Tangle - Benjamin Netanyahu addresses Congress on the war in Gaza.

Episode Date: July 29, 2024

Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to Congress. On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress, his fourth such address as Israel’s leader. Netanyahu was invited to speak by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA); the next day, he visited with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, then met with former President Donald Trump. You can read today's podcast⁠ ⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠, our “Under the Radar” story ⁠here and today’s “Have a nice day” story ⁠here⁠.You can catch our trailer for the Tangle Live event at City Winery NYC. Full video coming soon!Check out Episode 5 of our podcast series, The Undecideds. Please give us a 5-star rating and leave a comment!Today’s clickables: A quick note (0:57), Quick hits (1:58), Today’s story (4:14) Left’s take (8:39), Right’s take (11:20), Israeli and Palestinian takes (13:55), Isaac’s take (16:42), Listener Question (24:00), Under the Radar (25:28), Numbers (26:16), Have a nice day (27:15)You can subscribe to Tangle by clicking here or drop something in our tip jar by clicking here. Take the survey: What was your impression of Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech? Let us know!Our podcast is written by Isaac Saul and edited and engineered by Jon Lall. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet 75. Our newsletter is edited by Managing Editor Ari Weitzman, Will Kaback, Bailey Saul, Sean Brady, and produced in conjunction with Tangle’s social media manager Magdalena Bokowa, who also created our logo. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The flu remains a serious disease. Last season, over 102,000 influenza cases have been reported across Canada, which is nearly double the historic average of 52,000 cases. What can you do this flu season? Talk to your pharmacist or doctor about getting a flu shot. Consider FluCellVax Quad and help protect yourself from the flu. It's the first cell-based flu vaccine authorized in Canada for ages 6 months and older, and it may be available for free in your province. Side effects and allergic reactions can occur, and 100% protection is not guaranteed. Learn more at flucellvax.ca. Based on Charles Yu's award-winning book, Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police

procedural who dreams about a world beyond Chinatown. When he inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, Willis begins to unravel a criminal web, his family's buried history, and what it feels like to be in the spotlight. Interior Chinatown is streaming November 19th, only on Disney+. From executive producer Isaac Saul,

this is Tangle. Good morning, good afternoon, and good evening, and welcome to the Tangle podcast, the place we get views from across the political spectrum, some independent thinking, and a little bit of my take. I'm your host, Isaac Saul, and on today's episode, we're going to be talking about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech before Congress. This happened last week on Wednesday, so we're a little behind on this one, but mostly because there was so much news last week. We had a ton to cover, and yeah, we had our deep dive on Kamala Harris last week on Friday. So we wanted to make sure we address this one. It's a big one. And there's a

ton going on in Israel and the region right now. Before we jump in, I do want to give a quick heads up that we did publish that deep dive on Kamala Harris on Friday on our website. Ari and I got into some of the stuff we covered in that edition in our Sunday podcast, which you can listen to. But there is a two-part series up on our website right now at readtangle.com. The first part is free for everyone. It's a deep dive on her upbringing, her rise in politics, her positions on major issues, how those positions have changed. In part two, we broke down arguments from Harris's supporters and from her critics, and then we shared our take on her five biggest strengths and weaknesses. Part two is behind a paywall. So the first part's free. The second part is for members only,

but you could go check it out, see if you want to subscribe. A lot of people have replied and commented. Seems to be a piece that's drawn a ton of interest. All right, with that out of the way, I'm going to pass it off to John for today's main story, and then I'll be back for my take. Thank you, Isaac, and welcome, everybody. Hope you had a fantastic weekend. Here are your quick hits for today. First up, the head of Venezuela's Electoral Commission declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner of the country's presidential election. Opposition leaders are alleging fraud, and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had serious concerns about the election. Number three, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to

