Podcasts about Haaretz

While the world has been focused on the devastation in Gaza, "the annexation of the West Bank has become reality," Hagar Shezaf, Haaretz's West Bank correspondent, said on the Haaretz Podcast. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Shezaf explained, has created a system "that is accelerating" the process of integrating the West Bank into state institutions "while keeping the empty shell of the Civil Administration that represents military rule." Shezaf is stepping down from her beat for a year of studies after six years of covering what she describes as a "deteriorating" situation in the territories, that is generally neglected by the Israeli media. Despite settlement expansion continuing apace, violent extremist settlers becoming increasingly bold, and the direct and indirect displacement of Palestinian civilians from their homes by the Israeli military, "the West Bank is totally uncovered by Israeli news journalists," Shezaf said. Most recently, her reporting called attention to the uprooting of 3,100 trees by the IDF alongside a village after an attempted terror attack by one of its residents. Shezaf described it as an "outrageous" act, and the army's attempts to justify it, she said, "cannot convince me that this is not collective punishment."See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly challenged the assertion that starvation is rampant in Gaza, most recently when he slammed a UN report on famine as “blood libel.” On the Haaretz Podcast, Yarden Michaeli takes listeners behind the scenes of his in-depth reporting with Nir Hasson on the scale of severe acute malnutrition in Gaza. As Israel continues to bar journalists from entering the Strip, Michaeli and Hasson virtually “toured” clinics and hospitals in Gaza – including the pediatric ward of Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis. Israel struck the hospital on Monday, killing multiple healthcare and media workers, including Moaz Abu Taha, the photographer who guided the Haaretz reporters through Nasser. As Michaeli “toured” the wards of Nasser, he saw children who were “very thin, with weak, glazed eyes, clearly severely malnourished with markers of starvation, like changes to their hair color, missing spots of hair on their head, missing teeth and rashes on their skin.” The condition of children, he was told by experts, are the earliest signs of large-scale famine in a population. “The fact that the marks of starvation are already visible on adults in Gaza shows that this whole situation is in an advanced stage,” said Michaeli. “We're not at the beginning. We're far and deep into the process.” Read more: 'Starvation Is Everywhere': Virtual Tours of Gaza Clinics Expose the Scale of the Horror UN Says Over Half a Million Palestinians in Gaza Suffering From Famine; Netanyahu: 'Outright Lie' Alex de Waal: 'Pasta Won't Help. Gaza Is on the Brink of an Exponential Surge in Starvation Deaths'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 Yes, we will update you on Gaza, but we too are getting tired of it. So we turn our attention to the distorted mirror that passes for news-media in Israel and outside it. Haaretz, the NYT, mainstream anti-Israeli propaganda, etc. Also: who gets Pulitzers and for what?   Link to the Haaretz podcast with Gen. Yaakov Amidror (interview begins 33:20):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6vBwE61dYQ&t=2012s https://youtu.be/GqV9Xamrisc

Ralph welcomes Ben Cohen (anti-war activist and ice cream entrepreneur) to discuss his new campaign, "Up in Arms," which advocates for a common-sense Pentagon budget. Then, Ralph speaks to Guardian columnist Arwa Mahdawi about her recent piece: "When will we finally admit: the Gaza death toll is higher than we've been told."Ben Cohen is an entrepreneur, philanthropist, and longtime anti-war activist. He is a co-founder of the ice cream company Ben & Jerry's and a prominent supporter of progressive causes. He is co-founder of Up In Arms, a public education and advocacy campaign pushing for a common-sense approach to military budgeting. In May of this year, Ben was arrested by Capitol Police after he interrupted Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s testimony by screaming,”Congress kills poor kids in Gaza by buying bombs and pays for it by kicking kids off Medicaid.”We're up in arms because the government has taken the kindness, the heart, the soul of the American people and essentially replaced it with so many bombs that there's no rational use for them. They've turned us all into mass murderers.Ben CohenYou know, politicians starting from Reagan are fond of saying “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” And then they turn around and spend $100 billion a year on a nuclear arsenal that's capable of blowing up the entire world several times over. So they say one thing and they do another. I mean, a nuclear arsenal capable of blowing up the entire world several times over? That's not deterrence. That's delusion.Ben CohenI just go back to the moral issue of our time, which is Gaza—two-thirds of the American people don't support continuing to arm Israel. And we need to make our politicians pay the price for continuing to arm Israel… We have a midterm election coming up. If your guy voted to continue to essentially facilitate the genocide, vote them out.Ben CohenWhen you have more money than is needed, you tend to invite corruption, cost overruns, machinery that doesn't work, and I would advise that you look into why the GAO and the Pentagon auditors are being asked to do fewer audits of the military budget. Because there's almost a direct correlation between throwing money at a government program (especially at that scale) and corruption. And corruption is understandable to everybody. It's the number one political issue all over the world, when the pollsters poll.Ralph NaderArwa Mahdawi is a columnist for the Guardian and author of Strong Female Lead: Lessons from Women in Power. Here is her recent piece on the genocide in Gaza: “When will we finally admit: the Gaza death toll is higher than we've been told” (The Guardian, August 8, 2025)To be fair, the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal have published some pretty devastating reports from their reporters in that area. They've put out some devastating features on what's going on [in Gaza], but it doesn't translate into editorial denunciation by these papers. And it doesn't translate into taking the next step and doing what they would do in other conflicts around the world where there isn't so much prejudice and domestic pressureRalph NaderI'm an opinion writer, but as journalists, you're always supposed to report facts. And the fact is: we have absolutely no idea how many people are dead in the Gaza Strip. But there are plenty of studies (which I reference in the article—one Lancet peer-reviewed study, one letter to the Lancet by a highly-respected scientist, one empirical study by Michael Spagat) which show that the death count is a lot higher. So I truly believe that unless you're saying “the official figure from the Ministry of Health is around 60,000 but studies show it is probably much higher,” then that's just journalistic malpractice.Arwa MahdawiI think there's just this instinct to believe that Palestinians are lying and Israelis are telling the truth. And it also goes back to…this isn't just Israel's war, this is America's war as well. And this desire to see America as the good guys—we're the good guys, the Palestinians are the bad guys. And to have this black-and-white narrative where, obviously, we're the good guys, you know, and so if the Palestinian narrative casts doubt on that, then it must be wrong.Arwa MahdawiI always suggest that people write to the media outlets and say that they want to see more Palestinian narratives, they want the media outlets to voice their concern that foreign reporters are not being let in, that more aid workers are not being let in, that pictures are not coming out.Arwa MahdawiThere are very few pictures coming out of the scale of this destruction in Gaza, but when you see the ones that do come out, it is very, very obvious that there are more than 60,000 people dead.But there seems to be this lack of curiosity with some of my peers. Why aren't they asking, “Why aren't we seeing more pictures?” There should be nonstop outrage that their press freedom is being stifled like this and so many Palestinian journalists are being slaughtered.Arwa MahdawiNews 8/22/25* Last Thursday, during an event in her Masscusetts congressional district, Congresswoman Katherine Clark – who holds the position of House Minority Whip, making her the number two Democrat in the House – called Israel's campaign in Gaza a “genocide,” per Axios. According to Zeteo, this makes Clark the 14th member of Congress to use the “g word.” Lest she be accused of bravery however, Clark quickly walked back her comments. In a statement to the Jewish News Syndicate, Clark said “last week, while attending an event in my district, I repeated the word ‘genocide' in response to a question…I want to be clear that I am not accusing Israel of genocide.” This incident illustrates the cross-cutting pressures facing Democratic Party leaders. This divide will be on the agenda again at the DNC meeting on August 26th, where among other issues, party leaders will vote on competing resolutions to lay out the Democrats' position on Gaza. Allison Minnerly, the progressive DNC delegate sponsoring the resolution to end arms shipments to Israel, is quoted saying “Our voters…are saying that they do not want U.S. dollars to enable further death and starvation anywhere across the world, particularly in Gaza…I don't think it should be a hard decision for us to say that clearly,” per the Intercept.* Even as Democrats wrestle with their position on Gaza, the politics are clearly shifting. The Reject AIPAC coalition has released a new statement saying that among Democrats, AIPAC is now a “toxic pariah.” As evidence of this, Reject AIPAC cites the fact that only 14 House Democrats attended the AIPAC-sponsored Israel trip this year. According to Mondoweiss, “In 2023, the lobbying group brought 24 House Dems to Israel over recess. In 2019, over 40 attended.” Reject AIPAC also cites the fact that Reps. Valerie Foushee and Maxine Dexter, both recipients of millions of AIPAC dollars, voted to block arms to Israel and Foushee is even now rejecting AIPAC money. As these small victories mount, the horizon of possibility for movement within the party grows ever wider.* Last week, Tom Artiom Alexandrovich – a senior department head in Israel's National Cyber Directorate – was arrested in a “multi-agency operation targeting child sex predators,” in Clark County, Nevada according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. According to Reuters, “Alexandrovich faces a felony charge of luring or attempting to lure a child or mentally ill person to commit a sex act ‘with use of computer technology.'” Yet, inexplicably, Alexandrovich was released by U.S. authorities and is back in Israel. This set off a firestorm in the U.S., with many accusing the Trump administration of facilitating Alexandrovich's release. The State Department was forced to issue a statement denying these claims, stating that Alexandrovich "did not claim diplomatic immunity and was released by a state judge…Any claims that the U.S. government intervened are false." The AP adds that the “Israeli Embassy in Washington and the Israeli Prime Minister's Office did not immediately return messages.” Disturbingly, the mainstream media seems to be purposely ignoring this case. While it has been covered by the Guardian, the Times of Israel, and Haaretz, there has been zero coverage in the New York Times or Washington Post, or ABC, NBC, or CBS. This media blackout adds fuel to the speculation that this case is being tamped down by the administration for political reasons.* Another troubling story regarding minors on the internet comes to us from Mark Zuckerberg's Meta AI. According to Reuters, internal documents from Meta Platforms detail “policies on chatbot behavior…[permitting] the company's artificial intelligence creations to ‘engage a child in conversations that are romantic or sensual,' generate false medical information and help users argue that Black people are ‘dumber than white people.'” Former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan called these reports “disturbing” and cited a legal complaint filed by the FTC to the Justice Department against Snap in January, under her leadership, “charging that [Snap's] AI chatbot was creating risks and harms for young users.” Khan noted that the “DOJ hasn't filed the case or taken any steps to protect these kids,” and demanded that “Any lawmaker concerned about big tech's abuse of kids should ask what is going on.” The administration's lack of action on these issues indicates that despite their rhetorical inveighing against the tech industry, they are treating SIlicon Valley with the same kid gloves they use for the rest of corporate America, even when it affects minors.* In more positive news from abroad, the Washington Post reports that between 2022 and 2024, Mexico lifted a stunning 8.3 million residents out of poverty. This 18% drop in poverty includes a 23% decrease in extreme poverty and a 16% drop in moderate poverty. According to experts, this remarkable achievement is the result of the policies of former President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, or AMLO, and his successor Claudia Sheinbaum, such as tripling the minimum wage and instituting a raft of social programs to aid “senior citizens, unemployed youth, students, farmers and people with disabilities.” President Sheinbaum is now plowing ahead with a new project – producing a “small, 100% electric, accessible [EV],” called the “Olinia,” to be fully manufactured and assembled in Mexico, per Mexico News Daily.* Turning to domestic politics, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik finally showed up in her district on Monday after an extended period of avoiding public appearances. At a ceremony honoring a late Clinton County clerk in Plattsburgh, Stefanik was drowned out by cries of “‘You sold us out!', ‘Shame!', and ‘Unseal the Epstein files!', along with a “steady stream of boos,” according to the Daily Beast. Stefanik “left the podium after speaking for less than a minute,” and when she returned, she was booed again. Stefanik's chronic absence and chilly reception is a bad sign for her gubernatorial aspirations. In the months since she has held a town hall, her constituents held a mock town hall where they addressed an empty chair, per WRGB, and New York Democrats AOC and Paul Tonko held town halls in her district, per the Albany Times-Union.* In more political news from New York, disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo is explicitly seeking to woo New York Republicans in his independent bid for Mayor of New York City. POLITICO reports that at a fundraiser at media mogul Jimmy Finkelstein's Southampton estate, Cuomo told the crowd that he agrees with President Trump that the “goal is to stop Mamdani.” To this end, he is trying to convince Republicans that they would be “wasting [their] vote on [Curtis] Sliwa,” the Republican nominee for Mayor, “because he'll never be a serious candidate.” Cuomo also implied that he is open to an alliance with Trump, telling the crowd “Let's put it this way: I knew the president very well.” Dora Pekec, a spokesperson for the Zohran campaign, is quoted saying “Since he's too afraid to say it to New Yorkers' faces, we'll make it clear: Andrew Cuomo IS Donald Trump's choice for mayor.”* In Texas, state Democrats have returned to the state, ending their attempt to defeat Governor Abbott's mid-decade redistricting scheme by denying the legislature a quorum. In a statement Gene Wu, chairman of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, said "We killed the corrupt special session, withstood unprecedented surveillance and intimidation, and rallied Democrats nationwide to join this existential fight for fair representation — reshaping the entire 2026 landscape," per the BBC. The legislature is now expected to approve the redrawn congressional maps; the state Democrats plan to continue fighting them in the courts. California has vowed to redraw their own maps to compensate for the expected loss of five Democrat-held seats in Texas. New York, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Maryland are also considering their own redistricting plans. Vice President JD Vance was deployed to Indiana to pressure Republicans in that state to redraw their maps to favor Republicans as well, per the IndyStar. It is a sad state of affairs that American politics has been reduced to such naked power grabbing plots, but here we are.* In local news, the federal occupation of Washington, D.C. continues to deepen. CBS reports the governors of at least six Republican-led states are sending contingents from their National Guards to the capital. These include Mississippi and Louisiana, West Virginia, South Carolina, Ohio and Tennessee. Just what these troops will do in Washington remains unclear. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, who is sending 160 troops, cited “monument security” and “traffic control” among their official responsibilities. The federal agents on the ground, with little to do – the DOJ itself reports as violent crime is at a 30-year low in the District – seem to be mostly just harassing residents. The Daily Beast reports ICE tore down a banner and replaced it with a dildo. A local, Amanda Moore, posted a photo of 15 federal agents calling an ambulance for a drunk girl in Dupont Circle. And, while the Lever reports D.C. corporate lobbyists pushed for the occupation, it is wreaking havoc on local businesses; Rolling Stone reports reservations at D.C. restaurants are down between 25 and 31%, to take just one example. We can only hope that this pointless, destructive farce of quasi-fascistic political theater ends sooner rather than later.* Finally, investigative reporter and Iraq war veteran Seth Harp is out with a new book – The Fort Bragg Cartel: Drug Trafficking and Murder in the Special Forces – which details the double murder of Master Sergeant Billy Lavigne and Chief Warrant Officer Timothy Dumas, along with the “many more unexplained deaths…other murders connected to drug trafficking in elite units, and dozens of fatal overdoses,” at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Among other remarkable discoveries, Harp “describes a U.S. special forces k9 [unit] that was given titanium dentures and encouraged to feast on human brains in the field,” in the words of publisher and producer Chris Wade. Remember these titanium dentures whenever you hear that there is no money to pay for critical social programs. The money is there. The political will is not.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

