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Join host Manya Brachear Pashman for a powerful conversation about Red Alert, the Critics Choice Award-nominated Paramount+ docu-series that confronts the October 7 Hamas massacre with unflinching honesty. Producer Lawrence Bender (Pulp Fiction, Good Will Hunting) shares why this project couldn't wait—launched in real time to push back against denial, disinformation, and a world struggling to absorb the scale of the tragedy. Bender reflects on the courage and trauma of the ordinary Israelis whose stories anchor the series, including survivors like Batsheva Olami, whose resilience changed the production team forever. Hear how filming during an active war shaped the storytelling, the emotional toll on everyone involved, and why capturing these true accounts is essential to ensuring October 7 is neither minimized nor forgotten. Key Resources: AJC.org/Donate: Please consider supporting AJC's work with a year-end gift today. Right now, your gift will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, making double the impact. Every gift matters. Every dollar makes a difference in the fight for a strong and secure Jewish future. Listen – AJC Podcasts: Architects of Peace The Forgotten Exodus People of the Pod Follow People of the Pod on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/PeopleofthePod You can reach us at: peopleofthepod@ajc.org If you've appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Transcript of the Interview: [Clip from Red Alert] Manya Brachear Pashman: Academy Award nominated film producer Lawrence Bender has quite a repertoire for both feature films and documentaries: Pulp Fiction, Inglorious Bastards, Good Will Hunting and Inconvenient Truth. In fact, his works have earned 36 Academy Award nominations. His most recent TV miniseries is a more personal project on the second anniversary of the October 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel, Paramount Plus began streaming a four episode series called red alert about the attack on festival goers, innocent passers by and families waking up to terrorists inside their Israeli homes that day, a tragedy that many of us, either on this podcast or listening have watched with overwhelming grief for the last two years. Lawrence is with us now to talk about how he grappled with this attack on Israel and the rise of antisemitism that followed. Lawrence, welcome to People of the Pod. Lawrence Bender: Thank you, Manya, it's good to be here. Manya Brachear Pashman: So that clip that we played at the top of this episode, it's one of the few clips in English. Most of the dialog in this show is in Hebrew with subtitles. But that scene is a woman, Bathsheba and her two daughters. They're walking across a field trying to return home, and her son has been taken. Her husband is gone. This series weaves together her story and three or four other ordinary civilians fighting for their lives on October 7, 2023. You know, as someone personally who's been immersed in this subject matter for two years, to be honest, I had to muster the energy to watch this, and I'm so glad that I did. But why are, I mean, as we're still waiting for the last hostage to be returned, why was it important for this show to air now? Lawrence Bender: Well, thank you so much for doing this with me, and thank you for playing that clip. I have to tell you first, I love that clip. I love that scene because one of the things about the show and the stories that we portrayed is that even with the horrific things that happened on that day, people still were able to fight back. People were still able to be strong. A mother with her daughter and her infant stood in the face of a terrorist and stood him down in real life, this happened. Now, not everybody was so fortunate, and her husband Ohad was not fortunate, and her son was taken hostage, as you mentioned, but it does show her personal power in this horrific situation. And I just thought, you know, this woman is a real hero. I've spent a lot of time with her, Batsheva Olami, she's really an extraordinary human in all ways. So thank you for playing that clip. So in terms of the show, I felt on October 8, it's just amazing how quickly, before Israel did anything, the entire world quickly turned against the very people who were the victims and having spent subsequently, a lot of time with people on the set, because, as you mentioned, this show was about real people, and those real people spent a lot of time on the set with us. And the very people that were traumatized, felt isolated, they felt alone, and they're the very ones that need to be loved, that need to be hugged, they need to be supported. Anyway, I just felt like I needed to do something fast to try to show the world what really happened. AndRed Alert is the result of that. Manya Brachear Pashman: Do you fear that the world has already moved on? Lawrence Bender: Oh, that's a good question. It feels like we've passed a tipping point, actually, in terms of Jew hatred and anti-Israel and antisemitism. Even as we are now trying to have a peace process, right, that somehow we are stumbling forward, and if that's going to happen, people need to understand why we're here and why we're here happened on October 7. And if you watch the show, hopefully you're pulled into the show, and you have a, you know, you have an emotional journey, and then you understand, oh, this really happened. And you understand that's the truth. And only when you really understand the truth of October 7 do I really think that you can really get some sort of peace. Manya Brachear Pashman: So is this different from other historical events? You know, a lot of movies and television shows commemorate historical events, like the Holocaust, for example, but they happen years later. They're made years later. I kind of call it the never forget genre. But is October 7 unique in that it's not a question of whether people will forget or move on. It's a question of whether they believe that this present is actually true. Lawrence Bender: That's right, there's the deniers. There's people that just don't know. There's people that forgot, maybe you know, there are people who I know that I had to explain. Like, you know, it's interesting. As an example, when you see the show and you see all these Hamas terrorists invading the kibbutz, and Ohad says to her, his wife, Bathsheva, he whispers in her ear, I just saw about 20 terrorists, and someone said to me, who's not unintelligent, I didn't realize there are that many. I didn't realize that. And if you're not really paying attention, maybe you don't really know. And look, they're the haters, haters which are never going to change. But I think there's a large group of people that just don't really understand, and they're the ones that I feel we have a shot at showing this to and having a conversation with. Manya Brachear Pashman: In fact, are you actually introducing or experimenting with a new genre of truth or facts in the face of fiction. Lawrence Bender: I guess that's true. I mean, this just happened. And some people ask over this last, you know, when I released, and we were paramount, released the show. You know, I've been asked a question, is it too soon? And my answer is, I feel like it's not soon enough. And I felt like immediately I needed to work on something, and this is the result of that. For me, personally, there are many collaborators of people on this show that incredible Israeli partners, my American partners. I mean, there's a lot of amazing people that came together to work on this, to make this show, but we really felt like time was of the essence, because the world was shifting so quickly, we wanted this to get out there, to show the world what really happened. Manya Brachear Pashman: One of the reasons I'm pressing you on this, this was not a fiction film. This was based in reality. You said you met Bathsheba, the actors prepared for their roles by meeting with the very real people who they were portraying in this show whose stories they were recreating. I'm curious what some of the takeaways were for you, for your colleagues, from your encounters with these victims, with these survivors, and did anything about the production ever change after they got involved? Lawrence Bender: It was truly a life changing experience for myself, but really for everyone involved, of course, myself and my partner, Kevin Brown and Jordana Rubin, and we were basically the only non Israelis that were full time producing the show. And everyone else was a citizen of the country. Everyone else, you know, was affected dramatically, everything but from like our key grips brother ran the kibbutz Raim, where we filmed that area that was a kibbutz overrun by terrorists, right? His brother survived. So it was really like every single person at some point, you know, we call it triggered, but it really happened quite often where you have a scene and people just have to stop for a second and take a moment, whether it's an actor finishing a scene or a crew member, you know, partaking in the making of the scene. But lots of things happen. I'll tell you one story which was, you know, quite interesting. We're working at the Nova festival scene, and one of the actors, Moran, her niece, was on vacation in Greece, and her niece told her, if a red headed police woman shows up on the set, she's the one who saved my life. And indeed, her name was Bat, she showed up, and we said, we need you to meet somebody. And we FaceTimed Moran's niece with Bat, and the young lady she's like in her early 20s, said, You're the one who saved my life. You're the one I was hiding by your feet while you were firing. And we asked, Did you remember the people that you saved? And she said, I really only remember the people I didn't save. You really felt the pain that she is still at that point a year and a half later, this is. In April, May, suffering from what she went through. RPG hit nearby her. She went flying through the air. She had had half reconstructive surgery, on and on and on. It was obviously an extremely traumatic day for her to you know, a moment where there's a woman on the set whose daughter was murdered, and someone on my crew, actually, Mya Fisher, has said, you know, there's someone here I want to introduce you to. It's after lunch. And I spent some time with her, and I asked her, you know, like, how do you go? Fine, I can't, you know, I can't imagine losing my son in this way. It's just unimaginable. And I asked her, do you have a rabbi? What do you do to survive? And it was a very difficult emotional exchange. And sometime later, she had sort of retold that encounter to somebody else on the set who came to me and said, you know that woman you're talking to. She told me what happened, you know this conversation? And she said, You know this Hollywood producer came all the way from California, she doesn't know me, from Adam, and sat down with me for an hour to hear my story, and it clearly meant a lot to her. And again, you realize that the very people who are traumatized directly are not getting the love, are so isolated and people are against them, and it made me feel even more determined to tell these stories for the world to understand. Every day we had these type of difficult, emotional and to be honest, I was extremely honored every time I met someone. I spent every Saturday night at Hostage Square because we were making the show, I got to spend time backstage with all the families who had loved ones in the tunnels. There was a deep dive into this. Now, I have to tell you, on the other hand, the filming while a war is still going on is quite it's like things you don't have to think about normally, right? So, as an example, we were in a town and we're shooting a shootout. We're filming a shootout between the IDF actors and the Hamas actor. They're actors. I keep saying they're actors, right? Because they are actors. But the mayor and the chief of police in the town were extremely worried, because they look real, right? They look like real people. And unfortunately, the cemetery is littered with people who have been murdered and killed by the Hamas. And all the other men who are there, they have guns, they carry, and if something's happening, they're going to run towards the problem. So he's worried, what if someone walks by, or someone's up in a building. He looks down and they see an actor who looks like Hamas, they are going to shoot him. So we literally had speakers every 10 yards, like all up and down the street, and every like 15-20 minutes, saying, don't worry, in Hebrew, of course, this is a movie, everything's okay. We had a drone up in the air, never coming down, on a tether with a police officer. They're a full big screen watching case someone walks down the street. We dressed up the Hamas actors as they're walking from the holding area to the area where they're filming, we put them in these kind of white hazmat-like suits so that they couldn't confuse them, and when they got done filming, we put them right back in these hazmat white suits and brought them back to the holding area. We all had to dress up, and we had to wear these very, very light blue shirts the entire crew, so nobody looked like anything but a crew member. It was something, right? Manya Brachear Pashman: I did not even think about that. I mean, I knew that you had filmed on location in Israel, and I knew you had filmed during the war. In fact, I was going to explain to listeners who don't know Red Alert is what Israelis call the sirens and the phone alerts when there are rockets being fired upon Israel and they have time to seek shelter. I was going to ask you if you had been there during a red alert and had to seek shelter, but I didn't even think about the possibility of people confusing the filming with actual war activity. I imagine you were there during a red alert, and did have to seek shelter, yes? Lawrence Bender: so there's different types of alerts in the south. We did shoot in the guys called the Gaza envelope. We shot within less than a mile away from the Gaza border. So a scene that comes soon after the one that you showed. They're resting under a tree, and we are in the Gaza envelope. And this is a scene where they're running from the Hamas. They're running, they're bare feet, and they're out of breath, and they stop under this tree that's hot, and so forth. And you can hear, just a mile away, the war going on in Gaza. Hear the bombs and everything, and we weren't worried about we're going to be attacked, but it was eerie hearing a war go on, and we're filming a scene where they're running from that war, right? So it was dramatic every week or so still at that point, the Hamas would lob a missile bomb into southern Israel and an alert would go off. You have 15 seconds to. Get into. So we had to bring these portable concrete safe rooms with us so that crew, at any given moment can run quickly into one of these concrete things. We couldn't always do it. So there's always this conversation, and by the way, it costs a lot of money, so everything you're always carrying these things. There's a lot of planning that went on. But I have to tell you, as an American showing up in Israel for the first time after October 7, I wasn't used to these alarms going off, so we were fortunate that while we were filming in the south, no missiles were lobbed at us. However, my first day there, I'm in a meeting on the eighth floor. It was a Friday morning. I got in there on a Thursday evening, 10 o'clock in the morning, the alarm goes up. I mean, just like that, right? And it's loud. And you have these buzzers. Everyone's phone is buzzing, not like the Amber Alerts we have, like, really buzzing loud. And everyone stops and looks at me, and they apologize to me. They apologize and they go, Oh, we're really sorry, but it's an alert. We have to go into a safe room. Oh, don't worry, it's just from the Houthis. It takes eight minutes to get here. Now it's an intercontinental ballistic missile. These are real big missiles. They can really do bad damage. Don't worry, the Iron Dome usually gets them. It's really okay. So we go, you know, we go into and they pick up their danish and their coffee, and of course, I take out my cell phone and I'm videotaping. And then we go in there, and when it's off, we go back to the meeting. The meeting starts as if it never happened. And then they stop, and they go, Oh, how was that for you? And then I just didn't realize, what with the emotion that was going on because we're not used to having missiles shot at us. It's not normal. And I started to bubble up with emotion, and I had to, like, stop myself, I didn't want to cry in front of all these people that I barely knew. So I had to suppress my feelings. Like, don't worry, it's okay. You're having a normal reaction, right? And that happened quite often while I was there. Now, you do get used to it. And the last night I was there, I was having dinner outside, tables outside, you know, in restaurants everywhere. So we're having a typical outside dinner, and they're handing the fish, and the alarm goes off, and we go, let's eat. And we don't go into the restaurant where they're called maamads. You don't go into the safe room. So that's kind of the quote, unquote normal life. Now you imagine here in the United States we get a missile from Mexico or Canada or wherever. No one's going to put up with that. That's just insane. It's insane what people in Israel have to go through. Manya Brachear Pashman: it really is. But it's interesting that you've kind of adopted the nonchalance that your colleagues had at the very beginning of the trip, and wow, certainly no apologies. I want to know