clear homeless encampments across the state. Separately, the Park Fire in Northern California has now burned through over 350,000 acres and destroyed more than 130 buildings. Number four, President Biden announced his support for dramatic changes to the Supreme Court, including a constitutional amendment that would prohibit blanket immunity for presidents. And number five, an Ohio law took effect today that restricts abortions after cardiac activity is detectable in a fetus, with exceptions for rape, incest, and to save the life of the mother. Capitol Hill tonight, the welcome and the protests with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressing a joint meeting of Congress, making the case for continued U.S. support for the war in Gaza, saying, quote, give us weapons faster, we'll finish the job faster. His address met with

a warm welcome in the chamber, but dozens of lawmakers were no-shows, including Vice President Harris and Senator J.D. Vance, while outside protesters clashed with police. Meantime, back here in the U.S., Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveling to Mar-a-Lago to meet with former President Trump, mending their relationship shaken after Netanyahu recognized that Joe Biden won the 2020 election. The meeting 24 hours after Netanyahu met with President Biden and Vice President Harris and Trump criticizing his new opponent. The meeting 24 hours after Netanyahu met with President Biden and Vice President Harris, and Trump criticizing his new opponent.

Today, a warm greeting from Donald Trump for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Mar-a-Lago. The two men meeting face to face after three years of frosty relations, ever since Netanyahu congratulated Joe Biden for beating Trump in 2020, infuriating Trump, who to this day denies he lost that election. On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Congress, his fourth such address as Israel's leader. Netanyahu was invited to speak by House Speaker Mike Johnson. The next day, he visited with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, then met with former President Donald Trump. In his address, Netanyahu pledged to achieve total victory against Hamas, saying a new Gaza can emerge only after Hamas is destroyed.

The war in Gaza could end tomorrow if Hamas surrenders, disarms, and returns all the hostages, he said. But if they don't, Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas's military capabilities and its rule in Gaza and bring all of our hostages home. Netanyahu described a post-war vision of a demilitarized and de-radicalized Gaza, saying Israel would not seek to resettle Gaza but would retain overriding security control and work with regional partners to find new leaders for the territory. Netanyahu also emphasized the long-standing ties and shared security interests between the U.S. and Israel, noting Iran's role in funding proxy groups against both countries and telling Congress, our fight is your fight and our

victory will be your victory. During his address, Netanyahu thanked President Biden for his half a century of friendship to Israel, his tireless efforts to get the hostages home, and for proudly calling himself a Zionist. He also thanked former President Donald Trump for brokering the Abraham Accords, moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, and recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. Dozens of Democratic lawmakers boycotted the address in protest. Representative Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian-American member of Congress, attended, but held up a sign that said, War Criminal on one side one side and guilty of genocide on the other. Hostages freed from Gaza and families

of those still in captivity protested inside the House chamber, with some donning t-shirts demanding a ceasefire and hostage deal. Those protesters were removed from the chamber. Meanwhile, thousands of people gathered in Washington, D.C. to protest the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and Israel's ongoing military operation. Videos capturing the chaotic scenes of protesters clashing with Capitol Police and some people burning American flags went viral on social media. Vice President Harris condemned those protesters in a statement. I condemn any individuals associating with the brutal terrorist organization Hamas, which has vowed to annihilate the state of Israel and kill Jews, the vice president said. I condemn the burning of the American flag.

That flag is the symbol of our highest ideals as a nation and represents the promise of America. Netanyahu took a harsh tone with Americans protesting Israel's response in Gaza, calling them useful idiots of Iran, and suggesting groups like Gays for Gaza are akin to Chickens for KFC. On Saturday, three days after the address, a rocket strike in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights killed 12 people, most of them Druze teenagers and children. The strike hit a playground in Majal Shams, a Druze town. Israel and the U.S. accused Hezbollah, the Lebanon-based political party and militant group

that the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization, of responsibility for the strike. Hezbollah denied any connection. Netanyahu ended his U.S. trip early to return to Israel, and Israel responded with an airstrike of its own deep in Lebanon on Sunday. Meanwhile, the war in Gaza goes on. Israeli ground troops are currently fighting Hamas in a town in the southern Gaza Strip, while backed by airstrikes. The Israeli military ordered civilians to evacuate the area a week ago before pushing forward with tanks as part of its attempt to clear out Hamas militants.

