Occupied Thoughts

Note from FMEP: This conversation was recorded on November 4, 2026., the last day of Ahmed Moor's fellowship with FMEP, which began in 2025 and continued until 2026. This podcast represents Ahmed's final contribution to our Occupied Thoughts podcast series (at least as an FMEP-affiliated host). We are grateful to Ahmed for the many generative, productive, and educational conversations he hosted and participated in as an FMEP Fellow. In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Omar Shakir, Executive Director of Democracy in the Arab World (DAWN), about accountability. They discuss holding key figures in the U.S. administration accountable (such as former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, sanctions on Israel, and universal jurisdiction laws.  Omar Shakir is the Executive Director of Democracy in the Arab World Now (DAWN), the organization founded by the late Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi that seeks to change US policy in the Middle East and hold human rights abusers in the region accountable. Prior to his current role, Omar served for nearly a decade as the Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch. A former Fulbright Scholar in Syria, Omar holds a JD from Stanford Law School, where he co-authored as part of the International Human Rights & Conflict Resolution Clinic a report on the civilian consequences of US drone strikes in Pakistan, an MA in Arab Studies from Georgetown University's School of Foreign Affairs, and a BA in International Relations from Stanford. He speaks Arabic and English.  Ahmed Moor is a Palestinian-American writer born in Gaza and a Fellow at FMEP. He is an advisory board member of the US Campaign for Palestinian rights, co-editor of After Zionism (Saqi Books) and is currently writing a book about Palestine. He also currently serves on the board of the Independence Media Foundation. His work has been published in The Guardian, The London Review of Books, The Nation, and elsewhere. He earned a BA at the University of Pennsylvania and an MPP at Harvard University. You can follow Ahmed on Substack at: https://ahmedmoor.substack.com and on X at @AhmedMoor.

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Shaul Magid and Zev Mishell about their new book, Jewish Anti-Zionism: A Historical Anthology (Princeton University Press 2026). They discuss the definitions of Zionism and anti-Zionism, the history of Jewish opposition to Zionism, and how those arguments have been projected into the present day.  Shaul Magid is Professor of Modern Judaism in Residence at Harvard Divinity School. He is the author of many books, including Meir Kahane: The Public Life and Political Thought of an American Jewish Radical (Princeton) and The Necessity of Exile: Essays from a Distance, and the translator of Jewish Anti-Zionism as Political Theology: The Major Writings of Yoel Teitelbaum. Zev Mishell is a writer, activist, and graduate student at Harvard University’s Committee on the Study of Religion. Ahmed Moor is a Palestinian-American writer born in Gaza and a Fellow at FMEP. He is an advisory board member of the US Campaign for Palestinian rights, co-editor of After Zionism (Saqi Books) and is currently writing a book about Palestine. He also currently serves on the board of the Independence Media Foundation. His work has been published in The Guardian, The London Review of Books, The Nation, and elsewhere. He earned a BA at the University of Pennsylvania and an MPP at Harvard University. You can follow Ahmed on Substack at: https://ahmedmoor.substack.com and on X at @AhmedMoor. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Hebron resident & activist Issa Amro about what is happening now in the West Bank and specifically in Hebron, where Israel recently launched a major incursion that forced thousands of people from their homes. They discuss how Israel's behavior in Hebron has changed and the impact of settler outposts moving into Palestinian-controlled parts of the West Bank (Area B). They also discuss what kind of international sanctions can end Israel's occupation. Issa recently published this article, "In Hebron, Netanyahu is turning displacement into an election spectacle," in +972 Magazine.  Issa Amro is a Palestinian human rights defender, engineer, and nonviolent activist from Hebron in the occupied West Bank. He is the founder of Youth Against Settlements and the Executive Director of Working for Peace and Justice in the Middle East. He has written articles and opinion pieces for many international media outlets, including The Guardian, Al Jazeera, openDemocracy, The Nation, The Huffington Post, The Forward, Mondoweiss, and Amnesty International UK. Peter Beinart is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Foundation for Middle East Peace. He is also a Professor of Journalism and Political Science at the City University of New York, a Contributing opinion writer at the New York Times, an Editor-at-Large at Jewish Currents, and an MSNOW Political Commentator. His newest book (published 2025) is Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning. He publishes regularly on https://peterbeinart.substack.com/. Original music by Jalal Yaquoub.

In this episode of Occupied Thoughts, FMEP Fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Rabbi Sarah Brammer-Shlay of Rabbis for a Ceasefire and Oriel Eisner of the Center for Jewish Nonviolence. They talk about the activists who join with Palestinians in the West Bank, especially now during the olive harvest, looking at the difference in the framing of “protective presence” versus solidarity work. They discuss the nature of Israel settler violence and its impact on Palestinian livelihoods and look at the possible role of sanctions in producing a different future in Palestine/Israel. Rabbi Sarah Brammer-Shlay serves as the Dean of Religious Life and Chaplain at Grinnell College in Iowa. She graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College and is part of Rabbis for Ceasefire. Oriel Eisner is an Israeli-American activist and organizer living in Jerusalem. He is an on-the-ground organizer with the Center for Jewish Nonviolence. Ahmed Moor is a Palestinian-American writer born in Gaza and a Fellow at FMEP. He is an advisory board member of the US Campaign for Palestinian rights, co-editor of After Zionism (Saqi Books) and is currently writing a book about Palestine. He also currently serves on the board of the Independence Media Foundation. His work has been published in The Guardian, The London Review of Books, The Nation, and elsewhere. He earned a BA at the University of Pennsylvania and an MPP at Harvard University. You can follow Ahmed on Substack at: https://ahmedmoor.substack.com and on X at @AhmedMoor.

In this episode of FMEP's Occupied Thoughts podcast, FMEP fellow Ahmed Moor speaks with Palestinian writer, scholar, and activist Tareq Baconi about his new book: What Now, On Palestine, Freedom and Our Global Future. The conversation examines Palestinian self-determination versus what it means for Jewish Israelis and Zionists to call for self determination. It also covers decolonization and what liberation could mean in Palestine and beyond. Check out Tareq's new book, What Now, On Palestine, Freedom and Our Global Future, here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1668250551