511. Is Blair Undermining Starmer on Iran? (Question Time)
11 March 2026
343. What Happens Next: Israel vs. the International Criminal Court
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Podcast
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27 November 2024
How has the world responded to the International Criminal Court's arrest warrant for top Israeli officials? What does Trump have planned for the war in Ukraine? Is Chancellor Rachel Reeves really embarking on a ‘growth agenda’?
Join Rory and Alastair as they answer all this and more in today's episode of The Rest Is Politics.
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Why Elon Musk criticizes policies and attacks politicians across the world but he never condemns nor talks about Putin atrocities.A fee speech means that if we hold a different opinion over the same issues we must not get insulted or fooled by who might disagree.This to me means free speech .I hope that trump will manage through to end the war by striking a great deal .But it takes two to tango .I doubt he will be able to achieve it ,but I hope he can make a great deal , Zelensky cannot sign a surrender agreement whereby he makes all territory concessions
On the subject of Israel:
1) Concerning the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, I really do recommend one of you reads or rereads Robert Fisk’s book “Pity the Nation”. I’m reading it for the first time since I bought it more than 10 years ago. I am at the Isreali Invasion of Lebanon in 1982/1983 and it reads just like I imagine it would if there were someone like Fisk reporting from Lebanon today. (is there any Western Journalist reporting from Lebanon today?) In Fisk’s day there was him for the Times, the AP, Friedman for the NYT, AFP and a small host of others).
Pretty much all of it could remain the same including the war-aims – Isreal invades Lebanon to kick out the bad guys and get peace on its northern border. Also simply substitute : Biden (and ceasefire Plan) for Reagan (and Peace Plan), Hizbollah for PLO, Netanyahu for Begin (they are even the same Party). The big names in the Maronite, Druze, Sunni and Shia camps would need to be updated but I suspect the mutual suspicions of those groupings are not very far below the surface. Also Fisk and the Times were multiple times accused of anti-semitism just for reporting the goings on in Lebanon as accurately as they could. This also resonates today.
Fisk makes a big deal out of the fact that Lebanon has been the object of foreign invasions for at least two thousand years – and in the end the invaders either leave or are kicked out.
The goal of the 1982/83 was make Israel safe against PLO attacks from Lebanon by kicking the PLO out of Lebanon. In this they succeeded but only at the cost of causing the Hizbollah to be formed who eventually caused the IDF to leave (or drove them out of) Lebanon.
Who knows what is going to take the place of the Hizbollah? But almost certainly something will.
2) The Israeli Newspaper Haaretz is being newly boycotted by the Israeli Government. It would be nice to mention this at the next appropriate occasion and maybe give them a plug.