Arab Talk with Jess & Jamal

The war in Gaza has sparked an intense and deeply contested debate over whether Israel’s conduct meets the legal definition of genocide. Genocide scholars, human rights organizations, and legal expert...

Israel is dramatically expanding spending on hasbara—its international public-diplomacy and communications effort. The 2026 budget allocates roughly $730 million to public diplomacy, more than four ti...

Michigan Matters: Is the Democratic Primary the Party's Litmus Test? by News You Can Use with Jamal Dajani & Jess Ghannam...

As U.S. military support for Israel faces growing scrutiny, Congress is considering legislation that could dramatically deepen defense cooperation between the two countries. Supporters say it's a nece...

One of the biggest stories in the 2026 Michigan Democratic Senate primary isn't just the candidates—it's the money. AIPAC's affiliated Super PAC, United Democracy Project, has poured more than $10 mil...

A new UN Commission of Inquiry report examines the impact of Israel's war on Palestinian children since 7 October 2023. Titled The Essence of Childhood Has Been Destroyed, the report says more than 20...

A new UN commission report accuses Israeli authorities of deliberately targeting Palestinian children in Gaza, alleging actions that may constitute genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes. ...

This episode examines the Jewish Anti-Zionist Congress, taking place in Dublin from June 26–28. Building on last year’s inaugural gathering in Vienna, the Congress brings together Jewish activists and...

Jess & Jamal examine a development that raises difficult questions about intelligence, alliances, and the future of U.S. foreign policy. The Pentagon has reportedly elevated its counterintelligence t...

The Global Sumud Flotilla, an international aid mission to Gaza, was intercepted by Israeli forces in international waters, with activists detained and ships redirected to Israeli ports. Human rights ...

A recent shooting attack targeting a mosque complex in San Diego, where two gunmen killed three people, has renewed concerns about the rising climate of Islamophobia in the United States. Many advocat...

Gaza’s healthcare system is nearing collapse. Hospitals are damaged, supplies are blocked, and many doctors have been killed or detained. Now, Physicians for Human Rights Israel has petitioned Israel...

The reported death toll in Gaza, now approaching 73,000, continues to rise. Even during the ceasefire, people are still being killed or dying from starvation and lack of medical care. Thousands more r...

After initially refusing, the U.S. agreed to include Lebanon in ceasefire talks with Iran, backing a separate 10-day Israel–Lebanon truce that took effect April 17 at midnight. The deal follows Israel...

On March 31, the Knesset passed a controversial law mandating the death penalty for Palestinians, including both West Bank residents and Israeli citizens, while excluding Jewish settlers. The law make...

What began in late February as coordinated U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian nuclear and military facilities has rapidly expanded into a far more dangerous confrontation. In response, Iran has la...

Journalist Daoud Kuttab examines how Israel has used global attention on Iran to intensify settler violence and expand the seizure of Palestinian land in the West Bank. He also describes how attacks a...

Oren Ziv examines Israel’s wartime military censorship amid its conflict with Iran, shedding light on how information is controlled during periods of escalation. He also highlights a surge in violent ...

Jess and Jamal discuss the war between the United States, Israel, and Iran as it enters its second week. U.S. and Israeli forces continue striking Iranian military and energy infrastructure, including...

Jess and Jamal discuss the latest developments and global repercussions following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran. Nathan Kalman-Lamb, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of New Bruns...

Close to 11,000 Palestinians are currently held in Israeli prisons and detention centers, the majority without formal charges or convictions. During this recent period, nearly 100 Palestinians have di...

In his opinion piece published in Al Jazeera, titled “Here’s Why Israel Is Allowing Record Murder Rates in Its Palestinian Towns,” Dr. Neve Gordon argues that the crime epidemic within Palestinian com...

In the aftermath of the war on Gaza, a proposed “Board of Peace” emerged on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September 2025. The body was envisioned as a temporary entity with a two-year ma...

President Donald Trump stated that he was holding off on striking Iran out of respect for what he claimed was Iran’s agreement to cancel 800 executions of protesters. Separately, but around the same t...

