Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar - 2/13/24 ISRAEL SPECIAL: Bibi Demands US Pay For Gaza Tent Cities, Dem Attacks Israel 'War Criminals', Israel Bombs Medics Rescuing 6 Year Old Girl.

Episode Date: February 13, 2024

Krystal and Saagar discuss Bibi demands US pay for Gaza tent cities, Dem attacks Israel aid then votes for it anyway, Israel bombs medics attempting to rescue 6 year old Palestinian girl.   To become a Breaking Points Premium Member and watch/listen to the show AD FREE, uncut and 1 hour early visit: https://breakingpoints.supercast.com/   Merch Store: https://shop.breakingpoints.com/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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So don't wait. Head to Apple Podcasts and subscribe today. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? and subscribe today. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir.

Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at the recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to it. It makes it real. It really does.

It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, guys. Ready or Not 2024 is here, and we here at Breaking Points are already thinking of ways we can up our game for this critical election. We rely on our premium subs to expand coverage, upgrade the studio, add staff, give you guys the best independent coverage that is possible. If you like what we're all about, it just means the absolute world to have your support. But enough with that. Let's get to the show. All right. Why don't we get to Israel? All right. So a lot of developments here. So just to back up for a bit and give you some context, you will recall Palestinians in Gaza

were forced out of northern Gaza into Khan Yunus. They were then forced out of Khan Yunus into Rafah. You now have somewhere around 1.3 million Palestinians clustered on the border with Egypt in Rafah in what are horrifically indescribable humanitarian circumstances. Kids are literally starving to death at this point, no sanitation, no clean drinking water. They were subject to a terrible bombardment while we were all watching the Super Bowl. Over 100 Palestinians reported dead in that effort that led to Israel being able to secure the release of two hostages, but at the cost of more than 100 Palestinian lives. So horrific situation in Rafah.

U.S. President Joe Biden had originally said he did not want an operation from Israel to go forward in Rafah at all. He then amended those comments and said, well, we don't want it to go forward without a plan for Palestinian civilians, to which Bibi said, OK, no problem. Here's your plan. Put this up on the screen. They want us, the United States of America, to pay for tent cities for Rafah evacuees. Israel is proposing the creation of sprawling tent cities in Gaza as part of an evacuation plan to be funded by the U.S. and its Arab Gulf partners ahead of an impending invasion of a city in the Strip South, which Israel says is the last bastion of Hamas. The Israeli evacuation proposal includes establishing 15 campsites of around 25,000 tents each across the southwestern part of the Gaza Strip. Egyptian officials said Egypt would be in charge of setting up the camps and field hospitals, the officials said. Plan indicates

that Israel is planning an invasion of Rafah despite U.S. and Egyptian concerns. Cairo has said, and we covered this yesterday, that it would suspend a 1979 peace treaty with Israel if Palestinians cross the border from Rafah to flee an Israeli offensive, the Wall Street Journal has reported. This was entirely predictable. Joe Biden, by saying you can go forward in Rafah, but you've got to have some kind of a plan for the Palestinians, gave Bibi Netanyahu a clear green light. That all he needed to do was come up with some bullshit fig leaf of a plan, which is going to, first of all, it's probably impossible. Second of all, puts all of the onus not on them, but on us and other Arab Gulf countries. Third of all, is going to only further immiserate this already devastated population. But now he can say, look, I gave

you your plan. Now we're going to go ahead with our indiscriminate, over the top, in Joe Biden's words, bombing campaign that is going to take the lives of many, many more Palestinian civilians and once again, displace them when they have nowhere else to go. So it is outrageous on absolutely every level. Yeah, I mean, it's just very common on the Israeli part. They're like, when we have a problem, we'll just ask America to pay for it. Interesting, isn't it?

To bring it back to the State Department. Why wouldn't they, since we seem to do whatever they want? No, I would do it too, if I were them. But you know, we're us and we're the ones who decide whether we get to pay for something or not. Or allegedly that was the way the government was supposed to work. Our State Department was pressed on this a little bit yesterday by a journalist in terms of the policy and how they're conducting the military campaign. Here's what they had to say. We have pursued the policy that we think gives us the maximum ability to be successful in influencing how Israel conducts its military campaign.