if there's a missile headed my way. Thank you. It does sound like October 7 changed you personally. And I'd like to know as a progressive Jew, on what level did it change you as a human being. I mean, how did it change you the most? Lawrence Bender: I've been an active Jewish person for maybe 20, somewhere, 2025, years. I went to Israel My first time. I was ready. As far as I'm concerned. I was too old already to go for the first time. It was like 2003 I went with the Israeli policy forum, and we met with a lot of people there, and we ended up going to Ramallah, met with Abu Mazen, we went to Cairo and met with the president there, Barak, and met with a lot of people in Israel and so forth. And I've been involved one way or another for quite a while. But of course, October 7 was dramatic. Of course, I was safe in my house in Los Angeles, but I still watched in horror. And of course, October 8, it's just hard to understand what happened. It was the latent antisemitism, Jew hatred, that sits there. I still don't quite understand that. It feels like antisemitism never went away, but it was underneath, and it just gave a good excuse to come out, and now the world is where it is. So yeah, for me, I became much more active than I was before. It became much more important to me, my Jewishness, my relationship to Israel. I want to protect Israel as much as I have that power to you know, whatever my ability is, like a lot of people, I know it's become a really important part of my existence, and it's like a new chapter in my life. I'm absolutely looking for more Jewish or Israeli projects. You know, I'm looking to do as much as possible in this area. Manya Brachear Pashman: A number of your colleagues in Hollywood have proposed boycotting Israeli film festivals, institutions, projects, they're going the opposite direction that you are. And I'm curious if you had difficulty finding an American network to air this series, and what do you say when you confront colleagues who do want to boycott and are hostile toward Israel? Lawrence Bender: You know, there's different groups of people. They're the true haters. I don't think that you can ever even have a conversation with them. There are people who just don't understand, and there's people you can and there are people who you know they're trying to be good people. They're trying to understand, like, What don't you understand about women being brutally raped and murdered? It's a little hard for me to understand that, actually. But there are a lot of good people who just are either confused or got too much of the wrong message. But the one thing I would say straight up is, let's take an analogy. You know, there's very few people that I know that you see on TV, on any news show, that is very empathetic with the regime in Iran as an example, right? That means a brutal regime. If you're a liberal or if you're a conservative, there's very few people who support that regime here in this country, right? But they don't boycott their filmmakers, right? They actually give their filmmakers Academy Awards. So why is that with Israel? I feel like there's something very misguided here in Hollywood. Now, we got really lucky when it came to distribution. I just have to say, because we were supposed to go out to sell the show like it was fully financed from equity and from Keshet, who's the local Israeli. This is the biggest network in Israel, by the way. It's the biggest drama in Israel in the last decade. It really performed well there. But now we're going to go sell it here in the United States and the rest of the world, and it's early September, which is our deadline to do that, and Israel bombs Qatar, and then this boycott letter is signed. And I have to tell the investors. You know, it's like, this is not a good time. We cannot go sell. We're just gonna fail, and there's no second chances. And you know, I was getting into dramatic arguments with my investors because they really felt strong. You got to be like that character in your show, the police officer is going to save his wife and you know, nothing's going to stop you. And I said, Yes, I'm with you. I developed that character I know in the Middle East arguments. I was at Skip Brittenham's memorial. Skip is like this beautiful man who was like the Mount Rushmore of lawyers here in LA. He's just a great human and one of those guys that wants to make deals, not just take everything and have the other guy get nothing. He was just like a he's just a real mensch, right? And well, loved anyway. Unfortunately, he passed, but I was at his memorial, and I ran into David Ellison. Now, I know David a little bit, not well, but I know him a little bit, and I also know that, you know, he loves Israel, from what I've read and so forth. And so I went up to him and said, Hey, man, we talked. I said, you got to know what I'm doing. And it probably got three words out of my mouth, and you can see him go, I'd love to see this. This sounds amazing, and sounds like it's exactly the timing we need. And we sent him the material, and he watched every episode himself, and then he gave it to Cindy Holland, who runs paramount, plus his main person. And you know, they said, we do this. We want this. It would be an honor to be your partner in this is actually quite humbling. And it was an incredible moment for us to have David Ellison, Cindy Holland, say, hey. You know, we want this now. Then they said, We need to drop it. We want to drop all the episodes on October 7? Well, by the time they got those episodes, it was like two weeks to go before October 7, or a couple days before, because we couldn't give it to them in the midnight before October 7, obviously. And they had pretty much final picture edit, but we had temporary sound, temporary music, temporary effects, and so we had to work double triple shifts to get it done. But of course, we did. Manya Brachear Pashman: This actually reminds me of a conversation I had with playwright, screenwriter, Oren softy for the Forgotten Exodus, which is a podcast series we did about Jews from the Middle East. He spoke about his father's side of the family, which hails from Aleppo, Syria, and he shared a lot of his frustrations with the modern anti Israel movement and sentiments in Hollywood, the protests which he's been trying to combat in theater and on the stage. And he actually said that investors had pulled out of a film project about Israel when tensions flared. So it's interesting to hear your investors took the opposite approach, but he told me in our conversations, he told me that being Jewish is about stepping up. That's how he sees it. It's about stepping up. And I'm curious if that rings true to you, and do you feel like this series and your plans to do more, is that your way of stepping up? Lawrence Bender: Hmm, that's beautiful, and I'm so glad to hear you recount that story with him. I'd love to talk to him about that I feel like, without really understanding that it's built into me genetically, right? My grandparents, far as you go back, my family is Jewish, right? From Romania, from Hungary, from Minsk Belarus. So it's the way that you're brought up as a Jew. It's just always been a part of our lives, and we're pretty much taught that that's part of being Jewish, right? So, you know, I've always felt like it's important for me. Now I tell you, you know, it's interesting, and I think about as we're talking so in the 90s, when I was getting started, and I was actually doing pretty well this one year, I had Good Will Hunting and Jackie Brown and a price above Rubens, those three movies, and things were going well, but I felt like something was missing in my life. And then we screened Good Will Hunting and Camp David in 1998 and it was an amazing moment. And that was like one of these light bulb moments for me. You know, I met the President and Mrs. Clinton and Madeleine Albright, Secretary of State, and Secretary of Defense, Sandy Berger and the Chief of Staff and Senate Majority Leader, and on and on, right? They're all there. And it was Matt Damon, Ban Affleck, Gus Van Zant, Robin Williams, et cetera, et cetera, right? And I felt like these guys are making a difference, and that's what was missing in my life. And so since 1998 I've been always looking for ways that I'm and that's that's that becomes like a more of a fulfilling way of living right for myself. So yes, I would answer that. That's a long way to get to yes. Manya Brachear Pashman: Wow, Camp David, that's awesome. Lawrence, thank you so much for joining us and for talking about the impetus behind this series. I encourage everyone to take some time, brace yourself emotionally, but do sit down and watch Red Alert. It is really quite worthwhile. Thank you so much. Lawrence Bender: Thank you. Manya Brachear Pashman: If you missed last week's episode, be sure to tune in for my conversation with AJC colleague, Dr Alexandra Herzog, the granddaughter of Chaim Herzog, Israel's Irish born sixth president. She shared how an attempt by Dublin officials to strip her grandfather's name from a community park illustrates how criticism of Israel can veer into an effort to erase Jewish memory. As I mentioned in my conversation with Lawrence, it took some degree of wherewithal to watch Red Alert, as we've spent the last two years on this podcast speaking with the families of hostages, former hostages themselves, and survivors of the October 7 massacre. I've wanted nothing more than to make sure their voices are heard. We end this week's episode with the voice of Orna Neutra, the mother of Omer Neutra. Orna recently spoke at the AJC Long Island meeting, shortly after the return of her son's remains more than two years after his death, followed by a word from AJC Long Island Director Eric Post. Orna Neutra: When Omer was taken, our world collapsed. But something else happened too. People stood up. People showed up. And many of you here showed up. This community, the broader Long Island Jewish community, AJC, our friends, colleagues, neighbors, complete strangers, carried us. You wrote, you marched, you advocated, you pressured you called you consoled and refused to let the world look away. To our personal friends and honorees here tonight, Veronica, Laurie, and Michael, your leadership has not been symbolic. It has been practical, steady and deeply felt by our family. Like you said, Veronica, on the first days when we were barely understanding what was going on, you connected us to Senator Schumer's office, and Michael, you helped us write a letter to the White House on October 8, and that was the first sign from hostage families that the White House received. We know that Secretary Blinken had the letter in his hands on October 8, indicating that Omer was probably a hostage. And AJC as an organization, beyond your many actions and advocacy, I want to specifically acknowledge your DC team. It was mentioned here tonight, throughout our many, many, many visits to Capitol Hill, AJC professionals were instrumental. They arranged meetings, they walked us through endless hallways, opened doors, prepared us and stood beside us, and they're still doing that for us, and we will see them this week. Always professional, with purpose and humanity, and we will never forget that. Over these two years, we learned something essential: that when Jewish families are in danger, the responsibility belongs to all of us, across movements, across generations, across continents. This work is the work that AJC does every day. This is the work that everyone here in this room understands. Eric Post: Since the horrors of October 7, AJC has been empowering leaders around the world to take action against antisemitism and stand with Israel. But we cannot succeed alone. Please consider supporting AJC's work with a year-end gift today. Right now, your gift will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, making double the impact. Every gift matters. Every dollar makes a difference in the fight for a strong and secure Jewish future. Donate at AJC.org/donate – that's www - dot - AJC - dot org slash donate.
Eytan Halon er chargé d'affaires ved Israels ambassade i Norge, og praktisk talt lederen av ambassaden, siden det ikke er noen israelsk ambassadør i Norge av politiske årsaker.Vår samtale i dag dekker et bredt spekter av emner med Eytan Halon, om Israels sikkerhetsutfordringer, krigen i Gaza, antisemittisme i Europa og Norges rolle i Midtøsten-debatten. Diskusjonen beveger seg fra geopolitikk og terrorisme til norske innenlandske kontroverser, etterretningssamarbeid og de dypere historiske og ideologiske kreftene som former dagens konflikter.Israels image, protester og politikk i Europa.Eytan diskuterer gapet mellom støyende anti-israelske gateprotester og den stillere, men betydelige folkelige støtten som vises i arenaer som Eurovision og valg. Han reflekterer over hvordan politikere og arabiske ledere «snakker to språk» – ett til sine innenlandske publikum og et annet bak lukkede dører – og hvordan Israel blir en symbolsk fotball i norsk politikk.Hamas, Gaza og «dagen etter».Samtalen dykker ned i Hamas' rolle i Gaza, dens undertrykkelse av palestinere, og hvorfor Eytan argumenterer for at alle som virkelig bryr seg om «uskyldige palestinere» må kreve en slutt på Hamas' styre. Han forklarer Israels syn på våpenhvilen, den såkalte gule linjen, den gjenværende g heldige, og den foreslåtte internasjonale stabiliseringsstyrken og flerfasefredsplanen for Gaza, inkludert betingelser for Hamas og Palestinske myndigheter.Antisemittisme, «anti-sionisme» og vestlige samfunn.Eytan skisserer hvordan antisemittisme har «mutert» til ekstrem anti-sionisme, med eksempler fra Norge, Storbritannia og USA, inkludert protester mot synagoger og åpent nazisymbolikk. Han argumenterer for at for mange aktivister erstatter «Israel» eller «sionister» simpelthen ordet «jøder» med, og at fiendtlighet mot en jødisk stat med militærmakt er sentralt i dagens antisemittisme.Israels forsvarsteknologi og vestlig sikkerhet.Episoden omhandler Israels flerlags luftforsvar (Iron Dome, David's Sling, Arrow) og det nye laserbaserte avskjæringssystemet, kostnadene og de strategiske implikasjonene. Eytan beskriver den voksende europeiske etterspørselen etter israelske systemer (f.eks. Tyskland, Finland), USA–Israel-samarbeid om utvikling, og hvorfor han ser Israel som en frontlinje-stat som forsvarer felles vestlige verdier mot Iran, Hamas og andre islamistiske grupper.Hamas, Iran og terrorisme i Europa og Norge.Eytan snakker om Hamas-nettverk i Europa, statssponsret terrorisme fra Iran, og hvordan israelsk etterretning samarbeider med vestlige tjenester for å avverge planer, inkludert mot synagoger og israelske/jødiske mål. Han understreker at Hamas og likesinnede grupper avviser vestlige friheter generelt, noe som gjør dem like mye et problem for Norge og Europa som for Israel.Syria, drusene og regionale dynamikker.Diskusjonen vender seg til post-Assad-Syria, den nye ledelsens bakgrunn i jihadistbevegelser, og Israels røde linjer ved Golanhøydene, minoriteter og kjemiske våpen. Eytan fremhever Israels nære forhold til drusefellesskapet, responsen på angrep mot drusere i Suwayda, og hvorfor Jerusalem ser beskyttelse av minoriteter som både en moralsk og strategisk plikt.Norske debatter: kunst, NGOer og Amnesty.Episoden undersøker kontroversen rundt palestinske kunstneren Jumana Manna som dekorerer Norges nye regjeringskvartal etter å ha rost 7. oktober-angrepene som «kreativ motstand», og hva det signaliserer om norsk kulturpolitikk. Eytan kommenterer også NGO Monitors funn om Hamas-lenker til NGOer, UNRWA's sammenveving med terrorgrupper, og hans kritikk av Amnesty International.► STØTT ARBEIDET PÅ VIPPSOm du ønsker å støtte arbeidet med denne podcasten, kan du bidra med et stort eller lite beløp, etter eget ønske. All støtte settes pris på, og du bidrar til arbeidet med å lage flere episoder. Bruk Vippsnummer: #823278
Israel deploys Iron Beam defense, Gaza hostages returned, Trump pushes peace plan amid rising tensions.0:00 – Introduction Monte Judah opens the broadcast and sets the stage for the week's update.1:15 – Human Remains Returned from Gaza Bodies and body parts returned, including the Thai worker; one hostage remains.3:40 – IDF Hero Ran Gvili Story of Staff Sergeant Ran Gvili, his bravery, and sacrifice.6:20 – Haredi Exemption Bill Delayed Division within Haredi community; IDF recruitment challenges.8:45 – Iron Beam Deployment New laser defense system explained; cost savings and effectiveness vs. Iron Dome.12:10 – Iran's Drone Production & U.S. Scorpion Strike Unit Iran's drone exports, U.S. reverse-engineering, and new drone warfare strategies.15:30 – AI in Drone & Cyber Warfare Israel restructuring cyber/electronic warfare with AI integration.18:00 – Trump's Gaza Peace Plan Phase Two Ceasefire violations, disarmament issues, and Trump's optimistic statements.21:15 – Rafah Crossing & Northern Border Concerns Israel considers opening Rafah; tensions with Lebanon and Hezbollah.24:00 – Syria Developments New Syrian leader meets Trump; IDF operations against militants in southern Syria.27:30 – Netanyahu Invited to White House Fifth invitation; controversy over New York mayor-elect's arrest threat.30:00 – Escalating Threats Across Multiple Fronts Hamas rearming, Hezbollah regrouping, Iran's missile threats, Palestinian attacks.33:15 – Prophetic Perspective & Closing Thoughts Monte Judah reflects on Israel's situation and calls for prayer.35:00 – Closing & Shabbat Shalom Final blessings, subscription reminders, and encouragement for viewers.Tune in today at 4:00 pm CT for the latest Messianic World Update with Monte Judah on LionandLamb.tv! Stay informed, stay watchful. ✡️
Der Tag in 2 Minuten – vom 3.12.