Negotiations for a ceasefire and hostage release continue, with negotiators from Israel, Egypt, and Qatar meeting with CIA Director William Burns in Rome, Italy this weekend. Aid groups in the Hamas-controlled Gaza health ministry say that more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting. That number does not distinguish between combatants and innocents. The Israeli Defense Forces estimates Palestinian fighters account for about one-third of the Palestinians killed. Israel has lost about 325 soldiers in the fighting since the October 7th attacks that killed over 1,200 people. Over 100 hostages remain in Gaza.

Today, we're going to break down some of the arguments from the left, right, and Israeli and Palestinian voices on Netanyahu's speech and the state of the war, and then Isaac's take. We'll be right back after this quick commercial break. Based on Charles Yu's award-winning book, Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural who dreams about a world beyond Chinatown. When he inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, Willis begins to unravel a criminal web, his family's buried history, and what it feels like to be in the spotlight. Interior Chinatown is streaming November 19th, only on Disney+. The flu remains a serious disease. Last season, over 102,000 influenza cases have been reported across Canada, which is nearly double the historic average over 102,000 influenza cases have been reported across Canada,

which is nearly double the historic average of 52,000 cases. What can you do this flu season? Talk to your pharmacist or doctor about getting a flu shot. Consider FluCellVax Quad and help protect yourself

from the flu. It's the first cell-based flu vaccine authorized in Canada for ages six months and older, and it may be available for free in your province. Side effects and allergic reactions can occur, and 100% protection is not guaranteed. Learn more at flucellvax.ca.

First up, let's start with what the left is saying. The left is mostly critical of the speech, arguing it amounted to political posturing. Some note that Netanyahu's comments foreshadow a broader war in the Middle East. In MSNBC, Nayyar Ahak wrote, Netanyahu wanted to project strength. His Trumpian speech did the opposite. Netanyahu's bombast was out of sync with reality. He essentially delivered an Israeli version of Trump's infamous American carnage speech, offering no calls for peace and instead playing on the idea that the world is in upheaval in a clash of barbarism versus civilization, implied as the idea that Netanyahu's view of Israeli policy is the only legitimate one, Haack said. Meanwhile, two-thirds of Israelis want Netanyahu to follow Biden's lead and exit stage left, with recent polling showing dramatic support for Netanyahu

to resign. Netanyahu could have quietly maintained the U.S. financial support and left the American public to wrangle with its own political demons. Instead, he decided the value of standing ovations from mostly Republicans and levying direct insults at American college students by calling them useful idiots was worth the risk of reminding a divided American public what an opportunist Netanyahu is, Haack wrote. All Netanyahu has shown to the global community is that he is a failed leader who lives in a world of alternative facts and, like Trump, he is a danger to the democratic future of his people. In Bloomberg, James Stavridis said, Netanyahu succeeded in sending a message to Tehran. Netanyahu successfully used the occasion to send three distinct messages to three distinct audiences. First, he was speaking to the American

people. He urged them to give Israel the popular support and the tools to fight against the barbarism of Hamas. Second, he was speaking to the Israeli people, insisting that Hamas must be completely destroyed, a task that will take months, if not years, Tavridis wrote. Third, while it received far less media attention, he was speaking to the mullahs in Tehran. His message to them was a sharp warning to cease and desist or face a wider war in the Middle East. Netanyahu talked of building an economic corridor from the Gulf to Europe involving energy, transportation, and communications technology.

