In this episode of “Occupied Thoughts,” FMEP non-resident fellow Peter Beinart speaks with Gaby Lasky, Member of the Israeli Knesset and human rights attorney with extensive experience defending Palestinians in Israeli military courts and working closely with Israeli human rights organizations. 

Watch this conversation on YouTube.

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Background: In late December, the Israeli government declared six Palestinian human rights groups to be “terror organizations” – a designation that effectively outlaws the groups, criminalizes their work under Israeli law and enables Israel to seize assets, arrest staff, prohibit funding, and punish public expressions of support and solidarity. With this terror designation, the Israeli government has escalated its longtime efforts to crush the Palestinian organizations that document Israel’s ongoing violations of Palestinian human rights and seek to hold Israel accountable. For more on this topic, see FMEP’s extensive coverage, “On Israel’s Declaration of Palestinian Human Rights Groups as “Terrorist Organizations.” 

Gaby Lasky is a Member of the Israeli Knesset with the Meretz party and a human rights attorney. You can read more about Gaby Lasky in this 2018 Jewish Currents profile, “Seeking Justice in an Unjust System.” She tweets (in Hebrew) @gaby_lasky.

Peter Beinart is 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 a CNN Political Commentator. He tweets @PeterBeinart and publishes on peterbeinart.substack.com.