Podcasts about Jordanian

In February, King Abdullah II of Jordan rebuffed US President Donald Trump's proposal for his country to absorb Palestinians living in Gaza — part of the now infamous “Riviera” plan. When dealing with the Trump administration, the Jordanian king is certainly caught in a bind between rejecting Palestinian displacement and restoring the flow of foreign assistance from Washington. An aid-reliant economy notwithstanding, Amman has longstanding identity issues arising from citizens of Palestinian origins, tracing back to the aftermath of the 1948 war which saw Jordan's population triple with the addition of Palestinian refugees and inhabitants of the West Bank. Domestically, Jordan's recent parliamentary elections held last September produced a strong Islamist showing, with the Islamic Action Front (IAF) — the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood — emerging as the largest bloc in the legislative body. Amman also had to navigate the succession crisis in 2021 involving Prince Hamzah bin Hussein, whose house arrest and subsequent public reconciliation with King Abdullah II revealed underlying tensions within the Hashemite royal family. The Middle East Institute hosted Steve L. Monroe and Nicolai Due-Gundersen, two newly-minted authors and experts on Jordan, to address the above issues and more.

In the 5 AM hour, Larry O’Connor and Julie Gunlock discussed: Photo of Larry’s daughter getting married Trump announces NFL draft coming to nation's capital in 2027 Defense chief Hegseth orders 20% cut in top military leadership positions ICE asks public for help locating illegal Jordanian migrant accused of trying to ‘breach’ Quantico — and let go by Biden Where to find more about WMAL's morning show: Follow podcasts on Apple, Audible and Spotify Follow WMAL's "O'Connor and Company" on X: @WMALDC, @LarryOConnor, @JGunlock, @PatricePinkfile, and @HeatherHunterDC Facebook: WMALDC and Larry O'Connor Instagram: WMALDC Website: wmal.com/oconnor-company Episode: Tuesday, May 6, 2025 / 5 AM HourSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the show this time, it's the Jordanian Habibi-Disco of crooner Ziyad Al-Samman. Ziyad Al-Samman is a Jordanian singer, based in London. He makes danceable pop music that combines myriad influences including disco, psych-rock, 50’s rock n roll, and the sounds of the Middle East. He’s not afraid to get romantic with it, inviting us all to dance and flirt, maybe even get a little naughty. For this performance he and his band played songs from his latest EP “Pleasure Complex” available from French label Yotanka. Recorded December 3, 2024 Bang Ya Habibi What You Gonna Do? I Can't Behave My Sweet This Love Space Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On the show this time, it's the Jordanian Habibi-Disco of crooner Ziyad Al-Samman. Ziyad Al-Samman is a Jordanian singer, based in London. He makes danceable pop music that combines myriad influences including disco, psych-rock, 50’s rock n roll, and the sounds of the Middle East. He’s not afraid to get romantic with it, inviting us all to dance and flirt, maybe even get a little naughty. For this performance he and his band played songs from his latest EP “Pleasure Complex” available from French label Yotanka. Recorded December 3, 2024 Bang Ya Habibi What You Gonna Do? I Can't Behave My Sweet This Love Space Watch the full Live on KEXP session on YouTube.Support the show: https://www.kexp.org/donateSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has appointed a veteran aide Hussein al-Sheikh as vice president. The move came a week after the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood, which it says threatened its regime. Dr. Ronnie Shaked, Dr. Ronnie Shaked, an expert on Palestinian Affairs at the Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, said that Al-Sheikh was just as corrupt and despised as Abbas and would not likely succeed him. He told reporter Arieh O’Sullivan, that the move by Jordan’s King Abdullah the Second to outlaw the Muslim Brotherhood was a move to bolster Jordanian identity and likely a temporary ban. (photo: Raad Adayleh/AP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today's guest is Anne Speckhard, Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism. She previously served for over two decades as Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine. She has interviewed over 800 terrorists, their family members and supporters in various parts of the world including in Western Europe, the Balkans, Central Asia, the Former Soviet Union and the Middle East, and has also been training key stakeholders in law enforcement, intelligence, educators, and other countering violent extremism professionals on the use of counter-narrative messaging materials both locally and internationally. In this episode, Alon and Anne discuss the rise in violent extremism and the causes behind it, the prospects of political violence in the US, the role of social media in promoting violent extremism and terrorism, and how violent extremist movements in the Middle East may evolve in relation to current events. Full bio Anne Speckhard, Ph.D., is Director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism (ICSVE) and served for over two decades as Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Georgetown University School of Medicine and also served as an Affiliate in the Center for Security Studies, Georgetown University. She has interviewed over 800 terrorists, violent extremists, their family members and supporters around the world, including in Western Europe, the Balkans, Central Asia, the Former Soviet Union and the Middle East. Over the past five years, she has conducted in-depth psychological interviews with 275 ISIS defectors, returnees and prisoners, as well as 16 al Shabaab cadres (as well as their family members and leaders,) studying their trajectories into and out of terrorism, and their experiences inside ISIS and al Shabaab. Speckhard developed the ICSVE Breaking the ISIS Brand Counter Narrative Project from these interviews, which includes over 250 short counter narrative videos that mimic ISIS recruitment videos but contain actual terrorists strongly denouncing ISIS as un-Islamic, corrupt and brutal. These videos have been utilized in over 200 Facebook and Instagram campaigns globally. Beginning in 2020, she launched the ICSVE Escape Hate Counter Narrative Project, interviewing 54 white supremacists and members of hate groups, developing counternarratives from their interviews, and creating anti-recruitment videos. She has also conducted rare interviews with five Antifa activists. Dr. Speckhard is also an expert in rehabilitation and repatriation of terrorists and their families. In 2007, she designed the psychological and Islamic aspects of the Detainee Rehabilitation Program in Iraq to be applied to 20,000+ detainees and 800 juveniles. This work led to consulting with foreign governments on issues of terrorist prevention, interventions and repatriation; and the rehabilitation and reintegration of ISIS foreign fighters, wives and children. She has worked individually with former terrorists from Belgium, Australia, Sweden and elsewhere. She has also worked on these issues with NATO, OSCE, UN Women, UNCTED, UNODC, the EU Commission and EU Parliament, and to the US Senate & House, Departments of State, Defense, Justice, Homeland Security, Health & Human Services, and the FBI. Dr. Speckhard actively trains key stakeholders in law enforcement, intelligence, elite hostage negotiation teams, educators, and other professionals in countering violent extremism, locally and internationally. Her focus is on the psychology of terrorism, the effective use of counter-narrative messaging materials produced by ICSVE, as well as studying the use of children as violent actors by groups such as ISIS. Her consultations and trainings include U.S., Australian, Canadian, German, British, Dutch, Austrian, Swiss, Belgian, Danish, Iraqi, Syrian, Jordanian and Thai national police and security officials, among others.

//The Wire//2100Z April 25, 2025////ROUTINE////BLUF: INDIA-PAKISTAN TENSIONS REMAIN HIGH. POSSIBLE IED DISCOVERED AT FORT BRAGG GATE. TWO JUDGES ARRESTED ON CHARGES OF HARBORING ILLEGALS.// -----BEGIN TEARLINE----- -International Events-India/Pakistan: Overnight the situation deteriorated significantly as both sides escalate the situation as expected. So far, no military unit appears to have crossed the Line of Control (LoC) yet, save for one lone Indian soldier who was captured by Pakistani border guards yesterday. This morning an Indian Air Force aircraft jettisoned a fuel tank while over one of their own towns in Shivpuri district, which landed on a house and killed one civilian.Russia/Ukraine: Tensions have briefly escalated amid peace talks. Two days ago, Russia launched a missile strike on Kiev, striking the Antonov aircraft factory in the industrial sector of the city. This morning, Russian Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik was assassinated via an explosive device that was planted in a parked vehicle near his home in a suburb of Moscow. When the General walked past, the device was detonated.AC: Even without any evidence indicating blame whatsoever, the overall context strongly indicates that the assassination of a high-ranking Russian General was almost certainly retaliation for the strike at the Antonov factory in Kiev. The attack method was identical to that which killed another Russian General, Igor Kirillov, who was assassinated in the same area (the eastern suburbs of Moscow) back in December of last year. -HomeFront-North Carolina: Last night one of the entrances to Fort Bragg was briefly locked down due to a possible explosive device being detected at the All American Gate. Details are very unconfirmed and highly speculative at the moment, but most local media is stating that a Jordanian national was stopped after he attempted to smuggled an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) through the gate. No official confirmation of exactly what happened has been released by base personnel.Wisconsin: This morning county Judge Hannah Dugan was arrested by the FBI on obstruction of justice charges for allegedly harboring an illegal alien at her courthouse. In a statement provided by the U.S. Marshalls Service, Judge Dugan aided and abetted an illegal immigrant to evade capture by using off-limits passageways in the courthouse to escape. Judge Dugan also directly lied to federal officials about the illegal's whereabouts when presented with a lawful court order for his detention.New Mexico: Judge Cano, the infamous Judge who openly admitted to harboring an illegal alien and TdA member in the guesthouse at his home, was also arrested yesterday afternoon along with his wife.AC: This somewhat surprising arrest appears to have been conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, which could indicate that the immigration status of the immigrant he was harboring was the lesser concern, in favor of the individual actually being a TdA member. Even for New Mexico, where various cartels have a huge influence over the justice system, that TdA label was probably a bridge too far for this Judge to be able to quietly retire and forget about the whole affair (as he tried to do a few days ago).-----END TEARLINE-----Analyst Comments: Some reports have emerged that claim hostilities have already commenced throughout the northern border districts of Kashmir, however at the moment it's not clear if these are legitimate military advances, or just border guards shooting at each other as usual. Reports of heavy artillery being used are more concerning, however at the moment it appears that translation errors could be in play with some of these reports in Indian media. What locals are describing as "heavy artillery" in their native language seems to in actuality be mortar fire, which affects the seriousness of the situation. Cr

Jordanian authorities have banned the Muslim Brotherhood a week after members of the group were accused of being involved in an armed plot against the state. An earthquake of 6.2 magnitude struck Istanbul on Wednesday. The UAE is renewing calls for the protection of emergency workers in Gaza, after its field hospital in the strip sustained damage from Israeli attacks. On today's episode of Trending Middle East: Jordan bans activities of Muslim Brotherhood and closes offices, says interior minister Turkey earthquake: Magnitude-6.2 tremor hits Istanbul UAE field hospital in Gaza hit by bomb shrapnel This episode features Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Jordan Correspondent; Lizzie Porter, Turkey Correspondent; and Ali Al Shouk, Senior News Reporter.