Happy Thanksgiving! Today on Ask A Jew, CNN Political Contributor and author of the new book “A Revolution of Common Sense: How Donald Trump Stormed Washington and Fought for Western Civilization”, Scott Jennings!.You know Scott as the “spokesperson for common sense” on the CNN panel, and may recognize him as the guy who wore the hostage pin every day for two years on air, along with his progressive BFF Van Jones. (Scott, tell Van Chaya Leah says “hey”). He's also a writer, a veteran of national political campaigns, host of the Scott Jennings Show on the Salem Radio Network and a million other things we didn't have time to talk about because we were too busy asking him about raising chickens and whether he ever stole anything from the White House (the answer is Yes! You have to listen to find out what though..)We did talk about being a lone conservative on a panel of liberals, how America is awesome, friendships across the aisle, why the only negative responses he got to wearing the hostage pin were on the air and not in real life, and his passionate, administration-defying crusade to make soccer illegal.We even let him talk about his book for a little bit! The bestseller “A Revolution of Common Sense: How Donald Trump Stormed Washington and Fought for Western Civilization” is out now and you should buy it as a holiday gift for all your friends as well as your enemies. It's a great read with some wild access and fun stories!Make sure to follow Scott on X, Facebook, Instagram and check out his radio show/podcast, which you can catch weekdays at 2pm EST Live on X.Also:* Writing a book about President Trump, with President Trump, while President Trump is being President Trump.* Wearing the yellow hostage pin every day over the last two years in solidarity with the hostages in Gaza, and finally taking it off.* Growing up as a blue-collar Kentuckian with a little briefcase.* “Everyone is Hitler” except Hitler.* This podcast has gone one zero episodes without mentioning Mandy Patinkin.* Is it fair that Scott is the lone conservative voice on the CNN panel fending off the liberals? Na, it's not fair…to them.* Scott Jennings, Van Jones, David Axelrod - we'd pay for someone to make this buddy comedy.* Stop resisting the west.* Is being an antisemite good politics? Strongly recommend taking the time to watch Scott address the Republican Jewish Coalition last month. Chills:* Scott was on a nice vacation in Israel when Iran ruined it.* The Iron Dome is a freaking miracle (and fun to watch!)* 250 years of America F*** Yea!!!* Is Scott the most Meme-d guy on CNN?* Scott thinks soccer should be banned.* Raising 4 boys and the Abraham Accords in the Jennings household.* Oh wait Scott has a book??* What did Scott steal from the White House?* The Best Christmas movie is not the one Scott said.* We make him thank us for JesusIf you've come this far, consider subscribing! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit askajew.substack.com/subscribe
Du har formentlig hørt om The Iron Dome – Israels avancerede luftforsvar. Men ‘jernkuplen’ er blot en ud af flere avancerede forsvarsværktøjer, som Israel besidder. I dagens afsnit har vi besøg af en, der har haft fingrene helt nede i det israelske luftforsvar. Den tidligere øverstkommanderende tager os om bagved – og så spørger vi, hvordan han forholder sig til de mange anklager, som det israelske forsvar udsættes for. Vært: Joachim B. Olsen, debatredaktør på B.T. Gæst: Doron Gavish, israelsk general og tidligere øverstkommanderende for det israelske luftforsvar Journalist: Maria Asmine Dam Producer: Teis Zacho g Maria Asmine Dam Er du tvivl om, hvad du skal mene om aktuelle emner, så tilmeld dig nyhedsbrevet Borgerlig Tabloid fra Joachim B. Olsen - så får du borgerlig argumenter direkte i din indbakke: https://www.bt.dk/debat/borgerlig-tabloid-faa-borgerlig-debat-direkte-i-din-indbakke.dk/debat/borgerlig-tabloid-faa-borgerlig-debat-direkte-i-din-indbakke See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Rep. Don Bacon: Conservatism vs. Populism, Israel, Anti-Semitism, Immigration & the GOP's FutureFormer Air Force Brigadier General and five-term Congressman Don Bacon (NE-02) joins us to talk candid conservatism: calling out Trump and the populist right, defending liberal-democratic norms, Israel and anti-Semitism on campus, immigration policy, faith in public life, and what's next for the Republican Party.If you value nuanced, good-faith conversations, hit Like and Subscribe—it helps us bring on high-caliber guests like Rep. Bacon.Guest: Rep. Don Bacon — 30 years USAF; member of Congress, Nebraska's 2nd District.Chapters00:32 Who is Don Bacon? Air Force → Congress; NE-0201:01 Why he critiques Trump & the populist right02:05 Values over tribalism: January 6, Ukraine, tariffs03:11 Faith, Constitution, and old-school conservatism05:00 Congress, Article I, and executive overreach07:00 Early connections to Jews & Israel; Genesis 12:309:05 First trip to Israel, Yad Vashem, and “never again”11:15 Missile defense cooperation & deterrence12:17 Why support for Israel is fraying (left & right)15:18 Conservatives vs. national populists20:07 Policy tells: free markets, trade, Ukraine, Israel21:28 Post–Oct 7: bipartisan support & where it slipped23:18 The real value of U.S.–Israel ties (intel, tech, industry)30:00 Faith in public life & pluralism33:22 Anti-Semitism Awareness Act & speech on campus37:36 Immigration: stop illegal inflow, expand legal pathways40:24 Why he's retiring from Congress (and what's next)42:48 The GOP after Trump: the coming contest43:41 Final thoughts: issue-by-issue integrityKey topics & SEODon Bacon interview, conservative vs populist right, Trump criticism, January 6, Ukraine aid, Israel support, Iron Dome, anti-Semitism on campus, free speech, Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, immigration reform, evangelical faith and politics, future of GOP, liberal democracySupport the show• Subscribe + comment with your biggest takeaway• Share this episode with a friend who follows U.S.–Israel policy#tuckercarlson #stevebannon #maga #conservatism #israel #antisemitism #immigration #gop #politics #liberaldemocracy
Norm Cantin, WA1NLG, discovered amateur radio at age 14 through Boy Scouts in Massachusetts, got his Technician license in 1969 so he could get on 6 meters, and that early exposure led directly to his career in navigation electronics. Amateur radio Elmers in the Framingham Radio Club helped him get his first job at Northstar, a startup building LORAN navigation equipment, where he spent almost 30 years rising to Vice President of Engineering, later working on GPS development, differential GPS, and aircraft landing systems. After a period at Outerlink building satellite tracking systems, he spent more than a decade at Raytheon working on Patriot modernization and activities that contributed to Iron Dome. Now retired on Cape Cod, Norm is focused on VHF weak signal work, homebrews LDMOS amplifiers, is building a second tower for 2-meter EME, is active in the Barnstable Amateur Radio Club, youth outreach, public service, STEM, Boy Scouts, and believes ham radio is still a "hobby of a thousand hobbies."
Host Steven Shalowitz sits down with journalist and author Yaakov Katz to unpack While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East. Katz argues that October 7 wasn't a "mystery failure," but the result of a long-running "policy of containment" (the concepcia): believing Hamas could be deterred, managed economically, and fenced in with tech like Iron Dome and border sensors. He walks us through the tense night of Oct. 6–7—alarms, contradictory intel, and warnings from female surveillance soldiers that were brushed aside—and explains why a visible show of force might have changed the next morning.
Former Jerusalem Post editor-in-chief Yaakov Katz joins Noam Dworman and Dan Naturman to dissect the failures behind October 7, the moral and strategic crises of modern Israel, and the political culture that allowed catastrophe to take root. Based on his new book While Israel Slept, Katz lays out how a nation of elite intelligence, defense technology, and Iron Dome confidence was blindsided by its own assumptions. Buy Yaakov Katz's book — While Israel Slept — on Amazon: http://bit.ly/4o3b7XE He addresses: Whether Israeli journalism should expose government failures during wartime The growing rift between American and Israeli public opinion Why Israel misread Hamas for decades Netanyahu's political survival and the myth that Israel “built up” Hamas How AI is used in IDF targeting and whether it saves or costs civilian lives The accusations of an Israeli “stand-down” on October 7 The uncomfortable moral math of urban warfare in Gaza Chapters: 00:00 – Introduction 01:10 – Journalism in wartime Israel: Patriotism vs Accountability 04:40 – Why Israelis didn't see Gaza's destruction 08:10 – Media bias and trauma after October 7 13:00 – AI targeting, 972 Magazine, and how truth gets distorted 21:10 – “While Israel Slept” – The Premise and Title's Origin 22:30 – Israel's strategic blindness: Containment and Complacency 26:50 – The myth that Israel “wanted” Hamas 30:00 – Netanyahu, Qatar, and paying for quiet 34:00 – The failure of imagination on October 6 35:10 – Hezbollah and the deterrence paradox 38:20 – Can Israel learn from this? Preemption vs Occupation 40:50 – The Right, the Left, and the Gray Zone 44:00 – Morality, civilian deaths, and propaganda math 50:00 – The antisemitism question and media narratives 56:00 – Netanyahu's communications failure 57:20 – Conspiracy theories: the “stand-down” myth 01:00:00 – Friendly fire and the Hannibal Directive 01:03:20 – Why Israel must investigate itself 01:06:10 – Closing thoughts and the future of Israeli democracy
Former Jerusalem Post editor-in-chief Yaakov Katz joins Noam Dworman and Dan Naturman to dissect the failures behind October 7, the moral and strategic crises of modern Israel, and the political culture that allowed catastrophe to take root. Based on his new book While Israel Slept, Katz lays out how a nation of elite intelligence, defense technology, and Iron Dome confidence was blindsided by its own assumptions. Buy Yaakov Katz's book — While Israel Slept — on Amazon: http://bit.ly/4o3b7XE He addresses: Whether Israeli journalism should expose government failures during wartime The growing rift between American and Israeli public opinion Why Israel misread Hamas for decades Netanyahu's political survival and the myth that Israel “built up” Hamas How AI is used in IDF targeting and whether it saves or costs civilian lives The accusations of an Israeli “stand-down” on October 7 The uncomfortable moral math of urban warfare in Gaza Chapters: 00:00 – Introduction 01:10 – Journalism in wartime Israel: Patriotism vs Accountability 04:40 – Why Israelis didn't see Gaza's destruction 08:10 – Media bias and trauma after October 7 13:00 – AI targeting, 972 Magazine, and how truth gets distorted 21:10 – “While Israel Slept” – The Premise and Title's Origin 22:30 – Israel's strategic blindness: Containment and Complacency 26:50 – The myth that Israel “wanted” Hamas 30:00 – Netanyahu, Qatar, and paying for quiet 34:00 – The failure of imagination on October 6 35:10 – Hezbollah and the deterrence paradox 38:20 – Can Israel learn from this? Preemption vs Occupation 40:50 – The Right, the Left, and the Gray Zone 44:00 – Morality, civilian deaths, and propaganda math 50:00 – The antisemitism question and media narratives 56:00 – Netanyahu's communications failure 57:20 – Conspiracy theories: the “stand-down” myth 01:00:00 – Friendly fire and the Hannibal Directive 01:03:20 – Why Israel must investigate itself 01:06:10 – Closing thoughts and the future of Israeli democracy
Tens of thousands of Gazans make the long walk back to where they once lived after a ceasefire comes into force. Meanwhile, families in Israel wait for the return of the last remaining hostages held by Hamas. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Venezuela's opposition leader, María Corina Machado, who expressed shock when first told of the award. Also, Taiwan seeks to protect itself against air attack from China with a defence system similar to Israel's Iron Dome, and the football referee who thinks we shouldn't want to win at all costs.The Global News Podcast brings you the breaking news you need to hear, as it happens. Listen for the latest headlines and current affairs from around the world. Politics, economics, climate, business, technology, health – we cover it all with expert analysis and insight. Get the news that matters, delivered twice a day on weekdays and daily at weekends, plus special bonus episodes reacting to urgent breaking stories. Follow or subscribe now and never miss a moment. Get in touch: globalpodcast@bbc.co.uk
Send us a textOn the last episode, Charlie Kirk broke our brains... in the best way possible. What started as a casual conversation spiraled into the question nobody wants to touch, and so this week we're tackling the question your algorithm won't answer either: Who is Israel, really? What does the Bible actually say about Israel? And no, we don't mean the one with the Iron Dome. Between antisemitism accusations flying everywhere and social media serving up hot garbage, we decided to crack open Scripture and see what's real. No pitchforks, just questions. Bring yours. Support the showCheck out what's happening locally with “1LoveHTX” and ways to get involved. www.1LoveHTX.org
Support the work of The Israel Guys: https://theisraelguys.com/donate/ Check out our new film, premiering October 5th: https://theisraelguys.com/temple-mount-location/ On the sidelines of the UN this week, former President Trump met with a number of Arab nation leaders, presenting what he is calling a “21-point peace plan” He reportedly promised Arab leaders he would block Israeli annexation of the West Bank and pressed Hamas to free captives without delay. The UN also adopted a “New York Declaration” to revive peace talks, though tensions flared as Macron urged U.S. pressure, Arab leaders warned about annexation, and Israeli diplomats accused the UN of bias for holding a key Gaza meeting on Rosh Hashanah. Despite the war in Israel for the last two years, Jewish immigration has surged: over 50,000 immigrants have moved to Israel since October 7, with thousands more young volunteers arriving through Masa Israel Journey. On the ground, Israel faced new security challenges after a Houthi drone slipped past Iron Dome defenses in Eilat, striking near a hotel, injuring 48 people, and prompting an IDF emergency response. Follow Us On X: https://x.com/theisraelguys Follow Us On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theisraelguys Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theisraelguys
There's a race going on among tech firms — big and small — to join in the construction of what President Trump has dubbed the Golden Dome, a missile defense system similar to Israel's Iron Dome. Tens of billions of dollars in military contracts are at stake. In fact, the total cost might be in the trillions and the project could stretch a decade. The technology and scale needed to make this all happen is, so far, largely unproven. And a whole host of tech firms are trying to show that they can help with the very complex undertaking. Marketplace's Nova Safo spoke with Sheera Frenkel, reporter at the New York Times, about some of the tech that would make this whole system work.
There's a race going on among tech firms — big and small — to join in the construction of what President Trump has dubbed the Golden Dome, a missile defense system similar to Israel's Iron Dome. Tens of billions of dollars in military contracts are at stake. In fact, the total cost might be in the trillions and the project could stretch a decade. The technology and scale needed to make this all happen is, so far, largely unproven. And a whole host of tech firms are trying to show that they can help with the very complex undertaking. Marketplace's Nova Safo spoke with Sheera Frenkel, reporter at the New York Times, about some of the tech that would make this whole system work.
