Gaza Tests the World's Commitment to Human Rights

In this episode of The Brief Podcast, Mohammad Huraini takes us on a walking tour of his village in the South Hebron Hills. It is part of a community known as Masafer Yatta. It comprises more than a dozen Palestinian hamlets. Mohammed uses his video recordings to document settler attacks, often supported by army troops or police. Illegal "settlers" in the region are terrorizing Palestinians who have lived there for decades with the aim of stealing their land and destroying their homes. Muhammed's goal is to document events using a video camera. He tells Jim Clancy that despite repeated, brutal attacks by the settlers the Palestinian residents around Masafer Yatta aren't abandoning their homes, livestock or property. You can support Mohammad's work here.

Sarah Leah Whitson joins Jim Clancy in a discussion of Trump's "Global Board of Peace" and concerns about the state of U.S. Democracy. Whitson is an experienced Human Rights and Democracy advocate who co-founded DAWN (Democracy for the Arab World Now) with Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi before his murder. Whitson says "It is a profoundly anti-democratic entity and a profoundly colonial entity such that the people who actually live in Gaza have no say whatsoever for the government that is going to rule their lives." The discussion turns to the actual state of the ceasefire in Gaza, the failure to deliver most of the humanitarian aid and supplies and the effect that is having on civilians there. Whitson surveys the U.S. political scene and spares neither Republicans nor Democrats "What I am surprised and disappointed and frankly revolted by is the complacency, cowardice and corruption of the American political elites, of American civil society with power."

Harvard Professor and internationally acclaimed realist Stephen Walt looks at the events, personalities and policies that defined a tumultuous year in politics at home and abroad in this edition of The Brief Podcast with Jim Clancy. Unrestrained in his foreign policy instincts, Trump has bullied friends and foes alike without a hint of a collective strategy. Walt reviews how a President obsessed with claiming the mantle of a global peacekeeper has conflated short term ceasefires with the difficult work of resolving the root causes of conflicts. From the Genocide in Gaza to gunboat diplomacy in Venezuela, Walt deconstructs how flim flam is failing on all fronts. Walt observes the winners and (mostly) losers of 2025. That includes Israel's powerful lobby in the U.S. that faces a collapse of support in American public opinion. It also includes Trump's onslaught against science and research at prominent universities that can be likened to "shooting itself in the head.". The flailing tariff policies, deployment of troops on American streets and troubled alliances from Europe to Asia are discussed and no sacred cows are spared. Despite all of that, Professor Walt still sees hope for democratic resilience among the people of the United States.

John Feeley is former U.S. Ambassador to Panama who advised the Trump and Biden administrations on Latin America. He resigned over policy differences during Trump's first term. He had previously served as a Captain in the US Marine Corp, flying helicopters that ferried troops from US naval vessels to shore. "We are in...literally uncharted waters." A former U.S. Ambassador and Marine helicopter pilot, John Feeley, joins Jim Clancy for a thorough discussion of the Trump Administration's military buildup in the Caribbean. Feeley, who resigned his diplomatic post as Ambassador to Panama during the first Trump Administration, says the current U.S. posture jeopardizes America's leadership position in a rules based order. "Gunboat diplomacy" is putting U.S. service members into murky legal territory. Amb. Feeley warns putting politics over professionalism is not going to solve America's drug problem and Sec. of Defense Pete Hegseth chest thumping about "warriors" can't shield American soldiers and sailors from international law. "There are a lot of bad people around the world, there are bad regimes, and there are threats to the United States. And we need a professional warrior class more than ever right now in this very difficult world. But what we don't need are a bunch of renegade war criminals hopped up on monster drink and push-ups like Pete Hegseth has."

Voices of Gaza: Pollster Obada Shtaya Reveals What Gazans Really Want. The ceasefire agreement produces dramatic changes among Palestinian emotions, attitudes and aspirations. There is resurgence of Hope for the future and even an end to the Occupation. Shtaya, co-founder and CEO of the Institute for Social and Economic Progress, tells Jim Clancy his poll reveals who Palestinians credit for the ceasefire, who they would support to govern Gaza, and how support for traditional political forces, including Hamas, is shifting. You can view and download all of the details and descriptions of the polls by navigating to https://institute4progress.org

They would do anything to stop the killing of Palestinians in Gaza. But Palestinian legal experts say the Trump Plan for Gaza will not come close to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian problem. What the plan does require to stop the killing is for Palestinians to abandon their own efforts to hold Israel accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity in international courts. Zaha Hassan and Dr. Jamal Nusseibeh sit down with Jim Clancy to probe the shortcomings of the Trump plan and offer up an alternative. They present the Palestinian Armistice Plan, emphasizing rights-based, inclusive Palestinian governance as a pathway to lasting peace and security. They stress the critical role of regional and international actors, urging pragmatic approaches to end the cycle of conflict. Both Dr. Nusseibeh and Hassan helped co-author that plan with other Palestinians. During the podcast it becomes clear how many Palestinians are willing to sacrifice for the sake of bringing the genocide in Gaza to an end.

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