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1. What Lies Ahead for Syria: A Conversation with Dr. Omar Dahi (Episode 25)

Author:
Omar Dahi and Sahar Aziz
Publication Date:
01-2025
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
A complex array of domestic, regional, and international factors contributed to the rise of Hafez Al Assad as president of Syria in 1970 and the ultimate demise of his son, Bashar Al Assad on December 8, 2024 – thirteen years after the Syrian people unsuccessfully rose up peacefully as part of the regional phenomena commonly referred to as the Arab Spring. Located at the center of geopolitical competition between Israel, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Iran, the nation of Syria will continue to play an instrumental role in regional politics, which in turn impacts U.S. interests in the oil-rich Middle East.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Geopolitics, Arab Spring, Syrian War, Bashar al-Assad, Post-Conflict, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:
Middle East and Syria

2. Syria and Seismic Shifts in Middle East Politics with Bassam Haddad (Episode 29)

Author:
Sahar Aziz and Bassam Haddad
Publication Date:
03-2025
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
Syria's complex history and politics led to the overthrow of Bashar Al Assad on December 8, 2024 – as unexpected as the Arab Spring revolutions that gripped the Middle East thirteen years earlier. Located at the center of regional competition, the nation of Syria will continue to experience foreign intervention from its neighbors, as well as the United States. Meanwhile, the millions of Syrian refugees outside the country are gradually returning to rebuild their homeland. Host Sahar Aziz (https://law.rutgers.edu/bio/sa1356) speaks with Professor Bassam Haddad (https://schar.gmu.edu/profiles/bhaddad) about the origins of Syria’s uprising in 2011 that culminated in the overthrow of the Assad regime in 2024, the current uncertainty of Syria in regional politics, and what to expect in U.S. Middle East policy under the second Trump administration.
Topic:
Syrian War, Foreign Interference, Bashar al-Assad, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:
Middle East and Syria

3. Antisemitism and Islamophobia in the US political discourse on Israel/Palestine

Author:
Sahar Aziz and Mitchell Plitnick
Publication Date:
01-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Middle East Institute (MEI)
Abstract:
Sahar Aziz and Mitchell Plitnick discuss their study "Presumptively Antisemitic: Islamophobic Tropes in the Palestine Israel Discourse" with MEI's Palestine and Palestinian-Israeli Affairs Program Director Khaled Elgindy.
Topic:
Politics, Islamophobia, Anti-Semitism, and Discourse
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Gaza, North America, and United States of America

4. Episode 6: The 100 Years' War on Palestine

Author:
Sahar Aziz and Rashid Khalidi
Publication Date:
04-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
This episode delves into one hundred years of colonial war on the Palestinians, waged first by the Zionist movement and then Israel, while backed by Britain and the United States, the great powers of the age. Host Sahar Aziz (https://saharazizlaw.com/ ) and this week’s guest, historian and distinguished Columbia University Professor Rashid Khalidi, will discuss the origins and consequences of this non stop aggression against the Palestinians – which is also the subject of his latest book: ”The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017.
Topic:
History, Zionism, Colonialism, and Palestinians
Political Geography:
Britain, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and United States of America

5. Episode 02: Consistent Partiality: U.S. Foreign Policy on Palestine-Israel

Author:
Sahar Aziz, Peter Beinart, and Sarah Whitson
Publication Date:
02-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
Although the Biden administration talks about supporting democracy and human rights, it has maintained unconditional US support for Israel even as human rights organizations label it an apartheid state. What are the political and ideological foundations of America’s hostility to Palestinian freedom? And what would it take to change them? Does the US’s unconditional support for Israel serve America’s national interests? Host Sahar Aziz addresses these questions with Professor Peter Beinart and human rights attorney Sarah Leah Whitson.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Apartheid, Human Rights, Politics, Democracy, and Ideology
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, North America, and United States of America

6. Trauma in Gaza: Palestinian Diaspora Experiences with Ghada Ageel (Episode 24)

Author:
Ghada Ageel and Sahar Aziz
Publication Date:
12-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
In what a growing consensus of international legal scholars describe as a genocide (https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/new...) , the systematic destruction of Gaza by the Israeli military has killed over 55,000 Palestinians and injured over 100,000 Palestinians in less than 15 months. The Israeli government’s severe restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into the blockaded Gaza Strip have produced unprecedented malnutrition, disease, and starvation of 2.3 million Palestinians. While only a few mainstream American media outlets have covered what has come to be known as the Second Nakba – harking back to Israeli militia's ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in 1948 – even fewer journalists have covered the experiences of the Palestinian diaspora in North America. Host Sahar Aziz (https://saharazizlaw.com/) talks with Dr. Ghada Ageel, who was born and raised in Gaza, about the pain and trauma experienced by Palestinians in Canada, the United States, and other diasporic communities as they witness the Israeli army’s horrific violence against their families and friends trapped in Gaza.
Topic:
Diaspora, Ethnic Cleansing, Violence, Humanitarian Crisis, Nakba, and 2023 Gaza War
Political Geography:
Middle East, Palestine, and Gaza

