I am furious. Furious at Biden for not putting a halt to this war. Furious at Netanyahu for slaughtering innocent children and women, and, incidentally, maybe some Hamas fighters. This is how Biden will lose the next election. Left-wingers like myself will find it impossible to vote for him after his allowing this war to continue. Jews on the left, Arabs, fed-up democrats, may not be able to hold their noses tight enough. It will be because of Biden that Trump wins. I'm glad that Michael Moore believes that Trump won't win, but I'm not so certain. I hope he's right. I've heard one expert say that in 20 years there won't be any such thing as Israel because of the indiscriminate killings. And all because Bibi doesn't want to go to jail. Sound familiar? (See Bush Two.) And there's the guilt, on our side, over the Holocaust. So now, instead of the Jews from Europe, the Palestinians are getting sacrificed and slaughtered. (Could we airlift them here?)
Ever since 2006 I've helped democrats get elected by calling people and knocking on doors--Obama, Bernie, and Bernie again in 2020. I will not be voting for Biden. And don't try to guilt-trip me, because that doesn't work. It never works. Some lefty friends are also not voting for him. The dems have sold out to the MIC and other corporations. As Ilhan Omar so elegantly put it, it's all about the Benjamins.
Oh, yes, Biden was supposed to "stop" this war... how, exactly? What do you think would have pacified the Jewish bloc in this country, cutting all aid to Israel? And I sincerely hope you enjoy the end of democracy when Trump wins as a result of you & your ilk not being able to abide voting for Biden. Not a "guilt-trip," a simple statement of fact. You do you, but be prepared to bear the brunt of the condemnation that will come if what you wish for comes to pass.
No.That was a guilt trip. If you disagree then you don't know from guilt. (Yes, I'm Jewish, and lived and worked in Israel from 1975-1976.) And you are also wrong about my "wishing" Trump to get elected. I'm terrified of that. Terrified. Yes, it's the end of our democracy and the beginning of a facsist country where nobody is safe. But, with Biden at the helm, we are heading in that direction, anyway, just more slowly. I see Cop City and I see that this is how the government, with a weaponized police force, will control its people, namely me with my "save the earth, one earthworm at a time" sign, protesting the oil companies' power over all of us, and protesting the powerful grip of the MIC.
Yes, I used to think Israel was in the right. And then they bulldozed a one thousand year old olive grove because it belonged to a Palestinian. That act is specifically proscribed in the Torah. The Hebrews were exhorted to kill every man, woman, and child in the land of Canaan, but not allowed to touch the vineyards and fruit trees. So there goes the religious reason to control Judea and Sumeria.
And you mention the "Jewish bloc". It is divided now, so Biden may lose a good portion of it. Do you think he'll lose the Arab vote? The Persian vote? The anti-war vote? The environmental vote?
Holy cow, good luck to us. All of us. We are heading down a very bumpy road.
I agree, wholeheartedly, with much of what you're saying here. I, too, protest the desecration of the earth, the oil companies' power, the MIC, etc. I also see police that are evolving under democratic state governance. Yes, GOP-run states are weaponizing everything under the sun to prevent any minority from voicing their opinion - either via protest or at the voting booth.
And I was raised to believe that Israel deserved our assistance. I sat with my mother watching the events in 1967. I spent time working with the world's first Humanistic Rabbi, Sherwin Wine. He was a marvel, but loved Israel with all his heart. Then I learned how the Palestinians are treated, how they have been systematically oppressed and targeted. How they've been rounded up into enclaves similar to (but nowhere near like) the happenings in Europe in WWII. It is horrific, inhuman, and I strongly suspect that Bibi has had a hand in encouraging Hamas to incite the violence - so he'd have his excuse to wipe them (and most of the Palestinians) off the map of human existence.
Yes, Biden may well lose a good part of the Jewish bloc, but he would lose a good portion regardless of which way he turned. Cut off aid to Israel? Good Jewish Americans will cut him off. Continue to supply Israel? Good Jewish Americans like you will cut him off. Along with the Palestinian Americans, Arabs, Persians (as many Iranians in America call themselves), anti-war, environmentalists, etc. Still, it is not as binary as one might wish. Biden still represents the *possibility* of getting back on track, as he & his administration managed to do with the pandemic. Trump offers people like you and me nothing. Along with Biden, however, we NEED a Democratic Congress! As long as the GOP can derail any initiative (especially in the Senate), we are still at risk!
He let his long held and erroneous beliefs about Israel and its usefulness to US (we trade weapons for their spying technology) along with the draw of a lot of very wealthy donors (what’s he up to from just the recent weeks? $70M+?) get the best of him and his ego. He had nary a clue how informed many Americans are about Israel’s regime and its decades of atrocities to the Palestinian people.
The Dems need to heed the warnings and convince him to step aside. There’s no path for his redemption on this one. Too many Josh Paul’s out here.
Hell, ask Josh Paul if he’ll run (I know. He’s too sane for that.)
Enjoy the fallout when Trump wins and installs himself as "Dictator for LIfe" rather than just on "Day One." I've seen this scenario before in 2016 and we barely escaped with democracy intact. If you think Trump will allow anyone not demonstrably loyal to him to participate in government, you are sadly mistaken.
So I should choose the candidate who chose the slaughter of thousands and continues to stick with his decision?
No! Do not blame the voter.
Hold the Democratic Party responsible for their decision to ignore the fact that Biden is swimming in the blood of thousands of innocent, defenseless civilians.
There is time to raise a better candidate. The election is not tomorrow. If the Democratic Party refuses to see that their candidate will not win because he has lost the support of many people who backed him despite reservations in 2020 and MADE HIS ELECTION POSSIBLE, then we, as people of conscious, cannot be expected to walk into a voting booth and endorse the death warrant he placed on the heads of the Palestinian people.
