This Is Palestine

The Institute for Middle East Understanding

'This Is Palestine' is a podcast that highlights people, issues, and events around Palestine. We bring you stories from the ground in Palestine, and we speak with experts and activists to bring you unique perspectives and analysis about Palestine from across the world. This podcast is a project of the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU).

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20 episodes
Updated July 16

Episodes20

Newest first

July 16 · 16 min
9 Months Later: The State of Healthcare in Gaza
What does Gaza’s healthcare system look like nine months after the ceasefire? According to Dr. Mohammad Abu Afash, the crisis is far from over. From destroyed hospitals and chronic medicine shortages to disease outbreaks in overcrowded displacement camps. This episode explores the ongoing challenges facing healthcare workers and patients amid continuing attacks, displacement, and blockade.
July 2 · 33 min
Israel v. A Pediatrician - The Case of Dr. Husam Abu Safiya
When footage of renowned Palestinian pediatrician Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya appeared before Israel’s Supreme Court, many were shocked by how much he had changed. Shackled, visibly frail, and having lost nearly 40 kilograms in prison, he had already spent more than 18 months in Israeli detention without charge. In this episode of This Is Palestine, we unpack Dr. Abu Safiya’s case. We speak with Naji Abbas, Director of the Prisoners and Detainees Department at Physicians for Human Rights Israel, abou
June 18 · 57 min
“I Can See My Land, But in the Eyes of the Israelis, I Do Not Exist”
Since 1967, Israel has built and expanded settlements across occupied Palestine, fragmenting Palestinian communities and reshaping the landscape. In this episode of This Is Palestine, Dr. Jad Ishaq, Director General of the Applied Research Institute - Jerusalem (ARIJ) traces how Israeli governments have used military orders, legal mechanisms, and political agreements to facilitate the expansion of settlements and the confiscation of Palestinian land. From Jerusalem to the Jordan Valley, he expla
June 11 · 23 min
Palestine at the 2025 FIFA Arab Cup: A Conversation with Player Ahmad Al-Qaq
In this episode of This Is Palestine, Diana Buttu speaks with midfielder Ahmed Al-Qaq about his journey from North Carolina to the Palestinian national team. Born and raised in the United States to Palestinian parents, Ahmed reflects on choosing to represent Palestine, the emotional experience of wearing the Palestinian jersey for the first time, and the bonds formed between players from Gaza, the West Bank, and the diaspora. This is a conversation about identity, belonging, representation, and
May 22 · 26 min
“Colonial Trauma”: Dr. Samah Jabr on the Psychological Toll of Israel’s Genocide in Gaza
As Israel’s genocide in Gaza continues despite the so-called ceasefire agreement, the psychological toll on Palestinians remains far less visible than the physical destruction. In this episode of This is Palestine, Samah Jabr examines the mental health impact of genocide, siege, starvation, displacement, and ongoing Israeli violence through the lens of what she calls “colonial trauma.” We discuss grief and despair beyond conventional psychiatric language, the long-term impact of violence on fut
May 14 · 17 min
"And I too, Love Jerusalem “: Voices from Al Nakba
How Do You Remember the City That Was Stolen From You?! In this episode of This Is Palestine, ninety-year-old George Bahu revisits his childhood in al-Baqa’a al Foqa, a Palestinian neighborhood in West Jerusalem before the Nakba. He remembers school, cinema, Bus No. 6, and his father’s transportation company that once connected Jerusalem to cities across Palestine. George also recalls the violence that transformed the city: the King David Hotel bombing, armed Zionist attacks on Palestinian neigh
April 30 · 26 min
Inside Israeli Prison Walls: A Palestinian Prisoner’s Testimony
As Palestinian Prisoners’ Day is marked on April 17, this episode turns to life behind Israeli prison walls, where time itself becomes a site of struggle. Former detainee Husam Shaheen shares his testimony of more than two decades in prison, moving from early activism and repeated arrests to a 27-year sentence that became a lived experience of endurance, resistance, and survival. Through his account, we see how imprisonment shapes not only the body but also memory, identity, and time itself.
April 20 · 19 min
The Law of the Noose: Israel’s Discriminatory Execution Bill Targeting Palestinians
On March 30, 2026, Israel passed a new "death penalty law" that would impose the death penalty on Palestinians convicted of what Israel defines as “terrorism.” In this episode of This is Palestine, we speak with Qaddura Fares, former head of the Palestinian Commission for Prisoners’ Affairs and a former political prisoner himself, to unpack what this law actually changes and what it reveals about Israel’s discriminatory unequal legal system and political framework against Palestinians.
April 2 · 37 min
There are No Innocents: Beita 1988 and the Logic of Collective Punishment
This episode examines the 1988 Beita incident, a few months following the outbreak of the first Intifada, when an entire Palestinian community was punished for a crime they did not commit. Through eyewitness accounts and historical context, we trace how home demolitions, mass arrests, and forced exile became tools of Israel’s collective punishment and how similar patterns continue to shape the present today.
March 19 · 28 min
The Farthest Mosque and the Farthest Place to Reach: Israel’s Restrictions on Al-Aqsa
As Ramadan comes to an end, many Muslim Palestinians are bidding farewell to the holy month far from Al-Aqsa, in an atmosphere marked by grief and restriction, following Israel’s complete closure of the Al-Aqsa compound following the US/Israel attack on Iran. But access to Al-Aqsa, the basic right to worship, has never been easy for Palestinians. What does it take to reach one of Islam’s holiest sites in your own homeland? In this episode of This is Palestine, host Diana Buttu speaks with Jerusa