Lauren Burns was 7 years old when her father, a Jordanian national divorced from her mother when she was just a few weeks old, kidnapped her and took her to his homeland. His plan was to raise her there.But Lauren's Mom fought tirelessly and valiantly to bring her back home to America. The details of how she succeeded in being reunited with her daughter, told here in edge-of-your-seat detail, feature a clandestine rescue operation led by former U.S. military operatives and what Lauren describes as miracles that not only got her home but also fueled her Chistian faith.To learn more about Lauren Burns, visit www.laurenburns.netTo explore Beyond the Crucible resources, including our free Trials-to-Triumphs Self-Assessment, visit beyondthecrucible.com.Enjoy the show? Leave a review on your favorite podcast app and leave a comment at our YouTube channel and be sure subscribe and tell your friends and family about us.Have a question or comment? Drop us a line at info@beyondthecrucible.com

Monday Headlines: Peter Dutton backflips on WFH promise, Liberal MP stood down after comments about women in combat, Jordanian man on Sydney-bound flight charged after allegedly trying to open plane door, US #Handsoff protest, Matildas take on South Korea again tonight and Bob Katter the star of a new beer. Deep Dive: As we head into an election, some content creators are joining the campaign trail, partnering with politicians to engage young voters. But the lines between opinion, promotion, and political advertising are blurring. In part one of The Briefing’s two-part special, Tara Cassidy speaks with digital creator Hannah Ferguson, CEO of Cheek Media, who recently interviewed the PM, about the rise of online political voices in Australia and why she thinks traditional media needs to catch up. Follow The Briefing: TikTok: @listnrnewsroom Instagram: @listnrnewsroom @thebriefingpodcast YouTube: @LiSTNRnewsroom Facebook: @LiSTNR NewsroomSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Youtube link: https://youtu.be/nqSKd_JsrEo?si=CFAZyu69trUVxwRJ Former State Department employee and Secretary General of the Jordanian Opposition Coalition, Dr. Mudar Zahran, accuses Jordan's King Abdullah of "apartheid" against its (Arab) Palestinians who comprise 78% of British Mandated Palestine. Dr. Zahran cited Jordanian law which confirms that all refugees from Gaza are indeed Jordanian citizens, yet they are deprived of many jobs and government positions. In Jordan, according to Dr. Zahran, Palestinians are given a special stamp in their passports to distinguish them as NOT being Jordanian, further evidence, according to Zahran, that Jordan is an apartheid state. Zahran said that antisemitism in the West Bank/Judea and Samaria is at record levels, and that if given the opportunity, they would commit greater atrocities against the Jews than Hamas did on October 7. He went on to say that following October 7, "sadly, I've never seen my people happier... in the West Bank." He believes it would take 20-30 years to undo all the damage and indoctrination infecting these people. While trying to draw a distinction between the Arabs in Gaza versus the Arabs under the PA, he said that many Gazans voted for Hamas, not only because they believed Hamas would "get rid of the Jews," but that they would end the corruption of the PA. What they got in the end was Israel standing stronger than ever, and living under a Hamas that was more corrupt than the PA. During the interview, Zahran was emphatic, that barring another "pandemic," President Trump would be the President to end that Arab/Israeli conflict. Alan Skorski Reports 02APR2025 - PODCAST

Josh Gates investigates a unique Dead Sea Scroll etched with riddles that could lead to an ancient treasure. Following new leads, Josh treks into the punishing Jordanian desert in search of the potential fortune. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On June 8, 1967, Egypt's most famous radio broadcaster, Ahmed Said, reported that Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian forces had defeated the Israeli army in the Sinai, had hobbled their British and US allies, and were liberating Palestine. It was a lie. For the rest of his life, populations in the Middle East vilified Said for his duplicity. However, the truth was that, by 1967, all the world's major broadcasters to the Middle East were dissimulating on the air. For two decades, British, Soviet, American, and Egyptian radio voices created an audio world characterized by deceit and betrayal. In Frequencies of Deceit: How Global Propaganda Wars Shaped the Middle East (University of California Press, 2025), Dr. Margaret Peacock traces the history of deception and propaganda in Middle Eastern international radio. Dr. Peacock makes the compelling argument that this betrayal contributed to the loss of faith in Western and secular state-led political solutions for many in the Arab world, laying the groundwork for the rise of political Islam.  This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

On June 8, 1967, Egypt's most famous radio broadcaster, Ahmed Said, reported that Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian forces had defeated the Israeli army in the Sinai, had hobbled their British and US allies, and were liberating Palestine. It was a lie. For the rest of his life, populations in the Middle East vilified Said for his duplicity. However, the truth was that, by 1967, all the world's major broadcasters to the Middle East were dissimulating on the air. For two decades, British, Soviet, American, and Egyptian radio voices created an audio world characterized by deceit and betrayal. In Frequencies of Deceit: How Global Propaganda Wars Shaped the Middle East (University of California Press, 2025), Dr. Margaret Peacock traces the history of deception and propaganda in Middle Eastern international radio. Dr. Peacock makes the compelling argument that this betrayal contributed to the loss of faith in Western and secular state-led political solutions for many in the Arab world, laying the groundwork for the rise of political Islam.  This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/history

On June 8, 1967, Egypt's most famous radio broadcaster, Ahmed Said, reported that Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian forces had defeated the Israeli army in the Sinai, had hobbled their British and US allies, and were liberating Palestine. It was a lie. For the rest of his life, populations in the Middle East vilified Said for his duplicity. However, the truth was that, by 1967, all the world's major broadcasters to the Middle East were dissimulating on the air. For two decades, British, Soviet, American, and Egyptian radio voices created an audio world characterized by deceit and betrayal. In Frequencies of Deceit: How Global Propaganda Wars Shaped the Middle East (University of California Press, 2025), Dr. Margaret Peacock traces the history of deception and propaganda in Middle Eastern international radio. Dr. Peacock makes the compelling argument that this betrayal contributed to the loss of faith in Western and secular state-led political solutions for many in the Arab world, laying the groundwork for the rise of political Islam.  This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/military-history

On June 8, 1967, Egypt's most famous radio broadcaster, Ahmed Said, reported that Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian forces had defeated the Israeli army in the Sinai, had hobbled their British and US allies, and were liberating Palestine. It was a lie. For the rest of his life, populations in the Middle East vilified Said for his duplicity. However, the truth was that, by 1967, all the world's major broadcasters to the Middle East were dissimulating on the air. For two decades, British, Soviet, American, and Egyptian radio voices created an audio world characterized by deceit and betrayal. In Frequencies of Deceit: How Global Propaganda Wars Shaped the Middle East (University of California Press, 2025), Dr. Margaret Peacock traces the history of deception and propaganda in Middle Eastern international radio. Dr. Peacock makes the compelling argument that this betrayal contributed to the loss of faith in Western and secular state-led political solutions for many in the Arab world, laying the groundwork for the rise of political Islam.  This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/middle-eastern-studies

On June 8, 1967, Egypt's most famous radio broadcaster, Ahmed Said, reported that Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian forces had defeated the Israeli army in the Sinai, had hobbled their British and US allies, and were liberating Palestine. It was a lie. For the rest of his life, populations in the Middle East vilified Said for his duplicity. However, the truth was that, by 1967, all the world's major broadcasters to the Middle East were dissimulating on the air. For two decades, British, Soviet, American, and Egyptian radio voices created an audio world characterized by deceit and betrayal. In Frequencies of Deceit: How Global Propaganda Wars Shaped the Middle East (University of California Press, 2025), Dr. Margaret Peacock traces the history of deception and propaganda in Middle Eastern international radio. Dr. Peacock makes the compelling argument that this betrayal contributed to the loss of faith in Western and secular state-led political solutions for many in the Arab world, laying the groundwork for the rise of political Islam.  This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

On June 8, 1967, Egypt's most famous radio broadcaster, Ahmed Said, reported that Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian forces had defeated the Israeli army in the Sinai, had hobbled their British and US allies, and were liberating Palestine. It was a lie. For the rest of his life, populations in the Middle East vilified Said for his duplicity. However, the truth was that, by 1967, all the world's major broadcasters to the Middle East were dissimulating on the air. For two decades, British, Soviet, American, and Egyptian radio voices created an audio world characterized by deceit and betrayal. In Frequencies of Deceit: How Global Propaganda Wars Shaped the Middle East (University of California Press, 2025), Dr. Margaret Peacock traces the history of deception and propaganda in Middle Eastern international radio. Dr. Peacock makes the compelling argument that this betrayal contributed to the loss of faith in Western and secular state-led political solutions for many in the Arab world, laying the groundwork for the rise of political Islam.  This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/israel-studies