Remember Netanyahu wants Trump back, two right-wing, dictatorish peas in a pod. Remember the Muslim ban? Trump would be all about helping Netanyahu kill even more Palestinians. Biden is trying to stop it, but there's only so much he can do. There's quite a moral distinction there. You want better candidates? That's the long game. Right now, the world is on fire and much of it is in danger of slipping out of democracy. What you are advocating is the definition of cutting off your nose to spite your face. The problem is that you'll condemn the rest of us into some dystopian nightmare along with you. Please, I'm begging you - don't do this.
By embracing the right wing dictator and giving him unlimited support?
By doubling down on that decision at every opportunity?
By authorizing more armaments without conditions to the tune of many times the already approved annual gifts?
By suggesting the Palestinian death toll is inflated?
By vetoing the UN’s call for a ceasefire?
By sending his envoys to hold press conferences with Netanyahu to voice our firm support for Israel?
Where is the outrage?
Why are American voters left with the choice between 2 evils and told to “play the long game?”
That has never worked. And this is a bridge too far. A vote for Biden is a vote for genocide.
The sooner the Democratic Party understands that the need to stop hand wringing while watching polls and accept they’ve backed the wrong horse, the faster we can campaign for a more just candidate.
I still have yet to see anyone suggest what Biden could have done, or even still *could* do, to stop the slaughter of Palestinians. We do know, unless one has been sleeping, that Trump *will* go after any and every one who has been part of Biden's Administration, a Never Trumper, or in any way connected to any of his court cases. Sometimes, the choice isn't as binary as you'd like it to be. I may not be happy with Biden's actions vis a vis Israel and the Palestinians, but I'll be damned if I'll sit on my ass & hand my country over to the neo-Nazis.
No, it's not the "obligation of the voter" to "choose" which 'genocidal' leader they'd prefer. Sit on your butt and you will get the one that YOU deserve, but I don't think a lot of the rest of us deserve what you and your ilk feel entitled to condemn us to having.
I echo your comment in its entirety, this debacle is on the Corporate Dem party which Biden is a charter member of! I couldn’t pull a lever for him if he was running against Satan, my hope is that the Dems will to#s in the towel and choose a replacement before all is lost! Muslims, Blacks of both sexes, youth, many Jews are unable to support him. Carville, Axelrod, Ignatius all know it’s a looming disaster! I pray that before it’s too late this entire forum and our leader Michael will state the same clearly and in a timely way!
There is a safe space for them 3.5 km from Khan Younis. Hamas refuses to allow them to move there. Just as they would refuse them to evacuate by ship off the coast.
I'm not very insightful into international relations, but dirty tricks sometimes become very evident to me.
I read that Netanyahu was funding Hamas for years. Is it possible that Bibi put Hamas up to the October 7 attack so he could claim there was a national emergency, and he wouldn't have to stand trial?
Not only that. The analyst with unit 8200 knew that Hamas was practicing and preparing for this attack and warned her colonel. He ignored her. The arrogance! First, yeah, she's a woman. Second, the IDF and Mossad know all, so she couldn't possibly know more than they! The whole thing is agonizingly disturbing.
The terrorists were off line and not even using cell phones so typical IDF knowing all technology had some low tech blind spots. Israel fights of dozens of attacks a week (before the latest insanity) and hears of many more. It is really not surprising that some more of the same got lost in the sauce.
This was an eye-witness account. Which was dismissed. So it was known about. The answer to the analyst was that Hamas was too weak to launch an attack on Israel--coudn't do it. IDF had better things to do. It was a whole giant carrot in the sauce.
Your podcast is a must listen for me. I've been a voracious reader about the Israeli /Gaza conflict, including reading several Israeli papers, daily.
This is the first time Ive heard that Bibi stopped the continued release of hostages. I kept reading that Hamas ran out of people to exchange.
I don't like Bibi and want him out of office.
I agree with you about the carnage in Gaza. It has to stop. There needs to be more food and water. And a government that actually cares about their citizens and teaches them love. And uses the funds that arrive for the rebuilding of homes, and a viable country.
Every day there's footage from Israel of more tunnels. Giant tunnels. More and better bombs, missiles and guns. Tons of them. From what I-have seen Gaza is one giant war effort. There are rocket launchers in mosques. Tunnel entrances in tons of houses. Mostly in children's rooms. Hamas, They have the full support of Iran. I agree with you that there needs to be new Israeli elections- immediately. I believe that's what Biden told Bibi at his visit.
Thank you for sharing that most Americans like the Jewish faith best. That warms my heart. I want to find ways to build community and love for one another. Thank you for your ♥️
Well Michael, maybe you should also mention that Israel was created by ethnically cleansing Palestinians from their land, that Israel with the support of the US and other settler colonial countries and the mothership of settler colonialism, Western Europe, has been thwarting the establishment of a Two State Solution. As an occupied people Palestinians have the right to armed resistance. As an occupier Israel does not have any rights - only duties. It is time to call Israel what it is - a settler colonial apartheid genocidal state.
It is not my job to tell the occupied how to resist their occupation when my own skin is safe. Israel is a settler colonial apartheid genocidal country. I have gone through your other posts in this thread. You are clearly a supporter of Israel and are offering flimsy excuse for Israeli intransigence. Israel has imposed a brutal illegal blockade on Gaza for sixteen years. Israel has periodically bombed Gaza and called it “ Mowing the lawn”. Palestinians have tried non violence ( “ Gaza March for Freedom”)- Israeli snipers killed two hundred civilians and maimed two thousand more.