In a war with Iran, however, Israel's biggest need would be vastly more robust military support from Washington. The U.S. would need to increase not only dollars, most of which would float back to U.S. defense contractors, but also enhanced technology transfers, Stavridis said. Netanyahu's speech reminded me of what Churchill later called a gathering storm in Europe in the late 1930s, which led to World War II. It is beginning to feel that way in the Middle East today. All right, that is it for what the left is saying, which brings us to what the right is saying.

The right praises the speech and criticizes the democratic lawmakers who boycotted. Some say Netanyahu failed to lay out a coherent vision for the end of the war in Gaza. In the American Enterprise Institute, Samuel J. Abrams argued Netanyahu is right about the threat of terrorism in the Middle East. Netanyahu delivered a master class address to the joint session of Congress. In his remarks, Netanyahu argued that the current conflicts and the dangers in the Middle East, from Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran, are not just issues that threaten the safety and security of Israel, but existential threats to Western stability and institutions, Abrams said. Sadly, these powerful words were missed by many congressional Democrats who refused to attend Netanyahu's address to Congress

and will not listen to or even consider the prime minister's valuable ideas. While one can disagree with Israel's approach to self-defense, Netanyahu's larger point on the global order should not be ignored, Abrams added. There are nations and terror groups scattered throughout the world that are organized and funded and want to remake the world order to undermine democracy. The violence that we see around the nation and in Europe related to Israel shows that this battle is far bigger than Israel itself. Hamas and its supporters are trying to create chaos and disruptions. In Newsweek, Daniel R. DePetris wrote about Netanyahu's boring speech to Congress.

For those of us who had hoped the Prime Minister would provide more information on how he plans to wrap up the war in Gaza and manage the Palestinian enclave once the fighting stops, the hour-long address was a massive disappointment, DePetra said. Netanyahu did what he thought he had to do. He thanked Republicans and Democrats, as well as Donald Trump and Joe Biden, for their support of Israel throughout the years. He threw red meat into the crowd of lawmakers by stating emphatically that America and Israel must stand together. Netanyahu was also extremely defensive. He essentially equated all American protesters against the war as sympathizers of Hamas and Iran's useful idiots. No specifics were offered about the state of the

truce talks, why Netanyahu reportedly toughened the terms at the last minute, and why his government still believes full victory against Hamas is possible despite reservations from Israel's own military officials to Petrusrut. We didn't learn more about Israel's post-war plans either. Who will take over control of Gaza? Who will take over the job of reconstruction? Answers to all these questions are about as thin as tissue paper. All right, that is it for what the left and the right are saying, and now let's take a look at what some Israeli and Palestinian writers are saying. Israeli writers say Netanyahu's speech was strong but questioned the timing of his trip to the U.S. Palestinian writers argue the U.S. should not have hosted Netanyahu at all. In the Jerusalem Post, Susan Hadis-Roleff wrote,

Netanyahu's address to Congress only painted part of Israelis' reality. There is no question that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fourth address to a joint session of Congress last Wednesday was an impressive performance. He presented Israel's basic arguments fully and succinctly. The vicious Hamas attack on the Gaza border communities on October 7th left over 1,200 men and women, from children to senior citizens, mutilated and butchered, homes ransacked, looted and or burned down, Roloff said. He also spoke of the dangers confronting Israel and all Western democracies from Iran and its proxies. The greatest problem is that Netanyahu's address portrayed only part of Israel's reality. Glaringly, there is Netanyahu's total refusal to assume any responsibility for the

surprise attack of October 7th or for the many mishaps and failures of the past nine and a half months. Furthermore, Netanyahu is rapidly losing his hold over many of his ministers and the support of a majority of the citizens of Israel, thereby making his bravado somewhat hollow, Roloff wrote. With so many unresolved, painful issues on the Israeli agenda, perhaps last week was not the right time for Netanyahu to appear before Congress. In the electronic intifada, Bassem Naim said, Netanyahu's visit is a shameful moment for America. Why does the U.S. continue to roll out the red carpet for a leader who stands accused by the International Court of Justice of genocidal crimes against Palestinians? Americans' longstanding self-portrayal as a champion of democracy, justice, and human rights

