Haitham Arafat: Aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla | Sumud Podcast

🎙️ In this episode of the Sumud Podcast, we sit down with Miko Peled for a powerful conversation about identity, family, history, and his journey toward standing with the Palestinian people. Born into one of Israel’s most prominent military and political families, Miko grew up surrounded by Zionism, military culture, and influential figures who shaped the country’s history. He reflects on his father, an Israeli general, his grandfather’s role in Israel’s founding, and the stories he heard growing up that shaped his understanding of the region. Miko also shares the experiences that challenged those beliefs, from his time in the Israeli military and the war in Lebanon to the death of his 13-year-old niece and the conversations that ultimately pushed him to reconsider everything he had been taught. The conversation also explores his book The General’s Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine, the importance of confronting difficult histories, and why Miko believes standing up for what is right is a responsibility rather than an act of courage.

🎙️In this episode of the Sumud Podcast, we sit down with Salah Sarsour for a powerful conversation about immigration, free speech, advocacy, and the personal consequences of speaking out. Salah shares his experience spending 81 days in ICE detention, his work as a Palestinian community leader and president of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, and the events that led to his detention and ongoing legal case. Salah and his attorney, Patrick Taurel, discuss the legal process surrounding his case, conditions inside detention, the impact on Salah’s family and community, and broader questions surrounding advocacy and protected speech. The conversation also explores Salah’s decades of community work, his experiences with detention in the past, and why he continues to speak publicly about issues affecting his community.

🎙️ In this episode of the Sumud Podcast, we sit down with Palestinian poet, translator, and physician Dr. Fady Joudah to discuss his newly released book, Exhibit G: Poems, Essays, and Photographs from Inside Gaza. Through poetry, photography, and personal reflection, Fady explores the realities of Palestinian life, the weight of distance and belonging, and the responsibility of telling stories without reducing people to their suffering. He shares the inspiration behind the book, his work with Palestinian photographers and writers, and the importance of preserving the humanity, history, and voices of those living through unimaginable circumstances. The conversation also examines the relationship between art, language, censorship, solidarity, and accountability, while reflecting on family history, displacement, grief, forgiveness, and the enduring strength of the Palestinian people. Fady offers a deeply personal perspective on what it means to live between worlds, to witness suffering from afar, and to continue creating in the face of loss.

In this episode of the Sumud Podcast, Dr. Ed Hasan sits down with filmmaker Colette Ghunim and actress, producer, and Palestine advocate Melissa Barrera to discuss ‘Traces of Home,’ Ghunim’s deeply personal documentary tracing her family’s roots in Palestine and Mexico. Together, they explore forced migration, intergenerational trauma, identity, family, and the difficult process of returning to the places their families were forced to leave. Barrera also reflects on her advocacy for Palestinian freedom and dignity, while Ghunim shares how making the film transformed her relationship with her parents and her understanding of home. At the heart of the conversation is Sumud: the resilience, dignity, and determination to remain rooted in who you are.

In this episode of the Sumud Podcast, Dr. Ed Hasan sits down with Palestinian singer-songwriter Mona Miari and legendary musician Roger Waters to discuss their powerful reimagining of Comfortably Numb and the story behind its creation. Mona and Roger reflect on the year-long creative process, the grief and inspiration behind the song, Palestinian history and culture, and how music can challenge indifference and keep people from becoming numb to human suffering. They also discuss the emotional story behind the song’s Palestinian lullaby, the making of its accompanying film, and the responsibility artists have to speak out for freedom, justice, and human rights.