Podcasts about West Bank

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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. Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. Maj. Gen. (res.) Nitzan Alon, who served as the IDF’s point man on hostage negotiations since the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, onslaught, says that Hamas has “objective” difficulties in finding the body of Ran Gvili, the last deceased hostage in Gaza. We learn what is happening in Gaza and the potential power vacuum left in the southern anti-Hamas militia following the death of its leader Yasser Abu Shabab. The IDF confirmed carrying out a wave of airstrikes in southern Lebanon overnight, saying it targeted Hezbollah sites, including a training facility used by the terror group’s elite Radwan Force. Fabian describes how the IDF strikes generally come after the mechanism put in place following the November 2024 ceasefire doesn't act. A year following the fall of the Assad regime, Fabian explains how the buffer zone was immediately taken by the IDF, which will be very hesitant to release at least two strategic points. We are then updated on a widespread operation that took place in the West Bank over the past couple weeks and an uptick in attacks against soldiers there. And our final stops on our tour are Egypt and Jordan, both relatively quiet borders, but with their own particular challenges. Fabian weighs in. Since the outbreak of the war on October 7, 2023, 922 soldiers, officers, and reservists, including several dozen local security officers, have been killed across its various arenas. Today, we focus on those who were wounded -- physically and emotionally -- and how the army is moving forward. To finish the program, we learn about a pilot program integrating female recruits into the Combat Engineering Corps’ elite Yahalom unit and why it is deemed a success, paving the way for women combat engineers to become a permanent role in the military. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: Trump to host Netanyahu on December 29 for talks on advancing Gaza plan Anti-Hamas militia leader Yasser Abu Shabab killed in ‘internal clash’ in Gaza Palestinian who sped car toward troops in Hebron killed, as is passerby; soldier lightly hurt Over half of soldiers treated in rehab centers have mental health issues, stats show IDF declares trial of women combat engineers in elite Yahalom unit a success Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Pod-Waves. IMAGE: A military helicopter evacuates the injured from the Ziv Medical center in Tzfat wounded by a missile fired by the terrorist organization Hezbollah, February 14, 2024. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As global powers double down on militarism and defense, Daniel Zoughbie argues that the most transformative force in the Middle East has always come from citizen diplomacy. A complex-systems scientist and diplomatic historian, Zoughbie joins Mark Labberton to explore how twelve U.S. presidents have "kicked the hornet's nest" of the modern Middle East. Drawing on his work in global health and his new book Kicking the Hornet's Nest: U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East from Truman to Trump, Zoughbie contrasts the view from refugee camps and microclinic networks with the view from the Oval Office, arguing that American security rests on a three-legged stool of defense, diplomacy, and development. He explains why Gerald Ford stands out as the lone president who truly leveraged diplomacy, how the Marshall Plan model of enlightened self-interest can guide policy now, and why nationalism, not mere economics, lies at the heart of Gaza's future. Throughout, he presses listeners toward "citizen diplomacy" that resists pride, militarism, and fatalism. Episode Highlights "We've constantly ignored diplomacy." " You don't have to be enemies with people to get them to do what is in their own self-interest." "You can build skyscrapers in Gaza. You can build the Four Seasons in Gaza and it's not going to work. You're just going to have another war until you address that core issue of nationalism." "These three Ds defense diplomacy development are the three legged stool of American security and we know how important diplomacy and development are." "From Truman to Trump, only one president, and that is Gerald Ford, surprisingly the only unelected president, gets this right." "Pride—national pride, the pride of any one individual—is toxic. It's toxic to the individual. It's toxic to the nation. It's toxic to the world." "Foreign policymaking is not just something for secretaries of state and those in power. All of us in a democracy have a role to play." Helpful Links and Resources Kicking the Hornet's Nest: U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East from Truman to Trump https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Kicking-the-Hornets-Nest/Daniel-E-Zoughbie/9781668085226 American University of Beirut (founded as Syrian Protestant College), a key example of long-term educational diplomacy https://www.aub.edu.lb Al-Ahli Arab (Gaza Baptist) Hospital in Gaza City https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Ahli_Arab_Hospital Max Weber, "Politics as a Vocation" https://open.oregonstate.education/sociologicaltheory/chapter/politics-as-a-vocation About Daniel Zoughbie Daniel E. Zoughbie is a complex-systems scientist, historian, and expert on presidential decision-making. He is associate project scientist at UC Berkeley's Institute of International Studies, a faculty affiliate of the UCSF/UCB Center for Global Health Delivery, Diplomacy, and Economics, and principal investigator of the Middle East and North Africa Diplomacy, Development, and Defense Initiative. He is the author of Kicking the Hornet's Nest: U.S. Foreign Policy in the Middle East from Truman to Trump and of Indecision Points: George W. Bush and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. His award-winning research has appeared in journals such as PLOS Medicine, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, and Social Science and Medicine. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of UC Berkeley, he studied at Oxford on a Marshall Scholarship and completed his doctorate there as a Weidenfeld Scholar. Show Notes Middle East Background and Microclinic Origins Daniel Zoughbie recalls visiting the Middle East as a child—"frankly horrified" by what he saw UC Berkeley protests over the Iraq War and post-9/11 U.S. policy in the region Metabolic disease and type 2 diabetes as an overlooked "greatest killer in the region." Neighbors in the West Bank sharing food, medicine, and blood-pressure cuffs—leads to the "micro clinic" concept Good health behaviors, like bad ones and even violence, can be contagious through social networks Social Networks, Anthropology, and Security Social anthropology, political science, and international relations Medical problems as simultaneously biological and sociological problems Understanding Middle East security demands attention to decisions "at the very bottom" as well as "the view from above" October 7 and 9/11 illustrate how small groups of people can "change the world with their decisions." Complex Systems and Foreign Policy Complexity is always increasing, and diplomacy and development exist to slow it down. Definition of "complex system": as one where many inputs produce outcomes that cannot be reduced to single causes. "We almost have a new law here, which is that complexity is always increasing in the universe. And the role of diplomacy and development, as I see it in international relations, is to slow things down. It's to stop complexity from advancing so that people have time to cool their tempers and to solve major security crises." Type 2 diabetes as a model for thinking about how city planning, economics, relationships, and habits interact He applies that lens to international relations: nations, leaders, institutions, and history form a "cascade of complexity." From Refugee Camps to Presidential Palaces George Shultz and Tony Blair: decision-makers as "real human beings," not abstractions Theological and ideological forces—such as certain apocalyptic readings of scripture—that shape U.S. foreign policy Gnosticism and eschatology within American right-wing Christianity Painstaking global health work on the ground and sweeping decisions made in Washington, Brussels, or New York Twelve Presidents and One Exception Kicking the Hornet's Nest: analysis of twelve presidents from Truman to Trump through the lens of Middle East decision-making Core claim: Only Gerald Ford truly rebalanced the three Ds of defense, diplomacy, and development. U.S. policy in the Levant: heavy reliance on militarism, coups, and covert actions while underinvesting in diplomacy and development Claim: "Far better alternatives were on the table" for every administration, yet consistently passed over. Gerald Ford, Kissinger, and the Path to Peace Daniel contends that the 1967 and 1973 wars were both preventable and nearly became global nuclear catastrophes. Ford inherits the presidency amid Watergate and national division, but keeps Henry Kissinger at State. Ford presses Israel and Egypt toward serious negotiations, empowering Kissinger's shuttle diplomacy and personal ties. A sharply worded letter threatening to "reconsider" the U.S.–Israel relationship Ford's diplomacy and the development of Camp David and the enduring Egypt–Israel peace based on "land for peace." Pride, Personality, and Presidential Failure Did Ford's temperament keep him from making himself the center of the story? In contrast, many presidents and other leaders write themselves "thickly" into the narrative of the conflict. Pride—personal and national—as a toxic force that repeatedly undermines U.S. policy The Iraq War and democracy-promotion agenda and the self-defeating nature of moralistic, militarized crusades Marshall Plan and Enlightened Self-Interest George Marshall and harsh punishment after World War I helped produce Nazi Germany The Marshall Plan models an "enlightened way of viewing the American self-interest": rebuilding Europe and Japan to secure U.S. security. He contrasts that with the neglect of the Levant, where aid and institution-building never matched military activism. Marshall's genius lies in locating the intersection between others' deepest needs and American capabilities. Militarism, Iran, and Nuclear Risk Recent U.S.–Israel–Iran confrontation as an "extremely dangerous moment"—with 60 percent enriched uranium unaccounted for JCPOA as an imperfect but effective diplomatic achievement, but dismantled in favor of militarism Claim: Bombing Iran scattered nuclear material and increased complexity rather than reducing the threat. He warns that one nuclear device could be delivered by low-tech means—a boat or helicopter—endangering civilians and U.S. forces in the Gulf. The only realistic path forward: renewed multilateral diplomacy between U.S., Israel, Iran, Russia, China, Pakistan, India, and regional actors Ethical Realism and Max Weber "Ethical realism"—Max Weber's distinction between the ethic of the gospel and the ethic of responsibility Statespeople bear responsibility for using force, yet the greatest can still say "here I stand and I can do no other." Claim: True leadership seeks a higher ethic where national interest aligns with genuine concern for others. Gaza, Nationalism, and Two States Welcoming the end of active war between Israel and Hamas and critiquing reconstruction plans that ignore politics Conflict is fundamentally nationalist: a struggle for self-determination by both Jewish and Palestinian peoples Claim: Economic development without a credible political horizon will not prevent "another October 7th and another terrible war." In his view, only partition of mandatory Palestine into two states can meet legitimate self-determination claims. For example, "You can build skyscrapers in Gaza… and it's not going to work" without addressing nationalism. Citizen Diplomacy and a Better Way Foreign policy is not only the work of secretaries of state; democratic citizens have responsibilities. American University of Beirut and the Gaza Baptist Hospital as fruits of citizen diplomacy Claim: Educational and medical institutions can change lives more profoundly and durably than military campaigns. Redirecting resources from bombs to universities and hospitals to reduce the need for future military interventions An invitation to citizen diplomacy: informed voting, sustained attention, and creative engagement for a more just peace Production Credits Conversing is produced and distributed in partnership with Comment Magazine and Fuller Seminary.  