I have been so sad and angry about all of this. The first thing that I just cannot understand is why people say they will allow Trump to win because they don't like how Biden is handling this. Just how do you think Trump would handle this, other than probably also sending in Americans to help with the flattening Gaza, oh and cutting off Ukraine and allowing Russia to come in and slaughter even more people. Secondly, Biden has been trying to stop Israel from doing this, but Netanyahu is hell bent on leveling the place and killing anything that moves. Israel is our ally and when they were attacked, we were right to stick by them, but since then they've been on an inexcusable murderous rampage and the world (not just us) needs to put pressure on them to stop it. Politically, Biden can't win because both the Jewish voting block and the Arab (especially in Michigan) voting block are upset no matter what he does. The problem is the right-wing and Netanyahu, not Joe Biden. He can only do so much. If you can't see that and vote in a way that allows Trump to win, you will destroy any semblance of decency in our Politics, not to mention our democracy. There's also judges to think about. I'm sorry, but you can take your protest vote and shove it. You think it's bad now, just wait if Trump gets back in power.
Well, it's not just my protest vote. It's my activism, as well. From 2006 I've made 4,000 phone calls or more, asking people to walk in their precincts to get out the dem vote. (50 state solution.) I was "community coordinator" for the county party here. I've walked hundreds of precincts over the years, knocked on thousands of doors, and was responsible for the 61 people doing the same. So, yeah, my vote and more. And now I'm just disappointed, fed up, with the party. In 2020, walking for Bernie, I met lots of registered dems on my list who were not even interested in voting. "I had hope for change", as one fellow told me. "I didn't get change, and I lost hope." How will you reach these people? I tried. Did you try? Is your method of guilt-tripping, oh, I mean, scolding, working?
I'm still on the executive board of my local dem club. I will still get out the vote in my precinct and will vote for the person I think will best lead or contribute to this country. That's the whole idea of a democracy, right? You get to vote for whom you want--in the primaries. Let your voice be heard. When I call people, I simply ask them to vote. (Oh. That's right. I've also made hundreds and hundreds of phone calls into other states. Lately it was into Kansas. Those voters love their blue state, and yes, they claim it's a blue state. Just gerrymandered.) I highly recommend doing this. It's a joy to connect with these wonderful Americans from all over the country.
YES!!! Your caveat... "...in the primaries." is EVERYTHING!!! <3 Thank you, you have reaffirmed my faith in the overall intelligence, decency, sanity, and goodness of my fellow Americans. <3 <3 <3
Yes, I have door-knocked and phone-banked more times than I can count. Firsthand, I know the scripts provided by the candidates are usually milquetoast and don't get across the urgency of the situation. I was just expressing my frustration that people think that somehow by allowing Trump to win, that it's better than being disappointed in the Democratic Party. I also get very frustrated with people vote in one election and don't get the magic change they want, so they give up. One thing I've got to hand to Republicans is that they know this and play the long game. They vote R in unity no matter who it is over years and years. For people with a more liberal bent, it's like corralling cats. So yes, I may have lost some patience with people who aren't looking at the bigger picture and say things like, "They're all the same." They're not - not even by a long shot. Yes, the Democratic party needs to improve, but that is the long game. That is starting at the bottom and working up for years. If Trump gets in, forget the long game, it's game over.
Please vote people! The republicans in general have shown they want a dictatorship, you need to vote for democracy! What is happening is horrible and reprehensible and must be addressed. Innocent woman, babies, seniors are dying. Stop the killing!!
Clinton did his part to continue Regan’s neoliberal policies (you remember trickle down economics and of course NAFTA)
Obama did his part to expand neoliberal policies (you remember TPP aka NAFTA on
steroids) all while promising ‘change’. (I suspect he meant pocket change)
Why would these Democrats push policies that undermine their constituents best interests?
Whose best interests are they really beholden to? For sure, not ours.
I had hope for Biden. I thought maybe he was humbled by his past mistakes. I was almost willing to forgive him for approving Bush’s Iraq War. I was almost willing to forgive him for supporting uncle Thomas over Anita Hill.
Who is funding Biden’s campaign? Let’s follow the money trail and see who he’s really beholden to.
News says Biden is worried about his ratings. HOW do we get through to him that a ceasefire and cease funding fosils fuels is the way to raise his ratings!!!
It’s too late to get through to him, the blood drips from his hands and the stain won’t wash out! He wants credit for the economy while children are slaughtered and starved to death, no way! Get him off the ticket, that’s the way to go…
Good luck with that. At BEST, you will empower a third-party candidate (RFK, Jr.? How do you like having NO vaccines??). At worst, you will usher in the fall of the longest continuous democracy in the history of the world. Read Project 2025 for an idea of how they'll accomplish the "Trump for Life." A vote for anyone but Biden will be the death knell of our democracy. We almost had it happen in 2020 - as a result of yahoos saying "How bad could it be? We have guardrails!" Try that crap again, and we're all doomed.
Michael, terrific podcast. Brought back memories of the Clintons. Bibi must be ousted. The shooting of three Israeli hostages is haunting and tragic beyond words. Biden has no way to square veto of the worlds call for a Ceasefire Now. It is the only hope to stop this unspeakable slaughter of Palestinians and razing of their world in Gaza. Thank you for all you do. Sending love from India.
Michael, I was disappointed in your podcast. It was so Jewish centered. You often added that we need to take care of everyone being persecuted...but, overwhelmingly totally from the Jewish perspective. When you spoke of hostages released, it was Only Israeli, not a word for the thousands of Palestinians, many children, held illegally in Israeli detention centers, grabbed in terrifying night raids,.no access to parents or lawyers, often with no charge, held indefinitely, documented systemic torture. What Palestinians have had to live with since 1948 has been ongoing war crimes, violent displacement, periodic massacres... All of this has been tolerated by the International community, And by Jews in Israel. Plese listen to Norm Finkelstein, Gabor Matte, Illan Pappé. And, the Intercept interview from today! Biden must step down. If he does not, Dems will lose. I will not vote for people who support slaughter of children. Maga as boogeyman doesn't cut it. Dems need to take responsibility
Assuming Democrats take responsibility, how do you envision the US *forcing* a sovereign country to capitulate to our demands? Cut off their aid? And alienate the rest of the Jewish population here who are not already alienated?? You must be younger than I to be so idealistic as to believe that we can just pressure Biden to "step down" and come up with a viable alternative that can capture enough votes to beat Trump. So sorry, but that will only happen in your dreams.
