Reel Talk: "Holding Liat"

Guests: Einat Wilf, Yardena Schwartz, Mo Husseini. An honest examination of how Israeli and Palestinian national narratives developed, how historical turning points shaped lived realities on both sides, how language and media framing distort public understanding, and how misinformation fuels insecurity—for Jews and for Palestinians alike.

Peaced Off! is back with a supersized episode that takes up what is being called “Pallywood,” the portmanteau of “Palestine” and “Hollywood.” Is it a derogatory term used by pro-Israel commentators to falsely accuse Palestinians of staging suffering and civilian casualties to manipulate the media? Or, is it a global symbol of Palestinian suffering born out of the current state of affairs in which Palestinians lack authentic mainstream media outlets? We spoke to Tom Divon, an ethnographer and media scholar at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Richard Landes, a former history professor at Boston University and now an independent historian living in Jerusalem, about the origins of the term and their respective takes on its significance. The resulting discussions were both eye opening and quite troubling, but gave us a lot to ponder and digest.

Orly talks with Emmy Award–winning performer, filmmaker, and actor Yuval David, who is also a prominent advocate for Jewish and LGBTQ rights, to discuss the importance of narrative and communication in his advocacy work as an advisor, and as a citizen of both the United States and Israel.

Abe and Orly speak with two Gen Z young men, Elijah Kahlenberg and Jadd Hashem, to discuss their grassroots, campus-based peace and open dialogue initiative, Atidna, which seeks to solidify Arabs and Jews as cousins, one unified family, and not enemies.

Orly and Abe talk to Brandon & Lance Kramer and Libby Lenkinski of the feature documentary Holding Liat, which premiered in at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year, where it won the Berlinale Documentary Award for Best Documentary. It recently had its North American premiere at the Tribeca Festival and is currently on the film festival circuit.

Orly and Abe break down a few key terms (“Genocide,” “Ceasefire,” “Apartheid,” “Normalize,” and “Zionism”) with professors emeriti Laurel Leff and Sari Nusseibeh, who offer not merely definitions, but discuss the etymology of these terms and how they have shifted over time.

Orly and Abe are joined by Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib and Melanie Robbins of Realign for Palestine as they discuss Ahmed's appearance on an episode of Jubilee's "Surrounded" and their short documentary, "Waging Peace."

Orly and Abe welcome back the team from The Center for Peace Communications, who return for a second episode, this time alongside the co-Founder of the We Want to Live movement, Moumen al-Natour, who joins us from Gaza City, to discuss the status of humanitarian aid and the desire to move forward in peace. 

Orly and Abe speak to Joseph Braude and Ahed Alhendi of The Center for Peace Communications and discuss Whispers in Gaza, a groundbreaking video series, produced by Joseph Braude, that reveals firsthand accounts from Palestinians living under Hamas rule.

Orly and Abe speak to Academy Award-nominated, Emmy- and Peabody-winning documentary filmmaker Julie Cohen and Palestinian American peace activist Mo Husseini about their short film, The Path Forward.