On June 8, 1967, Egypt's most famous radio broadcaster, Ahmed Said, reported that Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian forces had defeated the Israeli army in the Sinai, had hobbled their British and US allies, and were liberating Palestine. It was a lie. For the rest of his life, populations in the Middle East vilified Said for his duplicity. However, the truth was that, by 1967, all the world's major broadcasters to the Middle East were dissimulating on the air. For two decades, British, Soviet, American, and Egyptian radio voices created an audio world characterized by deceit and betrayal. In Frequencies of Deceit: How Global Propaganda Wars Shaped the Middle East (University of California Press, 2025), Dr. Margaret Peacock traces the history of deception and propaganda in Middle Eastern international radio. Dr. Peacock makes the compelling argument that this betrayal contributed to the loss of faith in Western and secular state-led political solutions for many in the Arab world, laying the groundwork for the rise of political Islam.  This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/communications

On June 8, 1967, Egypt's most famous radio broadcaster, Ahmed Said, reported that Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian forces had defeated the Israeli army in the Sinai, had hobbled their British and US allies, and were liberating Palestine. It was a lie. For the rest of his life, populations in the Middle East vilified Said for his duplicity. However, the truth was that, by 1967, all the world's major broadcasters to the Middle East were dissimulating on the air. For two decades, British, Soviet, American, and Egyptian radio voices created an audio world characterized by deceit and betrayal. In Frequencies of Deceit: How Global Propaganda Wars Shaped the Middle East (University of California Press, 2025), Dr. Margaret Peacock traces the history of deception and propaganda in Middle Eastern international radio. Dr. Peacock makes the compelling argument that this betrayal contributed to the loss of faith in Western and secular state-led political solutions for many in the Arab world, laying the groundwork for the rise of political Islam.  This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose new book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/journalism

Amjad Al Rasheed, the award-winning Jordanian director and writer of Inshallah A Boy (2023), joins A2 THE SHOW to discuss the challenges of portraying taboo topics in Arab cinema, the intuition behind filmmaking, and the delicate balance between passion and financial stability. He shares insights on researching dating culture in Jordan, the importance of education in filmmaking, and his personal commitment to environmental conservation. With his film making waves at Cannes and beyond, Amjad offers a compelling look at the art and struggles of independent filmmaking.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that one in every 100 people in Gaza have a life-changing injury because of the conflict. It's currently impossible for most to leave the strip and get medical treatment but a team of Jordanian doctors has been able to enter Gaza and fit war victims with cutting-edge prosthetics which clip on quickly and easily. The BBC's Yolande Knell in Jerusalem has been hearing from innovators, doctors and those who are being helped about how the new technology works and how it could help in other parts of the world, either in conflict or in healthcare provision more generally.People Fixing The World from the BBC is about brilliant solutions to the world's problems. We'd love you to let us know what you think and to hear about your own solutions. You can contact us on WhatsApp by messaging +44 8000 321721 or email peoplefixingtheworld@bbc.co.uk. And please leave us a review on your chosen podcast provider.Presenter: Myra Anubi Reporter: Yolande Knell Jerusalem producer: Anastassia Zlatopolskai London producer: Craig Langran Editor: Jon Bithrey Sound mix: Annie Gardiner(Image: A man in Gaza being assisted as he walks with a new prosthetic leg, BBC)

In this powerful episode of I Am Refocused Radio, we welcome Lauren Burns, whose incredible journey of trauma, escape, healing, and forgiveness has inspired countless individuals. Lauren's story is one of survival against all odds—kidnapped by her father at the age of seven and taken to Jordan, she was eventually rescued through miraculous circumstances. With the help of ex-military personnel and a divine intervention, she escaped across a military-secured border into Israel.Join us as Lauren shares the emotional journey that led to her healing, how faith played a key role in her survival, and the transformative power of forgiveness. Her story was even turned into the NBC television movie Desperate Rescue: The Cathy Mahone Story, and singer-songwriter Miranda Lambert is also a part of this extraordinary journey. Don't miss this inspiring conversation that exemplifies the strength of the human spirit and the redeeming power of God's love.Lauren Burns' story is one of incredible resilience and divine intervention. At just seven years old, Lauren was kidnapped by her Jordanian father and taken to Jordan. Her mother, determined to bring her home, enlisted the help of ex-military personnel and, through a series of miraculous events and the power of prayer, was able to help Lauren escape across a military-secured border into Israel.Her traumatic experience, filled with fear and uncertainty, ultimately led to a path of healing and redemption. Today, Lauren is a powerful voice for resilience, forgiveness, and the goodness of God. Her journey has inspired many, and her life was even portrayed in the NBC television movie Desperate Rescue: The Cathy Mahone Story. Notably, singer-songwriter Miranda Lambert plays a role in this remarkable story, adding another layer of depth to her narrative. Lauren continues to share her testimony, offering hope and inspiration to those who are facing their own struggles.https://www.laurenburns.net/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/i-am-refocused-radio--2671113/support.

Overflowing with news items, Jim presented another 'Round-Up' broadcast. Listeners added their comments as well. Here are stories presented during the first quarter hour:--Hamas, the Iranian backed terror organization, announced Wednesday that they won't be complying with the next stage of the previously negotiated hostage deal. Israeli violations are said to be the reason for their decision. --A task force devoted to the prosecution of October 7th massacre perpetrators and supporters was established by the U.S. Attorney General's office. That's according to a memorandum issued by Attorney General Pam Bondi.--The Palestinian Authority Chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, issued a decree on Monday, ostensibly ending his embattled government's terrorist payment program known as "pay for slay."--Iranian people marked the 46th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution with cries of, "Death to the Islamic Republic" and "Death to the Dictator" ringing through several cities.--Iran's currency plunged to a new all-time low against the U.S. dollar on February 8th.--President Trump appears to have at least partially won over Jordanian leader King Abdullah II after their Tuesday meeting to discuss plans for the U.S. to take over and rebuild the Gaza strip.--A Hezbollah field commander, Abbas Haidar, was killed last Friday along with several members of his family, in an explosion in southern Lebanon.--The Trump administration is planning to sell more than 7 billion dollars in weapons to Israel, including thousands of missiles and bombs.--2 Jewish men were accosted by a woman spewing anti-semitic slurs in mid-town Manhattan. Jim provided audio.

Overflowing with news items, Jim presented another 'Round-Up' broadcast. Listeners added their comments as well. Here are stories presented during the first quarter hour:--Hamas, the Iranian backed terror organization, announced Wednesday that they won't be complying with the next stage of the previously negotiated hostage deal. Israeli violations are said to be the reason for their decision. --A task force devoted to the prosecution of October 7th massacre perpetrators and supporters was established by the U.S. Attorney General's office. That's according to a memorandum issued by Attorney General Pam Bondi.--The Palestinian Authority Chairman, Mahmoud Abbas, issued a decree on Monday, ostensibly ending his embattled government's terrorist payment program known as "pay for slay."--Iranian people marked the 46th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution with cries of, "Death to the Islamic Republic" and "Death to the Dictator" ringing through several cities.--Iran's currency plunged to a new all-time low against the U.S. dollar on February 8th.--President Trump appears to have at least partially won over Jordanian leader King Abdullah II after their Tuesday meeting to discuss plans for the U.S. to take over and rebuild the Gaza strip.--A Hezbollah field commander, Abbas Haidar, was killed last Friday along with several members of his family, in an explosion in southern Lebanon.--The Trump administration is planning to sell more than 7 billion dollars in weapons to Israel, including thousands of missiles and bombs.--2 Jewish men were accosted by a woman spewing anti-semitic slurs in mid-town Manhattan. Jim provided audio.

Next on A2 THE SHOW, we welcome the fearless and hilarious Eman Khallouf! A Jordanian stand-up comedian breaking taboos with sharp wit, Eman shares her journey from stumbling into comedy to challenging societal norms in the Middle East. From the struggles of turning passion into a career to the rise of "Trad wife" culture and navigating feminism, this episode is packed with laughter, bold insights, and unfiltered real talk. Don't miss it!

