Olive Branch

Olive Branch interviews activists from Israel and Palestine who are working to promote sustainable and equitable peace and put an end to Israel's occupation of Palestinians

About the show

Hello everyone, my name is Dr. Anwar Mhajne. I am an Assistant professor of Political Science at Stonehill College in Massachusetts. I created Olive Branch due to my frustration with the never-ending conflict affecting my family and friends in Israel and Palestine. I am hoping that this podcast will help restore our hope in achieving sustainable and equitable peace. Therefore, Olive Branch interviews activists with ties to Israel and Palestine who use non-violent means to promote peace and end the Israeli occupation of the Palestine Territories.

Join me as I talk with activists dedicated to their work, even though it sometimes alienates them from their families and communities. In these conversations, they think through alternatives to violence and how these concepts might disrupt cycles of bloodshed. Olive Branch provides ideas and tools for changing Israeli and Palestinian social attitudes, political ideologies, and policies.

Image Credit: Stef Murawsky
The music is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Olive Branch on social media

Episodes

  • 23: Izat Elamoor

    April 5th, 2023  |  35 mins 3 secs

    In this episode, I speak to my friend Izat Elamoor about his activism and research on LGBTQIA+ issues in Israel and Palestine. Izat touches on the complexity of being gay and a Palestinian citizen of Israel for advocacy, solidarity, and belonging.

  • Episode 22: Zachary Foster

    February 24th, 2023  |  47 mins 14 secs

    After a long break, I am happy to restart the conversation with inspiring activists working on a peaceful and just resolution to the Occupation. For this episode, I talk to Zachary Foster about his research on Palestine. This episode includes critical historical facts about the name Palestine. In addition, it challenges attempts by radical groups to undermine the Palestinian cause by claiming that Palestine is and was never a real place. We also discuss settler colonialism, Zionism, the recent government, and effective activism.

  • Episode 21: Itamar Feigenbaum

    June 12th, 2022  |  58 mins 22 secs

    In this episode, I interview Itamar Feigenbaum, a longtime Combatant for Peace activist. In the episode, we discuss his work on the Joint Memorial Day Ceremony, meeting Arabs in "normal situations," and the segregation between Arabs and Jews even in mixed cities. We also chat about experiencing checkpoints differently as an activist than a soldier, comparing his service in Lebanon to Gaza, and losing people to suicide bombings in Israel during the Second Intifada.

  • Episode 20: Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man

    May 6th, 2022  |  58 mins 45 secs

    In this episode, I talk to Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man about his work with DAWN and 972 Magazine, antisemitism, and the centrality of a supportive community to any activist. We chat about key moments shaping his ideology and activism. He explains how his family's advocacy for marginalized groups in the US and worldwide influenced his progressive liberal values. We also discuss, among other things, the importance of having Jewish allies, the privilege of code-switching, and archaeology as a displacement tool.

  • Episode 19: Sarai Aharoni

    April 18th, 2022  |  51 mins 3 secs

    In this episode, I interview Sarai Aharoni, a feminist scholar and a Senior Lecturer at Ben-Gurion University. We discuss her background as a Mizrahi Jewish woman, her research, her activism, and how they are connected. She highlights the challenges facing critical scholars in Israeli academia. She also reflects on the meaning of peace and security in the Israeli-Palestinian context and how that can help us achieve a just solution.

  • 18: Shaqued Morag

    April 4th, 2022  |  43 mins 31 secs

    In this episode, I speak to Shaqued Morag, Executive Director of Peace Now. We discuss her social and political activism, her views on land swaps and having allies in the government coalition, and her understanding of peace and justice. We also discuss the importance of strategic framing in changing your audience's view on issues such as the occupation.

  • Episode 17: Louis Fishman

    March 18th, 2022  |  59 mins 54 secs

    I had the privilege of speaking with Louis Fishman from Brooklyn College. I became aware of his academic and public scholarship through Twitter. Even though we never met in person, I feel like I got to know him well through this conversation. In the episode, you will hear more about his research on the Ottoman Empire and why it is crucial for understanding Zionism. You will also hear about his teaching and activism and his deep connections to Turkey, Israel, and the US.

