Miko Peled: ‘The General’s Son’ Who Chose Palestine | Sumud Podcast w/ Dr. Ed Hasan

In this episode of the Sumud Podcast, we sit down with Miko Peled for a powerful conversation about identity, family, history, and his journey toward standing with the Palestinian people. Born into one of Israel’s most prominent military and political families, Miko grew up surrounded by Zionism, military culture, and influential figures who shaped the country’s history. He reflects on his father, an Israeli general, his grandfather’s role in Israel’s founding, and the stories he heard growing up that shaped his understanding of the region. Miko also shares the experiences that challenged those beliefs, from his time in the Israeli military and the war in Lebanon to the death of his 13-year-old niece and the conversations that ultimately pushed him to reconsider everything he had been taught. The conversation also explores his book The General’s Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine, the importance of confronting difficult histories, and why Miko believes standing up for what is right is a responsibility rather than an act of courage.

Miko Peled is the founder and President of Palestine House of Freedom, in Washington, DC. Born in Jerusalem in 1961, he is the author of “The General’s Son, Journey of an Israeli in Palestine,” and “Injustice, the Story of the Holy Land Foundation Five.” For close to three decades Miko has been a public speaker, and human rights activist focusing on Palestine. He is considered by many to be one of the clearest voices calling for justice in Palestine, and the creation of a single democracy with equal rights for all, on all historic Palestine. Educated in Jerusalem, Japan and the United States, Peled is also a professional martial artist. For 23 years, Peled ran a martial arts school that was dedicated to teaching leadership skills and non-violent conflict resolution through martial arts. Peled has been working along with other, mostly Palestinian activists towards dismantling the apartheid regime in Palestine and transforming Palestine into a single democratic state with equal rights for all. Driven by the death of his 12-year-old niece Smadar in 1997, Peled embarked on a journey to explore Palestine, its people and their narratives.

In this conversation, we explore
→ Miko’s upbringing inside Israel’s political and military establishment
→ His father’s role as an Israeli general and his grandfather’s place in Israel’s founding
→ His mother’s decision to refuse a Palestinian family’s home in Jerusalem
→ How military service and the war in Lebanon challenged his worldview
→ The death of his niece and the moment that pushed him to confront what he had been taught → How meeting Palestinians and learning their history transformed Miko’s understanding of Palestine
→ His journey from a two-state framework toward advocating for equal rights and a shared future

Director: Dr. Ed Hasan | 2026