Armstrong & Getty On Demand

Episode: "How Can Queers for Palestine Possibly Exist?"

Release Date: August 15, 2025
Host: iHeartPodcasts

Episode Overview

This episode explores the perplexing phenomenon of left-wing Western activists, particularly queer activists, expressing solidarity with Islamist causes such as Palestine—groups that, by their own ideology and policy, are often violently anti-LGBTQ. The hosts, drawing on arguments by writer Eli Lake and philosopher Michel Foucault, dissect the origins and consequences of the so-called "Red-Green Alliance"—the union of leftist/Marxist and Islamist ideologies. They trace this alliance back to intellectual roots in postmodern theory and critical theory, arguing that a denial of objective truth and the dominance of narrative help explain this seemingly paradoxical political coalition.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Recent Events and Western Left Reaction

• The hosts open with a news report about Palestinian militants disguising themselves as aid workers and being targeted in Israeli airstrikes ([03:00-03:34]). Despite clear evidence of deception, prominent Western outlets—and much of the left—are skeptical that militants would use such disguises for violence.
• Insight: The hosts suggest that a culture of denial is pervasive on the political left, especially regarding jihadist tactics, due to ideological narratives.

2. The "Red-Green Alliance" Explained

• Quote: “[Eli Lake] talks about how the what's called the Red-Green Alliance... really came up during Iran's Islamic Revolution, 1978 and 1979.” ([04:28-05:01])
• "Red" refers to communists/Marxists; "green" to Islamists.
• The alignment between Western leftists and Islamist movements is described as a strategic marriage: both wish to overthrow Western civilization, even if their visions for what comes after are radically different.
• Quote: "Wait a minute. You want to overthrow Western civilization? I want to overthrow Western civilization... Well, I tell you what, how about we work together, and then when civilization's overthrown, we'll... peacefully cooperate and divide the spoils. And of course, like in every revolution, they kill each other as fast as they can." ([07:27])

3. Intellectual Roots: Foucault & Orientalism

• The French philosopher Michel Foucault, a major influence on critical theory, is highlighted as a key figure in the development of postmodern opposition to Enlightenment values.
• Foucault's support for the 1979 Iranian revolution is cited as an early example of Western intellectuals embracing reactionary Islamist movements in their critique of the West.
• Quote: "Foucault was a major intellectual influence on the late Columbia University professor Edward Said’s Orientalism, now a postcolonial study bible." ([10:09])
• Insight: The hosts argue that modern queer theory, critical race theory, and radical gender ideology all trace lineage back to anti-Enlightenment, anti-objectivity philosophies advanced by Foucault and others.

4. Critical Theory, Narrative, and Denial of Objective Truth

• Critical theory's key tenet: there is no objective truth, only competing narratives shaped by cultural power.
• This allows activists to dismiss violence against gays or women in Islamist societies as "just a Western narrative," unworthy of rebuttal.
• Quote: "The key philosophy of critical theory is that there is no objective truth… Since Western culture is dominant, it has created a narrative that says the Ayatollah Khomeini is a monster, but that’s just because they’re threatened by him. So they’re racists. They’re othering him." ([11:50-13:00])
• As a result, discussions about human rights abuses are dismissed as Western propaganda.

5. Denial, Justification, and Self-Delusion

• The hosts describe how leftist sympathies for jihadist activity rationalize even the most violent acts as understandable reactions to "oppression."
• Quote: "Look, they’re under oppression. What do you expect them to do? Yeah, and I don’t believe they raped and killed babies. No, they just… fought back against the oppressor. Self delusion." ([13:12-13:44])
• Concern: This way of thinking has become mainstream in Western academia and is influencing schools at every level.

6. Bigger Threat: Neo-Marxism and Postmodernism in the U.S.

• Quote: "I’m more worried about neo Marxism and the foothold it’s got in the United States and Western culture than I am about jihadism by a lot." ([14:17])
• The hosts view the infiltration of post-Marxist, postmodern ideology into Western culture and education as a more pressing concern than terrorism, arguing it undermines the foundations of society.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the alliance's absurdity:

  • “You got jihad in my queer studies.”
  • “You got queer studies in my jihad. Two great tastes that taste great together.” ([07:56-07:58])

• On Western left’s logic:

  • “They convince you completely of their premise that Western society... have made all other people objects in their narratives and impose their own agenda on their histories.” ([11:51])

• On critical theory's consequences:

  • “Once you have that down to your bones, then you can’t be argued off of it on the basis of me saying they… torture and kill anybody who’s gay or transgender, because I’m a Westerner, trying to lie to them, using my narrative.” ([13:00])

• On the literalness of the culture war:

  • “These effing people wrote effing books. Their effing names are on the effing spines and they effing describe precisely what they’re effing going to do. And they’re doing it precisely as they effing described.” ([14:35])

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [03:00] - [04:28]: Introduction of the Red-Green Alliance via Eli Lake and the Gaza/Hamas deception.
• [04:31] - [07:14]: History of the alliance; the roots in the 1978-79 Iranian Revolution.
• [07:27] - [09:00]: Explaining the mutually beneficial partnership between leftists and Islamists.
• [09:00] - [11:26]: Intellectual pedigree from Foucault to Edward Said and the spread of postmodernism.
• [11:26] - [13:12]: The critical theory worldview; facts vs. narratives.
• [13:12] - [14:09]: Delusion and rationalization on the Western left.
• [14:17] - [15:08]: Neo-Marxism as a greater internal threat than foreign jihadism.

Conclusion & Further Resources

The episode contends that the alliance of Western leftist movements with Islamist causes arises from a postmodern, critical theory rejection of objective truth and Enlightenment values. The hosts warn that this approach, increasingly dominant in Western institutions, poses a fundamental threat to the fabric of society.

Resource Suggestions:

• Cynical Theories by James Lindsay & Helen Pluckrose ([19:24])
• YouTube lectures by James Lindsay on critical theory ([19:15])

Tone/Language:
Direct, irreverent, passionate, occasionally profane, with dark humor and pronounced skepticism toward contemporary academic orthodoxy. The hosts present complex intellectual history with blunt analogies and pop culture references, aiming to make these issues accessible and urgent.