March 12 · 25 min
The Voice of Hind Rajab - In Conversation with Director Kaouther Ben Hania
Two years ago, the world heard the voice of five-year-old Hind Rajab during her last phone call with the Palestine Red Crescent Society. Trapped in a car surrounded by Israeli tanks, Hind spoke to the dispatcher as she waited for help, alone, and surrounded by the bodies of her uncle and cousins, before her voice was lost… “The Voice of Hind Rajab.” The Oscar-nominated docudrama recreates that devastating call between Hind and the PRCS control room. In this episode of This is Palestine, we speak
February 26 · 24 min
Severed: Israel's Policy of Inflicting Disabilities in Gaza
When Mohammad was 12 years old, he saw an Israeli soldier aiming at him. Seconds later, he shot Mohammad in the leg during the Great March of Return. The bullet severed the main nerve in Mohammad’s leg. For months, Israel denied Mohammad his right to leave Gaza for urgent medical treatment. By the time he finally received care, it was too late. At 18, Mohammad was forced to make the brutal decision to amputate his own leg. In this episode of This is Palestine, we shed light on the documentary S
February 12 · 33 min
Why Did Human Rights Watch Block the Right of Return Report?
On February 3, Omar Shakir, Human Rights Watch’s Israel and Palestine Director, resigned in protest. In his resignation statement, Shakir said the organization’s new leadership blocked the publication of a report documenting Israel’s crimes against humanity by denying Palestinian refugees their internationally enshrined right of return. His resignation has reignited debate around the “Palestine exception”; the idea that speaking and writing about Palestine is treated differently than work on an
January 29 · 31 min
Palestine 36: A Conversation with Annemarie Jacir
In this episode of This Is Palestine, host Diana Buttu speaks with Palestinian writer and director Annemarie Jacir about her Academy Award shortlisted film, Palestine 36. The historical drama is set during the Great Palestinian Revolt against British colonial rule. At the heart of the film is Al-Basma, a fictional village inspired by the Palestinian villages of Lifta and Al-Bassa, which were destroyed and whose Palestinian residents were expelled by Zionist militant forces. Described as “epic” a
January 22 · 21 min
The politics of Art: An interview with Sliman Mansour.
In this episode of This Is Palestine, we speak with renowned Palestinian artist Sliman Mansour to explore his childhood and artistic journey, shaped by pivotal moments in the Palestinian struggle and their influence on the art movement. From playing with clay alongside his grandmother for making beehives, to transforming clay into his symbolic works of art. From painting under Israeli military censorship to using materials from the land as symbols of identity, Mansour reflects on decades of cult
Dec 17, 2025 · 24 min
How Israel Uses Archaeology to Steal Land
The Palestinian village of Sebastia, a living place where history, memory, and daily life are deeply intertwined. In this episode of This is Palestine, Diana Buttu speaks with Zaid Azhari, a cultural heritage researcher from Sebastia and a member of the Save Sebastia campaign, about Israel’s plans to seize large parts of the town’s archaeological heart under the pretext of “heritage development.” Zaid explains how archaeology is being used to deprive Palestinians of their land, livelihoods, and
Dec 3, 2025 · 29 min
Dark Humor in the Digital Space: A Conversation with Palestinian Creator Adnan Barq
In this episode of “This is Palestine”, Adnan Barq, an outspoken Palestinian digital creator from Jerusalem, tells us “he thrives in chaos.” Barq unpacks how humor, sarcasm, and spontaneous storytelling help him navigate Israeli military checkpoints, censorship, and the daily absurdities of life under Israeli occupation. Barq explains how he uses sarcasm and dark humor to depict Israel’s oppression of Palestinian life, using his unique voice to share his absurd realities with the world.
Nov 12, 2025 · 34 min
Two Years of Genocide: Motherhood Under Fire in Gaza
Two years into Israel’s relentless bombardment of Gaza, we listen closely to Yaqeen Baker, a mother of two little daughters, Salwa (5) and Nusaiba (2). She shares what it means to be a mother under constant Israeli fire; to love, to fear, and to hope amid the destruction. We also hear the voice of little Salwa, who gives us a glimpse into her small, innocent world that the genocide has taken away. The interview was originally recorded in Arabic and translated into English accordingly.
Oct 29, 2025 · 25 min
Instead of Replicating the Barbarism of the Enemy, You Chose to Be Exceptional: The Hidden Reality Inside Israel’s Prisons
While the world witnessed Israel’s genocide in Gaza, another war has been unfolding inside Israeli prisons. Thousands of Palestinian prisoners, including women and hundreds of children, are held under brutal conditions, many without charge or trial. In this episode, we speak with Palestinian lawyer Nadia Daqqa, one of the first attorneys to visit Palestinians abducted from Gaza after long months of enforced disappearance. Nadia shares chilling testimonies of starvation, torture, and medical negl
Oct 8, 2025 · 41 min
Israel’s Genocide in Gaza: Two Years Through a Doctor’s Eyes
Two years into Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza, the destruction has reached unimaginable levels. Starvation, disease, and systematic attacks on hospitals have turned survival itself into resistance. In this episode, we speak with Dr. Tarek Loubani, a Palestinian Canadian emergency physician who has spent months on the ground in Gaza. He describes Israel’s illegal attacks on Gaza’s healthcare system and deliberate targeting of aid distribution sites he calls “death traps.” We hear from Dr. Loub