On the Issues with Alon Ben-Meir

Dear Friends,

Welcome back for a new episode of my podcast "On the Issues." Thank you for your continued support, and I continue to welcome your thoughts and views. For those who have not yet had the opportunity to subscribe, you can do so on Soundcloud, iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Podcasts. All new episodes are released bi-weekly on Tuesdays at noon. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app to be sure to always get the latest episodes.

My guest today is Hanna Siniora, former co-CEO of the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information and publisher of the Jerusalem Times. Siniora has been a member of the Palestinian National Council since 1990; he has officially represented the Palestine Liberation Organization in several negotiations. A Palestinian Christian living in East Jerusalem, he served as editor-in-chief of Al Fajr, an East Jerusalem Arabic language daily, from 1973-93, and was the founding editor of the English language Al Fajr Weekly. Since 1989 he has been Chairman of the European Palestinian Chamber of Commerce and from 1998-2003 was chairman of the Palestinian American Chamber of Commerce. In 2007 Siniora was awarded the Peace Prize of Honor from the Order of the Knights of Malta in recognition of his commitment to Palestinian-Israeli peace. He was also awarded the Papal Silver Olive Branch for Peace.

In this episode, we discuss the concept of an Israeli-Palestinian confederation from a Palestinian perspective, including the aspects of security, both Israeli and Palestinian and the status of Palestinian refugees. We also discuss the Palestinian political environment, including the Palestinian people’s loss of confidence in Abbas and who could emerge among younger Palestinians as a trustworthy leader.

As always, I continue to welcome your thoughts and comments.

All the best,
Alon