Covid Talks
Like people and organizations around the world, Extend pivoted our work online in 2020. The conversations we usually have in our partner communities in Israel and Palestine moved to Zoom. Below you can find Extend talks with many of the most inspiring Palestinian, Israeli, and American Jewish organizations at work today: Combatants for Peace, Breaking the Silence, Meretz, Standing Together, Mossawa, the Tel Aviv Review, +972, Jewish Currents, the Center for Jewish Nonviolence, and more.
These conversations cover Annexation, Covid-19’s effect on Palestinians living under occupation, the changing relationship of American Jews to Israel, the anti-Netanyahu protests in Jerusalem, civil rights activism of Palestinian citizens of Israel, and the future of the Israeli left. The voices include many of the most recognized thinkers and activists of our moment, such as Sulaiman Khatib, Peter Beinart, Sam Bahour, Merphie Bubis, Mossi Raz, Gilad Halpern, and Orly Noy.
Anti-Racism in Israel Today with Congregation Kol Ami
As part of Congregation Kol Ami’s Yom Kippur programming, Extend facilitated a conversation about anti-racism in Israel with Standing Together and Mossawa. Join us to hear a rising generation of Palestinian activists discuss advocacy strategies and similarities between racism in Israel and the United States. Sally Abed is the relationship coordinator at Standing Together, a grassroots movement that organizes Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel against racism, occupation, and economic and gender inequality. Suha Salman Mousa is Executive Director of the Mossawa Center, Alya Zoabi is its Legal and Parliamentary Coordinator, and Naim Mousa is its International Media Coordinator.
The Balfour Protests: A Different Israel?
At the height of protests against the Netanyahu government in Jerusalem, Extend hosted three fresh and diverse voices of the Israeli left to discuss the path forward: Gilad Halpern, co-host of the Tel Aviv Review podcast and co-editor of the Tel Aviv Review of Book; Orly Noy, editor at Local Call, contributor to +972, feminist Mizrahi activist; Yaser Abu Areesha, editor at Haokets and activist for the rights of Palestinian citizens of Israel.
Annexation: Human Impact on the Jordan Valley
Israel’s threatened annexation of the West Bank poses severe human rights consequences for Palestinian families and communities. While coverage has focused on annexation’s impact on the stalled Oslo process, it is critical to hear from Palestinians whose human rights will be directly affected by annexation. In this conversation, facilitated by Extend and co-sponsored by Combatants for Peace, Achvat Amim, and the Center for Jewish Nonviolence, we learn from Combatants for Peace activists Osama Iliwat, a Palestinian resident in Jericho, and Eli Avidor, an Israeli fighting annexation.
Sneak Preview Screening of Israelism & Director Q&A
The upcoming documentary Israelism: American Jews and Israel interviews leading American Jewish activists, scholars, and commentators to tell the story of how American Jews have become more critical of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories.The film is not yet released, but Extend is hosting a sneak peek screening along with a post-film Q&A with director Eric Axelman. Learn more about the film here.
Mossi Raz on Annexation & the Future of the Israeli Left
Mossi Raz is a former Knesset Member of the Meretz Party. In 2019, he ran to be co-chairman of Meretz alongside Palestinian MK Issawi Frej, arguing that the party should be co-led by a Jewish Israeli and Palestinian citizen of Israel. Mossi formerly served as Executive Director of Peace Now, co-director of the joint Israeli-Palestinian radio station All for Peace, Chairman of Life and Environment (the largest organization of Israeli environmentalists), and Chairman of Bizchut (Israel’s leading disability rights organization).
Sam Bahour on Annexation & the Palestinian Future
Sam Bahour is one of the most skilled bridge builders between Palestinian activists and American Jews. Born and raised in Ohio, Bahour lives near Ramallah and is managing partner of Applied Information Management, an independent director at the Arab Islamic Bank, and a board member of the Open Society Foundations MENA Office. Bahour serves as co-founder of Americans for a Vibrant Palestinian Economy, board member of Just Vision, policy adviser at Al-Shabaka, and member of the Palestine Strategy Group. He writes tweets and blogs frequently.
Binationalism in Israel and Palestine: Past, Present, Future
Peter Beinart’s July 2020 essay in Jewish Currents drew the attention of all who follow Israel – Palestine. After more than a decade in which he was considered the most articulate American Jewish champion of the two-state solution, Beinart announced his new commitment to a binational future in Israel-Palestine. Extend joined the Foundation for Middle East Peace and Jewish Currents in sponsoring a conversation featuring Beinart, Palestinian professor and activist Lana Tatour, and Distinguished Fellow in Jewish Studies at Dartmouth College Shaul Magid.
Coronavirus and the Knesset’s Constitutional Crisis: a Conversation with Merphie Bubis of Breaking the Silence
Over the past fourteen months, Israel has faced unprecedented instability in its electoral politics, with three Knesset elections that have failed to lead to a decisive outcome and have left Israeli with a caretaker government since December 2018. The coronavirus outbreak has exacerbated this political instability, with the Likud-led Knesset invoking the health crisis to defy the High Court’s order to convene the Knesset and permit the oppostion a chance to form a new government. What is happening in Israeli politics, and how is it affecting those working for a stronger democracy in Israel and to end the occupation of the Palestinian territories? Join us to learn from Merphie Bubis of Breaking the Silence.
Coronavirus in the Occupied West Bank with Sulaiman Khati
As the Covid-19 outbreak arrives in the West Bank, Combatants for Peace co-founder and Nobel Prize nominee Sulaiman Khatib describes how Coronavirus is affecting Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, how new Covid-19 restrictions are intersecting with those already in place under the occupation, and how activists can continue their work through this unprecedented time. Sulaiman Khatib has served as co-director of Combatants for Peace and founding General Director of Al-Qud’s Association for Democracy and Dialogue. While in prison for a decade from the age of 14, Sulaiman learned Hebrew, English, and the history of transformative nonviolent activists such as Gandhi and Mandela. Along with Combatants for Peace co-founder Chen Alon, Sulaiman was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 and 2018.