On one side of the world, a major corporate landlord is evicting tenants by jacking up rents by hundreds of dollars.On the other, its parent company is linked to Israeli bombs, genocide, and illegal settlements.This is the multibillion-dollar story of American Landmark — one of the country's most eviction-happy landlords — and Elco, a corporate powerhouse whose subsidiaries are tied to the Israeli military and far-right settler movements. It's even been cited by the UN for facilitating human rights violations.Thomas Birmingham spent months meeting the families at the mercy of American Landmark, interrogating the corporate landlords profiting off them, and examining the connection between one kind of displacement here in America and another thousands of miles away, in the West Bank and Gaza.His feature, "The Eviction Kings," is in the December issue of The Nation. Our Sponsors:* Check out Avocado Green Mattress: https://avocadogreenmattress.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Choosing whether to pursue a fellowship is one of the biggest career decisions a young surgeon can make. In this episode, Dr. Arshad Kaleem breaks down the three key elements that shaped his own path: passion, finances, and quality of life. From his training at the University of Pennsylvania to fellowships in head and neck and microvascular reconstructive surgery, he shares how clear priorities guided his journey to a thriving full-scope practice in El Paso, Texas. He also reflects on his humanitarian work in Pakistan and Palestine, where he performs complex surgeries with limited resources. Through his story, Dr. Kaleem offers thoughtful advice for young surgeons on finding purpose, balance, and growth in their careers. Listen to the full conversation for a candid guide to building both skill and purpose in oral surgery!Key Points From This Episode:Dr. Kaleem's path from UPenn to head and neck and microvascular fellowships.Establishing a full-scope private practice serving El Paso and beyond.Details of his mission trips to Pakistan, the West Bank, and Gaza.Performing and planning for complex surgeries abroad with limited resources.Advances in virtual surgical planning and custom implants in reconstructive surgery.The rise of subspecialty training within oral and maxillofacial surgery.How technology has reduced surgery time while improving precision and planning accuracy.Making head and neck surgery work within private practice.Honest advice for residents deciding on their next step, including pursuing a fellowship.Key factors to weigh when considering a fellowship: passion, finances, and quality of life.Rapid-fire questions on hobbies, favorite shows, and more.Reflections on the lasting fulfillment of helping others through surgical skill.Links Mentioned in Today's Episode:Dr. Arshad Kaleem — https://www.aboms.org/news/dr-arshad-kaleem-head-neck-oncologic-surgeonDr. Arshad Kaleem on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/akmaxfaxsurgeon/Dr. Arshad Kaleem email — arskaleem@gmail.comHigh Desert Oral and Facial Surgery — https://www.hdofs.com/High Desert Oral and Facial Surgery | Dr. Arshad Kaleem — https://www.hdofs.com/meet-us/meet-dr-kaleem/High Desert Oral and Facial Surgery on Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/HDOFS/Yellowstone — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4236770/Horizon — https://www.imdb.com/title/tt17505010/Everyday Oral Surgery Website — https://www.everydayoralsurgery.com/ Everyday Oral Surgery on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/everydayoralsurgery/ Everyday Oral Surgery on Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/EverydayOralSurgery/Dr. Grant Stucki Email — grantstucki@gmail.comDr. Grant Stucki Phone — 720-441-6059

On COI #858, Kyle Anzalone breaks down the latest news on Ukraine, Gaza, and Venezuela.

This week: 60 days into a ceasefire, Israel has killed at least 367 Palestinians in Gaza.  Israel said it would reopen Gaza's border with Egypt. Despite ongoing violence, Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank sought to find some normalcy. Israel has killed more than 70,354 Palestinians in Gaza since October 7th, 2023. In this episode: Hind Khoudary, (@Hind_Gaza) Al Jazeera Correspondent Hani Mahmoud, Al Jazeera Correspondent Nour Odeh, (@osamabinjavaid) Al Jazeera Correspondent Episode credits: This episode was produced and mixed by David Enders. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Our lead of audience development and engagement is Andrew Greiner and Munera AlDosari is our engagement producer. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera's head of audio. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

China produces nearly three-quarters of the world's electric cars, and no city embodies that dominance more than Shenzhen, home to industry giant BYD. Once known as “The World's Factory,” the city has transformed into a global hub of clean transportation and high-tech innovation. Also, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives in India to meet with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. And, Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied West Bank say their existence is being targeted as the face increasing attacks and violence by extremist Jewish settlers. Plus, Taiwan's new envoy to Finland stages a heavy metal concert as an attempt at diplomacy. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

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. US bureau chief Jacob Magid joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode. After Israel and Lebanon held direct talks on Wednesday in the presence of US envoy Morgan Ortagus, Magid remarks on the rare contact between the two countries. The US aims to prevent the expansion of Israeli operations in Lebanon during the ongoing ceasefire, while Israel wants to ensure that Hezbollah is not able to rearm. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly weighed in on Jewish settler violence against Palestinian villagers, and Magid notes the premier's insistence on redirecting the so-called hilltop youth's criminal tendencies via educational efforts rather than using security measures or imprisonment. Netanyahu also discussed legalizing certain West Bank outposts in light of their role in preventing Palestinian land grabs in Area C. Last month, the Trump administration shelved the idea of sanctions on Palestinian Authority leaders, after PA Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas fired his finance minister when it was discovered that illicit "pay to slay" payments were still being made to Palestinian security prisoners. Magid talks about the White House decision, and its sense of satisfaction with the development. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: Officials from Israel and Lebanon hold first direct talks in decades in Naqoura Netanyahu said to back recognition of illegal farming outposts in West Bank Social equality minister roundly panned for plan to divert Arab economic development funds US shelved sanctions on PA leaders after Abbas fired minister over prisoner payments Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Pod-Waves. IMAGE: FILE - A helicopter flies over a base of the U.N. peacekeeping force, in the southern town of Naqoura, Lebanon on Oct. 14, 2020. The French oil giant Total said Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2022 it will soon launch exploration activities in search for gas in the Mediterranean off Lebanon's coast following last month's historic deal between Lebanon and Israel on their maritime border. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ep. 211 (Part 1 of 2) | Zaya and Maurizio Benazzo are not only the founders of the longstanding and highly regarded Science & Nonduality Conference (SAND), but also brilliant filmmakers, producing stunning documentaries about the injustice and suffering occurring in Palestine and elsewhere, as well as films that feature the eternal wisdom of elders from Indigenous communities around the world. Zaya and Maurizio are clearly passionate about their work, and co-host Roger Walsh points out they do a beautiful job of intertwining the personal, professional, and spiritual into an offering that meets the needs of our time. As Maurizio says, “There is no spiritual work. Period. Everything is spiritual work! It's life.”In Part 1 of this episode, lively and inspired, Zaya and Maurizio share what they've learned about life, spirituality, trauma, healing, guidance, and the deep-time perspective of the Maori. They relate the trajectory of SAND's evolution from featuring male-dominated nondual teachings to include an understanding of trauma, somatic healing, feminine, earth-oriented teachings, and Indigenous wisdom. “Healing never ends; it's a lifelong journey—there's no modern solution that will ‘fix' you,” Zaya tells us. Also, “We are constantly being guided if we just listen.”In Part 2, Zaya and Maurizio describe the making of their 2021 documentary about the tragic mistreatment of Palestinians in the West Bank, a beautiful, heartbreaking film called Where Olive Trees Weep. Also their film The Eternal Song, an ongoing project to bring forth Indigenous teachings, so valuable and timely for us now in our chaotic, disconnected world. This whole conversation is thought provoking, delightful, profound, paradigm shifting, and inspiring all at once. Recorded October 16, 2025.“There is no spiritual work without trauma work.”Topics & Time Stamps – Part 1Introducing Zaya & Maurizio Benazzo, documentary filmmakers & founders of the Science & Nonduality Conference (SAND) (00:57)Tracing the trajectory of Zaya & Maurizio's work, beginning in India (02:24)What was Nisargadatta Maharaj's legacy? (03:47)Putting science and mystics together: the seed that created SAND (06:35)How SAND evolved from male-dominated nondual teachings to include the body, an understanding of trauma, and female & Indigenous teachers (08:18)Feminizing spiritual teachings: women mystics & their connection with the Earth (12:38)SAND focuses on educating the audience to be open, ask good questions, rather than uplifting particular teachers (16:09)How the film The Wisdom of Trauma with Gabor Maté went viral (20:08)All of life is spiritual work, and there's no spiritual work without trauma work, but spiritual bypassing was very real at SAND (24:13)With Maté's understanding about trauma, people find they're not alone and they don't need to “fix” the pain (26:39)Healing is a lifelong journey; trauma is systemic and intergenerational (32:08)The deep-time perspective and how the Maori trace their ancestors back to the stars (33:22)Indigenous teachers say we heal backwards and we heal forwards; nothing is individual, we are all interconnected (34:54)Now is the time for the Long Dark, not the time for the search for the light (38:52)We are all here for a purpose, and we are constantly being guided if we just listen (42:31)The suffering of today's youth, isolated and without elders...

Shane talks with Morgan Totah, a Christian living in Palestine.  Morgan leads Handmade Palestine, a collective of artists in the West Bank who are creating incredible, life-giving products.  Beyond the inspiring, missional, microbusiness... making art together has been a way of surviving and supporting one another amid the escalating violence in Gaza and the West Bank.  They've been partnering with Red Letter Christians and the God Loves Gaza campaign.  Connect with Handmade Palestine Handmade Palestine: Website Instagram: @handmadepalestine Connect with RLC Help sustain the work of RLC: www.redletterchristians.org/donate/  To check out what RLC is up to, please visit us www.redletterchristians.org   Follow us on Twitter: @RedLetterXians  Instagram: @RedLetterXians  Follow Shane on Instagram: @shane.claiborne  Twitter: @ShaneClaiborne 

