Hello and welcome to Useful Idiots.

I'm Katie Helper.

I'm Erin Matei.

Thank you so much for being here.

Our website, as always, is Useful Idiots Podcast.com.

And this week, as is becoming the norm around here, which is we have so much to talk about,

we're bringing you two different interviews. We'll be looking at the latest Israeli assault on a freedom

flotilla ship trying to break the blockade of Gaza and the brutal treatment of some of the

brave people who were on board, especially Christian Smalls, the labor organizer who organized Amazon workers for

Amazon's first ever union, very brave person, was the only African American on this ship and

was beaten up by Israeli forces in detention afterwards.

So we'll be talking about that.

And then also we'll get an update on what's happening in the

West Bank from journalist Jasper Nathaniel, who's been covering things there on the ground and has a

lot of experience. And because the Gaza genocide is so horrific, what's happening in the West Bank

has been overshadowed, but it's also terrible. and we'll be looking at that and a whole lot more.

Yes, indeed. And speaking of Israel and how terrible the situation is in Gaza, let's start off

with Democrats suck by looking at a clip of Michigan Democratic Senator, Alyssa Slotkin, during an

interview that she did with Crystal Ball and Sagan

on breaking points this week. And here she is being asked on whether she would cut off military

funding to Israel. But will you cut off aid to Israel so long as they're committing crimes against

humanity? There is a difference between a weapon to protect a country from incoming missiles versus

...