The Holy Land Foundation Case: Advocacy, Prosecution & the Limits of Dissent

Conversation In 2008, five leaders of what was then America's largest Muslim charity were convicted in one of the most consequential terrorism-financing prosecutions in U.S. history. Miko Peled and John Cline — an author who spent years investigating the case and the defense attorney who tried it — revisit what unfolded inside that courtroom, and what it reveals about the boundaries between advocacy, dissent, and the machinery of post-9/11 prosecution.

Guest Miko Peled is an Israeli-American author and human rights advocate. The son of Israeli general Matti Peled, he is the author of The General's Son and Injustice: The Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five, the latter examining the prosecution and conviction of the Holy Land Foundation's leadership.

Guest John Cline is a nationally recognized criminal defense attorney who represented Ghassan Elashi, the Holy Land Foundation's former chairman, at trial and on appeal. Over a decades-long career in complex federal defense, he has also represented clients including Oliver North, Wen Ho Lee, and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.

Witness To

• The Holy Land Foundation case and its legal legacy
• The boundaries between advocacy, speech, and criminal prosecution
• Civil liberties in the post-9/11 landscape

Medicine Under Siege

Conversation For physicians who have volunteered in Gaza, medicine becomes an act of witness as much as a profession. Dr. Nour Sharaf and Dr. Farhan Abdul Azeez, both Dallas-based emergency physicians who have each completed multiple medical missions there, reflect on practicing under conditions of extreme scarcity, the ethical weight of choosing who to treat first, and what it means to return again and again knowing each trip could be their last.

Guest Dr. Nour Sharaf is an emergency medicine physician trained at UT Southwestern/Parkland who has completed medical missions to Gaza, including a 2025 trip and a return mission in early 2026. She has spoken publicly about the collapse of hospital capacity and the toll of treating patients with minimal supplies and equipment.

Guest Dr. Farhan Abdul Azeez is an emergency medicine physician who has traveled to Gaza on multiple medical missions. He also studied Arabic, Tajweed, and Islamic studies formally, and often speaks about the intersection of faith and the ethical demands of practicing medicine in crisis conditions.

Witness To

• The realities of frontline medical care in conflict zones
• The ethical obligations of healthcare workers
• Bearing witness to humanitarian crises through medicine

Free Speech, Journalism & Government Accountability

Conversation When governments, institutions, and powerful actors seek to shape public discourse, journalists and civil liberties advocates are often among the first to confront the consequences. Nora Benavidez and Seth Stern examine the evolving challenges facing free expression, press freedom, and democratic accountability — and what it means to defend the public's right to know in an era of increasing pressure on independent journalism.

Guest Nora Benavidez is Senior Counsel and Director of Digital Justice and Civil Rights at Free Press, where she leads the organization's work at the intersection of law, technology, and democracy — including efforts to curb disinformation and protect free expression and digital civil rights. She previously directed U.S. Free Expression Programs at PEN America, where she led the organization's First Amendment lawsuit against the Trump administration.

Guest Seth Stern is Chief of Advocacy at the Freedom of the Press Foundation, where he leads the organization's efforts to defend press freedom and protect journalists and whistleblowers. A former First Amendment lawyer, he has spent recent years writing and advocating on the legal and policy threats facing the American press.

Witness To

• The evolving landscape of free speech and press freedom
• Government accountability and the role of journalism in democracy
• Protecting expression in an era of increasing polarization