Israel is approaching the “horrifying” position of becoming a pariah state due to the Gaza war, former MK and Middle East expert Ksenia Svetlova said on the Haaretz Podcast, expressing deep worry that it was dangerously close to following in the footsteps of her native Russia. Western nations' refusal to cooperate with Russia due to its aggression in Ukraine, she noted, means Moscow is now lagging behind in the fields of technology, science and beyond “by decades” – and Israel could easily share that status soon. “A crackdown on civil society in a way that it happened in Russia will indeed deem Israel to the same level, and will impose on it the very unwanted and frankly horrifying status of a pariah," she said. Svetlova believes that without any “real pressure” from U.S. President Donald Trump’s White House, she is doubtful Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will reject any agreement that would end the conflict and halt the current Gaza City offensive. Ongoing war, she noted, “is in the classic authoritarian playbook.” Before that conversation, Haaretz’s Linda Dayan reports on last Sunday’s massive anti-war strike and demonstrations in support of a hostage deal/cease-fire. Although the protest had no apparent effect on the Netanyahu government’s policies, she said, organizers “felt it was successful in that it showed that no matter what the country’s leadership says, the people are behind them, the people are united in what they want. To see a literal big percentage of the national population come out to make sure that people here and abroad know that this is what they believe – that really bolstered people.” Read more: Analysis by Ksenia Svetlova | Beyond Trump-Putin Optics, Zelenskyy Finds Ukraine's Opportunity in What Went Awry in Alaska Hundreds of Thousands of Israelis Flood Tel Aviv Demanding a Hostage Deal to End Gaza War Marching on the Gaza Border, Hostage Families Say: Gaza Takeover Plan Is a Death SentenceSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Israeli musicians are learning the hard way that speaking out against the war in Gaza comes at a price, Haaretz culture reporter Shay Ringel explained on the Haaretz Podcast. The letter, signed by 1,200 members of the cultural and artistic community, was unusually outspoken regarding the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling on Israeli soldiers to disobey "unlawful orders" and to refrain from "committing war crimes." "Talking about the horrific things that are happening in Gaza – the killing of children, the expulsion of population – this is something new," Ringel explains. Ringel recounted how at least one artist had a concert cancelled as a result of signing the letter. He retracted his signature, and his concert was restored "all within the course of two hours." Other artists took their name off the petition due to pressure by right-wing activists. In his conversation with host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Ringel noted that most of the signatories are older and more established musicians, while younger artists are "completely absent" from the petition. Read more: Israeli Mayors Ban Artists Who Signed 'Criminal' anti-Gaza War Petition as Some Retract Signatures 'Fake News': Israeli Singer and 'Fauda' Star Idan Amedi Slams Artists Petitioning Against Gaza War Unthinkable Today – but in 1988, Israel's Biggest Singers United Against the OccupationSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Israeli public is “exhausted” by the nearly two-year conflict in Gaza, and the vast majority of IDF military leaders believe it should end. Yet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is forging ahead with his plan to invade Gaza City and expand the war because “he will do whatever he can to stay in power,” said Haaretz senior security analyst Amos Harel, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. IDF brass, led by chief of staff Eyal Zamir, is attempting to convince Netanyahu for a more limited siege on Gaza City. Still, the message from Netanyahu has been that “he is calling the shots, and the army’s job is to follow orders and prepare to invade Gaza City,” despite the danger that would pose to Israeli hostages being held in the area. Whether or not a full-on operation will eventually happen primarily depends on U.S. President Donald Trump, who, Harel says, is the only one who could push Netanyahu off course, but does not appear to be doing so – for now. “At one point or another, I think the president will be fed up, because there's no victory in sight in Gaza. The suffering continues, and he keeps facing questions from within, including from Republicans, regarding where this is going and why Americans are contributing to this suffering. I don't think that Netanyahu has all the time in the world.” Regarding the hostages, Harel confessed that he struggles to believe that “an Israeli prime minister would just desert them to their death and leave them to die in the tunnels. And yet the signs are there.” Read more from Amos Harel: First Eyal Zamir, Then Gaza City: Defense Minister Katz Targets IDF Chief of Staff Amid Unpopular Offensive Netanyahu Struggles to Sell His Plan to Conquer Gaza as Allies Openly Call for Sacrificing Hostages Despite What Netanyahu Wants You to Think, an Israeli Conquest of Gaza Remains Far OffSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gideon Levy, Israeli journalist and columnist with Haaretz, analyses the latest developments in the war in Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doubling down on his threat to capture Gaza City, despite a growing chorus of condemnation. This comes as Gaza faces heavy bombardment, with targeted Israeli strikes on Sunday killing several journalists, including one of Al Jazeera's most prominent correspondents, Anas Al-Sharif. The IDF claims he ran a Hamas terrorist cell, an allegation Al-Sharif previously denied. Amos Harel is a military correspondent and defense analyst for Haaretz and he joins the show from Israel.  Also on today's show: Ivo Daalder, Former Ambassador to NATO/ CEO, Chicago Council on Global Affairs; Dmitry Valuev, Russian pro-democracy and anti-war activist; Atlantic staff writer Anne Applebaum & photojournalist Lynsey Addario  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ralph welcomes labor organizer Chris Townsend to discuss the current state of the labor movement under the second Trump administration. Then, Ralph talks to journalist Mariah Blake about PFAS and her new book “They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals.”Chris Townsend has been a union member and leader for more than 45 years. He was most recently the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) International Union Organizing Director. Previously he was an International Representative and Political Action Director for the United Electrical Workers Union (UE), and he has held local positions in both the SEIU and UFCW.We've moved up an administrative layer of labor leaders, time markers, folks who see their role as at best guiding the sinking ship, managing the decline, taking best care as they can think of the members as their lives are destroyed, as the employers move to liquidate us.Chris TownsendIn many ways, exceeding the gravity of the political action crisis (our subordination to the Democratic Party, our membership estrangement from the political process, the lack of any significant trade union education of the rank and file other than a few cheap slogans)…is that the crisis that we face is the crisis of our very existence.Chris TownsendIt's far easier to shrink the labor movement than it is to build it and grow it. And that's our job. No other force in the country is going to do the work of adding the many millions of unorganized toilers—I use the word “toilers” very carefully…Toil is really what we've been reduced to, and increasingly so. So there's absolutely, I would indict the labor movement loudly, daily, that there is as yet no understanding that unless we go back out to the unorganized and take the spirit of trade unionism—unity, one for all, take on the employer, organize, defend each other, move forward, recapture some of this gargantuan wealth that we create each day on the job—unless that spirit is returned into an organizing wave or at least an attempt to do this, our fate has been sealed.Chris TownsendMariah Blake is an investigative journalist whose writing has appeared in the New York Times, the Atlantic, Mother Jones, the New Republic, and other publications. She was a Murrey Marder Nieman Fellow in Watchdog Journalism at Harvard University. And she is the author of They Poisoned the World: Life and Death in the Age of Forever Chemicals.PFAS are a large family of chemicals with some pretty amazing properties—they're extremely resistant to heat, stains, water, grease, electrical currents. They stand up to corrosive chemicals that burn through virtually every other material (including, in some cases, steel). And this makes them extremely useful. And as a result, they found their way into thousands of everyday products. On the other hand, they are probably the most insidious pollutants in all of human history. So they stay in the environment for hundreds or even thousands of years. Those that have been studied are highly toxic, even in the most minuscule of doses. And they are literally polluting the entire planet.Mariah BlakeThe way we regulate chemicals in this country at the moment makes zero sense. You do see changes happening in response to the unique threat posed by these chemicals on a state level. And this is really in response to citizen activism. So a number of states are passing laws that have banned the entire class of chemicals. That is not how we regulate chemicals in this country normally. We normally regulate them one by one, but at this moment 30 US states have passed at least 170 laws restricting PFAS, including 16 full or partial bans on the entire class of chemicals in consumer goods.Mariah BlakeThe amazing thing is the families of all these lobbyists have got these chemicals in their own bodies, their own kids, their own infants. I mean, don't they crank that into their daily mission as to how they're going to confront efforts by citizens around the country to ban and regulate these chemicals? How oblivious can you be? These oil and gas executives and lobbyists in Washington, their own families are being contaminated.Ralph NaderThese were people very much like Michael, people who had never taken much of an interest in politics, who'd spent their lives trusting that there were systems in place to protect them. And now that trust had been shattered. But rather than becoming cynical or resigned, they fought like hell to protect their families. And along the way, they discovered these hidden strengths that turned them into really remarkable advocates.Mariah BlakeNews 8/8/25* In Gaza, even the Israeli media is starting to acknowledge the scale of the starvation crisis. The New Yorker reporters, “Channel 12 [Israel's most-watched mainstream news broadcast], aired a series of startling…photographs of emaciated babies, and of children being trampled as they stood in food lines, holding out empty pots…[as well as] pictures of mothers weeping because they had no way to feed their families…Ohad Hemo, the network's correspondent for Palestinian affairs, concluded, ‘There is hunger in Gaza, and we have to say it loud and clear…The responsibility lies not only with Hamas but also with Israel.'” According to the U.N.'s World Food Programme, more than one in three people are not eating for days in a row. Yet, polls show that a “vast majority of Israeli Jews – 79 percent – say they are ‘not so troubled' or ‘not troubled at all' by the reports of famine and suffering among the Palestinian population in Gaza,” according Haaretz. This callous disregard for the lives of Palestinians among Israel's majority population ensures that this humanitarian crisis will worsen even more unless the government faces real external pressure to end the devastation and provide humanitarian aid.* Meanwhile, Axios reports the government of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu “unanimously voted Monday to fire Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, who is currently prosecuting [Netanyahu] for corruption.” As this piece explains, “This is the first time an Israeli government has ever voted to fire an attorney general,” sparking “immediate accusations Netanyahu was seeking to protect himself and his aides.” The Israeli Supreme Court issued an injunction blocking the move. However, this act, and the ensuing backlash, all but guarantees the bombardment of Gaza will continue as Netanyahu uses the campaign as a political liferaft.* Speaking of political crises, a major one is unfolding here at home. In Texas, the Republican-dominated state legislature is seeking to redraw the state's congressional maps to give Republicans five additional seats, which President Trump claims they are “entitled” to, per ABC. This naked power grab has set off a firestorm, with Democratic-controlled states like California and New York vowing to retaliate by redrawing their own maps to maximize their party's advantage. Texas state Democratic legislators, in an attempt to deny Republicans the quorum they need to enact the new maps, have fled to Illinois. Attorney General Ken Paxton has ordered their arrest, but they are seeking safe harbor in Illinois. Gerrymandering has plagued the American body politic since the foundation of the republic; perhaps this new crisis will force a resolution to the issue at the federal level. Then again, probably not.* In more positive legal news, former Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan reports that in an “Important win…A court rejected Google's effort to overturn a unanimous jury verdict finding that Google illegally monopolized key markets.” Crucially, the court also found that “digital monopolies can enjoy the fruits of their illegal conduct even after it stops.” In practice, this ruling means a remedy “may need to go beyond just stopping the illegal behavior so that the market can truly be opened up to competition.” However, Google is still appealing the ruling to the corporate-friendly Supreme Court, so the ultimate fate of this decision remains in the balance.* On Tuesday, the New York Times published an article giving an inside look at financier and pedophile sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein's “Manhattan Lair.” Among other notable features of the seven-story townhouse: a surveillance camera inside Epstein's bedroom. One can only imagine the images it captured. Another notable feature: the preponderance of photographs of powerful and influential figures with Epstein, including Bill Clinton, Donald Trump, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman. Epstein's Saudi connections, including a passport with a fake name and an address in Saudi Arabia which he used to enter several countries, including the Kingdom in the 1980s, have not been deeply probed.* Our remaining stories for this week all revolve around the Trump administration. First, after complaining that the Bureau of Labor Statistics “rigged” economic data to make his administration and Republicans look bad, Trump has fired BLS Commissioner Erika McEntarfer. As POLITICO notes, budget constraints and workforce cuts have already enfeebled BLS, and the bureau's attempts to insulate itself from political pressure will now be strained to the limit as whomever Trump does install will – implicitly or explicitly – understand that their fate will be tied to reporting out positive economic data. In the long run, this blow against accuracy in official economic reporting could do immense damage to the confidence of those considering investing in the United States.* Another Trump power grab is aimed at the District of Columbia. At 3 a.m. on Sunday, an altercation occurred between two fifteen-year-olds and Edward Coristine, the infamous DOGE staffer nicknamed “Big Balls,” in Washington's Logan Circle neighborhood. According to AP, “the group approached…[Coristine's] car and made a comment about taking it…[he then]...turned to confront the group…the teens then attacked him…officers patrolling nearby intervened…[and] the teens fled on foot.” This objectively strange, though ultimately mundane, attempted carjacking by teenagers has spurred the president to threaten a federal takeover of D.C., even as “violent crime overall is down more than 25% from the same period last year.” This is not the first time Republicans have threatened a federal takeover of the District, and in recent years there have been increasing tensions between the local and federal government – but D.C. is largely powerless to resist as it lacks the constitutional protections of statehood.* The Trump administration is also taking actions that will endanger the health and safety of all Americans. NBC reports Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is terminating 22 contracts, amounting to around $500 million, for research and development of mRNA vaccines. These contracts were awarded through the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA. One of these contracts was intended to help develop an mRNA-based vaccine for H5N1, the strain of bird flu that has infected dozens of people in the United States, according to this report. Rick Bright, who directed BARDA through the first Trump administration is quoted saying, “This isn't just about vaccines…It's about whether we'll be ready when the next crisis hits. Cutting mRNA development now puts every American at greater risk.”* Over at the Environmental Protection Agency, the picture is far more muddled. The Washington Post reports that the EPA held a tense meeting this week on its plan to rescind the agency's drinking water standard with regard to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS. In this meeting, state officials complained that mixed messages from federal regulators were frustrating their efforts. According to the Post “Despite the lack of clarity on what the EPA will do with the standard, states are still on the hook for implementing it.” Steven Elmore, chair of the National Drinking Water Advisory Council, is quoted saying “Certain states have state laws that say their drinking water standard can't be more stringent than the federal law.” At the same time, 250 bills have been introduced in 36 states this year to address PFAS by “banning the chemicals in products, setting maximum levels in drinking water and allocating funding to clean up contamination,” and “Dozens of states have passed regulatory standards for at least one forever chemical in drinking water.” Put simply, chaos and confusion reign, and the American people will pay the price as toxic forever chemicals continue to pollute our drinking water.* Finally, the BBC reports Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has announced plans for the United States to put a nuclear reactor on the moon. According to this piece, this initiative – part of “US ambitions to build a permanent base for humans to live on the lunar surface” – will be fast-tracked through NASA with a goal of being completed by 2030. The BBC astutely observes “questions remain about how realistic the goal and timeframe are, given recent and steep [NASA] budget cuts.” The announcement of this literally outlandish potential boondoggle is driven by an announcement in May by Russia and China that they plan to build an automated nuclear power station on the Moon by 2035. That's right, a second space race is underway, and to paraphrase the 18th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, the second time is always a farce.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is often portrayed as a political improviser who seizes opportunities and dodges land mines as they occur to preserve his hold on power, he is in fact guided by a clear and consistent mission, Haaretz editor-in-chief Aluf Benn tells the Haaretz Podcast. “Netanyahu’s strategy, since the inception of his career, and even before he became a professional politician, has been to prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and diminish the Palestinian national movement,” said Benn. As the war has worn on and with Netanyahu’s latest decision to escalate the conflict in Gaza instead of working to end it, Benn says the contention that the argument that Netanyahu does not really share the ideology of his farthest-right coalition partners – National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich – does not hold up. “I've yet to see one area of disagreement between Netanyahu and Smotrich and Ben-Gvir,” Benn said. While the premier may “hide behind” excuses of being pushed and pulled by outside forces, Benn believes he has a firm grip on power and knows exactly what he is doing. In his wide-ranging conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Benn also discusses the 20th anniversary of the Gaza disengagement – which Israel’s right blames for the events of October 7, his brewing confrontation with the IDF Chief of Staff over Gaza, and whether Netanyahu can face the voters after essentially abandoning the remaining Gaza hostages. Read more from Aluf Benn: Opinion | Why Did the Self-righteous Opponents of Israel's Gaza Disengagement Ignore Security Warnings Before October 7? Opinion | Don't Give Netanyahu a Free Pass. He Knows Exactly What He Is Doing in Gaza Opinion | Can You Fight for Israel's Democracy but Collaborate With Its Persecution of Palestinians?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

