Otherwise Occupied

As the Israeli parliament dissolved this week and we are now headed to our fourth round of elections in two years, I'm happy that my guest today is a professional politician: Palestinian member of the Israeli parliament Heba Yazbak (Joint List).Yazbak belongs to the National Democratic Assembly, known as the “Balad” party, a Palestinian nationalist party that supports the

My guest this week is an activist for Palestinian rights from East Jerusalem. Kefah Abukhdeir is a Palestinian-American who co-directs and teaches at EduReach, a local Palestinian educational and learning organization, and I had the honor of speaking with her about her family’s deep roots to the holy city, her American roots, and what she thinks about the end of the Trump era.But

My guest this week is someone I am very excited to talk to, being the foodie that I am. Ronit Vered is a researcher of food culture, she’s a journalist, an author of food and travel books. Since 2007 she’s been writing a weekly column about food in Haaretz. It’s a wonderful column, with photographs from an amazing photographer named Dan Peretz. Together they document people,

David Lehrer is the Director of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. As a partner of the Ben Gurion University, the institute brings Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian and international students together, promoting the idea that nature knows no political borders is more than a belief. "It is a fact, a curriculum, and a way of life," as their website says.I spoke to

There's a first time for everything, right? Well, this is the first episode where I shed a tear during recording. My guest this week is the first female Palestinian photojournalist in Gaza. Eman Mohammed started her career at the young age of 19, not only dodging bombings, but also misogyny from her colleagues and surroundings, who thought a woman was not cut out for the job.

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

My guest this week is the busiest reporter in Israel, based on the amount and pace of scoops he publishes. Barak Ravid is probably the most well known diplomatic correspondent in this country. He worked for years in Israel’s leading broadsheet Haaretz, then moved to TV - until he got fired, for reasons we’ll discuss in our chat. He now works in two news organizations, Walla New

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

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

My guest today is a comedian who is very quickly making a name for herself in Israel and abroad. Noam Shuster Eliassi has an amazing life story, and she’s only in her early 30’s! She grew up in a very unique place, Neve Shalom, a small village of Israeli Jews and Palestinians, an experiment of sorts. In the podcast, I ask her if she thinks the experiment was a success...She&apo