The government of Israel has been criticized for building fences in Gaza and the West Bank, but now it's geofencing American churches. Will its plan reverse the decline of evangelical support for the Jewish state? Donald Trump says he's making the country more Christian, but data shows his immigration policy favors secular immigrants and rejects Christians. Rich Villodas is back to talk about his new book for Advent, "Waiting for Jesus." He says we should use this season to resist consumerism, commercialism, and Christian culturalism. Also this week, a giant flightless parrot has issues Down Under. Holy Post Plus: Ad-Free Version of this Episode: https://www.patreon.com/posts/144923335/   Advice-ish: https://www.patreon.com/posts/advice-ish-im-in-144823944   66 Verses to Explain the Bible:  https://www.patreon.com/posts/144916622/   0:00 - Show Starts   4:43- Theme Song   5:06 - Sponsor - BetterHelp - This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at https://www.betterhelp.com/HOLYPOST and get 10% off your first month!   6:05 - Sponsor - AG1 - Heavily researched, thoroughly purity-tested, and filled with stuff you need. Get the AG1 welcome pack when you order from https://www.drinkag1.com/HOLYPOST   7:35 - Toucan Butt Disease!   14:35 - Israel Geofencing Ads Around Churches   29:00 - Deportations Making America More Secular?   48:42 - Sponsor - World Relief - Start a monthly partnership with World Relief to help families in crisis at https://www.worldrelief.org/holypost   49:51 - Sponsor - Aura Frames - Need a Great Christmas Gift? Use code HOLYPOST at checkout to save $45-off the Carver Mat Aura Frame at https://www.AuraFrames.com   51:00 - Sponsor - Blueland - Just for this holiday season, Blueland has a special 30% off deal to help you keep your home clean this Christmas! Go to https://www.blueland.com/holypost   52:10 - Interview   54:06 - Church Calendar Explained   1:03:50 - Spirit of Herod   1:17:37 - End Credits   1:18:09 - Sponsor - The Pour Over - Stay informed while remaining focused on Christ with The Pour Over Today. Check it out at https://links.thepourover.org/holy-post   Links Mentioned in News Segment: Kakapo Crusty Butt Disease! https://www.popsci.com/environment/kakapo-antibiotics-crusty-bum/   Immigration Crackdown Making Us Less Christian? https://religionnews.com/2025/11/18/why-trumps-immigration-crackdown-may-make-america-less-christian/?utm_source=RNS+Updates&utm_campaign=506d68c8ac-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2025_11_19_01_03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_c5356cb657-506d68c8ac-387424458   Other Resources: Waiting for Jesus: An Advent Invitation to Prayer and Renewal: An Advent Christmas Devotional by Rich Villodas: https://amzn.to/3Me8e8v   Holy Post website: https://www.holypost.com/   Holy Post Plus: www.holypost.com/plus   Holy Post Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/holypost   Holy Post Merch Store: https://www.holypost.com/shop   The Holy Post is supported by our listeners. We may earn affiliate commissions through links listed here. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.  

The Hidden Lightness with Jimmy Hinton – This act of giving shows that faith can, sometimes, move faster than politics. It reminds us that behind every statistic — tens of thousands injured children, devastated hospitals, generations haunted by trauma — there are human lives longing for healing. And it suggests that churches, when willing to look beyond comfort zones and local walls, might still...

Palestinian-American Mohammed Ibrahim was just 15 years old when he was arrested by Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank for allegedly throwing rocks. He was freed after more than nine months. But his story isn’t unique. Each year, Israel systematically detains hundreds of Palestinian children and prosecutes them in military courts. So what did it take to free Mohammed? In this episode: Zeyad Kadur, uncle of Mohammed Ibrahim Episode credits: This episode was produced by Haleema Shah, Noor Wazwaz, and Tracie Hunte, with Phillip Lanos, Spencer Cline, Diana Ferrero, Farhan Rafid, Fatima Shafiw, Tamara Khandaker, and our host, Natasha Del Toro. It was edited by Kylene Kiang. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan. Joe Plourde mixed this episode. Our video editors are Hisham Abu Salah and Mohannad al-Melhem. Alexandra Locke is The Take’s executive producer. Ney Alvarez is Al Jazeera’s head of audio. Connect with us: @AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

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. Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. Yesterday, two soldiers were lightly injured in a stabbing attack near the northern West Bank settlement of Ateret. The attack came hours after a soldier was lightly hurt in a car-ramming near the city of Hebron. Both attackers were killed. Are we seeing an uptick in attacks on soldiers in the West Bank? At recording time, the armed wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, the Al Quds Brigades, said it was searching for the body of a hostage in northern Gaza with a team from the Red Cross. It has since been announced that remains will be handed over to Israel this evening. These announcements came a day after Hamas handed over remains to Israel via the Red Cross, which Israel said today did not belong to either of the two remaining hostages. Regardless of the full return of the deceased hostages, this morning Israel stated it will reopen the Rafah Crossing in the coming days for the exit of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to Egypt. We learn about the significance of this step. Yesterday evening, the IDF’s new Hasmonean Brigade for ultra-Orthodox troops completed its first-ever squad commanders’ course, which the military says lays the groundwork for “the future generation of Haredi commanders in the army.” We learn more about the bridgade and whether it can overcome the strife surrounding the lack of Haredi enlistment. However, Fabian adds, according to Channel 12 news, the IDF is short of about 1,300 officers at the ranks of lieutenant and captain, and another 300 majors. The military on Tuesday completed a reorganization of its C4I and Cyber Defense Directorate, with a new artificial intelligence unit and an expanded electronic warfare array that will further enhance Israel’s defensive cyber capabilities, including countering drone attacks. We hear about the new units and learn about some practical applications for their work. Israel’s high-powered laser interception system, dubbed “Iron Beam,” will be delivered to the military at the end of the month, the head of the Defense Ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development said Monday. Fabian explains where it could be used -- almost immediately. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: Israel says remains handed over by Hamas are not of Ran Gvili or Sudthisak Rinthalak Three soldiers injured in West Bank stabbing, ramming attacks; assailants killed IDF’s Haredi brigade graduates its first squad commanders’ course IDF faces manpower crisis as fewer soldiers keen on military career, new data shows Focusing on AI and electronic warfare, IDF restructures computer service directorate IDF to receive ‘Iron Beam’ laser interceptors at the end of the month Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves. Image: Signals officers of the C4I and Cyber Defense Directorate are seen in an undated photo published by the army on December 2, 2025. (Israel Defense Forces)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Checkpoint 300, the highly securitized border facility between occupied Bethlehem and Jerusalem, is a central feature of Israeli control of Palestinian land and life. An apparatus of turnstiles, overcrowded corridors, and invasive inspections, the checkpoint regulates the movement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, granting access to some while excluding most. Offering a nuanced exploration of space in Checkpoint 300: Colonial Space in Palestine (U Minnesota Press, 2025), Mark Griffiths reveals Checkpoint 300 as a stark symbol of Israeli colonialism that embodies larger systems of control and violence. Griffiths's sensitive and timely work highlights the myriad ways Palestinians are affected by Israel's spatial control—whether they travel through the checkpoint or not—demonstrating how colonial infrastructures of inequity extend far beyond their physical boundaries to shape daily life. Drawing on nearly a decade of fieldwork, Griffiths examines how colonial power infiltrates family dynamics, enforces gendered mobility restrictions, shapes local economies, and extends into the global exchange of capital and security technologies. He also underscores how Palestinians endure and resist under oppressive conditions and how indigenous forms of life and living are sustained, illuminating how colonial space is contested and countered, unmade and remade. Blending meticulous research with vivid human stories to show the lived realities of borders, power, and resistance in the West Bank, Checkpoint 300 portrays the checkpoint as an entry into the ways that colonial space is formed through security infrastructure that is both the product and producer of wider geographies of oppression, complicity, and control. Mark Griffiths is reader in political geography at Newcastle University. He is coeditor of Encountering Palestine: Un/making Spaces of Colonial Violence. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube channel. Twitter. 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

Checkpoint 300, the highly securitized border facility between occupied Bethlehem and Jerusalem, is a central feature of Israeli control of Palestinian land and life. An apparatus of turnstiles, overcrowded corridors, and invasive inspections, the checkpoint regulates the movement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, granting access to some while excluding most. Offering a nuanced exploration of space in Checkpoint 300: Colonial Space in Palestine (U Minnesota Press, 2025), Mark Griffiths reveals Checkpoint 300 as a stark symbol of Israeli colonialism that embodies larger systems of control and violence. Griffiths's sensitive and timely work highlights the myriad ways Palestinians are affected by Israel's spatial control—whether they travel through the checkpoint or not—demonstrating how colonial infrastructures of inequity extend far beyond their physical boundaries to shape daily life. Drawing on nearly a decade of fieldwork, Griffiths examines how colonial power infiltrates family dynamics, enforces gendered mobility restrictions, shapes local economies, and extends into the global exchange of capital and security technologies. He also underscores how Palestinians endure and resist under oppressive conditions and how indigenous forms of life and living are sustained, illuminating how colonial space is contested and countered, unmade and remade. Blending meticulous research with vivid human stories to show the lived realities of borders, power, and resistance in the West Bank, Checkpoint 300 portrays the checkpoint as an entry into the ways that colonial space is formed through security infrastructure that is both the product and producer of wider geographies of oppression, complicity, and control. Mark Griffiths is reader in political geography at Newcastle University. He is coeditor of Encountering Palestine: Un/making Spaces of Colonial Violence. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube channel. Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

Checkpoint 300, the highly securitized border facility between occupied Bethlehem and Jerusalem, is a central feature of Israeli control of Palestinian land and life. An apparatus of turnstiles, overcrowded corridors, and invasive inspections, the checkpoint regulates the movement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, granting access to some while excluding most. Offering a nuanced exploration of space in Checkpoint 300: Colonial Space in Palestine (U Minnesota Press, 2025), Mark Griffiths reveals Checkpoint 300 as a stark symbol of Israeli colonialism that embodies larger systems of control and violence. Griffiths's sensitive and timely work highlights the myriad ways Palestinians are affected by Israel's spatial control—whether they travel through the checkpoint or not—demonstrating how colonial infrastructures of inequity extend far beyond their physical boundaries to shape daily life. Drawing on nearly a decade of fieldwork, Griffiths examines how colonial power infiltrates family dynamics, enforces gendered mobility restrictions, shapes local economies, and extends into the global exchange of capital and security technologies. He also underscores how Palestinians endure and resist under oppressive conditions and how indigenous forms of life and living are sustained, illuminating how colonial space is contested and countered, unmade and remade. Blending meticulous research with vivid human stories to show the lived realities of borders, power, and resistance in the West Bank, Checkpoint 300 portrays the checkpoint as an entry into the ways that colonial space is formed through security infrastructure that is both the product and producer of wider geographies of oppression, complicity, and control. Mark Griffiths is reader in political geography at Newcastle University. He is coeditor of Encountering Palestine: Un/making Spaces of Colonial Violence. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube channel. Twitter. 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