C'est à la Une de la presse américaine, européenne, israélienne… « Netanyahu affirme qu'Israël prendra le contrôle de toute la bande de Gaza » titre le Wall Street Journal, qui parle « d'un pari qui défie la pression internationale pour mettre fin à la guerre, et qui manque d'un large soutien national ». Le Washington Post, de son côté, cite « des analystes selon lesquels la réoccupation de Gaza nécessiterait des semaines, voire des mois de combats ». Ces analystes pensent également « que ce plan pourrait aussi être un stratagème de Netanyahu, pour persuader le Hamas de revenir à la table des négociations. » Une initiative qui ne fait pas l'unanimité. « Conquérir Gaza est une mauvaise idée, sur le plan moral, et sur le plan économique », estime ainsi Yair Lapid, le chef de l'opposition parlementaire », rapporte le New York Times, alors « que les familles des otages craignent que l'extension du contrôle israélien conduise l'armée à tuer leurs proches par inadvertance, ou pousse le Hamas à les exécuter ». Au Liban, le journal francophone L'orient-le-Jour, cite d'ailleurs la réaction du Hamas, selon lequel « les plans de Netanyahu confirment sans l'ombre d'un doute, son désir de se débarrasser des otages ».   Possible invasion terrestre La presse israélienne réagit aussi à la dernière annonce de Benyamin Netanyahu. « Malgré les avertissements de Tsahal, le cabinet de sécurité approuve le plan de Netanyahu visant à conquérir la ville de Gaza », titre le Times of Israel, qui souligne aussi, l'ambiguïté des déclarations de Netanyahu, qui avait d'abord parlé de « prise de contrôle totale de la bande de Gaza » ( et non pas seulement de la ville de Gaza), avant la réunion du cabinet de sécurité. Le quotidien Haaretz, lui, précise que « des images satellites montrent un renforcement des effectifs de l'armée israélienne, avant une possible invasion terrestre de Gaza ». « Le Jerusalem Post, de son côté, cite le chef d'état-major de l'armée israélienne qui a exprimé son opposition au plan de Netanyahu, estimant « qu'il n'y avait aucune réponse humanitaire pour le million de personnes qui devraient être transférées. Tout sera complexe (dit-il) ajoutant : je suggère que le retour des otages soit exclu des objectifs militaires ». Malnutrition À lire également, dans la presse israélienne, un article dénonçant la situation humanitaire à Gaza. C'est le quotidien d'opposition Haaretz qui cite les chiffres de l'ONU, estimant « que 12 000 enfants souffrent de malnutrition (…) alors que l'ordre public s'effondre ». À l'appui, une photo montrant des enfants et des adultes, tendre désespérément des bassines, lors d'une distribution d'aide alimentaire. Haaretz pointe du doigt l'armée israélienne, « qui retarde toujours aux points de contrôle, près de la moitié des convois d'aide et des livraisons humanitaires dans la bande de Gaza, y compris les entrées et les sorties des équipes médicales et les livraisons de carburant ». Compassion Enfin, en Espagne, el Païs publie un texte coup de point de la romancière Gioconda Belli. Une tribune intitulée « Gaza et la cruauté ». Alors que la romancière pose cette question : « comment est-il possible que des personnes qui portent un holocauste dans leur mémoire, aient perdu la compassion d'une manière aussi monstrueuse ? ». « En tant que témoins de cette horreur à Gaza, en voyant les photos d'enfants qui étaient, sinon morts, du moins affamés, et en entendant le bilan quotidien des morts, nous nous sentons impuissants et incrédules », poursuit Gioconda Belli. Et elle conclut : « Il s'agit d'un conflit humain, mais surtout d'un conflit éthique et moral que ceux qui ont le pouvoir de le faire doivent mettre fin maintenant ».

Le Premier ministre israélien durcit le ton. « Dimanche, rapporte Haaretz à Tel Aviv, Netanyahu annonce une extension de la guerre contre le Hamas. Puis, dans une vidéo publiée le lendemain, il affirme qu'il est déterminé à poursuivre la guerre, à éliminer le Hamas à Gaza et, dit-il, à "libérer nos fils otages". Enfin hier soir, un autre message radical arrive : Netanyahu, par l'intermédiaire d'un haut responsable de son équipe, annonce sa décision de conquérir l'ensemble du territoire de Gaza ». Autant d'annonces radicales, donc, et ce, pointe encore Haaretz, « malgré l'opposition du chef d'État-major de Tsahal, le général Eyal Zamir, malgré l'épuisement des unités combattantes et malgré les réserves croissantes de l'opinion publique israélienne ». Et le quotidien israélien d'opposition de s'interroger : « pourquoi la pression militaire, qui n'a pas donné de résultats depuis des mois, devrait-elle maintenant permettre la libération des otages ? Comment les récupérer intacts des tunnels ? Qu'est-ce qui assure Netanyahu que confier cette mission aux forces terrestres épuisées réussira cette fois-ci ? Qui remplacera le chef d'État-major, le général Zamir, s'il est effectivement remplacé ? (…) On a coutume de dire qu'il est difficile en Israël de mener une guerre sans consensus public, et sans l'approbation du chef d'État-major des armées. Or, dans le cas présent, Netanyahu affiche sa détermination à poursuivre la guerre sans l'un et sans l'autre ». Jusqu'au-boutiste… « En Israël, le coup de pression de Benyamin Netanyahu pour une opération visant à contrôler l'ensemble de Gaza », titre Libération à Paris. « Selon la presse israélienne, le Premier ministre souhaiterait que l'armée prenne le contrôle de l'ensemble du territoire palestinien. Mais le chef d'État-major a mis en garde le chef du gouvernement sur les risques que feraient peser une telle stratégie sur la vie des derniers otages israéliens retenus à Gaza ». Et Libération de s'interroger : « est-ce le signe d'un désaccord entre le pouvoir politique et l'armée israélienne ? » En tout cas, pointe encore le quotidien français, « ce nouveau coup de pression du Premier ministre israélien semble une nouvelle fois privilégier une position jusqu'au-boutiste, en dépit des réticences de l'institution militaire et des services de sécurité ». Quel horizon ? Comment sortir de ce conflit ? Pour Le Monde à Paris, « une seule issue, la mobilisation internationale. La démarche (hier) des anciens hauts responsables de la sécurité de l'État hébreu qui appellent Donald Trump à faire pression sur Benyamin Netanyahu confirme qu'il ne faut rien attendre de la coalition au pouvoir en Israël et que la pression internationale est le seul moyen de faire plier le Premier ministre israélien. Lorsque ces personnalités évoquent la mise en place d'une "coalition régionale-internationale qui aide l'Autorité palestinienne (une fois réformée) à offrir aux Gazaouis et à tous les Palestiniens une alternative au Hamas", ils appuient à leur manière l'initiative lancée conjointement par la France et l'Arabie saoudite pour tirer de l'oubli la solution des deux États. Personne ne peut plus se contenter, en effet, conclut Le Monde, d'un cessez-le-feu privé d'horizon diplomatique. L'internationalisation du conflit israélo-palestinien par la mobilisation d'une coalition de bonnes volontés est aujourd'hui une nécessité ». Isoler le Hamas « Quelle est la prochaine étape pour Gaza ? », s'interroge en écho le New York Times. « Certainement pas tenter d'occuper Gaza à long terme, comme l'envisage Netanyahu. Ce serait une erreur colossale. (…) Tout d'abord, et c'est le plus évident : le gouvernement israélien doit acheminer, en abondance et avec un effet immédiat et indéniable, de la nourriture et des médicaments aux endroits de Gaza qui en ont désespérément besoin ». Ensuite, le New York Times fait sienne la proposition de l'ancien Premier ministre Naftali Bennett, à savoir : « encercler et isoler le champ de bataille, en permettant l'entrée de nourriture et de médicaments, mais bloquer les choses dont le Hamas a besoin pour maintenir sa machine de guerre, en particulier le carburant pour les générateurs dans les tunnels et le béton pour les construire. (…) Il est temps, s'exclame le quotidien américain, que le Hamas subisse le poids de la pression, surtout de la part des habitants de Gaza, pour les ruines qu'il a créées ».

Watch us on YouTube: https://youtu.be/VCcIpEYOqr4Join our Patreon community to get access to bonus episodes, discounts on merch and more: https://bit.ly/UnholyPatreon Don't forget to follow/subscribe to your favourite podcasting platform! As the war in Gaza grinds on, a rift appears between two familiar allies: Donald Trump breaks ranks with Benjamin Netanyahu, acknowledging the scale of hunger in Gaza. Meanwhile, the UK moves to formally recognise a Palestinian state, prompting a diplomatic storm.This week, Yonit and Jonathan are joined by Haaretz's senior military analyst Amos Harel to assess the state of negotiations, the burden borne by Israeli reservists, and the stark realities on the ground for Palestinian civilians in Gaza.Plus: a crowded field for this week's Chutzpah and Mensch awards — and a nod to our listeners who treat Unholy as an English-language workout.

