July 22 - A Militant Mood in Israel as Politics Move Further to the Right; The Perspective of a Former Palestinian Negotiator; Improving Fortunes for Democrats in the South

Full Program

Part 1

We begin and go to Jerusalem for an update on the mood in Israel as the military assault on Gaza continues, and because a Hamas rocket landed a mile from Ben Gurion airport, U.S. airlines have cancelled flights due to security concerns. Asher Kaufman, a professor of History and Peace at Notre Dame and the former head of Middle East Studies at the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace, joins us to discuss the overwhelming support in the press and among the Israeli people for the Gaza operation and the absence of a political opposition as Israel’s politics move further to the right.

Part 2

Then we speak with Leila Hilal, a Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation who served as a legal adviser to the Palestinian Negotiations Department and as an external adviser to the Palestinian Negotiating Team at the Annapolis bi-lateral peace talks of 2008. We discuss the continuing intense bombardment of Gaza as U.S. and U.N. diplomats pursue peace talks to end the fighting that has claimed over 625 Palestinians, mostly civilians including 100 children, with 183 militants killed according to the Israeli military, while so far two Israeli civilians have died, along with 27 soldiers.

Part 3

Then finally we look into Tuesday’s Republican primary in Georgia and assess the fortunes of Democrats running in the South where a number of incumbent are facing well-financed Koch brothers-funded challengers while two Democratic challengers, Alison Grimes who could upset Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky and Michelle Nunn, running for the U.S. Senate in Georgia, both look promising for Democratic pick-ups. Bob Moser, senior editor at National Review and executive editor of The American Prospect, where he has an article “A Bridge in Georgia”, joins us to discus how these candidates running as Republican Lite in red states, can inspire the Democratic base to come out in a mid-term election.