Bingo. Cut off aid. If Biden had told BN that support for Israel would vaporize if he chose to vaporize the Palestinians, BN would not have done what he’s doing. Biden flew over, practically Frenchkissed him, and immediately sent weapons and ammo. Then when it all began, he doubled down many times over to voice support.
And he STILL will not call for a ceasefire - directly or through UN votes. Stop posturing that there’s nothing he could have done. It’s simply not true.
All righty!! Cut off all aid to Israel. And that, effectively, will alienate fully half the Jewish American vote. And it won't, at this point, do jack to win back the Arab or Palestinian American vote. Probably wouldn't help with people like you either, since I get the feeling that ship has already sailed. So... now what? He cuts off aid, loses even more support, and the so-called "liberal" vote is split between any of six or seven different third party candidates.
Bingo! Trump is re-elected and Project 2025 gets implemented. They're already taking resumes, if you hurry and wipe your social media of any MM presence, you might have a chance! The rest of us will just try to protect those who did their best to help us keep our democracy and the devil take the hindmost.
And now Israel is coming for and exterminating the Palestinians.
It is our obligation as humans to defend those without defense.
We’re not talking about Biden’s watering down of his campaign promises on any number of subjects.
We’re talking about cold blooded murder of thousands being witnessed by all.
If you are not shaken to your core by what you are witnessing YOUR OWN GOVERNMENT endorsing and supporting enough to say “No! In no uncertain terms will I support this by voting the president and the administration that enabled it back into office” then I don’t know what to say to such callous disregard for the reality that presents.
I’m walking away from this now because of your clear denial of the horror and depravity this administration continues to support against every supposed principle we have about international law and human rights.
You’re right about one thing: there’s no path of redemption for this administration as a result of their complicity in sending thousands deliberately to an early grave.
I am so glad for this clarity through the optics. It's like, yeah, we know that these horrors continue as a profit-generating war machine, but it is not so clear how to make it stop.
It shouldn't surprise me that antisemitism has been co-opted & used as a weapon because it seems ever kind of real victimization has been twisted in this way, but it is still mind-boggling- & heart-sickening.
I am so glad to hear things said that help us exercise discernment, key facts that aren't coming through the sound bites. I realize, today, even more, how important ongoing civic involvement. Not just getting 'our team" in office, but holding our representatives accountable every step of the way.
Healthy relationships do not consist of being ok with everything someone does, but asserting disagreement as well. Calling each other on shit, saying when it doesn't hold water, & saying knock the crap off. This communication has said this well. We can't allow this slaughter to continue & we can't afford to be hamstrung by confusion.
Dear Michael...read some of the comments....If Trump wins, which I believe is highly unlikely, it is NOT Biden’s fault it will be the fault of us voters.
So, yes Michael as you say get out there and VOTE. Thank you, thank you Michael
Not a helpful stance. What happened in 2016? In 2020, the consequences of 2016 came to visit the entire country!! Our democracy held by virtue of the efforts of a HANDFUL of people!!!! Do you really want to elect "Dictator for Life Trump?" If so, you are not worthy of response further.
You’re assuming Biden is the only possible outcome that can stop Trump and I’m assuming he’s the most likely to lose to Trump or other eventualities that everyone assumes can’t happen to an 82 year old…at this point, democracy is a crapshoot of history!
Point to you re: 82 yr old ppl. Still, at this point, given what I know to be true thus far, I would vote for Biden before any other third party, given the chances of a major party candidate over those of third party candidates. Should anything change in that equation, obviously, my vote would possibly change as well. :) Nothing is sure, even the sun rising tomorrow, but it's always a good idea to hedge ones' bets. :D
Agree, I wouldn’t support any third party candidate, never even crossed my mind. When people like Carville and Axelrod show public concern re Biden as candidate, my hope is Biden will drop out soon and it’s open for a Pritzker, a Whitmer, or ugh, a Newsom.
I'm not sure any of them would garner the name recognition and support in time for the general, even as much as I *love* my governator, Big Gretch!! She would be a freakin' AWESOME Pres, just as she's been an awesome Gov. Still, it would be a road just a tad too long, methinks, to overcome the obstacles that we see between now & November 2024.
Have you ever thought that the stall of the relief bill is good for Biden too? As long as it doesn't pass, no extra $$ to Israel, but still at Ukrane"s demise. All the smoke is hiding dasterly deeds. we need to bring our troops home, something is going to happen to us in the US, they think we are weak. Guys get out of Dodge while you can! They don't have to send a nuclear missle, they can cause a natural disaster. a tsunami maybe. Or
like Russia blowing up that dam in Ukrane.
Think positive thoughts, don't let them do this to the US. Be kind, love all humanity. Our thoughts become action. Use them in a positive way.
I am furious. Furious at Biden for not putting a halt to this war. Furious at Netanyahu for slaughtering innocent children and women, and, incidentally, maybe some Hamas fighters. This is how Biden will lose the next election. Left-wingers like myself will find it impossible to vote for him after his allowing this war to continue. Jews on the left, Arabs, fed-up democrats, may not be able to hold their noses tight enough. It will be because of Biden that Trump wins. I'm glad that Michael Moore believes that Trump won't win, but I'm not so certain. I hope he's right. I've heard one expert say that in 20 years there won't be any such thing as Israel because of the indiscriminate killings. And all because Bibi doesn't want to go to jail. Sound familiar? (See Bush Two.) And there's the guilt, on our side, over the Holocaust. So now, instead of the Jews from Europe, the Palestinians are getting sacrificed and slaughtered. (Could we airlift them here?)