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcastCheck out Ark Media's other podcasts: For Heaven's Sake: lnk.to/rfGlrA‘What's Your Number?': lnk.to/rbGlvMFor sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.orgTo contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorgDan on X: x.com/dansenorDan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenorTo order Dan Senor & Saul Singer's book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdnToday's Episode: On Wednesday, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that the Canadian government will recognize a Palestinian State at the United Nations meeting set for September. On Tuesday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer declared that the UK will do the same – that is, unless Israel (and only Israel) meets a set of conditions. Canada and France followed the lead of French President Emanuel Macron, who announced a few days ago that France will recognize a Palestinian State at the September UN meeting. These developments come as Israel's global image plummets, according to a recent Gallup survey. To discuss how we got to this point – where Israel's response to Hamas' October 7th attack is prompting European countries to recognize a Palestinian State – we are joined by Ari Shavit, former correspondent at Haaretz and author of the award winning book My Promised Land.Before the interview, we take a moment to remember Wesley LePatner. Item discussed in this episode: “In Memory of Wesley LePatner, a cherished friend.” By Caroline Tell. Please click here to read. CREDITS:ILAN BENATAR - Producer & EditorMARTIN HUERGO - Sound EditorMARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional EditingMAYA RACKOFF - Operations DirectorGABE SILVERSTEIN - ResearchYUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

The latest crisis of mass starvation and death in Gaza seems to have finally cut through the layers of denial and media self-censorship in Israel – and in both Arab and mixed cities, demonstrations against the horrifying humanitarian situation are drawing tens of thousands of protesters. This week, the Haaretz Podcast includes two firsthand accounts of survival from Gaza: 32-year-old Hana and 24-year-old Abdel Halim. Speaking on the podcast, Haaretz journalist Nagham Zbeedat told host Allison Kaplan Sommer that the situation in Gaza has “gone from bad to unbearable” and it has become “fight to simply remain a human being in Gaza, through all of the starvation, bombing and endless loss.” She also reports on the new wave of protests led by Palestinian citizens of Israel, who have overcome fear of government retribution and taken to the streets en masse to protest the war and government policies that have led to the current dire situation. “I dare say it's the first time in history that we witness a livestreamed starvation war committed against unarmed people,” said Zbeedat. Also on the podcast: Linda Dayan, a reporter who covers the anti-war protest movement for Haaretz, discusses how demonstrations against the humanitarian disaster in Gaza are becoming more mainstream. After nearly two years of focusing sharply on the hostages and calling for a cease-fire deal, Dayan said, Jewish Israelis are “putting themselves on the line and countering what was kind of a very well accepted talking point until fairly recently: that the Gazans aren't starving, that there's a lot of aid, and Hamas is just stealing it.” From what she’s seen and heard, Dayan expects the protests focused on hunger and death in Gaza to grow. “I have a feeling there's going to be more and more of these until something changes,” she said, adding that she believes that the Netanyahu government’s decision to allow “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting “is partially because some people are listening to the street.” Subscribe to Haaretz.com for up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Israel and the Middle East in English. Read more: 'We and Our People in Gaza Are One': Over 10,000 Protest Gaza War and Hunger Crisis in Major Arab Israeli City 'We're Feeling Their Pain': Arab Israeli Leaders Declare Three-day Hunger Strike Over Gaza Starvation Experts Warn: Gaza Children Facing Acute Malnutrition, Long-term Medical Support NeededSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has decisively lost his Knesset majority following the exit of the two major ultra-Orthodox parties that were pillars of his coalition, which now holds only 49 seats in the 120-member parliament. But celebration is premature for those hoping for swift elections that could lead to the end of his rule, warns Haaretz columnist and political strategist Dr. Dahlia Scheindlin on the Haaretz Podcast. The ultra-Orthodox may have left the government in a “very demonstrative way, but if they don't actually join a vote that would bring down the government and launch early elections, it doesn't really matter,” Scheindlin said. As the Knesset enters its summer recess with a minority in power, only reconvening in October, “their exit from the coalition is essentially a matter of holding a political sword over the head of Netanyahu, over the government's head, saying ‘we are poised to bring down this government now and launch early elections’“ – but elections are far from a certainty. What is becoming increasingly certain for most Israelis, Scheindlin told podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, is the fact that the government has “made it extremely clear that its political interests override the good of the state” by doing everything in its power to advance the law the ultra-Orthodox are pressuring them to pass, exempting Haredi men from military service at a time when the country needs manpower more desperately than ever. Subscribe to Haaretz.com for up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Israel and the Middle East in English. Read more from Dahlia Schiendlin in Haaretz: Bolting Parties, Baffling Polls: Are Elections in Israel Imminent? What Are Netanyahu's Chances of Winning? Netanyahu's Trial Is a Seductive Spectacle. But Dead Gazan Children Matter Far More Netanyahu Should End the Gaza War Now – for His Own Sake, if Not for Israel'sSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Israel's defence minister, Israel Katz, told journalists earlier this month that he has instructed the military to draw up plans for a camp in southern Gaza, which would eventually house the entire population of the strip. According to Israel's Haaretz newspaper, Katz said residents would not be allowed to leave once they entered — although he and other Israeli officials are still talking about plans to deport, or “voluntarily relocate,” Gazan civilians.While Katz described this as a “humanitarian city,” critics — including a former Israeli prime minister — have decried the plan as a “concentration camp.”Today, we'll first hear from a man in the area of southern Gaza from which people would theoretically be moved into this proposed camp. Then we'll speak to Dahlia Scheindlin, a Tel Aviv-based pollster and political analyst, and author of the recent book The Crooked Timber of Democracy in Israel: Promise Unfulfilled.For transcripts of Front Burner, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/frontburner/transcripts

If it weren’t for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ongoing criminal trial and the multiple investigations into payments made by Qatar to his closest aides, the Gaza war could have been over, Bar Peleg, who has been covering Netanyahu’s legal woes, said on the Haaretz Podcast. In his conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Peleg laid out the details of the multiple investigations, including BibiLeaks and Qatargate, against the Israeli premier in light of the calls by President Donald Trump that his trial be “cancelled.” Trump has also suggested that Netanyahu should be given a pardon, and U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee’s appearance at his trial in a show of support. A recent exposé by Peleg and Gidi Weitz revealed that the Trump administration is actively intervening in the Qatargate investigation by preventing a key U.S. witness, Qatar lobbyist Jay Footlik, from being questioned by Israel Police. Without Footlik’s testimony, which has now been postponed three times, “the case may well be stuck.” The active crusade by the Trump administration to “save Bibi Netanyahu,” as the president put it on social media, “is the most interference that we have seen from the United States in Israel in internal matters.” Peleg said that all evidence points to the fact that Netanyahu’s legal woes have impacted his policy decisions over the past five years, with particularly fateful consequences over the course of the Gaza war. Israelis “need to know that what their prime minister is doing is what is important for the state – and when we see how Netanyahu is acting regarding the war, we don’t believe fully that he is doing what is good for Israel,” Peleg said. If Netanyahu was not on trial and facing other potential criminal charges, Peleg said, “maybe this war would have ended.” Subscribe to Haaretz.com for up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Israel and the Middle East in English. Read more: Haaretz Exposé | U.S. Officials: Order to Prevent Israeli Investigation of Key Qatargate Figure Jay Footlik 'Came From Above' How Jay Footlik Went From Democratic Insider to Player in Netanyahu's Dirty Wartime Scandal Following the Money: Where Does Qatargate Scandal Involving Netanyahu's Closest Aides and Gulf State Stand?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Our resident constitutional expert Bruce Fein joins to make the case for impeaching the Supreme Court AND the President, and what we—as citizens—can do to make it happen. Then we welcome Lori Wallach of Rethink Trade to evaluate Trump's tariff policy. Are these trade deals bringing manufacturing back to the US? Or is Trump just using tariffs as a cudgel to punish countries that annoy him?Bruce Fein is a Constitutional scholar and an expert on international law. Mr. Fein was Associate Deputy Attorney General under Ronald Reagan and he is the author of Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy, and American Empire: Before the Fall.This has real consequences for you people all over the country because one of their shadow docket decisions (without explanation or hearing) briefs just very recently said that Trump can fire all these people in the IRS or the Education Department or EPA and get away with it. And, in fact, paralyze the workings of his (statutorily-established-by-Congress) Cabinet Secretary and Department…So this is devastating to your health, economic safety, environment, workplace safety, education, all kinds of things that are being ridden into the ground.Ralph NaderIn my judgment, the court has basically abandoned its role as a check on executive power…It's actually become an appendage of the executive branch. Nothing placing any kind of serious or material handcuff on what the President can do on his own. And the President is taking full advantage of that.Bruce FeinLori Wallach is a 30-year veteran of international and U.S. congressional trade battles— starting with the 1990s fights over NAFTA and WTO when she founded the “Global Trade Watch” group at Public Citizen. She is now the director of the Rethink Trade program at the American Economic Liberties Project, and a Senior Advisor to the Citizens Trade Campaign.What these guys are doing [with Trump's tariff policy] it's basically trying to build a house with just a hammer—we are against saws; we are against screwdrivers; we do not actually believe in nails, no other tools; we will just hammer a bunch of wood. And as a result, we're going to make some noise and we're definitely going to break some things, but we're not actually building a new redistributed trade system—which we could.Lori WallachBest that we can tell, the dynamic is something like: Trump is so engaged in the fun and chaos—fun (from his perspective) and chaos of throwing tariff news around like a lightning bolt that he really is not taking advice about it from people who know how you could use tariffs to try and ostensibly achieve the things he promised. He's just enjoying throwing around tariffs.Lori WallachNews 7/18/25* Last week, Elon Musk's pet AI program – Grok – began identifying itself as “MechaHitler,” and spitting out intricate rape threats and sexual fantasies directed at individuals like liberal pundit Will Stancil and now-ex X CEO Linda Yaccarino. This week, Musk rolled out Grok's new “sexy mode” which includes a visual avatar feature depicting the artificial entity as a quasi-pornographic anime-esque character who can flirt with users, per the Standard. So, naturally, the Trump Defense Department awarded xAI, the parent company behind Grok, a $200 million contract. According to CNN, “The contracts will enable the DoD to develop agentic AI workflows and use them to address critical national security challenges.” It is unclear how exactly the entity calling itself MechaHitler will accomplish that.* In local news, a special election was held in Washington DC's Ward 8 this week, seeking to replace corrupt councilmember Trayon White. White was implicated in an FBI bribery investigation and was expelled from the council in February. Yet, because of the splintered opposition, White pulled out a narrow victory on Wednesday, winning with 29.7% of the vote compared to his opponents' 24.3%, 23.7% and 22.3% respectively, per WTOP. In 2024, DC Voters approved a ballot measure to implement ranked-choice voting, which could have helped prevent this outcome, but it has yet to take effect. The DC Council could vote to expel White again more or less immediately; if not, they would likely wait for his trial to commence in January 2026.* Turning to foreign affairs, Israel has bombed the Syrian capital of Damascus, killing three and wounding 34, in strikes primarily targeting the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters, per NPR. Israel's attack comes amid tensions between the new, post-Assad Syrian government and the Druze minority in the Southern Syrian city of Sweida. The government claims the Druze violated a ceasefire reached earlier in the week and Syrian troops responded; a new ceasefire deal has been reached and the office of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a statement reading, the “rights [of the citizens of Sweida] will always be protected and…we will not allow any party to tamper with their security or stability.” Stéphane Dujarric, spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, said in a statement that the U.N. chief “condemns Israel's escalatory airstrikes,” as well as reports of the Israeli military's redeployment of forces in the Golan Heights. As journalist Séamus Malekafzali notes, “Damascus is now the 4th Middle Eastern capital to be bombed by Israel in the past 6 weeks, alongside Tehran, Beirut, and Sana'a.”* In more news from Israel, the Knesset this week sought to expel Palestinian lawmaker Ayman Odeh, leader of the Hadash-Ta'al party. According to Haaretz, “The vote was triggered by a Likud lawmaker after Odeh published a social media post in January, saying that he ‘rejoices' over the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.” However, the motion failed to reach the 90-vote threshold, meaning Odeh will remain in the legislature. Six members of Yair Lapid's Yesh Atid party voted for the motion, but not Lapid himself. The United Torah Judaism party did not back the motion. Haaretz quotes Hassan Jabareen, an attorney, director of the Adalah Legal Center and legal counsel for Odeh, who said, “The overwhelming support for this initiative – from both the coalition and the opposition – reveals the state's intent to crush Palestinian political representation...This was not a legitimate legal process, but rather a racist, fascist incitement campaign aimed at punishing Odeh for his principled stance against occupation, oppression and Israeli violence.” Senator Bernie Sanders celebrated the failure of the motion, writing “Israel's far right tried to expel Ayman Odeh, an Arab Israeli opposition leader, from the Knesset because of his opposition to Netanyahu's war. Today, they failed. If Israel is going to be considered a democracy, it cannot expel members of parliament for their political views.” This from the Middle East Eye.* Sanders also made news this week by declaring that “Given the illegal and immoral war being waged against the Palestinian people by Netanyahu, NO Democrat should accept money from AIPAC – an organization that also helped deliver the presidency to Donald Trump,” per the Jerusalem Post. Sanders posted this statement in response to a video by Obama foreign policy advisor Ben Rhodes, who said “AIPAC is part of the constellation of forces that have delivered this country into the hands of Donald Trump…These are the wrong people to have under your tent...The kind of people that they are supporting, Bibi Netanyahu and Donald Trump, I don't want my leaders and my political party cozying up to these people.” Bernie's statement is perhaps the strongest stand taken by any American politician against AIPAC, Israel's front group in American politics and one of the biggest special interest groups in the country. AIPAC throws around eye-popping sums of money to members of both parties; to name just one example, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has accepted over $1.6 million from the group, according to Track AIPAC's Hall of Shame.* In a similar vein, last week we discussed the National Education Association's vote to suspend its ties with the Anti-Defamation League due to the ADL's shift in focus from Jewish civil rights to laundering the reputation of Israel. Since then, the ADL has sought to mobilize their allies to demand the NEA reject the vote. To this end, the ADL has sought the support of J Street, a liberal Jewish group critical of Israel, per the Forward. J Street however has rebuffed the ADL, refusing to sign the group's letter. Though they oppose the NEA resolution, J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami issued a statement reading in part, “charges of antisemitism must not be wielded to quash legitimate criticism of Israeli policy...the NEA vote can[not] be dismissed as being driven by fringe ‘pro-Hamas' antisemitic activists.” Hopefully, more Jewish groups will follow the example of J Street and break with the Zionist orthodoxy of the ADL.* In other foreign policy news, the Guardian reports French President Macron has reached a deal with the leadership of the French “overseas territory” New Caledonia to grant the island statehood and more autonomy within the French legal system. New Caledonia is one of several UN-designated ‘non-self-governing territories.' France has exerted rule over the Pacific Island – over 10,000 miles from Paris – and its nearly 300,000 inhabitants since the 19th century. Last May, riots broke out over France's decision to grant voting rights to thousands of non-indigenous residents. This violence “claimed the lives of 14 people, [and] is estimated to have cost the territory…$2.3 bn... shaving 10% off its gross domestic product.” However, the Times reports indigenous Kanak independence activists reject the deal outright. Brenda Wanabo-Ipeze, a leader of the Co-ordination Cell for Actions on the Ground, who is currently detained in France, said, “This text was signed without us. It does not bind us.” The Times adds that, “The conservative and hard-right French opposition accused Macron of failing to ensure security in the territory. The left accused the president of imposing colonial tactics on a people who should be allowed self-determination.” It remains to be seen whether this deal will prove durable enough to weather criticism from so many angles.* Much has been made of Attorney General Pam Bondi's decision last week to not release any more information related to the Jeffrey Epstein investigation. A Department of Justice memo reads, “it is the determination of the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that no further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.” This has created a firestorm in the MAGA world, with many Trump supporters feeling betrayed as the president implied he would declassify these files if reelected. Now, Congressmen Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna have introduced the Epstein Files Transparency Act which would “force the House of Representatives to vote on the complete release of the government's files related to Jeffrey Epstein,” according to a press release from Massie's office. This resolution specifically states the files cannot “be withheld, delayed, or redacted” should they cause “embarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary.” The resolution is attracting support from some Republicans, but it is unclear how far this will go under Speaker Johnson, who maintains there is “no daylight between his position and that of Trump,” per the Hill. The position of congressional Republicans has been further complicated by a bombshell report in the Wall Street Journal documenting previously unknown details of the intimate relationship between the late pedophile financier and the president.* Meanwhile, the Trump administration is once again torching America's reputation abroad – this time literally. The Atlantic reports “Five months into its unprecedented dismantling of foreign-aid programs, the Trump administration has given the order to incinerate food instead of sending it to people abroad who need it. Nearly 500 metric tons of emergency food—enough to feed about 1.5 million children for a week—are set to expire tomorrow, according to current and former government employees with direct knowledge of the rations. Within weeks…the food, meant for children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, will be ash.” This cartoonishly evil decision paired with the “Big Beautiful Bill”'s provisions cutting food assistance for children in poverty, point to one inescapable conclusion: the Trump administration wants children to starve.* Finally, on the opposite end of the spectrum, Mexico News Daily reports the administration of President Claudia Sheinbaum is debuting a healthy, domestically produced and affordable staple for Mexican consumers – chocolate bars. “This ‘Chocolate de Bienestar' is part of the government's ‘Food for Well-Being' strategy, which aims to bring nutritious and affordable food options to consumers while supporting national producers, particularly those in the southern states of Tabasco and Chiapas — a region that has historically lagged behind other regions in several social and economic indicators.” The Sheinbaum administration is stressing the health benefits of chocolate, noting that, “Studies have shown that chocolate improves cardiovascular health via its antioxidants, provides energy, helps control blood pressure, improves cognitive capacity, satisfies hunger and lifts mood.” At the same time, the administration is seeking to minimize the sugar content “striking a supposedly healthier balance between natural cane sugar and the cacao itself.” This chocolate will be available in three forms:“Chocolate bar containing 50% cacao, and priced at…less than $1.Powdered chocolate with 30% cocoa, priced...$2Chocolate de mesa or tablet chocolate, with 35% cacao, priced at …$5”This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

