In this episode of “Occupied Thoughts,” Lara Friedman speaks with Dr. Maha Nassar about changes in the U.S. discourse on Palestine and Israel, shifts in US media that make room for Palestinian voices, and the history and dynamics of Black-Palestinian solidarity.
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Recorded on June 4, 2021
Watch a video of this conversation on YouTube.
Dr. Maha Nassar is Associate Professor in the School of Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Arizona. She is a cultural and intellectual historian of the twentieth-century Arab world, with a focus on Palestinian history, and is the author of the book, Brothers Apart: Palestinian Citizens of Israel and the Arab World. Her analysis and opinion pieces have appeared in numerous U.S.-based publications including The Washington Post, The Forward, and The Hill. She tweets @mtnassar.
Lara Friedman is the president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace. With more than 25 years working in the Middle East foreign policy arena, Lara is a leading authority on U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, with particular expertise on the Israeli-Arab conflict, Israeli settlements, Jerusalem, and the role of the U.S. Congress. Prior to joining FMEP, Lara was the Director of Policy and Government Relations at Americans for Peace Now, and before that she was a U.S. Foreign Service Officer, serving in Jerusalem, Washington, Tunis and Beirut. She tweets @LaraFriedmanDC.
A few resources from Dr. Nassar:
- “What support for Ilhan Omar tells us about the left – The rising tie between black activism and pro-Palestinian advocacy” Washington Post, March 14, 2019
- “US media talks a lot about Palestinians – just without Palestinians” +972 Magazine, October 2, 2020
- An interview with Dr. Nassar on her book, Brothers Apart.