Day: May 10, 2021

Background Briefing: May 10, 2021

 

Clashes in Jerusalem as Israel Forms a Far-Right Government Under Naftali Bennett

We begin with rockets fired from Gaza and airstrikes in response as 300 Palestinians are injured in clashes in Jerusalem around the third holiest shrine in Islam, the al-Aqsa mosque, following days of provocations from Israeli nationalists and settlers who plan to evict Palestinian families from their homes in the Sheikh Jarrah district of East Jerusalem. Joining us is Gideon Levy, an Israeli journalist and columnist for Haaretz and a member of its editorial board. He is the former spokesman for Shimon Perez and is the author of The Punishment of Gaza who writes the weekly Twilight Zone feature on the West bank occupation and Gaza whose latest article is “A Totally Right Wing Government.” We discuss Israel’s new government that is even further to the right than Netanyahu’s was and the growing political and economic weakness of the Palestinians compared to the growing strength of the Israelis. 

 

Was the Cyberattack on Critical Infrastructure by Russian Criminals, the State, or Both?

Then we look into the ransomware cyber attack on the critical infrastructure of Colonial Pipeline which supplies 100 million gallons of fuel daily amounting to 45% of the East Coast’s supply of gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Sean Lyngaas, a Senior Reporter at CyberScoop covering the Department of Homeland Security and Congress joins us to discuss his latest article “Cyberattack disrupts Colonial Pipeline, which transports 100 million gallons of fuel daily.” We investigate the relationship between Russian Intelligence and the criminal group DarkSide who claim to be apolitical and only interested in money but never engage in attacks against Russian targets. 

 

The Trump GOP is Looking More and More Like Putin’s United Russia

Then finally we examine how the Republican Party is becoming more and more like Putin’s rubber-stamp party United Russia as the GOP falls in behind Trump as their “Dear Leader” and embrace the “Big Lie” while pulling out all the stops to cheat in the next elections. Michael Khodarkovsky, a Professor of History at Loyola University Chicago who is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times and is the author of Russia’s 20th Century: A Journey in 100 Histories, joins us to discuss how Putin’s propaganda machine and Trump’s are alike and together they are dividing America and turning Americans against each other.