And how – Are you happy with the results of that? In many cases, no. Absolutely, we are not. We are happy with the fact that we have been able to get humanitarian assistance into Israel. That is the direct result of U.S. – I'm sorry, into Gaza. That is the direct result of U.S. intervention. I'm sorry, into Gaza. That is the direct result of U.S. intervention. But at the same time, there has not been enough humanitarian assistance that has gotten in.

What levers have you used? So we have used diplomatical levers. That means the secretary and the president and you and Kirby and whoever else standing up and saying, wagging your finger and saying that that's not really leverage. We have engaged with them on a, at a multitude of levels at this administration. And, and as I kind of, you look at the list that we just went through with Humira, we have seen them take steps at our urging that have had real tangible impact, but they have not been enough. But what levers have you actually used?

MR. I think that when the United States of America stands up and says something publicly, it matters. But you haven't – MR. That's a lever. And we – and – But you haven't said –

MR. No, and we – but to my point – That there are any consequences – MR. To my point, we have seen – in terms of money or military assistance, right? What leverage have you brought to bear? I just went through it. What have you gone – I think the words of the President of the United States, the words of the Secretary of State matter. To say over the top, that's leverage?

And we have seen the government of Israel respond to it, not always in the way that we want, not always to the degree that we want or to the level that we want. So that is Matt Lee, the great Matt Lee from the U.S. State Department Press Corps. He's been there for years. They're all afraid of him. He treats everybody. I saw him treat the Trump people that way. He humiliates the Biden people as well. But he does a great job of getting down to the breaking through the BS, right? He'll be like, oh, multitude. What does that mean?

So you said over the top? What exactly is that supposed to mean? And it's great because, look, I don't know why, but for some reason, the State Department press has a press corps of press people have not yet rigged the briefing in the same way that and they actually seem to sit there and take questions. I shouldn't call it out because I want it to keep happening. Yeah. But that's a great thing for us because we get people like Ryan and go in there or Matt Lee and they don't just get a single question.

They sit there and they have an extended back and forth. And when you do, you crumble like this. Look at the way that that guy came apart. Especially right now. I mean, what they're saying is complete gaslighting bullshit. It's totally apparent. They have to admit things like, you know, in that beginning clip, he says, Matt Miller, the State Department ghoul says,

we pursued the policy we think gives us the maximum maximum ability to be successful in influencing how Israel conduct its military campaign. And the reporter says, and are you happy with the results of that? And he says, in many cases, no. It's just like Joe Biden when they were asking, you know, how's the Houthi bombing going? And he's like, oh many cases, no. It's just like Joe Biden when they were asking, you know, how's the Houthi bombing going? And he's like, oh, well, it hasn't accomplished the objectives, but it's going to continue. It's the same thing here. They know it's not working. And then Matt Lee presses the point of, OK, well, if that's not working, what leverage are you using besides you and Kirby and Biden and Blinken, whatever,

wagging your finger? Oh, Israel, we don't like exactly what you're doing, which clearly hasn't worked. And Matt Miller is reduced to just like bumbling word salad of, oh, we've expressed our concern on a multitude of levels. And then hackneyed cliches like the words of the United States of America matter. Clearly, they don't. Clearly, at this point, they do not. So yet another very rough State Department briefing for Matt Miller. You know, another, Ryan was there as well, pressing him on the six-year-old who was murdered by Israeli forces

alongside her rescuers. I'm going to play some of that in my monologue. But it just shows you the utter insanity of what we have watched unfold. And there was another, you can't even make it up, there was yet another scoop. Biden says Netanyahu's a jerk behind closed doors. Biden upset with Netanyahu, et cetera, et cetera. There was yet another one of these. And it's like, how can you guys continue to print this bullshit and pretend like it matters at all? And for the Biden people who think that these leaks are somehow benefiting them, it doesn't. It just makes you look weak and pathetic. And Bibi is happy to stomp all over whatever little concerns you leak to the press about what he's doing and happy to throw in your face some preposterous, cruel, inhumane, and outrageous plan for us to set up tent cities for Palestinians who are going to

be forced out of Rafah by yet another round of insane and outrageous bombing. So that's where we are. Now, I did want to cover this because I think it's important to, you know, put some caveats in here about just how imminent this potential Rafah offensive is. We already had this very large bombing campaign that the Israelis described as a diversion for their hostage rescue. So basically, they had to murder dozens, potentially more than 100 Palestinians in order to rescue their two hostages. But they say that's not the real