Checkpoint 300, the highly securitized border facility between occupied Bethlehem and Jerusalem, is a central feature of Israeli control of Palestinian land and life. An apparatus of turnstiles, overcrowded corridors, and invasive inspections, the checkpoint regulates the movement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, granting access to some while excluding most. Offering a nuanced exploration of space in Checkpoint 300: Colonial Space in Palestine (U Minnesota Press, 2025), Mark Griffiths reveals Checkpoint 300 as a stark symbol of Israeli colonialism that embodies larger systems of control and violence. Griffiths's sensitive and timely work highlights the myriad ways Palestinians are affected by Israel's spatial control—whether they travel through the checkpoint or not—demonstrating how colonial infrastructures of inequity extend far beyond their physical boundaries to shape daily life. Drawing on nearly a decade of fieldwork, Griffiths examines how colonial power infiltrates family dynamics, enforces gendered mobility restrictions, shapes local economies, and extends into the global exchange of capital and security technologies. He also underscores how Palestinians endure and resist under oppressive conditions and how indigenous forms of life and living are sustained, illuminating how colonial space is contested and countered, unmade and remade. Blending meticulous research with vivid human stories to show the lived realities of borders, power, and resistance in the West Bank, Checkpoint 300 portrays the checkpoint as an entry into the ways that colonial space is formed through security infrastructure that is both the product and producer of wider geographies of oppression, complicity, and control. Mark Griffiths is reader in political geography at Newcastle University. He is coeditor of Encountering Palestine: Un/making Spaces of Colonial Violence. Morteza Hajizadeh is a Ph.D. graduate in English from the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His research interests are Cultural Studies; Critical Theory; Environmental History; Medieval (Intellectual) History; Gothic Studies; 18th and 19th Century British Literature. YouTube channel. Twitter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory

Leila Stillman-Utterback graduated from Middlebury Union High School in June and decided to take a gap year to pursue a dream. The 18-year-old Vermonter traveled to Israel to participate in a solidarity program that included volunteering with Rabbis for Human Rights in the Israeli-occupied West Bank to help Palestinians harvest olives. She was part of an effort to provide “protective presence” for Palestinians who are under constant attack from right-wing Israeli settlers. She said she wanted to live the Jewish values of tikkun olam (repairing the world) and b'tselem elohim (a belief that everyone is created in God's image). On October 29, Stillman-Utterback was detained by Israeli soldiers, spent a night handcuffed in a police station and was accused of violating the terms of her tourist visa by entering a closed military zone. After being hauled before a judge at 3 a.m., she was deported and banned from Israel for 10 years.Leila's treatment at the hands of Israeli authorities was deeply personal for her mother. Danielle Stillman is the rabbi of Middlebury College. She teaches the values that Leila is living. Her daughter is now paying the price. The Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu may have hoped that by coming down hard on a young American activist that it would silence her. The opposite has occurred. Stillman-Utterback has spoken out in multiple interviews in the Israeli press. “My deportation felt like a betrayal,” wrote Stillman-Utterback in a powerful essay about her ordeal in The Forward, an independent Jewish American news publication. “Israel was supposed to be for me, for every Jew. But the settler movement and the current government would like to redefine what it means to be Jewish along political lines.”Stillman-Utterback rejects the notion that criticizing Israel is somehow antisemitic. “I've grown up my entire life with a connection to Israel, with a love for it even,” she told The Vermont Conversation. “I have also grown up my entire life being allowed to be critical of Israel and … frustrated [and] angry.” She added that it was essential that “in a time of real rising antisemitism globally, that we are able to hold criticism and love at the same time. I really do think that it's possible.”Stillman-Utterback's treatment is part of a larger crackdown on Palestinians and Jewish activists by the Israeli government and right-wing settlers who operate with near impunity in Palestinian communities. In October, there were 126 olive harvest-related settler attacks against Palestinians, and Israel detained and deported 32 foreign activists who were accompanying Palestinian harvesters near the town of Burin, according to the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.Stillman-Utterback, who two years ago was named a Bronfman Fellow, a cohort of high-achieving Jewish teens, is appealing her ban from Israel and is committed to staying engaged. “We need to maintain our relationships in order to show that there are people who are committed to a peaceful and just future. It doesn't matter what it looks like, whether it's a two state solution, whether it's binational, it only matters that that we end the violence and that we end the occupation, that we move towards equality. Any movement towards equality and towards an end in violence, towards accountability for settler actions, is a move in the right direction.”Rabbi Danielle Stillman said that she's “inspired by [Leila's] principled willingness to hang in with Israel despite this really harrowing, dramatic experience, and that that really comes from her Jewish values … to contribute to building a better society in a place that she's come to really care about.”Rabbi Stillman said that American Jews are deeply divided about Israel, especially along generational lines. A recent Washington Post survey found that just over half of Jewish Americans — and two thirds of those over 65 — say they are emotionally attached to Israel, but only about one third of those ages 18 to 34 feel that attachment. About half of younger Jews are more likely to say Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, compared to about one third of older Jews.Leila's arrest and expulsion “just makes me really concerned about the future of the relationship between Israel and the diaspora, between American Jews and Israeli Jews,” said Rabbi Stillman.Rabbi Stillman criticized how antisemitism is being “used in a certain way to further an agenda of silencing solidarity with Palestinians and silencing speech in general on many college campuses.”Leila Stillman-Utterback is now back home in Middlebury figuring out what she will do with the rest of her gap year before attending Williams College in the fall of 2026. She expressed gratitude towards her parents.“I was taught to always stay in a place of not knowing, even if it's uncomfortable, and I feel immensely grateful for never being told that only one answer is right, and for always being taught to live in that liminal space.”

It's News Day Tuesday on the Majority Report On today's show: It's election day in Tennessee's 7th Congressional District, and if you live there, make sure you get out and vote for Aftyn Behn. Aftyn Behn highlights the contrast between her public, open-to-all campaign events and those of her opponent, Matt Van Epps, who has been hosting gatherings behind locked gates at his mansion. Donald Trump calls into a rally with a last-minute pitch for Matt Van Epps, claiming that Behn "hates Christianity." Aftyn appears on NewsNation to make her final case, pledging to protect Medicaid, Medicare, and ACA subsidies, and to fight the affordability crisis facing her district. Jasper Nathaniel, publisher of Infinite Jaz on Substack joins Sam and Emma to provide an update on his return from reporting in the West Bank. In the Fun Half: Pete Hegseth is passing the buck over to his Rear Admiral as he denies ordering the strikes even though he said on Fox News in September that he was watching the strike live as it went down. Chris Murphy believes that at the very least Pete Hegseth committed a war crime but more likely he just committed plain, old murder. JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon says that they are not interested in contributing to the White House ballroom over concerns of how the next DOJ will feel about the pay-to-play behavior in the Trump administration. Trump went on a manic posting spree on Truth Social late last night. Posing hundreds of times over the course of two hours. As a result of Trump's late night scrolling he is left exhausted and falling asleep at a meeting. During the meeting he woke up to declare affordability a "democrat scam" On Democracy Now, Spencer Akerman makes the point that the Afghani shooter was turned into a child soldier by the CIA when he was 14. In discussion of the murder of the National Guard, the PBD crew continue their mission of finding the dumbest possible take on any issue. Andrew Cuomo complains that Curtis Sliwa cost him the election despite the fact that Zohran won over 50% of the vote. All that and more. The Congress switchboard number is (202) 224-3121. You can use this number to connect with either the U.S. Senate or the House of Representatives. Follow us on TikTok here: https://www.tiktok.com/@majorityreportfm Check us out on Twitch here: https://www.twitch.tv/themajorityreport Find our Rumble stream here: https://rumble.com/user/majorityreport Check out our alt YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/majorityreportlive Gift a Majority Report subscription here: https://fans.fm/majority/gift Subscribe to the AMQuickie newsletter here: https://am-quickie.ghost.io/ Join the Majority Report Discord! https://majoritydiscord.com/ Get all your MR merch at our store: https://shop.majorityreportradio.com/ Get the free Majority Report App!: https://majority.fm/app Go to https://JustCoffee.coop and use coupon code majority to get 10% off your purchase Check out today's sponsors: DELETEME: Get 20% off your DeleteMe plan when you go to joindeleteme.com/MAJORITY and use promo code MAJORITY at checkout. GIVEWELL: Go to GIVEWELL.ORG, pick PODCAST and enter The Majority Report with Sam Seder at checkout. AURA: Exclusive $35 off Carver Mat at https://on.auraframes.com/MAJORITY. Promo Code MAJORITY SUNSET LAKE: Use coupon code "Left Is Best" (all one word) for 20% off of your entire order at SunsetLakeCBD.com  Follow the Majority Report crew on Twitter: @SamSeder @EmmaVigeland @MattLech On Instagram: @MrBryanVokey Check out Matt's show, Left Reckoning, on YouTube, and subscribe on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/leftreckoning Check out Matt Binder's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/mattbinder Subscribe to Brandon's show The Discourse on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/ExpandTheDiscourse Check out Ava Raiza's music here! https://avaraiza.bandcamp.com  

The day before Thanksgiving was the real celebration for an American family living in the occupied West Bank. Mohammed Ibrahim was released after nearly 10 months in an Israeli prison. The 16-year-old was arrested in February for allegedly throwing stones at Israeli vehicles. His family was unable to speak with or see him for his entire detention. Amna Nawaz spoke with Mohammed and his father. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

With Daniel on assignment, Matt is joined by Producer Adam Levin for a chat with journalist Jasper Nathaniel covering the saga of West Bank teenager Mohammed Ibrahim, whose freedom Jasper helped secure. Plus a crash-out landing from a new online hasbarist on the scene, and lastly; we're not saying Jasper's mom was hectoring her elected officials, but she was the first of the gang with a gun in her hand…Please make a donation at https://gazadirect.com/Subscribe to Jasper's substack at https://infinitejaz.com/Jasper on X: https://x.com/infinite_jazSee Matt Lieb and Francesca Fiorentini December 13 at the Ice House in Pasadena, CA: https://www.showclix.com/event/new-world-disorder-12-13-25-7-30-pmNew Bad Hasbara Merch: https://estoymerchandise.com/collections/bad-hasbara-podcastSubscribe to the Patreon https://www.patreon.com/badhasbaraWhat's The Spin playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/50JoIqCvlxL3QSNj2BsdURSkad Skasbarska playlist: http://bit.ly/skadskasbarskaSubscribe/listen to Bad Hasbara wherever you get your podcasts.Spotify https://spoti.fi/3HgpxDmApple Podcasts https://apple.co/4kizajtSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/bad-hasbara/donationsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

During the over two years of war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, there has also been violence in the other Palestinian Territory— the West Bank, which has been under Israeli occupation for decades. There have been waves of attacks by Israeli settlers, some of which have been deadly. And arrests of residents, which Israel says is for its own security. Israel has also been quietly redistricting the land. It's the same land Palestinians want for a future state and they fear it is being annexed by Israel. We go there to see what it means on the ground.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The day before Thanksgiving was the real celebration for an American family living in the occupied West Bank. Mohammed Ibrahim was released after nearly 10 months in an Israeli prison. The 16-year-old was arrested in February for allegedly throwing stones at Israeli vehicles. His family was unable to speak with or see him for his entire detention. Amna Nawaz spoke with Mohammed and his father. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports on the Pope in Lebanon; US envoy Witkoff in Russia; and Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.

AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports on a worrying increase of violent Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in villages in the Occupied West Bank.

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 X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

Maung Zarni, UK-exiled Burmese dissident, scholar, rights activist, and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, discusses his role within the Jury in the Permanent Peoples Tribunal on Sri Lanka, observing the similarities between the use of starvation perpetrated in Sri Lanka against the Tamil minority and the exercise of starvation used against Palestinians in Gaza. Zarni also discusses his participation in two separate delegations to Gaza and the West Bank (August 2024 and January 2025) witnessing first-hand Israel's ongoing genocide in Palestine, as he elaborates the freedom he and other members of the delegation had to roam and to discover—unscheduled and unchoregraphed visits—the reality of Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza and of Israelis living in Israel. Zarni describes the myriad human rights violations, starvation, and conditions of genocide in Gaza, in addition to attesting to the violent attacks by settlers and the threat of genocide already in vigour in the West Bank. Interrogating a vast system of colonial occupation and repression exercised by the state of Israel against Palestinians for the past 78 years, Zarni notes how this is a “collective genocide” whereby many countries and their politicians are “directly participating in Israel's genocide” through political, military, and economic contributions. Zarni discusses how people need to be educated about genocide, especially “when it is done by our own country, in our own name,” as he connects his work in educating the Cambodians about the “Killing Fields” and their own history of genocide at the hands of the Khmer Rouge between 1975 and 1979. Maintaining that this genocide is “far worse than what was happening in Nazi Germany and Nazi-occupied Europe,” Zarni remarks how “the entire ecosystem of corporate and public legacy media is performing” what the Ministry for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda under Joseph Goebbels did to create the political ethos to destroy European Jewry. Get full access to Savage Minds at savageminds.substack.com/subscribe

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. Military correspondent Emanuel Fabian joins host Amanda Borschel-Dan for today's episode. The commander of Hamas’s East Rafah Battalion, his deputy, and two other terror operatives were confirmed by the military to have been killed early this morning after attempting to flee a tunnel in the southern Gaza Strip. The soldiers there recovered the weapon of a slain IDF soldier, Staff Sgt. Or Mizrahi, a Nahal fighter who was killed while battling terrorists on the Gaza border during the October 7, 2023, onslaught. Fabian updates on the Hamas operatives trapped in the tunnels. The IDF said it killed three Palestinians who crossed the Gaza ceasefire line in two separate incidents in the Strip’s south on Saturday, with two of them identified as young children. Fabian was in the Gaza Strip last week: We learn how the IDF is operating along the Yellow Line and whether Gazans are aware of the demarcation. Six Israeli soldiers were wounded, including three seriously, after coming under fire by gunmen during an arrest operation in southern Syria early Friday morning. While arrest operations in Syria are no longer unusual, they rarely are accompanied by gunfights. Fabian unravels what we know about the ambush. Officers of the police’s elite Yamam unit detained a cell of five terror operatives in the northern West Bank that was planning an “imminent” attack, security forces said this morning. The arrest comes as the military is continuing to carry out a major counterterrorism operation in several northern West Bank towns. We hear about Hamas smuggling attempts into the West Bank and a much-examined incident in which Border Police officers are now under investigation over the fatal shooting on Thursday of two unarmed Palestinian terror suspects in the West Bank’s Jenin. We end the program learning about Maj. Gen. (ret.) Dan Tolkowsky, the fifth commander of the Israeli Air Force and later a key figure in the development of Israel’s high-tech and venture capital sectors. He died overnight Friday in his home in Tel Aviv at the age of 104. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: IDF vows to hunt down dozens of Hamas fighters still holed up in Rafah Brothers, 8 and 11, killed in south Gaza strike; IDF: ‘Suspects’ crossed Yellow Line Six soldiers hurt in gun battle as IDF detains terror suspects in southern Syria Attacker killed, IDF says, 60 reportedly detained in northern West Bank operation Shin Bet says it foiled Hamas plot to smuggle arms into West Bank using Israelis Border cops who killed unarmed terror suspects after surrender say they feared harm Dan Tolkowsky, former air force commander and Israeli tech pioneer, dies at 104 Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by Podwaves. ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE: This picture taken on June 8, 2025, shows a tunnel at the European Hospital during a controlled embed organized by the Israeli military, in Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. (AFP)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The United States' deadly “counter-narcotics mission” off Venezuela's coast hinges on an unproven drug-smuggling narrative - a familiar pretext for regime change, and one the mainstream media have been quick to echo. Meanwhile, Venezuelans face escalating repression at home. Contributors: Spencer Ackerman - Author, Reign of Terror and Waller vs Wildstorm Abby Martin - Journalist, The Empire Files Miguel Tinker Salas - Professor, Latin American history, Pomona College "Pablo" - Anonymous Venezuelan Journalist On our radar: New leaks, from a disputed 28-point peace proposal to a secretly recorded call between Trump's envoy and a Russian official, have upended the delicate Russia-Ukraine negotiations. Meenakshi Ravi explores what these revelations mean for any future deal. Israel's settlers: From margin to mainstream Israeli settler violence in the West Bank has surged to unprecedented levels, driven by a fringe movement whose far-right ideology has been amplified and normalised across Israeli news outlets. The Listening Post's Nic Muirhead reports on the movement's growing power and the media ecosystem enabling its rise. Featuring: Hilla Dayan - Sociologist, University of Amsterdam Nimrod Nir - Political psychologist, Hebrew University of Jerusalem / Director, AGAM Labs Oren Ziv - Photojournalist, +972 Magazine

The Coventry MP who left the Labour party and joined Jeremy Corbyn's new left-wing ‘Your Party'. Zarah Sultana's husband and friends tell us how her upbringing shaped her politics and reveal her questionable taste in music. 'I think she would describe her taste as no taste', claims her husband Craig Lloyd. She was born in Birmingham to political parents who were both members of the Labour party. Her father even took her on a Labour party delegation to the occupied West Bank when she was a student, an important trip that inspired her to join those campaigning for a free Palestine and she's continued campaigning ever since. Her political career hasn't always been smooth sailing, leaving the Labour party over a row about lifting the two-child benefit cap. However her friends say she is driven by something deeper than her own career aims, she's trying to reshape British politics.Guests: Craig Lloyd, husband Sienna Rodgers, deputy editor of parliament's The House magazine Ian Byrne, Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby Bell Ribeiro-Addy, Labour MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill Georgie Robertson, friend and activist Barnaby Raine, friend and activist Production team: Presenter: Mark Coles Producers: Sally Abrahams, Mhairi MacKenzie, Phoebe Keane and Tom Farmer Production co-ordinators: Maria Ogundele Sound: Gareth Jones Editor: Justine Lang Credits: Married At First Sight, CPL productions Ladybarn Primary School, Facebook

(11.21.2025-11.28.2025) Leftovers 33. Tune in.#applepodcasts⁠ ⁠#spotifypodcasts⁠ ⁠#youtube #amazon⁠ ⁠#patreon⁠patreon.com/isaiahnews

President Trump says that one of the US National Guard soldiers who was shot on Wednesday in Washington has died. Sarah Beckstrom was twenty. Mr Trump said the other soldier, Andrew Wolfe, was in a serious condition, as was the suspected gunman, Rahmanullah Lakanwal. He's an Afghan national who'd worked with the CIA in Afghanistan. Also: Video has emerged showing Israeli security forces shooting dead two Palestinians who appeared to have surrendered in the occupied West Bank. More than ninety people are now known to have died in Hong Kong's worst fire in decades. Surprising and rather gruesome new evidence has been found about how cats became domesticated; and we hear about a church in the US where worshippers are encouraged to hold poisonous snakes. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

One of the National Guard members shot in Washington, DC has died. The fire in the Hong Kong apartment complex may be out, but the death toll may continue to rise. We have an update on peace efforts to end Russia's war in Ukraine. Trump says land action in Venezuela may come “very soon”. Plus, the Israeli military's killing of two people in the occupied West Bank is sparking outrage. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called a cabinet meeting this month to discuss settler violence, but this sudden interest stands in stark contrast to years of inaction by the state. Settler attacks in the occupied West Bank hit a record high in October, the worst monthly toll since record-keeping began almost two decades ago.  The violence is happening with impunity and under the protection of the army, according to evidence collected by rights groups and testimonies from Palestinians. The question is: why are authorities only now taking an interest? Is new pressure from Washington pushing them to take a stronger stand against settler attacks? In this episode of Beyond the Headlines, host Nada AlTaher examines Israel's reaction to settler violence. She speaks to Kobi Michael from the Misgav Institute and to political analyst Ori Goldberg.

AP's Lisa Dwyer reports on the release of an American teenager in Israel.

AP correspondent Karen Chammas reports on Pope Leo's visit to Turkey ; floods in Thailand ; the latest from the Hong Kong building complex fire rescue operation ; Israeli forces kill Palestinian men in West Bank after they appear to surrender

Since Donald Trump announced a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, Israeli forces have killed more than 300 Palestinians. They also continue to occupy large parts of Gaza and have vowed not to withdraw. Despite the ongoing violence in Gaza and the West Bank alike, Western states clearly want to move on as if the atrocities of the past two years had never happened. Yet Israel is still facing efforts to hold it accountable under international law. South Africa has brought a case before the International Court of Justice accusing it of violating the Genocide Convention. And the International Criminal Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. To discuss the ongoing case, Long Reads is joined by John Reynolds, a professor of law at Maynooth University. He's the author of Empire, Emergency, and International Law. Find John's previous interviews with Long Reads here: https://jacobin.com/author/john-reynolds Support for this episode comes from Revol Press: revolpress.com Long Reads is a Jacobin podcast looking in-depth at political topics and thinkers, both contemporary and historical, with the magazine's longform writers. Hosted by features editor Daniel Finn. Produced by Conor Gillies with music by Knxwledge.