The Israeli military strike on southern Syria this week is “concerning” in view of the “unexpected opportunity” for a potential peace agreement with the new government there, Israel’s former deputy security adviser Chuck Freilich said on the Haaretz Podcast. On Tuesday, the IDF struck Syrian army forces that had entered the city of Sweida to prevent harm to Druze communities and ensure the demilitarization of the area. The action was strongly denounced by the Syrian government. While Freilich said he understands that it was “part of the post-October 7 policy of not allowing potential threats to evolve on any of Israel's borders,” he believed the limited nature of the Syrian military intervention and the “channels of communication” that now exist could have been “used to reach some understanding.” Instead, he said, the Netanyahu government “seems to be taking a really absolutist approach.” Freilich told podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer in their conversation that in his view, the government headed by President Ahmed al-Sharaa is “saying the right things” regarding Israel and, more importantly, backing up their words with actions. “They’re talking to us, and they seem to be willing to reach some sort of agreement,” he said, noting that they refrained from condemning Israel’s attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities and “has thrown the Iranians and Hezbollah out of Syria. They are strongly anti-Iranian, probably as much as we are. So there’s a meeting of interests here that we should be really working to take advantage of.” “The fact that this is going on is absolutely mind-boggling, if one considers the history between Israel and Syria.” Freilich said that he would be “thrilled” to see U.S. President Donald Trump’s vision of Syria joining the Abraham Accords manifest in the near future, but he cautioned that it may be “a bridge too far” at the moment, and a more limited non-belligerence treaty is more realistic in the short-term. Freilich also discussed the aftermath of the 12-day Israel-Iran war on the podcast, explaining that the most conservative estimates establish that the attack on Iranian nuclear sites set the country’s nuclearization program back by several years. The only way to ensure long-term protection from a nuclear Iran, he emphasized, is diplomacy. “A nuclear deal is the only way that we can ensure that they don't cross the threshold for the long-term. Military action has now gained up to four years, but if they want to reconstitute they can because they have the know-how. The only way to achieve an indefinite freeze on the program is a deal.” Subscribe to Haaretz.com for up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Israel and the Middle East in English. Read more: Opinion | Israel Should Help Shape a New Syria. But It Must Do So Carefully, Quietly and Quickly Analysis | Fresh Syria Violence Undercuts the Optimism Over Ties Between Israel and the New Regime Syrians Abroad Dismiss Talk of Normalization With Israel: 'We Fear the Consequences, Especially for Palestinians'See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A crisis-level shortage of clergy in North American Reform and Conservative synagogues has led to a fascinating new phenomenon – an exodus of Israeli-born rabbis moving to the United States and Canada to serve as spiritual leaders. On the Haaretz Podcast, Judy Maltz, Haaretz’s Jewish world editor who has reported on the trend, explains how these Israelis are filling an ever-growing need as fewer and fewer young North American Jews are training to be rabbis in non-Orthodox movements. Meanwhile, the number of Israelis receiving rabbinic ordination has grown. “I think what's luring them abroad primarily is the salaries and the conditions,” Maltz told podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, adding there was another extremely appealing factor: respect. “A woman rabbi who had recently taken a job in New York said to me ‘I no longer have to prove I'm a rabbi here.’ That is a very appealing factor: being admired and accepted for what you are and your profession, and that you don't have to constantly fight for recognition and legitimacy.” By contrast, in Israel, they are still battling for that legitimacy and even face mockery. The Israeli imports are helping to solve the “very huge shortage of rabbis” to serve U.S. congregations in the non-Orthodox Jewish community “because nobody really wants to go to rabbinical school anymore and the whole business of organized synagogue life has become less appealing,” Maltz explained. With liberal Jews affiliated with Jewish organizations (like synagogues) are having fewer and fewer children, she said, it has also been more difficult for Reform and Conservative congregations to sustain their traditionally strong youth movements “which have been the pipeline tor rabbinical school.” The new imports, Maltz noted, are not only breathing new spiritual life into their new congregations “but since October 7, these Israeli rabbis find themselves serving as a kind of bridge between their congregations and Israel – and as an important resource on information about what's happening in Israel where the news changes so quickly. They are finding themselves in this new and rather unexpected role of explaining what's happening.” Subscribe to Haaretz.com for up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Israel and the Middle East in English. Read more: Israel's Hottest New Export: Reform and Conservative Rabbis Far-right Mob Storms Reform Synagogue in Ra'anana Screening Israeli-Palestinian Memorial Day Ceremony Beyond Netflix's Hot Rabbi: Progressive Judaism Is Having a Moment on Screen 'Proof of a Thirst': Percentage of Reform Jews in Israel Doubles in Recent YearsSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Israel, it seems, is once again on the brink of a cease-fire deal with Hamas – one that would see hostilities halted for at least two months, and an exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages. But as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump talk particulars in Washington, the families of the 50 remaining hostages are far from relieved. The deal on the table would only bring home 10 of the living hostages, and the remains of 18 of the deceased – leaving the fate of the 22 others in question. Aviva Siegel was kidnapped on October 7 from Kibbutz Kfar Azza along with her husband, Keith. She was released after 51 days, and campaigned tirelessly for Keith's release. After he came home in February, the reunited couple have fought for the return of the remaining hostages in Gaza. Siegel joins Haaretz reporter Linda Dayan to talk about this deal, captivity, adjusting to freedom and the urgency of bringing every hostage home. "Nobody's really talking about what's going to happen after the 10 [living hostages] come home, and half the hostages that aren't alive," Siegel says. "I've asked important people if they can answer that, because it's a question that I think about all the time, and I'm very, very worried." On what may be the eve of a historic decision, she says that she would tell decision-makers – at home and abroad – her own story, and ask them how they can abandon the hostages who remain there, like 27-year-old twin brothers Gali and Ziv Berman. "I was there for the 51 days. I felt that I was left behind," she recounted. "And there were so many moments that I lost hope and I just wanted to die. What I saw in Gaza and what I felt was so much for a human being to go through. I just wanted to die. So I want the leaders to understand that they have to take responsibility – I'm just an ordinary person, and I just want my life back." Subscribe to Haaretz.com for up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Israel and the Middle East in English. Read more: 'I Still Can't Believe It When I See My Father Eating, Sleeping, and Wearing Warm Clothes' 'A Little More and You're Home': Kfar Azza's Fight for Its Last Hostages in Gaza What Exactly Is In the Cease-fire/Hostage Deal On the Table?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

President Trump claimed that Gaza ceasefire talks are "going well" as he met with Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu in Washington, who was also optimistic after the meeting, even saying that peace between Israel and the entire Middle East was possible under Trump's leadership. While the world waits for an agreement, the people of Gaza continue to be bombed, with over 60 people reported killed there today. Noa Landau is the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, which has done extensive investigative reporting on this war, and she joins the program from Tel Aviv.   Also on today's show: economist Ernie Tedeschi; NYT reporter Caroline Kitchener; award-winning playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins ("Purpose")  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Un articolo del quotidiano israeliano Haaretz, che pubblichiamo su Internazionale questa settimana, rivela che i comandanti dell'esercito israeliano ordinano di aprire il fuoco sui palestinesi vicino ai centri di distribuzione del cibo, anche se non rappresentano una minaccia. Con Francesca Gnetti, editor di Medio Oriente di Internazionale. L'annuncio del dalai lama era molto atteso, perché i tibetani temono che la Cina voglia imporre un suo successore. Con Ilaria Maria Sala, giornalista, da Hong Kong.Oggi parliamo anche di: Film • Happy holidays di Scandar CoptiCi piacerebbe sapere cosa pensi di questo episodio. Scrivici a podcast@internazionale.it Se ascolti questo podcast e ti piace, abbonati a Internazionale. È un modo concreto per sostenerci e per aiutarci a garantire ogni giorno un'informazione di qualità. Vai su internazionale.it/abbonatiConsulenza editoriale di Chiara NielsenProduzione di Claudio Balboni e Vincenzo De SimoneMusiche di Tommaso Colliva e Raffaele ScognaDirezione creativa di Jonathan Zenti

Watch Call me Back on YouTube: youtube.com/@CallMeBackPodcastCheck out Ark Media's other podcasts: For Heaven's Sake: lnk.to/rfGlrA‘What's Your Number?': lnk.to/rbGlvMFor sponsorship inquiries, please contact: callmeback@arkmedia.orgTo contact us, sign up for updates, and access transcripts, visit: arkmedia.org/Ark Media on Instagram: instagram.com/arkmediaorgDan on X: x.com/dansenorDan on Instagram: instagram.com/dansenorTo order Dan Senor & Saul Singer's book, The Genius of Israel: tinyurl.com/bdeyjsdnToday's Episode:Over the past few days, we've observed strong signs that Israeli leaders are moving to bring the Gaza war to a close, though it remains unclear how exactly this would take shape.On Tuesday, Israel's Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermermet with senior Trump administration officials in Washington, DC. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to visit the White House on Monday, July 7. This comes just over a week after Israel's 12-day war against the Iranian regime. The war also included, of course, a round of American strikes on Iran's three key nuclear facilities. Prime Minister Netanyahu spent his entire political career warning of the existential threat posed by Iran's nuclear program, and he is now largely being credited — even by domestic critics — with its destruction. As the post-Iran War geopolitical map is being drawn, we wonder, what could be Netanyahu's next moves in Gaza, Lebanon, Syria. Saudi Arabia, and domestically, in Israel?To discuss this we are joined by Israeli author and journalist Ari Shavit. Ari is the author of the award-winning book My Promised Land and was a senior correspondent at Haaretz for many years.To order Ari's book, My Promised Land: https://tinyurl.com/45jbnhbzCREDITS:ILAN BENATAR - Producer & EditorMARTIN HUERGO - Sound EditorMARIANGELES BURGOS - Additional EditingMAYA RACKOFF - Operations DirectorGABE SILVERSTEIN - ResearchYUVAL SEMO - Music Composer

Linda, Don and Noah discuss (1) U.S. President Donald Trump's Truth Social posts demanding the immediate cancellation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trial—calling Netanyahu a ‘great hero' who, along with Trump, ‘saved Israel'—and how figures across Israel's political spectrum have more or less fallen in line; and (2) what to make of a Haaretz “expose” about the IDF and the new humanitarian aid centers in Gaza. Plus, a simulated daughter offering real comfort, and the varied aftermaths of the “Twelve Day War.” Hear the Extra-Special, Special Extra Segment on Patreon For our most unreasonably generous Patreon supporters, in our extra-special, special extra discussion: Def, def to the IDF?