Egyptian, Jordanian leaders stress 'unity' of positions on Gaza "Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Jordan's King Abdullah II reaffirmed their united stance on Gaza, emphasising the urgent need for a full ceasefire, continued hostage releases and humanitarian aid. The joint statement came a day after Jordan's king met with US President Donald Trump in Washington. Both leaders also pushed for a swift reconstruction plan for Gaza, opposing Trump's plan, which the US president suggested rooting out Palestinians from their lands." UN warns Israel's genocidal acts in Gaza could be repeated in West Bank "Israel's genocidal acts in Gaza could spread to the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, warns UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese. Speaking to Anadolu in the Netherlands, she said Israeli attacks have escalated, with 830 Palestinians killed and over 300 detained from October 2023 to October 2024. Many detainees have faced torture, rape and even death in custody, she noted. Albanese condemned unchecked settler violence and urged the world to act: Even if you don't conclude that this is genocide, doesn't matter. There's an obligation to prevent a genocide." Trump says he will likely meet Putin in Saudi Arabia "US President Donald Trump says he will probably meet his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in Saudi Arabia—a step towards ending the Ukraine conflict. ""I'll be dealing with President Putin, largely on the phone, and we ultimately expect to meet. In fact, we expect that he'll come here, and I'll go there, and we're going to meet also, probably in Saudi Arabia,"" he told reporters in the Oval Office. Trump downplayed Ukraine's NATO membership and cast doubt on its full territorial recovery. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy welcomed Trump's interest in achieving peace, insisting that global unity can pressure Russia into ending the war. " North Korea demolishes war reunion center: South Korea "North Korea is tearing down the Mount Kumgang Reunion Center, a site that once brought together families separated by the Korean War. South Korea has condemned the demolition as ""inhumane"" and demands an immediate halt. Since 1988, over 133,600 South Koreans have registered as separated families, yet only a fraction have reunited. As of 2025, around 36,000 are alive, according to official data. The last meeting between the two was in 2018. Pyongyang now labels Seoul a “hostile state.”" NASA warns astronomers about asteroid's updated trajectory "NASA's latest update has astronomers on high alert: Asteroid 2024 YR4, a 90-meter-wide rock, now has a 2.3 percent chance of striking Earth on December 22, 2032. While the risk remains low, the increase from 1.3 percent has sparked renewed focus on its trajectory. Experts assure there is no immediate threat but emphasize the importance of planetary defence. If it were to hit, the asteroid could cause severe seismic activity and regional climate disruptions. Ongoing research and improved tracking methods aim to refine predictions and mitigate potential risks."

2:00 to 46:16 AI: The Dark Puppet of Global ControlJ.D. Vance warns that AI is being weaponized to manipulate history, surveil, and censor speech by foreign adversaries.However, tech moguls like Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and others are already using it for surveillance and manipulation through companies like PalantirRecall that Palantir was being used for tracking of citizens during the Trump “Covid pandemic” and its being used to track people who criticize the Israeli government, speech that Trump & others in the GOP wish to criminalize46:16 to 1:00:42 Why and How Christian Beliefs are Foundational to Political LibertyThe relationship between spiritual and political realms ("Athens and Jerusalem"), emphasizing that modern society's reliance on science and technology as replacements for God leads to a new form of pagan worship, not true liberationFreedom is not the absence of restraint but the pursuit of virtueLiberty in America was fundamentally tied to its Christian roots, not in theocracy but in a societal ethos shaped by Christian principles1:00:42  to 1:08:33 LIVE listener comments 1:08:33 to 1:10:15 The Strange Goat Statue at Mar-a-LagoSymbolism that highlights the complex relationship between politics, idolatry, and power in contemporary America 1:10:15 to 1:28:00 Greenland, the New Frontier of Resource Control for Trump's Technate Forget CO2, Methane — those gasses are just a smokescreen.  The Technate wants ENERGY as CURRENCY.  Here's how Greenland, Panama, and Canada play into this technocratic dystopia 1:28:00 to 1:43:17 NOT Babylon Bee: Bill to Rename Greenland, “Red, White and Blueland”Egos, names, and the useful idiots of MAGATrump throws out AP reporter because the organization refuses to use “Gulf of America” instead of Gulf of MexicoTrump proposes a “Garden of American Heroes”, 250 statues1:36:10 to LIVE listener comments 1:45:24 to 1:55:00 Thank you to donors and LIVE listener comments 1:55:00 to 2:02:30 Paris Agreement: A Collapsing House of Cards & Pledges          The Paris Agreement, once hailed as the savior of our planet, is now teetering on the brink of collapse, dubbed a "house of cards" by the skeptical voices from across the pond. A staggering 83% of the world's emissions come from countries that have blatantly ignored the agreement's deadlines     While the UK, under its labor government, plays the good student, complying to the point of economic self-sabotage, giants like China and India laugh off the restrictions, continuing their coal-powered expansion. 2:02:30 to 2:08:007 DOGE's Dilemma: The American Love Affair with Big Government 2:08:00  to 2:15:58:17The REAL Constitutional Crisis: Will Trump Fight Judicial Supremacy This Time? 2:15:58:17 to 2:34:36 Judicial Overreach IS the “Constitutional Crisis”     The narrative of a "constitutional crisis" has become a rallying cry for the left-leaning media.  The situation has escalated with accusations of "judge shopping" and calls for judicial impeachment from Musk, highlighting a deep-seated tension between the executive's right to manage government operations and judicial interpretations of law.     Elizabeth Warren's defends the CFPB, which she helped create, against executive actions by saying only Congress can shut down an agency.  But she created it to be funded by the Federal Reserve, not by Congress, to make it unaccountable.     Congress funds these agencies but does that compel the President to use the money? 2:34:37 to 2:40:28 LIVE listener comments 2:43:00 to 2:52:42 DOGE's War: From Gaza Condoms to School Curriculum 2:52:42 to end Trump's Gaza “Malcompetence” — Malicious and Incompetent    Colonel McGregor criticizes Trump's plan for Gaza as not only showing a "callous disregard for human life" but also as evidence of Trump being a puppet to foreign interests, particularly those of Netanyahu and influential donors like Miriam Adelson.   Trump's meeting with the Jordanian leader show how the President is overlooking  human lives and reducing complex conflicts to real estate opportunities and political payoffsIf you would like to support the show and our family please consider subscribing monthly here: SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.com/the-david-knight-show Or you can send a donation throughMail: David Knight POB 994 Kodak, TN 37764Zelle: @DavidKnightShow@protonmail.comCash App at: $davidknightshowBTC to: bc1qkuec29hkuye4xse9unh7nptvu3y9qmv24vanh7Money should have intrinsic value AND transactional privacy: Go to DavidKnight.gold for great deals on physical gold/silverFor 10% off Gerald Celente's prescient Trends Journal, go to TrendsJournal.com and enter the code KNIGHTBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-david-knight-show--2653468/support.

2:00 to 46:16 AI: The Dark Puppet of Global ControlJ.D. Vance warns that AI is being weaponized to manipulate history, surveil, and censor speech by foreign adversaries.However, tech moguls like Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, and others are already using it for surveillance and manipulation through companies like PalantirRecall that Palantir was being used for tracking of citizens during the Trump “Covid pandemic” and its being used to track people who criticize the Israeli government, speech that Trump & others in the GOP wish to criminalize46:16 to 1:00:42 Why and How Christian Beliefs are Foundational to Political LibertyThe relationship between spiritual and political realms ("Athens and Jerusalem"), emphasizing that modern society's reliance on science and technology as replacements for God leads to a new form of pagan worship, not true liberationFreedom is not the absence of restraint but the pursuit of virtueLiberty in America was fundamentally tied to its Christian roots, not in theocracy but in a societal ethos shaped by Christian principles1:00:42  to 1:08:33 LIVE listener comments 1:08:33 to 1:10:15 The Strange Goat Statue at Mar-a-LagoSymbolism that highlights the complex relationship between politics, idolatry, and power in contemporary America 1:10:15 to 1:28:00 Greenland, the New Frontier of Resource Control for Trump's Technate Forget CO2, Methane — those gasses are just a smokescreen.  The Technate wants ENERGY as CURRENCY.  Here's how Greenland, Panama, and Canada play into this technocratic dystopia 1:28:00 to 1:43:17 NOT Babylon Bee: Bill to Rename Greenland, “Red, White and Blueland”Egos, names, and the useful idiots of MAGATrump throws out AP reporter because the organization refuses to use “Gulf of America” instead of Gulf of MexicoTrump proposes a “Garden of American Heroes”, 250 statues1:36:10 to LIVE listener comments 1:45:24 to 1:55:00 Thank you to donors and LIVE listener comments 1:55:00 to 2:02:30 Paris Agreement: A Collapsing House of Cards & Pledges          The Paris Agreement, once hailed as the savior of our planet, is now teetering on the brink of collapse, dubbed a "house of cards" by the skeptical voices from across the pond. A staggering 83% of the world's emissions come from countries that have blatantly ignored the agreement's deadlines     While the UK, under its labor government, plays the good student, complying to the point of economic self-sabotage, giants like China and India laugh off the restrictions, continuing their coal-powered expansion. 2:02:30 to 2:08:007 DOGE's Dilemma: The American Love Affair with Big Government 2:08:00  to 2:15:58:17The REAL Constitutional Crisis: Will Trump Fight Judicial Supremacy This Time? 2:15:58:17 to 2:34:36 Judicial Overreach IS the “Constitutional Crisis”     The narrative of a "constitutional crisis" has become a rallying cry for the left-leaning media.  The situation has escalated with accusations of "judge shopping" and calls for judicial impeachment from Musk, highlighting a deep-seated tension between the executive's right to manage government operations and judicial interpretations of law.     Elizabeth Warren's defends the CFPB, which she helped create, against executive actions by saying only Congress can shut down an agency.  But she created it to be funded by the Federal Reserve, not by Congress, to make it unaccountable.     Congress funds these agencies but does that compel the President to use the money? 2:34:37 to 2:40:28 LIVE listener comments 2:43:00 to 2:52:42 DOGE's War: From Gaza Condoms to School Curriculum 2:52:42 to end Trump's Gaza “Malcompetence” — Malicious and Incompetent    Colonel McGregor criticizes Trump's plan for Gaza as not only showing a "callous disregard for human life" but also as evidence of Trump being a puppet to foreign interests, particularly those of Netanyahu and influential donors like Miriam Adelson.   Trump's meeting with the Jordanian leader show how the President is overlooking  human lives and reducing complex conflicts to real estate opportunities and political payoffsIf you would like to support the show and our family please consider subscribing monthly here: SubscribeStar https://www.subscribestar.com/the-david-knight-show Or you can send a donation throughMail: David Knight POB 994 Kodak, TN 37764Zelle: @DavidKnightShow@protonmail.comCash App at: $davidknightshowBTC to: bc1qkuec29hkuye4xse9unh7nptvu3y9qmv24vanh7Money should have intrinsic value AND transactional privacy: Go to DavidKnight.gold for great deals on physical gold/silverFor 10% off Gerald Celente's prescient Trends Journal, go to TrendsJournal.com and enter the code KNIGHTBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-david-knight-show--5282736/support.

