Since the small team at Unsettled started producing the show seven and a half years ago, we've published almost 100 episodes — personal stories, expert interviews and reported documentaries. Unsettled Producers Ilana Levinson and Emily Bell share an ask for support from listeners during a critical time for the show.

In this episode of Unsettled, we hear from Ali Awad, a 26-year-old activist and translator living in Tuba, a village in a region of the West Bank called Masafer Yatta in the South Hebron Hills. Ali’s livelihood and wellbeing have always been vulnerable to Israeli settler violence and threats of expulsion by the government. But since October 7th 2023, it's been like nothing he's ever seen. We also hear from activist and journalist Maya Rosen about the increased dangers of activism in the West Bank.

With the one year anniversary of October 7th last Monday, Unsettled followed up with previous guest Matt Duss to ask him about President Biden's approach to foreign policy, military escalations in Lebanon, and what the upcoming U.S. presidential election may mean for the U.S.' policy towards Israel. Matt is a past president of the Foundation for Middle East Peace, and he was the foreign policy advisor to Senator Bernie Sanders for five years. He is currently the Executive Vice President of the Center for International Policy.

It’s currently high holiday season, the holiest time in the Jewish calendar. Rosh Hashanah was last week and Yom Kippur begins tonight at sundown. The one year anniversary of October 7th fell in between. This year, there's a new resource — a High Holidays directory created by Rabbis for Ceasefire. Unsettled Producer Emily Bell reached out to one of the founding members of Rabbis for Ceasefire, Abby Stein, to learn more about the Rabbis for Ceasefire High Holidays directory, and how spiritual leaders like her are approaching this sacred time of reflection and interpreting Torah during this confluence of dates.

On October 31, 2023, Unsettled aired an interview with 22-year-old Shahd Safi, a university student and freelance journalist from Gaza. At the time, she was living in her grandparents house in Rafah, a couple miles away from her own home where she’d evacuated after October 7th. She was living with her siblings and cousins, unable to go to school or even leave the house much. For the past year, Shahd has had to make impossible calculations in order to survive. By December, her family was running out of their basic needs, waiting on long lines for water at mosques and from UN aid workers. In February, after hearing about a possible Israeli invasion of Rafah, Shahd started to think seriously about leaving Gaza. One year later, her circumstances are very different: she's now is in the U.S., pursuing a bachelor's degree in human rights and written arts. Unsettled has been in touch with Shahd throughout the year, following her journey. In this episode of Unsettled, Producer Ilana Levinson speaks with Shahd about the last year of her life: where she's been, and what she had to do to get where she is now.

Today is October 7th, 2024. One year ago, thousands of militants led by Hamas launched a multi-front attack on Israeli towns and military bases, killing over 1,100 people and abducting over 250. Israel responded to the October 7th attack with one of the most destructive military campaigns in history, displacing most people in the already poverty-stricken, besieged Gaza Strip. To date, Israel has killed at least 41,000 people in Gaza– but experts say the numbers are likely higher. How should we make sense of this anniversary? How should we mark it? Many Israelis and those whose sympathies lie with them will grieve, and make space to remember what was, for many, one of the worst days of their lives. But for thousands of Palestinians – and now Lebanese people, too– they’re still fighting for their survival. How can we stop and remember if the horror persists for so many? Shortly after October 7th, 2023 Asaf Calderon left the Unsettled team as a producer, and started a new movement of anti-Zionist Israelis living in the United States. Last week, Unsettled Producer Ilana Levinson sat down with Asaf to talk about this movement, called Shoresh.

As we approach the upcoming anniversary of October 7th, we wanted to open up our voicemail again. Send us your thoughts and messages– maybe to people in power, to someone you’re no longer in touch with, or maybe a stranger. You can call in with your name, or stay anonymous. Know that we may use your note in an upcoming episode of Unsettled or on our social media. Leave a message at 347-878-1359.

Last Wednesday on July 31st, Hamas’s top political leader Ismail Haniyeh was killed in Iran. In this collaboration between Unsettled Podcast and Jewish Currents, Unsettled producer Ilana Levinson interviews Tareq Baconi, author of Hamas Contained: The Rise and Pacification of Palestinian Resistance to make sense of these developments and what Haniyeh’s assassination means for the future.

On Tuesday April 30th, Columbia University President Minouche Shafik called the New York Police Department to clear the campus of students who had erected an encampment in solidarity with Palestine. Columbia's encampment was one of hundreds of similar campus demonstrations across the United States, many of which were also removed by the police. Unsettled visited Columbia's encampment the week before it was cleared, and spoke to some of those involved about what they hoped to achieve through their protest.

For this episode of Unsettled, we’re doing something we’ve never done before: premiering a new song. Aly Halpert makes music used in synagogues and Jewish song circles. If you listened to our last episode featuring Rabbi Miriam Grossman, you heard Aly’s tune for the prayer 'Ashrei' as part of a service led by Rabbis for Ceasefire. Today, Aly is releasing a new song called 'Ayeka': the first time she has used her music to directly respond to the violence in Israel-Palestine. Aly spoke to Unsettled producer Ilana Levinson about her inspiration for 'Ayeka', her writing process, and what she hopes the song will do for listeners.