doesn't deceive us. We are the victims of U.S. wars, keenly aware of how far Washington deviates from the principles of justice and liberty, Name wrote. Americans should be ashamed of welcoming and honoring an individual accused of the most appalling war crimes, including genocide, and providing him a platform to propagate his distortions. In a just international order presided over by a fair superpower that adheres to international law and courts, Netanyahu would have been questioned or even arrested upon his entry into the U.S. However, we know this is not how the world operates. Thus, we urge the American people to closely observe how this moment unfolds and listen to what Netanyahu says.

This is one of those pivotal times that will be remembered in history, a name said. History will neither forget nor forgive those who have subjugated the Palestinians or supported their subjugators. All right, let's head over to Isaac for his take. All right, that is it for what the left and the right are saying with some views from the Israeli and Palestinian side of the conflict, which brings us to my take. So it's really hard for me to summarize my thoughts about this conflict. I think anybody who's been reading my writing on this knows that I struggle a lot with this. And if you're new here, you're looking for a summary of where I stand, I think my suggestion is to read these two pieces. First, my Zionist call for a ceasefire, and then my follow-up piece where I made the best argument that I could that I was wrong about my argument in that piece. But my reaction to Netanyahu's speech was much less complicated

than my general opinion about this conflict. I felt despair. I genuinely believe that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is a failed leader. I deem him responsible for the security failures of October 7th, a responsibility he has yet to take ownership of. I deem him responsible for the nine-month war that has followed and for which there is no end in sight. I deem him responsible for the deepening divisions within Israeli society before the war and for the current toxicity of Israel's government. Many Israelis agree with me, which is not surprising. Few prime ministers have overseen a more tumultuous, tragic, and divisive period than Netanyahu has over the last few years. Even if he refuses to discuss it, he is partially

responsible for giving rise to Hamas, the very enemy he is now tasked with fighting. The criticisms of his speech that you'll find in the Israeli press, even in the more conservative Jerusalem Post under what Israeli writers are saying, are telling. And to be clear, I appreciated some elements of his speech. Netanyahu spoke a lot about the Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas. Recently, I interviewed Alon Gott, an Israeli man who escaped Hamas on October 7th, whose wife was held hostage for six weeks, and whose sister is still being held in Gaza nine months later. His story is harrowing, and I think making sure that a U.S. audience understands the psychological impact of stories

like Gat's was the right thing for Netanyahu to do. For his part, Gat was in the House chamber during the speech wearing a shirt demanding a hostage deal. He was removed and arrested minutes later, which I think is shameful. I appreciated Netanyahu's call out to Muslim soldiers serving in the IDF and the points he made about Israel's democratic, multi-ethnic values. I appreciated the anecdotes of sacrifices made by Israeli soldiers whose stories are often untold in the U.S. and foreign press. I appreciated the hard truths, and they are truths, about Iran's role in this conflict and the potential for a wider war in the region. I appreciated his calls for de-radicalization in Gaza, as it's true that Hamas have been disastrous governors of Gaza, and one of the most destructive things they've

done is indoctrinate childrens into hating Jews and Israel. I appreciated his criticism of some ignorant American leftists who have gone beyond protesting the humanitarian crisis and started adopting cheers, slogans, and talking points from Hamas, and those burning American flags outside Congress only bolstered his points. But much of the speech was tough to listen to. It was meant to divide Americans further, on an already incredibly divisive issue, and a foreign leader intentionally using rhetoric meant to incite anger among our own political factions in the halls of Congress should be genuinely offensive. While he referred to the hostages, people like Alon Gat's sister, he gave little update on the negotiations, took no accountability for his war cabinet's failure to get them home, and he laid out no clear path to do so anytime soon. Netanyahu's definition of