Dive into the third episode of AJC's latest limited podcast series, Architects of Peace. Go behind the scenes of the decades-long diplomacy and quiet negotiations that made the Abraham Accords possible, bringing Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and later Morocco, together in historic peace agreements. On September 15, 2020, the Abraham Accords were signed at the White House by President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu, and the foreign ministers of the UAE and Bahrain. In this third installment of AJC's limited series, AJC CEO Ted Deutch and Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer Jason Isaacson—who stood on the South Lawn that day—share their memories and insights five years later. Together, they reflect on how the Accords proved that peace is achievable when nations share strategic interests, build genuine relationships, and pursue the greater good. *The views and opinions expressed by guests do not necessarily reflect the views or position of AJC. Read the transcript: https://www.ajc.org/news/podcast/from-the-white-house-lawn-architects-of-peace-episode-3 Resources: AJC.org/ArchitectsofPeace - Tune in weekly for new episodes. The Abraham Accords, Explained AJC.org/CNME - Find more on AJC's Center for a New Middle East Listen – AJC Podcasts: The Forgotten Exodus People of the Pod Follow Architects of Peace on your favorite podcast app, and learn more at AJC.org/ArchitectsofPeace You can reach us at: podcasts@ajc.org If you've appreciated this episode, please be sure to tell your friends, and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Transcript: Ted Deutch: It was a beautiful day and there was this coming together, this recognition that this was such an historic moment. It's the kind of thing, frankly, that I remember having watched previously, when there were peace agreements signed and thinking that's something that I want to be a part of. And there I was looking around right in the middle of all of this, and so excited about where this could lead. Manya Brachear Pashman: In September 2020, the world saw what had been years, decades in the making, landmark peace agreements dubbed the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and two Arabian Gulf States, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Bahrain. Later, in December, they were joined by the Kingdom of Morocco. Five years later, AJC is pulling back the curtain to meet key individuals who built the trust that led to these breakthroughs. Introducing: the Architects of Peace. Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States. Accompanied by the Prime Minister of the State of Israel; His Highness the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International cooperation of the United Arab Emirates, and the Minister of the Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bahrain. Manya Brachear Pashman: The guests of honor framed by the South Portico of the White House were an unlikely threesome. Two Arab foreign ministers and the Prime Minister of Israel, there to sign a pair of peace agreements that would transform the Middle East. Donald Trump: Thanks to the great courage of the leaders of these three countries, we take a major stride toward a future in which people of all faiths and backgrounds live together in peace and prosperity. There will be other countries very, very soon that will follow these great leaders. Manya Brachear Pashman: President Trump's team had achieved what was long thought impossible. After decades of pretending Israel did not exist until it solved its conflict with the Palestinians, Trump's team discovered that attitudes across the Arab region had shifted and after months of tense negotiations, an agreement had been brokered by a small circle of Washington insiders. On August 13, 2020, the United Arab Emirates agreed to become the first Arab state in a quarter century to normalize relations with Israel. Not since 1994 had Israel established diplomatic relations with an Arab country, when King Hussein of Jordan and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin signed a treaty, ending the state of war that had existed between them since Israel's rebirth. A ceremony to celebrate and sign the historic deal was planned for the South Lawn of the White House on September 15, 2020. Before the signing ceremony took place, another nation agreed to sign as well: not too surprisingly the Kingdom of Bahrain. After all, in June 2019, Bahrain had hosted the Peace to Prosperity summit, a two-day workshop where the Trump administration unveiled the economic portion of its peace plan – a 38-page prospectus that proposed ways for Palestinians and Arab countries to expand economic opportunities in cooperation with Israel. In addition to Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE all participated in the summit. The Palestinians boycotted it, even as Trump's senior advisor Jared Kushner presented plans to help them. Jared Kushner: A lot of these investments people are unwilling to make because people don't want to put good money after bad money. They've seen in the past they've made these investments, they've tried to help out the Palestinian people, then all of a sudden there's some conflict that breaks out and a lot of this infrastructure gets destroyed. So what we have here is very detailed plans and these are things we can phase in over time assuming there's a real ceasefire, a real peace and there's an opportunity for people to start making these investments. Manya Brachear Pashman: Now Israel, the UAE, and Bahrain would open embassies, exchange ambassadors, and cooperate on tourism, trade, health care, and regional security. The Accords not only permitted Israelis to enter the two Arab nations using their Israeli passports, it opened the door for Muslims to visit historic sites in Israel, pray at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, the third holiest site in Islam, and finally satisfy their curiosity about the Jewish state. Before signing the accords, each leader delivered remarks. Here's Bahrain's Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani: For too long, the Middle East has been set back by conflict and mistrust, causing untold destruction and thwarting the potential of generations of our best and brightest young people. Now, I'm convinced, we have the opportunity to change that. Manya Brachear Pashman: UAE's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan echoed that sentiment and also addressed accusations by Palestinian leadership that the countries had abandoned them. He made it clear that the accords bolstered the Emirates' support for the Palestinian people and their pursuit of an independent state. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan: [speaking in Arabic] Manya Brachear Pashman: [translating Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan] This new vision, he said, which is beginning to take shape as we meet today for the future of the region, full of youthful energy, is not a slogan that we raise for political gain as everyone looks forward to creating a more stable, prosperous, and secure future. This accord will enable us to continue to stand by the Palestinian people and realize their hopes for an independent state within a stable and prosperous region. Manya Brachear Pashman: The Truman Balcony, named for the first American president to recognize Israel's independence, served as the backdrop for a few iconic photographs. The officials then made their way down the stairs and took their seats at the table where they each signed three copies of the Abraham Accords in English, Hebrew, and Arabic. The brief ceremony combined formality and levity as the leaders helped translate for each other so someone didn't sign on the wrong dotted line. After that was settled, they turned the signed documents around to show the audience. When they all rose from their seats, Prime Minister Netanyahu paused. After the others put their portfolios down, he stood displaying his for a little while longer, taking a few more seconds to hold on to the magnitude of the moment. Benjamin Netanyahu: To all of Israel's friends in the Middle East, those who are with us today and those who will join us tomorrow, I say, ‘As-salamu alaykum. Peace unto thee. Shalom.' And you have heard from the president that he is already lining up more and more countries. This is unimaginable a few years ago, but with resolve, determination, a fresh look at the way peace is done . . . The blessings of the peace we make today will be enormous, first, because this peace will eventually expand to include other Arab states, and ultimately, it can end the Arab Israeli conflict once and for all. [clapping] [Red alert sirens] Manya Brachear Pashman: But peace in Israel was and still is a distant reality as Palestinian leadership did not participate in the Accords, and, in fact, viewed it as a betrayal. As Netanyahu concluded his speech to the audience on the White House Lawn, thousands of miles away, Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system intercepted 15 rockets fired by terrorists in Gaza, at least one striking Israel's coastal city of Ashdod. Iran's regime condemned the agreement. But across most of the region and around the world, the revelation that decades of hostility could be set aside to try something new – a genuine pursuit of peace – inspired hope. Saudi journalists wrote op-eds in support of the UAE and Bahrain. Egypt and Oman praised the Abraham Accords for adding stability to the region. Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and Spain commended the monumental step. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the deal for paving the way toward a two-state solution. AJC's Chief Policy and Political Affairs Officer Jason Isaacson was one of more than 200 domestic and foreign officials on the White House Lawn that day taking it all in. The guest list included members of Congress, embassy staff, religious leaders, and people like himself who worked behind the scenes – a cross section of people who had been part of a long history of relationship building and peacemaking in the Middle East for many years. Jason Isaacson: To see what was happening then this meeting of neighbors who could be friends. To see the warmth evident on that stage at the South Lawn of the White House, and then the conversations that were taking place in this vast assembly on the South Lawn. Converging at that moment to mark the beginning of a development of a new Middle East. It was an exciting moment for me and for AJC and one that not only will I never forget but one that I am looking forward to reliving. Manya Brachear Pashman: Jason, of course, is talking about his confidence in the expansion of the Abraham Accords. Through his position at AJC he has attended several White House events marking milestones in the peace process. He had been seated on the South Lawn of the White House 27 years earlier to watch a similar scene unfold -- when Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian Leader Yasser Arafat met to sign the Oslo Accords with President Bill Clinton. Yitzhak Rabin: What we are doing today is more than signing an agreement. It is a revolution. Yesterday, a dream. Today, a commitment. The Israeli and the Palestinian peoples who fought each other for almost a century have agreed to move decisively on the path of dialogue, understanding, and cooperation. Manya Brachear Pashman: Brokered secretly by Norway, the Oslo Accords established mutual recognition between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization, which claimed to represent the Palestinian people. It also led to the creation of a Palestinian Authority for interim self-government and a phased Israeli withdrawal from parts of the West Bank and Gaza. Jason Isaacson: I mean, 1993 was a tremendous breakthrough, and it was a breakthrough between the State of Israel and an organization that had been created to destroy Israel. And so it was a huge breakthrough to see the Israeli and Palestinian leaders agree to a process that would revolutionize that relationship, normalize that relationship, and set aside a very ugly history and chart a new path that was historic. Manya Brachear Pashman: While the Oslo Accords moved the Israelis and Palestinians toward a resolution, progress came to a halt two years later with the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin. In July 2000, President Clinton brought Arafat and then Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak to Camp David to continue discussions, but they could not agree. In his autobiography, “My Life,” President Clinton wrote that Arafat walked away from a Palestinian state, a mistake that Clinton took personally. When Arafat called him a great man, Clinton responded “I am not a great man. I am a failure, and you made me one." Arafat's decision also would prove fatal for both Israelis and Palestinians. By September, the Second Intifada – five years of violence, terror attacks, and suicide bombings – derailed any efforts toward peace. Jason says the Abraham Accords have more staying power than the Oslo Accords. That's clear five years later, especially after the October 7 Hamas terror attacks sparked a prolonged war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. Two years into the war, the Abraham Accords have held. But Jason recalls feeling optimistic, even as he sat there again on the South Lawn. Jason Isaacson: It's a different kind of historic moment, maybe a little less breathtaking in the idea of two fierce antagonists, sort of laying down their arms and shaking hands uneasily, but shaking hands. Uneasily, but shaking hands. All those years later, in 2020, you had a state of Israel that had no history of conflict with the UAE or Bahrain. Countries with, with real economies, with real investment potential, with wise and well-advised leaders who would be in a position to implement plans that were being put together in the summer and fall of 2020. The Oslo Accords, you know, didn't provide that kind of built in infrastructure to advance peace. Manya Brachear Pashman: Jason pointed out that the only source of conflict among the signatories on the Abraham Accords was actually a point of mutual agreement – a frustration and desire to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians. UAE and Bahrain were part of the League of Arab States that had sworn in 2002 not to advance relations with Israel in the absence of a two-state solution. But 18 years later, that had gone nowhere and leaders recognized that perhaps it would be more beneficial to the Palestinian cause if they at least engaged with Israel. Jason Isaacson: I had no fear, sitting in a folding chair on the White House Lawn on September 15, that this was going to evaporate. This seemed to be a natural progression. The region is increasingly sophisticated and increasingly plugged into the world, and recognizing that they have a lot of catching up to do to advance the welfare of their people. And that that catching up is going to require integrating with a very advanced country in their region that they have shunned for too long. This is a recognition that I am hearing across the region, not always spoken in those words, but it's clear that it will be of benefit to the region, to have Israel as a partner, rather than an isolated island that somehow is not a part of that region. Donald Trump: I want to thank all of the members of Congress for being here … Manya Brachear Pashman: AJC CEO Ted Deutch also was at the White House that day, not as AJC CEO but as a Congressman who served on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and chaired its Subcommittee on the Middle East, North Africa and Global Counterterrorism. Ted Deutch: It was a beautiful day and there was this coming together, this recognition that this was such an historic moment and it's exactly the kind of thing, frankly, that I remember having watched previously, when there were peace agreements signed and thinking that's something that I want to be a part of. And there I was looking around right in the middle of all of this, and so excited about where this could lead. Manya Brachear Pashman: Despite his congressional role, Ted learned about the deal along with the rest of the world when it was initially announced a month before the ceremony, though he did get a tip that something was in the pipeline that would change the course of the committee's work. Ted Deutch: I found out when I got a phone call from the Trump administration, someone who was a senior official who told me that there is big news that's coming, that the Middle East is never going to look the same, and that he couldn't share any other information. And we, of course, went into wild speculation mode about what that could be. And the Abraham Accords was the announcement, and it was as dramatic as he suggested. Manya Brachear Pashman: It was a small glimmer of light during an otherwise dark time. Remember, this was the summer and early fall of 2020. The COVID pandemic, for the most part, had shut down the world. People were not attending meetings, conferences, or parties. Even members of Congress were avoiding Capitol Hill and casting their votes from home. Ted Deutch: It was hard to make great strides in anything in the diplomatic field, because there weren't the kind of personal interactions taking place on a regular basis. It didn't have the atmosphere that was conducive to meaningful, deep, ongoing conversations about the future of the world. And that's really what this was about, and that's what was missing. And so here was this huge news that for the rest of the world, felt like it was out of the blue, that set in motion a whole series of steps in Congress about the way that our committee, the way we approach the region. That we could finally start talking about regional cooperation in ways that we couldn't before. Manya Brachear Pashman: The timing was especially auspicious as it boosted interest in a particular piece of legislation that had been in the works for a decade: the bipartisan Nita M. Lowey Middle East Partnership for Peace Act. Approved by Congress in December 2020, around the same time Morocco joined the Abraham Accords, the law allocated up to $250 million over five years for programs advancing peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians and supporting a sustainable two-state solution. Passed as part of a larger appropriations bill, it was the largest investment of any single country in Israeli-Palestinian civil society initiatives. Ted Deutch: Here we were having this conversation about increasing trade and increasing tourism and the countries working more closely together and being able to freely fly back and forth on a regular basis – something that we've seen as the tourism numbers have taken off. The trade has taken off. So it really changed what we do. Manya Brachear Pashman: The other thing Ted recalls about that day on the White House lawn was the bipartisan spirit in the air. Although his own committee didn't tend to divide along party lines, Congress had become quite polarized and partisan on just about everything else. On that day, just as there was no animus between Israelis and Arabs, there was none between Republicans and Democrats either. And Ted believes that's the way it always should be. Ted Deutch: It was a bipartisan stellium of support, because this was a really important moment for the region and for the world, and it's exactly the kind of moment where we should look for ways to work together. This issue had to do with the Middle East, but it was driven out of Washington. There's no doubt about that. It was driven out of the out of the Trump administration and the White House and that was, I think, a reminder of the kind of things that can happen in Washington, and that we need to always look for those opportunities and when any administration does the right thing, then they need to be given credit for it, whether elected officials are on the same side of the aisle or not. We were there as people who were committed to building a more peaceful and prosperous region, with all of the countries in the region, recognizing the contributions that Israel makes and can make as the region has expanded, and then thinking about all of the chances that we would have in the years ahead to build upon this in really positive ways. Manya Brachear Pashman: On that warm September day, it felt as if the Abraham Accords not only had the potential to heal a rift in the Middle East but also teach us some lessons here at home. Even if it was impossible to resolve every disagreement, the Abraham Accords proved that progress and peace are possible when there are shared strategic interests, relationships, and a shared concern for the greater good. Ted Deutch: I hope that as we celebrate this 5th anniversary, that in this instance we allow ourselves to do just that. I mean, this is a celebratory moment, and I hope that we can leave politics out of this. And I hope that we're able to just spend a moment thinking about what's been achieved during these five years, and how much all of us, by working together, will be able to achieve, not just for Israel, but for the region, in the best interest of the United States and in so doing, ultimately, for the world. That's what this moment offers. Manya Brachear Pashman: In the next episode, we meet Israelis and Arabs who embraced the spirit of the Abraham Accords and seized unprecedented opportunities to collaborate. Atara Lakritz is our producer. T.K. Broderick is our sound engineer. Special thanks to Jason Isaacson, Sean Savage, and the entire AJC team for making this series possible. You can subscribe to Architects of Peace on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts, and you can learn more at AJC.org/ArchitectsofPeace. The views and opinions of our guests don't necessarily reflect the positions of AJC. You can reach us at podcasts@ajc.org. If you've enjoyed this episode, please be sure to spread the word, and hop onto Apple Podcasts or Spotify to rate us and write a review to help more listeners find us.