Ever since 2006 I've helped democrats get elected by calling people and knocking on doors--Obama, Bernie, and Bernie again in 2020. I will not be voting for Biden. And don't try to guilt-trip me, because that doesn't work. It never works. Some lefty friends are also not voting for him. The dems have sold out to the MIC and other corporations. As Ilhan Omar so elegantly put it, it's all about the Benjamins.
Disgusted and furious.
Oh, yes, Biden was supposed to "stop" this war... how, exactly? What do you think would have pacified the Jewish bloc in this country, cutting all aid to Israel? And I sincerely hope you enjoy the end of democracy when Trump wins as a result of you & your ilk not being able to abide voting for Biden. Not a "guilt-trip," a simple statement of fact. You do you, but be prepared to bear the brunt of the condemnation that will come if what you wish for comes to pass.
No.That was a guilt trip. If you disagree then you don't know from guilt. (Yes, I'm Jewish, and lived and worked in Israel from 1975-1976.) And you are also wrong about my "wishing" Trump to get elected. I'm terrified of that. Terrified. Yes, it's the end of our democracy and the beginning of a facsist country where nobody is safe. But, with Biden at the helm, we are heading in that direction, anyway, just more slowly. I see Cop City and I see that this is how the government, with a weaponized police force, will control its people, namely me with my "save the earth, one earthworm at a time" sign, protesting the oil companies' power over all of us, and protesting the powerful grip of the MIC.
Yes, I used to think Israel was in the right. And then they bulldozed a one thousand year old olive grove because it belonged to a Palestinian. That act is specifically proscribed in the Torah. The Hebrews were exhorted to kill every man, woman, and child in the land of Canaan, but not allowed to touch the vineyards and fruit trees. So there goes the religious reason to control Judea and Sumeria.
And you mention the "Jewish bloc". It is divided now, so Biden may lose a good portion of it. Do you think he'll lose the Arab vote? The Persian vote? The anti-war vote? The environmental vote?
Holy cow, good luck to us. All of us. We are heading down a very bumpy road.
I agree, wholeheartedly, with much of what you're saying here. I, too, protest the desecration of the earth, the oil companies' power, the MIC, etc. I also see police that are evolving under democratic state governance. Yes, GOP-run states are weaponizing everything under the sun to prevent any minority from voicing their opinion - either via protest or at the voting booth.
And I was raised to believe that Israel deserved our assistance. I sat with my mother watching the events in 1967. I spent time working with the world's first Humanistic Rabbi, Sherwin Wine. He was a marvel, but loved Israel with all his heart. Then I learned how the Palestinians are treated, how they have been systematically oppressed and targeted. How they've been rounded up into enclaves similar to (but nowhere near like) the happenings in Europe in WWII. It is horrific, inhuman, and I strongly suspect that Bibi has had a hand in encouraging Hamas to incite the violence - so he'd have his excuse to wipe them (and most of the Palestinians) off the map of human existence.
Yes, Biden may well lose a good part of the Jewish bloc, but he would lose a good portion regardless of which way he turned. Cut off aid to Israel? Good Jewish Americans will cut him off. Continue to supply Israel? Good Jewish Americans like you will cut him off. Along with the Palestinian Americans, Arabs, Persians (as many Iranians in America call themselves), anti-war, environmentalists, etc. Still, it is not as binary as one might wish. Biden still represents the *possibility* of getting back on track, as he & his administration managed to do with the pandemic. Trump offers people like you and me nothing. Along with Biden, however, we NEED a Democratic Congress! As long as the GOP can derail any initiative (especially in the Senate), we are still at risk!
Well, he won't lose my vote because I'm more terrified of a Trump victory. I hope Joe listens to Michael.
1000% with you.
If Trump wins, it is Biden’s fault.
He let his long held and erroneous beliefs about Israel and its usefulness to US (we trade weapons for their spying technology) along with the draw of a lot of very wealthy donors (what’s he up to from just the recent weeks? $70M+?) get the best of him and his ego. He had nary a clue how informed many Americans are about Israel’s regime and its decades of atrocities to the Palestinian people.
The Dems need to heed the warnings and convince him to step aside. There’s no path for his redemption on this one. Too many Josh Paul’s out here.
Hell, ask Josh Paul if he’ll run (I know. He’s too sane for that.)
Enjoy the fallout when Trump wins and installs himself as "Dictator for LIfe" rather than just on "Day One." I've seen this scenario before in 2016 and we barely escaped with democracy intact. If you think Trump will allow anyone not demonstrably loyal to him to participate in government, you are sadly mistaken.
So I should choose the candidate who chose the slaughter of thousands and continues to stick with his decision?
No! Do not blame the voter.
Hold the Democratic Party responsible for their decision to ignore the fact that Biden is swimming in the blood of thousands of innocent, defenseless civilians.
There is time to raise a better candidate. The election is not tomorrow. If the Democratic Party refuses to see that their candidate will not win because he has lost the support of many people who backed him despite reservations in 2020 and MADE HIS ELECTION POSSIBLE, then we, as people of conscious, cannot be expected to walk into a voting booth and endorse the death warrant he placed on the heads of the Palestinian people.
Remember Netanyahu wants Trump back, two right-wing, dictatorish peas in a pod. Remember the Muslim ban? Trump would be all about helping Netanyahu kill even more Palestinians. Biden is trying to stop it, but there's only so much he can do. There's quite a moral distinction there. You want better candidates? That's the long game. Right now, the world is on fire and much of it is in danger of slipping out of democracy. What you are advocating is the definition of cutting off your nose to spite your face. The problem is that you'll condemn the rest of us into some dystopian nightmare along with you. Please, I'm begging you - don't do this.
How is Biden trying to stop it?
By embracing the right wing dictator and giving him unlimited support?
