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“Nobody is better than Netanyahu at manipulating the US” | The Listening Post
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- [00:00]
True Crime Reports Host
This week on True Crime reports, up to 100,000 children go missing in China every year, a number that links back to the 1970s and the one child policy. This story is about one of those children and the mother who spent decades searching for him. Hear the full story on True Crime Reports. Subscribe and listen wherever you get your podcasts.
- [00:32]
Al Jazeera Correspondent
This week on the Take, we're marking one year since a pair of devastating earthquakes hit Turkey and Syria with a new digital interactive. Listen and watch stories of survival, recovery and coping with the grief@al jazeera.com earthquakes again, that's al jazeera.com earthquakes.
- [00:59]
Political Commentator
And the academy Award for Theater of the Absurd goes to Benjamin Netanyahu for nominating his partner in war crimes, Donald Trump, for the Nobel Peace Prize. Concentration camps in the making, Israel reveals some of its long term plans for Palestinians in Gaza and turmoil in Tbilisi, the political power struggle in Georgia and the suppressing effect it's had on journalism. Gestures, flattery, pledges of allegiance played out in front of the news cameras, all were on Benjamin Netanyahu's agenda for his latest visit to the White House. And they bore the hallmarks of what we've come to expect from a meeting between an Israeli prime minister and a US President, along with a healthy dose of mutual self interest. What else could possibly explain Netanyahu's nominating of Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, which he did with a straight face. However, Trump's relationship with the Israeli state is showing signs of becoming a political liability. A growing faction within the MAGA movement, led by some high profile media personalities operating outside of the mainstream, now openly questions whether unwavering support for Israel still serves Washington's interests. And with the poll showing that more and more Americans feel the same way, Netanyahu would have been wondering just how far would he have to go? How hard would he need to gush to keep the US and its president on side? Benjamin Netanyahu's latest trip to Washington was a carefully choreographed exercise in political deception, legal double standards and shir chutzpah. The Israeli prime minister, who has been indicted for war crimes in Gaza, flew through the airspace of multiple countries, signatories to the Rome Statute, the law that compels those governments to arrest him. So much for the international rules based order. Then on the same day that Israeli forces killed another 105 Palestinians in Gaza, Netanyahu landed in D.C. and nominated Donald Trump, whose administration recently bombed Iran, for the Nobel Peace Prize. Thank you very much. This I didn't know.
- [03:29]
Middle East Analyst
Netanyahu has been working with American presidents for 40 years now. American presidents come and go, but Netanyahu is a pretty permanent fixture of Israeli politics. Does have a real talent for figuring out what a given American leader likes. Donald Trump's background is in entertainment, TV and hospitality. He likes these grand gestures. And I think that the sort of public theater of getting it all on TV is a component of that.
- [04:03]
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Expert
Nobody is better than Netanyahu at manipulating the United States. And as absurd as it may be that the purveyor of a genocide is nominating his supporter in that genocide for the Nobel Peace Prize, none of that absurdity is visible to Trump. And this is a big deal for him personally. And it's a way for Netanyahu to get what he wants out of Trump.
- [04:23]
US Politics Analyst
Trump loves bright and shiny objects, and if you're a head of state, there are few objects more bright or shiny than a Nobel Peace Prize. Additionally, for Trump, basking in Netanyahu's praise plays very well with important elements of his fan base of the MAGA cult. These are people who meet America first, but what they often mean by this is Israel first and America second, which.
- [04:50]
Political Commentator
More and more MAGA voices out to make America great again are taking issue with. At his inauguration, Donald Trump basically told them he would make America isolated again, vowing to end the US's involvement in protracted conflicts overseas. Those forever wars. We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars we end, and perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into. Now his MAGA base sees Trump bankrolling and arming Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza, as his predecessor Joe Biden, did, then bombing nuclear sites in Iran, drawing the US further into the fray rather than taking it out. You won't see many of those critical MAGA voices on mainstream US news outlets. Most of them do their thing on their own platforms where they can attract huge numbers. Every single Republican I'm aware of is like in this weird kind of Israel worship mode all the time. Those voices include hardcore conservatives like former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and ex Trump operative Steve Bannon. I think we're the biggest, one of the biggest defenders of Israel and the nation of Israel around. But this can't go on. When they zero in on the White House, they are tactful, deferential, complaining about the policy, not the president who signed off on it.
- [06:20]
Middle East Analyst
This is just a recognition of political reality, which is Donald Trump does not react very well to personal criticism. When these commentators were critical of our involvement in the Iran Israel war. A few weeks ago, Trump immediately took to his social media platform and started saying, I am the leader of the MAGA movement, not Tucker Carlson. It was clearly smackdown. And so if you are actually serious about changing policy, obviously you're going to criticize the policy, but in a way that is oriented towards changing the politician's behavior.