The Ochelli Effect 9-4-2025 NEWS SNAFUYOU demanded propaganda feeds from social and other media.Clown-show U.S.A. abandoning critical thinkers to suffer MAGA Cult or New and Improved MK Ultra Slim Fast LEFT coded ignorance logical results.Jump From or Burn in the skyscraper, Your Choice...PARTICIPATION Trophy culture and the self-inflicted intellectual self-harm from The Dunning-Kruger Effect, fluoride, and success of master disinformation programs are self-evident.Side NOTE : John Travolta is still not dead despite tribute videos and internet rumors which have been in heavy irregular rotation since at least 2023.A Piece of Good News Florida to end vaccine mandates for children as state's surgeon general likens them to ‘slavery'https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/sep/03/florida-vaccine-mandate---Notes compare and contrast Israel v. Ukraine support, allies, and alleged agreements.Budapest Memorandum signed 1994 United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom. In exchange for Ukraine's nuclear arsenal, the U.S. and the other signatories provided security assurances, including guarantees of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Ukraine also received financial assistance and compensation for the dismantling of its nuclear infrastructure.$360 billion by August 2025 total aid to Ukraine$175 billion in U.S. aid by that pointVSIsrael Current Campaign against Palestine$17.9 billion in security assistance + $22.76 billion in neighboring countries actions+ Iran Bombing Begun June 13 2025AKAOperation Midnight HammerMissile and Drone Costs: $2.3 billionA single strike involving 14 GBU-57 bombs on Iranian nuclear sites cost $6.6 billion, with individual successful hits costing $115 millionestimates due to classified asset costs, Command and Control resources, and excluding infrastructure costs which may or may not have been spent are difficult to make exact determinations so Low end estimated costs are factored in some calculations to avoid inflating the sum total.INCLUDINGfourteen Guided Bomb Unit Massive Ordnance Penetrator (GBU-57A/B MOP) 30,000-pound (14,000 kg) "bunker buster" bombs carried by Northrop B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, and with Tomahawk missiles fired from a submarineDedicated cost estimateCONSERVATIVE $8.315 BillionDoes Not Include Israeli controlled weapons, assorted equipment, Logistics, or Human resources that may or may not have been paid for by The United States.$17.9 billion in security assistance to Israel from October 7, 2023, through September 2024April 2024 Supplemental Package: $26.38 billion total to support Israel, reimburse U.S. military operations, and provide humanitarian aid.$5.2 billion for replenishing and expanding Israel's missile and rocket defense systems, including the Iron Dome, David's Sling, and Iron Beam.$4.4 billion to replenish U.S. stockpiles of defense articles and services provided to Israel.$3.5 billion for advanced weapons systems.$1 billion to enhance artillery and critical munitions productionConditional aid: In February 2024, the U.S. issued a memo requiring recipients of U.S. military aid to provide assurances that they would use the weapons in line with international law. While the administration found it "reasonable to assess" that Israel had acted inconsistently with these obligations in some cases, it assessed Israel's assurances as "credible"Information collected from Trump and Biden White House fact sheetsReports from the two most recent secretaries of defenseSpending packages included in multiple House and Senate BillsFinal Totals as always are accounted for and adjusted about two years after action in military events and some costs are simply not known by open source methods because elements of recent U.S. Military costs are hidden for National security.$88.315 Billion $23.7 Billion Dedicated Equipment Transfers$40.6 Billion Border Support for effected State stabilizations some costs are hidden in other less obvious general packages of foreign aidhttps://www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/israeli-palestinian-conflictLow Ball Estimate $153.61 BillionMake America Israel Again?https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/09/make-america-israel-again/Trump puts onus on Europe to pressure Putin in Ukraine conference callhttps://www.axios.com/2025/09/04/trump-zelensky-call-ukraine-russia-peace-talks---LIMITED HANGOUTSEstablishing the record for pardons by lawyers working for Co-Conspirators https://www.justice.gov/maxwell-interviewHealth secretary RFK Jr. issues harsh critique of CDC after ouster of its directorKennedy cites ‘malaise at the agency' a day after several other high-ranking officials quithttps://www.statnews.com/2025/08/28/rfk-jr-defends-firing-cdc-director-susan-monarez/Alex Acosta, Who Gave “Sweetheart Deal” to Jeffrey Epstein, Agrees to Testify to House Panelhttps://www.democracynow.org/2025/8/26/headlines/alex_acosta_who_gave_sweetheart_deal_to_jeffrey_epstein_agrees_to_testify_to_house_panelJeffrey Epstein Survivors Say They're Compiling Their Own ‘Client List' of Powerful Associateshttps://www.mediaite.com/media/tv/jeffrey-epstein-survivors-say-theyre-compiling-their-own-client-list-of-powerful-associates/ 'Sick Game': Democratic Megadonor David Geffen, 82, Faces Sordid Grooming Lawsuit from Porn Star Husband, 32, as Top Cultural Centers Take His Millions and Toast Him on Both Coastshttps://freebeacon.com/democrats/sick-game-democratic-megadonor-david-geffen-82-faces-sordid-grooming-lawsuit-from-porn-star-husband-32-as-top-cultural-centers-take-his-millions-and-toast-him-on-both-coasts/---SPACE COMMAND Must be where Murder is but Windy City has at least 10 places with bigger emergency situationsPERFECT Crafting for MAGA faithful National Guard Troops to be deployed to Chicago to address most common go to for bad blue city 13th highest murder rate among states and 14th if DC is includedSpace Command HQ to 3rd highest murder rate State Alabama, from Colorado which is 22nd in The U.S.A. World wide population and Government numbers composite for 2023-Current This site represents the statistics collected and displayed on 6 source sights https://worldpopulationreview.com/state-rankings/murder-rate-by-stateTrump on possible National Guard deployment to Chicago: "We're going in"https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-national-guard-chicago-were-going-in/Trump to move Space Command headquarters to Alabama from Coloradohttps://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/trump-move-space-command-headquarters-alabama-colorado-2025-09-02/---KEEPING SCORE AT HOME? ROBIN, No BATMANInitial reactions as it happenedSpecial Report: Minneapolis school shooter had video ‘manifesto', acted alonehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VEStacBob4New video footage shows Annunciation School shooter at gun shop days before attackhttps://abcnews.go.com/US/new-video-footage-shows-annunciation-school-shooter-gun/story?id=125201434Minn. trans shooter revealed in journal he was ‘tired of being trans' and wished he ‘never brain-washed' himselfhttps://www.oann.com/newsroom/minn-trans-shooter-revealed-in-journal-he-was-tired-of-being-trans-and-wished-he-never-brain-washed-himself/School shooter's Nazi salutes, ‘erratic' behavior revealed by ex-friendhttps://www.newsnationnow.com/crime/robin-westman-classmate-minneapolis-shooting/Did Robin Westman's 'transition' drugs fuel Minneapolis shooting? RFK Jr blames antidepressants; probe under wayhttps://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/did-robin-westmans-transition-drugs-fuel-minneapolis-shooting-rfk-jr-blames-antidepressants-probe-under-way/articleshow/123578561.cmsRobin Westman: Minnesota shooter posted manifesto video on YouTube, footage surfaces online https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5bnubXEv9hoMass Shooting Trackerhttps://massshootingtracker.site/As of 9-1-2025Total shootings: 348 – Shootings per day: 1.41 – Killed: 396 – Wounded: 1448---BE THE EFFECTOUR PAYPAL has been deactivatedEmergency help for Ochelli and The NetworkMrs.OLUNA ROSA CANDLEShttp://www.paypal.me/Kimberlysonn1Still Fighting ThemOchelli Link Treehttps://linktr.ee/chuckochelli---NOVEMBER IN DALLAS LANCER CONFERENCEDISCOUNT FOR YOU10 % OFF code = Ochelli10https://assassinationconference.com/Coming SOON Room Discount Details The Fairmont Dallas hotel 1717 N Akard Street, Dallas, Texas 75201BE THE EFFECTListen/Chat on the Sitehttps://ochelli.com/listen-live/TuneInhttp://tun.in/sfxkxAPPLEhttps://music.apple.com/us/station/ochelli-com/ra.1461174708Ochelli Link Treehttps://linktr.ee/chuckochelliAnything is a blessing if you have the meansWithout YOUR support we go silent.---NOVEMBER IN DALLAS LANCER CONFERENCEDISCOUNT FOR YOU10 % OFF code = Ochelli10https://assassinationconference.com/Coming SOON Room Discount Details The Fairmont Dallas hotel 1717 N Akard Street, Dallas, Texas 75201. easy access to Dealey Plaza
First, The Indian Express' Akram M talks about Karnataka's temple town of Dharmasthala, where claims of secret burials have triggered a political storm and one of the state's most closely watched investigations.Next, The Indian Express' Amrita Nayak Dutta discusses India's newly announced air defence programme, Mission Sudarshan Chakra, touted as a future counterpart to Israel's Iron Dome. (11:48)And in the end, we discuss a Madhya Pradesh High Court judgment that allowed an 11-year-old boy to skip two grades and enter Class 9, despite official age restrictions. (19:44)Hosted by Ichha SharmaProduced and written by Shashank Bhargava and Icha SharmaEdited and mixed by Suresh Pawar
On this episode, Andy sits down with Yaakov Katz, veteran journalist and former Editor-in-Chief of The Jerusalem Post, to unpack the hard lessons of October 7th and the evolving threats in the Middle East. Katz draws on three decades of reporting on Israeli defense and military affairs to explain how Hamas transformed from a fringe insurgency into a formidable force, the blind spots within Israel's defense establishment, and the unintended consequences of overreliance on the Iron Dome. He also examines Iran's deepening ties to Hamas, the intelligence gaps inside Gaza, and the ethical dilemmas of modern warfare in urban environments. Katz's forthcoming book, While Israel Slept: How Hamas Surprised the Most Powerful Military in the Middle East, will be released on September 2, 2025 Change Agents is an IRONCLAD Original Sponsors Firecracker Farm Use code IRONCLAD to get 15% off your first order at https://firecracker.farm/ AmmoSquared (Megaphone only) Visit https://ammosquared.com/ today for a special offer and keep yourself fully stocked. With over 100,000 members and thousands of 5-star ratings, Your readiness is their mission. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jay Powell signalled a monetary policy shift during a high-profile Jackson Hole speech last week, and European investors are pouring money into new air defence technology. Plus, Spanish bank Santander is seeking to become a big player in Wall Street's Spac market. Mentioned in this podcast:Jay Powell paves the way for Federal Reserve interest rate cut in SeptemberWall Street's September Fed rate cut bets still hinge on economic dataVenture capital steps up ‘Iron Dome' air defence investmentsSantander signals Wall St ambition with Spac mandatesToday's FT News Briefing was produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon, Ethan Plotkin, and Sonja Hutson. Additional help from Alex Higgins, Peter Barber. The FT's acting co-head of audio is Topher Forhecz. The show's theme music is by Metaphor Music. Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this edition of Geopolitics with Swasti, ThePrint Consulting Editor Swasti Rao discusses whether Europe will militarise Ukraine if Trump's assistance wanes. She also discusses the significance of India-Russia relations & whether Sudarshan chakra will become India's Iron Dome.
Ari Sacher has spent more than three decades working at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, Israel's premier developer of missile technology, where he played key roles in the creation of the Iron Dome and David's Sling missile defense systems. Originally from Wilmington, Delaware, Ari's journey took him from upstate New York and Toronto to Israel in 1982—and he never looked back. An electrical engineer educated at Israel's Technion (often called “Israel's MIT”), Ari has been at the forefront of developing systems that protect millions of lives, all while holding fast to his faith and deep love for family. In this episode of The Wow Factor, Brad sits down with Ari for a fascinating conversation about life in Israel, the realities of living under constant threat, and the powerful blend of faith, resilience, and technological ingenuity that keeps the country moving forward. Ari shares the story of his work on missile defense systems, the challenges of innovation in the face of failure, and how his faith has been a guiding force through wars, uncertainty, and the ever-present dangers his nation faces. From four generations of New York Giants fandom to raising children who now serve in the military, Ari's story is one of commitment—to his people, his work, and his God. “If you're unwilling to fail, then you will find yourself locked in a room and you will go wherever you are taken. If we want to lead, we have to be unafraid of failing.” – Ari Sacher “When I see Iron Dome working, then I see godliness. Everything I see is godliness.” – Ari Sacher “We are a country that lives with traumatic stress disorder—that's who we are, where we live, and our destiny.” – Ari Sacher This Week on The Wow Factor: Ari's early years in the U.S., his move to Israel for a “gap year,” and how he never returned home Studying electrical engineering at Technion and turning down prestigious U.S. and Canadian universities Joining Rafael Advanced Defense Systems in 1991 and contributing to two of Israel's most critical missile defense systems—Iron Dome and David's Sling The unique “intercept chain” process behind missile defense and why not every incoming rocket is destroyed How failure is embraced in Israeli innovation and why it's essential for breakthroughs The role of faith during high-threat moments—turning to Psalms in the middle of missile attacks Life in Israel during wartime, including cramming 15 family members and a dog into a 100-square-foot bomb shelter The spiritual parallels between God's protection and a missile defense “dome” Ari Sacher's Word of Wisdom: Live with an unwavering belief in God, and let that belief color how you see the world. When everything you see reinforces your faith, you gain comfort, strength, and a better way to lead your family through uncertainty. Connect with Ari Sacher: Ari's LinkedIn Connect with The Wow Factor: WOW Factor Website Brad Formsma on LinkedIn Brad Formsma on Instagram Brad Formsma on Facebook X (formerly Twitter)
Annie Jacobsen has a favorite word for America's nuclear doctrine: madness. It's madness that any single person has six minutes to decide the fate of civilization, madness that we've built weapons capable of ending the world in 72 minutes, and madness that everything hangs by the thread of deterrence. But to Tyler, life is "a lot of different kinds of madness," and the real question is simply getting the least harmful form available to us. It's a conversation sparked by her latest book Nuclear War: A Scenario, which Tyler calls one of his favorites from last year—and which is compelling enough that Denis Villeneuve is turning it into a screenplay. Tyler and Annie explore whether we should be more afraid of nuclear weapons or if fear itself raises the risks, who should advise presidents during the six-minute decision window, whether moving toward disarmament makes us safer or more vulnerable, what Thomas Schelling really meant about nuclear war and rational actors, the probability that America would retaliate after a nuclear attack, the chances of intercepting a single incoming ICBM, why missile defense systems can't replicate Israel's Iron Dome success, how Pakistan-India nuclear tensions could escalate, why she's surprised domestic drone attacks haven't happened yet, her reporting on JFK assassination mysteries and deathbed phone calls, her views on UFOs and the dark human experiments at Area 51, what motivates intelligence community operators, her encounters with Uri Geller and CIA psychic research, what she's working on next, and more. Read a full transcript enhanced with helpful links, or watch the full video on the new dedicated Conversations with Tyler channel. Recorded May 19th, 2025. Help keep the show ad free by donating today! Other ways to connect Follow us on X and Instagram Follow Tyler on X Follow Annie on X Sign up for our newsletter Join our Discord Email us: cowenconvos@mercatus.gmu.edu Learn more about Conversations with Tyler and other Mercatus Center podcasts here.
