We keep our firm focus on the Holy Land and whilst we continue to weep as we look on at the humanitarian disaster in Gaza and the suffering of all civilians caught up in this conflict, we're joined by Fr Fadi Diab to discuss the lived realities of the Palestinian people in the West Bank as well as in the decimated strip.

Fr Diab is from Ramallah and is the rector of St Andrew's Episcopal Church and also minister at St Peter's Church in Bir Zeit.

He is also Chair of the Holy Land Committee of Friends of the Holy Land, an ecumenical, non-political charity with a mission, together with other Christian charities is to secure a resilient and enduring Christian community in the West Bank, Gaza, Israel and Jordan.

Fr Fadi Diab | The Church's Prophetic Voice in the Holy Land

Our studio guest for this special 30-minute Middle East Analysis podcast is the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa.

Born in northern Italy, the Patriarch, a Franciscan, has spent 35 years of his ministry in the Holy Land. In this time he has seen many episodes of war and tension. The current cycle of violence is particularly devastating.

However, it is the season of Advent and the eyes of the world slowly turn to Bethlehem. Hope prevails in the darkness, and the Patriarch clings to this when discussing the region’s Christians. 

Cardinal Pizzaballa talks about the intense and challenging situation facing the Catholics of Gaza, the West Bank and Israel. We talk in particular about the small community sheltering at the compound of the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City.

Our regular studio guest is the international lawyer, consultant and former Assistant General Secretary for the Middle East Council of Churches, Dr Harry Hagopian. Harry grew up in Jerusalem and his family has traditionally had close ties with the Patriarchate. He fondly reflects on how his father, a doctor, used to treat former Patriarchs at his GP surgery.

Cardinal Pizzaballa and Dr Hagopian share thoughts on a number of subjects in the half-hour podcast:

Gaza and the Christians sheltering at the Church of the Holy Family
Parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli and his joy at being back in Gaza 
Memories of engagement with the various Churches of the Holy Land
Hope and grassroots dialogue in the face of war and violence
The Patriarch’s meditation on Advent and faith

Latin Patriarch | Cardinal Pizzaballa

'Middle East Analysis' started in earnest in 2010-11 when a series of anti-regime uprisings took place across a large swathe of the Middle East North Africa region - what was termed the Arab Spring. Dr Harry Hagopian, an international lawyer, regional analyst - and the voice of these podcasts - helped us to understand the context and long advocated for the voice of the people to be heard rather than supressed. 

A semi-constant topic in the early 2010s was the turmoil and civil war in Syria and the oppressive, often brutal regime of Bashar al-Assad, himself the successor of his father Hafez al-Assad who ruled with an iron fist from 1971. That dynasty held a stranglehold on the country for over half a century.

We spent years discussing government brutality, barrel bombing, international players, the descent into long-term civil war. Then, in 2014, we witnessed the rise of the violent, rampaging terror group IS, or Daesh, under the leadership of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. IS shocked the world by setting up a caliphate across parts of Iraq and Syria. Once again, the Syrian people suffered and, somehow, Bashar al-Assad clung on.

Fast forward a decade and on 8 December 2024, the Assad regime collapsed after opposition forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) swept through Syria eventually taking the capital Damascus forcing the Assad family to flee to Moscow.

So the main sentiment percolating through this episode is what Harry terms 'pessoptimism' surrounding the seismic shift in Syria. We all know vacuums are dangerous and what fills them can be worse than what went before so caution is necessary.

Christmas cheer may be in short supply but we also have a segment on the Christians of the region and whether any peace or consolation can be found in these challenging days.

Assad time no more

Passing comment on the myriad of complex issues playing out in the Middle East North Africa region is challenging at the best of times. These are not the best of times. Whilst we see shards of light casting cautiously down on Syria and hesitantly over Lebanon, the metaphoric storm clouds are dense and impenetrable over Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. 

Add to the mix the incendiary and sweeping 'solutions' posited by the 47th President of the United States and you have all the necessary ingredients for trouble, termoil and tragedy. 

But what about the human beings trapped in the middle experiencing the horrors of war? With the insight of our regular studio guest Dr Harry Hagopian, we spend this Middle East Analysis podcast focusing on the humans caught between a rock and a hard place.

Rock - human - hard place

Being lost for words is no state to be in when preparing to record a podcast. This 50-minute 'Middle East Analysis' episode started with head-scratching on the presenter's part whilst grasping for the right questions to get us underway. 

Despite being somewhat fatigued, regular guest Dr Harry Hagopian takes on what we're terming the discombobulated realities of Israel-Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, and Iran. 

What are the rules of engagement? Are there any? Is mention of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict so fanciful as to be a waste of breath? Talk is cheap, says Dr Hagopian. When are the key players going to do the right thing and walk the talk?

Discombobulated Realities

A Papal death, conclave and election, in tandem with our key contributor's multiple regional travels have dented our once-a-month aspirations for Middle East Analysis but, at last, June sees a fresh podcast episode. 

Regular studio guest, Dr Harry Hagopian, who brings more than three decades of experience of the ever-complex Israel/Palestine conflict to the table, brings us up to date with the tragic realities of the situation in Gaza. 

For this episode, he sits alongside a special guest, the Right Reverend Jim Curry. Bishop Curry has long been a passionate supporter of the Christians and peoples of the Holy Land. He is a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre and the Lead Bishop for the Holy Land for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. 

Dr Hagopian talks politics, Bishop Curry talks pastoral realities. It's an interesting mix.

