Interview with the Shoulder to Shoulder podcast: Faith, geopolitics and a changing Middle East
Dr. Salem Alketbi was a guest on Shoulder to Shoulder, the podcast hosted by Pastor Doug Reed and Rabbi Pesach Wolicki and sponsored by Israel365 News, in an episode published on July 16, 2025, titled “Faith, Geopolitics, and a Changing Middle East.” The conversation covered his experience after the Abraham Accords, the stereotypes that keep peoples apart, how regimes and movements use enmity toward Israel to stay in power, and why targeting civilians has nothing to do with Islam.
Highlights from the conversation
“A stereotype will never be the same as being face to face with the other… We need to talk, we need to sit together.”
On dialogue and stereotypes
“In my point of view, they don’t hate you as such. You are only a reason that lets them stay in their systems.”
On regimes that trade on enmity
“The Israeli state has become a reality. It’s a fact… There could have been two states next to each other, with a very great future.”
On the two-state solution
“Gaza was built with the millions given by the Arab countries — not because of Hamas, but because of the poor people there.”
On Gaza and Arab support
“That is not what the Holy Quran says. Never. The codes you are using are terrorist and criminal codes. Nothing to do with us.”
On kidnapping civilians in the name of Islam