Veteran reporter Tom LoBianco talks about the South Carolina GOP gubernatorial primary, Donald Trump's efforts to redistrict Texas, the Indiana deep fake scandal, and more!Then, political strategist Gary Marx shares firsthand experiences from his fourth trip to Kyiv, discussing Ukraine's resilience, the need for an Iron Dome, and the fight against Russian aggression.Don't miss this engaging conversation on U.S. politics and global affairs! Follow Tom LoBianco at 24sight News (https://24sightnews.com) and Gary Marx's podcast, Peace and Power Ukraine, for more insights.Support "Matt Lewis & The News" at Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/mattlewisFollow Matt Lewis & Cut Through the Noise:Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MattLewisDCTwitter: https://twitter.com/mattklewisInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mattklewis/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVhSMpjOzydlnxm5TDcYn0A– Who is Matt Lewis? –Matt K. Lewis is a political commentator and the author of Filthy Rich Politicians.Buy Matt's book: https://www.amazon.com/Filthy-Rich-Politicians-Creatures-Ruling-Class/dp/1546004416Copyright © 2024, BBL & BWL, LLC
Ralph and the crew spend the whole hour with Omer Bartov, professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University, who grew up in a Zionist home, lived the first half of his life in Israel, served in the I.D.F. as a soldier and officer and is the author a New York Times op-ed entitled “I'm a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It.” Plus, Ralph pays tribute to legendary Washington Post reporter, Morton Mintz.Omer Bartov is a professor of Holocaust and genocide studies at Brown University. He has written widely on modern Germany, France, the Holocaust, and representations of war and genocide. He is the author of the Mirrors of Destruction: War, Genocide, and Modern Identity, and the forthcoming book, Israel: What Went Wrong?, and he's penned a New York Times op-ed entitled “I'm a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It.”I published an op-ed in November 2023, and I said there were war crimes, clearly, crimes against humanity, and this will become genocide if it's not stopped. And the Biden administration at the time did nothing. President Biden could have stopped that within two weeks. The Israeli military machine cannot function for more than two or three weeks without constant supply of munitions, without constant supply of financial help, and most importantly, without a diplomatic Iron Dome, especially in the Security Council.Professor Omer BartovIf you say that you are shutting down speech because of anti-Semitism, who are the people who are pushing that? It must be all kinds of Jewish interests that are pushing that. And in that sense, this false campaign against anti-Semitism – some of whose leaders are people with pretty good anti-Semitic credentials themselves – is the best way to raise, to promote and incite anti-Semitism.Professor Omer BartovThere's no moral responsibility, there's no empathy being shown, and much of the population shares that view. To me, as someone who was raised in Israel, spent half of my life there, served four years in the army, to see my own society (including some of my friends) show this kind of moral callousness is frankly quite heartbreaking. And I have to say, it's the result of a long process. It's not only a response to October 7th, it's the result of six decades of occupation, of thinking of Palestinians as not really people who have any right to have rights or any right to health, to security. And in that sense, that long-term occupation has corrupted much of Israeli society. And maybe the most surprising thing is that there's still extraordinary people there who are fighting against that, but their numbers are diminishing, not growing.Professor Omer BartovMorton Mintz was hands-down the greatest consumer reporter of his generation. He opened up one field after another because he had a special sense of newsworthiness that other reporters and editors didn't have. He opened up the coverage of the pharmaceutical industry. He opened up the coverage of the auto industry. And he did so with such formidable documentation and research that other reporters started following the same subject area. So he was a pioneer.Ralph NaderNews 8/1/25* Crusading environmental lawyer Steven Donziger has published a new report in the left-wing outlet Orinoco Tribune on the undercount of the dead in Gaza. In this piece, Donziger uses the statistical model laid out by the prestigious medical journal The Lancet in their 2024 study on the Israeli military campaign, which found the direct and indirect death toll could be as high as 186,000. The Lancet study found that as many as 732 Gazans died every day from these direct and indirect causes. Multiplied by the 594 days the conflict has dragged on, this would equate to a death toll of 434,800, or 20.7% of the enclave's population. As Donziger notes, “If the same level of killing and indirect death that took place in Gaza…happened in the United States proportional to population, roughly 70 million Americans would have been killed.”* In more Gaza news, the Guardian reports that, “On Saturday night, the…IDF…intercepted and boarded the Handala, an aid ship that attempted to reach Gaza as part of the Freedom Flotilla Coalition…According to the coalition, IDF soldiers beat and choked…labor activist Chris Smalls.” The severity of the attack on Christian Smalls – founder of the independent Amazon Labor Union (ALU) – caused international outcry. From the Guardian report, “Smalls was physically assaulted by seven uniformed individuals. They choked him and kicked him in the legs, leaving visible signs of violence on his neck and back.” The incident also drew criticism for another reason: Smalls was the only Black person on board the Handala. While 21 members of the Flotilla group were detained, in their words ”abducted,” “This level of force was not used.” It is unclear why this level of force was used against Smalls and Smalls alone, other than the color of his skin.* Yet more tragic news from Gaza concerns the death of Odeh Hadalin, the 31-year-old Palestinian activist and English teacher featured in the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land. Al Jazeera reports that footage taken by Israeli human rights group B'Tselem “appears to show [Israeli settler Yinon] Levi opening fire on Hadalin during a confrontation in the village [of Umm al-Kheir, south of Hebron].” Levi, already sanctioned by the European Union and the United States over past attacks on Palestinians, reportedly told witnesses he was “glad about it.” Despite all of this, an Israeli court has released Levi on house arrest. Basel Adra, who co-directed No Other Land with Yuval Abraham, wrote “This is how Israel erases us — one life at a time.”* One positive development is in progress however. According to the Embassy of France in the United States, "France is prepared to fully recognize the State of Palestine, and will do so in September." French recognition of the Palestinian state, will If it ultimately comes to pass, have major ramifications on the world stage. While 147 member states of the United Nations have recognized Palestine, only 10 out of 27 EU countries have done so, mostly former Eastern Bloc states like Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, and Romania, along with the former country of Czechoslovakia. The modern country of Slovakia has reaffirmed their recognition; Czechia has not. In 2024, several more European nations extended recognition, including Norway, Slovenia, Ireland and Spain. France however would tip the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to a 3-2 majority in recognition of Palestine, along with Russia and China. Moreover, AP reports the United Kingdom is now saying they will “recognize a Palestinian state in September unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire in Gaza,” among other conditions. If this happens, The permanent members of the Security Council would be split 4-1, with the United States as the lone holdout. This would be nothing short of an international relations sea change on the question of Palestine.* In some more positive foreign policy news, Jeremy Corbyn's new party in the U.K. is getting started with a bang. According to the man himself, over 600,000 people have signed up to register with the new party, which describes itself as “a new kind of political party. One that is rooted in our communities, trade unions and social movements. One that builds power in all regions and nations. One that belongs to you.” Polls show this new party in the lead among Britons aged 18-24 and Corbyn leading Labour Party leader Keir Starmer by “Almost Every Metric,” among members of the rightwing populist Reform Party. That said, the Reform Party is still projected to win an overwhelming victory compared to all other parties in the next elections, though those are not expected to be held until 2029.* In Congress, Bernie Sanders forced a vote Wednesday on two new Senate resolutions to block arms transfers to Israel. Resolution 34 would “prohibit the U.S.-taxpayer financed $675.7 million sale of 201 MK 83 1,000-pound bombs; 4,799 BLU-110A/B General Purpose 1,000-pound bombs; 1,500 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kits for MK 83 bombs; 3,500 JDAM guidance kits for MK 83 bombs; and related logistics and technical support services,” while Resolution 41 would “prohibit the sale of tens of thousands of fully automatic assault rifles.” These resolutions got the support of 27 Senators, a new record and a majority of the Democratic Senate Caucus, but still far, far short of even a simple Senate majority. Perhaps a more portentous development is that Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene this week became the first Republican in Congress to call the crisis in Gaza a “genocide,” according to the Hill. It remains to be seen whether this will help break the dam on that side of the aisle.* In New York City, new polling shows stunning results for Zohran Mamdani. The new poll conducted by Zenith Research and Public Progress Solutions shows Zohran dominating the 5-way race, earning 50% and beating out the other four candidates combined. Mamdani does even better in head-to-head matches against disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo and corruption-dogged incumbent Mayor Eric Adams. The crosstabs are even more astonishing. Despite the breathless and baseless accusations of antisemitism, Zohran is winning 67% of Jews under age 45 and a whopping 85% of men ages 18-34. This second number is key as Democrats struggle to attract young men. One warning sign: a recent Pew poll shows Republicans with an 18-point lead among men in the Gen Z cohort.* In an ominous challenge to the separation of church and state, the Hill reports President Donald Trump released a memo Monday allowing federal employees to “attempt to persuade co-workers about why their religious beliefs are ‘correct.'” This memo cites “crosses, crucifixes and mezuzah,” as displays of religious indicia that should not result in disciplinary action. This bizarre and constitutionally dubious policy seems likely to lead to workplace discord.* In more Trump news, CBS reports Trump has ousted “Two top Justice Department antitrust officials.” According to sources, two deputies to Assistant Attorney General Gail Slater, who leads DOJ antitrust efforts, were “placed on administrative leave last week and fired on Monday for insubordination.” These two figures are Roger Alford, principal deputy assistant attorney general, and Bill Rinner, deputy assistant attorney general and head of merger enforcement. It is not clear why exactly Alford and Rinner were pushed out, but there has apparently been substantial strife within the administration over the antitrust cases against T-Mobile and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. AAG Slater is also overseeing antitrust lawsuits against Capital One, Apple, Google, and other major companies.* Finally, Wired reports the small Pacific island nation of Tuvalu is planning the first migration of an entire country. Tuvalu, which could be completely submerged by rising sea levels within the next 25 years, is seeking to resettle 280 Tuvaluans in Australia each year. This climate-driven mass migration is a stark sign of things to come if the international community continues to dither or deny the reality of the oncoming climate catastrophe. Today Tuvalu, tomorrow the world.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
We hear from Donya Abu Sitta in Gaza, Ali Abunimah on AOC's Iron Dome vote, Jon Elmer on signs Israel wants to end its genocidal war, and more.
Welcome to The Times of Israel's Daily Briefing, your 20-minute audio update on what's happening in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world. New York reporter Luke Tress joins host Jessica Steinberg for today's episode. As New York City Mayor Eric Adams establishes the Anti-Semitism Task Force, Tress examines the comprehensive plans of the citywide project, its political implications, and the recent incidents of vandalism linked to anti-Israel activism. Following the vandalization of Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's office in the Bronx in response to her vote on funding for Israel's Iron Dome defensive system, Tress discusses the trend of activists vandalizing politicians' offices due to their perceived support for Israel. He also explores the work of an American scholar who studied and wrote about the historical roots of anti-Zionist slogans, tracing their origins back to the Soviet Union and examining how the language of anti-Zionism has permeated modern activism and modern leftist rhetoric, and has roots in Soviet propaganda. Check out The Times of Israel's ongoing liveblog for more updates. For further reading: ‘AOC funds genocide in Gaza’: Anti-Israel activists vandalize Ocasio-Cortez’s NY office Pro-Palestinian activist in New York charged by feds for torching 11 police vehicles Columbia University suspends and expels dozens of students over anti-Israel unrest Why are US socialists so anti-Israel? Scholar lays out Soviet roots of anti-Zionist rhetoric Subscribe to The Times of Israel Daily Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was produced by the Pod-Waves. IMAGE: Anti-Israel protesters in Times Square, New York City, June 16, 2025. (Luke Tress/Times of Israel)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Dave started off hot with The Iron Dome! A new mosquito repelent that sounds more Star Wars than anything else.The Morning Cruise reacts to the story of 29 year old Estrella, who befriended 97 year old Lilian, over a car ride and a Wendy's meal. Hope Darst became fast friends with the Cruise, as she talks everything from her "late" start at a record deal, the stories behind some of your favorite songs and what it is to be passionate about the gospel in a post-truth world.
Send us a textPeaches is back with another scathing ops brief—this time dragging the DoD for everything from mystery missiles and “indefinite quantity” contracts (yeah, that's real) to billion-dollar Iron Dome knockoffs. From Space Force promotions to “near-miss” B-52s and the Pentagon handing OpenAI a $200M AI war chest, this episode dives deep into the weird, the wild, and the “we're definitely not overfunded” chaos of 2025. Also: the real reason the Air Force hit their recruiting goals early (spoiler: they didn't). Oh, and yes, Tim Kennedy's name comes up... brace yourselves.
The men congregate to discuss Mehdi Hasan's appearance on Jubilee, Trump's birthday letter to Epstein, Andrew Schulz being just a little guy, and major election news to look out for. Check out the Patreon for early access to the episodes, leave a 5-star review, and follow us on social media!Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/headintheofficepodHITO Merch: https://headintheoffice.com/ Get 40% off Ground News: https://check.ground.news/headintheoffice YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4iJ-UcnRxYnaYsX_SNjFJQTikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@headintheoffice?lang=enInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/headintheoffice/Twitter: https://twitter.com/headintheofficeBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/headintheoffice.bsky.social Discord: https://discord.gg/hito Collab inquiries: headintheofficepod@gmail.comSeen on this episode:Zohran in DC - https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/mamdani-meets-congressional-democrats-praise-campaign/story?id=123802129 https://nypost.com/2025/07/18/us-news/top-house-dem-hakeem-jeffries-doesnt-endorse-socialist-zohran-mamdani-in-nyc-mayoral-race-in-lukewarm-statement-after-highly-anticipated-meeting/ MTG tries to cut Iron Dome funding, AOC votes no - https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5408033-marjorie-taylor-greene-defense-appropriations-amendments/ Omar Fateh & extreme racism - https://www.startribune.com/can-minneapolis-dfl-party-find-enough-unity-to-endorse-a-mayoral-candidate/601431524 https://minnesotareformer.com/2024/05/18/uber-and-lyft-agree-to-deal-with-state-lawmakers-on-minimum-pay-rates-for-drivers/ Epstein files - https://www.cnn.com/2025/07/18/politics/jeffrey-epstein-grand-jury-files-trump-bondi?iid=cnn_buildContentRecirc_end_recirc&recs_exp=up-next-article-end&tenant_id=related.enhttps://www.cnn.com/2025/07/19/politics/epstein-trump-ties-analysishttps://www.cnn.com/2025/07/18/politics/trump-drawing-charity-auction?iid=cnn_buildContentRecirc_end_recirc&recs_exp=up-next-article-end&tenant_id=related.enhttps://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/07/18/trump-epstein-birthday-note-wsj/85269950007/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/07/18/trump-sues-wsj-rupert-murdoch-slander/85282651007/
As Israel weaponizes food against Gaza, mass starvation expert Alex de Waal warns of the spiraling humanitarian crisis. Plus: AOC votes to fund Israel's Iron Dome despite calling Israel's destruction of Gaza a genocide. ------------------------------------------------- Watch full episodes on Rumble, streamed LIVE 7pm ET. Become part of our Locals community Follow System Update: Twitter Instagram TikTok Facebook
This episode uncovers a harsh and overlooked reality: Israel's unequal protection and systemic discrimination against Palestinian citizens of Israel, which was particularly evident during Israel and Iran's 12-day war, provoked by an Israeli attack on Iran. For nearly two weeks, most Israelis benefited from widespread access to shelters and rapid emergency response systems. Palestinian citizens of Israel, however, had unequal access to safe spaces due to Israel's deliberate failure to equip them with as many shelters as Jewish Israelis. Palestinians with Israeli citizenship also faced rampant discrimination at shelters throughout Israel. We explore the impact of Israel's decades-long institutional racism, including how Israeli systems, like the Iron Dome, often exclude areas where Palestinian citizens of Israel live. Join us for a powerful look at what it means for Palestinians to live as second-class citizens of Israel.Thank you for tuning into This is Palestine, the official podcast of The IMEU! For more stories and resources, visit us at imeu.org. Stay connected with us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theimeu/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/theIMEU Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/theIMEU/ For more insights, follow our host, Diana Buttu, on: Twitter: https://twitter.com/dianabuttu
Annndddd we are back! Fresh from our trip to Poland, we share some of our plans on our trip recap, so stay tuned! Also this week saw a ton of Anti-Semitism stories, the biggest of which revolved around Tucker Carlson and his ilk. Also, of course there was a lot of good news including a satellite launch by Israel and SpaceX, an Israeli scientific breakthrough with milk, and Israel exporting the Iron Dome. ________ ** Launch your career today! TTI now offering a women's Accounting course with classes and job placement! Sign up for a free Webinar: ** https://testingandtraining.com/tti-career-webinar/ Call: 877-RING-TTI ________ ** Reserve Now! A Five Star Experience With Project Mesorah's trips! ** Project Mesorah's upcoming trips are, in the words of Rabbi Spero "Life Changine." But if you want private tours with amazing chefs, tour guides, and speakers, Project Mesorah has you covered! Plus, part of the entire trip is tax deductible. Visit them at: https://www.projectmesorah.org/ Or call: 845-570-1943 ________ ** Town Appliance - For All Of Your Appliance Needs! ** No matter the budget, Town Appliance will get you the right appliance for your needs and give you the most value for your money. https://www.townappliance.com/ Call/Text/Whatsapp: 732-364-5195 ________ ** BONUS CONTENT AVAILABLE NOW BY PHONE! ** Subscribe At: 605-417-0303 If you're having an issue connecting to our call-in number: Alternate number: 605-562-3525 To Call In From Israel: +053-243-3287 ________ Get official KC swag and show your support to the world! https://kiddushclubmerch.com ________ Subscribe now to keep us going and access bonus content! https://buymeacoffee.com/kiddushclub/membership ________ Follow us: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiddushclubpodcast/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/kiddushclubcast Join our WhatsApp chat: https://2ly.link/27DRp Send us you thoughts comments and suggestions via email: hock@kiddushclubpodcast.com
On this week's show: Samsung adds natural language programming while Pro systems lag further behind, KEF makes something with Nothing, IKEA now Matters, and UniFi announces a decent NAS drive update. Plus, project updates, a pick of the week, and so much more!
