‘Imperfect Allies’: Processing a Year of War Across Communities

A year ago, the world was shaken when Hamas militants entered Israel, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,200 people and the kidnapping of hundreds more. It was one of the most devastating days for Israelis and Jewish communities around the world in decades. In the immediate hours after that attack, Israel launched an invasion of Gaza, resulting in the deaths of at least 42,000 Palestinians and counting.

Early on in the escalation of the war, two women came together to start having difficult dialogues in a moment of high emotions. Najla Said is an actor, author, activist and the daughter of renowned Palestinian intellectual Edward Said. Judith Sloan is an actor, radio producer and adjunct professor at New York University’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study. They collaborated on a project they call “Imperfect Allies: Children of Opposite Sides.” 

In this episode, they join Notes from America guest host Suzanne Gaber to talk about their year-long work in progress that started as a discussion between two longtime-friends and evolved into a series of listening sessions around the country about the ongoing war in the Middle East. Plus, they give listeners advice on how to navigate difficult conversations about the conflict while managing immense trauma.

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Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.