In this episode of Unsettled, we hear from Ali Awad, a 26-year-old activist and translator living in Tuba, a village in a region of the West Bank called Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills. Ali’s livelihood and wellbeing have always been vulnerable to Israeli settler violence and threats of expulsion by the government. But since October 7th 2023, it's been like nothing he's ever seen. We also hear from activist and journalist Maya Rosen about the increased dangers of activism in the West Bank.

With the one year anniversary of October 7th last Monday, Unsettled followed up with previous guest Matt Duss to ask him about President Biden's approach to foreign policy, military escalations in Lebanon, and what the upcoming U.S. presidential election may mean for the U.S.' policy towards Israel. Matt is a past president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, and he was the foreign policy advisor to Senator Bernie Sanders for five years. He is currently the Executive Vice President of the Center for International Policy.

It’s currently high holiday season, the holiest time in the Jewish calendar. Rosh Hashanah was last week and Yom Kippur begins tonight at sundown. The one year anniversary of October 7th fell in between. This year, there's a new resource — a High Holidays directory created by Rabbis for Ceasefire. Unsettled Producer Emily Bell reached out to one of the founding members of Rabbis for Ceasefire, Abby Stein, to learn more about the Rabbis for Ceasefire High Holidays directory, and how spiritual leaders like her are approaching this sacred time of reflection and interpreting Torah during this confluence of dates.

For the past year, Shahd Safi, a university student and freelance journalist from Gaza has had to make impossible calculations in order to survive. In February 2024, after hearing about a possible Israeli invasion of Rafah, Shahd started to think seriously about leaving Gaza.

One year later, her circumstances are very different: she's now is in the U.S., pursuing a bachelor's degree in human rights and written arts. Unsettled has been in touch with Shahd throughout the year, following her journey. In this episode of Unsettled, Producer Ilana Levinson speaks with Shahd about the last year of her life: where she's been, and what she had to do to get where she is now.

Today is October 7th, 2024. One year ago, thousands of militants led by Hamas launched a multi-front attack on Israeli towns and military bases, killing over 1,100 people and abducting over 250. Israel responded to the October 7th attack with one of the most destructive military campaigns in history, displacing most people in the already poverty-stricken, besieged Gaza Strip. To date, Israel has killed at least 41,000 people in Gaza– but experts say the numbers are likely higher.

How should we make sense of this anniversary? How should we mark it? Many Israelis and those whose sympathies lie with them will grieve, and make space to remember what was, for many, one of the worst days of their lives. But for thousands of Palestinians – and now Lebanese people, too– they’re still fighting for their survival. How can we stop and remember if the horror persists for so many?

Shortly after October 7th, 2023 Asaf Calderon left the Unsettled team as a producer, and started a new movement of anti-Zionist Israelis living in the United States. Last week, Unsettled Producer Ilana Levinson sat down with Asaf to talk about this movement, called Shoresh.

As we approach the upcoming anniversary of October 7th, we wanted to open up our voicemail again. Send us your thoughts and messages– maybe to people in power, to someone you’re no longer in touch with, or maybe a stranger. You can call in with your name, or stay anonymous. Know that we may use your note in an upcoming episode of Unsettled or on our social media. Leave a message at 347-878-1359.

Last Wednesday on July 31st, Hamas’s top political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran. In this collaboration between Unsettled Podcast and Jewish Currents, Unsettled producer Ilana Levinson interviews Tareq Baconi, author of Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance to make sense of these developments and what Haniyeh’s assassination means for the future.

On Tuesday April 30th, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik called the New York Police Department to clear the campus of students who had erected an encampment in solidarity with Palestine. Columbia's encampment was one of hundreds of similar campus demonstrations across the United States, many of which were also removed by the police. Unsettled visited Columbia's encampment the week before it was cleared, and spoke to some of those involved about what they hoped to achieve through their protest. 

For this episode of Unsettled, we’re doing something we’ve never done before: premiering a new song. Aly Halpert makes music used in synagogues and Jewish song circles. Today, Aly is releasing a new song called 'Ayeka': the first time she has used her music to directly respond to the violence in Israel-Palestine. Aly spoke to Unsettled producer Ilana Levinson about her inspiration for  'Ayeka', her writing process, and what she hopes the song will do for listeners.

Since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, grief and rage have brought thousands of people to the streets to demand a ceasefire. One of the many groups that have mobilized in the U.S. is Rabbis for Ceasefire. One of these rabbis is Miriam Grossman.

Unsettled producer Ilana Levinson recently sat down with Rabbi Miriam to ask her what it means to be a rabbi for ceasefire, especially when so many rabbis and other Jewish leaders are standing in lockstep with the state of Israel.

The last time we featured Isam Hamad on Unsettled was a few days after the October 7th attacks, when Israel had just begun its bombardment of the Gaza Strip. At the time, Isam and his family — including his 93-year old father and a son with cerebral palsy — were still in their home in Gaza City. But a few days later, they were forced to evacuate south to the city of Rafah, near the Egyptian border.

Before this war, the population of Rafah was about 250,000. Now, it’s over a million, with many families living in tents and some on the streets. Isam lives in a three-story house with 46 other people. Recently, he was able to get a family reunification visa from Ireland, because one of his children was born there. But he’s still waiting for approval to leave.

Just before Thanksgiving, we asked listeners to call in and tell us about how they’re navigating conversations with their families, friends, and communities in this moment—as Israel responds to the October 7th attacks with unprecedented destruction in Gaza. What has worked in getting through to loved ones, and what hasn’t? How are people are managing these relationships, or coping with their feelings about them?

This episode is a collaboration between Unsettled and On the Nose, the podcast from Jewish Currents magazine.

As of Thursday, November 30th, a temporary ceasefire is in place between Israel and Hamas. At this point, 69 hostages have been released by Hamas and 150 Palestinian detainees have been released by Israel. Palestinian prisoners being released have been called terrorists, with an Israeli imposed ban on Palestinian families publicly celebrating the return of their loved ones. But who are the Palestinian detainees held in Israeli prisons being released in this deal, and on what grounds are they being detained?

It's hard to find anyone in Israel who isn't shaken to the core by the magnitude of Hamas' attack on October 7. For many in Israel, their pain and shock has translated into support for bombing Gaza. But despite public pressure, some Israelis do voice opposition to the war - even people who have deep personal connections to the victims of October 7. One of these dissenting voices has been the comedian Noam Shuster-Eliassi. Since October 7, Noam has dedicated her social media platform not to comedy, but to painful, personal posts from her unique perspective as an Israeli Jew with a deep connection to her Palestinian neighbors.

It’s been a month since October 7, when Hamas fighters killed 1,400 Israelis and captured more than 200 hostages. It’s also been a month of Israel's retaliation: air raids and ground operations in the Gaza Strip that have killed almost 10,000 Palestinians, destroyed infrastructure, and limited access to basic necessities. For the past month, Palestinians in the West Bank have also faced increased violence from settler-soldier militias. In this episode, we hear from the villages of Susiya and Umm al-Khair, where Israeli settlers have escalated their efforts to make Palestinians' lives unlivable.