Our guest today in Middle East Talks is Peter Beinart, American writer and professor at the Newmark School of Journalism at the City University of New York, to discuss his new book Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza.

The book has caused a sensation ever since it was published earlier this year. Coming at a time when the American Jewish community is increasingly divided over Israel, the book served as an important contribution to the debate.

It’s an attempt to grapple not just with the horrors that the Israeli war machine has brought upon Palestinians in Gaza, but also with what Peter calls the “kind of moral, cultural, even theological wreckage that Jews now have to face”.

While its subject is depressing, the book ultimately offers a hopeful note… perhaps even too hopeful, as we’ll discuss today.

Middle East Talks is a podcast series produced by the American University in Cairo’s Middle East Studies Program in collaboration with the Arab and Islamic Civilizations Department. The podcast aims to foster a better understanding of the Middle East among a wider audience by exploring new and contemporary research in the region’s history, politics and culture. In each episode, a scholar is invited to discuss their work in a fashion that is accessible and engaging to listeners who are curious about the Middle East.

Guest: Peter Beinart, Journalist and Writer, Professor at the Graig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism, City University of New York

Interviewer: Khaled Ezzelarab, Associate Professor of Practice, Journalism and Mass Communication Department, and Director of the Middle East Studies Program, American University in Cairo

Book: Beinart, Peter. Being Jewish After the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning. First Edition. Alfred A. Knopf, 2025.

Intro Music: Festival of Eid Joy by Adiiswanto, licensed via Pixabay Music

This podcast was produced with the help of Nourhan Amer, Nouran Elian, and Judi Yassin

Get in touch via email [email protected]

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this podcast series are those of participants and do not reflect the opinions of The American University in Cairo. Copyright is held by the appropriate AUC school, office or department unless otherwise stated. Requests for permission to quote or use any content should be addressed to the appropriate AUC school, office or department directly.