- [07:01]
US Politics Analyst
Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson are people who traditionally had nothing negative to say about Israel. What's changed is that they now see US policy as being driven by Israeli rather than US priorities. They believe the Iran war was a case of Trump being snookered by Netanyahu. So their opposition to Israel is not so much a principled or moral one, but one based on the US being diverted by Israel from what they believe should be Trump's real priorities.
- [07:32]
Media Critic
A lot of these critiques are coming from right wing media spaces that are outside of the mainstream media ecosystem. We don't really hear this kind of questioning from any US news channel, let alone Fox News, for example. Why is that? Well, it's because pro Israel media bias has been normalized across the spectrum in the mainstream media in the United States.
- [07:53]
Political Commentator
States that pro Israel media bias is not just normalized, it is enforced. Right wing podcasters are not beholden to corporate bosses or shareholders. They generate most of their revenue through donations and subscriptions.
- [08:09]
Georgia Correspondent
Support us become a monthly subscriber or an annual subscriber, whatever is you can do to keep us independent.
- [08:15]
Political Commentator
Because news organizations on the other hand, rely primarily on advertising, which creates a vulnerability because for any lobby group, including pro Israeli ones in the US it is far easier to target a handful of advertisers, companies and corporations than millions of individuals. For Reed Zakaria GPS brought to you.
- [08:38]
Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Expert
By Citi, you have these pro Israel organizations that aggressively lobby media, editorial boards and newsrooms, making it very difficult for them to do their jobs. They put out statements saying CNN is anti Semitic because they heard some about Gaza. That sort of stuff scares advertisers. They're looking to make money, not to make a political statement. So on Fox and on cnn, their advertisers, shareholders, they want a pro Israel line and if they don't get it, they'll just take their money elsewhere.
- [09:08]
Media Critic
There's another part of this pressure system. Groups like Camera and the so called Honest reporting group, they go after reporters, editors and newsrooms. If anybody attempts to do their job and produce fact based journalism about Israel's treatment of the Palestinians, they will be bombarded by threats, letters and posts on social media calling them anti Semitic and liars. These Groups demand public apologies and correction notes. And they specify language that they'd like to see that mimics Israel's talking points. Why does this work? Because they're aggressive and consistent in doing it. And those who are fighting on the other side for an accurate reflection of the genocide of the Palestinians are just not as powerful.
- [09:55]
Political Commentator
Despite that, significant cracks are appearing. Seismic shifts in the US body politic. The polls now being reported on mainstream news outlets that remain in Israel's corner, if not Donald Trump's. In 2017, the Democratic Party was a pro Israeli party. Look at this. They sympathize with the Israelis by 13 points. More with the Israelis than the Palestinians. But look at this sea change from the river to the sea change. Not that one would know that given the pro Israel rhetoric still coming out of the Democratic Party's big wigs. Now Democrats sympathize more with the Palestinians by 43 points. Oh my God.
- [10:34]
Middle East Analyst
That is a part of. This is just the nature of the news business. You cannot just magic up new voices to represent changes in public opinion out of nowhere. There is a career path here.
- [10:52]
Political Commentator
Israel is our friend. And Israel and the United States share a special relationship and similar values and standing up to these terrorists.
- [11:00]
Middle East Analyst
And so the people you're going to see invited onto these shows are always going to lag public sentiment to a certain degree.
- [11:06]
Media Critic
How significant is it that influential voices like Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon are changing their rhetoric? It's a big deal. But will it move us closer to stopping the genocide? I don't think so. Israel's presence in the American psyche is so entrenched, the pro Israel lobby has worked for decades to feed its rhetoric into the media and political spaces, making it difficult to tune out their noise.
- [11:31]
US Politics Analyst
In a plutocracy, the schism between ruler and ruled grows over time. So you're not going to see very dramatic shifts in public opinion translated into policy changes or significant change in media coverage as fast as we need it to happen. It took years for the media to begin changing its tune about the Vietnam War. And then it took even longer for the political class to turn. Now we're dealing with a much more restricted political system and the stakes are astronomically high. So unfortunately, it's going to take time.
- [12:06]
Political Commentator
The very thing that Palestinians in Gaza haven't got time. Ever since the so called Gaza humanitarian foundation, the GHF, took over aid distribution in the Strip, more than 800 Palestinians trying to get that aid have been killed. It turns out that many of the same operatives behind the ghf, which is a joint US Israeli venture, are now cooking up some new plans, the details of which are coming out via some key reporting. Meenakshiravi has been following this story.