quote-unquote total victory, Israel will fight until we destroy Hamas's military capabilities and its rule in Gaza and bring all our hostages home, end quote, provided a harrowing reminder of where we are headed. U.S. intelligence estimates that Israel has only killed 30% of Hamas's military wing. Meanwhile, Hamas has used Israel's incursion to recruit thousands more combatants to the war, so the number of Hamas fighters and leaders is seemingly inexhaustible. That means the war will not end when Hamas is destroyed, but when Netanyahu decides to stop. Even at its current aggressive rate, roughly 14,000 killed in the first eight months of the war, and without factoring in Hamas

recruitment, the Israeli army would need another two years to kill some 90% of Hamas combatants. Considering that Israel estimates about two Palestinian civilians die for every Hamas fighter, the implications of that kind of timeline are horrifying. Netanyahu made no acknowledgement of the suffering of Palestinian civilians, or how that suffering will continue if this war goes on. All he could muster was that civilian death is a tragedy for Israel but a strategy for Hamas. No acknowledgement of the bad apples in his own ranks or the IDF's mistakes that have killed Palestinian civilians, aid workers, and even Israeli hostages. Nothing. Instead, Netanyahu completely flattened the conflict

into a narrative of good versus evil, democracy versus barbarism. Many on the left criticize this language as dehumanizing and for dangerously conflating Hamas combatants with Ghazan civilians. I think those are strong and important criticisms, even if we can expect some level of dehumanization of enemies in war. But, reducing Hamas to simply evil and reducing the Palestinian movement to barbarism impairs an audience grappling for understanding. It makes it impossible to grasp this conflict with any depth. In my interview with Israeli analyst Haviv Rededgert, he made the strong point that Hamas is a group operating with deep political, religious, and philosophical beliefs, beliefs

with nuance founded on centuries of Muslim thought. Understanding what motivates Hamas and support for Hamas is critical to achieving any lasting peace, but the reductive terms Netanyahu employs will only obscure that understanding. And, of course, Netanyahu's vision for the future includes few realistic steps toward peace. He called for overriding security control of whatever post-war Gaza exists. It's hard to interpret that any other way than as a return to 20 years ago, when Israeli soldiers were occupying Gaza, putting Israel and Palestinian at a constant state of low-level war for the foreseeable future.

So, no end to this war in sight. No imagined future without Israeli soldiers on the ground in Gaza, and not a single fresh idea for lasting peace. In the end, Netanyahu's speech mostly did damage. The Israeli prime minister has not taken accountability for his failures, and it's easy to see this diplomatic visit as an attempt to save his hide domestically against rising demands to hold an election to replace him. I think Susan Haydes-Roloff summed it up best in her piece in the Jerusalem Post, when she said,

Netanyahu is rapidly losing his hold over many of his ministers and the support of a majority of the citizens of Israel, thereby making his bravado somewhat hollow. With so many unresolved painful issues on the Israeli agenda, perhaps last week was not the right time for Netanyahu to appear before Congress. week was not the right time for Netanyahu to appear before Congress. We'll be right back after this quick break. Based on Charles Yu's award-winning book, Interior Chinatown follows the story of Willis Wu, a background character trapped in a police procedural who dreams about a world beyond Chinatown. When he inadvertently becomes a witness to a crime, Willis begins to unravel a criminal web, his family's buried history, and what it feels like to be in the spotlight.

Interior Chinatown is streaming November 19th, only on Disney+. The flu remains a serious disease. Last season, over 102,000 influenza cases have been reported across Canada, which is nearly double the historic average of 52,000 influenza cases have been reported across Canada, which is nearly double the historic average of 52,000 cases. What can you do this flu season? Talk to your pharmacist or doctor about getting a flu shot. Consider FluCellVax Quad and help protect yourself from the flu. It's the first cell-based flu vaccine authorized in Canada for ages six months and older, and it may be available for free in your province. Side effects and allergic reactions can occur, and 100% protection is not guaranteed. Learn more at flucellvax.ca. All right, that is it for my take, which brings us to your questions answered.