Join The Israel Guys member program: https://israelguys.link/TIGmember This week on The Israel Guys, the team breaks down several major stories that have not been told in mainstream English media. Interestingly, the two National Guardsmen shot in Washington D.C. have a correlation to a similar violent assault in Judea, where hundreds of Arab rioters attacked Jewish shepherds, injuring multiple Israelis and stealing part of their flock of sheep. They also highlight a historic policy shift in Jerusalem: Israel is moving to overturn a 70-year-old Jordanian-era law that banned Jews from purchasing land in Judea and Samaria—opening the door for Israelis and those eligible under the Law of Return to own property in the region without legal loopholes. Today's episode also questions the Palestinian Authority's credibility, especially given Trump's desire to put them in charge of Gaza. Today's hosts underscore the growing disconnect between realities on the ground and foreign policy narratives. They close with insights from this week's Torah portion and a reminder to look past propaganda and stay connected to what's really happening in Israel. Follow The Israel Guys on Telegram: https://t.me/theisraelguys  Follow Us On X: https://x.com/theisraelguys  Follow Us On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theisraelguys Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theisraelguys Source Links:  https://x.com/MOSSADil/status/1993388312342470965?s=20 https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/article-876356 https://www.ynet.co.il/news/article/skhomqmu1l#google_vignette https://www.jns.org/palestinian-authority-cant-govern-gaza-as-us-plans-for-it-to-danon-says/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0l6k9sb  