offensive here. They're planning something much more vast. I wanted to put this in just so people know again what the caveats here are. Haaretz is reporting they don't think that this Rafa offensive is actually coming anytime soon. They think that this is just basically bluster from Bibi that is politically advantageous for him in the context of holding onto his grip on power. Put this up on the screen from Haaretz so that you can see their analysis. They say, why Netanyahu is constantly talking up a Rafah IDF operation, Israel's successful raid to rescue two hostages, by the way, at the cost of massive civilian life. From Rafah on Monday morning was not the operation that Netanyahu had in mind, but there are no signs a big IDF operation is imminent,

no matter what the prime minister says. They point to the fact that they say the IDF's deployment in the Gaza Strip is the smallest it's been in over three months, with just five brigade combat teams who are mainly fighting in Khan Yunis. There are no signs of other brigades mustering near Rafa on Gaza's southern border. Nearly all the dozens of reserve battalions that took part in the previous stages of fighting have been demobilized and are now southern border. Nearly all the dozens of reserve battalions that took part in the previous stages of fighting have been demobilized and are now back home. One of the regular armored divisions has been sent to the northern border.

The IDF is unlikely to launch a major Rava operation while an entire division for brigade combat teams is still fighting deep in Khan Yunis. So I just wanted to put that out there. You can make of it what you will, but at least some Israeli analysts, who, by the way, Haratz, you know, very skeptical of Netanyahu, et cetera, et cetera. They are,

they don't expect that the big operation in Rafah, quote unquote, is really actually imminent and set to come, that it is more about bluster for Bibi, who wants to preserve his grip on power and sort of project to people that he is the guy who will go take them to total victory. That's sort of the like catchphrase that he has adopted for his political purposes. Yeah, I was actually I'd be curious to hear more what you think, because it does seem that given that they had to pull out more reservists from they already decommissioned a lot of these reserves, they have to send them back to work. They don't have a decent enough fighting force. Even the ones that they do, professional soldiers have covered themselves in glory. I think we could say that. Given the civilian number in the population, it would take overwhelming force. The other thing is

when you pair it with the video that we played of Biden and King Abdullah talking about a hostage deal. It could be, do you think that this is pressure to try and achieve some sort of short-term hostage deal? Because I'm very just confused as to what their actual aim here, or was this all honestly just covered for that two hostage rescue operation? That's another possibility that we can't discount either. I think that there will be a major operation in Rafah. I mean, it's insane that we can't call what they already did a major operation given the civilian death toll, but just in their mind, like a lengthier, more extended bombing, ground invasion, et cetera. If I were to guess, I think that is definitely coming. As we've discussed at length, Bibi has every political incentive, along with the rest of his war cabinet, to, you know, continue this war indefinitely.

Not only him, but some of the quote-unquote moderate members of his cabinet have been very clear that, you know, it's wherever they want to go in. Now, suddenly, that's the center of Hamas. And they're saying this is where the last brigades are. We can't finish the job without going into Rafah. So we have to do it. We have to do it. We have to do it. So I think because of the unequivocal nature of that rhetoric, they are going in.

It's a question of when. And, you know, to that, I have no idea. This analysis makes sense to me that they aren't really set up to do it right now. That just gives them time to sort of drag things out even longer, maybe engage in some more of these attempted hostage rescue missions to keep feeding the Israeli public at least something, you know, to keep the war effort going and keep their hold on their positions right now because still the Israeli public, I mean, their issues with Netanyahu aren't my issues with Netanyahu, but they despise him and basically want him gone. It's a good point.

So I think it's only a matter of time. But, you know, as to the timing, I can't really say at this point. You did mention, and let's go ahead and play that, Biden met with King Abdullah. There were previous hostage talks that seemed to fall apart. Hamas wanted the complete end to the war in three phases. The Israelis want to continue the war. The U.S. wants to continue the war effectively.

So that was kind of a non-starter. Now they're floating some modified version of the deal that would lead to six weeks cessation in fighting. Let's take a listen to what they had to say. The United States is working on a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas, which would bring immediate and sustained period of common to Gaza for at least six weeks, which we could then take the time to build something more enduring. Over the past month, I've had calls with Prime Minister Netanyahu, as well as the leaders of Egypt and Qatar, to push this forward. The key element of the deal is around the table.