7. The Fall of Syria's Assad Regime: A Syrian American Perspective (Episode 23)

Author:
Feras Mousilli and Sahar Aziz
Publication Date:
12-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
On December 8, 2024, the Syrian people overthrew Bashar Al Assad, bringing to an end a brutal fifty-four-year dictatorship. Although the Syrian people partook in the wave of revolutions during the Arab Spring, their efforts to bring about democracy in Syria were hijacked by a host of external actors in what deteriorated into a violent proxy war between Russia, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United States. As a result, over 300,000 Syrians were killed, and 13 million Syrians became refugees or internally displaced within the country, as explained in CSRR’s 2019 report “Toward Empowerment and Sustainability: Reforming America’s Syrian Refugee Policy (https://csrr.rutgers.edu/issues/towar...) .” Our guest, Feras Mousilli, is the founder and managing partner of the Lloyd & Mousilli law firm, a recipient of a Fulbright award from the U.S. State Department, and a leader in the Syrian diaspora in the United States. Mr. Mousilli provides the unique perspectives of Syrian Americans who have been waiting for the fall of the Assad regime for decades. He offers his insights into what led to the overthrow of Bashar al Assad and what to expect next in Syria.
Topic:
Diaspora, Refugees, Syrian War, and Bashar al-Assad
Political Geography:
Middle East and Syria

8. Blind Spot: America and the Palestinians with Khaled Elgindy (Episode 21)

Author:
Khaled Elgindy and Sahar Aziz
Publication Date:
11-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
The bilateral relationship between the U.S. and Israel has effectively blinded it to the most detrimental factors to the dissolution of the peace-brokering process, most notably the impact of Israeli occupation on Palestinian sovereignty and the legitimacy of international human rights law. Host Sahar Aziz (https://saharazizlaw.com/) will discuss these complex dynamics with author and political scientist Khaled Elgindy by decentering a unilateral perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a socio-historical lens.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Human Rights, Sovereignty, International Humanitarian Law (IHL), and 2023 Gaza War
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and United States of America

9. International Law and Palestine with George Bisharat (Episode 20)

Author:
George E. Bisharat and Sahar Aziz
Publication Date:
11-2024
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
The indeterminate and contested nature of the terms of international law indicate a prevalent concern regarding the legitimacy of international law in the context of Israel’s war with Hamas and the ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip. Host Sahar Aziz (https://saharazizlaw.com/) explores this topic with Law Professor and expert on Middle Eastern studies Dr. George Bisharat to dissect the prevalent inconsistencies in enforcing and applying international human rights as persistent roadblocks to achieving justice for Palestinians.
Topic:
Human Rights, International Law, and 2023 Gaza War
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Gaza

10. REPORT LAUNCH: Presumptively Antisemitic: Islamophobic Tropes in the Palestine-Israel Discourse

Author:
Sahar Aziz, Mitchell Plitnick, and Jonathan Matz
Publication Date:
12-2023
Content Type:
Video
Institution:
Center for Security, Race and Rights (CSRR), Rutgers University School of Law
Abstract:
Join Sahar Aziz, Mitchell Plitnick, and Jonathan Matz for an insightful discussion during the launch of our pivotal report, 'Presumptively Antisemitic: Islamophobic Tropes in the Palestine-Israel Discourse'. This critical session delves into the escalating issue of antisemitism accusations in the context of the Israel-Palestine conflict, particularly amidst the recent calls for a ceasefire and human rights advocacy in Gaza. Our panelists will explore the complex dynamics at play, shedding light on how the weaponization of antisemitism accusations often results in perpetuating Islamophobic stereotypes, infringes on the free speech rights of Muslims and Arabs, and ultimately hinders genuine efforts to combat antisemitism. This discussion is crucial for anyone interested in Middle East politics, human rights advocacy, and the broader implications of political discourse.
Topic:
Human Rights, Politics, Islamophobia, Anti-Semitism, and Discourse
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Palestine, and Gaza