By doubling down on that decision at every opportunity?
By authorizing more armaments without conditions to the tune of many times the already approved annual gifts?
By suggesting the Palestinian death toll is inflated?
By vetoing the UN’s call for a ceasefire?
By sending his envoys to hold press conferences with Netanyahu to voice our firm support for Israel?
Where is the outrage?
Why are American voters left with the choice between 2 evils and told to “play the long game?”
That has never worked. And this is a bridge too far. A vote for Biden is a vote for genocide.
The sooner the Democratic Party understands that the need to stop hand wringing while watching polls and accept they’ve backed the wrong horse, the faster we can campaign for a more just candidate.
There is plenty of time IF they act now.
Okie dokie. Then you endorse the death warrant you place on the heads of thousands of Americans who resisted Trump in 2020. Gotcha.
Absolutely not.
It’s up to the Democratic Party to understand the need for a new presidential representative of the party who does not come with this baggage.
It’s not the obligation of the voter to choose one of two candidates who target one population or another for wholesale death and destruction.
It’s time for the Dems to stop blaming people for not embracing genocide. They are to blame if they think that’s an acceptable stance.
I still have yet to see anyone suggest what Biden could have done, or even still *could* do, to stop the slaughter of Palestinians. We do know, unless one has been sleeping, that Trump *will* go after any and every one who has been part of Biden's Administration, a Never Trumper, or in any way connected to any of his court cases. Sometimes, the choice isn't as binary as you'd like it to be. I may not be happy with Biden's actions vis a vis Israel and the Palestinians, but I'll be damned if I'll sit on my ass & hand my country over to the neo-Nazis.
No, it's not the "obligation of the voter" to "choose" which 'genocidal' leader they'd prefer. Sit on your butt and you will get the one that YOU deserve, but I don't think a lot of the rest of us deserve what you and your ilk feel entitled to condemn us to having.
I echo your comment in its entirety, this debacle is on the Corporate Dem party which Biden is a charter member of! I couldn’t pull a lever for him if he was running against Satan, my hope is that the Dems will to#s in the towel and choose a replacement before all is lost! Muslims, Blacks of both sexes, youth, many Jews are unable to support him. Carville, Axelrod, Ignatius all know it’s a looming disaster! I pray that before it’s too late this entire forum and our leader Michael will state the same clearly and in a timely way!
Charter member?
There is a safe space for them 3.5 km from Khan Younis. Hamas refuses to allow them to move there. Just as they would refuse them to evacuate by ship off the coast.
I'm not very insightful into international relations, but dirty tricks sometimes become very evident to me.
I read that Netanyahu was funding Hamas for years. Is it possible that Bibi put Hamas up to the October 7 attack so he could claim there was a national emergency, and he wouldn't have to stand trial?
Not only that. The analyst with unit 8200 knew that Hamas was practicing and preparing for this attack and warned her colonel. He ignored her. The arrogance! First, yeah, she's a woman. Second, the IDF and Mossad know all, so she couldn't possibly know more than they! The whole thing is agonizingly disturbing.
The terrorists were off line and not even using cell phones so typical IDF knowing all technology had some low tech blind spots. Israel fights of dozens of attacks a week (before the latest insanity) and hears of many more. It is really not surprising that some more of the same got lost in the sauce.
This was an eye-witness account. Which was dismissed. So it was known about. The answer to the analyst was that Hamas was too weak to launch an attack on Israel--coudn't do it. IDF had better things to do. It was a whole giant carrot in the sauce.
Qatar and Iran fund Hamas. Bibi evidently let it happen, divide and conquer not exactly being a novel strategy in the art of war.
Hi Michael,
Your podcast is a must listen for me. I've been a voracious reader about the Israeli /Gaza conflict, including reading several Israeli papers, daily.
This is the first time Ive heard that Bibi stopped the continued release of hostages. I kept reading that Hamas ran out of people to exchange.
I don't like Bibi and want him out of office.
I agree with you about the carnage in Gaza. It has to stop. There needs to be more food and water. And a government that actually cares about their citizens and teaches them love. And uses the funds that arrive for the rebuilding of homes, and a viable country.
Every day there's footage from Israel of more tunnels. Giant tunnels. More and better bombs, missiles and guns. Tons of them. From what I-have seen Gaza is one giant war effort. There are rocket launchers in mosques. Tunnel entrances in tons of houses. Mostly in children's rooms. Hamas, They have the full support of Iran. I agree with you that there needs to be new Israeli elections- immediately. I believe that's what Biden told Bibi at his visit.
Thank you for sharing that most Americans like the Jewish faith best. That warms my heart. I want to find ways to build community and love for one another. Thank you for your ♥️
Well Michael, maybe you should also mention that Israel was created by ethnically cleansing Palestinians from their land, that Israel with the support of the US and other settler colonial countries and the mothership of settler colonialism, Western Europe, has been thwarting the establishment of a Two State Solution. As an occupied people Palestinians have the right to armed resistance. As an occupier Israel does not have any rights - only duties. It is time to call Israel what it is - a settler colonial apartheid genocidal state.
Armed resistance is a fools errand in this situation. Choose the higher way, as Japan did after WWII.
It is not my job to tell the occupied how to resist their occupation when my own skin is safe. Israel is a settler colonial apartheid genocidal country. I have gone through your other posts in this thread. You are clearly a supporter of Israel and are offering flimsy excuse for Israeli intransigence. Israel has imposed a brutal illegal blockade on Gaza for sixteen years. Israel has periodically bombed Gaza and called it “ Mowing the lawn”. Palestinians have tried non violence ( “ Gaza March for Freedom”)- Israeli snipers killed two hundred civilians and maimed two thousand more.