There are gaps that remain, but I've encouraged Israeli leaders to keep working to achieve the deal. The United States will do everything possible to make it happen. I also don't know what to make of this, whether this is real, whether it really has a shot. Bibi, under a lot of pressure from the most psychotic elements of his governing coalition, not to do any sort of a deal at this point, especially not one that involves the release of any significant number of the Palestinian prisoners that they are holding. So whether this deal has any better shot at success than the last one, I genuinely just have no idea at this point. I guess I'm kind of skeptical given the way that

the last negotiations fell apart. There you go. One last piece here we wanted to show you because this is just outrageous and is yet another cautionary tale about believing anything that comes out from the IDF. Put this up on the screen. This is just insane that they did this. So you'll recall Israel actually has to respond to the ICJ on February 23rd.

So this is really coming up about the ways that they have changed their offensive to comply with the order from the ICJ and the establishment that they are plausibly committing genocide. Part of that is an effort to, oh no, we really are shipping in humanitarian aid. And so the official State of Israel account, I'm reading now from this, what is he, with the BBC before, who has been doing a great job tracking lies and misinformation from both Israelis and from Hamas and people who are supporting the Palestinians on the side. The official State of Israel account has posted this video saying it is facilitating aid into Gaza. A clip at the end of the video claiming to show tents and shelter equipment for Gazans was actually filmed in March 2022, showing tents

in Moldova for Ukrainian refugees. Okay. This is the level of propaganda that we're dealing with here that you can easily identify a literal stock photo from Ukrainian refugees in 2022. And the state of Israel account is happy to tweet this out as evidence of their benevolence. It really is quite incredible. And yet it's the sort of thing that just given the amount of propaganda we've been subjected to could easily get lost as well. Gotcha. Of course. That's why, I mean, look, again, this is a confirmed thing. This actually did happen. It's not such some random account that we pulled. We used his disinformation. He's actually done a good job of debunking many things on either side.

So it's not like a selective person that we're pulling either. No. It's just crazy, especially if we loop it back to the fact that they're trying to create this fake image about an option for a humanitarian option. But all of it just comes back to the fact that they want us to pay for it. They want to be able to inflict the damage, not deal with any of the consequences. And I mean, this is a conversation we've had here a million times, but this is not how it works. Like you can't just go in, break it, you know, think that you can just absolve yourself completely, even if we did pay for it and all that. It's not like the security ramifications and all the fallout from the future will not come back to impact Israel.

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we're unpacking and investigating stories of mistreatment and reexamining the culture of fatphobia that enabled a flawed system to continue for so long. You can listen to all episodes of Camp Shame one week early and totally ad-free on iHeart True Crime Plus. So don't wait. Head to Apple Podcasts and subscribe today. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution.

But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multibillion- dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast.

Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne.

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What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. This is a good transition to something that just transpired here in the Senate. You had two senators, Democratic senators, who traveled to the region to evaluate the aid distribution, and they were basically shocked and horrified. And they also were debunking the Israeli propaganda, the Israeli lies about how, oh, we're doing everything we can to get humanitarian aid. And they said, no, you're not whatsoever. You're throwing up all these roadblocks to make it impossible to get sufficient aid into Gaza. People are literally starving to death.

And so what we're really for a sort of run-of-the-mill standard issue liberal Democratic senator, quite extraordinary comments made last night. He said, number one, he has confirmation that kids are now starving to death in Gaza, per Cindy McCain, who's the head of the World Food Program, which is interesting in and of itself. But per Cindy McCain, kids are now starving to death. And he says clearly and unequivocally, this is a war crime and the people who are doing this are war criminals. Let's take a listen to that. Madam President, I want that to sink in.

Kids in Gaza are now dying from the deliberate withholding of food. In addition to the horror of that news, one other thing is true. That is a war crime. It is a textbook war crime. And that makes those who orchestrate it war criminals. So now the question is, what will the United States do? What will we do? What will President Biden do?

President Biden must take action in response to what is happening. His comments very forceful there. And this came in the context of debate over that Ukraine-Israel bill, which just passed the Senate with a super majority. But in spite of the fact that he says these are war crimes and the people who are doing this are war criminals, he still voted yes on the bill. Probably because of Ukraine. That's what he said.

