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Olive Branch

Olive Branch

Written by: Anwar Mhajne
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About this listen

 Hello everyone, my name is Dr. Anwar Mhajne. I am an Assistant professor of Political Science at Stonehill College in Massachusetts. I created Olive Branch due to my frustration with the never-ending conflict affecting my family and friends in Israel and Palestine. I am hoping that this podcast will help restore our hope in achieving sustainable and equitable peace. Therefore, Olive Branch interviews activists with ties to Israel and Palestine who use non-violent means to promote peace and end the Israeli occupation of the Palestine Territories. Join me as I talk with activists dedicated to their work, even though it sometimes alienates them from their families and communities. In these conversations, they think through alternatives to violence and how these concepts might disrupt cycles of bloodshed. Olive Branch provides ideas and tools for changing Israeli and Palestinian social attitudes, political ideologies, and policies. Image Credit: Stef Murawsky The music is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0© 2025 Anwar Mhajne Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Episode 1: Trailer

    Episode 1: Trailer
    Aug 11 2021
    Hello everyone, my name is Dr. Anwar Mhajne. I am an Assistant professor of Political Science at Stonehill College in Massachusetts. I created Olive Branch due to my frustration with the never-ending conflict affecting my family and friends in Israel and Palestine. I am hoping that this podcast will help restore our hope in achieving sustainable and equitable peace. Therefore, Olive Branch interviews activists with ties to Israel and Palestine who use non-violent means to promote peace and end the Israeli occupation of the Palestine Territories. Join me as I talk with activists dedicated to their work, even though it sometimes alienates them from their families and communities. In these conversations, they think through alternatives to violence and how these concepts might disrupt cycles of bloodshed. Olive Branch provides ideas and tools for changing Israeli and Palestinian social attitudes, political ideologies, and policies. Image Credit: Stef Murawsky The music is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
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    1 min
  • 23: Izat Elamoor

    23: Izat Elamoor
    Apr 5 2023
    In this episode, I speak to my friend Izat Elamoor about his activism and research on LGBTQIA+ issues in Israel and Palestine. Izat touches on the complexity of being gay and a Palestinian citizen of Israel for advocacy, solidarity, and belonging. Organizations mentioned: Alqaws (http://alqaws.org/siteEn/index) Recommended book: Queer Palestine and the Empire of Critique by SA’ED ATSHAN
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    35 mins
  • Episode 22: Zachary Foster

    Episode 22: Zachary Foster
    Feb 24 2023
    After a long break, I am happy to restart the conversation with inspiring activists working on a peaceful and just resolution to the Occupation. For this episode, I talk to Zachary Foster about his research on Palestine. This episode includes critical historical facts about the name Palestine. In addition, it challenges attempts by radical groups to undermine the Palestinian cause by claiming that Palestine is and was never a real place. We also discuss settler colonialism, Zionism, the recent government, and effective activism. Palestine Nexus: https://palestinenexus.com You can find Foster's Dissertation, The Invention of Palestine, here: https://dataspace.princeton.edu/handle/88435/dsp01g732dc66g
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    47 mins
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