Palestinians have no right to return to Gaza: Trump "US President Donald Trump has unveiled a controversial plan for Gaza, proposing a ""real estate development for the future"" that denies Palestinians the right to return their homes. In a Fox News interview, Trump suggested relocating Gaza's population to newly built communities elsewhere. Egyptian and Jordanian leaders rushed to Washington for talks, as global criticism mounts. The American leader hinted at cutting US aid to both nations if they refuse to accept Palestinians from the Israel beseiged enclave. Meanwhile, Palestinian resistance group Hamas has postponed the planned release of Israeli captives, blaming Tel Aviv for violating the ceasefire deal. In response, Trump vowed to cancel the Gaza ceasefire deal if all hostages aren't freed. “If all of the hostages aren't returned by Saturday 12 o'clock ... all bets are off and let hell break out,” he said." Israel expands its assaults in West Bank, targeting Palestinians "Israeli forces continues in their attacks on occupied West Bank, storm the Aqbat Jabr refugee camp in Jericho, raiding Palestinian shops and neighbourhoods. Meanwhile, in Masafer Yatta, bulldozers demolished five Palestinian homes and a cave sheltering 40 people, cutting electricity and water. The raids came amid a broader Israeli offensive since January 21, leaving over 30 Palestinians dead in the region." Venezuela sends planes to bring back undocumented migrants from US "Venezuela has sent two planes to repatriate undocumented migrants from the US, following a deal with the Trump administration. It comes after President Nicolas Maduro agreed to accept deported migrants and provide transportation. Some deportees are suspected of ties to the Tren de Aragua gang. The arrangement follows a January 31 meeting between Maduro and US envoy Richard Grenell. While the specifics of the talks remain unclear, Maduro hinted at a ""new beginning"" in US-Venezuela relations." Romania's president quits to pre-empt impeachment bid "Romania's outgoing president Klaus Iohannis has resigned to avoid a political crisis amidst plans by right-wing opposition parties to impeach him. ""The request will have consequences both domestically and abroad,"" Iohannis said. His resignation came after a tumultuous election season marked by accusations of Russian interference and institutional instability. Moscow denies any involvement. Senate Speaker Ilie Bolojan will serve as interim president until elections in May. " Sam Altman rejects Musk's $97.4 billion OpenAI takeover attempt "Elon Musk is making waves again—this time with a $97.4 bid to buy OpenAI. Leading a group of investors, Musk wants to reclaim the ChatGPT maker and allegedly restore its nonprofit mission. But OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman isn't having it, responding on X with a sharp “No thank you,” and a cheeky counteroffer to buy Twitter for $9.74. Meanwhile, a legal battle rages on, with a judge questioning OpenAI's Microsoft ties and paving the way for a trial next year."

During a media conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House this week, US President Donald Trump said his country would take ownership of Gaza and turn it into the “Riviera of the Middle East”. It is not the first time Mr Trump has made provocative statements about Gaza since starting his second term in office, but this may be his most controversial yet. He also claimed that Palestinians did not want to live in Gaza because it was in such a dire state, suggesting that if they had an alternative option, they would leave. This came after earlier remarks that the enclave should be “cleaned out” and that its population should be displaced into Egypt and Jordan. But both countries, along with other Arab and western states, have strongly rejected any notion of Palestinians being pushed out of their homeland. Despite global condemnation of Mr Trump's proposal, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz has since ordered the army to prepare a plan to allow for the “voluntary” departure of Gaza's residents. In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher speaks to Amr Hamzawy, director of the Carnegie Middle East Programme, and Jordanian geopolitical analyst Amer Sabaileh. They discuss the likelihood of Mr Trump executing his plan in Gaza and the challenges it poses for Palestinian statehood, as well as for Egypt, Jordan and the wider region.

Public outrage over Sheikha Latifa's disappearance prompts Princess Haya, Sheikh Mohammed's wife and Jordanian royalty, to get involved. But Haya has secrets herself, and before long, her own relationship with Sheikh Mohammed takes a dark turn. Click ‘Subscribe' at the top of the Infamous show page on Apple Podcasts or visit GetTheBinge.com to get access wherever you get your podcasts. Find more great podcasts from Sony Music Entertainment at sonymusic.com/podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices A Campside Media & Sony Music Entertainment production. To connect with Infamous's creative team and gain access to behind the scenes content, join our community at Campsidemedia.com/join Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dr. Saud al-Sharafat, a former brigadier general in the Jordan General Intelligence (GID), joins the podcast to discuss his 29-year career in the agency. Sharafat, who also serves as the chairman of the Shorufat Center for Globalization and Terrorism Studies, views the GID's relationship with the CIA. He details which country is the GID's top adversary and highlights a misconception some Jordanians have about the GID. Finally, Sharafat responds to reports of GID intervention in domestic Jordanian politics.

While international reporters haven't been allowed into Gaza to report first-hand on the war there over the last 15 months, BBC Special Correspondent Fergal Keane has now managed to make it closer to anyone else, by getting to the edge of the Gaza Strip, on board a helicopter bringing aid from Jordan.

Jordanian helicopters begin flying in aid to Gaza. Also: UN says hospitals in Goma in eastern Congo are struggling to cope after advance by M23 rebels, and 40 years on the computer game Tetris is still going strong.

Today, the BBC's special correspondent Fergal Keane travelled with the first Jordanian helicopter delivering aid inside Gaza.Adam speaks to Fergal about what it was like to be the first international correspondent to fly with the Jordanians into Israeli-held territory in southern Gaza. And, the Office for National Statistics has projected a population growth of 7.3% between 2022 and 2032; the number is almost entirely based on the net migration of an estimated 4.9 million people over the 10-year period. Adam is joined by Stephanie Hegarty, BBC population correspondent, and Professor Sarah Harper, an expert on demography and Professor of Gerontology at the University of Oxford, to discuss today's ONS findings and what population scientists say about how demographics are changing around the world.You can now listen to Newscast on a smart speaker. If you want to listen, just say "Ask BBC Sounds to play Newscast”. It works on most smart speakers. You can join our Newscast online community here: https://tinyurl.com/newscastcommunityhere Newscast brings you daily analysis of the latest political news stories from the BBC. It was presented by Adam Fleming. It was made by Chris Gray with Miranda Slade, Anna Harris and Shiler Mahmoudi. The technical producer was Mike Regaard. The assistant editor is Chris Gray. The editor is Sam Bonham.

Today, I'm sharing with you a conversation that is going to be quite different from anything we've done on the show to date. We're going to do a studio visit to meet a dear friend, a renowned calligrapher, artist, and designer Hussein Alazaat who lives and works in Amman, Jordan. Hussein is the founder of Elharf Studio, a platform showcasing rare books, design products, and sources of Arab visual inspiration. Most recently, Hussein worked on a project of re-designing the Jordanian currency.Hussein also teaches calligraphy workshops and travelers joining my 10-day group trip to Jordan this May 2025 will be able to meet him in person. The trip is now open and you can get more details here.What you'll learn in this episode:The ancient civilization that made gods for people in the regionThe origins of the world's first alphabetWhy Hussein is obsessed with coins Why a letter is a universe in itselfHow Hussein aims to preserve the vast trove of Arab cultural heritageFeatured on the show:Follow Hussein on Instagram: @hussein_alazaatFollow Elharf on Instagram: @elharfhouseLearn more about Hussein on his websiteCheck out the Beautiful Book Trove projectRead the article based on this interview, Guardian of CultureGet more information at: Going Places website Join our Going Places newsletter to get updates on new episodes and Yulia's travel storytelling work. Subscribe at goingplacesmedia.com/newsletter!For more BTS of this podcast follow @goingplacesmedia on Instagram and check out our videos on YouTube!Please head over to Apple Podcasts and SUBSCRIBE to the show. If you enjoy this conversation, please share it with others on social and don't forget to tag us @goingplacesmedia!And show us some love, if you have a minute, by rating Going Places or leaving us a review wherever you listen. You'll be helping us to bend the arc of algorithms towards our community — thank you!Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more. Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.

