The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan

Middle East Eye

A weekly podcast focused on long-form interviews on history, pop culture and society affecting the MENA region and diaspora communities. It aims to inform and illuminate the region through a non-newsy lens, exploring the MENA region's past, present and future and its people. Each episode begins with a question and an introduction to an expert who will attempt to answer it.

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Top 10 The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

The UK wants to ban Israel boycotts, but MPs vow to fight it | Crispin Blunt MP

The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan

07/14/23 • 27 min

Could the BDS movement soon become illegal in the UK?

Under a new bill, the Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) Bill, boycotting foreign countries will become illegal for public bodies, which would include councils, unions and student organisations.

The law specifically protects Israel from being targetted, and bars public bodies from even voicing support for pro-Palestinian BDS initiatives even if they don’t take part.

The bill, spearheaded by Secretary of State for Levelling Up Michale Gove, passed its first two readings in parliament, but a large number of Conservative MPs vow to break away from their party and fight it.

In this episode of The Big Picture Podcast, we sit down with Conservative MP Cripsin Blunt, who also serves as the director of the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians.

He says the bill will set a dangerous precedent for free speech and will create a dangerous environment for activists as well as Jewish communities.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on this episode, and any guests you'd like us to have on our show. Reach us by email at [email protected] or find us on instagram @BigPictureMee.
You can also watch all our episodes on our YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMyaP73Ho1ySj3cO0OSOHZAOgD1WTDixG

Trump’s intrusive demons and Israel’s ‘enlightened cause’ | Norman Finkelstein

The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan

11/16/24 • 101 min

Has Donald Trump peeled back the veil on the toxicity of America?

What will his second term mean for Israel, Palestine and the pursuit of justice?

This week on The Big Picture Podcast, we welcome back Norman Finkelstein, political scientist, author and legal scholar, to talk about the aftermath of the US elections, Israel’s war in Gaza and shifting tactics of the Palestine movement.

Finkelstein has spent his career chronicling in excruciating detail the Israel-Palestine conflict from the perspective of international law, and feels that much of the conversation has framed it the wrong way. It’s not that Israel is betraying the laws of war, it’s actually “following the logic of genocide”.

His most recent book ‘I’ll Burn That Bridge When I Get To It’ took a surprising turn, scrutinising the prevalence of identity politics and cancel culture, which Finkelstein argues has undermined movements for justice and left the space open for malicious actors.

We can never trust these instruments of power | Norman Finkelstein

The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan

06/14/24 • 85 min

We are living through a moment of social and political upheaval - one that has somehow aligned the Houthi rebels in Yemen, South Africa’s greatest legal minds and students across the wealthiest campuses in the world.

They’re all fighting for Gaza, and against an increasingly isolated Israeli government and its Western backers. So are we witnessing a historic tipping point?

Norman Finkelstein has documented the Israel-Palestine conflict for over 4 decades, with a particular focus on Israel’s actions in Gaza.

As the son of Holocaust survivors, he became particularly critical of Israel’s use of history as a propaganda tool to shut down critique - something he documents in his book ‘The Holocaust Industry’.

Since October 7, he’s been one of the most prolific voices speaking out - accusing Israel of carrying out a Genocide - and describing Gaza as a concentration camp.

In this episode of The Big Picture podcast, we speak to him about the value of international law, the historic turning point in Palestinian advocacy and his view on Israel’s moral argument for its own existence.

Why young Jewish Americans are turning on Israel | Simone Zimmerman

The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan

04/24/24 • 52 min

“I was definitely raised to be a Jewish leader of some kind.”

With college campuses all over the US gripped by intense battles around free speech, antisemitism and Palestinian rights - the voices of young Jewish Americans have led the way.

One of the boldest and most prominent voices is that of Simone Zimmerman.

Zimmerman was raised in a conservative Zionist household, taught to idolise and support Israel as the highest aspiration of all young Jewish Americans like her.

But as she got older, she began to question whether there was another side to Israel she was being sheltered from - and when she sought answers, she was shocked at what she discovered.

Prompted by conversations with Palestinians under occupation and Jewish activists, she went home and began to organise in an attempt to stop her government’s military support for Israel, and as she puts it, “live out the values of justice I was raised on”.

On the frontlines of protests in campuses and halls of power, she suddenly found herself a target of accusations by pro-Israeli groups, who now called her “antisemitic” and a “jew hater” and threatening her online.

After October 7, she became more determined than ever to challenge the beliefs in her community about Israel, and the reluctance by many to see the horrific reality of what’s happening in Gaza.

This week on The Big Picture, we sit down with Simone Zimmerman to talk about her story, which has been documented in a provocative new documentary called ‘Israelism’, and whether we’re witnessing a turning point in how young Jewish-Americans see Israel, and how young Americans see their government’s support for the occupation.

Check out the trailer for Israelism here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bondvm3hvGM&ab_channel=TikkunOlamFilms

Check out Simone Zimmerman’s work with If Not Now here: https://www.ifnotnowmovement.org/

The untold history of the Israeli Defence Forces | The Big Picture

The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan

10/24/24 • 32 min

Before the formation of the Israeli Defence Forces in 1948, there were three underground Zionist militias - The Haganah, the Irgun and the Lehi.

They differed in tactics and beliefs, and at times fought with each other - but together they terrorised Palestinian villages and executed bombings and assassinations against the British to force them to give up control of the land.

