Episode 23: Unfathomable Hate

Episode 25 summarizes a multi-episode investigation tracing the origins and evolution of Hamas and its links to the Muslim Brotherhood in the United States. The episode outlines the creation of Hamas, the establishment of U.S.-based front organizations (HLF, IAP, UASR), and key moments such as the 1993 Philadelphia meeting and the HLF prosecutions. It also explains the network’s strategies for fundraising, propaganda, and campus influence, the legal actions taken against key actors, and the later rise of student and advocacy groups connected to these movements. The episode concludes by connecting these developments to recent events and the broader impact on U.S. campuses and public discourse.

In Episode 24, We Are the Future, we turn our focus to what happened after October 7 - how Hamas’ violence was reframed, justified, and normalized inside the United States. After tracing Hamas’ evolution and infrastructure in America, and after hearing directly from victims, survivors, and witnesses of the October 7 massacre, this episode confronts the narrative battle that followed: the repackaging of mass murder, rape, torture, and kidnapping as “resistance” and “self-defense” for Western audiences.

Head of Terrorism Research Lara Burns spoke with Dr. Cochav Elkayem-Levy who heads a Civil Commission that investigates and documents the sexual torture and atrocities committed by Hamas on October 7, 2023.  In that investigative and archiving process, Dr. Elkayem-Levy and her team, along with other scholars around the world, discovered a new form of torture being used by Hamas that targets family units.

In Episode 22, The Unfolding of Tragedy, we speak with a teenage boy whose mother was murdered on top of him on the morning of October 7, 2023. We then speak with Maya Roman, a feminist activist from Israel, who describes events from Kibbutz Be'eri on that day, including the kidnapping of her cousin by Hamas. At the end of the episode, we revisit statements by Nihad Awad, the Executive Director of the Council on American Islamic Relations, wherein he described the events of October 7 in terms strikingly inconsistent with the atrocities that occurred that day.

Episode 21 focuses on attacks that took place at some of the Israeli Kibbutsim on October 7, 2023 and we hear from members of the Kfar Aza community, a community that suffered great loss on that day.  After filming this episode, two hostages taken from Kfar Aza were finally returned alive after more than 2 years in captivity, and the US government arrested an individual in the United States for his role in the Kfar Aza attacks.

In this podcast, Head of Terrorism Research Lara Burns has taken you through the history and evolution of Hamas in the US and abroad, all of which led up to the devastation and carnage that Hamas and its allies committed on October 7, 2023.  Burns traveled to various sites that were attacked that day and spoke with survivors and their relatives and documented their harrowing experiences.  Episodes 20-24 will feature factual accounts from October 7 and examine them in light of harmful, hateful narratives driven by US-based groups already discussed in this podcast.  Episode 20 begins at the site of the Nova Music Festival with the story of one brave individual's survival and loss.  Warning:  Some of the things you will hear and see will be very violent and disturbing.

Hamas published an amendment to its original charter in 2017, where it attempted to portray itself as moderate and open to peaceful solutions.  Hear from two experts who explain why Hamas published this amendment and whether it was a mere political ploy.  Then, see a recorded video of AMP leader Osama Abuirshaid who discussed on an Arab media outlet why Hamas needed to present a different agenda to the West than to its own followers.  Burns and Baker then move on to the signing of the Abraham Accords whose purpose was to promote peace and prosperity in the Middle East and normalize relations between Israel and other countries, and how CAIR condemned the Accords.

Episode 18, A Common Enemy, has been released in our podcast Intifada: Hamas in the US.   Burns and Baker delve into the uncommon alliance between Islamist groups like Hamas and leftist groups like PFLP, to face a common enemy- The West. In the late 2020s, Hamas announced its official alliance in Gaza with other terror groups like the PFLP in what they called a Joint Operations Room. Similarly, in the US, the pro-Hamas groups like AMP began collaborating with pro-PFLP groups to drive student activism on US campuses. 

Hear from Dr. Lorenzo Vidino about the history and evolution of Hamas' parent organization, the Muslim Brotherhood, and how its covert agenda involves the destruction of Western society.

In the wake of the HLF trial and convictions, news reporting indicated the FBI attempted to disengage from CAIR in any official capacity, with open source documents revealing they were considered an inappropriate partner for liaison. In this episode, you will learn about CAIR's reaction to these developments, as well as the growth of the AMP and its collaboration with the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) in the realm of student activism. Burns and Baker reflect back on the 1993 conspiratorial meeting wherein Nihad Awad and other attendees specifically discussed the need to ignite student activism in furtherance of their cause.