JERUSALEM
PERSONAL STORIES & Political context
Rasha Budeiri: Sheikh Jarrah
A number of Palestinian families in Sheikh Jarrah are facing imminent eviction from their homes, to be replaced by Jewish settlers. Palestinian demonstrators in Sheikh Jarrah were met with overwhelming force from Israeli police. In this episode, Max Freedman speaks to Rasha Budeiri, whose parents are right in the middle of all this: they live in Sheikh Jarrah, in one of the homes threatened with displacement.
Leena Dallasheh: "East Jerusalem is under attack"
The imminent displacement of several Palestinian families in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah set off a chain of events that led to the violence we’re now seeing all over Israel-Palestine. But what’s happening in Sheikh Jarrah isn't new. Ever since Israel gained control of East Jerusalem in 1967, the state has been making life difficult for Palestinians -- and trying to get them out.
Mahmoud Muna: Educational Bookshop
Mahmoud Muna is part of the family that runs the Educational Bookshop: the only English language bookstore in East Jerusalem. The current iteration of the Bookshop was opened in the 1980s by Mahmoud’s father. Today, the shop has multiple locations and thousands of titles on its shelves. "Any book on Palestine-Israel that has ever [been] written," Mahmoud says, "there's a good chance we have it." When Unsettled producer Max Freedman visited Jerusalem at the start of 2020, he stopped by the Educational Bookshop and sat down with Mahmoud. In this episode of Unsettled, they talk about the history of the bookshop and what it means — to Palestinians in East Jerusalem and people around the world.
Will this Palestinian matriarch get to keep her Jerusalem home?
The Sumarin family liveS just outside Jerusalem’s Old City in the Palestinian village of Silwan. The Jewish National Fund and the Elad organization have long been promoting Jewish settlement in the area — often at the expense of the Palestinian residents.
In April 2021, after a decades-long legal battle, an Israeli court will finally decide whether the Sumarin family will be forcibly evicted from their home. On this episode, we teamed up with the +972 Podcast to tell the story of the Sumarin family and their struggle to remain in the house they’ve lived in for generations.
Jerusalem, a mini-series (2017):
On Wednesday, December 6th, 2017 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. We produced short episodes featuring experts and activists, each with a different perspective on the new status of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem: Shira Robinson
Producer Ilana Levinson spoke to Shira Robinson, Associate Professor of History and International Affairs at the George Washington University.
Jerusalem: Rani Al-Hindi
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.
Jerusalem: #StopTheMove
Producer Max Freedman attended a protest by the Jewish anti-occupation movement IfNotNow at the New York City offices of Senator Chuck Schumer.
Jerusalem: Dov Waxman
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.
Jerusalem: Rabbi Steven Wernick
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, 2017, USCJ put out a statement applauding the United States’ recognition of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem: Leena Dallasheh
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.