An explosive expose by Haaretz featured testimonies from IDF soldiers and officers that they were ordered to use live fire to disperse thousands of unarmed Palestinians in Gaza who had crowded the handful of stations set up to distribute humanitarian aid. The story grabbed international attention, and sparked fury among top Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz, who both called the article a “blood libel.” On the Haaretz Podcast, one of the three journalists who wrote the story, Nir Hasson, takes listeners behind the scenes of his reporting, explaining the reasons soldiers decided to speak to him and his fellow journalists. The soldiers’ motivations, he said, were two-fold. First the “moral issue” of being put in the position to use deadly force to stop “hungry people trying to get some food for their family” bothered them. “The second thing they spoke about was the fact that this was not the IDF that they used to know. These were not values of the army that these reservists used to serve in,” Hasson added. “They told me, this is not the way a professional army deals with a civil population. They were very angry at their commanders for telling them to use this kind of tool to control a crowd,” and even refused to employ non-lethal methods like tear gas. Also appearing on the podcast: Haaretz columnist Amir Tibon, who pointed out that the formation of these distribution centers appeared to be aimed at creating such intolerable conditions that Gazans seek to leave, while "doing nothing" to serve Israel's proclaimed war goals – returning the hostages and ridding Gaza of Hamas. The current operation, Tibon said, “is not serving real security interests of Israel, is not helping us get back the hostages, and it is part of a dangerous fantasy that is leading us into a ‘forever war’ in Gaza.” Read more: 'It's a Killing Field': IDF Soldiers Ordered to Shoot Deliberately at Unarmed Gazans Waiting for Humanitarian Aid Israeli Army Says 'Lessons Learned' From Army Fire Incidents on Gaza Aid-Seekers After Haaretz Exposé A Fatal Failure: Israel's Gaza Aid Policy Leaves Dozens Killed Daily as They Seek FoodSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pełnej wersji podcastu posłuchasz w aplikacji Onet Audio. W najnowszym odcinku podcastu Raport Międzynarodowy prowadzący Witold Jurasz i Zbigniew Parafianowicz omawiają coraz gorsze relacje pomiędzy Azerbejdżanem i Rosją. Zauważają, że prezydent Azerbejdżanu Ilham Alijew zachowuje się w sposób wyjątkowo asertywny. Witold Jurasz podkreśla, że Alijew, który odziedziczył władzę po ojcu, okazał się być, co nie jest oczywiste wśród autorytarnych przywódców, politykiem wyjątkowo sprawnym. Zdołał nie tylko skonsolidować władzę, ale też wzmocnić swoje państwo. Przede wszystkim jednak cechował się tym, czego często niestety brakuje polskim politykom - cierpliwością w stosunku do Rosji. Zaczął zachowywać się twardo dopiero wtedy, kiedy realnie mógł sobie na to pozwolić.   W dalszej części podcastu prowadzący omawiają sytuację na granicy z Niemcami i zauważają, że miały miejsce przypadki, kiedy to Republika Federalna przerzucała nielegalnych imigrantów w sposób pozaprawny na teren Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej. Z drugiej strony ostatni przypadek, kiedy to Niemcy nie wpuściły obywateli Afganistanu na swoje terytorium i odesłali ich do naszego kraju, nie powinien budzić kontrowersji, dlatego że Berlin działał w pełnej zgodzie z prawem unijnym i międzynarodowym. Obydwaj prowadzący zgadzają się też w jednym - nie jest rolą aktywistów ani zachodniej granicy bronić, ani wschodnią granicę otwierać. Państwo, jeżeli będzie tolerować tego rodzaju bałagan i warcholstwo, przestanie istnieć. Wspomniany zostaje tekst Marcina Wyrwała i Edyty Żemły o tym, jak państwo polskie jest niezdolne do rozpoczęcia produkcji amunicji artyleryjskiej.  Prowadzący podcast zadają pytanie, czy to wynik działalność obcej agentury, czy też przerażającej po prostu głupoty.   Wracając do kwestii amerykańskich bombardowań Iranu, Witold Jurasz i Zbigniew Parafianowicz odnotowują, że amerykańskie media informują o kolejnych szczegółach, według których administracja amerykańska tak naprawdę nie zdołała zniszczyć podstawowych irańskich instalacji jądrowych. Oznaczałoby to, że dwunastodniowa wojna Izraela i USA z Iranem wcale nie zakończyła się wielkim sukcesem.   Przy okazji omawiania wątku izraelskiego, obydwaj prowadzący odnotowują tekst izraelskiego dziennika Haaretz, który w oparciu o relacje żołnierzy IDF stwierdza, że Izrael dopuszcza się regularnych zbrodni wojennych. Z artykułu wynika bowiem, że żołnierze otrzymywali rozkaz strzelania do nieuzbrojonych cywili. Witold Jurasz, Zbigniew Parafianowicz podkreślają, że pojawienie się takiego tekstu w izraelskim dzienniku jest triumfem dziennikarstwa, ale też dowodem na to, że Izrael przy wszystkich swoich wadach jednak czymś się od wielu innych państw w regionie różni.   Witold Jurasz opowiada z kolei historię, kiedy to jechał do Krakowa pociągiem i zadał pytanie siedzącemu obok mężczyźnie, z jakiego jest kraju, na co ten ewidentnie speszony półszeptem odpowiedział, że ma żonę Polkę i urodził się w Jerozolimie. Na uwagę, że nie musi się obawiać powiedzenia, że jest z Izraela, człowiek ten odpowiedział, że kiedyś to był strach, a teraz wstyd i znów strach. Obydwaj prowadzący podkreślają, że pojawienie się takich lęków jest bardzo niepokojące. Nie należy obciążać ani wszystkich Izraelczyków, ani tym bardziej wszystkich Żydów za działania armii izraelskiej. 

We're taking a short break and using this time to amplify the voices of other creators we love in the true crime space. While we're enjoying our summer hiatus, we've got something dark and compelling to keep your earbuds company. We're dropping an episode from Ye Olde Crime hosted by twisted sister co-hosts and our friends from the midwest - Lindsay and Madison. In this episode, they discuss the vampire fields of Poland, as well as the protective powers of iron, that superstitions are deeply rooted in Eastern Europe, and why 3D printing and facial reconstruction are so important.Information pulled from the following sources⁠2024 Archaeology News Online article by Dario Radley⁠⁠2024 CNN article by Katie Hunt⁠⁠2024 Daily Mail article by Harry Howard⁠⁠2024 Daily Mail article by Jonathan Chadwick⁠⁠2024 Express article by Rebecca Robinson⁠⁠2024 Lit Hub article by Ed Simon⁠⁠2024 Reuters article by Thomas Holdstock⁠⁠2023 Indy100 post by Alex Daniel⁠⁠2023 Mirror post by Ryan Fahey⁠⁠2022 Haaretz article by Viktoria Greenboim Rich⁠⁠2017 Smithsonian Magazine article by Joshua Rapp Learn⁠⁠2015 Lund Archaeological Review article by Leszek Gardela⁠⁠2014 Gizmodo article by George Dvorsky⁠⁠History UK articleVisit our website! Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Patreon, & more! If you have any true crime, paranormal, or witchy stories you'd like to share with us & possibly have them read (out loud) on an episode, email us at pnwhauntsandhomicides@gmail.com or use this link. There are so many ways that you can support the show: BuyMeACoffee, Spreaker, or by leaving a rating & review on Apple Podcasts.

Unter der Überschrift „Gaza: Israel soll laut Medienbericht gezielt auf hungernde Palästinenser schießen“ schrieb DER SPIEGEL, die israelische Zeitung Haaretz habe von gezieltem Schusswaffeneinsatz israelischer Soldaten auf unbewaffnete Zivilisten an Verteilungszentren in Gaza berichtet. „Mehrfach sind dort hungernde Menschen durch Schüsse gestorben“. Und weiter: Mit Berufung auf Quellen in der israelischen Armee (IDF) berichtet dieWeiterlesen

Arash Azizi is a writer and historian. He is an incoming Postdoctoral Associate and lecturer at Yale University and a contributing writer at the Atlantic. His writings have appeared in numerous other outlets including New York Times, New York Review of Books, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Liberties, Newsweek, New Lines, Haaretz, Daily Beast, Jacobin, Foreign Policy and the Toronto Star. He is the author of “The Shadow Commander: Soleimani, the US and Iran's Global Ambitions” (Oneworld, 2020) and “What Iranians Want: Women, Life, Freedom” (Oneworld, 2024.) He is writing a book on Iran and Israel to be published by Public Affairs (a division of Basic Books.)https://x.com/arash_tehran-------------------------To learn more about psychedelic therapy go to my brother Mehran's page at: https://www.mindbodyintegration.ca/ or to https://www.somaretreats.org for his next retreat.***Masty o Rasty is not responsible for, or condone, the views and opinions expressed by our guests ******مستی و راستی هیچگونه مسولیتی در برابر نظرها و عقاید مهمان‌های برنامه ندارد.***--------Support the showhttps://paypal.me/raamemamiVenmo + Revolut: @KingRaam Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Destructive attacks on Palestinian communities by West Bank settlers “emboldened” by support from powerful far right-wing figures in the Netanyahu government have received little attention as the country has focused on the war in Gaza and the recent clash with Iran. Last week, dozens of settlers descended upon Kafr Malik, a Palestinian town north of Ramallah, attacking residents and their property, as well as IDF soldiers who arrived at the scene. The outpost – illegal even under Israeli law – was dismantled by the Israeli army later that night, triggering multiple riots at a nearby army base and police station. The settlers’ attacks on Israeli soldiers sparked widespread public outrage and even condemnation from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz. Haaretz West Bank correspondent Hagar Shezaf joined host Allison Kaplan Sommer this week for a behind-the-scenes look at the ongoing tension and the “Jewish terrorists” so dedicated to driving Palestinians off of their land that they are willing to attack IDF soldiers when they stand in their way. Noting that Israelis generally “support the soldiers over the settlers,” she shared insights about the evolving political climate toward violent extremists in the West Bank. “I think in settler society – and to an extent, broader Israeli society, it has become much, much, much more normalized post October 7 – the sense that these people are guarding the land.” Attacks on IDF soldiers, she said, are “obviously always controversial in Israeli society – but attacking Palestinians? Not so controversial anymore.” Subscribe to Haaretz.com for up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Israel and the Middle East in English. Read more: Dozens of Israeli Settlers Attempt to Break Into West Bank IDF Base, Army Source Says Six Settlers Arrested for Assaulting IDF Troops in West Bank; Netanyahu: Bring Them to Justice Five Days After Building an Outpost on the Edge of a West Bank Palestinian Village, Israeli Settlers Drove Locals OutSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Información proporcionada por soldados revela que los comandantes habrían ordenado a las tropas disparar contra la multitud para “ahuyentarla o dispersarla”.

1-Striscia di Gaza. La fame è usata come arma di guerra. Il giornale Haaretz dà la parola ai soldati israeliani. Le testimonianze raccolte confermano le denunce delle Ong. ( Martina Stefanoni) 2-Nucleare iraniano: Donald Trump gioca la carta degli incentivi per rilanciare i negoziati. ( Nima Bahlevi, Alfredo Somoza) 3-Gran Bretagna. Più welfare meno armi. Il premier Starmer fa marcia indietro sui tagli ai sussidi dopo la rivolta dei deputati laburisti. ( Daniele Fisichella) 4-Allarme disuguaglianza. Negli ultimi dieci anni la ricchezza dell'1% più ricco è aumentata di circa 34 mila dollari. Il rapporto Oxfam alla vigilia della Conferenza sul finanziamento dello sviluppo di Siviglia. ( Giulio Maria Piantadosi) 5-Cervelli in fuga dall'oscurantismo. Marsiglia ha accolto ieri primi ricercatori americani. ( Francesco Giorgini) 6-Massive Attack. Concerti oltre i confini della musica. La recensione di Pier Giorgio Pardo.

