The Listening Post

The cracks are deepening in the US-Israel alliance

Cracks in the special US-Israel relationship cannot be hidden any longer – rifts are showing.

Six months into Israel’s devastating war on Gaza, the United Nations Security Council has finally passed a resolution demanding a ceasefire. The United States’s abstention marks a pivotal moment in Israel’s increasing international isolation.

In the Israeli media, the opposition to the UN vote is near-unanimous and unsurprising. More striking is the lack of interest from American news outlets. The implications this story raises are perhaps a little uncomfortable for them – they hit too close to home.

Contributors:
Ramzy Baroud – Editor, The Palestine Chronicle
Ardi Imseis  – Former UNRWA official
Daniel Levy – President, US-Middle East Project
Sarah Leah Whitson – Executive Director, DAWN

On our radar:

A New York Times piece has revealed more information about the mass surveillance Israel has deployed on Palestinians in Gaza. Producer Tariq Nafi reports on how facial recognition is being used to collect and catalogue the faces of Palestinians, “without their knowledge or consent”.

Modi’s messaging machine

In a few weeks, India will launch a six-week-long process of voting for the next national government – and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to win an historic third term in office. Producer Meenakshi Ravi explores the all-encompassing information ecosystem that is likely to help put Modi back in the prime minister’s office.

Featuring:
Neerja Chowdhury – Contributing editor, Indian Express
Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay – Author, Narendra Modi: The man, the times
Saba Naqvi – Author, ‘The Saffron Storm’