MEMO spoke to Motasem A Dalloul, a survivor of Israel’s genocide in Gaza, in the first of a new series of regular updates from the ground. Dalloul describes the daily struggle to survive: hunger, cold, the collapse of healthcare, and ongoing Israeli violations despite the so-called ceasefire.

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In this episode of Conversations with MEMO, we explore a growing fracture inside the US right wing, particularly the MAGA movement, over Israel. While united for decades in its hostility towards Islam and Muslims, the American right now finds itself at a crossroads. The once seamless coalition is splintering between “America First” nationalists and staunch “Israel First” loyalists.

Author and commentator Jamal Kanj joins us to unpack how this division came to be, and how pro-Israel voices in the US are attempting to reassert dominance over the national narrative on Palestine. We discuss the illusion of US-Israel “shared values,” the role of institutionalised propaganda, and the power of lobby groups like AIPAC in shaping foreign and domestic policy.

What if the global definition of anti-Semitism wasn’t only about protecting Jews — but also shaped by surveillance of Muslims and the politics of the War on Terror?

In this MEMO conversation, Professor James Renton — historian of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, empire, and global politics — uncovers the hidden history behind the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism, now adopted by governments and universities around the world.

In this episode of A Conversation with MEMO, we speak with Yousef M Aljamal, editor of the book If I Must Die by the late Dr Refaat Alareer. The episode focuses on Refaat’s final poem, written shortly before he was assassinated by Israel, and how the book came together in the months after his death. Yousef talks about the personal and political meaning of the poem and why it has become a symbol of Palestinian resistance around the world.

We also discuss the challenges of editing the book while still grieving, and what it means to protect the voice of someone who can no longer speak for himself. Yousef shares memories of Refaat as a teacher, mentor and writer who believed in using literature to resist Israeli occupation and imagine a free Palestine.

Bio: Yousef M. Aljamal

Yousef M. Aljamal is a Palestinian author, journalist and translator from Al-Nusierat refugee camp in Gaza. He holds a PhD in Middle Eastern Studies and works as the Gaza Coordinator for the Palestine Activism Program at the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). He has written and translated extensively on Palestinian resistance and incarceration, including Prisoners’ Diaries: Palestinian Voices from the Israeli Gulag. He is the editor of If I Must Die, a posthumous collection of writings by Dr Refaat Alareer, and co-author of A Shared Struggle: Stories of Palestinian and Irish Hunger Strikers. Through his work, he amplifies Palestinian voices globally in support of justice and liberation.

In this episode of a Conversation with MEMO, we speak with Shai Parnes, Public Outreach Director at B’Tselem, about the organisation’s landmark report “Our Genocide”, which declares that Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Shai reflects on what it meant – emotionally, politically, and collectively – for their team to release this report from within Israeli society. We discuss the moment they knew the term genocide could no longer be avoided, and the significance of framing the report as “our genocide”.

We explore why B’Tselem waited until now to publish this conclusion, despite earlier warnings from Palestinian groups and legal scholars. Shai explains how the events of October 7 became a catalyst for annihilation, and why the current violence cannot be separated from the apartheid foundations laid between 1948 and 2023. The conversation covers key themes from the report including demographic engineering, spatial separation, ideological denial, and dehumanisation.

Finally, we take a look at the culture of denial in Israel.

In this episode of A Conversation with MEMO, historian Peter Shambrook shares the compelling story behind his book Policy of Deceit: Britain and Palestine, 1914–1939. Through a detailed revisit of the McMahon–Hussein Correspondence, he unpacks how Britain’s broken promises to Arab leaders helped set the stage for the modern Israel–Palestine conflict.

Shambrook takes us into the minds of British policymakers during World War I and the interwar years, showing how decisions such as the Balfour Declaration emerged from geopolitical chess, not concern for the indigenous population of Palestine.

Shambrook challenges the dominant histories that downplay Arab voices and calls on younger generations particularly those involved in protest and activism, to engage with the historical roots of the conflict and the UK’s role in its making. His work comes at a moment when acknowledgment of this history feels more urgent than ever. As one reviewer notes, “this definitive work is a must-read,” laying bare a chapter of British deceit that echoes into today's political landscape.

00:01:09 – Why Write This Book?
00:09:05 – Research and Historical Certainty
00:16:06 – Maps and British Expectations
00:25:03 – Pressure in Parliament
00:38:57 – The Balfour Declaration in Policy
00:44:24 – Homeland vs. State
00:50:11 – Zionist Strategy Before WWI
00:59:12 – Morality and Personal Responsibility

In this episode of MEMO’s podcast, host Nasim Ahmed speaks with Palestinian American scholar Karam Dana about his new book, To Stand with Palestine: Transnational Resistance and Political Evolution in the United States. Karam, a professor at the University of Washington Bothell, explores how the Palestinian struggle, especially from the diaspora, has become a powerful force for political change. The conversation touches on the book’s central idea: that transnational activism has reshaped what solidarity with Palestine looks like, particularly in the US.

They discuss what inspired Karam to write the book and how key events, including how Israel’s genocide in Gaza, have brought its themes into sharp focus. From social media activism to anti-Boycott Divestment and Sanctions laws, Karam breaks down how Palestinians and their allies are navigating the legal, political, and cultural landscape in America.

Part of MEMO’s lead-up to the 2025 Palestine Book Awards, this episode offers a thoughtful and timely look at how the fight for justice in Palestine connects with broader movements for racial and social justice. Karam makes the case that Palestine is not just a political issue, it’s a window into how power, solidarity, and resistance are evolving today.