Dr. Andrew Hammond discusses the UAE’s notable involvement in multiple conflicts around the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea, in partnership with Israel. The two small countries seek to maximize their reg...

On January 1, 2026, Israel banned 37 international humanitarian aid organizations from operating in Gaza. Among those affected were Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, Oxfam, Caritas, ActionAi...

Jess and Jamal look back at 2025 and the turmoil in the Middle East. While global attention remained fixed on Gaza, Israel accelerated land seizures in the West Bank. The year saw a record number of n...

Dr. Ezequiel Jimenez discusses his article published in Opinio Juris, “The 24th Session of the Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute: Time to Act.” In the article, he explains that, given the...

Supported by Israeli security forces and enabled by government policies, settler violence has become a central component of the Israeli state’s strategy to forcibly displace Palestinian communities in...

A March 2025 report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry found that sexual violence by Israeli forces and settlers was extensive enough to be considered systematic. Dr. Samah Jab...

After two years of relentless Israeli air and ground assaults on Gaza, much of the territory lies in ruins. Many of Gaza’s two million residents have been displaced and are struggling to secure basic ...

Jess and Jamal discuss the recent surge in Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, which have reached unprecedented levels. This escalation is marked by increased frequency,...

The International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP) has applied for a summons in the magistrate’s court in the United Kingdom in an initiative to prosecute a British citizen who they allege fo...

Professor Liat Kozma explains that Israel has been systematically working to delegitimize and restrict international NGOs and human rights organizations operating with Palestinians in the occupied ter...

President Trump has named former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to the newly formed Board of Peace, which will oversee the reconstruction and governance of Gaza. Blair has reportedly been involved ...

Acknowledging Palestinian sovereignty is increasingly seen as a necessary—but not sufficient—step toward a just resolution of the conflict, particularly among those who also call for an end to what th...

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long opposed Palestinian independence, and he recently reaffirmed that there will be no Palestinian state as long as he remains in office. He also vowed t...

The 80th United Nations General Assembly’s High-Level Week begins on September 22, bringing together heads of state to deliver speeches and set the policy agenda for the year ahead. The prospect of s...

Can a Gaza reconstruction that excludes Palestinian heritage, silences their participation, and denies their suffering truly succeed? Journalist and analyst Sean Mathews argues the 'Gaza Riviera' is d...

In addition to the United States, several key European governments continue to provide intelligence and arms to the Israeli military—support that enables the ongoing genocide in Gaza and obstructs the...

Ian Williams, President of the Foreign Press Association, discusses the targeting of Palestinian journalists in Gaza. Williams, who is also an author, writer, and broadcaster, highlighted the silence ...

The number of international human rights organizations, genocide scholars, public officials, and UN representatives making this assertion continues to grow. Now, two well-respected Israeli human right...

Alex de Waal, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, discusses the growing evidence of famine and widespread starvation in Gaza...

Jess and Jamal discuss the worsening starvation crisis in Gaza, where over 100,000 children under the age of two—including 40,000 infants—are at imminent risk of mass death due to the total absence of...

Former Professor of Political Sociology at the University of Bristol, David Miller, discusses the British Parliament’s vote to ban Palestine Action, a civil disobedience and direct action protest grou...

Jess and Jamal discuss the BBC’s coverage of Israel’s bombings in Gaza. According to an analysis of over 35,000 pieces of content produced by the UK’s public broadcaster, the BBC is “systematically bi...

For decades, Christians in the Middle East have witnessed their numbers dwindle due to war, occupation and sectarianism, threatening centuries of cultural and religious pluralism that characterized th...

Despite pledging during his election campaign to end America's involvement in "endless" and "forever wars," President Trump ordered a strike on Iranian nuclear sites, risking entangling the U.S. in an...

Jess & Jamal discuss the recent developments of the Israeli attack on Iran. Professor William A. Schabas talks about the escalating pressure on the International Criminal Court to abandon its case ag...

The Madleen set sail from Sicily on June 1st as part of the renewed Freedom Flotilla Coalition, aiming to establish a humanitarian corridor to Gaza. On board are 12 international human rights defender...