This week on the Sumud Podcast, we’re joined by author, educator, and longtime activist Nora Lester Murad. Nora has spent decades working at the intersections of aid, justice, and Palestinian liberation. From co-founding Aid Watch Palestine to raising Palestinian children as a Jewish mother, her journey speaks to the power, and cost of solidarity.
Nora shares moving reflections on parenting under occupation, including the stark contrasts between safety in the U.S. and Palestine, and the painful reality of watching her daughters face military interrogations as teenagers. She also unpacks the harm caused by organizations like the ADL, and why she believes that true anti-racism must be principled, consistent, and rooted in the dignity of all people.
🔑In this conversation, we explore:
➡️ What it means to choose solidarity and identity
➡️ The limits of “progressive except for Palestine”
➡️ Parenting, identity, and anti-racism as lived experience
➡️ Why radical honesty and storytelling are acts of resistance
This video is for educational purposes only. It provides historical and political analysis to inform and educate viewers.
📲 Follow Nora Lester Murad: @nora_lester_murad, @droptheadlfromschools, @interlinkbooks
🎙 Follow our host: @dredhasan
🌐 Explore more at: https://sumudpod.com
📚 Explore Nora’s work: https://aidwatchpalestine.org, http://www.droptheadlfromschools.org/, http://www.noralestermurad.com/
📕Nora’s Book: http://www.bit.ly/IdaRaffle
🏃♂️ Learn more and register for the Gaza 5K by visiting http://gaza5k.org/
📌 Chapters:
0:00 – Introduction & Anti-Racism as a Jewish Value
02:10 – Raising Palestinian Children & Safety in Palestine vs. the U.S.
07:45 – First Interrogations & Parenting Under Occupation
11:20 – Why Nora Left the ADL
16:55 – Distorted Statistics & Zionism in Disguise
22:30 – Solidarity Beyond Identity Politics
27:15 – What Liberal Zionists Get Wrong
31:40 – Jewish Identity, Responsibility & Political Transformation
36:55 – How She Co-Founded Aid Watch Palestine
42:25 – Advice for Allies & the Stakes of Silence
#JewishVoiceForPalestine #PalestinianChildren #AntiRacism #SolidarityIsPersonal #MotherhoodAndResistance #SumudPod #NotInMyName #HumanRightsForAll #EndApartheid #PalestineLiberation #Palestine