And Elizabeth Warren said the same thing. But it's like, how can you knowingly, like, you know, these are war crimes. You said it on the Senate floor that they're war crimes. You're like, but I'm going to go ahead and ship billions more to the people I am calling war criminals. Like he goes on, oh, you know, what should we do as the United States of America? It's President Biden, let's hold them accountable, et cetera, et cetera. It's like, you are a United States senator. You have, you are incredibly powerful and influential, actually, within the caucus, in particular, on foreign policy.

For you to say these are war crimes, yes, that's extraordinary. But then the next thing you do is to vote through the funding? I just don't even know what to say to that. I mean, I know, which is that Ukraine is a religion religion and it's like a mind disease for a lot of people. And it's literally, I mean, Israel is the same way, right? For a lot of Republicans. They're like, I will support Israel no matter what. Period. End of story. What did that guy, the guy with the congressman who wore the IDF uniform, we haven't killed enough kids. He's like, we haven't killed. It's like, what? He's not even Jewish. That's the craziest part about all of this.

This is the same level. He's like, well, we can have bad things going, but Ukraine is just such an important cause, et cetera, et cetera. It's just one of those you have to move past. The reason why, and you and I were talking about this before the show, why I still do think that is very important is that's Chris Van Hollen. This guy lives in Bethesda, which is one of the richest neighborhoods in the world. It's right out here in Washington, D.C. It's full of people from the blob. It represents the state of Maryland.

If he is willing to talk that way openly, I do think it is still impactful and is interesting in terms of where the winds are blowing within the Democratic coalition. Yeah. Because he's not Bernie Sanders. This is not a far left person by any means. This is a former Nancy Pelosi top deputy, a very classic DSCC type person. So that's why I actually still found it. You know, put his voting aside. The rhetoric, you know, usually precedes that or at least can precede or show us something.

That was noteworthy to me. It was. Yeah, it absolutely was. The other thing that is noteworthy is me. It was, yeah, it absolutely was. The other thing that is noteworthy is so Van Hollen and Senator Merkley took this trip together to evaluate the aid distribution that I was referring to earlier. And so now you have Van Hollen making these comments. The other reason why it's noteworthy is receiving confirmation that yes, kids in Gaza at this

point are literally dying from starvation, not just bombs, as per Sidney McCain, head of the World Food Program. So that in and of itself is newsworthy. And then the other thing to point out about the fact that these two senators, standard issue Democratic senators, travel to the region is Merkley ends up being alongside, you know, Bernie Sanders, basically a Democrat at this point, the only Democratic votes against this package. So clearly traveling to the region and seeing this up close and personal also had a real impact on them, which is something you've seen more broadly with people who have actually traveled, for example, to the occupied West Bank and seen

what life is like there. They come back very, very changed by that experience. And so I thought that was really notable as well. That's a good point. At the same time, this, we didn't want to let this pass. So there, obviously, in terms of political implications, Joe Biden is quickly reckoning, or at least his team, which may still have somewhat of a brain left, is quickly reckoning, or at least his team, which may still have somewhat of a brain left, is quickly reckoning with the fact that they've got a massive problem in Michigan with Arab American voters in particular. And they've got a huge problem with their base in general. Young voters, voters of color, dramatically opposed to what Biden's policy has been in Israel. So in an attempt to clean up the electoral mess, they dispatched a retinue of

aides to Michigan to meet with some Arab American and Muslim leaders last week. Let's put this up on the screen. The headline here from CBS is Biden aide acknowledges missteps on Gaza and regrets failure to express concern over loss of Palestinian life. Let me read you a little bit of this. He said, this aide said, quote, we have left a very damaging impression based on what has been a wholly inadequate public accounting for how much the president, the administration, the country values the lives of Palestinians. This was per Deputy National Security Advisor John Feiner. And the reason we know these details is apparently they leaked the audio. We are very well aware that we have

misstepped in the course of responding to the crisis. He also acknowledged many in the Arab American community believe President Biden doesn't empathize with Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. In a closed-door meeting, Feiner expressed regret over several specific instances of the administration's response, including a failure by the U.S. to publicly condemn remarks made by Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galant, the ones where he called Palestinians animals in human form. We did not sufficiently indicate that we totally rejected and disagreed with those sort of sentiments out of a desire to sort of focus on solving the problem and not engaging in rhetorical back and forth with people who, in many cases, I think we all find somewhat abhorrent. He also expressed regret over a

statement made by the president on the 100th day of the conflict. The statement spoke to the plight of Israeli victims of the initial Hamas attack, including those taken hostage, but did not speak to Palestinian civilians killed by the Israeli response. Quote, there is no excuse for that. It should not have happened. I believe it will not happen again, but we know that there was a lot of damage done. He referred to that damage as a very, very big hole. I mean, noteworthy to me in the saga is the fact that there's no regrets over the actual policy. They seem to think this is all like a messaging issue. Like if they had just acknowledged Palestinians in the 100-day message, then people would be cool with the policy.

