East to West | Voices of the Middle East

Presented by the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, "East to West" offers a fresh look at the geopolitical landscape of the Middle East and Israel. This podcast features diverse voices and perspectives rarely heard in mainstream media, bringing expert analysis from policymakers, scholars, and thought leaders.With in-depth discussions on the region's most pressing issues, "East to West" uncovers the complexities behind the headlines and provides unique insights for both seasoned observers and those new to the topic. Discover the untold stories shaping to

East to West | Voices of the Middle East is a news podcast hosted by Unknown Host, with 96 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Unknown Host hosts East to West | Voices of the Middle East, a news show with 96 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

• 

  Episode #97

  Tamer Masudin: “I’m Arab, Muslim, Bedouin & Zionist”

  Sep 29, 20261h 5mS1

  Tamer Masudin is Black, Muslim, Arab, Bedouin, Israeli, and proudly identifies as a Zionist. In this episode of East to West, Tamer sits down to talk with Sarah Martinez Amir about an identity that refuses to fit into the labels often imposed on Israel. He shares why he began speaking publicly after October 7, why he sees Zionism as compatible with his own identity, and what growing up as a Black Bedouin in Israel actually looked like. The conversation also goes much deeper: Tamer discusses discrimination he experienced within his own community, his family’s connection to the history of the Arab-Muslim slave trade, his mother’s former family name “Al-Abid,” and why he believes anti-Black racism in the Middle East needs to be discussed openly. He also recalls traveling to Poland to visit Holocaust concentration camps — an experience he says strengthened his connection to Israel — and reflects on Nazi propaganda in the Arab world, Haj Amin al-Husseini, antisemitism, and the narratives that continue to shape the region today.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #95

  From Jihadist to Undercover Agent: How I Infiltrated the Toronto 18

  Sep 8, 202633 minS1

  Mubin Shaikh once embraced the jihadist worldview. Then he went to Syria, and everything began to unravel.In Part two of his extraordinary conversation with East to West, Mubin explains how studying Islam for himself forced him to confront the ideology he had once believed in, and how a Sufi sheikh slowly challenged the ideas that had shaped his radicalization.But his story took an even more unexpected turn when he returned to Canada. Mubin was recruited as an undercover operative, infiltrated jihadist networks and eventually helped authorities dismantle the Toronto 18 terror plot.Today, he uses that same experience to help young people leave extremism behind. He also warns that the ideology he once embraced is no longer simply being “imported” into the West — in his words, it is increasingly growing from within.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #95

  He Wanted to Blow Up a Synagogue. Then 9/11 Changed Everything

  Sep 1, 202628 minS1

  At 17, Mubin Shaikh was a regular Canadian teenager. A few years later, he had embraced a jihadist worldview, learned to see non-Muslims as enemies and even fantasized about blowing up a synagogue.Then came September 11, 2001. His first reaction to the attacks shocked even him, and forced him to confront what he had become.In the first part of this extraordinary East to West conversation, Mubin takes Sarah Martinez-Amir inside the process of radicalization: how a search for identity became extremism, why jihadist ideology can feel morally righteous to a young person, how religious texts are manipulated to justify violence, and why 9/11 ultimately sent him searching for a different understanding of Islam.This is the beginning of a story that would eventually lead Mubin back into the world of jihadist extremism, this time undercover.

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #93

  Her 11-Year-Old Daughter Was Killed by a Hezbollah Rocket

  Aug 18, 202647 minS1

  On July 27, 2024, a Hezbollah rocket struck a football field in Majdal Shams, killing 12 children and teenagers. Among them was 11-year-old Alma. But Alma was more than a name in a headline.She was a gifted basketball player, a natural leader and a girl with enormous dreams. She spoke four languages, loved drawing, dancing and skiing, and dreamed of studying law so she could stand up for people who could not defend themselves.Two years after the attack, Alma’s mother, Naela, joins East to West host Sarah Martinez Amir to tell the story she wants the world to remember: not how her daughter died, but how she lived.Naela takes us back to their final day together, Alma’s last hug, and the devastating moment she realized her daughter would never come home. She also shares how faith helped her family survive unimaginable grief, and why she made a conscious choice not to let loss turn into anger, hatred or revenge.Instead, Naela has dedicated herself to keeping Alma’s values alive, transforming grief into action and pain into hope. “I want the world to remember the way she lived.”

  ListenShow Notes
• 

  Episode #92

  I Met Khamenei on My First Day in Tehran

  Aug 11, 202640 minS1

  She was born into a Jewish family in France, married a Muslim man from Yemen, concealed her Jewish identity, and eventually found herself inside the ideological world of the Islamic Republic of Iran.Catherine Perez-Shakdam tells the extraordinary story of how she survived life in Yemen, witnessed radicalization from within, gained the trust of figures connected to Iran’s regime, traveled to Tehran, and ultimately came face-to-face with Ali Khamenei.In this episode, Catherine speaks openly about her Jewish identity, her experiences in Yemen and Iran, her encounter with Khamenei, and why she eventually broke publicly with the regime.

  ListenShow Notes

Recent guests on East to West | Voices of the Middle East. Study who booked and why before you pitch.

Based on semantic analysis of episode topics and host coverage, this show is a strong guest fit for executives in:

Industry fit is computed by PitchCentric using vector embeddings of the show's episode catalog.