I have been so sad and angry about all of this. The first thing that I just cannot understand is why people say they will allow Trump to win because they don't like how Biden is handling this. Just how do you think Trump would handle this, other than probably also sending in Americans to help with the flattening Gaza, oh and cutting off Ukraine and allowing Russia to come in and slaughter even more people. Secondly, Biden has been trying to stop Israel from doing this, but Netanyahu is hell bent on leveling the place and killing anything that moves. Israel is our ally and when they were attacked, we were right to stick by them, but since then they've been on an inexcusable murderous rampage and the world (not just us) needs to put pressure on them to stop it. Politically, Biden can't win because both the Jewish voting block and the Arab (especially in Michigan) voting block are upset no matter what he does. The problem is the right-wing and Netanyahu, not Joe Biden. He can only do so much. If you can't see that and vote in a way that allows Trump to win, you will destroy any semblance of decency in our Politics, not to mention our democracy. There's also judges to think about. I'm sorry, but you can take your protest vote and shove it. You think it's bad now, just wait if Trump gets back in power.
Well, it's not just my protest vote. It's my activism, as well. From 2006 I've made 4,000 phone calls or more, asking people to walk in their precincts to get out the dem vote. (50 state solution.) I was "community coordinator" for the county party here. I've walked hundreds of precincts over the years, knocked on thousands of doors, and was responsible for the 61 people doing the same. So, yeah, my vote and more. And now I'm just disappointed, fed up, with the party. In 2020, walking for Bernie, I met lots of registered dems on my list who were not even interested in voting. "I had hope for change", as one fellow told me. "I didn't get change, and I lost hope." How will you reach these people? I tried. Did you try? Is your method of guilt-tripping, oh, I mean, scolding, working?
I'm still on the executive board of my local dem club. I will still get out the vote in my precinct and will vote for the person I think will best lead or contribute to this country. That's the whole idea of a democracy, right? You get to vote for whom you want--in the primaries. Let your voice be heard. When I call people, I simply ask them to vote. (Oh. That's right. I've also made hundreds and hundreds of phone calls into other states. Lately it was into Kansas. Those voters love their blue state, and yes, they claim it's a blue state. Just gerrymandered.) I highly recommend doing this. It's a joy to connect with these wonderful Americans from all over the country.
YES!!! Your caveat... "...in the primaries." is EVERYTHING!!! <3 Thank you, you have reaffirmed my faith in the overall intelligence, decency, sanity, and goodness of my fellow Americans. <3 <3 <3
Yes, I have door-knocked and phone-banked more times than I can count. Firsthand, I know the scripts provided by the candidates are usually milquetoast and don't get across the urgency of the situation. I was just expressing my frustration that people think that somehow by allowing Trump to win, that it's better than being disappointed in the Democratic Party. I also get very frustrated with people vote in one election and don't get the magic change they want, so they give up. One thing I've got to hand to Republicans is that they know this and play the long game. They vote R in unity no matter who it is over years and years. For people with a more liberal bent, it's like corralling cats. So yes, I may have lost some patience with people who aren't looking at the bigger picture and say things like, "They're all the same." They're not - not even by a long shot. Yes, the Democratic party needs to improve, but that is the long game. That is starting at the bottom and working up for years. If Trump gets in, forget the long game, it's game over.
Please vote people! The republicans in general have shown they want a dictatorship, you need to vote for democracy! What is happening is horrible and reprehensible and must be addressed. Innocent woman, babies, seniors are dying. Stop the killing!!
Things will be worse if evil trump wins!!!
Powerful stuff Michael! You brought this Jewish American to tears
Politicians will always disappoint us.
Clinton did his part to continue Regan’s neoliberal policies (you remember trickle down economics and of course NAFTA)
Obama did his part to expand neoliberal policies (you remember TPP aka NAFTA on
steroids) all while promising ‘change’. (I suspect he meant pocket change)
Why would these Democrats push policies that undermine their constituents best interests?
Whose best interests are they really beholden to? For sure, not ours.
I had hope for Biden. I thought maybe he was humbled by his past mistakes. I was almost willing to forgive him for approving Bush’s Iraq War. I was almost willing to forgive him for supporting uncle Thomas over Anita Hill.
Who is funding Biden’s campaign? Let’s follow the money trail and see who he’s really beholden to.
Thank you, Michael. Always glad to hear your clear voice of sanity.
News says Biden is worried about his ratings. HOW do we get through to him that a ceasefire and cease funding fosils fuels is the way to raise his ratings!!!
To be as avid a good guy as Trump is bad!
Not spending more money on PR!
It’s too late to get through to him, the blood drips from his hands and the stain won’t wash out! He wants credit for the economy while children are slaughtered and starved to death, no way! Get him off the ticket, that’s the way to go…
Good luck with that. At BEST, you will empower a third-party candidate (RFK, Jr.? How do you like having NO vaccines??). At worst, you will usher in the fall of the longest continuous democracy in the history of the world. Read Project 2025 for an idea of how they'll accomplish the "Trump for Life." A vote for anyone but Biden will be the death knell of our democracy. We almost had it happen in 2020 - as a result of yahoos saying "How bad could it be? We have guardrails!" Try that crap again, and we're all doomed.
All this Anti-Biden commentary is scaring the shit out of me!
Michael, terrific podcast. Brought back memories of the Clintons. Bibi must be ousted. The shooting of three Israeli hostages is haunting and tragic beyond words. Biden has no way to square veto of the worlds call for a Ceasefire Now. It is the only hope to stop this unspeakable slaughter of Palestinians and razing of their world in Gaza. Thank you for all you do. Sending love from India.