- [12:40]
True Crime Reports Host
The escalating criminality of the GHF has made it a compelling story for much of the media. Just last week, there have been new investigations uncovering details of how the GHF came about and its involvement in plans to ethnically cleanse Gaza. From the UK's Financial Times, two reports. The first was about work done by the Boston Consulting Group, one of the world's big three consulting firms, to help get GHF up and running and then to produce financial models for the, quote, relocation of more than half a million Palestinians. The FT's second report focused on the participation of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's think tank, the Tony Blair Institute, in planning for Gaza's, quote, unquote, postwar redevelopment. A scheme named the Great Trust, featuring a Trump Riviera and an Elon Musk smart manufacturing zone. The plan is premised on the BCG financial models to remove Palestinians from Gaza. All of these stories dovetail with reporting by Reuters about a $2 billion proposal to build what's being called humanitarian transit areas inside and outside Gaza to house and quote, de radicalize Palestinians. All the key players mentioned in the recent reporting, the bcg, the TBI, and even the GHF, have issued various denials and disclaimers. The fact remains that the work they've done resembles some of the plans now being put into action by the government of Israel. Defense Minister Israel Katz spoke in a closed door press conference in which he laid out plans about what he called a humanitarian city built on the ruins of Rafah bordering Egypt. Israeli channels reported the plans like this. What none of the channels mentioned, of course, was that with a perimeter sealed off by the Israeli military and an edict that that those who come in cannot leave, Katz's plans essentially amount to a concentration camp for Palestinians in Gaza.
- [14:46]
Political Commentator
Thanks, Mina. For the past eight months now, Georgia has been in a state of political upheaval. What began as a protest over a disputed election result turned into a mass uprising, which then escalated when the government, led by the right wing Georgian Dream Party, put the country's application to join the European Union on hold. The authorities began rounding up citizens in mass arrests while cracking down on the media space, stifling dissent through legal measures like a new foreign agents law. It has since brought the Georgian public broadcaster under its political control, purging it of critical voices while targeting independent media outlets too. The listening Posts Elettra Scrivo, now from Tbilisi, on the creeping authoritarianism in Georgia and press freedoms that may prove to be a thing of the past.
- [15:45]
Georgia Correspondent
Once seen as a post Soviet beacon of democracy in the Caucasus, Georgia has taken, not for the first time, a perilous turn into uncertain times. Journalists are feeling the effects, a crackdown that has created a climate of fear.
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Al Jazeera Correspondent
I do feel like I'm in a dream. Everything I read in books and saw in films about the early years of the Georgian republic and the subsequent Russian occupation is now coming to life. You don't know if you'll make it home alive after filming in the streets. Someone might snatch the camera out of your hands or even kill you. The red lines have already been crossed.
- [16:24]
Georgia Correspondent
Every night at 9pm for eight months now, Georgians across the country have taken to the streets. The objective challenge, the result of last October's parliamentary election, but also protest against the government's decision to stall Georgia's application to join the European Union. Faced with public pushback on an unprecedented scale, the government has tried to silence dissent, including a clampdown on the fourth estate. Many demonstrators say Georgia's public broadcaster has turned into a mouthpiece for the government. So for over 200 consecutive days, they've gathered here outside the broadcaster's headquarters to express their frustration.
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Georgian TV Owner
It should work for the people, but unfortunately it's part of the propaganda machine and it's serving the government. We will be here until the public broadcaster serves us.
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Georgia Correspondent
It has something to do with the morals of the society and damaging it in a way that couldn't be fixed for decades. Yeah, it's been almost half a year since I've been here and I'm gonna continue till the end.
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Al Jazeera Correspondent
Why should citizens have to knock on the door of the public broadcaster begging for a chance to voice their concerns? It's officially closed its doors to the public, but people will continue knocking. They will not stop.
- [17:53]
Georgia Correspondent
The public broadcaster, also known as First Channel, refused to comment and declined to be interviewed. One of the channel's most well known faces was Nino Zautashvili. For more than a decade, she hosted the political talk show RealSpace on the public broadcaster. In March, she was unlawfully fired for what her bosses said was damaging the outlet's reputation.
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Al Jazeera Correspondent
The conflict between us and the management began when we demanded they fulfill their responsibilities to feature voices and stories left out of the news and evening talk shows. As a result, I was fired. This type of censorship was applied to the news programs, their hosts and their journalists, the so called blacklists. Guests were Introduced certain personalities, wouldn't be invited to programs, weren't allowed to ask questions. On my talk show, we always had diverse guests, asked tough questions, and even hosted high ranking officials who answered those questions. But now that platform is gone.