In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin: We'll begin today in Israel, where concerns are mounting regarding Israel's missile defense systems, including the renowned Iron Dome, as the country's supply of interceptors dwindles, and Iran pivots to launching more technically advanced missiles. Later in the show—federal agents thwart an alleged plot to attack law enforcement and government officials with explosive devices and large-scale fireworks during last week's anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President's Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Beam: Visit https://shopbeam.com/MIKE and use code MIKE to get our exclusive discount of up to 40% off. Jacked Up Fitness: Go to https://GetJackedUp.com and use code BAKER at checkout to save 10% off your entire purchase TriTails Premium Beef: Stock the freezer and keep the grill happy. Visit https://Trybeef.com/PDB for 2 free flat irons with your order. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Join Jim and Greg for the Friday 3 Martini Lunch as they dig into reports of immense frustration and fingerpointing among Democrats more than seven months after the election, whether there's any likelihood of a meaningful nuclear deal with Iran over the next two weeks, and the very disturbing impact artificial intelligence is already having on our brains and relationships.First, they pop the popcorn as Democrats are openly venting about Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin's weak leadership and how the party still resembles a circular firing squad long after President Trump's win in November. Polling also shows intense disapproval among Democrats for party leaders overall. Next, as President Trump gives Iran two weeks to make a concrete deal to give up its nuclear program, Jim examines whether there's any real expectation that Iran would ever agree to something the U.S. would find acceptable. They also discuss Iran's use of more sophisticated missiles in attacking Israel and how the Iron Dome is having a tougher time taking them out.Finally, they shudder at the negative impact artificial intelligence is having on our lives. An MIT study of ChatGPT on 54 student brains over four months shows a significant drop in neural connectivity or brain processing power. They also highlight how people are developing intense personal "relationships" with their AI at the cost of developing bonds with actual human beings.Please visit our great sponsors:No missed calls, no missed customers with OpenPhone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at https://Openphone.com/3mlUpgrade your skincare routine with Caldera Lab and see the difference. Visit https://CalderaLab.com/3ML and use code 3ML at checkout for 20% off your first order.
Find your Spy Superpower: https://yt.everydayspy.com/45pkQ4h EXCLUSIVE: Why Trump & Netanyahu Want War with Iran Andrew Bustamante sits down with biotech CEO Ilan Sobel to expose the unspoken truth behind Israel's war posture, Iran's rising aggression, and the U.S.'s uncertain role in the chaos. It's not just about politics—it's about survival, science, and the future of democracy in the Middle East.
Since last week, Israel has been attacking Iran's nuclear facilities, along with many other targets around the country. Iran has fired hundreds of missiles in response. NPR correspondent Geoff Brumfiel has been watching all of this very closely because Israel's missile defenses have been a focus of the Trump White House. This year, President Trump requested funding from Congress for a "Golden Dome for America" — a missile defense system that would protect all of the United States. The idea comes from Israel's Iron Dome — a network of interceptor missiles stationed at points across the country. Iron Dome and related Israeli air defenses don't get every missile fired — including some launched in the past few days by Iran — but the Israeli military says it has intercepted thousands of rockets since it was built. Trying to get that kind of protection for America, though, might be a very different matter. Read more of science correspondent Geoff Brumfiel's reporting on this topic and find NPR's coverage of the Middle East here. Questions about nuclear science? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy
A deadly assault on Minnesota legislators; over-medicated boomers protest Donald Trump coast to coast on Saturday; Bilderberg turns 71, and Iran's endless barrage of missiles break through Israel's "Iron Dome", creating a colorful backdrop of events for Father's Day weekend. Special Guests, Calls, SuperChat Thoughts from the audience, and whatever else "fits to print"! Unleash Your Brain w/ Keto Brainz Nootropic Promo code FRANKLY: https://tinyurl.com/2cess6y7 Read JUNE Newsletter: https://tinyurl.com/4d3prtbz Elevation Blend Coffee & Official QF Mugs: https://www.coffeerevolution.shop/category/quite-frankly Official QF Apparel: https://tinyurl.com/f3kbkr4s Sponsor The Show and Get VIP Perks: https://www.quitefrankly.tv/sponsor One-Time Tip: http://www.paypal.me/QuiteFranklyLive Send Holiday cards, Letters, and other small gifts, to the Quite Frankly P.O. Box! Quite Frankly 222 Purchase Street, #105 Rye, NY, 10580 Send Crypto: BTC: 1EafWUDPHY6y6HQNBjZ4kLWzQJFnE5k9PK Leave a Voice Mail: https://www.speakpipe.com/QuiteFrankly Quite Frankly Socials: Twitter/X: @QuiteFranklyTV Instagram: @QuiteFranklyOfficial Discord Chat: https://discord.gg/KCdh92Fn GUILDED Chat: https://tinyurl.com/kzrk6nxa Official Forum: https://tinyurl.com/k89p88s8 Telegram: https://t.me/quitefranklytv Truth: https://tinyurl.com/5n8x9s6f GETTR: https://tinyurl.com/2fprkyn4 MINDS: https://tinyurl.com/4p84d3cx Gab: https://tinyurl.com/mr42m2au Streaming Live On: QuiteFrankly.tv (Powered by Foxhole) Youtube: https://tinyurl.com/yc2cn395 BitChute: https://tinyurl.com/46dfca5c Rumble: https://tinyurl.com/yeytwwyz Kick: https://kick.com/quitefranklytv Audio On Demand: Spotify: https://spoti.fi/301gcES iTunes: http://apple.co/2dMURMq Amazon: https://amzn.to/3afgEXZ SoundCloud: https://tinyurl.com/yc44m474
This week we talk about tit-for-tat warfare, conflict off-ramps, and Israel's renewed attacks on Iran's nuclear program.We also discuss the Iron Dome, the Iran-Iraq War, and regime change.Recommended Book: How Much is Enough? by Robert and Edward SkidelskyTranscriptIn late-October of 2024, Israel launched a wave of airstrikes against targets in Iran and Syria. These strikes were code-named Operation Days of Repentance, and it marked the largest such attack on Iran by Israel since the 1980s, during the height of the Iran-Iraq War.Operation Days of Repentance was ostensibly a response to Iran's attack on Israel earlier than same month, that attack code-named Operation True Promise II, which involved the launch of around 200 ballistic missiles against Israeli targets. Operation True Promise II was itself a response to Israel's assassination of the leader of Hamas, the leader of Hezbollah, and the Deputy of Operations for Iran's Revolutionary Guard.If you feel like there might be a tit-for-tat pattern here, you're right. Iran and Israel have been at each other's throats since 1979, following the Islamic Revolution when Iran cut off all diplomatic relations with Israel; some backchannel relations continued between the two countries, even through part of the Iran-Iraq War, when Israel often supported Iran in that conflict, but things got tense in the early 1980s when Iran, partnering with the Syrian government, started backing Hezbollah and their effort to boot Israel out of Southern Lebanon, while also partnering with Islamist militants in Iraq and Yemen, including the Houthis, and at times Hamas in Gaza, as well.Most of these attacks have, until recently, been fairly restrained, all things considered. There's long been bravado by politicians on both sides of the mostly cold war-ish conflict, but they've generally told the other side what they would be hitting, and signaled just how far they would be going, telling them the extent of the damage they would cause, and why, which provides the other side ample opportunity to step off the escalatory ladder; everyone has the chance to posture for their constituents and then step back, finding an off-ramp and claiming victory in that specific scuffle.That back-and-forth in late-2024 largely stuck to that larger pattern, and both sides stuck with what typically works for them, in terms of doing damage: Israel flew more than 100 aircraft to just beyond or just inside Iran's borders and struck a bunch of military targets, like air defense batteries and missile production facilities, while Iran launched a few hundred far less-accurate missiles at broad portions of Israel—a type of attack that could conceivably result in a lot of civilian casualties, not just damage to military targets, which would typically be a no-no if you're trying to keep the tit-for-tat strikes regulated and avoid escalation, but because Israel has a fairly effective anti-missile system called the Iron Dome, Iran could be fairly confident that just hurling a large number of missiles in their general direction would be okay, as most of those missiles would be shot down by the Iron Dome, the rest by Israel's allies in the region, and the few that made it through or struck unoccupied land in the general vicinity would make their point.While this conflict has been fairly stable for decades, though, the tenor and tone seems to have changed substantially in 2025, and a recent wave of attacks by Israel is generally being seen as the culmination of several other efforts, and possibly an attempt by the Israeli government to change the nature of this conflict, perhaps permanently.And that's what I'd like to talk about today; Operation Rising Lion, and the implications of Israel's seeming expansion and evolution of their approach to dealing with Iran.—In mid-June of 2025, Israel's military launched early morning strikes against more than a dozen targets across Iran, most of the targets either fundamental to Iran's nuclear program or its military.The strikes were very targeted, and some were assassinations of top Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists, like the Commander of the Revolutionary Guard, along with their families, including twenty children, who were presumably collateral damage. Some came from beyond Iran's borders, some were conducted by assets smuggled into Iran earlier: car bombs and drones, things like that.More attacks followed that initial wave, which resulted in the collapse of nuclear sites and airport structures, along with several residential buildings in the country's capitol, Tehran.This attack was ostensibly meant to hobble Iran's nuclear program, which the Iranian government has long claimed is for purely peaceful, energy-generation purposes, but which independent watchdog organizations, and pretty much every other non-Iranian-allied government says is probably dual-purpose, allowing Iran to produce nuclear energy, but also nuclear weapons.There was a deal on the books for a while that had Iran getting some benefits in exchange for allowing international regulators to monitor its nuclear program, but that deal, considered imperfect by many, but also relatively effective compared to having no deal at all, went away under the first Trump administration, and the nuclear program has apparently been chugging along since then with relative success; claims that Iran is just weeks from having enough fissile material to make a nuclear weapon have been common for years, now, but they apparently now have enough nuclear weapons-grade materials to make several bombs, and Israel in particular is quite keen to keep them from building such a weapon, as Iran's leaders, over the years, have said they'd like to wipe Israel off the face of the Earth, and nuclear weapons would be a relatively quick and easy way to make that happen.Of course, even without using such a weapon, simply having one or more is a sort of insurance policy against conventionally armed enemies. It ups the stakes in every type of conflict, and allows the nuclear-armed belligerent to persistently raise the specter of nuclear war if anyone threatens them, which is truly terrifying because of how many nuclear-related failsafes are in place around the world: one launch or detonation potentially becoming many, all at once, because of Dr. Strangelove-like automated systems that many militaries have readied, just in case.So the possibility that Iran might be on the brink of actually, really, truly this time making a nuclear weapon is part of the impetus for this new strike by Israel.But this is also probably a continuation of the larger effort to dismantle Iran's influence across the region by the current Israeli government, which, following the sneak attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023, and the subsequent invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces, has been trying to undermine Iran's proxies, which again, include quite a few militant organizations, the most powerful of which, in recent years, have been the trio of Hamas in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen, and Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, right on Israel's border.Israel's invasion of Gaza, which has led to an absolutely catastrophic humanitarian situation for Gazan civilians, but has also led to the near-total collapse of Hamas as a functioning militant organization in the Strip, could be construed as a successful mission, if you ignore all those civilians casualties and fatalities, and the near-leveling of a good portion of the Strip.Israel was also able to take out a significant portion of Hezbollah's leadership via conventional aerial attacks and ground-assaults, and a bizarrely effective asymmetric attack using bombs installed in the pagers used by the organization, and it's been able to significantly decrease the Houthis' ability to menace ships passing through the Red Sea, using their own military, but also through their relationship with the US, which has significant naval assets in the area.Iran has long projected power in the region through its relationship with these proxies, providing them training and weapons and money in exchange for their flanking of Israel. That flanking was meant to keep Israel perpetually off-balance with the knowledge that if they ever do anything too serious, beyond the bounds of the controllable tit-for-tat, Cold War-style conflict in which they were engaged with Iran, they could suffer significant damage at home, from the north via Lebanon, from their southwestern flank via Gaza, or from a little ways to the south and via their coast from Yemen.Those proxies now largely hobbled, though, Israel found itself suddenly freed-up to do something more significant, and this attack is being seen by analysts as the initial stages of what might be a more substantial, perhaps permanent solution to the Iran problem. Rather than being a show of force or a tit-for-tat play, these might be the beginning days of an assault that's meant to enact not just a dismantling of Iran's nuclear program, but full-on regime change in Iran.And regime change means exactly what it sounds like: Iran's government is Islamist, meaning that it wants to enforce a fairly brutal, repressive version of Islam globally, and it already does so against its people. There have periodically been successful protests against these measures by Iranian citizens, especially by severely repressed women and minority groups in the country, including folks of different religions and LGBTQ identifying folks, among others, almost always these protests, and any other attempts to attain more rights and equality for people who aren't strictly Islamist men, generally result in violence, the black-bagging of protest leaders, extrajudicial killings and lifetime imprisonment and torture; a whole lot of really authoritarian, generally just villain-scale behavior by the Iranian government against anyone who steps out of line.So the Iranian government is pretty monstrous by most modern, democratic standards, and the Israeli government's seeming desire to crush it—to cry false on the regime's projection of strength, and create the circumstances for revolution, if that is indeed what they're doing—could be construed as a fairly noble goal.It perhaps serves the purposes of Israel, as again, Iran has said, over and over, that they want to destroy Israel and would totally do so, given the chance. But it arguably also serves the purpose of democratic-leaning people, and perhaps even more so folks who are suffering under the current Iranian regime, and maybe even other, similar regimes in the region. Which again, in terms of spreading democracy and human rights, sounds pretty good to some ears.That said, Israel is killing a lot of Iranian civilians alongside military targets, and its efforts in Gaza have led to accusations that it's committing genocide in the region. Israeli leaders have themselves been accused of anti-democratic actions, basically doubling-down on the nation's furthest-right, most militant, and most authoritarian and theocratic impulses, which makes any claims of moral superiority a little tricky for them to make, at this point.There's a chance, of course, that all this speculation and analysis ends up being completely off-base, and Israel is really, truly just trying to hobble Iran a bit, taking out some of their missile launchers and missile- and drone-manufacturing capacity, while also pushing back their acquisition of nuclear weapons by some meaningful amount of time; that amount of time currently unknown, as initial reports, at least, indicate that many of the attacks on Iran's most vital nuclear research and development facilities were perhaps not as effective as Israel had hoped. There's a chance that if enough overall damage is done, Iran's government will enthusiastically return to the negotiating table and perhaps be convinced to set their nuclear program aside willingly, but at the moment both Iran and Israel seem committed to hurting each other, physically.On that note, so far, as of the day I'm recording this, Iran has launched around 100 missiles, killed a few dozen Israelis, and injured more than 500 of the same. The Iranian government has said Israel's strikes have killed at least 224 people and wounded more than 1,200; though a human rights group says the death toll in Iran could be quite a bit higher than official government numbers, with more than 400 people killed, around half of them civilians, so far.It's been nearly a week of this, and it looks likely that these strikes will continue for at least another few days, though many analysts are now saying they expect this to go one for at least a few weeks, if indeed Israel is trying to knock out some of Iran's more hardened nuclear program-related targets; several of which are buried deep down in the ground, thus requiring bunker-buster-style missiles to reach and destroy, and Israel doesn't have such weapons in their arsenal.Neutralizing those targets would therefore mean either getting those kinds of weapons from the US or other allies, taking them out via some other means, which would probably take more time and entail more risk, or doing enough damage quickly than Iran's government is forced to the negotiation table.And if that ends up being the case, if Israel is really just gunning for the nuclear program and nothing else, this could be