“Can Israel Make Peace with Hamas?” Open To Debate's Latest Episode features Cenk Uygur vs. Mosab Hassan Yousef

Uyghur, Founder and Host of the Young Turks Network, argues “YES”

Yousef, Ex-Palestinian Militant, Former Israeli Spy, Son of Hamas Co-Founder, and Author of From Hamas to America, argues “NO”

Listen HERE

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 today, the nonpartisan debate series 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.

A link to listen to the debate, which was recorded earlier this week in Los Angeles, is HERE, and email Hannah Schwartz (hschwartz@shorefire.com) for any additional asset requests.

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”. With a verified global audience of more than 500 million views a month and 25 billion total video views, TYT is the #1 most engaged news and politics network. Uygur launched The Young Turks as a talk show on Sirius Satellite Radio in 2002 and started uploading videos on YouTube in 2005. Since then, The Young Turks has become the longest-running daily stream online, as the leading news and politics show for young, progressive viewers. 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. Uygur was the host of The Young Turks on Current TV, which was the most popular show on the channel’s two-year run. Prior to Current TV, Uygur was the host of MSNBC Live at 6 pm. Uygur graduated from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia Law School. 

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 has conferred with ambassadors, presidents, prime ministers, and government officials interests in Middle Eastern affairs. 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. He is also the author of two other books, “From Hamas to America” and the upcoming novel “The Last Prophet” (with James Becket).Yousef’s purpose is to provide a voice for freedom and peace and bring hope to an entire generation of those who, without a new way of thinking, are destined to follow the destructive patterns of the past. 

ABOUT OPEN TO DEBATE

Open to Debate addresses a fundamental problem in America: the extreme polarization of our nation and our politics. We are 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.

Go here for photos, links and more info: https://shorefire.com/roster/open-to-debate