Intractable

Latest Episodes:

07. The Kids Are Alright Jul 13, 2018

In our seventh episode, we explore the cyclical nature of the conflict—from a human perspective. What can we discover about the next generation, and about the future of Israelis and Palestinians, by looking at the way young people within this conflict communicate with one another—or don’t?

In Tel Aviv and Jaffa, Skyler interviews an Israeli professor with a revolutionary idea, and sits in on an event that brings young women from Israel and the West Bank together for the teeny tiny task of finding a peaceful resolution to the conflict.

In Jerusalem, we talk to parents and children at Hand in Hand, a groundbreaking school that envisions generational change through mixed Jewish-Arab education—in Arabic and Hebrew.

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06. What The People Really Want Jun 10, 2018

In our sixth episode, we inquire after what seems like a history of failed negotiations. If, as former guest, Oxford professor Dr. Sara Yael Hirschhorn said, we need to listen to what the people living here really want in terms of peace arrangements… How can we figure that out?

Skyler speaks with seasoned conflict scholar Yuval Benziman about the importance of two-track diplomacy and the complications that are inherent to a conflict that’s been going on this long. In Ramallah, Dr. Khalil Shikaki, director of the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research, walks us through the numbers, getting us close to an answer. And once we cover the (somewhat surprising) topics that make people willing to negotiate with the other side, we turn to political psychologist Dr. Gilad Hirschberger to understand the psychological foundations of intractability.

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05. The Road to Gaza May 25, 2018

In our fifth episode, we change our plans in light of recent headlines and address the quagmire of Gaza. What is daily life like on the inside? What exactly happened at the border fence, and how did we get there? Skyler speaks with Ohad Hemo, an award-winning Israeli broadcast journalist who reports on Palestinian affairs, about what goes unpublished in coverage on Gaza, and what he sees as the long-term effects of the blockade. Gaza's sounds and emotions are captured by Mohammad Arafat, a 25-year-old Gazan poet and journalist who writes for We Are Not Numbers, and who speaks with us about what it's like to grow up, live, and dream, on the other side of the fence.

Intractable is made possible thanks to Yale University's Howland and Cohen Fellowships. The show is recorded and produced at IDC International Radio, with the help of Yvonne Saba and Rona Zahavi.

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04. The House on the Hill May 10, 2018

In our fourth episode, Skyler tackles the controversial topic of the West Bank settlement movement. What motivates Israelis to live east of the Green Line, and what role do the Jewish communities of the West Bank—often referred to by supporters of the movement as Judea and Samaria—play in a theoretical peace process?

Dr. Sara Yael Hirschhorn, Oxford University lecturer and author of City on a Hilltop: American Jews and the Israeli Settler Movement, helps situate us in the ideological history of the movement, as well as the current situation. Dr. Ronit Levine-Schnur, a legal expert in property law, walks us through some of the legal complexities of deciding what land in the West Bank belongs to whom. Israeli documentary filmmaker Ayelet Bechar talks to us about her personal project, Armed, an exploration of armed female settlers in the West Bank. And, finally, we talk to two people who live in the West Bank themselves: One religious settler (Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger of Roots) and one Palestinian (Issa Amro, of Youth Against Settlements), each of whom has chosen to turn away from the cycle of violence that often seems to consume the region, in favor of a different solution.

03. Crossing the Green Line, Part 2: Palestinian Apr 22, 2018

In our third episode, the second in a two-part series on identity, Skyler asks what it means to be Palestinian. To what extent is Palestinian culture shaped by the conflict, and the Israeli military control of the Palestinian Territories? How have the past 70 years changed the way Palestinians view their future and their fate? And how do artists play a role in preserving and documenting the culture and narrative of the Palestinian people?

We return to Yvonne Saba from Episode 2, and talk to her about the Palestinian music scene. Skyler travels to Jenin to tell the complicated, bloody story of a theater movement that rose from the ashes of the Second Intifada, and of the price its founder paid. Stand-up comedian Amer Zahr talks about his perspectives as a member of the sizeable Palestinian diaspora, and we speak with a sublime and surprising young woman named Elham.

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02. Crossing the Green Line, Part 1: Israeli Apr 05, 2018

In our second episode, the first of a two-part series, Skyler interrogates the question of "Israeliness." How is the identity shaped by the land, by immigration, by political boundaries and borders, and by war? We speak with Yariv Ben-Eliezer, the grandson of Israel's founding father, David Ben-Gurion, about what he remembers from his years growing up with the young state. Yoav Koko tells the story of his Iraqi grandfather's unwilling immigration to Israel. Annika Hernroth-Rothstein talks about the meaning of Israel from a religious perspective. Yvonne Saba picks apart the difficulties of growing up between identities as an Israeli-Arab.
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01. The Israeli-Palestinian Status Quo Mar 20, 2018

In our pilot episode, Skyler interrogates a statement made by veteran journalist Yael Lavie: Does anyone really care about the conflict anymore? We turn away from recent headlines and dig deep into the historical roots of the conflict. Hillel Cohen, Director of Hebrew University's Cherrick Center for the Study of Zionism and author of Year Zero of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: 1929 talks about his experiences lecturing to Israeli and Palestinian students about this complicated history. Columbia University's Rashid Khalidi helps us find a framework for the conflict's major "points of no return."

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