Michael, I was disappointed in your podcast. It was so Jewish centered. You often added that we need to take care of everyone being persecuted...but, overwhelmingly totally from the Jewish perspective. When you spoke of hostages released, it was Only Israeli, not a word for the thousands of Palestinians, many children, held illegally in Israeli detention centers, grabbed in terrifying night raids,.no access to parents or lawyers, often with no charge, held indefinitely, documented systemic torture. What Palestinians have had to live with since 1948 has been ongoing war crimes, violent displacement, periodic massacres... All of this has been tolerated by the International community, And by Jews in Israel. Plese listen to Norm Finkelstein, Gabor Matte, Illan Pappé. And, the Intercept interview from today! Biden must step down. If he does not, Dems will lose. I will not vote for people who support slaughter of children. Maga as boogeyman doesn't cut it. Dems need to take responsibility
Assuming Democrats take responsibility, how do you envision the US *forcing* a sovereign country to capitulate to our demands? Cut off their aid? And alienate the rest of the Jewish population here who are not already alienated?? You must be younger than I to be so idealistic as to believe that we can just pressure Biden to "step down" and come up with a viable alternative that can capture enough votes to beat Trump. So sorry, but that will only happen in your dreams.
Bingo. Cut off aid. If Biden had told BN that support for Israel would vaporize if he chose to vaporize the Palestinians, BN would not have done what he’s doing. Biden flew over, practically Frenchkissed him, and immediately sent weapons and ammo. Then when it all began, he doubled down many times over to voice support.
And he STILL will not call for a ceasefire - directly or through UN votes. Stop posturing that there’s nothing he could have done. It’s simply not true.
All righty!! Cut off all aid to Israel. And that, effectively, will alienate fully half the Jewish American vote. And it won't, at this point, do jack to win back the Arab or Palestinian American vote. Probably wouldn't help with people like you either, since I get the feeling that ship has already sailed. So... now what? He cuts off aid, loses even more support, and the so-called "liberal" vote is split between any of six or seven different third party candidates.
Bingo! Trump is re-elected and Project 2025 gets implemented. They're already taking resumes, if you hurry and wipe your social media of any MM presence, you might have a chance! The rest of us will just try to protect those who did their best to help us keep our democracy and the devil take the hindmost.
FIRST THEY CAME
By Martin Niemöller
First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me.
And now Israel is coming for and exterminating the Palestinians.
It is our obligation as humans to defend those without defense.
We’re not talking about Biden’s watering down of his campaign promises on any number of subjects.
We’re talking about cold blooded murder of thousands being witnessed by all.
If you are not shaken to your core by what you are witnessing YOUR OWN GOVERNMENT endorsing and supporting enough to say “No! In no uncertain terms will I support this by voting the president and the administration that enabled it back into office” then I don’t know what to say to such callous disregard for the reality that presents.
I’m walking away from this now because of your clear denial of the horror and depravity this administration continues to support against every supposed principle we have about international law and human rights.
You’re right about one thing: there’s no path of redemption for this administration as a result of their complicity in sending thousands deliberately to an early grave.
I am so glad for this clarity through the optics. It's like, yeah, we know that these horrors continue as a profit-generating war machine, but it is not so clear how to make it stop.
It shouldn't surprise me that antisemitism has been co-opted & used as a weapon because it seems ever kind of real victimization has been twisted in this way, but it is still mind-boggling- & heart-sickening.
I am so glad to hear things said that help us exercise discernment, key facts that aren't coming through the sound bites. I realize, today, even more, how important ongoing civic involvement. Not just getting 'our team" in office, but holding our representatives accountable every step of the way.
Healthy relationships do not consist of being ok with everything someone does, but asserting disagreement as well. Calling each other on shit, saying when it doesn't hold water, & saying knock the crap off. This communication has said this well. We can't allow this slaughter to continue & we can't afford to be hamstrung by confusion.
Dear Michael...read some of the comments....If Trump wins, which I believe is highly unlikely, it is NOT Biden’s fault it will be the fault of us voters.
So, yes Michael as you say get out there and VOTE. Thank you, thank you Michael
You the Warrior of TRUTH !
Biden is the lead weight liability that will get Trump elected even if we all forget and vote for him it won’t matter, he’s Trumps wet dream!
Not a helpful stance. What happened in 2016? In 2020, the consequences of 2016 came to visit the entire country!! Our democracy held by virtue of the efforts of a HANDFUL of people!!!! Do you really want to elect "Dictator for Life Trump?" If so, you are not worthy of response further.
You’re assuming Biden is the only possible outcome that can stop Trump and I’m assuming he’s the most likely to lose to Trump or other eventualities that everyone assumes can’t happen to an 82 year old…at this point, democracy is a crapshoot of history!
Point to you re: 82 yr old ppl. Still, at this point, given what I know to be true thus far, I would vote for Biden before any other third party, given the chances of a major party candidate over those of third party candidates. Should anything change in that equation, obviously, my vote would possibly change as well. :) Nothing is sure, even the sun rising tomorrow, but it's always a good idea to hedge ones' bets. :D
Agree, I wouldn’t support any third party candidate, never even crossed my mind. When people like Carville and Axelrod show public concern re Biden as candidate, my hope is Biden will drop out soon and it’s open for a Pritzker, a Whitmer, or ugh, a Newsom.
I'm not sure any of them would garner the name recognition and support in time for the general, even as much as I *love* my governator, Big Gretch!! She would be a freakin' AWESOME Pres, just as she's been an awesome Gov. Still, it would be a road just a tad too long, methinks, to overcome the obstacles that we see between now & November 2024.
Have you ever thought that the stall of the relief bill is good for Biden too? As long as it doesn't pass, no extra $$ to Israel, but still at Ukrane"s demise. All the smoke is hiding dasterly deeds. we need to bring our troops home, something is going to happen to us in the US, they think we are weak. Guys get out of Dodge while you can! They don't have to send a nuclear missle, they can cause a natural disaster. a tsunami maybe. Or
like Russia blowing up that dam in Ukrane.
Think positive thoughts, don't let them do this to the US. Be kind, love all humanity. Our thoughts become action. Use them in a positive way.