Otherwise Occupied

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...

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, 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...

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...

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...

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...

What really makes my day is talking to an amazing and inspiring artist. She’s a singer. A musician. A songwriter. She is an actress on stage and on the screen. She is a screenwriter. She’s an activist for women’s rights, for Palestinian rights. She was even in the Eurovision! Today I am so honored to speak with Mira Awad, one of Israel’s most famous artists, famous abroad as well, who has been challenging norms since childhood, norms in Arab society, in Israeli society, constantly giving...

My guest this week is the busiest reporter in Israel, based on the amount and pace of scoops he publishes. Barak Ravid is probably the most well known diplomatic correspondent in this country. He worked for years in Israel’s leading broadsheet Haaretz, then moved to TV - until he got fired, for reasons we’ll discuss in our chat. He now works in two news organizations, Walla News here in Israel, and one of my favorite websites in the US: Axios.com. Not many people know the Mideast political...

My guest today is Simcha Rothman. Recently named by the Israeli financial daily "The Marker" as one of the 100 most influential people in Israel. I know Simcha from my TV days hosting the Spin Room, a debate show, and Simcha, being the attorney that he is, was a fierce and formidable rival for the folks I put up against him. He is the co-founder and legal counsellor of an NGO called Meshilut, the Movement for Governability and Democracy and he recently wrote a book called “The ruling party...

Today I am talking to Makbula Nassar. While I’ve never met Makbula, she does writes for Local Call, the sister site of the website I co-founded, +972 Magazine, and I have always wanted to get to know her better. Makbula is one of the most dominant voices in Palestinian society today. She started out as a social worker, but veered towards photography and journalism, hosting one of the most popular talk shows on Arab radio, leading feminist causes in Israel and in Arab society in particular,...

My guest today is a comedian who is very quickly making a name for herself in Israel and abroad. Noam Shuster Eliassi has an amazing life story, and she’s only in her early 30’s! She grew up in a very unique place, Neve Shalom, a small village of Israeli Jews and Palestinians, an experiment of sorts. In the podcast, I ask her if she thinks the experiment was a success... She's worked in Rwanda, she’s worked for the UN and other NGO’s, but then - she dropped all that and started telling...

I’m pretty excited about this week’s guest on the show - Tamer Nafar! Widely regarded as the first rapper in Arabic - Tamer is famous for so many things in Israel, where do I even start? He's the lead singer of one of the most popular hip hop bands in the region and the world, DAM, he’s also got an amazing solo career going on, and to top it off - he's an actor and screenwriter, most notably starring in the award winning film Junction 48. He says whatever is on his mind, knowing it will...

My guest today is Zehava Galon. I’m pretty sure a lot of my listeners know who Galon is - she has been one of the most well known politicians in Israel for decades now, a symbol of the Israeli Left. The list of causes Galon has fought for would take me forever to read through, she is a champion of progressive values, fighting for gender equality, LGBTQ rights, and of course, Palestinian rights, and much much more. A couple of years ago she left parliament and her position as leader of the...

Listen now | My guest today on the podcast is Ruthie Blum! Ruthie is originally from New York, and is the daughter of journalists and authors Midge Decter and legendary editor in Chief of Commentary Magazine, Norman Podhoretz. Since she immigrated to Israel in the late 70’s, she’s become a very well known journalist and pundit in her own right, and as you’ll probably hear - despite my attempt to listen to ALL my guests no matter what - I agree with maybe 1 percent of what she says. Get on...

As the pandemic rages out of control in Israel, I’m happy that my guest today is someone who shares my frustration. Yaron Ten-Brink, one of Israel’s leading journalists. Yaron became very well known when he began writing a daily TV columns in the most widely circulated newspaper, back then, Yedioth Ahronoth. Since then he’s held very senior editorial positions in print but also had a stint in TV, editing and producing top shows during prime time, and he and I also had the opportunity to...

On today’s episode of Otherwise Occupied I talk to Aziz Abu Sarah, an old friend with an amazing story. And just look at that punim! We talk about his childhood in a West Bank village outside of Jerusalem, how he became radicalized after the tragedy that hit his family, and how he changed direction - turning into one of the most prominent peace activists in this region. I hope he inspires you as much as he has inspired me. Support the show

Hey everybody! The first episode of “Otherwise Occupied” is here, and it’s a blast. I was honored to host Nof Atamna, the first Arab chef to win the Israeli production of Master Chef. We talked about the pandemic, about the racism she’s dealt with, and a whole lot about food - specifically Palestinian cuisine and how important it is to her identity. Support the show

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