Can Israel Make Peace with Hamas? Open To Debate's Latest Episode

 After the October 7th attack, Israel vowed to eradicate Hamas and has been at war since beginning their counter-operation in Gaza. Now, after ten months of war, a hostage crisis, and an increasing death toll, Israel and Hamas have been in negotiation talks, which could be complicated by the death of Hamas's political leader Ismail Haniyeh. 

Should Israel agree to a permanent ceasefire? On its new episode, out now, the nonpartisan debate podcast Open to Debate tackles the question – “Can Israel Make Peace with Hamas?”

Arguing “YES” is Cenk Uygur, Founder and Host of The Young Turks Network. Arguing “NO” is Ex-Palestinian Militant, Former Israeli Spy, Son of Hamas Co-Founder, and Author of From Hamas to America Mosab Hassan Yousef. Emmy award-winning journalist John Donvan moderates.

Those who champion Israel and Hamas reaching an agreement argue there needs to be logical pathways to peace and preventing starvation and further loss of life. Those who are against making peace with Hamas argue a ceasefire deal won't stop Hamas's desire to kill Israelis, or the chances of the group rearming, regrouping, and attacking again. More information on each debater is below.

ARGUING YES 

 

*Cenk Uygur: Founder and Host of The Young Turks Network 

Cenk Uygur is the CEO and founder of TYT, host of The Young Turks, the largest online news show in the world, and co-founded the Justice Democrats. Cenk is also the bestselling author of “Justice is Coming”. Uygur launched The Young Turks as a talk show on Sirius Satellite Radio in 2002 and started uploading videos to YouTube in 2005. Since then, He’'s also appeared on “Cuomo Prime Time”, ABC News’s “This Week with George Stephanopoulos”, NPR, Headline News, E!, Al Jazeera, Voice of America, WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show”, and Fox News Channel.

 

 QUOTES FROM CENK UYGUR (ARGUING YES)

"The idea that there is no occupation makes you sound like you live in an alternate reality. The rest of the planet realizes there's a brutal, horrible occupation of five and a half million people. It's happened for 57 years."

"Where do you want five and a half million people to go? Do you want them just to stay as prisoners? Do you want them to be ethnically cleansed into a different country? What do you want to happen to them?"

"They don't have independence. They can't control their borders. They think they are occupied by their enemies, which is an empirical fact. What do you want to do with them if you don't want to do peace?"

ARGUING NO 

 

Mosab Hassan Yousef: Ex-Palestinian Militant, Former Israeli Spy, Son of Hamas Co-Founder, and Author of From Hamas to America

Mosab Hassan Yousef was born in the West Bank. His father, Sheikh Hassan Yousef, is the founder of the political wing of Hamas, which is recognized as a terrorist organization. Yousef was an integral part of the movement, for which he was imprisoned for more than 27 months by the Shin Bet, the Israeli intelligence service. He withstood torture in prison only to discover Hamas was torturing their own people in a search for collaborators. He began to question who his enemies really were. Yousef became a double agent and started a six-year quest that jeopardized Hamas, endangered his family, and threatened his life. Yousef’s first book, “Son of Hamas”, became an international New York Times bestseller and is the basis for the documentary “The Green Prince”, which premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival where it was awarded Best Documentary and received other awards at the Moscow International Film Festival and the Israeli Film Festival.

QUOTES FROM MOSAB HASSAN YOUSEF (ARGUING NO)

"What Hamas did on October 7th was barbaric, was a genocide, motivated by sick religion. They attempted to ethnically cleanse a race. A human race. And this is a capital crime that cannot be forgiven. The situation to legitimize such a movement ... give them legitimacy. And after that, in fact, to sit down on the negotiating table, then reward them with a state and political gain, and financial gain. This is exactly what they wanted."

"The vast majority of so-called Palestinians in the territories, whether in the West Bank or Gaza, the vast majority of the Muslim world have been supporting Hamas. And the reason, not because they know what Hamas is, not because they understand Hamas ideology. The reason, it's because of their antisemitic approach, because of their hatred of the Jewish people, and they found their angry cause."

Open to Debate addresses a fundamental problem in America: the extreme polarization of our nation and our politics. It is the nation's only nonpartisan, debate-driven media organization dedicated to bringing multiple viewpoints together for a constructive, balanced, respectful exchange of ideas.

Open to Debate is a platform for intellectually curious and open-minded people to engage with others holding opposing views on complex issues. We know debate works to find common ground: On average, 32% of the Open to Debate audience changes their mind on contentious topics after hearing a debate. That’s the power of debate done right, and at scale, it can change the direction we're headed in America.

Open to Debate is broadcast as a weekly public radio program, carried on NPR stations including WNYC (#1 in the nation). Open to Debate is made available as a podcast, video series, and digital platform, and records episodes with live audiences nationwide.

Visit opentodebate.org to become a member, access an archive of more than 220 debates, and attend live events.

 

Thanks to Hannah Schwartz