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Support Breaking Walls at https://www.patreon.com/thewallbreakers The weather on Monday January 9th, 1956 warmed throughout the day. It hit forty degrees Fahrenheit by nightfall. The front cover of The New York Daily News featured a photo of patrolman Ray Cusack, who rescued many children from a fire in Hempstead, New York. Dwight Eisenhower was still undecided on whether or not to seek a second term, while Democrat hopeful Adlai Stevenson claimed Ike's recent State of the Union Address was merely a veiled State on the Republican party. Meanwhile the families of both US diplomats and UN officials fled from the Jordanian sector of Jerusalem after violent anti-western riots broke out for the second day in a row. If you turned on your radio at 8:15PM eastern time, you'd have heard a Boston Symphony concert on NBC, and Metropolitan Opera auditions on ABC. WOR aired True Detective, but if you wanted the best in radio detective fiction you'd have turned on CBS, where Bob Bailey was starring in Jack Johnstone's production of Yours Truly Johnny Dollar, written by E. Jack Neuman. The prison where Vance served time is Sing Sing, originally opening in Ossining, New York in 1825. Among the executions in their electric chair were Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, on June 19th, 1953, for Soviet espionage. A good mink coat cost about twenty-five-hundred dollars in 1956. Both Orin Vance and Don Freed were voiced by Lawrence Dobkin. By 1956 Dobkin was a radio legend with experience in both New York and Hollywood. The Westin Hotel Chain was launched in 1930 by Severt W. Thurston and Frank Dupar as Western Hotels. They were the first hotel chain to introduce credit cards in 1946. Today the chain, called Westin since 1981, is owned and operated by Mariott. There are Westin Hotels in both the Times Square and Grand Central area. In January of 1956, 57th street was home to various art exhibitions like Kay Sage's surrealist paintings at the Catherine Viviano gallery, a contemporary Greek Art exhibition at Sagittarius gallery, a European group show at the Matisse gallery, and art and artifacts of various Central African tribes at 57th and Lexington. The Sutton theater, also on 57th street, was showing The Night My Number Came Up starring Michael Redgrave and Sheila Sim. Gloria Tierney's fictional apartment at 1231 East 57th is an impossibility. The address would put it in the East River.

Merissa Khurma, the Wilson Center's Middle East Program Director, joins the podcast to discuss how the Jordanian government reacted to the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Khurma, a former office director for Prince Ali, analyzes Jordan's relationship with the new Syrian administration. She details how the Jordanian public has responded to the overthrow of Assad's regime. Finally, Khurma addresses the Jordanian government's campaign to normalize ties with Assad in the previous few years.

Your daily news in under three minutes. At Al Jazeera Podcasts, we want to hear from you, our listeners. So, please head to https://www.aljazeera.com/survey and tell us your thoughts about this show and other Al Jazeera podcasts. It only takes a few minutes! Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Threads and YouTube

Israel is concern of a domino effect of jihadist forces undermining the Hashemite monarchy in Jordan like it pushed out the Assad regime in Syria. Senior Israeli security officials held secret talks with Jordanian brass on the matter. Reserve Colonel Miri Eisin, today a senior fellow at the Institute for Counter-Terrorism and Former Deputy Head of the Israel Defense Force's Combat Intelligence Corps, spoke with reporter Arieh O’Sullivan on the stability of Jordan. (photo: Raad Adayleh/AP) See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

