DeepSummary
The podcast episode discusses the ongoing US-backed Israeli war against Palestinians in Gaza, which has caused widespread starvation, the collapse of healthcare infrastructure, and immense human suffering. Despite US President Joe Biden's recent comments about a 'red line' regarding an Israeli invasion of Rafah, his administration continues to provide military aid and diplomatic support to Israel.
The episode features an interview with Dr. Yara Asi, a public health expert who details the devastating health impacts of the war, including lack of food, water, and medical care leading to preventable deaths, especially among vulnerable groups like pregnant women and infants. Asi also criticizes the dehumanizing narratives and disinformation campaigns promoted by Israel to justify its actions.
Asi expresses disappointment with the Biden administration's lack of meaningful action to stop the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, despite claims of concern. She argues that the administration's proposed solutions like airdrops and building a port are inadequate and merely performative, failing to address the root causes of Palestinian suffering under Israeli occupation and blockade.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- The US-backed Israeli military campaign in Gaza has caused widespread starvation, collapse of healthcare infrastructure, and immense human suffering among Palestinian civilians.
- Israel has engaged in dehumanizing narratives and disinformation campaigns to justify its actions against Palestinians in Gaza.
- The Biden administration's proposed solutions like airdrops and building a port are inadequate and fail to address the root causes of Palestinian suffering under Israeli occupation and blockade.
- There is growing moral outrage and skepticism towards the US government's inaction and justifications for its support of Israel, even among non-Palestinians and non-Muslims.
- The crisis in Gaza has exposed the long-standing US bias in favor of Israel and against Palestinian human rights, even within the Democratic Party.
- The scale and preventability of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, including the impact on vulnerable groups like pregnant women and infants, has been largely overlooked or minimized in mainstream discourse.
- Despite rhetorical concerns expressed by the Biden administration, its continued military aid and diplomatic cover for Israel undermine any claims of taking meaningful action to address the crisis.
- The Palestinian perspective and lived experiences of suffering have been systematically dehumanized and marginalized, both by Israel and the US administration.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “We can literally post pictures of our starving babies, of their decomposing bodies. I mean, the number of horrific stories that have come out of this, just individual stories, set aside the aggregate numbers, which are terrible.“ by Yara Asi
- “The initial story, and what ran for a long time, was that she was caught in the crossfire between Palestinian militants, which, from the get go made no sense. So every time there is a situation where Israel is accused of wrongdoing, they are permitted to investigate themselves, and they are permitted to find themselves not guilty of anything.“ by Yara Asi
- “I think many Palestinian Americans, Arab Americans, Muslim Americans and our allies, because I think one thing the Biden administration has done wrong is to pretend that this is just an issue that matters to Palestinians or Muslims, that they're doing just outreach to Palestinians, Americans or Muslim groups or whatever. And I have heard from many non people who have no skin in this game, who are absolutely disgusted and appalled that they live in a country where there is a famine happening, imposed by a US ally that receives billions of dollars in military aid, unprecedented diplomatic cover at the UN Security Council and any other number of international bodies.“ by Yara Asi
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Episode Information
Intercepted
The Intercept
3/13/24
After six months of a sustained U.S.-backed Israeli war of annihilation against the Palestinians of Gaza, President Joe Biden says he now has a “red line.” Asked about Israel’s threatened full-scale invasion of Rafah, Biden said, “You can't have another 30,000 Palestinians dead as a consequence of going after [Hamas],” Biden told MSNBC. “There are other ways to deal with Hamas.”
The White House has taken no action to halt the transfer of arms and other support to Israel’s war and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has openly said that he, not Biden, will decide whether to occupy Gaza. As the Ramadan holiday begins, the humanitarian reality of the people in Gaza has descended into horror. Israel’s deliberate starvation campaign is intensifying the already indescribable suffering wrought by constant bombing and ground operations. The decimation of the health infrastructure and the attacks against hospitals have resulted in the collapse of basic health services.
This week on Intercepted, Yara Asi, author of “How War Kills: The Overlooked Threats to Our Health,” joins Jeremy Scahill and Murtaza Hussain for a discussion on the health impacts of the war, the dehumanizing narratives Israel has deployed to justify its mass-killing operations, and the U.S. plans for building a port off the Gaza coast. Asi is an assistant professor at the University of Central Florida in the School of Global Health Management and co-director of the Palestine Program for Health and Human Rights at Harvard University.
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