This one's from Carol in Richfield, Wisconsin. Carol said, are you concerned that the RNC did not provide you with admission to their event? I'm asking because I don't know if that is common or were you pegged as a liberal? Okay, no, I'm not concerned, actually. And for those who missed it, I mentioned last week that we got denied a press pass to the RNC but accepted one to the DNC. First, I don't think it had anything to do with us. Humbly, I think we are

one of the most balanced news organizations in the country. We have an audience of liberals, conservatives, and independents, and we've been rated center and highly factual by media-biased watchdogs. Second, I don't think there were blacklisting reporters they saw as left-leaning. Loads of obviously liberal journalists got press passes to the RNC, from major TV news outlets like CNN to writers from The Atlantic. Truly, I have no idea why we got rejected. Maybe we filled out the application wrong. Maybe we were too late. Maybe some organizer just didn't know who we were and didn't take the time to look us up. You usually don't get explanations about that stuff, which is a bummer, and I would have loved to have been there. But I'm excited that we got approved for the DNC and very excited to offer

some unique coverage of that event in August. All right, that is it for your questions answered. I'm going to send it back to John for the rest of the pod, and I'll see you guys tomorrow. Back to John for the rest of the pod, and I'll see you guys tomorrow. Thanks, Isaac. Here's your Under the Radar story for today, folks. U.S. fertility rates hit a historic low last year and are not expected to go up anytime soon. In 2023, a Pew Research survey found 47% of U.S. adults younger than 50 without kids said they were unlikely to have children, up 10 percentage points from 2018. A new Pew survey explored the reasons for this trend and found 57% of 18 to 49-year-olds said they just don't want to have children, while 44% said they were focusing on other things, and 38% said they were concerned about the state of the world.

36% cited the costs of raising a child, and 26% cited concerns about the environment. Pew has this story, and there's a link in today's episode description. All right, next up is our numbers section. The percentage of Israelis who think Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to resign over his failures on October 7th is 72%, Benjamin Netanyahu needs to resign over his failures on October 7th is 72%, according to a July 2024 poll from Israel's Channel 12. The percentage of Israelis who say Netanyahu is most responsible for the security failures on October 7th is 39%. The percentage of Israelis who support a ceasefire deal with Hamas to secure the return of the hostages is 64%. The estimated remaining number of hostages who have not been released by Hamas is 110, one-third of whom are believed to be dead. The number of U.S. lawmakers

who did not attend Netanyahu's address to Congress is 96, according to Anadolu. The number of Republican lawmakers who did not attend the address was one, Representative Thomas Massey of Kentucky. who did not attend the address was one, Representative Thomas Massey of Kentucky. And the number of days since Israel's military operation in Gaza began is 290. And last but not least, our Have a Nice Day story. The San Manuel Band of Mission Indians have a secret weapon against wildfires, goats. As part of their diet, the goats eat dry bush, grass, and other natural materials susceptible to fueling fires. In total, about 400 goats have been used in fire prevention in San Bernardino since 2019. Lynn Valbuena, chairwoman of the San Manuel Mission Band of Indians,

comments that caring for the land is a sacred duty of the tribe, and stewardship is the responsibility given to our people by the creator. KTLA 5 has this story, and there's a link in today's episode description. All right, everybody, that is it for today's episode. As always, if you'd like to support our work, please go to retangle.com and sign up for a membership. We'll be right back here tomorrow. For Isaac and the rest of the crew, this is John Law signing off. Have a great day, y'all. Peace. Our podcast is written by me, Isaac Saul, and edited and engineered by John Law.

The script is edited by our managing editor, Ari Weitzman, Will Kabak, Bailey Saul, and Sean Brady. The logo for our podcast was designed by Magdalena Bokova, who is also our social media manager. Music for the podcast was produced by Diet75. If you're looking for more from Tangle, please go to readtangle.com and check out our website.