IDF checking suspected infiltration on Jordanian border. US special envoy expected to travel to Beirut for talks with ceasefire monitoring committee. Israel raises travel warnings for Armenia, Maldives, lowers advisory for BrazilSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Supporting lone soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF)—those serving without immediate family in Israel—has never been more crucial. These soldiers face challenges such as language barriers, adjusting to a new culture, and coping with the emotional and physical demands of service, all while navigating feelings of loneliness, especially during holidays.  This Thanksgiving, hear from lone soldiers Kerren Seidner and Nate LeRoy about their experiences and how they support fellow soldiers through Ach Gadol (Big Brother), an organization dedicated to helping those serving without family support. Resources: Ach Gadol: Big Brother Organization for Lone Soldiers Be Kind As Omer Balva Instagram page Listen – AJC Podcasts: The Forgotten Exodus: with Hen Mazzig, Einat Admony, and more. People of the Pod:  The ICC Issues Arrest Warrants: What You Need to Know What President-Elect Trump's Nominees Mean for Israel, Antisemitism, and More What the Election Results Mean for Israel and the Jewish People The Jewish Vote in Pennsylvania: What You Need to Know Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org If you've appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. __ Transcript of Conversation with Nate LeRoy and Kerren Seidner: Manya Brachear Pashman: Lone soldiers are members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) who don't have immediate family to support them while they're serving. They face many challenges, including learning Hebrew, adapting to a new culture, and the physical and emotional demands of IDF service. And it may come as no surprise that lone soldiers also experience loneliness, especially on holidays celebrated back home. For two decades, AJC Jerusalem has held a special Thanksgiving dinner for lone soldiers. But after the Hamas terror attacks on October 7, 2023 as many lone soldiers were dispatched across the country, AJC sent boxes of sweets and other Thanksgiving delicacies to 48 lone soldiers deployed at different bases.  Here to talk about why they served as lone soldiers, and the unique way they have volunteered their services since October 7, are two former lone soldiers, Kerren Seidner and Nate LeRoy.  Kerren, Nate, welcome to People of the Pod. Nate LeRoy:   Hi, thank you for having me. Manya Brachear Pashman: Kerren, I'll start with you, if you wouldn't mind sharing with listeners your back story. You were born in China, and then an Israeli couple living in the United States adopted you. Kerren Seidner:   Correct. So I was adopted around 11 months old, both my parents, my Israeli Jewish family, my parents, they were living in Los Angeles, California at the time. They adopted me. They went to China to come adopt me, and I have an older brother who is biological to my parents. And then I grew up, my entire family, in a Jewish Israeli home. Manya Brachear Pashman: And so had you ever been to Israel? What inspired you to go to Israel for the first time and then later to serve? Kerren Seidner:   For me, I always grew up in Israeli household. Growing up with the Israeli culture. I heard Hebrew every single day in my life. Although I did not learn Hebrew, my parents did not teach me.  I think the first time I went to Israel was for my brother's Bar Mitzvah when I was six years old, and so ever since then, we would always go to Israel for the summer vacation. So I always grew up going to Israel. I've always been in touch with all my family and cousins, aunts and uncles that I have here in Israel.  But I never thought I would ever come to Israel to serve until the age 18, where you grew up in American house, like in the American lifestyle, where at age 18, you need to decide if you want to go to college or university, or figure out what you want to do in life. So then I started thinking, You know what, maybe studying in Israel might be an option.  But then my older brother, decided that he had just decided to draft to the army. So I thought maybe that might be a possibility for myself. And then overnight, it just kind of happened that I wanted to make Aliyah and draft to the army. My mom said, you know, you should be a combat soldier. It was very new at that time for girls to be in combat. Manya Brachear Pashman: So why did she encourage you to do combat? Kerren Seidner:   Growing up, I've always done sports. I played soccer for 11 years. So I was always active. And I think my mom knew, coming from my dad, because most of the time I would spend with my dad, my mom in our household was different, where my mom was out working and my dad was a stay at home dad mostly.  So I was always with him, and I always heard the stories of him being an officer in combat, and then right at age 16, my brother had just drafted to Said Golani. So hearing all these stories, my mom just knew it was very fitting for me to go to combat as well. Manya Brachear Pashman: Nate, you grew up in Charleston, South Carolina, and did you first come to Israel on a gap year, or had you been before? Nate LeRoy:   So my first trip to Israel was actually with my Jewish day school. We have a small, strong Jewish day school in Charleston called Addelstone Hebrew Academy. Every eighth grade there does each year, does a trip. So that was my first experience in Israel. I came back with Young Judea on a summer program before senior year of high school, and then lived here on my gap year, Young Judea Year Course immediately after high school as well. Manya Brachear Pashman: And then what drew you to serve as a lone soldier? Nate LeRoy:   I think a huge part of it, like Kerren was talking about, was growing up with, for me, it wasn't an Israeli family, but a really strong, close, tight knit community in Charleston. And I have to give a lot of credit to Young Judea as well, especially to Camp Judea, where I grew up in just an extremely Zionist, welcoming, loving environment. And we had dozens of Israelis working on our staff every summer.  So having that kind of constant flood growing up of Israelis each summer, even if it wasn't in the house. Camp is really that home for a month each year, especially later on in high school, working there, and ultimately the gap year as well. Being here, living here for a year, being able to experience Israel, really feeling like you get kind of absorbed into society, was a huge part of it.  And I kind of looked around at the time, at Israelis my age, and felt okay, I'm 18 years old. They're 18 years old. We hear all the time that Israel is the Jewish nation, the Jewish state. We never hear that it's the Israeli nation, the Israeli state. So why do only the people who are born here have to serve?  And I kind of felt like, for me, the best way to do something and to serve the Jewish people and the Jewish state in Israel was through the army. And kind of like, my service for myself was also mandatory, and that was the path I chose, was to serve through that way. Manya Brachear Pashman: And what year did you serve Nate? Nate LeRoy:   I drafted in 2020. Manya Brachear Pashman: In 2020, and then served until when? Nate LeRoy:   I served until the end of 2021, through the Machal program. Which allows you to draft before you make Aliyah, so you do a shortened service of 18 months. Manya Brachear Pashman: And then, Kerren, when did you serve? Kerren Seidner:   I drafted December 2019. Manya Brachear Pashman: And served for how long?  Kerren Seidner:   Until August 2022. Manya Brachear Pashman  And so you said, Kerren, that you wanted to be, you sought to be in combat. Did you see combat as an IDF soldier? Kerren Seidner:   Yes, I was in Ariot Ha'edan. It's a coed unit in Israel. It's a regular reconnaissance unit, like Golani, Tzanchanim, but coed, and we're just mostly on the border, so the main underneath the unit Kchi Gvulot, so that translates to Border Patrol. So there's other units like Caracal, which was very much known in the recent war, and Bardelas, they're on the borders, mostly with Egypt. I was on the Jordanian border within the West Bank. Manya Brachear Pashman: And Nate, how did you serve? Or where did you serve? Nate LeRoy:   I served in Golani, in dud chamishim v'achat. So the 51st brigade. And we serve kind of all around. We did our training in the Merkaz Israel, the middle of Israel, in the north, and then served on various borders, on Gaza and up north and throughout the West Bank as well. Manya Brachear Pashman: Now, are you both in reserves now? Nate LeRoy:   I currently serve in reserves. I'm not at this moment, I finished reserves in the summer. We were in Gaza for two months with my unit most recently.  Manya Brachear Pashman: And Kerren, how about you? Are you still a reservist?  Kerren Seidner:   Yes, from October 7. I served about two months, and then I got released for about half a year, and then I just did about two months in the summer as well. Manya Brachear Pashman: All right. And can you say where? Kerren Seidner:   They put me wherever they need. In the first part, I moved eight times in the span of two months. So wherever they put me. Manya Brachear Pashman: When you're not serving, when you're not fighting or seeing combat, you volunteer in a very unique way. Can you tell our listeners how you have continued to serve those who are in the IDF? Kerren Seidner:   For me, for us, we volunteer with Ach Gadol. It's a special program where people like us, who are post lone soldiers who, we have lone soldiers who are currently serving, and we mentor them throughout their entire service. I currently have three soldiers, and two of them are actually combat soldiers. Manya Brachear Pashman: And Nate?  Nate LeRoy:   Yeah. So like Kerren said, it's a great summary. Ach Gadol, which means big brother, can translate it to big sister as well. We both volunteer with the organization. I have the privilege of being volunteering in a lone soldier house in Tel Aviv as well. So it's just a place where lone soldiers can stay on the weekends when they're off base, if they don't have a place to go, or some of them who might do kind of daily jobs where they go to and from their army service each day. If they're in intelligence, they can stay there as well if it's closer to base. So I volunteered there a little bit, and have a little brother.  It's funny to say, because he's my age. We actually both overlapped at Tulane University in the States for a year, but didn't meet each other, and so we got here and got matched through the organization, so he's my one little brother right now, and it's been great. It's a great way to have a connection with someone.  I personally received a lot of help from the generations before me. And I think most lone soldiers did because you really can't do this by yourself. As funny as that is being called a lone soldier, you really can't do it alone. And it's just great. It felt definitely like the right thing to do, to turn around and give it to the current generation and future generations. Manya Brachear Pashman: What do lone soldiers need now, that's different from when you served? Nate LeRoy:   I think a lot of the challenges stay the same. In terms of, you encounter adulthood all of a sudden, when you get here, in terms of finding an apartment, figuring out how to live your life by yourself, figuring out all that sort of adulthood stuff. And on top of it, you have the army, which is a massive thing to navigate, a massive language issue.  And I think right now I'll speak personally with my own relationship with the person I volunteer with, with Josh, when you throw war on top of that, which by itself, is more than enough to deal with, you know, how can you figure out your apartment in your contract when you've been in Gaza for the last two months? How can you figure out, you know, you have to leave combat in a war zone and go back and do your own laundry? And it's those little things that really make a difference. Where someone who is Israeli and has a family here and has the support they need, you know, they go back and they're in that support circle.  And no matter what you come back from, even if you come back from, you know, when I was serving just the most regular week in the army, when you come back and you just want to check out for the weekend and be with your friends, and you have this kind of list of errands piling up, it's difficult.  And coming back from combat, from war, from fighting, from losing friends, you know, it just 100 times more difficult. I think it's super important to make sure people have the support they need in all of those things, and also know that they have the space to talk about stuff and to share things that are difficult for them, and to reach out to someone who's going through similar things. Kerren Seidner:   For me, it's a very deep question, but I think that, like how Nate said the whole thing about being a lone soldier, no matter times of war or normal times. We like to say normal times, but it's still hard. You need the support no matter what I think, especially just during the times of this war, and in any war, just the mental because I feel like, having to have been in miluim, I also struggled with it as well, going to miluim, being in the duty of being in the Army and that mindset as a soldier, and then coming home to civilian life, it's very different.  Especially then you come to civilian life, and I'm here, like in Herzliya, and you also don't feel necessarily safe, because you have also rockets all the time, like I had one this morning as well. So it's really can be scary at times, but I think what's so special about Israel, we have the support from one another, not just from people like me, who was a lone soldier trying to help out with other lone soldiers, but just random civilians on the street, really just uplifting.  Manya Brachear Pashman: Can you kind of describe what you're talking about? What do you mean by that? Kerren Seidner:   I think for me, ever since I moved to Israel, I say, Israel is definitely home, the people here are very different. I grew up in the Los Angeles area, so I really feel like there was very materialistic. But I think there's so many people that just want to help one another. And I really seen that a lot throughout the war, even through my service, being a lone soldier, people would just hand me money left and right. People constantly are asking, Do you have a place for Shabbat to not feel alone on Shabbat, which means a lot. Manya Brachear Pashman: And what about Thanksgiving and other holidays that you traditionally celebrated in Los Angeles or in Charleston. How have you been able to mark those occasions in Israel? Nate LeRoy:   I think for me, in going off of a big thing, Kerren spoke about. I also lived in Herzliya during my service, and there's a fantastic self made group of just moms and dads and everyday people from the community there of Israelis who, whenever we'd go home, especially on holidays, Rosh Hashanah and stuff, people would either volunteer to host us, or a lot of times we just receive Friday afternoon, someone would come by. They have a list of all of our addresses, if we're in this group chat, and they just drop off home cooked meals and say, you know, this Friday night, you and your roommates, have this Shabbat dinner. Enjoy. Don't worry about cooking. And having that home cooked meal, even if it's not my mom, you know, mom's cooking. It's a great feeling and a great experience.  And another thing that I've had, and I've been super fortunate to and I know a lot of us do as well. A lot of lone soldiers. Is in the absence of your immediate family, your friends really become your family. And I'm still lucky to this day to have people who I met during my time in the army and I served with who, we're still in touch. We still hang out together, and some of us, Thanksgiving specifically, you know people who can get home, and it works out with work, they go, and I'm jealous of them. I wish I could as well, but we do our best to cook a great Thanksgiving dinner. And turkeys are a little hard to come by here, but we get a couple of rotisserie chickens, and a bird's a bird, and we try to do the best we can to have this sort of family experiences and family holidays. Manya Brachear Pashman: Kerren, how about you? Do you mark Thanksgiving in any particular way or other holidays? Kerren Seidner:   For me, Thanksgiving, honestly, I don't think I do, only because for me, every Friday night is like Thanksgiving to me. For me, yom shishi, the arcuchat shihi is super important for me. I because we are lone soldiers. I always try to make sure I spend it with friends who how, like Nate said, it's become like family. So living here in Herzliya, there is a big community of people, olim like myself. So we became like a little family of our own. So I would always do Shabbat together, or I am in touch with, when I moved here and did the army, I had a host family. So I am still in touch with my host family from the army. And I see them. They just live in the north in a moshav. So it's kind of hard for me to get there all the time, but I try to celebrate the Hebrew holidays, the Jewish holidays, mostly.  Manya Brachear Pashman: Do your families get to Israel throughout the year? Have they traveled there to see you, even if you aren't able to get to, back to Los Angeles or Charleston to see them? Kerren Seidner:   For me, my dad was really nervous when the war first broke out and Nefesh b'Nefesh opened up flights for one parent to come to Israel for lone soldiers. So he was able to get one of those flights and was able to see me during the war. And then my mom came not too long after that for a wedding, our cousin's wedding was canceled throughout the war, so it was postponed, and so she came for our cousin's wedding. But I haven't gone home in a year and a half, so I'm luckily going back in February to visit.  Nate LeRoy:   My family was able to come to visit at the end of my service, which was really important for me, for them to be able to see me. I guess we both, you drafted just a few months before me, but we both served during COVID. Kerren Seidner:   Yeah. Nate LeRoy:   Which is just also just, I mean, now, nothing compares to serving now, but it was a super weird, wild time of all sorts of closures and rules and different things. So for my family to be able to come after the kind of general lockdown and everything of COVID was really great for them, to be able to be here while I was in the army, and they haven't been able to come visit since then, but they still want to, and still will. I think sometime in this coming year, my parents may be able to come out to visit. Manya Brachear Pashman: And when was the last time you went to Charleston?  Nate LeRoy:   I was lucky enough. I was able to go back a few months ago, when I finished my reserve service, over the summer, I went back for a little bit to see my family and see some friends. Manya Brachear Pashman: What did you gain from serving in the IDF? Nate LeRoy:   I think it's kind of immeasurable to an extent. I think that the person I was when I went in, it's still very much the person I am now. But you experienced so much, and you changed so much. And I drafted at 21 years of age, but growing so much over those kind of really formative years, but I think that I learned more about myself than I ever expected to. I learned about the importance of commitment to other people and the reaffirmment of committing to the greater good.  And I think something I learned about people is just always, always to give people the benefit of the doubt and to know that people usually do try their best and they have their best intentions in mind, and to give them the space to be able to show that, improve that, you're in a lot of really just within your team and people you're shoulder to shoulder. You know, you never get a minute by yourself, and it gets very intense. A lot of situations with you or the people you serve with.  But just learning to kind of give them that space and trust people and know that they want what's best for you and you want what's best for them, no matter how much each moment might get kind of chippy at certain points. It's something that you can only really experience through those tougher, tougher ordeals. Manya Brachear Pashman: Kerren, what did you take away from your service in the IDF? Kerren Seidner:   I think for me, it was really hard. I was going through a lot. I also, when I first moved to Israel, I was 18, and I didn't necessarily want to leave LA at that moment, I was finally in a friend group where I felt like I belonged. So it was really hard for me to have just decided to move across the country or the world, not the country, and I didn't really know the language.  So it was still hard, which is always going to be a little hard, but then getting put somewhere in the middle of nowhere, not knowing anything. I think I definitely change in a way that I've opened up a lot more. I was very closed off. And I tell people all the time, like my friends today, they didn't know me when I was 18, and I was very closed off. I don't even think I would be doing something like this even today. And in the army, you're just put with a bunch of girls, and you don't know the full language, but you just got to get to know them. And I even tell my friends today that the girls who are with me in the army, who are my best friends today, hang out with them all the time.  And they will even say that the first year, I did not talk to them, and I think because we were stuck in quarantine for two weeks, we were forced to spend time.  I had to just open up and actually get to know them. And I regretted not getting to know them earlier, and I'm so much happier that I open up and reach out. And that's something with Ach Gadol, where you just kind of maybe need to make that extra step, the first step, because there's new lone soldiers today who are just maybe scared to do that first step because they're in a new country, and we've been there before.  Manya Brachear Pashman: I asked you both what you gained from your time in the IDF, but it is a sacrifice. For which we are very grateful that you made. What did you lose by serving in the IDF? What did you sacrifice? Nate LeRoy:   I think, without the risk of being overly cheesy, I feel very lucky to have had a great service and to have experienced the army in a I got lucky, and I had a great service. And there are a lot of people around me who weren't so lucky, and kind of you know, things didn't fall their way, and they had a less good service or a bad service to a certain extent. So I'm very fortunate. That I can say I didn't lose anything that I wasn't willing to and I didn't know I was going to sacrifice beforehand. I did a year at Tulane before, and chose to leave that behind and come and do the army, and knew I had finished my studies at some point, which I'm doing now.  And I guess I lost, you know, two or three more years of partying in college in the States and a lot of experiences with close friends, who I'm fortunate to still be close with. But that's a decision and choice that I made, and knew I was making when I came over here. And, you know, a couple of Mardi Gras would have been great. COVID softened the blow a little that it, you know, they were canceled or didn't happen to the full extent. But again, I'm just fortunate to have. You know, only missed the experiences that I thought I would be able to miss. Kerren Seidner:   Yeah, I honestly, I think I lucked out, that I really enjoyed my service, and I don't regret anything about it. And I always say that I'm, I'm going to stay here in Israel forever. This is home. I always say, like to my friends who are drafting now and to my soldiers now that: I'll support them no matter what. If they have any regrets, or if they went to combat and they regretted that decision, or any other decision.  I really do believe God has a path for every single person, and I think that we make mistakes, we have to learn, and we may regret some things, but I think that doing the army was the path that I was meant to do, and I don't regret any of it. Manya Brachear Pashman: One more question for you both, and that is, I asked you, what you lost from serving in the IDF, but so many people lost loved ones and friends on October 7. Did you lose anyone, or know anyone who was killed or kidnapped on October 7? Kerren Seidner:   For me, not on October 7. I have a friend of mine. His name is Omer Balva. They actually have an Instagram page called Be Kind as Omer. And we did Garin Tzabar together. He was in the Moshav next to me. And he actually started university with me at the same time, so that was really hard for me. And I was able to go to his funeral. That was the first time I was out of miluim.  And then throughout, after I got released in July, my mifached, unfortunately, was killed in a motorcycle accident, and he did miluim and everything. It was just very unfortunate to have lost him in such an unfortunate way. And then a far relative cousin on my dad's side is actually kidnapped still to this day. Manya Brachear Pashman: I want to let listeners know you are referring to your cousin Tzachi Idan. Kerren, I hope you don't mind me sharing that his 18-year-old daughter Ma'ayan was murdered in their home on October 7 before her father was taken into Gaza. In fact, she was helping her father hold the door to the safe room closed and she was shot through the door. It is a horrific story.   Thank you, Kerren, for sharing that about your friend and your cousin. Nate? Nate LeRoy:   So I was fortunate to not have anyone that I was close with who passed away on the seventh. There were several people I served with kind of an extended, extended relationship with, or distant relationship with, who passed away fighting in the Kibbutzim in the south and about a month after the seventh, someone in my extended family, one of my cousins, a lone soldier from Atlanta, Rose Lubin, was killed in a terrorist attack in Jerusalem, and actually, this coming week is her the yard site for the first time. So a lot of the family, a lot of family on her side, live here in Israel. So everyone's kind of has a fantastic week of really meaningful, important events taking place. Everyone's coming over for it from the States as well, so it'll be a really meaningful, moving week to remember her. Manya Brachear Pashman: Thank you both so very much for your service, for all you've done to and you're doing to support the soldiers, especially at this time. Thank you both for joining us. Nate LeRoy:   Thank you. And just one last thing, anyone who's interested in Ach Gadol wants to find us online. I'm sure there'll be a link somewhere with this podcast, but feel free to search us on Google or wherever Ach Gadol or in Hebrew, Ach Gadol L'Ma'an Chayalim Bodedim, and thank you so much for having me on the show.  Kerren Seidner:   What he said. Thank you. Manya Brachear Pashman: If you missed last week's episode, tune in for my conversation with Belle Yoeli, AJC's Chief Advocacy Officer, about the International Criminal Court's charges against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. She explains why regardless of political views about this Israeli administration, the charges tied to Israel's defense operations in Gaza are unjust.   