Or if they'd like, you know, put out a little, another little leak to the press about how they didn't like Yoav Galant's comments about humans in animal form, maybe everything would be fine. There's clearly no, no acknowledgement that the actual policy itself is the issue that people have with the administration, not necessarily the packaging of the policy, but the actual substance. Yeah, the polling really bears that out too. We can put this up there on the screen, which shows that the half of US adults now say that the military response has gone too far. You can actually compare it from the previous

numbers and see a pretty substantial increase in the number of US adults rising from November of 2023 where there's 40% said they did to now 50%. So you have 50% of US adults overall who are saying that the Israeli response has gone too far. 31% says just about right. 15% then saying not gone far enough. If you look at the Democratic number, it's actually much higher. Previously, it was 58% said too far, now 63%, 24% who are agreeing, 9% who are saying not far enough. Amongst independents, the other number that matters, obviously, for the election, you actually see the number rise to 52%, and then 28% at the bit about right, and 12% not far enough number. So the flip from the

independent voters on their view at a minority, basically a balance between too far and about right, from a couple of months ago to now, that's the big story to me amongst the independents, and then obviously amongst the Democrats as well. So you got two-thirds of Democrats and about half of independents just demonstrating where if the trend line is going to continue this way as we go all the way into November, I mean, it's a lot like the Ukraine story. It's, you know, people get caught up in something and then reality starts to set in. And then after a while, especially a year and a half, two years or so into something, which is around a year is about where we would be, you know, on November, November 5th or

4th on election day. Well, you can see pretty clearly, I think, where things are going in that direction. Yeah, absolutely. What was a few things that were noteworthy to me in that polling, number one, most of the increase in the number of people who thought that the Israelis had gone too far actually wasn't Democrats who already thought that for a while. The biggest increases came from independents and even Republicans, a third of whom now say that the response has gone too far. That was really noteworthy. Also, if you dig into some of the details of this poll, you can see the problem that Biden has with some really key parts of his base and why this isn't

just a Michigan problem. It's not just an Arab American problem. It's not just a Muslim American problem. About six in 10 non-white Democrats disapprove of how Biden is approaching the conflict. About half of white Democrats approve. So you have a racial divide here, but 60% of non-white Democrats saying, no, Joe Biden, we do not like what you are doing with regard to Israel. Non-white Democrats, not even just all non-white people, non-white Democrats saying, no, Joe Biden, we do not like what you are doing with regard to Israel. Non-white Democrats, not even just all non-white people, non-white Democrats, 60% are like, no, we don't like this policy. Seven in 10 Democrats under 45 disapprove. Seven in 10. That is the opposite of the attitude of older Democrats, among whom nearly six in 10 approve. So the biggest divide on this issue is an age divide. Seven in 10 Democrats, so 70% under 45, saying this is horrifying.

And we've shown you the polls in the past where a majority of Democrats now say Israel is committing a genocide. And another 30% are not sure and think they may be committing a genocide. So, you know, that is the context for understanding why it would be insulting that this administration official goes to Michigan and says, well, we've just left a very damaging impression. No, it's they, we have a very accurate impression of exactly what your policy is. The problem isn't the impression that's been left.

The problem is the policy itself. And until you change that, you can kiss like this is incredibly demoralizing to so many parts of your base and not just one little like narrow constituency in Michigan that potentially you could make up with suburban women or something somewhere else. That's a very good point, Crystal. Camp Shane, one of America's longest-running weight loss camps for kids, promised extraordinary results. Campers who began the summer in heavy bodies were often unrecognizable when they left. In a society obsessed with being thin, it seemed like a miracle solution. But behind Camp Shane's facade of happy, transformed children was a dark underworld of sinister secrets. Kids were being pushed to their physical and emotional limits as the family that owned Shane turned a blind eye. Nothing about that camp was right. It was really actually like a horror movie. In this eight-episode series, we're unpacking and investigating stories

of mistreatment and re-examining the culture of fatphobia that enabled a flawed system to continue for so long. You can listen to all episodes of Camp Shame one week early and totally ad-free on iHeart True Crime Plus. So don't wait. Head to Apple Podcasts and subscribe today. always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission.