Israel’s military achievements in its war with Iran will mean little if they are not “anchored to a diplomatic agreement that will ensure that Iran will not develop nuclear weapons,” Shira Efron, research director of the Israel Policy Forum, said on the Haaretz Podcast. Without such a guarantee, she fears, the “fragile cease-fire” in place will not hold and there will be a regression into the “tit-for-tat war of attrition” that the Trump-imposed cease-fire managed to halt. Bringing the Iranians back to the negotiating table in good faith, however, she said, will be challenging. From their perspective, after they showed willingness to negotiate, Israel and the United States struck militarily. “What incentivizes them to trust the negotiation process again? How do you bring them to the negotiation table and make it clear to them that their situation without a nuclear weapon would be better than having a nuclear weapon? Because they can choose, theoretically, the path of North Korea and say ‘If we had a nuclear weapon, no one would have struck us, so getting one is what we should be doing.’ Our challenge is to make sure that this doesn't happen. And I think it's not going to come only from kinetic strikes. It also has to come from diplomacy.” The quick resolution to the Iran conflict highlighted the depth of the quagmire of the Gaza war, she noted. “The juxtaposition of Gaza and Iran couldn't be more pronounced. You see an adversary that Israel actually feared and prepared for. There were actual goals of war that were defined and articulated, and we knew when to leave on time. In Gaza, we have very unclear objectives of the war like ‘total victory’ and ‘complete elimination’ of Hamas.” Efron admitted that she had held out a “fantasy” scenario in which there had been a backroom deal that when Donald Trump committed to attacking Iran, he had conditioned it on Israel agreeing to end the Gaza conflict. However, she said, based on conversations with Israeli officials, “There are no indications that this condition was there. But there's no question that the president does want to end the war in Gaza. He wants to bring back the hostages.” Subscribe to Haaretz.com for up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Israel and the Middle East in English. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Israel's decision to attack "regime targets" in Iran like Evin prison, and its open desire to encourage an overthrow of Ayatollah Ali Khameini's government is misguided and potentially dangerous, a top expert on Iran said on the Haaretz Podcast. "I have serious doubts that something positive will come out of it," said Danny Citrinowicz, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies' Iran and the Shi'ite Axis Program and a former Iran specialist in Israeli military intelligence. The Israeli military has had "amazing" operational success against Iranian nuclear and military targets, he said, but expressed worry that there appears to be "no exit strategy that will help us preserve our achievements while ending this war" and that the decision to attack targets like Evin Prison, state television and other non-military locations "have been taken very lightly" and "actually might cause us to erode our achievements against Iran." He warned that Israel moving to assassinate Khameini would transform the war "from a political to a religious dispute" and "find ourselves in an endless conflict" that would also fail to spark a revolution in Iran and "do far more harm than" good. Also in this episode, host Allison Kaplan Sommer ventures out of the studio and goes underground into a makeshift tent city in the parking lot of a sprawling mall, where Tel Aviv residents seek nightly protection from Iran's ballistic missiles. The voices from the encampment under Dizengoff Center represent the millions of Israelis caught without anywhere to securely spend the night under fire. "It's humid, the floor is rock hard, there's no good circulation, and there's constant activity even when there's no siren," said Jeffrey Lubata as he settled into a tent for the night with his family. But, he noted, it is safe. This episode was recorded before a cease-fire was announced between Israel and Iran on Tuesday. Subscribe to Haaretz.com for up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Israel and the Middle East in English. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gideon Levy, Israeli journalist and columnist with Haaretz, analyses where the war between Israel and Iran could go next.

The sweeping military success of the IDF's surprise preemptive strike against Iran's nuclear facilities coupled with the devastating retaliatory ballistic missile strikes have left Israelis "feeling triumphant and scared at the same time," columnist Amir Tibon said on the Haaretz Podcast, adding that "the vast majority of the public in Israel support this war." Tibon, Haaretz's former diplomatic correspondent, reviewed the progress of the war over the first week with host Allison Kaplan Sommer, along with the ways he sees the conflict potentially playing out. "The best-case scenario for Israel is either an American attack on the underground Fordow nuclear site or an agreement that causes the Iranians to give up the uranium there," he said. "The worst case scenario is a war of attrition with Iran, in which we continue to bomb them but cannot fully eliminate some of their sites, and they continue to bomb us and wake us up three times every night with ballistic missiles." In retrospect, Tibon said, "the 10 days before the Israeli strike were a joint American-Israeli trap set for the Iranians" in which U.S. President Donald Trump deceptively declared he was pressuring Israel to stand down in deference to diplomatic efforts. Also on the podcast, Professor Amit Schejter, one of the tens of thousands of Israelis stranded abroad after the war shut down Israel's airports, discusses the challenges of finding his way back home. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In a special podcast on the new and devastating conflict between Israel and Iran, host Allison Kaplan Sommer talks to Haaretz senior security analyst Amos Harel, who assesses the initial military achievements, the high price of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to launch a preemptive strike on the Islamic Republic and the likelihood of the United States being pulled into the war. Harel believes that while, as always, there were political and personal interests behind the premier’s timing of the attack, Israel’s top security chiefs widely viewed it as necessary. “Not only was Iran on its way to becoming a nuclear power, but there were other parts of its plans in which they were making impressive progress in recent weeks. Their rate of production of ballistic missiles meant that within a few years, the Iranian arsenal that could hit Israel would probably rise to up to 8,000 missiles. The current assessment is around 2,500 missiles. That is quite a difference, and there was a narrow window of opportunity in which Israel had to act.” Harel was skeptical that a cease-fire was possible any time soon since “not enough blood has been spilled.” He was also doubtful that Israel’s display of force and destruction could push the ideologically driven ayatollahs to the negotiating table to make compromises on nuclear enrichment. If the conflict drags on and “becomes a war of attrition that leads nowhere, then Netanyahu will be in deep trouble,” he predicted. Judy Rowland, a former New Yorker also joined the podcast to share her harrowing experience when an Iranian ballistic missile hit her Tel Aviv apartment building. She lived on the 29th floor on Friday night, which she said, felt reminiscent of the 9/11 attack. When the missile struck, she and her family were huddled in their apartment’s safe room. “We thought about the people who were stuck on the higher floors” in the New York towers. “When we smelled smoke, I started thinking ‘Will we burn to death? Or will we jump out of the windows?’” The parallel arose again as the Rowlands and their neighbors were making their way down the tens of flights of stairs amid the debris seeking safety. “I couldn’t help thinking about all those people in the buildings walking down the stairs. All of us felt it and were saying the same thing. It was a total 9/11 moment. This was our 9/11.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Plans by anti-war protesters to disrupt the wedding of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Avner have turned the festivities into the focus of controversy in Israel, said Haaretz journalist Rachel Fink, speaking on the Haaretz Podcast. The protests reflect an attempt to send a message that holding such a celebration as war continues in Gaza, represents an “unacceptable” level of insensitivity, Fink explained. “At a time when so much of Israel is suffering for so many reasons – the hostages, soldiers who have fallen in the war, how much suffering there is in Gaza right now – it just feels so blatantly inappropriate to have this extravagant over-the-top wedding.” Still, Fink noted in her conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, there are many Israelis in the anti-Netanyahu protest movement who believe that personal celebrations should be off-limits for angry protests and the young couple should not suffer for their parents’ behavior. Some are also convinced that if the wedding is disrupted by the protest movement, there will be a backlash of sympathy for the Prime Minister and his family that will “feed into their narrative that we [the protesters] are anarchists, that we have no sense of common decency. This will only play against us” and a truly successful disruption of the Netanyahu wedding “could turn into a disaster for us, not them.” Subscribe to Haaretz.com for up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Israel in English. Read more: Too Far? Debate Over Protests at Avner Netanyahu's Wartime Wedding Roils Israelis From Sept. 2024: Israeli Ministers, Politicians Attend Joyous Wedding as Murdered Hostages Laid to Rest From March 2023: Sara Netanyahu and the Salon Siege: Life-saving Rescue or the Plot of an ‘Evil Genius’?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is impossible to overstate how hellish life in Gaza has been for the past 20 months.The death count is above 50,000 people — more than 15,000 of whom are children — and at least 1.9 million of Gaza's 2.1 million people have been displaced over and over again. Starvation is rampant. Hospitals are either damaged or closed; there are only 2,000 remaining hospital beds.Nearly two years after the atrocities of Oct. 7, Israel still has no plan for the day after the conflict ends. Instead, it is escalating its assault on what remains of Hamas and seizing territory to expand its security buffer zone. There are reports that the government is considering a plan that would herd the Gaza Strip's Palestinians into just a small fraction of the territory. In the West Bank, meanwhile, settler violence has increased sharply, and new settlements are moving forward at a record pace.Ehud Olmert, the prime minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009, recently published a searing opinion essay in Haaretz, one of Israel's most influential newspapers: “Enough Is Enough. Israel Is Committing War Crimes.” He joins me to discuss why he believes Israel's war in Gaza can no longer be justified, what he finds missing in Israel's current political leadership and why he has not yet given up hope for a two-state solution.Book Recommendations:The Gates of Gaza by Amir TibonThomas Jefferson by Jon MeachamAll or Nothing by Michael WolffWait Till Next Year by Doris Kearns GoodwinThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.You can find the transcript and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.htmlThis episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Jack McCordick and Elias Isquith. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris, with Kate Sinclair. Mixing by Isaac Jones and Aman Sahota. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show's production team also includes Marie Cascione, Annie Galvin, Rollin Hu, Marina King, Jan Kobal and Kristin Lin. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. Special thanks to Frankie Martin of the Wilson Center and to Orca Studios. Unlock full access to New York Times podcasts and explore everything from politics to pop culture. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.