- [19:01]
Independent Georgian Journalist
Another program host, Vasil Ivanov Chikovani, was also fired. He used to begin all of his programs by expressing solidarity with imprisoned journalist Mazia Amaglobelli. The propaganda coming from the broadcaster, as well as the pro government media, namely meditv, Post TV and Rostavi too, is extremely widespread. It's very difficult for small, independent and critical media outlets to adequately confront them.
- [19:31]
Georgia Correspondent
Independent news outlets in Georgia are a rarity, especially on television. Most private broadcasters are owned by businessmen that have strong political ties to either the Georgian Dream Party or the opposition, the United National Movement. The result is a polarized media landscape in which pro government outlets have echoed some of the anti Western narratives and conspiratorial rhetoric pushed out by the ruling party. Ymedi TV is the most popular and most watched private outlet here in Georgia. We're on our way to meet with Irakli Ruhadze, the channel's owner. We wanted to find out how he describes EmeiTV's relationship with the ruling party.
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Georgian TV Owner
Emedi is an overwhelming force in the Georgian TV environment. While we are sympathetic to the ruling party, we are not affiliated in any way or in any way subjected to their views. We are independent. Every party in Georgia has its own TV station. I'm not a politician, I'm a business person. But also, obviously, Medi has leanings against the previous government because we had very bad experience with them, who not only ransacked our TV station, but arrested about 10% of the Georgian population. 300,000 people arrested, many people around me. So for me, they are unacceptable to come back and rule these countries.
- [20:55]
Al Jazeera Correspondent
Ahmedi and Post TV are at the front lines of propaganda. They call those who stand at the rallies people without a motherland, which is a grave offense in Georgia. They make up the most unimaginable stories about people who don't agree with them. Current propaganda often uses vague, unclear terms. For example, the global War Party, the deep state, the idea that LGBTQ people in Europe are trying to impose their lifestyle on us.
- [21:42]
Georgia Correspondent
So we've been watching some of Emedi TV's coverage, and there are some terms used like foreign influence and deep state. And critics say that's straight out of the Russian playbook. What would you say to that?
- [21:56]
Georgian TV Owner
I'm not very much involved in the editorial work of imedi. If I am usually post factum if I don't like something and I may ask questions. I doubt that it is imedi's terminology. I believe that many people in Georgia are using those terms, but this is not imedi's terminology. I'm not sure if you are listening to Donald Trump or elon Musk or J.D. vance or people around them, but they are also using much of this terminology, whether you like it or not. So we are living in a very polarized world. Emedi tries to convey what's going on in the country. Well, the channel has Georgian Dream members quite frequently and so yes, if they are using the terminology, you're going to hear this terminology. We are just showing whatever they are saying. Deep status. Deep status.
- [23:00]
Political Commentator
Marionette.
- [23:04]
Georgia Correspondent
Chance Georgians do have alternatives to MADtv, but they are few and far between. Critical non partisan outlets like Net Gazetty and its sister publication Batumelebi are slowly being choked off by the government, a process that began long before this latest political crisis, but has since worsened.
- [23:27]
Independent Georgian Journalist
Batuma Lebi was initially established as a regional independent outlet in Ajara, which was ruled by an authoritarian pro Russian regime. Our journalists were often under physical and psychological pressure even then. The difference is that today those issues have become more brutal. The scale and intensity of repression have left us completely defenseless. Approximately 150 Georgian reporters have been injured since the protests began in November. To this day, no one has been held accountable for crimes committed against journalists.
- [24:04]
Georgia Correspondent
The government's assaults on journalistic freedom have included arrests, physical attacks, surveillance, fines and destruction of equipment. But there is also more insidious legislation like the Foreign Agents Registration act, which will severely limit the funding of any outlet that relies on international grants. It's just one more tool the government can use to muzzle the media.
- [24:32]
Independent Georgian Journalist
Our decision is not to stop, no matter what. We aren't leaving. We don't plan to immigrate. We will continue. We the journalists must fight until the end. Unfortunately, we have passed the stage where journalism was our only job. Now our task is to save our profession and fight for our country country's European future.
- [24:58]
Political Commentator
And finally, speaking out against Israeli war crimes comes at a cost, as Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian Territories, knows all too well. For years the US and Israel have been calling for her to be removed from her position. And now, during the same week that Donald Trump was busy lapping up praise from Israel's Prime Minister, his administration has slapped her with sanctions. Trump's Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, accused Albanese of anti Semitism and waging warfare against the US and Israel by pushing for the prosecution of Israeli officials by the International Criminal Court. The sanctions came after Albanese published yet another damning report detailing the private companies that are profiteering from Israel's illegal occupation, apartheid, and ongoing genocide in Gaza. The part that Rubio left out was that the US is bankrolling that genocide, one that has taken more than 55,000 Palestinian lives. And those are just the ones that we know about.