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    16: Aida Touma-Suleiman

    March 3rd, 2022  |  53 mins 46 secs

    I had the honor of speaking to Knesset Member Aida Touma-Suleiman in this episode. We chatted about feminism, political and social activism, elevating other women, and Ra'am. We also talk about the importance of intersectionality for understanding oppression and the challenges facing the Palestinian community and its leadership in Israel. Finally, Aida argues that peace should focus on bringing human security to everyone.

  • Episode 15: Yair Wallach

    February 18th, 2022  |  55 mins 28 secs

    In this episode, I chat with Yair Wallach about his research, antisemitism, colonialism, and the importance as well as the limitations of social media for sharing scholarship. We also talk about scholars' active duty of care toward students and how being an immigrant solidified his understanding of the Palestinian cause.

  • Episode 14: Galia Golan

    January 29th, 2022  |  45 mins 56 secs

    In this episode, I interview Galia Golan, Professor emeritus in the Department of Political Science at the Hebrew University and a leader of Combatants for Peace. We chat about the Six-Day War, the history of the peace process, the marginality of the left, BDS, and feminism. Galia argues that in the early years, peace agreements were possible, but mistrust from Israeli leaders exacerbated the conflict. However, later on, the desire to hold on to the territories was stronger than the desire for peace. Distrust turned into ideology.

  • Episode 13: Thabet Abu Rass

    January 14th, 2022  |  41 mins 55 secs

    In this episode, I chat with Thabet Abu Rass, Co-Executive Director of The Abraham Initiatives, an NGO that promotes equality and Jewish-Arab partnership in Israel’s society, about promoting co-existence through promoting equal education, combating crime and violence, and engaging with NGOs. We also talk about what it means to be a Palestinian citizen of Israel, the connection between the occupation and discrimination against Palestinians in Israel, housing problems, the lack of police accountability, unemployment, and the issues in the Negav.

  • Episode 12: Rawan Odeh

    December 31st, 2021  |  42 mins 53 secs

    I interview Rawan Odeh, the managing CO-director of New Story Leadership, in this episode. We chat about how to infuse diplomacy with activism using personal stories, how the occupation is forcing people to be silent about their stories, on the importance of forming allyships between Palestinians and Israelis for building credibility and swaying the opinions of US lawmakers, and on being compassionate to yourself. We also discuss the importance of developing a community of young leaders from Israel and Palestine to sociopolitical and economic changes in the region and what it means to be an ally.

  • Episode 11: Edan Ring-Bittman

    December 17th, 2021  |  50 mins 36 secs

    In this Episode, Edan and I chat about the socioeconomic inequality facing the Palestinian community in Israel. We also talk about how a true partnership between the Jewish and Palestinian communities in Israel can be formed, the importance of learning Arabic, and the need to challenge and improve minority representation in Israeli media. Finally, Edan shares how his family's background led him to activism.

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    10: Libby Lenkinski

    December 3rd, 2021  |  47 mins 46 secs

    In this episode, I interview Libby Lenkinski from the New Israel Fund. We chat about art, film, and music as a tool for cultural change. We also discuss privilege, anti-Semitism, traveling to Hebron, Umm al Fahem, empathy, and finding spaces of resilience.

  • Episode 9: Jonathan Hempel

    November 19th, 2021  |  44 mins 18 secs

    In the episode, I chat with Jonathan Hempel about his database on Israeli security and military exports and how this export fuels conflict and violence around the world. We discuss the centrality of the military for constructing toxic masculine identities in Israeli society. We also chat about apartheid, occupation, intellectual influences, and feminist approaches to understanding and resolving the occupation.

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    8: Sahar Vardi

    November 5th, 2021  |  42 mins 45 secs

    In this episode, I chat with Sahar Vardi about the refusal movement, the militarization of Israeli society, the human costs to Israel's military industry, and what it means to be an effective Jewish ally to the Palestinians. We also talk about olive trees and the situation in the South Hebron Hills. Finally, Sahar suggests that we need to reclaim the term peace, which has been misused to pacify the Palestinian side, to tie it to justice and equality.