This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man.

We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote unquote drug thing. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. Got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote.

Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. All right, what are you taking a look at? On January 29th, a harrowing call came into the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. A six-year-old girl, Hind Rajab, was trapped, being shot at by Israeli occupation forces. Every other family member in the car had already been killed. In a call that lasted for hours, the terrified child begged the Red Crescent to please come and rescue her. Come take me, she says. Come take you? Please. I'm scared. Come quick. Call someone to come take me. Please. Okay, my dear. I will come and take you. Now a volunteer from the Red Crescent is coordinating so we can

come and take you. And you hear gunfire. There's gunfire around you? Yes, come take me. My dear, I swear I want to take you, but I can't right now. The family had been attempting to flee Gaza City. Hin's mother and older siblings were attempting the trek by foot. But because of the cold and the rain, Hinn's mother sent her in the car with her aunt, uncle, and cousins, thinking this would be safer and less arduous for her baby girl. But in a destroyed suburb of Gaza City, the car came under fire by the IDF. Now, the first call into the Red Crescent actually came from Hinn's 15-year-old cousin, Leon. Leon told them her parents and siblings had already been killed.

They are shooting at us. The tank is next to me. The call ended amid rapid gunfire and terrified shrieks. Next came that desperate call from Hind herself. The Red Crescent jumped into action to try to rescue this child. They reached out to the IDF in an attempt to secure safe passage for their ambulance and for the rescuers, using standard deconfliction practices to keep their own medics from coming under fire. For hours, they waited to hear back from the Israelis as Hind pleaded for help, telling them to please come, that she was afraid of the dark. Finally, after

three long hours, the Red Crescent got the green light. The ambulance had been cleared to move to Hinn's location. According to the Red Crescent dispatcher, it wasn't long before that ambulance also came under IDF fire. Quote, first, the paramedics said the Israeli forces are putting laser lights on them. And then we heard a gunfire sound before we lost the connection. It was like a gunfire or explosion. We were not sure of what happened. For days, the Red Crescent heard nothing from their medics and the heavy IDF presence made it too dangerous to send any additional rescuers. The organization was left to pose desperate pleas to the public on their social media channels, alerting the world to

Hinn's plight. Finally, on Saturday, after 12 days of worrying and no news, all of our worst fears were confirmed. Israeli troops moved out, and Hind's family was able to return to the area and locate the destroyed vehicle where Hind had issued her final desperate plea. In the car were the decomposing remains of Hind alongside her cousins, including Leon and her aunt and her uncle, and just out of reach, maybe a block away, was the charred remains of the ambulance which had been sent to rescue this little girl, who instead spent her final moments alone and completely terrified. Red Crescent crew Yusuf Zaino and Ahmed Al Madun were also murdered by the IDF in spite of being in a van clearly marked ambulance and in spite of having received explicit permission for the operation by the IDF. Now, you can see in this video, first you're looking here at the ambulance and then within sight down the road is the car where Hind spent her final hours. Now,

you can imagine these medic heroes so close to Hind, barely out of reach when their vehicle was targeted and their own lives taken. I hope all of these souls rest in peace, their final agony and torment now at an end. Targeting an ambulance, it's a war crime. Killing children, other civilians, also war crimes. There was no fighting ongoing in the area between Hamas and the IDF, so these vehicles were themselves targeted, not accidentally caught in the crossfire. Hind and Leon now take their place among the more than 13,000 Palestinian kids who have been killed by Israel since their assault on Gaza began. This is carnage that Joe Biden describes weekly as, quote, over the top. No.

