NOTE: This episode was recorded prior to the US-Israel attack on Iran.
In the latest episode of ‘Beyond Israelism’, Simone Zimmerman engages in a powerful and timely conversation with Palestinian scholar and author Tareq Baconi, author of ‘Hamas Contained’ and his newly released memoir ‘Fire in Every Direction’. Tareq is regarded as one of the sharpest analysts when it comes to Gaza and Hamas, but this conversation moves beyond headlines into something more intimate. In his memoir, he weaves together his journey of coming out as a queer Palestinian with his family’s history of dispossession. He tells the story of finding his grandmother’s home in Haifa that she had fled during 1948 — a reminder that history is not abstract, but rather lived and carried across generations.
“Even before the genocide began, Gaza felt to me like the most truthful place of what the Palestinian experience is.”
Tareq explores the legacy of the Nakba as an ongoing structure rather than a closed chapter. He reflects on what it means to tell family stories in the midst of mass violence, and why publishing a personal memoir during a genocide has felt both unbearable and necessary. Tareq recently wrote in ‘+972 Magazine’ that “even if Hamas were dismantled tomorrow, the siege of Gaza, apartheid, and the denial of return would persist. At the same time, resistance would reconstitute itself in new forms because the condition that gives rise to it — colonial domination — remains.” Tareq offers historical depth and clarity in a moment saturated with distortion and political theater.
This episode also lands at a critical political moment: Donald Trump unveiling his so-called “Board of Peace,” promoting glossy redevelopment schemes for Gaza while sidelining Palestinians. Against this backdrop, Tareq’s emphasis on the enduring realities of colonialism and apartheid feels clarifying and urgent. For anyone trying to make sense of this moment, this conversation offers something rare: moral seriousness, historical grounding, and a refusal to look away. This is a conversation that doesn’t just inform — it grounds us in our humanity, and invites us into a deeper understanding of what’s at stake.
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‘Beyond Israelism with Simone Zimmerman’ is a provocative new video podcast series from Tikkun Olam Productions, the team behind the viral and award-winning 2023 film Israelism. In this series, Simone will host bold and inspiring conversations that face, head on, the growing global reckoning with Zionism, the debates over Jewish identity, and the urgent struggle for Palestinian freedom. The episodes will unpack the myths of Zionism; dive deep into the meaning of Palestinian liberation, and through raw and fearless discussions examine the Jewish relationship with Israel.
If you enjoyed this conversation, here are some additional resources:
Order Tareq’s books Fire in Every Direction and Hamas Contained.
Tareq in +972 Magazine - ‘The Gaza Genocide Radicalized The World’ and ‘A Colonized Palestine Isn’t The Answer To The World’s Guilt’.
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