David Daoud and Ahmad Sharawi delve into the complexities of Palestinian Islamic Jihad's religious identity, its relationship with Iran, how Iran uses segments within a society to infiltrate them, and the implications of this for Jordanian and other Sunni societies.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Senior analyst Haviv Rettig Gur joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. US State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel acknowledged during a press briefing on Tuesday that Israel implemented some — but not all — of the steps demanded by the US in an October 13 letter giving Jerusalem a month to act or risk being deemed out of compliance with US law, which bars offensive weapons from being transferred to countries that block aid from reaching civilians. We hear what Israel did accomplish and why the US may have overlooked some shortcomings. In a flurry of announcements, President-elect Donald Trump said he had chosen former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel. Huckabee is a staunch defender of Israel, and his intended nomination comes as Trump has promised to align US foreign policy more closely with Israel's interests as it wages wars against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon. We hear what Rettig Gur sees taking shape in terms of Trump's predicted approach to Israel. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich paid a visit to Kibbutz Nir Oz, one of the Israeli communities hit the worst in Hamas's onslaught of October 7, 2023, and met families of local hostages as well as former captives. It is Smotrich's first visit to Nir Oz, more than 13 months after Palestinian terrorists rampaged there, killing or kidnapping 117 out of its 400 residents. There are still 29 hostages from Nir Oz held captive in Gaza. Why now? For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: US says it won't withhold weapons to Israel, as deadline to address aid crisis passes Trump taps Fox News host who said US must ‘stand by strong ally' Israel to head Pentagon US slams Smotrich's vow to annex parts of West Bank following Trump's win In first, Smotrich visits Oct. 7-ravaged Nir Oz, says he feels ‘responsibility, guilt' Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: A handout picture released by the official Jordanian news agency Petra shows an airdrop of humanitarian and relief aid to the southern Gaza Strip carried out by members of the Jordanian army on November 12, 2024. (PETRA News Agency / AFP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. Diplomatic reporter Lazar Berman joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan in ToI's Jerusalem office for today's episode. The elimination of Hamas's most dominant figure could open a small window of opportunity to achieve Israel's elusive war aims, none of which have yet been secured, believe senior world figures, however, on Friday, Hamas released a statement saying the 101 hostages still held in Gaza would not be freed until the war ends and Israel fully withdraws from the enclave. Berman discusses this weighty moment. In mid-March, US officials told the Politico news site that US President Joe Biden would consider limiting future military aid to Israel if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went ahead with an offensive against Hamas in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, which eventually occurred in May. Does this vindication of the Rafah operation affect the diplomatic balance between the US and Israel in any way? Israel's military chief said Friday that at least 1,500 Hezbollah operatives are believed to have been killed in Lebanon since the start of the conflict there. According to IDF chief Herzi Halevi, Hezbollah forces are often surrendering. Berman describes Iran's role in an attempt at diplomacy, as well as the differences between the Hamas and Hezbollah fighting forces. Two gunmen claimed by the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan breached the border from Jordan into Israel Friday morning, south of the Dead Sea. They were killed shortly after crossing the border by troops who scrambled to intercept them, in a clash that also injured two soldiers. Should we expect more attacks from this direction now? For news updates, please check out The Times of Israel's ongoing live blog. Discussed articles include: PM sees opportunity in Sinwar's death. Does that mean escalation in fighting or a deal? Confirming Sinwar's death, Hamas insists hostages won't be freed unless war ends After Sinwar killing, Netanyahu sees vindication in his Rafah approach IDF says Hezbollah toll at 1,500; Lebanese PM: A lesson to stay out of regional conflicts IDF troops kill two gunmen who breached Jordanian border; 2 soldiers injured Keen to avoid all-out war after attacking Israel, Iran tries both diplomacy and threats Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Illustrative: A woman holds a Palestinian flag, with the image of the Dome of Rock on it, during an anti-Israel protest to honor Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who was killed by Israeli forces in Gaza on Wednesday, in Istanbul, Turkey, Octember 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tom Del Beccaro, former Chairman of California Republican Party dishes on his race against Kamala Harris for Senate in 2016, how voters in California perceive her, and his new book, “The Lessons of the American Civilization”. Additional interviews with Rep. Bryan Steil raising the alarm on noncitizens participating in our elections and Judicial Watch Director of Investigation and Research Chris Farrell vows to keep investigating alleged Quantico breech by two Jordanian illegals.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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