation of Israel from a foreign state that enjoys US support & aid, into an actor whose interests, prerogatives, and entitlements are enmeshed, by law, with those of the US, such that Israel is legally woven into the fabric of U.S. national security apparatus functions — where its position will not only be less vulnerable to changing political tides (compared to today), but also even less transparent and accountable." For more, see Lara's weekly Legislative Round-up, especially from June 19th, 2026 and June 26th, 2026: https://fmep.org/resources/?rsearch=&rcat%5B%5D=345 Peter Beinart is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He is also a Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York, a Contributing opinion writer at the New York Times, an Editor-at-Large at Jewish Currents, and an MSNOW Political Commentator. His newest book (published 2025) is Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning. He publishes regularly on https://peterbeinart.substack.com/. Lara Friedman is the president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace. Previously, she was the Director of Policy and Government Relations at Americans for Peace Now, and before that she was a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, serving in Jerusalem, Washington, Tunis, and Beirut. Lara is a leading authority on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Follow her on Substack: https://substack.com/@larafriedmandc Original music by Jalal Yaquob.
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