Episodios

  • Gaza: Walk the Talk?

    Gaza: Walk the Talk?
    Jul 31 2025
    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.
    Más Menos
    1 h y 9 m
  • Gaza and the Holy Land

    Gaza and the Holy Land
    Jun 12 2025
    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.
    Más Menos
    49 m
  • Discombobulated Realities

    Discombobulated Realities
    Apr 16 2025
    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?
    Más Menos
    50 m
  • Rock - human - hard place

    Rock - human - hard place
    Feb 13 2025
    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.
    Más Menos
    53 m
  • Assad time no more

    Assad time no more
    Dec 17 2024
    '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.
    Más Menos
    39 m
  • Latin Patriarch | Cardinal Pizzaballa

    Latin Patriarch | Cardinal Pizzaballa
    Dec 3 2024
    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
    Más Menos
    29 m
  • A hole in the soul

    A hole in the soul
    Oct 2 2024
    It's hard to put into words - let alone sensible ones - how one feels looking on at the multiple tragedies unfolding (rapidly) in the Middle East. Particularly in those lands referred to as 'holy'. It all seems rather unholy and, as usual, those caught in the eye of the storm of overlapping conflicts are the civilians trying to live their lives. The voice of 'Middle East Analysis', Dr Harry Hagopian, is usually a man of good humour, even in the darkest times. As an international lawyer, consultant and man of dialogue, he recently shared a digital 'bubble', as he called it, expressing how the recent escalation in hostilities has created a hole in his soul. So that's the title of this podcast. For just over an hour, Dr Hagopian discusses the current maelstrom of violence, bereavement, loss, suffering and displacement. He even asks whether we stand on the threshold of Sykes-Picot Mark II. Even he hopes he's wrong. NOTE: This MEA podcast was recorded prior to the escalation of regional hostilities on the evening of 1 October.
    Más Menos
    1 h y 5 m
  • Separated from Gaza's Catholic community

    Separated from Gaza's Catholic community
    Apr 27 2024
    When Father Gabriel Romanelli travelled to the West Bank to get some urgently-needed medicine for a nun living with his community in Gaza, it never crossed his mind he'd be separated from his flock for over six months. Father Romanelli, parish priest of the Holy Family Church in the north of the strip, had to watch from a distance as the horrors of the 7 October Hamas attack unfolded, before Israel's bombardment of Gaza led to the humanitarian crisis and suffering we now see in this torn land. On this special episode of 'Middle East Analysis', we welcome to our podcast the shepherd of Gaza's tiny Catholic community - one that numbered only 135 people before the war. Father Romanelli spent a week in the UK, in London and Glasgow, meeting with Christian leaders and politicians to highlight the plight of the near 500 people still sheltering in the compound of the Holy Family Church. Regular studio guest Dr Harry Hagopian, an International lawyer and analyst who has long worked for peace between Israel and Palestine joins Fr Romanelli in conversation for this special podcast. Harry was a Track II negotiator during the time of the Oslo Accords in the 1990s and a former Assistant General Secretary of the Middle East Council of Churches.
    Más Menos
    35 m