Otherwise Occupied

MP Heba Yazbak: 'I'm happy the Trump era is over, but I don't have high expectations of Biden'

As the Israeli parliament dissolved this week and we are now headed to our fourth round of elections in two years, I'm happy that my guest today is a professional politician: Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament Heba Yazbak (Joint List). Yazbak belongs to the National Democratic Assembly, known as the “Balad” party, a Palestinian nationalist party that supports the creation of a Palestinian state in the territories Israel occupied in 1967 and opposes Israel’s definition as a Jewish state. It’s members have been targeted by the Jewish right wing and they see constant attempts to block them from running for office. Yazbak herself was almost disqualified for past statements on social media where she was accused of supporting terrorists, but the Supreme Court eventually let her run [https://www.lawfareblog.com/near-disqualification-heba-yazbak-defensive-democracy-divided-society]. We talk about those efforts, about the upcoming elections of course, and the situation that the Joint List is in these days, and a whole lot more. Support the show [https://ko-fi.com/otherwiseoccupied] (https://ko-fi.com/otherwiseoccupied)

Kefah Abukhdeir: 'We don't have to love each other, but we do need to respect each other'

My guest this week is an activist for Palestinian rights from East Jerusalem. Kefah Abukhdeir is a Palestinian-American who co-directs and teaches at EduReach [https://www.edu-reach.org/], a local Palestinian educational and learning organization, and I had the honor of speaking with her about her family’s deep roots to the holy city, her American roots, and what she thinks about the end of the Trump era. But what I’m really thankful for in our conversation is, first of all, the glimpse that Kefah gives me about life in East Jerusalem, which I’m not sure is really known to most people who think they have an understanding of this conflict. And I’m also grateful for her willingness to share a bit of her connection to Mohammed Abukhdeir [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kidnapping_and_murder_of_Mohammed_Abu_Khdeir], her 16 year old cousin, who was brutally murdered in 2014 by Jews. It was a murder that horrified this region, and it was part of the chain of events that eventually led to the 2014 Gaza war. Last year, HBO produced in Israel a show called "Our Boys [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Boys_(miniseries)]," based on the events of those days. Support the show [https://ko-fi.com/otherwiseoccupied] (https://ko-fi.com/otherwiseoccupied)

Ronit Vered: 'I do believe there is such a thing as Israeli cuisine'

My guest this week is someone I am very excited to talk to, being the foodie that I am. Ronit Vered is a researcher of food culture, she’s a journalist, an author of food and travel books. Since 2007 she’s been writing a weekly column about food in Haaretz. It’s a wonderful column, with photographs from an amazing photographer named Dan Peretz. Together they document people, food, disappearing preparation methods that they encounter every week, as they crisscross the country looking for good stories. She also writes for international culinary magazines and books, she gives lectures and moderates international panels about cuisines and identity, food and politics, the Jewish kitchen, Israeli cuisine, and so much more. She really is one of the best in her field. We talk about food and identity in Israel and Palestine, about what covid-19 is doing to the food business, about hummus, sabich - even schnitzel! It was, if I may say so myself, a delicious chat. Support the show [https://ko-fi.com/otherwiseoccupied] (https://ko-fi.com/otherwiseoccupied)

David Lehrer: 'To live in peace with nature, you must learn to live in peace with your neighbor'

David Lehrer is the Director of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. As a partner of the Ben Gurion University, the institute brings Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian and international students together, promoting the idea that nature knows no political borders is more than a belief. "It is a fact, a curriculum, and a way of life," as their website says. I spoke to David while he was in the institute, in a Kibbutz called Ketura, where he has lived now for many years since immigrating from the States. We talk about the amazing work they do in the West Bank, Gaza, and Jordan, about how environment work can promote peace, about living through the Trump era as an environmentalist, and his hopes for the future for this region and the world. Support the show [https://ko-fi.com/otherwiseoccupied] (https://ko-fi.com/otherwiseoccupied)

Eman Mohammed: 'In Gaza, the pain lingers long after the bombs stop falling'

There's a first time for everything, right? Well, this is the first episode where I shed a tear during recording. My guest this week is the first female Palestinian photojournalist in Gaza. Eman Mohammed started her career at the young age of 19, not only dodging bombings, but also misogyny from her colleagues and surroundings, who thought a woman was not cut out for the job. But that didn’t stop her. She eventually became one of the most well known photographers in the region, her photos published in all the major media outlets around the world, until THAT day, that one day of bombing in another Gazan war, that hit close to home. Way too close to home. Her daughter was injured. We’ll talk about that horrific day, about her becoming a speaker for TED and a senior TED fellow, about living in America during the Trump era, why she decided to remove her hijab, and so much more. But first - an apology. I screwed up. I messed up the settings in this zoom call, and instead of recording my voice on my fancy microphone, it was recorded by the computer mic - which is pretty bad. A real rookie mistake, I admit it...  I was thinking about re-recording, but I thought that since Eman’s voice is still heard very well, and she’s the important one here and I’m just a bit muffled here and there - it wasn’t worth trying to replicate the whole conversation. I promise, though, that you will still enjoy this episode AND that I have learned my lesson the hard way. Support the show [https://ko-fi.com/otherwiseoccupied] (https://ko-fi.com/otherwiseoccupied)