Israel’s new controversial aid initiative in Gaza and its support for the Abu Shabab criminal gang rivaling Hamas share the common goal of helping Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prolong the war, journalist Nir Hasson said on the Haaretz Podcast. “Netanyahu must preserve the radical right-wing fantasy of ethnic cleansing in Gaza for political survival. For this, he needs the war to continue,” said Hasson, who covers the humanitarian toll of the war for Haaretz. Hasson said that until “we have any other proof” of who is behind the shadowy Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, he regards it as “a proxy of the State of Israel.” Therefore, he said, Israel’s leaders are responsible for the “humiliating” and “dangerous” scenes at GHF aid distribution sites. In his conversation with host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Hasson also discussed his Haaretz investigation into the failure of Israel’s evacuation warnings to protect civilians in Gaza. “In Gaza, there is nowhere to run. Even the IDF safe zones are not safe,” he said. “Israel has really pushed the civilian population of Gaza to the edge.” The unprecedented level of destruction and human suffering there, Hasson said, has reached the point where “I can’t find the words anymore to describe the way I feel about what we’re doing in Gaza. And I'm not alone in this feeling. [There are] more and more Israelis around me that think that it's gone too far. “If we had the excuse of not taking humanitarian issues into consideration because of the trauma of October 7 – it's about time to start talking about it. …I hope we'll see it more, but it's not going fast enough.” Subscribe to Haaretz.com for up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Israel in English. Read more from Nir Hasson: Armed Gaza Militia Rivaling Hamas Hands Out Aid in Israeli-controlled Zone Testimonies: IDF Responsible for Lethal Shootings Near U.S.-led Aid Site in Gaza Hunger Games: Israel Forces Gazans to Choose Between Starvation and Risking Their Lives An American Doctor Visited Gaza and Saw the Horror Up Close. Five Cases Haunt HerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu began facing cross-examination by prosecutors in his criminal trial, the majority of Israelis are much more focused on “life-and-death” issues as the Gaza war wears on, Haaretz columnist and public opinion expert Dahlia Scheindlin said on the Haaretz Podcast. The subdued level of public interest “highlights how Israelis have become resigned to the extraordinary situation of their prime minister being on trial for corruption during the longest war and the most devastating war Israel has ever had,” Scheindlin said. While polls show a majority of Israelis frustrated and “furious” over that situation, “they feel helpless to do anything about it,” Scheindlin added. Deeply upset about the continuing hostage crisis and IDF casualties, and with reservists and their families exhausted, the Israeli public has little patience for courtroom banter regarding issues like the size of a Bugs Bunny doll that a Hollywood tycoon gave to the Netanyahu children in the 1990s which, Scheindlin said, “trivializes the proceedings.” In her conversation with host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Scheindlin also analyzes the brewing political crisis in Israel as the ultra-Orthodox party Degel HaTorah threatens to bring down the government over its failure to pass a law exempting Haredi men from military service and assesses the odds as to whether the country will soon be heading into new elections. “When governments fall in Israel, they usually fall over religion and state issues,” she said. Subscribe to Haaretz.com for up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Israel in English. Read more: 'I Did Not Commit a Single Crime': Netanyahu Calls Indictments 'Persecution' on First Day of Cross-examination Explained: Why Is Benjamin Netanyahu on Trial? Yes to Transfer: 82% of Jewish Israelis Back Expelling Gazans A Grim Poll Showed Most Jewish Israelis Support Expelling Gazans. It's Brutal – and It's TrueSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Internal political debates between American Jewish organizations have ground to a halt following the violent attacks in Washington and Boulder, with the community united and focused squarely on safety, Haaretz's Washington D.C. correspondent Ben Samuels said on the Haaretz Podcast. "Acts like this are just so unimpeachably antisemitic that there really is no gray area," he said. "We're seeing a real unanimity from the community. Whatever disagreements they may have with [U.S. President Donald] Trump's crackdown on pro-Palestinian protesters, or on what definition of antisemitism to adopt regarding criticizing Israel – these sort of attacks leave absolutely zero room for debate." If, after the shootings of two Israeli Embassy employees in Washington D.C. two weeks ago, "panic was at a fever pitch" among American Jews, following the Boulder attack on a march for Israeli hostages "it is a five-alarm fire." Government money for police protection, increased FBI capabilities and better online monitoring are among other demands from American Jewish leaders "that needed to be met yesterday." In his conversation with podcast host Allison Kaplan Sommer, Samuels also discussed the details of the growing diplomatic chasm between Washington and Jerusalem on the direction and future of the Middle East: in Gaza, Syria, Yemen and – most notably – Trump's apparent determination to hammer out an agreement with Iran over its nuclear capability. "It's become abundantly clear from Trump that there will be no Israel carve-out in his 'America First' policy," Samuels said. Subscribe to Haaretz.com for up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Israel in English. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One of the strongest condemnations of Israel’s ongoing offensive in Gaza has come from its own former prime minister, Ehud Olmert, who served from 2006 to 2009. Last week, he wrote a scathing op-ed in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz with the headline “Enough Is Enough. Israel Is Committing War Crimes.” Geoff Bennett spoke with Olmert to discuss more. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Today on the show, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert speaks with Fareed about his op-ed in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz this week, in which he accuses Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza.    Then, Financial Times US national editor Edward Luce and AEI senior fellow Kori Schake join the show to discuss the latest developments in President Trump's tariff war, and Russia's renewed offensive in Ukraine.    Finally, former CNN correspondent and founder of the charity organization INARA Arwa Damon speaks with Fareed about the extent of the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. She says that if the Western press were allowed in to witness the devastation, the war would end tomorrow.    GUESTS: Ehud Olmert, Edward Luce (@EdwardGLuce), Kori Schake, Arwa Damon (@IamArwaDamon)  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the midst of the terrible Trump tax bill moving through Congress, Ralph invites Sarah Anderson who directs the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies to discuss the massive tax loopholes huge companies like Amazon get that allow them to pay far less in taxes than ordinary working people. Then, Greg LeRoy from Good Jobs First joins us to discuss how state taxpayers are footing the bill for these massive data centers companies like Google are building all over the country. Plus, Ralph has some choice words for passive unions and responds to listener feedback about our guest last week, Nadav Wieman.Sarah Anderson directs the Global Economy Project at the Institute for Policy Studies and is a co-editor of the IPS website Inequality.org. Her research covers a wide range of international and domestic economic issues, including inequality, CEO pay, taxes, labor, and Wall Street reform.They're (Congress is) planning to give huge new tax giveaways to large corporations like Amazon and wealthy people like Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. And partially paying for those tax cuts for the wealthy by slashing programs that mean so much to so many Americans like Medicaid and food assistance.”Sarah AndersonWe're not going to have a healthy, thriving society and economy as long as we have the extreme levels of inequality that we have today.Sarah AndersonDubbed “the leading national watchdog of state and local economic development subsidies,” “an encyclopedia of information regarding subsidies,” “God's witness to corporate welfare,” and “the OG of ensuring that state and local tax policy actually supports good jobs, sustainability, and equity,”* Greg founded Good Jobs First in 1998 upon winning the Public Interest Pioneer Award. He has trained and consulted for state and local governments, associations of public officials, labor-management committees, unions, community groups, tax and budget watchdogs, environmentalists, and smart growth advocates more than 30 years.Public education and public health are the two biggest losers in every state giving away money to data centers right now.Greg Le RoyWe know of no other form of state spending that is so out of control. Therefore, we recommend that states cancel their data center tax exemptions. Such subsidies are absolutely unnecessary for an extremely profitable industry dominated by some of the most valuable corporations on earth such as Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, and Google.Good Jobs First report: “Cloudy With a Loss of Spending Control”They've (Congress has) known for years that the ordinary worker pays a higher tax rate than these loophole-ridden corporations.Ralph NaderIn my message to Trump, I ask him, "Why is he afraid of Netanyahu? And doesn't he want to come to the rescue of these innocent babies by saying, ‘Mr. Netanyahu, the taxpayers in this country are paying for thousands of trucks stalled at the border of Gaza full of medicine, food, water, electricity, fuel, and other critical necessities? We're going to put a little American flag on each one of these trucks, and don't you dare block them.'”…No answer.Ralph NaderNews 5/23/251. It seems as though the dam in Israeli politics against acknowledging the horrors in Gaza is beginning to break. In an interview with the BBC this week, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated that what Israel "is currently doing in Gaza is very close to a war crime. Thousands of innocent Palestinians are being killed.” He went on to say, “the war has no objective and has no chance of achieving anything that could save the lives of the hostages.” These quotes come from the Jerusalem Post. And on May 21st, Haaretz reported that opposition party leader Yair Golan warned that Israel could become a “pariah state, like South Africa once was,” based on its actions in Gaza. Speaking a truth that American politicians appear incapable of articulating, he added, a “sane state does not wage war against civilians, does not kill babies as a hobby, and does not set goals for itself like the expulsion of a population.”2. Confirming this prognosis, the Cradle reports “The Israeli military has admitted that more than 80 percent of the people killed in the attacks on Gaza since Israel breached the ceasefire two months ago are…civilians.” This fact was confirmed by the IDF in response to a request from Hebrew magazine Hamakom, wherein “the military's spokesperson stated that 500 of the 2,780 killed in the Gaza Strip as of Tuesday are ‘terrorists.'” Leaving the remaining 2,280 people killed classified as “not suspected terrorists.” The Cradle compares this ratio, approximately 4.5 civilians killed for every combatant, to the Russia-Ukraine war – a ratio of approximate 2.8 to one. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has “claimed that the ratio is just one civilian killed for each combatant killed.” At the same time, AP reports that while Israel has allowed a minimum of humanitarian aid to enter Gaza, under immense international pressure, “none of that aid actually reached Palestinians,” according to the United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric. The renewed offensive coupled with the barring of humanitarian aid has raised the alarm about mass starvation in Gaza.3. Developments on the ground in Gaza have triggered a new wave of international outcry. On May 19th, leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Canada issued a joint statement, reading in part, “We strongly oppose the expansion of Israel's military operations in Gaza. The level of human suffering in Gaza is intolerable… The Israeli Government's denial of essential humanitarian assistance to the civilian population is unacceptable and risks breaching International Humanitarian Law…We will not stand by while the Netanyahu Government pursues these egregious actions. If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response.” The Parliament of Spain meanwhile, “passed a non-binding motion calling on the government to impose an arms embargo on Israel,” per Anadolu Ajansı. This potential ban, supported by all parties except the conservative People's Party and the far-right Vox, would “ban the exports of any material that could strengthen the Israeli military, including helmets, vests, and fuel with potential military use.” Left-wing parties in Spain are now pushing for an emergency session to impose a binding decree to this effect.4. The United States however seems to be moving backwards. Drop Site news reports Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff made a deal with Hamas ensuring that, “the Trump administration would compel Israel to lift the Gaza blockade and allow humanitarian aid to enter the territory…[and] make a public call for an immediate ceasefire,” in exchange for the release of Edan Alexander. Of course, once Alexander was released Trump reneged completely. Basem Naim, a member of Hamas's political bureau, told Drop Site, “He did nothing of this…They didn't violate the deal. They threw it in the trash.” Besides prolonging further the charnel house in Gaza, this duplicity undermines American credibility in the region, particularly with Iran at a time when Trump is seeking a new deal to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.5. Democrats in Congress are inching towards action as well. On May 13th, Senator Peter Welch introduced Senate Resolution 224, calling for “the urgent delivery of humanitarian aid to address the needs of civilians in Gaza.” Along with Welch, 45 Democrats and Independents signed on to this resolution, that is the entire Democratic caucus except for John Fetterman. On May 14th, Rashida Tlaib introduced House Resolution 409, commemorating the Nakba and calling on Congress to “reinstate support for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which provides life-saving humanitarian assistance to Palestinians.” This was cosponsored by AOC and Reps. Carson, Lee, Omar, Pressley, Ramirez, Simon, and Coleman. And, on May 21st, a group of eight senators – Welch, Sanders, Kaine, Merkley, Murray, Van Hollen, Schatz, and Warnock – sent a letter urging Secretary of State Rubio to reopen the investigation into the death of Palestinian-American journalist Shireen Abu-Akleh, per Prem Thakker. The Biden administration ruled the death “unintentional,” but a new documentary by Zeteo News reveals a “Biden cover-up.”6. More action is occurring on college campuses as well, as students go into graduation season. At NYU, a student named Logan Rozos said in his graduation speech, “As I search my heart today in addressing you all…the only thing that is appropriate to say in this time and to a group this large is a recognition of the atrocities currently happening in Palestine,” per CNN. NYU announced that they are now withholding his diploma. At George Washington University, the Guardian reports student Cecilia Culver said in her graduation speech, “I am ashamed to know my tuition [fee] is being used to fund…genocide…I call upon the class of 2025 to withhold donations and continue advocating for disclosure and divestment.” GWU issued a statement declaring Culver “has been barred from all GW's campuses and sponsored events elsewhere.” The moral clarity of these students is remarkable, given the increasingly harsh measures these schools have taken to silence those who speak up.7. Moving on, several major stories about the failing DOGE initiative have surfaced in recent days. First, Social Security. Listeners may recall that a DOGE engineer said “40% of phone calls made to [the Social Security Administration] to change direct deposit information come from fraudsters.” Yet, a new report by NextGov.com found that since DOGE mandated the SSA install new anti-fraud checks on claims made over the phone, “only two claims out of over 110,000 were found to likely be fraudulent,” or 0.0018%. What the policy has done however, is slow down payments. According to this piece, retirement claim processing is down 25%. Meanwhile, at the VA, DOGE engineer Sahil Lavingia, “found…a machine that largely functions, though it doesn't make decisions as fast as a startup might.” Lavingia added “honestly, it's kind of fine—because the government works. It's not as inefficient as I was expecting, to be honest. I was hoping for more easy wins.” This from Fast Company. Finally, CBS reports, “leaders of the United States Institute for Peace regained control of their offices Wednesday…after they were ejected from their positions by the Trump administration and [DOGE] in March.” This piece explains that On February 19th, President Trump issued Executive Order 14217 declaring USIP "unnecessary" and terminating its leadership, most of its 300 staff members, its entire board, installing a DOGE functionary at the top and transferring ownership of the building to the federal government. This set off a court battle that ended Monday, when U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that the takeover was “unlawful” and therefore “null and void.” These DOGE setbacks might help explain Elon Musk's reported retreat from the political spotlight and political spending.8. On May 21st, Congressman Gerry Connolly passed away, following his battle with esophageal cancer. Connolly's death however is just the latest in a disturbing trend – Ken Klippenstein reports, “Connolly joins five other members of Congress who also died in office over the past 13 months…Rep. Raúl Grijalva…Rep. Sylvester Turner…Rep. Bill Pascrell…Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee…[and] Rep. Donald Payne Jr.” All of these representatives were Democrats and their deaths have chipped away at the close margin between Democrats and Republicans in the House – allowing the Republicans to pass Trump's “Big Beautiful Bill” by a single vote. Connolly himself prevailed over AOC in a much-publicized intra-party battle for the Ranking Member seat on the House Oversight committee. It speaks volumes that Connolly was only able to hold onto that seat for a few short months before becoming too sick to stay on. This is of course part and parcel with the recent revelations about Biden's declining mental acuity during his presidency and the efforts to oust David Hogg from the DNC for backing primaries against what he calls “asleep-at-the-wheel” Democrats.9. Speaking of “asleep-at-the-wheel” Democrats, Bloomberg Government reports Senator John Fetterman “didn't attend a single committee hearing in 2025 until…May 8, about a week after an explosive New York Magazine story raised questions about his mental health and dedication to his job.” Fetterman, who represents Pennsylvania on the Commerce, Agriculture, and Homeland Security committees skipped the confirmation hearings for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Budget Director Russ Vought, some of the most high-profile and controversial Trump appointments. Fetterman still has yet to attend a single Agriculture committee hearing in 2025.10. Finally, in more Pennsylvania news, the state held its Democratic primaries this week, yielding mixed results. In Pittsburgh, progressives suffered a setback with the ouster of Mayor Ed Gainey – the first Black mayor of the city. Gainey lost to Allegheny County Controller Corey O'Connor, the son of former Mayor Bob O'Connor, the Hill reports. In Philadelphia however, voters approved three ballot measures – including expanding affordable housing and adding more oversight to the prison system – and reelected for a third term progressive reform District Attorney Larry Krasner, per AP. Krasner has long been a target of conservatives in both parties, but has adroitly maneuvered to maintain his position – and dramatically reduced homicide rates in Philly. The Wall Street Journal reports Philadelphia homicides declined by 34% between 2023 and 2024, part of substantial decline in urban homicides nationwide. Kudos to Krasner.This has been Francesco DeSantis, with In Case You Haven't Heard. Get full access to Ralph Nader Radio Hour at www.ralphnaderradiohour.com/subscribe

In 2019, Netflix released a six-episode miniseries starring the English comedian and actor Sacha Baron Cohen. Cohen played an Israeli spy, Eli Cohen. The latter Cohen was a Jewish immigrant from Egypt who, once in Israel, was recruited and trained by the Mossad. He then assumed the identity of Kamel Amin Thaabet, a wealthy Arab businessman who, having eventually moved to Damascus, became a backer and confidant of key officials in the Baath party. From his home in Syria, Cohen as Thaabet dispatched vast quantities of military and political intelligence to the Israelis throughout the early 1960s. Viewers of the Netflix show, The Spy, see all of this dramatized, as they also see Cohen's eventual capture, torture, and hanging. The Netflix series, and the story it brings to a new generation of viewers, is true.   Eli Cohen is celebrated as one of Israel's great intelligence agents, one of its great mistaravim, or those who assume the identity of Arabs to carry out their missions. There are streets and institutions and many children and even, in the Golan, a town in Israel named after Eli Cohen. For 60 years the Israeli government has tried to persuade, bribe, cajole, and if necessary steal the Syrian government's Eli Cohen file. During the rule of Hafez and Bashar al-Assad, they could not get them. With the fall of the Assad regime, and with a new regime in Damascus looking to curry favor with the United States and the West, earlier this week the Syrians handed over some 2,500 documents from Syria's Eli Cohen file.   This week, Yossi Melman—a Haaretz reporter, journalist, and author of some eight English-language books on Israeli intelligence—joins Mosaic's editor Jonathan Silver to talk about Eli Cohen, what Israel has reclaimed, and why this story remains so important some six decades on.