remembered as a significant strike, but one that mostly maintains the current status quo; same Iranian leadership, same perpetual conflict between these two nations, but Israel boasting even more of an upper-hand than before, with less to worry about in terms of serious damage from Iran or its proxies for the next several years, minimum.It does seem like a good moment to undertake regime change in Iran, though, as doing so could help Israel polish up its reputation, at least a little, following the reputational drubbing it has taken because of its actions in Gaza. I doubt people who have really turned on Israel would be convinced, as doing away with an abusive, extremist regime, while doing abusive, extremist regime stuff yourself the homefront, probably won't be an argument that convinces many Palestinian liberation-oriented people; there's a chance some of those people will even take up the cause of Iranian civilians, which is true to a point, as many Iranian civilians are suffering and will continue to suffer under Israel's attacks—though of course that leaves out the part about them also suffering, for much longer, under their current government.That said, taking Iran out of the geopolitical equation would serve a lot of international interests, including those of the US—which has long hated Iran—and Ukraine, the latter of which because Russia has allied itself with the Iranian government, and buys a lot of drones, among other weapons, from Iran. That regime falling could make life more difficult for Russia, at least in the short term, and it would mean another ally lost in the region, following the fall of the Assad regime in Syria in late-2024.There's a chance that these same geopolitical variables could pull other players into this conflict, though: Russia could help Iran, for instance, directly or indirectly, by sending supplies, taking out Israeli missiles and drones, maybe, while the US could help Israel (more directly, that is, as it's apparently already helping them by shooting down some of Iran's counterstrike projectiles) by providing bunker-buster weapons, or striking vital military targets from a distance.Such an escalation, on either side, would probably be pretty bad for everyone except possibly Iran, though Israel has said it wants the US to join in on its side, as that would likely result in a much quicker victory and far fewer casualties on its side.The US government is pretty keen to keep out of foreign conflicts right now, though, at least directly, and Russia is pretty bogged down by its invasion of Ukraine; there's a chance other regional powers, even smaller ones, could act as proxies for these larger, outside forces—the Saudis taking the opportunity to score some damage on their long-time rival, Iran, for instance, by helping out Israel—but any such acts would expand the scope of the conflict, and it's seldom politically expedient to do anything that might require your people make any kind of sacrifice, so most everyone will probably stay out of this as long as they can, unless there are serious benefits to doing so.Show Noteshttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_2025_Israeli_strikes_on_Iranhttps://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2025/06/13/israel-iran-regime-attack-goal-column-00405153https://www.foreignaffairs.com/israel/real-threat-iran-tehran-most-dangerous-option-responding-israelhttps://www.twz.com/news-features/could-iran-carry-out-its-threat-to-shut-the-strait-of-hormuzhttps://www.jpost.com/israel-news/defense-news/article-857713https://kyivindependent.com/israel-asks-us-to-join-strikes-on-irans-nuclear-sites-officials-told-axios/https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog-june-15-2025/https://www.twz.com/air/israel-escalates-to-attacking-iranian-energy-targets-after-ballistic-missiles-hit-tel-avivhttps://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/israel-iran-strikes-news-06-14-25https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-confirms-irgc-air-force-chief-top-echelon-killed-in-israeli-strike/https://time.com/7294186/israel-warns-tehran-will-burn-deadly-strikes-traded-nuclear-program/https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/14/world/israel-iran-newshttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/opinion/israel-iran-strikes.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/14/world/middleeast/drones-smuggled-israel-iran-ukraine-russia.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/06/15/world/iran-israel-nuclearhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/15/world/middleeast/iran-military-leaders-killed.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/14/world/europe/israel-iron-dome-defense.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/14/world/middleeast/israel-iran-missile-attack.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/14/world/middleeast/iran-israel-energy-facility-strikes-tehran.htmlhttps://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/israel-iran-strikes-news-06-15-25https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/was-israel-s-strike-on-iran-a-good-idea--four-questions-to-askhttps://apnews.com/article/israel-iran-missile-attacks-nuclear-news-06-16-2025-c98074e62ce5afd4c3f6d33edaffa069https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/world/middleeast/iran-israel-war-off-ramp.htmlhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2024_Iranian_strikes_on_Israelhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_2024_Israeli_strikes_on_Iranhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_of_Resistancehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2024_Lebanon_electronic_device_attacks This is a public episode. 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Join Jim and Greg for the Monday edition of the 3 Martini Lunch as they assess Israel's military successes and Iran's desperate call for a ceasefire. They are also astounded at the New York Times' use of free market arguments in their plea for voters to reject Zohran Mamdani's mayoral bid. Additionally, they are horrified at the murder of one lawmaker in Minnesota and the serious wounding of another.First, Jim and Greg highlight Israel's dominance in the skies over Iran, eliminating more high-ranking officials and hitting strategic targets. While the Iron Dome has proven effective, a few Iranian missiles have broken through, causing Israeli casualties. Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reports that Iran is begging for a ceasefire—one Israel appears unlikely to entertain.Next, they're stunned that the New York Times is urging NYC residents to reject Zohran Mamdani for mayor, especially as they rip Mamdani's socialist calls for rent control and government-run grocery stores. The NYT editorial board also blasts Mamdani for calling Bill de Blasio the best New York City mayor in his lifetime. But will this make any difference? Would Andrew Cuomo be any better? And why is the Times really doing this?Finally, they react to the horrific shootings of two Minnesota state lawmakers on Saturday morning by a man impersonating a police officer. Former State House Speaker Melissa Hortman was murdered, along with her husband. State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were severely wounded. Information about the shooter does not paint a consistent political ideology, but Jim and Greg are grateful he is now in custody.Please visit our great sponsors:No missed calls, no missed customers with OpenPhone. Get 20% off your first 6 months at https://Openphone.com/3mlIf I needed to find a doctor quickly, Zocdoc is what I'd use. Stop putting off those doctor's appointments and head to https://zocdoc.com/3ML to find and instantly book a top-rated doctor today.Upgrade your skincare routine with Caldera Lab and see the difference. Visit https://CalderaLab.com/3ML and use code 3ML at checkout for 20% off your first order.
Donald Trump has promised Americans that in three years, with the help of Congress' “Big Beautiful Bill” and a $25 billion-dollar downpayment, his dreams of a golden dome protecting the nation will become a reality. Inspired by Israel's highly successful Iron Dome, Trump has selected General Guetlein of the Space Force to lead the missile […]
Episode 4501: The Big Beautiful Bill; Building The Iron Dome
Today's Headlines: Congress is currently hashing out a sweeping reconciliation bill—dubbed by President Trump as “one big beautiful bill”—that outlines his administration's tax and spending priorities, though its final form remains uncertain. Key provisions include extending the 2017 tax cuts, which would add an estimated $2.7 trillion to the national deficit by 2034, ramping up ICE funding, and introducing Medicaid work requirements. Trump visited Capitol Hill to rally support amid internal GOP resistance, as Speaker Mike Johnson aims to pass the bill before Memorial Day recess. As part of this package, Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced a $25 billion down payment for a proposed $175 billion missile defense system called the “Golden Dome,” modeled on Israel's Iron Dome and intended to guard against nuclear and hypersonic threats. Meanwhile, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem sparked backlash after incorrectly defining habeas corpus during Senate testimony, raising alarms as the White House reportedly considers suspending the constitutional protection. On the economic front, mortgage rates have surged past 7%—a 25-year high—following a U.S. credit downgrade by Moody's. And in tech-meets-politics news, Elon Musk told the Qatar Economic Forum he plans to scale back political donations, though quickly added he might resume them if he sees a reason—fueling speculation his political capital may be waning. Resources/Articles mentioned in this episode: WA Post: Trump tries to persuade, and threaten, GOP to support his budget bill Axios: Trump and Hegseth unveil $175 billion plans for Golden Dome missile shield AP News: Trump's Homeland Security secretary says habeas corpus lets him 'remove people from this country' CBS News: Mortgage rates climb back above 7% after Moody's U.S. debt downgrade Bloomberg: Elon Musk Interview In Full Morning Announcements is produced by Sami Sage and edited by Grace Hernandez-Johnson Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Meet my friends, Clay Travis and Buck Sexton! If you love Verdict, the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show might also be in your audio wheelhouse. Politics, news analysis, and some pop culture and comedy thrown in too. Here’s a sample episode recapping four takeaways. Give the guys a listen and then follow and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts: ihr.fm/3InlkL8 Is The Big Beautiful Bill Bloated? The hour kicks off with a detailed discussion of what President Donald Trump has dubbed the “Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping piece of legislation currently under debate on Capitol Hill. President Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson, and other GOP leaders are rallying behind the bill, which includes major tax cuts, regulatory rollbacks, and incentives aimed at boosting the U.S. economy. The hosts predict the bill will pass, likening the political theatrics to previous debt ceiling and speaker vote showdowns. Key highlights of the bill include: Permanent extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts Elimination of taxes on tips Adjustments to SALT (state and local tax) deductions Phased elimination of EV and green energy tax credits Increased funding for defense and immigration enforcement Tightening of SNAP (food stamp) eligibility A $4 trillion increase in the debt ceiling Buck Sexton shares insights from a recent interview with the head of the National Economic Council, emphasizing that the bill could result in $7,000–$12,000 in annual savings for the average American household. However, both hosts acknowledge conservative criticism over the bill’s lack of deeper spending cuts and its continuation of certain green energy subsidies. Democrats Don't Believe Illegal Immigration is a Crime Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show dive deep into the explosive political and legal controversy surrounding Congresswoman LaMonica McIver’s arrest for allegedly obstructing ICE agents during a detention center visit. Hosts Clay and Buck analyze the implications of her actions, highlighting the irony of her past “no one is above the law” rhetoric—previously aimed at Donald Trump—now being turned against her. They explore the broader theme of political hypocrisy and the consequences of “lawfare,” emphasizing how Democrats are now facing the same legal tactics they once championed. The hour also features a sharp critique of the Democratic Party’s stance on illegal immigration. Clay and Buck argue that Democrats no longer view illegal immigration as a crime, citing McIver’s confrontation with ICE as emblematic of a broader ideological shift. They question why Democratic leaders prioritize the rights of non-citizens over the needs of underserved American communities, particularly Black constituents in urban districts like McIver’s New Jersey 10th, which is nearly 50% Black. The hosts suggest that this disconnect may be driving more minority voters toward the GOP, referencing recent political shifts in cities like New York and Chicago. Tom Homan, former acting ICE director, is featured in a clip reinforcing the legal boundaries McIver allegedly crossed, underscoring the seriousness of interfering with federal law enforcement. The discussion then pivots to the racial and ideological motivations behind Democratic immigration policies, with Buck asserting that modern leftist movements have replaced class solidarity with race-based solidarity, often to the detriment of their own constituents. This is a Crazy Story Clay and Buck dive into the intersection of sports, culture, and politics, delivering a compelling mix of commentary and breaking news. This hour kicks off with a heated discussion surrounding the viral WNBA incident involving Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, which sparked a broader cultural debate. The hosts analyze the fallout from ESPN personalities Robert Griffin III and Ryan Clark, highlighting the racial and personal tensions that erupted over a simple foul in a women’s basketball game. The segment underscores how Clark’s rising stardom is reshaping the WNBA and exposing underlying resentments within the league. The conversation transitions into a broader cultural critique, with Clay and Buck exploring how race, media narratives, and sports collide in today’s polarized environment. They draw parallels to historical moments in tennis and golf, emphasizing how stars like Serena Williams and Tiger Woods were embraced across racial lines—contrasting that with the current backlash against Clark. James Blair, WH Deputy Chief of Staff, on Clean Up in Aisle Biden The hosts welcome White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair, who provides exclusive insights into the forthcoming “Big Beautiful Bill.” Blair outlines the bill’s key components, including historic middle-class tax cuts, increased border security funding, military modernization, and aggressive fiscal reforms aimed at reducing the national deficit. He also teases the potential announcement of the “Golden Dome” missile defense initiative, likened to Israel’s Iron Dome, as part of President Trump’s broader national security strategy. Make sure you never miss a second of the show by subscribing to the Clay Travis & Buck Sexton show podcast wherever you get your podcasts! ihr.fm/3InlkL8 For the latest updates from Clay and Buck: https://www.clayandbuck.com/ Connect with Clay Travis and Buck Sexton on Social Media: X - https://x.com/clayandbuck FB - https://www.facebook.com/ClayandBuck/ IG - https://www.instagram.com/clayandbuck/ YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/c/clayandbuck Rumble - https://rumble.com/c/ClayandBuck TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@clayandbuck YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@VerdictwithTedCruzSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The guys discuss how temptation is a constant and unavoidable part of the Christian life, but believers are not alone in the fight. Through Scripture, prayer, spiritual discipline, and community, Christians are equipped to resist temptation and grow in Christlikeness. The fear of the Lord acts as a shield, and memorizing Scripture allows the Holy Spirit to bring truth to mind in moments of weakness. Practices like fasting and consistent prayer strengthen believers spiritually, while humility and gratitude keep their hearts aligned with God. Standing strong also means walking with others who are pursuing Christ, staying aware of personal weaknesses, and embracing accountability. Like Joseph fleeing from Potiphar's wife, Christians must be ready to refuse, reason, resist, and run—trusting that God's strength is greater than any temptation they face.Send us a textThanks for listening! If you've been helped by this podcast, we'd be grateful if you'd consider subscribing, sharing, and leaving us a comment and 5-star rating! Visit the Living Waters website to learn more and to access helpful resources!You can find helpful counseling resources at biblicalcounseling.com.Check out The Evidence Study Bible and the Basic Training Course.You can connect with us at podcast@livingwaters.com. We're thankful for your input!Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.Ray ComfortEmeal (“E.Z.”) ZwayneMark SpenceOscar Navarro
On Tuesday's Mark Levin Show, Pete Hegseth is a terrific Secretary of Defense; the attacks on him are designed to block President Trump's foreign policy. The isolationists are not supportive of Trump's pro-American foreign policy. They are Soros-Koch ideologues, and so are their podcast/influencer mouthpieces. These isolationists have come up with nothing new about foreign policy, recycling George McGovern's outdated views while acting as modern-day Tokyo Roses. Iran's ultimate goal is the United States and these isolationists are undermining this administration. Also, Japan's navy has unveiled a ship-mounted electromagnetic railgun designed to counter China's hypersonic missiles. Meanwhile, Israel's Iron Beam, a 100-kilowatt high-energy laser air defense system is set for operational deployment by late 2025. Designed to complement the Iron Dome, it intercepts short-range threats like rockets, drones, and mortars. Later, how can due process be provided to 21 million illegal aliens when immigration courts are already swamped with a 1.5 million case backlog? What degree of due process is realistic, and which branch of government handles it? When Biden and the Democrats embraced open-border policies, they had no clear strategy for due process or deportation—just a push for de facto amnesty. Afterward, Mark reflects on the profound significance of the March for Life in Poland, as well as the haunting memories of the Holocaust. Finally, Josh Hammer calls in to discuss the absurdity of a debate on whether Iran should get nuclear weapons or not. Hammer shares a compelling story from a college conservative leadership conference, highlighting the stark differences in perspectives on freedom and allegiance between American and Iranian students. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices