On July 19, the Israeli Knesset passed the "Nation-State Bill" in a 62-55 vote. Many critics of the bill say that it undermines Israel's historic claim to be both Jewish and democratic in character. But does this new law actually change anything, or only make explicit the way things have been for decades? Is it possible for a state to be both affirmatively Jewish and treat its citizens equally?

Producer Ilana Levinson spoke to Amjad Iraqi, a Palestinian writer and policy adviser who was in the Knesset for the final debates before the Nation-State Bill was passed into law.  

On December 19, 2017 Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi was arrested after slapping an Israeli soldier on her family's property. She was taken from her home in the middle of the night, interrogated without an adult present, and eventually signed a plea deal and was sentenced to eight months in prison. Ahed Tamimi became a symbol of Palestinian resistance, but she is only one out of hundreds of Palestinian children who face Israel's military court system every year. In this episode of Unsettled, we wanted to find out — On what grounds are children arrested? What actually happens to a child once they’ve been arrested? How does child detention impact both individuals and communities in the West Bank?

We spoke to Ahed's father Bassem Tamimi, Palestinian student and activist Yazan Meqbil, and attorney Brad Parker of Defense for Children International-Palestine. 

Every year, when Israelis and many American Jews celebrate the creation of the state of Israel, Palestinians remember their people’s expulsion, or what they refer to as the "Nakba," the Arabic word for catastrophe. This year, on the 70th anniversary of both Israeli independence and the Nakba, the United States is moving its embassy to Jerusalem.

Our guest for this episode, Palestinian filmmaker Ahmed Mansour, calls this a "double Nakba and double catastrophe." Producer Ilana Levinson spoke with Ahmed about his childhood in a Gaza refugee camp, why the timing of the U.S. embassy move is so inflammatory, and how the Nakba continues to permeate Palestinian life.

Israel has a complicated history with refugees. Many Jewish refugees found shelter in Israel after the Holocaust; many Palestinians, on the other hand, became refugees after the 1948 war. But in this episode, we talk about Israel’s other refugees, those you may not have known about: African refugees who come mostly from Sudan and Eritrea escaping oppressive regimes and persecution.

Mutasim Ali is a Sudanese refugee, one of 35,000 African refugees currently living in Israel -- but one of only 13 to have his refugee status recognized by the state. As of December 2017, all of the others are at risk of deportation. Israel has already started sending refugees to countries that offer them no status or security.

In this episode, Unsettled producer Asaf Calderon speaks to Mutasim and advocate Elliot Vaisrub Glassenberg about the unfolding crisis. Why did so many African refugees choose Israel? Why doesn't Israel want them? What does Israel's treatment of these refugees say about the state of the Zionist experiment? And what can Americans do to help?

With your help, from online donations and our fundraising party, we made $3,233: more than a thousand dollars more than our goal! We’re humbled by your support, and more committed than ever to continuing this work and growing the audience for it.

We’ll be back next week with a full episode, about African asylum-seekers in Israel -- tens of thousands of whom are at risk of being deported. Here’s a preview of our interview with Sudanese refugee and activist Mutasim Ali.

(Photo credit: Gili Getz)

Exciting news: if you’re in the New York City area, Unsettled is throwing a party -- this weekend! You can help support the podcast, and meet other Unsettled listeners, by joining us for #GetUnsettled this Saturday, February 3rd, at Starr Bar in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Tickets are just $5 in advance or at the door.

If you’re not in New York, there’s still time to help Unsettled grow by donating online. We’ve got just $500 left to reach our goal of $2,018 in the first month of 2018. Can you help us cross the finish line?

This week's listener story comes from Arielle Rivera Korman. 

We are so thankful and excited to announce that over the past two weeks, we have made it just over halfway to our fundraising goal! No matter the amount, each donation will help us continue the work.

If you've learned something new from listening to Unsettled, if your views have been challenged, if you want to hear more, or all of the above -- please visit gofundme.com/unsettledpodcast and donate $18, or whatever makes sense for you.

This week's featured story comes from our listener Rivka M.

We're back with another listener story, part of our January fundraising campaign to support the future of Unsettled. In just the first week, we've raised over 700 dollars! Thanks to you, we're on our way to reaching our goal of $2018 in the first month of 2018.

In this episode, Unsettled listener Toby Irving explains what brings her to a critical conversation about Israel-Palestine.

We're launching our first-ever fundraising campaign for Unsettled!

Donate now to help us raise $2018 in the first month of 2018. These funds will support our operations and growth, including: keeping our website running, editing software, recording equipment, and access to a sound studio.

To accompany this campaign, each week in the month of January we’ll release a personal story submitted by one of our listeners. We asked you: Why are you here? How did you get engaged in this conversation and why is it important to you?

The first answer comes from Becca Litt. 

This is a bonus episode featuring extra content from our December 4th episode on Cultural Resistance. Playwright and musician Dan Fishback explains the difference between boycott and censorship, why he uses the word "apartheid" to describe Israel-Palestine, and why he wants to start identifying as a "liberationist Jew."

This is the sixth installment of a special miniseries responding to the U.S. President's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

For this episode, Unsettled producer Emily Bell interviewed Leena Dallasheh, assistant professor of history at Humboldt State University. They spoke about what East Jerusalem is like for its Palestinian population and the stark differences between East and West Jerusalem.

This is the fifth installment of a special miniseries responding to the U.S. President's decision on December 6 to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

For this episode, Unsettled producer Ilana Levinson spoke to Rabbi Steven Wernick, CEO of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, which serves and represents Conservative congregations across North America. On December 8, USCJ put out a statement applauding the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem.

This is the fourth installment of a special miniseries responding to the U.S. President's decision last week to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

For this episode, Unsettled producer Ilana Levinson interviewed Dov Waxman, professor of Political Science, International Affairs, and Israel Studies at Northeastern University, and author of Trouble in the Tribe: The American Jewish Conflict over Israel (2016). They spoke about fissures in the American Jewish community and why Jerusalem, in particular, elicits such a polarized response.

This is the third installment of a special miniseries responding to the U.S. President's decision this week to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

For this episode, Unsettled producer Max Freedman attended a protest by the Jewish anti-occupation movement IfNotNow at the New York City offices of Senator Chuck Schumer. 

This is the second installment of a special miniseries responding to the U.S. President's decision this week to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

For this episode, Unsettled producer Yoshi Fields attended a Palestinian-led protest at Hunter College, just hours after Trump's announcement. He interviewed Rani Al-Hindi, one of the organizers of the protest.