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Middle East Monitor Conversations brings you lively discussions with prominent voices from the region and beyond as we delve deeper into issues shaping the Middle East and North Africa - from politics, to culture and the arts. For more: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/
172 Episodes
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1In this episode of A Conversation with MEMO, we speak with Yousef M Aljamal, editor of the book If I Must Die by the late Dr Refaat Alareer. The episode focuses on Refaat’s final poem, written shortly before he was assassinated by Israel, and how the book came together in the months after his death. Yousef talks about the personal and political meaning of the poem and why it has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance around the world. We also discuss the challenges of editing the book whi...
In this episode of a Conversation with MEMO, we speak with Shai Parnes, Public Outreach Director at B’Tselem, about the organisation’s landmark report “Our Genocide”, which declares that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Shai reflects on what it meant – emotionally, politically, and collectively – for their team to release this report from within Israeli society. We discuss the moment they knew the term genocide could no longer be avoided, and the significance of fra...
In this episode of A Conversation with MEMO, historian Peter Shambrook shares the compelling story behind his book Policy of Deceit: Britain and Palestine, 1914–1939. Through a detailed revisit of the McMahon–Hussein Correspondence, he unpacks how Britain’s broken promises to Arab leaders helped set the stage for the modern Israel–Palestine conflict. Shambrook takes us into the minds of British policymakers during World War I and the interwar years, showing how decisions such as the Ba...
In this episode of MEMO’s podcast, host Nasim Ahmed speaks with Palestinian American scholar Karam Dana about his new book, To Stand with Palestine: Transnational Resistance and Political Evolution in the United States. Karam, a professor at the University of Washington Bothell, explores how the Palestinian struggle, especially from the diaspora, has become a powerful force for political change. The conversation touches on the book’s central idea: that transnational activism has reshaped what...
In this episode of Conversation with MEMO, we sit down with solicitor Fahad Ansari to unpack the intensifying crackdown on pro-Palestinian activism across Western democracies. Against the backdrop of Israel’s genocide on Gaza, the discussion dives deep into the erosion of free speech, the use of counter-terror laws to silence dissent, and the alarming shift from democratic to authoritarian tendencies in dealing with pro-Palestinian voices. Fahad, whose firm recently launched a legal ch...
The Gaza-bound aid ship Conscience was attacked by Israeli drones in international waters last week, injuring several people and damaging the vessel. As part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the ship was carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. For the latest on the attack, MEMO's Nasim Ahmed speaks with Ann Wright, a former US Army colonel and diplomat who is a key organiser with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. Ann Wright is a retired US Army colonel and former diplomat who resigned in p...
After a new age spirituality movement sprung up in the West in the late 19th century, the wisdom of Egyptian holy men, the healers of Palestine and the fakirs of the Ottomans were highly sought after from clubs in New York to Paris. Joining us to discuss how things changed in the West and the Middle East is the author of a book on the Middle East's own new age moment. A new book 'Holy men of the Electromagnetic Age' aims to shake up how we see the history of new age spirituality. While we...
Join us as we explore why Britain repeatedly deceived the Palestinian leadership and assess Britain’s direct role in displacing Palestinians ahead of the creation of the occupation state of Israel. Was there ever a real chance that London might have abandoned the Balfour Declaration? Or was the Palestinian resistance doomed from the outset? During this week's MEMO in Conversation we are joined by historian and researcher Blake Alcott, author of the monumental 1,500-page book 'The Rape of ...
With Donald Trump back in the White House vowing to tighten sanctions against Iran, the Gulf's ties with the Islamic Republic are in new unchartered waters, how will the US president's actions alter relations in the Middle East? Iran and the GCC countries have a long history of suspicion, co-operation, competition, conflict and dialogue. During the fallout of the Arab Spring in 2011, we saw an intense rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, which saw both nations sponsoring different side...
The genocide in Gaza has raised an important matter, Jews are not facing an existential crisis concerning the state of Israel, but a moral one — one that could reshape Jewish tradition more profoundly than any crisis in centuries, Beinart says. Cast as a Cassandra figure within the Jewish community, Peter Beinart has been both celebrated and excommunicated for his outspoken criticism of Zionism and Israel’s policies. In the wake of the Gaza genocide, he argues that Jews are not facing a...
