PeaceCast

#355: Inside the Moment: Gershon Baskin on What's Next for Israel & Gaza

This episode of PeaceCast, cohosted by NJN's President and CEO Hadar Susskind and NJN and T'ruah board member Rabbi Esther Lederman, is a recording of a webinar hosted on November 18th, 2025. In the month since the Trump-brokered ceasefire went into effect, the fighting has mostly stopped and the living hostages have been returned to Israel (as have most of the deceased hostages). Yet, we've seen few signs of progress towards the next stages of President Trump's 20-point plan to end the war and rebuild Gaza. Dr. Baskin is uniquely positioned to speak on these issues. His decades of experience in back-channel negotiations and peacebuilding, including as a mediator for the deal that freed Gilad Shalit in 2011, provide him with a broad network of contacts in the Israeli security establishment and among Palestinian leaders.

#354: Making Sense of the Trump Plan with Laura Rozen and Joel Braunold

This is a recording of a New Jewish Narrative webinar from October 1, 2025, hosted by Hadar Susskind. At an unusual press conference at the White House on Monday September 29 — with Prime Minister Netanyahu at his side — President Trump unveiled a plan to end the Gaza War. The document, which was emailed to reporters during the event, included 20 substantive points—some of which are supposed to happen whether or not Hamas accepts the plan. To help us make sense of these developments, NJN hosted two seasoned observers of American diplomacy for this webinar. Laura Rozen is a veteran foreign policy journalist. She has served as the diplomatic correspondent for Al-Monitor, foreign policy reporter for Politico, and for Foreign Policy magazine, where she launched the Cable blog in 2009. She now writes and reports the Diplomatic newsletter at Substack, and also serves on the editorial board of Just Security. Joel Braunold is the Managing Director of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace, the former executive director of the Alliance for Middle East Peace, and a contributing editor at Lawfare. He works regularly with the US State Department, USAID, the National Security Council, and Congress on the needs of the peace-building community. Outside the United States, he has worked with national governments across Europe, multilateral institutions, and parts of the Arab world.

#353: Security Cameras in the West Bank

In this episode of PeaceCast, NJN Director of Prgrams Maxxe Albert-Deitch is joined by Tamar Cohen, the Resource Development Director at Comet-ME. Comet-ME is an Israeli-Palestinian NGO providing off-grid renewable energy, clean water, and wireless internet infrastructure to vulnerable Palestinian communities in the occupied Palestinian territories. Among other projects, Comet-ME is currently working on a grassroots emergency project to install community-run security cameras in Palestinian villages in Area C of the West Bank. Learn more about Comet-ME: https://comet-me.org/ [https://comet-me.org/] New Jewish narrative: https://www.newjewishnarrative.org/ [https://www.newjewishnarrative.org/]

#352: Sanctions to Stop Settler Violence: U.S. Policy and the Path Forward, with Senator Peter Welch

Recording of a conversation between Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) and NJN President and CEO Hadar Susskind from September 3, 2025. Senator Welch recently reintroduced the SANCTIONS in the West Bank Act. This important legislation seeks to codify the Biden Administration Executive Order that imposed sanctions on those "undermining peace, security, and stability in the West Bank." While these sanctions did not end settler violence, their absence is keenly felt. Settler attacks on Palestinian civilians in the West Bank have skyrocketed by 30% since the repeal of the sanctions in January. In conversation with NJN President and CEO Hadar Susskind, Senator Welch shared his perspective on why this bill matters now, how it fits into the broader struggle to hold the Israeli government accountable, and what role the US can play in advancing peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians.

#351: The Humanitarian Situation in Gaza: An Update

This is a recording of a New Jewish Narrative webinar from August 25th, 2025. Experts share updates on the evolving humanitarian situation in Gaza. Featuring: * Dr. Tarek Loubani, a medical doctor and founder of the Glia project, which provides medical aid and services in war-torn regions, Palestine the first among them. He is currently working at a hospital in Gaza. * Dr. Lee Mordecai, an Israeli historian who is well known for his recent documentation of war crimes in Gaza, especially as they relate to starvation. * Karam Al-Shanti, a native Gazan who works for the Red Cross and is currently based in Belgium. This webinar was cosponsored by New Jewish Narrative, T'ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, Satyam, Combatants for Peace, Rabbis for Human Rights, Partners for Progressive Israel, Mizrahi Civic Collective, and Smol Emuni. Moderated by: Annie Kantar, award-winning Israeli writer, and Noam Shelef, New Jewish Narrative's Vice President for Communications.