They blew up hotels in Jerusalem, embassies in Europe and assassinated a UN mediator.

After Israel was officiated as a state - the three militias would create the IDF - and their leaders would go on to form Israel’s government, become politicians, ambassadors and Prime Ministers.

And their dark history would be forgotten.

This week on The Big Picture, we unpack that history.

Antisemitism, White Supremacy and the death of liberal Europe | Ghassan Hage

The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan

04/11/24 • 51 min

Is Europe ‘nostalgic for a racist past’ when it didn’t have to apologise for its colonialism?

In this week’s episode of The Big Picture, we sit down with renowned Australian anthropologist Ghassan Hage.

Hage is currently fighting against the prestigious Max Planck Society in Germany over accusations of ‘antisemitism’ over his critiques of Israel.
This week, Germany’s government had to defend its ongoing military support for Israel’s war in Gaza after a legal case was filed at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) by Nicaragua, who accused Germany of “facilitating the commission of genocide”.

We go in-depth and speak about Germany, antisemitism and the end of liberal Europe.

Hage was invited to a placement at a Max Planck institute last year, but soon became the target of attacks by right-wing media in Germany, who lobbied the Max Planck directors to fire him. They did.
Despite being married to a Jewish refugee whose father fled Mussolini, and building a career in creating dialogue, Hage was denied a chance to defend the accusations.

Now he’s fighting back, and says his case is part of a wider trend in Germany and many western nations who are using ‘antisemitism’ as a cover to keep immigrants under control.

The fall of Western order, the rise of the Global South | Wadah Khanfar

The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan

11/02/23 • 66 min

Are Western leaders sleepwalking into a disaster in the Middle East?

As regional tensions surge amid Israel’s devastating war in Gaza, its allies in the US and Europe have refused calls to de-escalate the conflict and prevent the staggering toll on human life from spiralling further.

Western countries vowed to stand by Israel as it responds to the deadly October 7 attack by Hamas, with many invoking the language of the ‘War on Terror’ and a ‘Clash of Civilisations’. But unlike conflicts in the past, these countries have increasingly found themselves isolated on the world stage, at the United Nations and on the streets of major cities.

This week on The Big Picture Podcast, we sit down with Palestinian thinker and political strategist Wadah Khanfar, the former director general of Al Jazeera.

Khanfar says Israel and its allies are desperately trying to maintain Western hegemony in the Middle East and beyond, but they cannot see that the world has already moved on.

Narco-Diplomacy: How Bashar al-Assad used Captagon to survive the Syrian War | Lina Khatib

The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan

07/21/23 • 35 min

What happens when a dictator uses drug trafficking as a tool of diplomacy?

The psychoactive drug known as Captagon has exploded across the Middle East and Europe, leading many countries to clasify it as an ‘epidemic’. The highly-addictive pill used to be made in Turkey and Latin America, but that slowly changed after the Syrian Civil War.

Today, 80% of the global supplies come from Syria, and many have accused Bashar al-Assad of using the drug to generate billions in revenue for the government, bypassing sanctions, and to put pressure on his neighbours to resume diplomatic ties.

That gambit seems to have paid off in May when, after more than 10 years, Syria was welcomed back into the Arab League.

In this week’s episode of The Big Picture, we sit down with Dr Lina Khatib, head of the Middle East Institute at SOAS University. Dr Khatib says despite years of sanctions and political pressure, Assad has emerged feeling victorious.

Women's liberation, minority rights and revolution in Iran | Dr Kat Eghdamian

The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan

01/21/23 • 41 min

In our first in a series of long-form interviews with great minds, we speak with human rights advocate Dr Kat Eghdamian on why the fight for women's liberation in Iran is not about religion but control.
Dr Eghdamian explains how the death of Mahsa Amini, a Kurdish woman, inspired a nationwide movement built on Kurdish traditions and slogans and what we can learn from the young people putting their lives on the line for a better future.
Filming & Recording: Hossam Sarhan
GFX: Anas Alaa
Audio editor: Houda Fansa Jawadi

www.middlleeasteye.net

The birth of Israel and the death of Zionism | Ilan Pappé

The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan

10/31/24 • 76 min

Can Zionism survive the current war in Gaza?

Israeli historian Ilan Pappé believes it can’t. In fact, he argues that the liberation of Palestine is an inevitability.

Pappé is the author of 24 books on the Israel-Palestine conflict, and most recently published two books: ‘Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic’ and ‘A Very Short History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict’.

This week on The Big Picture Podcast, we sit down with Ilan Pappé to talk about where the Zionist project originates, why it embraced settler colonialism and why he believes it will ultimately fail to achieve its goals.

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FAQ

How many episodes does The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan have?

The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan currently has 57 episodes available.

What topics does The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan cover?

The podcast is about News, Society & Culture, Middle East, Podcasts and Politics.

What is the most popular episode on The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan?

The episode title 'The Labour Party has a racism problem | Ali Milani' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan?

The average episode length on The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan is 50 minutes.

How often are episodes of The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan released?

Episodes of The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan are typically released every 7 days, 3 hours.

When was the first episode of The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan?

The first episode of The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan was released on Jan 21, 2023.

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The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan

Middle East Eye

Top 10 The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan Episodes

FAQ

How many episodes does The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan have?

What topics does The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan cover?

What is the most popular episode on The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan?

What is the average episode length on The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan?

How often are episodes of The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan released?

When was the first episode of The Big Picture with Mohamed Hassan?

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