Western media has often distorted the image of the Palestinian resistance, shaping narratives in a way that harms the fate of Palestinians, but truly understanding Hamas is the only way to have a meaningful conversation on events in the Middle East, the co-author of a book on the movement says. At a time when Western governments refuse to engage with Hamas politically, Helena Cobban's book 'Understanding Hamas: And Why That Matters' challenges dominant narratives and offers a nuanced explor...
The Arabs of Khuzestan and the Iranians of Iraq were at the forefront of suspicion, anxiety and whose loyalty was questioned by the national building projects in Iran and Iraq in the 20th century. People who inhabit the border regions of any country often find themselves being treated with a mixture of suspicion and opportunity by the metropoles of these countries. Khuzestan, Iran’s border province with Iraq, is no different. Famed for its Arab population, the Arabs of Khuzestan have ...
Events in the MENA directly impact Italy which is just 35 miles away, but how are the changing political dynamics affecting Rome's Middle East policy? Italy's fate is deeply entangled with the Middle East and North Africa, the Italian island of Pantelleria is just 35 miles off the Tunsian coast. Whenever tensions flare up in the Middle East and North Africa it triggers public debate in Italy, getting the MENA right is a key national interest for Rome. When Giorgia Meloni became lead...
Is the new Syrian administration reflective of society and is it able to build a country free of political authoritarianism? A member of the Syrian Women’s Political Movement joins us to discuss this and more. We are now three months on from the fall of the Bashar Al-Assad regime in Syria ending 54-years of his family's rule. The ending of his dictatorship has left the Mediterranean country facing a new reality and taking on new tasks; how to build a new country free of political ...
People in Lebanon are angry at the level of state corruption and dysfunction, and Salafist movements are offering them an alternative. Nationalist populism has been sweeping the world in the last decade overturning traditional politics in countries ranging from the US, Hungary, India, Italy, Britain and others. But populism is not only something nationalists engage in, religious populism has also seen a rise in popularity in Lebanon. The decline in political and economic power of the ...
Accusations of anti-Semitism have shaped the way governments and institutions respond to Israel’s actions over the past 15 months, but this not only limits open discussion, but also hurts the Jewish community, the journalist and author says. In this episode of MEMO in Conversation, Rachel Shabi joins us to discuss her latest book 'Off-White: The Truth About Antisemitism' . Shabi, a British journalist and commentator, examines how anti-Semitism has been politically weaponised, often us...
Joe Biden was said to be the most pro-Israel US president in decades, with Donald Trump taking over the White House, we ask what will Washington do next? Israel's 15-month genocidal assault on the besieged Gaza Strip was aided by the United States of America. While in his outgoing address, President Joe Biden cited obtaining a ceasefire as among his administration's crowning achievements. However, contrary to the image he wished to portray, Biden offered total support for Israeli Prime Mini...
How will the new year shape the ever changing Middle East? And will US President-elect Donald Trump give in to pressure from Israel and take military steps against Iran and widen the unrest in the region? 2025 is finally here and as ever Middle East Monitor is keeping an eye out on trends, developments and issues impacting the MENA region. The year opens with Israel's ongoing genocide in Gaza and expanding war in the occupied West Bank and with a ceasefire deal on the horizon - what...
The 'international division of humanity' is central to imperialist logic and explains the reasons behind the treatment of Palestinians by the Global North, but this very concept is leading to the West's waning power on the world stage, journalist and historian Prashad tells MEMO. In this episode of MEMO in Conversations we sit down with Vijay Prashad, one of the world’s leading Marxist thinkers and the author of around 40 books. Prashad offers his insights on the Gaza ceasefire deal and its ...
In its recent report, War Child revealed that 96% of children in Gaza believe death is imminent, while 49% expressed a wish to die due to Israel's relentless bombing campaign, making Gaza 'the most horrifying places in the world to be a child'. King unpacks the report and speaks of his first hand experience after returning from Gaza. Over the past 15 months, the world has witnessed heartbreaking scenes from Gaza, where children have borne the brunt of relentless military aggression....
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