Last Tuesday, I met Abed Abu Shehadeh in a café tucked into one of the winding pedestrian pathways of Jaffa, an ancient port city on Israel’s Mediterranean coast. (Today, Jaffa is adjoined to Tel Aviv as part of what’s known as the Tel Aviv–Jaffa municipality.) Abu Shehadeh is a political activist, a former member of the Tel Aviv–Jaffa city council, and a lifelong resident of Jaffa. Since 2020, he has also hosted Al-Midan, a popular Arabic-language weekly podcast. (The title translates loosely to “city square.”)

Jewish Israelis generally refer to this demographic as “Arab Israelis,” though many within the community, including Abu Shehadeh, prefer the term “Palestinian citizens of Israel.” Unlike Palestinians who live in the West Bank and Gaza, those in Israel hold Israeli passports and can vote in national and local elections. They also have their own set of political, economic, and social concerns. As in many aspects of daily life, from healthcare to housing, Israel’s Palestinian minority has long been both overlooked and underserved by the media. On Al-Midan, Abu Shehadeh digs into topics beyond the traditional realm of day-to-day news. Why was there a need for a podcast specifically geared toward Palestinian citizens of Israel? Because we speak Arabic and Hebrew—and often also English—we are exposed to many different news outlets and sources of media. But we find problems with each one. If you look at the big podcasts in Arabic, like those from Al Jazeera, they’re very macro. Sometimes the hosts are not even Palestinian—they’re from the rest of the Arab world, and they don’t know the nuances of our reality. If you live here, you understand that what they’re saying is not always accurate. But then if you listen to [news podcasts in] Hebrew, even from left-wing outlets like Haaretz, you’ll be disappointed. They know the nuances and they might sound nice, but then in the first days of war, for example, they were pushing for the military to go into Gaza just like all of the other Israeli outlets. My view is that we need to be something in the middle. We have to give [the audience] this view of being part of the national Palestinian group. But we also have to give them the nuance that they’re looking for. When it comes to giving them details, it’s in their language and their terminology. Why is the issue of terminology so significant in your work? Language is everything. Israel really tries hard to disconnect us from the Palestinian cause, and the terminology plays a big role. I remember when I was on the city council, I was invited to talk to a group of Israelis who wanted me to explain what’s happening [within our community]. They didn’t have any problem with my analysis, but the only thing that bothered them was that I described us as Palestinians. They said, “You’re giving numbers, you’re giving facts, and we agree with your conclusion. But why do you have to say ‘Palestinian’? Why can’t you say ‘Arab Israeli’?” We believe in the existence of the national movement. When you say “Palestinians,” you’re saying, I’m Indigenous. I see myself as a part of a national movement, a part that has its own unique situation. When you say “Arab Israeli,” you’re disconnecting [Palestinian citizens of Israel] from this movement; it’s as if we immigrated here and don’t have any cultural, historical, or political background. [Another] example: the Israeli media might [use the phrase] “terrorist attack.” We wouldn’t use the word “terrorist.” It’s not about [saying it’s] justified or unjustified, or about any moral or political acceptance. You just don’t use this word in Arabic. There’s a reason: because if you accept the terminology of the colonizer, you’re accepting the narrative they put forward. There have been incidents where people who were innocent were killed [by the IDF] and then labeled as terrorists. I don’t accept this narrative. We don’t know the facts, and often they will stop you from getting the facts. There have been cases that I wanted to bring someone [on the show], but I couldn’t accept their discourse. Especially now, in times of genocide, I don’t think there is a place on my show for people who accept the Zionist narrative. It’s a safe space for us. I wouldn’t bring somebody on my podcast who describes us as “Arab Israelis,” for example. The terminology draws lines around who is with us and who is not.

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