Our Own Stories in Our Own Voices | Yara Hawari, Co-Director of Al-Shabaka

We talk about Palestinian storytelling from oral histories that transmit our stories across generations, to policy analysis that explains what is happening to us today in our own voices. In this conversation with Yara Hawari, the co-director of the Palestinian policy network Al-Shabaka, we also discuss which Palestinians are given the chance to speak and the many—sometimes deadly—ways that our acts of self-narration are suppressed and controlled. And we talk about the centrality of Gaza in our current historical moment and the importance of de-exceptionalizing Palestine from the many global struggles against colonialism and oppression.   Recorded on February 12, 2026   00:00 Introduction 02:05 Developing a Palestinian Political Identity in the Diaspora 06:38 The Importance and Methodology of Oral History in Palestine 08:31 Challenging the Delegitimization of Oral History Narratives 14:21 Practical Applications of Oral History Research in the Galilee 20:03 The Stone House: Fictionalizing Family History To Tell the Story of Palestine 23:53 Continuity of the Nakba Across Three Generations 28:49 Al-Shabaka: A Think Tank in Service of Palestinian Liberation 34:48 The Responsibility of Self-Narration in Policy and Media 39:00 Navigating Traps and Responsibilities in Western Media Engagement 43:12 Global Mobilization and the Limitations of Democratic Policy Change 49:15 Palestine As Part of a Larger Global Struggle Against Colonial Domination 53:40 The Incomprehensible Scale of Violence and Technological Warfare in Gaza 57:50 Influential Works and Sources of Inspiration for the Liberation Struggle 59:33 Final Thoughts and Recommendations   Yara Hawari is the co-director of Al-Shabaka. She previously served as the Palestine policy fellow and senior analyst. She completed her PhD in Middle East Politics at the University of Exeter, where she taught various undergraduate courses and continues to be an honorary research fellow. In addition to her academic work, which focused on indigenous studies and oral history, she is a frequent political commentator writing for various media outlets including The Guardian, Foreign Policy, and Al Jazeera English. Her expertise includes: Global Policy on Palestine, International Law & Human Rights, Palestinian Politics & Governance, Society & Culture, Zionism & Israeli Politics. Explore Al-Shabaka 👉 https://al-shabaka.org/   Hosted by Yazan Kopty 👉 https://instagram.com/yazankopty   Yazan Kopty is a writer, researcher, and community archivist. His work explores the relationship between narrative and power and advocates for storytelling grounded in self-representation and community collaboration. Shaped by his background as an oral historian, his practice aims to gather polyphony of voices and transform memory into a force for resistance, reckoning, and reconciliation. Since 2018, Yazan has been a National Geographic Explorer and lead investigator of Imagining the Holy, a community-based archive project indigenizing historic photographs of Palestinians and their homeland and activating them as sites of gathering, reconnection, and new cultural production. Beginning in October 2025, Yazan will be producer and host of This is Not a Watermelon, afikra’s podcast series reframing Palestine through conversations with experts and practitioners working to preserve its past, document its present, and imagine better futures for the land and its people.   Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns FOLLOW & RATE THE THIS IS NOT A WATERMELON PODCAST:» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/this-is-not-a-watermelon-palestinian-history-culture/id1726893137» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1UWCL1ITtnJIJUExrb6itr?_authfailed=1» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1047932705THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK Explore all episodes in this series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl40ZRFvo_VVYg6i56flEjSKABOUT AFIKRAafikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.