On Wednesday, December 6th, the President of the United States formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel -- breaking with more than sixty years of official U.S. policy. Why did this happen? What does it mean? And what might happen next?

In response to the urgency of this moment, Unsettled is trying something new: a miniseries. For the next few days, we’ll bring you short episodes featuring experts and activists, each with a different perspective on the new status of Jerusalem.

For the first installment, producer Ilana Levinson spoke to Shira Robinson, Associate Professor of History and International Affairs at the George Washington University.

Dan Fishback and Motaz Malhees both made waves in the New York theater scene this fall with plays about Palestine. Motaz performed with the Freedom Theatre of Jenin in "The Siege," at the NYU Skirball Center. Meanwhile, Dan's play "Rubble Rubble" was abruptly and controversially cancelled by the American Jewish Historical Society.

In this joint interview, Dan and Motaz talk about their work, and explain why culture is their weapon of choice against the injustices of the occupation.

Sulaiman Khatib is a co-founder and the current Managing Director of Combatants for Peace, a joint Israeli-Palestinian nonviolent movement to end the occupation of the West Bank.

In this interview, Souli explains how he began to see Israelis as potential partners, rather than the enemy. He talks about the value of ex-combatants in the struggle to end the occupation, and addresses some of the the criticism that his organization has received from other activist groups.

Sarah Brammer-Shlay is a first-year rabbinical student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia and a founding member of IfNotNow. 

In this interview, Sarah explains how she went from feeling like a "bad Jew" for thinking critically about Israel, to directly confronting the violence of the occupation. As a radical rabbi-to-be, she reflects on the High Holidays, and shares her vision for the Jewish community she hopes to lead.

Rachel Roberts is a DC-based attorney who has been a Jewish activist for Palestinian rights since 2003. She recently worked with the Education Team from IfNotNow DC to pilot a curriculum called "Occupation 101."

In this interview, she talks about her own journey from "Israel, right-or-wrong" to Palestinian solidarity work, then explains some of the history and everyday realities of the West Bank under Israeli occupation.

For our first episode, we interviewed three American Jewish activists who recently traveled to the South Hebron Hills to help build the Sumud Freedom Camp. Established by a coalition of Palestinians, Israelis, and Jews from the diaspora, Sumud is an island of resistance, reconstruction, and solidarity within one of the most brutally controlled areas of the West Bank. 

Welcome to Unsettled, a new podcast featuring news and views on Israel-Palestine and the Jewish diaspora. We are here to provide a space for the difficult conversations and diverse viewpoints that are all too rare in institutional American Jewish communities.