In this Middle East Analysis podcast, we look at the necessary ingredients for a ceasefire, the desperate need for 'dignified' humanitarian aid and an end to the suffering, Pope Leo's calls for peace, the situation regarding international law and war, Palestinian self-determination - viability of two-state or single state solutions, the small Christian community in Gaza, hope in the darkness, and more.

Gaza and the Holy Land

In this episode, Ezra Karmel speaks with Sean Yom and Pete Moore about their recent special issue in MELG, "Reconceptualizing Security and Political Economy in the Modern Middle East," which includes articles on Syria and Yemen. We focus on their own contribution in the issue, which focuses on the extreme militarization, delving into how this system is perpetuated discussing the centrality of Jordan to American foreign police in the region. 

The special issue can be accessed here: https://brill.com/view/journals/melg/16/3/melg.16.issue-3.xml

*Please note that this episode was recorded prior to the launch of the conflict with Iran. 

Episode 23 – Militarization in Jordan with Dr. Pete Moore and Dr. Sean Yom

Ordinarily, a disclaimer would be bolted on at the end of the introductory blurb. However, one of the key talking points in this podcast - Palestinian self-determination and the recognition of Palestine as a state - has taken on a whole new dimension since recording.

On Tuesday, 29 July, our resident studio guest, Dr Harry Hagopian, sat down to discuss the headline topic of the human cost of the war in Gaza. Just an hour after the faders went down, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the UK's intention to join France in recognising the state of Palestine dependent on whether Israel, and indeed Hamas, meet certain conditions.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney then made a similar move saying Canada will also, under certain conditions, recognise a Palestinian state in September - the third G7 nation to make such a pronouncement in the past week.

With that context in mind, this Middle East Analysis podcast spans a bumper 68 minutes, exploring many varied subjects, so to make things easier for our listeners, here are the topics and time codes: 

Start - 3m 46s
Introduction.

3m 47s - 7m 15s
Pre-analysis topic.

7m 16s - 42m 29s
ISRAEL/PALESTINE: Gaza, humanitarian devastation, patriarchs' visit, Palestinian statehood, settler attacks in the West Bank and more.

42m 30s - 47m 39s
LEBANON: De-militarisation, funeral of renowned musician and composer Ziad Rahbani, son of legendary Lebanese singer Fairuz.

47m 40s - 54m 55s
ARMENIA: An unholy spat between Church and State.

54m 56s - 1h 1m 41s
SYRIA: Armed conflict between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes in Sweida.

1h 1m 42s - End
AFTERTHOUGHT: Book recommendation on Contemporary Arab Thought.

Gaza: Walk the Talk?

On occasion, Dr Harry Hagopian, the voice of Middle East Analysis, offers a personal reflection on a key regional topic. This piece focuses on the political story of his family - from his grandparents in Ottoman Turkey, to his parents during the British mandate of Palestine. The story also weaves across Lebanon and Jordan. 

But then 1967 happened, the six-day war, and it was downhill from there. Harry concludes with the current horrific war in Gaza.

Israel-Palestine: A Personal Armenian Story

There are two ways of looking at every subject covered in this 'Middle East Analysis' podcast. Recorded just after US President Donald Trump presented his 20 (or 21) point framework for peace in Gaza, resident studio guest Dr Harry Hagopian grapples with the viability of the deal and whether it's one that offers any sort of hope for lasting peace whilst allowing for Palestinian self-determination.

Symbolism is a word that can be associated with the other topics on our radar – recognition of the State of Palestine by the UK (and 10 other states) and the aid flotilla - or Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) - that attempted to reach Gaza with Greta Thunberg and other activists onboard before being intercepted by authorities and transferred to an Israeli port.

Dr Harry Hagopian is joined by Bishop Jim Curry who is the Lead Bishop for the Holy Land for the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. Bishop Curry provides the pastoral, Dr Hagopian the political as our guests explore the fading chances of a two-state solution and whether peace is but a distant dream.

Pessoptimism is certainly the word, but Dr Hagopian is more pessimist than optimist with only a few crumbs of comfort to be found.

Pessoptimism on the path to peace

It's hard to be still and take stock when you're standing on shifting sands. Equally it's impossible to build anything meaningful or lasting when the ground under your feet won't stop moving. That's why the title of this 'Middle East Analysis' podcast feels very appropriate in these uncertain times for the region and its people. Conflicts and wars - proxy or otherwise - come and go from the news headlines and the value and dignity of human life is degraded with every man, woman or child killed in the crossfire. Not much is solid, certain and reliable.

Today Dr Harry Hagopian looks at:

Israel/Palestine - a fragile ceasefire in Gaza and the Kairos II statement.
Lebanon - how can its government disarm Hezbollah and at the same time avoid civil war?
Sudan - the horrors of el-Fasher and a tragedy that has left millions in need of humanitarian aid
Syria - Interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa's visit to the White House and an easing of sanctions.
Saudi Arabia - Crown Prince MBS, Mohammed bin Salman - another leader visiting President Donald Trump - and the small matter of the F35s.

All this and more on the shifting sands of the MENA and Gulf region (and Sudan).

Shifting Sands

The Middle East North Africa region is complex - hardly breaking news. There are complicated religious, political and socio-economic realities. Our 'Middle East Analysis' podcasts feature the analysis of Dr Harry Hagopian, an international lawyer and commentator on the Middle East North Africa region and the Gulf States.

Fr Fadi Diab | The Church's Prophetic Voice in the Holy Land

Middle East North Africa: An Analysis

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