Today I am joined on the podcast by Alon Liel and Ziad AbuZayyad. Alon Liel is a veteran of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, serving in various positions, including as Director General of the Foreign Ministry. He is one of the instigators of an Israeli campaign to advance recognition of a Palestinian state by European parliaments and governments.
Ziad AbuZayyad is a Palestinian lawyer, journalist, and politician. He is the co-founder and editor of the Palestine Israel Journal, and former Minister of State in the Palestinian Authority. AbuZayyad also served as an advisor to various Palestinian negotiating teams.
In this episode, we assess the prospects for the release of Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian political leader who has been imprisoned since 2002. We discuss Barghouti’s political and peace efforts both prior to his imprisonment and while in prison, the perception of him as a widely uniting figure among the Palestinians, and what conditions in Israel will be necessary to allow for his release.
Listen now; link in bio.
The next episode of my live podcast is this upcoming Tuesday, August 25, at 10:00am EDT with former Israeli diplomat Alon Liel and former Palestinian minister and peace negotiator Ziad Abu Zayyad. Alon Liel is the former director general of the Foreign Ministry of Israel and was also Israel`s ambassador to South Africa. Ziad Abu Zayyad is a former Palestinian Authority Minister and Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, a former negotiator, and the co-editor of the Palestine Israel Journal.
Listeners can register for the live podcast recording on Zoom; link in bio.
Archived episodes will be released the following day, on Wednesdays at noon. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app, including Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Spotify, to be sure to always get the latest episodes.
Italy is facing a human rights challenge before the European Court of Human Rights after releasing a Libyan warlord wanted by the International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. The case raises profound questions about accountability, victims` rights, and whether political and security interests can override international legal obligations.
Today’s podcast guest is Hon. Lise Pearlman (ret.), a former California trial lawyer and first Presiding Judge of the California State Bar Court. Following her retirement from the bench, Judge Pearlman has become a best-selling author and nationally recognized speaker on famous 20th century trials whose books have won multiple awards in the categories of law, U.S. History, and multicultural nonfiction.
In this episode, we discuss her book With Justice for Some: Politically Charged Criminal Trials of the Early 20th Century That Helped Shape Today’s America and a few of the significant cases detailed within, and delve into the injustices surrounding each trial and how they have impacted the American legal system.
Listen now; link in bio.
Afghanistan is erasing half its population by decree. Girls are barred from school beyond sixth grade and from universities; women are shut out of most employment, forbidden to travel without a male guardian, banned from parks and gyms, ordered to cover their faces, and in some directives told their voices must not be heard in public. Women who protested have been detained, beaten, and disappeared; some report torture and forced confessions. Female health workers were restricted in a country where women may not be treated by men, so mothers die in childbirth for want of a permitted hand. Suicide among young women has risen as futures close one door at a time. This is not culture. It is a system of gender persecution that jurists call a crime against humanity, and it is being normalized. And the so-called Western Democracies remain deaf to the silence.
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Today I am joined on the podcast by Alon Liel and Ziad AbuZayyad. Alon Liel is a veteran of the Israeli Foreign Ministry, serving in various positions, including as Director General of the Foreign Ministry. He is one of the instigators of an Israeli campaign to advance recognition of a Palestinian state by European parliaments and governments.
Ziad AbuZayyad is a Palestinian lawyer, journalist, and politician. He is the co-founder and editor of the Palestine Israel Journal, and former Minister of State in the Palestinian Authority. AbuZayyad also served as an advisor to various Palestinian negotiating teams.
In this episode, we assess the prospects for the release of Marwan Barghouti, a Palestinian political leader who has been imprisoned since 2002. We discuss Barghouti’s political and peace efforts both prior to his imprisonment and while in prison, the perception of him as a widely uniting figure among the Palestinians, and what conditions in Israel will be necessary to allow for his release.
Listen now: soundcloud.com/alon-ben-meir/on-the-issues-episode-162-alon-liel-ziad-abuzayyad
Full bios
Alon Liel has served the Israeli Foreign Ministry in various positions: head of the Israeli mission in Turkey (1981-1983), Foreign Ministry spokesman and member of the Israeli negotiating team at the Taba talks with Egypt (1985–1987), Ambassador to South Africa in (1992-1994), Director General of the Ministry of Economy and Planning (1994-1996), Foreign Policy Advisor to Ehud Barak (1997-1999), Director General of the Foreign Ministry (2000-2001).
Liel is the author of several books, namely Turkey in the Middle East – Oil, Islam and Politics (1993), Black Justice – The South African Upheaval (1999), Turkey – The Military, Islam and Politics (1999), Turkey in the Middle East (2001), Demo Islam, Turkey’s New Regime (2003). He has taught courses at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University on Turkey and the Middle East politics.
Liel was the president of the Jewish-Arab soccer club, Abu Gosh-Mevaseret. He is also the founder and the chairman of the Israel-Syria Peace Society.
Ziad AbuZayyad is the Co-Founder and Editor of Palestine Israel Journal. He is a former PA minister (1998 – 2002), former legislator and Chair of Law and Constitution in the Palestinian Parliament (1996 – 2006). AbuZayyad was the Head of the Palestinian Delegation to the multilateral talks on Arms Control and Regional Security (ACRS), and a negotiator in post Oslo Accords Cairo negotiations which led to the creation of the Palestinian Authority.
AbuZayyad was the first representative of the Palestinian Parliament to the Council of Europe, participated in numerous conferences on the Middle East, and is frequently interviewed by local and international media on the political situation. He is a weekly columnist of al-Quds Arabic Daily. He is a lawyer graduate of Damascus University, and Member of the Palestinian Bar Association.
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In Yemen, a protracted war between competing authorities has created a living nightmare. The Houthis are largely supported by Iran, both in terms of weaponry and funding, and the internationally recognized government of Yemen has been backed by a coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates–a government that has presided over a collapse of basic services and widespread suffering. Children and women endure the brunt of this crisis—malnutrition, disease, and displacement defining their daily existence. The fact that the international community keeps arming both sides reveals a global indifference to human suffering that is as troubling as the conflict itself.
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Heat waves are killing hundreds of Americans every year, workers among them, yet the Trump administration keeps dismantling climate protections brick by brick. In February 2026, the EPA rescinded the 2009 endangerment finding, erasing the legal basis for federal climate regulation, and repealed every greenhouse gas standard for cars and trucks. Congress killed the methane fee on oil and gas producers. Clean energy tax credits were terminated early, and offshore wind projects were frozen or bought out. Instead of accelerating clean energy, Trump pushes more oil and gas. It is a sad commentary on America. We are already sustaining significant losses, day in and day out, but the real impact is still to come. The question is who will be held accountable for this deliberately precipitated disaster. That reckoning is coming.
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