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Five years after the signing of the Abraham Accords, the Middle East looks very different—defined by both extraordinary cooperation and unprecedented challenges. In this episode, we unpack how Israel's defensive war on seven fronts affected regional partnerships, why Abraham Accords nations have stood by the Jewish state, and what expanded normalization could look like as countries like Saudi Arabia and others weigh making such monumental decisions.   We also explore the growing importance of humanitarian coordination, people-to-people diplomacy, and the critical role AJC is playing in supporting deeper regional collaboration. From shifting narratives to new economic and security opportunities, we chart what the next five years could mean for peace, stability, and integration across the region. *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC. This episode is up-to-date as of November 25, 2025. Read the transcript: Building What's Next | Architects of Peace - Episode 6 | AJC Resources: AJC.org/ArchitectsofPeace - Tune in weekly for new episodes. The Abraham Accords, Explained AJC.org/CNME - Find more from AJC's Center for a New Middle East Listen – AJC Podcasts: The Forgotten Exodus  People of the Pod Follow Architects of Peace on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/ArchitectsofPeace You can reach us at: podcasts@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: ANNE DREAZEN: One thing that I have learned from my many years at the Department of Defense is that military instruments of power are not sufficient to really build longlasting peace and stability.  The importance of trade, of economic development, of people-to-people ties, is so essential to what we think of as an enduring or a lasting peace. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: In September 2020, the world saw what had been years–decades–in the making. Landmark peace agreements dubbed the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and two Arabian Gulf States, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Bahrain.  Later, in December, they were joined by the Kingdom of Morocco. Five years later, AJC is pulling back the curtain to meet key individuals who built the trust that led to these breakthroughs and build bonds that would last. Introducing: the Architects of Peace. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: It has been five years since Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain signed the Abraham Accords on the South Lawn of the White House. In those five years, Russia invaded Ukraine, sparking a massive refugee crisis. The U.S. elected one president then re-elected his predecessor who had ushered in the Abraham Accords in the first place.  And amid news that Saudi Arabia might be next to join the Accords, the Hamas terror group breached the border between Israel and Gaza, murdered more than 1,200 people and kidnapped 251 more. Israel suddenly found itself fighting an existential war against Iran and its terror proxies on multiple fronts – Gaza, Lebanon, the West Bank, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, and Iran itself. At the same time, Israel also fought a worldwide war of public opinion – as Hamas elevated the death toll in Gaza by using Palestinian civilians as human shields and activists waged a war of disinformation on social media that turned international public perception against the Jewish state. Through it all, the Abraham Accords held. ALI RASHID AL NUAIMI: There are those who work hard to undermine what we are doing. And this is where many question: 'How come the UAE is still part of the Abraham Accords?'  MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: Dr. Ali Rashid Al Nuaimi is a leading parliamentarian and educator in the United Arab Emirates. He has served as the Chancellor of the United Arab Emirates University and the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge. He currently serves as the Chairman of the International Steering Board of Hedayah, The International Center of Excellence for Countering Extremism and Violent Extremism. The center is based in Abu Dhabi.  He was one of the first to go on Israeli and Arab media to talk to the general public about the Abraham Accords and was known for correcting news anchors and other interview subjects, that the UAE had not simply agreed to live in peace with the Jewish state. It had agreed to actively engage with the Israeli people. ALI RASHID AL NUAIMI: We saw the importance of engaging with both sides. We saw the importance of talking to the Israeli general public. We saw the importance of dialogue with the government in Israel, the Knesset, the NGO, the academician, businessman. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: That engagement started almost immediately with flights back and forth, musical collaborations, culinary exchanges, academic partnerships, business arrangements–much of which came to a halt on October 7, 2023. But that simply meant the nature of the engagement changed. Since the start of the Israel-Hamas War, the UAE has provided extensive humanitarian aid to Gaza, delivering more than 100,000 tons of food, medical supplies, tents, and clothing, by land, air and sea—about 46% of the total assistance that entered Gaza. It established six desalination plants with a combined capacity of two million gallons per day.  And, in addition to operating field and floating hospitals that treated 73,000 patients, the UAE also provided five ambulances, facilitated a polio vaccination campaign, and evacuated 2,785 patients for treatment in the UAE. From Dr. Al-Nuami's point of view, the Abraham Accords made all of that humanitarian aid possible. ALI RASHID AL NUAIMI: This is why we were able to have these hospitals in Gaza, we were able to do these water solutions for the Palestinians, and we did so many things because there is a trust between us and the Israelis. That they allowed us to go and save the Palestinian people in Gaza.  So there were so many challenges, but because we have the right leadership, who have the courage to make the right decision, who believe in the Abraham Accords principles, the vision, and who's working hard to transform the region. Where every everyone will enjoy security, stability, and prosperity without, you know, excluding anyone. Why the UAE didn't pull out of the Abraham Accords? My answer is this. It's not with the government, our engagement. The government will be there for two, three, four years, and they will change.  Our Abraham Accords is with Israel as a nation, with the people, who will stay. Who are, we believe their root is here, and there is a history and there is a future that we have to share together. And this is where we have to work on what I call people to people diplomacy. This is sustainable peace. This is where you really build the bridges of trust, respect, partnership, and a shared responsibility about the whole region. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: On October 9, two years and two days after the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, the White House announced a ceasefire would take effect, the first step in a 20-point peace plan proposed for the region. Four days later, President Donald Trump joined the presidents of Egypt and Turkey, and the Emir of Qatar to announce a multilateral agreement to work toward a comprehensive and durable peace in Gaza. Since then, all but the remains of three hostages have been returned home, including Lt. Hadar Goldin, whose remains had been held since 2014, ending the longest hostage ordeal in Israel's history. Finally, the prospect of peace and progress seems to be re-emerging. But what is next for the Abraham Accords? Will they continue to hold and once again offer the possibilities that were promised on the White House Lawn in September 2020? Will they expand? And which countries will be next to sign on to the historic pact, setting aside decades of rejection to finally formalize full diplomatic relations with the Jewish state? The opportunities seem endless, just as they did in September 2020 when the Abraham Accords expanded the scope of what was suddenly possible in government, trade, and so much more.  ANNE DREAZEN: The Abraham Accords really opened up lots of opportunities for us in the Department of Defense to really expand cooperation between Israel and its partners in the security sphere.  MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN:  Anne Dreazen spent the last 18 years as a civil servant in the U.S. Department of Defense. For most of that time, she worked on Middle East national security and defense policy, focusing on Iran, Iraq and Lebanon. And most recently serving as the principal director for Middle East policy, the senior civil service job overseeing the entire Middle East office. She was working at the Pentagon when the Abraham Accords were signed under the first Trump administration and immediately saw a shift in the region. ANNE DREAZEN: So, one thing that we saw at the very end of the first Trump administration, and it was made possible in part because of the success of the Abraham Accords, was the decision to move Israel from U.S. European Command into U.S. Central Command. And for many decades, it had been thought that that wouldn't be feasible because you wouldn't have any Middle East countries in CENTCOM that would really be willing to engage with Israel, even in very discreet minimal channels.  But after the Abraham Accords, I think that led us policymakers and military leaders to sort of rethink that proposition, and it became very clear that, it would be better to increase cooperation between Israel and the other Gulf partners, because in many cases, they have similar security interests, specifically concerns about Iran and Iranian proxies and Iranian malign activity throughout the region. And so I think the Abraham Accords was one item that sort of laid the groundwork and really enabled and encouraged us to think creatively about ways through which we could, in the security and defense sphere, improve cooperation between Israel and other partners in the region. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: But sustaining peace in the region is more than a matter of maintaining security. Making sure young people can fulfill their dreams, make a contribution, build relationships and friendships across borders, and transcend religion and ideologies – even those in the security sphere know those are the necessary ingredients for peace and prosperity across the region.  Despite the efforts of Hamas and other Iran-backed terror proxies to derail the Abraham Accords, the U.S., Arab, and Israeli leaders had continued to pursue plans for an Israeli-Saudi peace agreement and to explore a new security architecture to fight common threats. This spirit of optimism and determination led AJC to launch the Center for a New Middle East in June 2024. In October, Anne joined AJC to lead that initiative. ANNE DREAZEN: One thing that I have learned from my many years at the Department of Defense is that military instruments of power are not sufficient to really build long lasting peace and stability. The importance of trade, of economic development, of people-to-people ties is so essential to what we think of as an enduring or a lasting peace.  And so at AJC, we're actually focused on those aspects of trying to advance normalization. Really trying to put more meat on the bones, in the case of where we already have agreements in place. So for example, with Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, the UAE and Morocco, trying to really build out what more can be done in terms of building economic ties, building people-to-people ties, and advancing those agreements. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: Of course, that work had already begun prior to Anne's arrival. Just two years after the Abraham Accords, Retired Ambassador to Oman Marc Sievers became director of AJC Abu Dhabi: The Sidney Lerner Center for Arab-Jewish Understanding, the first and only Jewish agency office in an Arab and Islamic country.  After more than 30 years as a U.S. diplomat serving across the Middle East and North Africa, Marc has witnessed a number of false starts between Arab nations and Israel. While the Abraham Accords introduced an unprecedented approach, they didn't suddenly stabilize the region.  Marc's four years in Abu Dhabi have been fraught. In January 2022, Houthis in north Yemen launched a drone and missile attack on Abu Dhabi, killing three civilians and injuring six others. In 2023, the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel, Israel's retaliation, and Israel's war on seven fronts dimmed Emiratis' public perception of Jews. As recently as this past August, the U.S. Mission to the UAE issued a dire warning to Israeli diplomats and Jewish institutions in Abu Dhabi – a threat that was taken seriously given the kidnapping and murder of a Chabad rabbi in 2024.  But just as the UAE stood by its commitment to Israel, Marc and AJC stood by their commitment to the UAE and Arab neighbors, working to advance Arab-Jewish and Muslim-Jewish dialogue; combat regional antisemitism and extremism; and invigorate Jewish life across the region. From Marc's vantage point, the Abraham Accords revolutionized the concept of normalization, inspiring a level of loyalty he's never before seen.  It's worth noting the precursor to the Abraham Accords: the Peace to Prosperity Summit. For decades, diplomats had frowned on the idea of an economic peace preceding a two-state solution.  MARC SIEVERS: That idea's been out there for a long time. …It was just never embraced by those who thought, you know, first you have a two-state solution. You have a Palestinian state, and then other things will follow. This approach is kind of the opposite. You create an environment in which people feel they have an incentive, they have something to gain from cooperation, and that then can lead to a different political environment. I happen to think that's quite an interesting approach, because the other approach was tried for years and years, and it didn't succeed. Rather than a confrontational approach, this is a constructive approach that everyone benefits from. The Prosperity to Peace Conference was a very important step in that direction. It was harshly criticized by a lot of people, but I think it actually was a very kind of visionary approach to changing how things are done. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: The conference Marc is referring to took place in June 2019 –  a two-day workshop in Bahrain's capital city of Manama, where the Trump administration began rolling out the economic portion of its peace plan, titled "Peace to Prosperity."  The workshop's host Bahrain, as well as Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the Emirates participated, to varying degrees.  The plan called for large scale investment, mostly by other countries in the Gulf and Europe, to advance the Palestinian economy, to integrate the Palestinian and Israelis' economies and establish a small but functional Palestinian state.  Angered by Trump's recognition of Jerusalem, Palestinian leadership rejected the plan before ever seeing its details. But as former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman pointed out in an earlier episode of this series, that was expected. The plan enabled Israel to demonstrate that it was open to cooperation. It enabled the Trump administration to illustrate the opportunities missed if countries in the region continued to let Palestinian leadership call the shots. It was economic diplomacy at its finest. And it worked.  MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN:  Benjamin Rogers, AJC's Director for Middle East and North Africa Initiatives, who also serves as Deputy Director of the Center for a New Middle East, said the Center has focused heavily on expanding private sector engagement. Israelis and Arab entrepreneurs have quietly traveled to the U.S. as part of the Center's budding business collectives.  BENJAMIN ROGERS: So people who are focused on med tech, people who are focused on agri tech, people who are focused on tourism. And what we do is we say, 'Hey, we want to talk about the Middle East. No, we do not want to talk about violence. No, we don't want to talk about death and destruction. Not because these issues are not important, but because we're here today to talk about innovation, and we're here to talk about the next generation, and what can we do?' And when you say, like, food security for example, how can Israelis and Arabs work together in a way that helps provide more food for the entire world? That's powerful. How can the Israelis and Arabs working together with the United States help combat cancer, help find solutions to new diseases?  If you really want to get at the essence of the Abraham Accords – the ability to do better and work together, to your average person on the street, that's meaningful. And so one of the initiatives is, hey, let's bring together these innovators, these business leaders, private sector, and let's showcase to Arabs, Israelis, non-Jewish community, what the Middle East can be about. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: People-to-people connections. That's what AJC has done for decades, traveling to the region since 1950 to build bridges and relationships. But providing a platform to help facilitate business ventures? That's a new strategy, which is why AJC partnered with Blue Laurel Advisors. The firm has offices in Tel Aviv, Dubai, and Washington, D.C.. It specializes in helping companies navigate the geopolitics of doing business in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, and Israel.  At AJC Global Forum in April, founder and Managing Director Tally Zingher told an audience that the Abraham Accords, which effectively lifted the UAE's ban on business with Israel, brought already existing deals above the radar. TALLY ZINGHER: We've been wowed by what the Center for a New Middle East has been able to do and put forth in the very short time that it's been incubated and Blue Laurel Advisors are really delighted to be part of this project and we're really aligned with its mission and its vision. It's quite simple in the region because the region is really driven by national agendas. I think it's no surprise that the appendix to the Abraham Accords was a direct parallel to the Abu Dhabi national vision. It's the key areas of growth in UAE and Saudi Arabia that are now really well aligned with Israeli strength.  We're talking about the diversification efforts of the UAE and of Saudi Arabia. At Blue Laurel, we're quite focused on Saudi Arabia because of the real growth story underway there created by the diversification efforts. But they're focused on water, energy, renewable energy, healthy cyber security, tourism. Ten years ago when you were doing this work, 15 years ago there wasn't as much complementarity between Israel and the start-up innovation ecosystem and what was going on. The region is really ready and ripe to have Israeli innovation be a part of its growth trajectory. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: Benjy said there's another advantage to building bridges in the business world – continuity. BENJAMIN ROGERS:Out of the three sectors that we're focused on – diplomatic, business, and civil society – business relations are the most resistant to political conflict. There's this element of self interest in it, which I'm not saying is a bad thing, but when you tie the relationship to your own worth and your own value, you're much more likely to go through kind of the ebbs and flows of the political.  Whereas, if you're a civil society, you're really at the mercy of populations. And if the timing is not right, it's not impossible to work together, but it's so much more difficult. Business is even more resistant than political engagement, because if political engagement is bad, the business relationship can still be good, because there's an element of self interest, and that element of we have to work together for the betterment of each other. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: The economic diplomacy complements AJC's partnership with civil society groups, other non-profits that work to bring people together to experience and embody each other's realities in the Middle East. The Center also has continued AJC's trademark traditional diplomacy to expand the circle of peace. Though Marc prefers to call it the circle of productivity.  MARC SIEVERS: I think it achieved new relations for Israel that were perhaps different from what had happened with Egypt and Jordan, where we have long standing peace agreements, but very little contact between people, and very little engagement other than through very specific official channels. The Abraham Accords were different because there was a people-to-people element. The UAE in particular was flooded with Israeli tourists almost immediately after the Accords were signed, Bahrain less so, but there have been some. And not as many going the other way, but still, the human contacts were very much there.  I think it was also building on this idea that economic engagement, joint partnerships, investment, build a kind of circle of productive relations that gradually hopefully expand and include broader parts of the region or the world that have been either in conflict with Israel or have refused to recognize Israel as a sovereign Jewish state. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: It being all of those things explains why the potential for expansion is all over the map. So where will the Abraham Accords likely go next? The Trump administration recently announced the addition of Kazakhstan. But as the Central Asian country already had diplomatic relations with Israel, the move was more of an endorsement of the Accords rather than an expansion. In November 2025, all eyes were on the White House when Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman paid a visit. In addition to the customary Oval Office meeting, President Trump also hosted the Saudi royal at a black-tie dinner. ANNE DREAZEN: Right now, everyone is really talking about and thinking, of course, about Saudi Arabia, and certainly I think there's a lot of promise now with the ceasefire having been achieved. That sort of lays a better groundwork to be able to think about whether we can, whether the United States can play an important role in bringing Saudi Arabia and Israel to the table to move forward on normalization. Certainly from the Saudis have have made they've cautioned that one of their prerequisites is a viable path toward Palestinian statehood. And we've known that, that's in President Trump's 20-point plan. So I think it remains to be seen whether or not Israel and Saudi Arabia can come to a mutually agreed upon way of addressing that key concern for Saudi Arabia. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: But there are also countries who only a year ago never would have considered a relationship with Israel. With Hezbollah diminished and a moderate and forward-leaning Lebanese government in place, quiet conversations are taking place that could lead to a significant diplomatic achievement, even if not as ambitious as the Abraham Accords. The same in Syria, where Ahmed al-Sharaa is sending positive signals that he would at least be willing to consider security arrangements. ANNE DREAZEN: Even if you don't have a Syrian Embassy opening up in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv,  even if you don't have an Israeli embassy opening up in Damascus, there could be other arrangements made, short of a full diplomatic peace accord that would lay the groundwork for some understandings on security, on borders. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: Marc said it remains to be seen whether Oman, his final diplomatic post, will join the Accords. Two years before the signing of the Accords, while serving as ambassador, there was a glimmer of hope. Well, more than a glimmer really. MARC SIEVERS: In Oman, the late Sultan Qaboos, a good, almost two years before the Abraham Accords, invited Prime Minister Netanyahu to visit him in his royal palace in Muscat. Netanyahu came with his wife, Sarah, but also with a lot of the top senior leadership. Certainly his military secretary, the head of the Mossad, a few other people. As soon as Netanyahu landed in Israel, the Omanis put it all over the media, and there were some wonderful videos of the Sultan giving Netanyahu a tour of the palace and a choir of children who came and sang, and some other things that the Sultan liked to do when he had important guests.  And it was quite an interesting moment, and that was two years before. And that was not initiated by the United States. Unlike the Abraham Accords process, that was an Omani initiative, but again, other than the meeting itself, nothing really came of it. The Omanis took a lot of pride in what they had done, and then they backed away. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: Instead, Marc points to the country with the largest Muslim population in the world: Indonesia – especially following recent remarks to the United Nations General Assembly by Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto. PRABOWO SUBIANTO: We must have an independent Palestine, but we must also recognize, we must also respect, and we must also guarantee the safety and security of Israel. Only then can we have real peace. Real peace and no longer hate and no longer suspicion. The only solution is the two-state solution. The descendants of Abraham must live in reconciliation, peace, and harmony. Arabs, Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists, all religions. We must live as one human family. Indonesia is committed to being part of making this vision a reality. MARC SIEVERS: We've heard that, you know, Indonesia needs some time to consider this, which makes a lot of sense. It's not something to be done lightly, and yet that would be a huge achievement. Obviously, Indonesia has never been a party to the conflict directly, but they also have never had relations with Israel, and they are the most populous Muslim country. Should that happen, it's a different kind of development than Saudi Arabia, but in some ways, it kind of internationalizes or broadens beyond the Middle East, the circle of peace. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: But in addition to adding signatories, Anne said AJC's Center for a New Middle East will work to strengthen the current relationships with countries that stayed committed during Israel's war against Hamas, despite public apprehensions. Anne recently traveled to Bahrain and the UAE with AJC's Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer Jason Isaacson, who has long led AJC's Middle East outreach. There, Anne discovered a significant slowdown in the momentum she witnessed when the Accords debuted. ANNE DREAZEN: I saw a real hesitancy during my travels in the region for politicians to publicly acknowledge and to publicly celebrate the Abraham Accords. They were much more likely to talk about peaceful coexistence and tolerance in what they characterize as a non-political way, meaning not tied to any sort of diplomatic agreements. So I saw that as a big impediment.  I do think that among the leadership of a lot of these countries, though, there is a sense that they have to be more pragmatic than ever before in trying to establish, in time to sustain the ceasefire, and establish a more enduring stability in the region. So there's a bit of a disconnect, I think, between where a lot of the publics lie on this issue.  But a lot of the political leaders recognize the importance of maintaining ties with Israel, and want to lay the groundwork for greater stability. We are very interested now in doing what we can as CNME, as the Center for New Middle East, to help rebuild those connections and help reinvigorate those relationships. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: This is especially the case in Bahrain, which has not seen the same economic dividends as the UAE. ANNE DREAZEN: Bahrain is a much smaller country than the UAE, and their key industries – they have less of a developed startup tech ecosystem than the UAE. And frankly, many of Bahrain's sectors don't overlap as neatly with some of Israel's emerging tech sectors, as is the case with the UAE. So, for example, Bahrain is very heavy on steel and aluminum manufacturing, on logistics. Manufacturing is a big part of the sector.  Israeli tech doesn't really, in general, provide that many jobs in that type of sector. Tourism is another area where Bahrain is trying to develop as a top priority. This obviously was really challenged during the Abraham Accords, especially when direct flights stopped over Gulf air. So tourism was not a natural one, especially after October 7.  Bahrain has really prioritized training their youth workforce to be able to take on jobs in IT and financial services, and this is one area we want to look into more and see what can be done. Bahrain is really prioritizing trying to build relationships in areas that can provide jobs to some of their youth. It is not as wealthy a country as the UAE, but it has a very educated young workforce. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: Again, fulfilling dreams, giving youth an opportunity to contribute. That's the necessary narrative to make the Abraham Accords a success.  ALI RASHID AL NUAIMI: It's very important to focus on the youth, and how to create a narrative that will gain the heart and the mind of all youth in the region, the Israeli, the Palestinian, the Arabs, the Muslims. And this is where it is very important to counter hate that comes from both sides. Unfortunately, we still see some hate narratives that come from those far-right extremists who serve the extremists on the Arab side, taking advantage of what they are saying, what they are doing. From the beginning, I convey this message to many Israelis: please don't put the Palestinian people in one basket with Hamas, because if you do so, you will be saving Hamas. Hamas will take advantage of that.  This is where it's very important to show the Palestinian people that we care about them. You know, we see them as human beings. We want a better future for them. We want to end their suffering. We want them to fulfill their dream within the region, that where everybody will feel safe, will feel respected, and that we all will live as neighbors, caring about each other's security and peace.  We have to engage, have a dialogue, show others that we care about them, you see, and try to empower all those who believe in peace who believe that Israeli and Palestinian have to live together in peace and harmony. And it will take time, yes, but we don't have other options. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: But Dr. Al Nuaimi emphasizes that it can't be just a dialogue. It must be a conversation that includes the American voice. The UAE has been clear with the Israeli public on two occasions that attempts by Israel to unilaterally annex the West Bank would be a red line for the relationship between their two countries. But even as the five-year anniversary of the Abraham Accords approached, a milestone that should've been a reminder of the countries' mutual commitments, it took U.S. intervention for Israel to heed that warning. Anne Dreazen agrees that the U.S. plays an important role. She said Israel must continue to defend itself against threats. But in order to create a safe space for Israel in the long term, the U.S., the American Jewish community in particular, can help bridge connections and overcome cultural differences. That will keep the Accords moving in the right direction. ALI RASHID AL NUAIMI: I believe many Arab and Muslim leaders are eager to join it, but you know, they have to do their internal calculation within their people. We have to help them, not only us, but the Israelis. They are looking for a way, a path, to have them as neighbors, and to have a solution that the Palestinian will fulfill their dreams, but the Israeli also will be secure. I think having such a narrative that will take us to the next level by bringing other Arab countries and Muslim country to join the Abraham Accords. MANYA BRACHEAR PASHMAN: Thank you for listening. Atara Lakritz is our producer. T.K. Broderick is our sound engineer. Special thanks to Jason Isaacson, Sean Savage, and the entire AJC team for making this series possible.  You can subscribe to Architects of Peace on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can learn more at AJC.org/ArchitectsofPeace. The views and opinions of our guests don't necessarily reflect the positions of AJC. You can reach us at podcasts@ajc.org. If you've enjoyed this episode, please be sure to spread the word, and hop onto Apple Podcasts or Spotify to rate us and write a review to help more listeners find us. Music Credits: Middle East : ID: 279780040; Composer: Eric Sutherland Inspired Middle East: ID: 241884108; Composer: iCENTURY Mystical Middle East: ID: 212471911; Composer: Vicher

