Mohammed El-Kurd: Palestine | Lex Fridman Podcast #391

ℹ️ EPISODE INFO

Released

July 24, 2023

Duration

2h 14m

Channel

Lex Fridman Podcast

Watch on YouTube

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📝 EPISODE DESCRIPTION

Mohammed El-Kurd is a Palestinian writer and poet. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:

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TRANSCRIPT: https://lexfridman.com/mohammed-el-kurd-transcript EPISODE LINKS: Mohammed's Twitter: https://twitter.com/m7mdkurd Mohammed's Instagram: https://instagram.com/mohammedelkurd Mohammed's Website: https://mohammedelkurd.com Rifqa (book): https://amzn.to/3Oqippl Books Mentioned: The Hundred Years' War on Palestine (book): https://amzn.to/3K7ZtsE PODCAST INFO: Podcast website: https://lexfridman.com/podcast Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/2lwqZIr Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2nEwCF8 RSS: https://lexfridman.com/feed/podcast/ Full episodes playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOdP_8GztsuKi9nrraNbKKp4 Clips playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrAXtmErZgOeciFP3CBCIEElOJeitOr41 OUTLINE: 0:00 - Introduction 2:18 - Palestine 26:47 - Hate 40:18 - Antisemitism 48:14 - Peace in the Middle East 55:11 - West Bank 1:05:20 - Hamas 1:15:08 - Two-state solution 1:30:58 - Jerusalem 1:37:41 - Role of the US 1:39:31 - Ghassan Kanafani 1:50:16 - 2024 Elections 1:51:25 - Poetry 2:00:45 - Language 2:09:14 - Hope SOCIAL:

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🎤 SPEAKERS

• Mohammed El-Kurd

  guest

• Lex Fridman

  host

🧾 EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Lex Fridman Podcast, featuring Mohammed El-Kurd and Lex Fridman, Mohammed El-Kurd: Palestine | Lex Fridman Podcast #391 explores palestinian poet Mohammed El-Kurd deconstructs occupation, justice, and resistance Mohammed El-Kurd recounts his family’s experience in Sheikh Jarrah, using it to argue that Israel’s legal and military systems function as tools of settler colonialism and demographic engineering rather than neutral law. He situates contemporary expulsions, home demolitions, and movement restrictions within a longer history of the Nakba, Zionist ideology, and British and Western imperial involvement. El-Kurd challenges Western media narratives, legalistic framings, and labels like “terrorism” or “anti-Semitism” that he says are used to criminalize Palestinian resistance while normalizing state violence. Throughout, he defends a full spectrum of Palestinian humanity—anger, humor, dignity, and resistance—while outlining principles for justice: recognition of the Nakba, return of refugees, and redistribution of land and power.

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