Arab Talk with Jess & Jamal

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 and harassment by the Israeli government and settlers against Palestinian Christians have increased, targeting their towns and villages as well as churches, schools, and other religious institutions. Kuttab is a former Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University and the publisher of Milhilard.org, a platform dedicated to the Christian community in Jordan and Palestine. He currently serves as Senior Communications Officer for the World Evangelical Alliance. He is the author of several books, most recently State of Palestine NOW.

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 settler attacks on Palestinian communities in the West Bank, particularly targeting herding communities in the Northern Jordan Valley under the cover of war. Oren is a photojournalist and a reporter for Local Call and +972 Magazine and a co-founder of Active Stills photography collective. Jess and Jamal explore the recent strikes on Iranian and Israeli nuclear facilities and the potential environmental consequences of such actions. They also consider whether rising oil prices and a weakening global economy could influence the trajectory—or possible end—of the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran.

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 targets near Tehran, while Iran has launched retaliatory missile and drone attacks against Israel and U.S.-linked sites in the region. Leaders on all sides say operations will continue, raising fears that the conflict could expand across the Middle East.

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 Brunswick, joins the show to discuss a complaint filed with the International Criminal Court against the heads of FIFA and UEFA. The case centers on allegations that the organizations permit Israeli football clubs based in settlements widely considered illegal under international law, built on land taken from Palestinians.

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 died in custody, with extensive evidence indicating that many of these deaths resulted from torture and medical neglect. Based on its findings, Physicians for Human Rights has stated that these patterns point to what it describes as a deliberate Israeli policy contributing to the deaths of Palestinians in detention. Yair Dvir, spokesperson for B’Tselem, discusses the organization’s recent report, "Living Hell," which documents allegations of torture and abuse experienced by Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

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 communities inside Israel is not merely a failure of governance, but part of a broader political strategy. He contends that the state has effectively allowed violence to escalate while simultaneously weaponizing accusations of anti-Semitism to intensify Jewish fear. Gordon characterizes this dynamic as a form of “demographic engineering.” Dr. Neve Gordon is a Professor of International Law at Queen Mary University of London. He is the author of "Israel’s Occupation" and co-author of "The Human Right to Dominate."

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 mandate to oversee Gaza’s reconstruction and economic recovery. Louis Charbonneau, UN director at Human Rights Watch, discusses the proposed Board of Peace and examines the impact of the United States’ withdrawal from 31 United Nations entities, most of which focus on humanitarian aid, human rights, and climate change.

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 time, officials from several Arab countries—Egypt, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar—as well as Israel reportedly urged Trump not to strike Iran, citing fears of Iranian retaliation. Joining us to discuss the rapidly unfolding events in Iran is Dr. Eskandar Sadeghi-Boroujerdi, a researcher and lecturer in Middle East international politics at the School of International Relations at the University of St Andrews. He is the author of "Revolution and Its Discontents: Political Thought and Reform in Iran."

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 regional power by controlling key positions along the Red Sea’s maritime corridor, while also gaining a foothold in Africa to secure future influence there. Dr. Hammond is a Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University.

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, ActionAid, the International Rescue Committee, and World Vision. Bushra Khalidi, Oxfam’s policy lead in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, explains the underlying reasons behind Israel’s ban and its impact on Gaza’s population.