On today’s YouTube videocast Halitics I try to convince a skeptical Hal Ginsberg that the world is finally taking notice of the famine conditions perpetuated by the Israeli military against the people of Gaza. I’m starting to see that Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump are feeling the pressure from the international community focused on the lack of food and unnecessary civilian deaths. Will that increased attention change the status quo? We’ll have to wait and see, but we do know the deaths in Gaza since October 2024 just passed 60,000 Palestinians, and now we have victims of starvation adding to that terrible total. The U.S. is supplying weapons and money that contribute to civilian deaths, yet President Trump and the GOP Congress look away. Meanwhile, Israeli and American Jews are uncomfortably divided between revenge and peace.

Hal expects more from the Democratic Party, whose approval ratings are in the tank. I point out that Democrats are weak because they have no power and are led by old, moderate leadership and little media exposure. We talk about the many institutions, like universities, law firms, and media companies that are capitulating to please Trump, just as Hungarians did when Viktor Alban consolidated his aristocracy.