This episode looks at the keyword “normalization” in conversation with independent writer and researcher Reem Farah. Our discussion draws on Reem’s 2024 article “Ottolenghi and Tamimi's Cookbook, Jerusalem: Israel as Frame and Palestine as Subject” in the Jerusalem Quarterly. Reem analyzes the cookbook as an example of the normalization of Zionism, and explains why opposing normalization is a pillar of the fight for a free Palestine.Notes:1) This is the last episode in our keywords series, at least for now. As we’re wrapping up the keywords, we have a new mini-series in the works dedicated to the movement that emerges out of K thru 12 schools in the US to resist Zionist attacks.2) If you are listening to this episode on Spotify, this is the last episode that we publish on this platform. After this episode, the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism is pulling our content from Spotify and will not be using the platform for our materials. This decision is a response to Spotify's chief executive, Daniel Ek’s $700 million investment in a military startup Helsing. Ek has now also become the chairman of Helsing, which is a company specializing in AI-powered combat drones and military software. Multiple musicians, including Massive Attack & King Gizzard, already pulled their catalogs from Spotify and many users are canceling their subscriptions. We are joining this principled call to boycott Spotify over its ties to military technologies and manufacturers.Follow us on Apple podcast or other platforms.Other resources:Reem Farah, “Ottolenghi and Tamimi's Cookbook, Jerusalem: Israel as Frame and Palestine as Subject”Yara Hawari, “Arab Normalization and the Palestinian Struggle for Liberation”Jumana Manna’s film ForagersRabea Eghbariah, “The Struggle for Akoub & Za'atar: On Edible Plants in Palestinian Cuisine and Israeli Plant Protection Laws”
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Disarmament with Bikrum Gill
This week we bring listeners a rich and concise episode on “disarmament” as a keyword for the critical study of Zionism. It's a short talk by Bikrum Gill, a member of the Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective and faculty at Virginia Tech, excerpted from a panel on Critical Zionism Studies and political theory at the 2025 American Political Science Association conference.Bikrum Gill, The Political Ecology of Colonial Capitalism: Race, Nature, and Accumulation (2024) - https://muse.jhu.edu/pub/300/monograph/book/133572Anti-Imperialist Scholars Collective - https://www.anti-imperialists.com/
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Securitization with Nicole Nguyen
In this episode we’re with Dr. Nicole Nguyen to talk through securitization as a keyword for Critical Zionism Studies. From manipulations of the idea of “safety” to tech giant Palantir’s dystopian “digital kill chain” in Gaza and surveillance-to-deportation machinery in the United States, we connect the dots between Zionist and U.S. militarisms. This interview was recorded in June 2025.Nicole Nguyen’s selected writings: https://clj.uic.edu/profiles/nicole-nguyen/Mohammed El Kurd, Untitled essay on Substack (8/29/25)Pro-Israel Group Censoring Social Media Led by Former Israeli Intelligence Officers (Lee Fang and Jack Poulson, 7/11/24)What Big Tech’s Band of Execs Will Do in the Army (Wired, 6/28/25)Foundation to Combat Antisemitism “Command Center”
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Confronting Zionist Expansionism
This episode is a recording of a webinar on Confronting Zionist Expansionism. Moderators Jennifer Mogannam & Amira Jarmakani talk with Abdaljawad Omar on Zionism’s territorial drive and Natalie El-Eid on weaponizing Druze in Palestine and Syria.This event was recorded on August 6 and is available as a video recording on our youtube channel.
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From Above: Secure Community Network (SCN)
Most of the organizations we’ve covered so far in this mini-series purport to represent Jewish communities’ opinions. But the one we’re covering today is different. It’s not about opinions, it’s about putting the armed, carceral muscle behind other organizations. We’re talking about the Secure Community Network (SCN). There isn’t much research on the SCN, so rather than interviewing a scholar or journalist who wrote about it, in this episode Emmaia and Yulia talk about SCN based on the reporting that is available.
Produced by the Institute for the Critical Study of Zionism, this podcast features conversations with scholars, activists, and artists about their insights into Zionism. Unpacking Zionism is a process and a long-term commitment that we at the Institute are making to the Palestinian liberation struggle and the struggles of all people affected by Zionism. To resist the current moment of Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, we must understand Zionism. So join us on this journey as we are Unpacking Zionism one episode at a time. Please subscribe to Unpacking Zionism so you never miss new episodes. To learn more about the Institute and to access episode notes and transcripts, visit our website https://criticalzionismstudies.org
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