This is massacring children, targeting medics, pushing an already terrorized and displaced people to God knows where. This is not over the top. No. This is massacring children, targeting medics, pushing an already terrorized and displaced people to God knows where. This is not over the top. This is genocide. The IDF has yet to comment on this particular atrocity. Perhaps they need some time to fabricate a Hamas command and control center under the ambulance or an intercepted audio recording of six-year-old Hind revealing she's actually a hardened Hamas terrorist. Liberal Western media jumped in to signal their concern with the most sanitized and accountability-free or welling language possible. As noted by academic Asal Rad, the premier outlets of Western journalism, The Times, The Post, CNN, and the BBC all failed to use the word killed or to so much as mention Israel in

their headlines about Hind's murder. New York Times choice here is emblematic. Quote, missing six-year-old and rescue team found dead in Gaza, aid group says, as if they just dropped dead under mysterious circumstances. Now, for the American taxpayers who are listening to this, you should also know that your tax dollars funded this horror. Shell fragments from an American-made M830A1 were found at the scene of the bombed-out Red Crescent ambulance. State Department spokesperson Matt Miller was asked about Hinn's killing and the use of American-made weapons. As usual, he really had nothing to say. On the killing of a six-year-old Hinn Rayab after an Israeli tank targeted their family car in Gaza.

The Geneva-based nonprofit Euromet Human Rights Monitor determined that the IDF is responsible for the bombing of the ambulance that attempted to rescue Hindi. And it also reported that American-made weapons was found at the bomb ambulance. Have you seen that report, and do you have any response? MR PRICE Yeah, we are devastated about the reports of the death of Hind Rajab. I will tell you that I have a little girl that's about to turn six myself, and so it is just a devastating account – a heartbreaking account for this child. And of course there

have been thousands of other children who have died as a result of this conflict. And every one of them is a tragedy that I know I can tell you everyone in the United States Government feels quite deeply. We have asked the Israeli authorities to investigate this incident on an urgent basis. We understand that they are doing so. We expect to see those results on a timely fashion, and they should include accountability measures as appropriate. Accountability measures as appropriate. Not going to hold my breath on that one. Secretary of State Tony Blinken says he will spend the rest

of his life thinking about the thousands of children killed in Gaza. I hope he and all the other criminals with blood on their hands will be haunted by Hind's face for every single second of the rest of their days. I hope they can't sleep at night imagining her final moments of terror. Unfortunately, I doubt any of them has enough of a soul left to even care. But make no mistake, while some have more direct culpability than others, the truth is we all failed Leon, we failed Yusuf, we failed Ahmed, and we all failed Hind. As Israel sets its sights now on Rafa, remember, millions of innocents, just like Hind and Leon, are sheltering there, seeking refuge with literally nowhere else to go. Each loss as devastating and tragic as that of this heartbreakingly adorable little girl who will now never see her seventh birthday. Bombs stamped made in America, snuffing out these precious lives, and our president occasionally emerging from his fog to issue

a weak protestation while rushing to ship more deadly child killing weapons. And Sagar, on that interaction. And if you, on that interaction... And if you want to hear my reaction to Crystal's monologue, become a premium subscriber today at BreakingPoints.com. Camp Shane, one of America's longest-running weight-loss camps for kids, promised extraordinary results. Campers who began the summer in heavy bodies were often unrecognizable when they left.

In a society obsessed with being thin, it seemed like a miracle solution. But behind Camp Shane's facade of happy, transformed children was a dark underworld of sinister secrets. Kids were being pushed to their physical and emotional limits as the family that owned Shane turned a blind eye. Nothing about that camp was right. It was really actually like a horror movie. In this eight-episode series, we're unpacking and investigating stories of mistreatment and re-examining the culture of fatphobia that enabled a flawed system to continue for so long. You can listen to all episodes of Camp Shame one week early and totally ad-free on iHeart True Crime Plus. So don't wait. Head to Apple Podcasts and subscribe today.

I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission.

This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives.

This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown.

We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real.

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Thank you guys so much for watching. We really appreciate you. CounterPoints is going to have more coverage probably on this subject, I'm assuming, as well as more on the Ukraine aid and all of that. So we will see you all on Thursday. Camp Shane, one of America's longest running weight loss camps for kids,

promised extraordinary results. But there were some dark truths behind Camp Shane, one of America's longest-running weight-loss camps for kids, promised extraordinary results. But there were some dark truths behind Camp Shane's facade of happy, transformed children. Nothing about that camp was right. It was really actually like a horror movie. Enter Camp Shame, an eight-part series examining the rise and fall of Camp Shane and the culture that fueled its decades-long success. You can listen to all episodes of Camp Shame one week early and totally ad-free on iHeart True Crime Plus. So don't wait. Head to Apple Podcasts and subscribe today. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.

This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I started a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter and it brings a face to it. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.