Show Notes
“There is a vacuum that was opened by the mainstream Israeli media that has largely ignored or justified what the military has done in Gaza, and that created a kind of vacuum to which investigative journalists could step in and ask these questions. Sometimes all it took was asking the questions. Some of the people that we spoke to said that they felt they were never asked these questions before.” Rebecca Kesby speaks to Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. Abraham and Szor gained international attention last year with their self-distributed film, No Other Land, made in collaboration with two Palestinian filmmakers. The film, which won the 2025 Academy Award for best documentary feature, recorded the forced displacement of Palestinian families from their homes in the occupied West Bank. The pair’s latest critically-acclaimed documentary, Naza, investigates civilian casualties from Israel's ongoing military operations in Gaza. Naza is the word used by Israeli forces to describe collateral damage. The film includes the testimonies of 24 unidentified Israeli military and intelligence officers, and they explain how artificial intelligence was used to identify possible targets in Gaza during the war which was triggered by the deadly Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023. Its premiere at the Venice international film festival saw the documentary win the special jury prize and also receive a record-breaking 25-minute standing ovation. However, the film has angered many people back home, including Israel's culture minister, who's called for Abraham and Szor to be stripped of their citizenship over what he called "treason against the state". Thank you to the Newshour team for their help in making this programme.
The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with ICRC president Mirjana Spoljaric, UN commission chair Srinivasan Muralidhar, and actor Cate Blanchett. You can listen on the BBC World Service on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays at 0800 GMT. Or you can listen to The Interview as a podcast, out three times a week on BBC Sounds or wherever you get your podcasts. Presenter: Rebecca Kesby Producer: Pandita Lorenz Editor: Damon Rose Get in touch with us on email [email protected] and use the hashtag #TheInterviewBBC on social media. (Image: Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham Credit: Marilla Sicilia/Archivio Marilla Sicilia/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
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“Diplomacy is about talking to lots of people with whom you don't agree. And that's what diplomats do. And I think we would do that... The Vatican has always had very little difficulty, perhaps too little difficulty, in dealing with all sorts of political actors, all sorts regimes, all sorts of political systems.” Julie Etchingham speaks to Archbishop Paul Gallagher, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations and one of the Catholic Church’s more senior diplomats. The 72 year old, who was born and brought up in Liverpool, was appointed to the post in 2014 by Pope Francis and is frequently referred to as the Vatican's foreign minister. Although a tiny city state, the Vatican has significant reach and influence on the world stage, being a permanent observer at the United Nations and having diplomatic relations with 184 countries. Its diplomats pursue a policy of ‘positive neutrality’ - supposedly an impartial moral authority which allows it to dialogue with all sides. With no signs of various geopolitical tensions subsiding, the Archbishop’s role in navigating these instabilities on behalf of the more than 1.4 billion Catholics around the world has arguably never been more important. Thank you to the Sunday team for their help in making this programme.
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