What happens to global leadership when the US ghosts the G20 and COP, and can middle powers really keep the world moving? Is Britain ignoring a major foreign-interference scandal? And, how close is the West Bank to total economic collapse—and why isn't anyone talking about it? Is your door in the draw? Sign up by midnight 30th November at https://postcodelottery.co.uk. People's Postcode Lottery manages lotteries on behalf of good causes, 18 plus, conditions apply, play responsibly, not available in Northern Ireland. Gift The Rest Is Politics Plus this Christmas - give someone a whole year of Rory and Alastair's miniseries, ad-free listening, early access to episodes and live show tickets, an exclusive members' newsletter, discounted book prices, and a private chatroom on Discord. Just go to https://therestispolitics.supportingcast.fm/gifts. And of course, you can still join for yourself any time at therestispolitics.com The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. The Rest Is Politics is powered by Fuse Energy. Fuse are giving away free TRIP Plus membership for all of 2025 to new sign ups

Having witnessed relentless horrors over two years of genocidal war in Gaza, former Israeli and Palestinian combatants are coming together in nonviolent co-resistance and shared struggle. In this episode of the Marc Steiner Show, Palestinian educator and healer Nimala Karoufeh and former Israeli soldier Noa Harrell of Combatants for Peace explain how their binational movement has held together since Oct. 7, 2023, and what real peace-building from the ground up would require.Guests:Noa Harrell joined Combatants for Peace in 2016 and directly witnessed the power of nonviolent resistance to Israel's occupation in the West Bank. This life-changing experience led her to participate in binational activities across Israel and Palestine, including dialogues, educational programs, demonstrations, protective presence, joint grief ceremonies, and rehabilitation of demolished West Bank communities. In October 2023, shortly after the Hamas attacks on Israel, Harrell was elected Israeli General Coordinator of Combatants for Peace, coordinating actions between Israeli and Palestinian members, supervising programs, and serving as Israeli chair.Nimala Karoufeh is a Palestinian Christian from Beit Jala, now living in Jerusalem. She holds a master's degree in European Studies from the University of Düsseldorf and a bachelor's in Social Work and Psychology from Bethlehem University. For more than 15 years, she has led transformative programs with local and international NGOs focused on women's and youth empowerment, leadership, community development, and peacebuilding. Karoufeh joined Combatants for Peace in 2022 as educational expert and director of the Palestinian Freedom School Program, where she empowers young Palestinians through nonviolent education and activism.Credits:Producer: Rosette SewaliStudio Production: Cameron GranadinoAudio Post-Production: Stephen FrankBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-real-news-podcast--2952221/support.Help us continue producing radically independent news and in-depth analysis by following us and becoming a monthly sustainer.Follow us on:Bluesky: @therealnews.comFacebook: The Real News NetworkTwitter: @TheRealNewsYouTube: @therealnewsInstagram: @therealnewsnetworkBecome a member and join the Supporters Club for The Real News Podcast today!

A ceasefire that looks good on paper means little when people are living under lockdowns and raids. We open with the West Bank, where daily operations near schools and reports of soldiers quartering in homes reshape civilian life and hollow out the promise of “stability.” The Gaza story is no better: UNICEF's plan to vaccinate […]

Aída Chávez, of Capital & Empire, joined Jordan to talk about her recent trip to the West Bank. She talks about the surveillance, intimidation, threats and psychological operations she experienced, witnessed and will write about.You can Subscribe to Capital & Empire here: https://capitalandempire.com/Our most recent premium episode on the latest in the Epstein document saga is available here: https://www.insurgentspod.com/p/ep-424-rumors This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.insurgentspod.com/subscribe

Today we speak to independent journalist Jasper Nathaniel. He tells us about a harrowing ordeal where he was recently ambushed by armed Israeli Settlers. Nathaniel was reporting alongside Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.  No ads and all exclusives: patreon.com/popularfront Discounted 50% off the best internet privacy for all our listeners: proton.me/popularfront INFO | MERCH | NEWS | JAKE | SUBSTACK

Both houses of Congress in the US have passed a bill that aims to force the publication of files on the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Once President Trump signs it into law, the Justice Department will have a thirty day deadline to release the documents. Also: Donald Trump defends the Saudi Crown Prince on his first White House visit since Jamal Khashoggi's murder; violence rises between Israeli settlers and Palestinians in the occupied West Bank; five hikers die in Chile's Patagonia; a report from the front line of Europe's standoff with Russia's shadow fleet; Meta wins a five year legal battle; we look at the future of test cricket; and Australian prisoners fight for their right to Vegemite. The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk

The UN Security Council has approved a US-drafted resolution to move to the next stage of Donald Trump's Gaza peace plan. It aims to set up a transitional administration and international stabilisation force, but the details remain vague. Israel has taken issue with parts of the resolution and Hamas has rejected it. Also: Israeli settlers continue to attack Palestinians in the occupied West Bank; students are kidnapped from a girls' boarding school in Nigeria; an explosion in Poland fuels fears of hybrid war; the latest from COP30; an exclusive interview with Google's boss about AI; how to stop ticket resellers ripping off fans; Netflix confirms Jake Paul vs Anthony Joshua boxing fight, and what's the word of the year?The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk