Who—and Why—Israelis Are Protesting Can a general strike and mass protests sway Netanyahu’s government—or will it just double down?

Will the deaths of six hostages mark a turning point in how Israelis view the war in Gaza—and how Netanyahu’s government is conducting it?

Guest: Yair Rosenberg, staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of its newsletter Deep Shtetl

Local News Roundup: 4 officers die in shooting; college protests over the war in Gaza; CMS budget; a win for transgender health care in NC

This week saw one of the worst shootings of law enforcement in U.S. history and the worst ever in Charlotte. Four officers and the perpetrator died and other law enforcement officials were injured. We look at what happened, learn more about those killed, and discuss what comes next.

UNC-Chapel Hill is one of the schools across the country where people are being arrested and academics are being disrupted due to protests over the war in Gaza and the relationship these institutions have with Israel.

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board voted unanimously to approve a slightly revised budget proposal. It includes pay raises for teachers and staff, technology upgrades for students, and building maintenance. Now the budget heads to the county commission. We break down what we can expect.

And a federal appeals court ruled that gender-affirming care must be covered by state health insurance in North Carolina. This comes as restrictions on transgender health continue to pass in state legislatures across the country.

All that and more on the Charlotte Talks Local News Roundup.

GUESTS:

Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time”
Nick de la Canal, WFAE host and reporter
Ann Doss Helms, WFAE education reporter
Erik Spanberg, managing editor at the Charlotte Business Journal

Is Israel Committing Genocide?

South Africa has accused Israel of committing genocide before the International Court of Justice and is asking the United Nations to intervene and order the Israeli government to cease military operations in Gaza. The ICJ now must decide how to characterize an increasingly bloody campaign.

Guest: Adil Haque, professor of international law at Rutgers University and author of Law and Morality at War.

Is it that hard to be a leader for all Americans?

It’s “so-called Islamophobia,” at least according to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who used that label to deride President Joe Biden’s efforts to counter every kind of hate in a diverse America. Mr. Governor, please tell that to the family and friends of 6-year-old Wadea Al-Fayoume, a child of Palestinian descent, born in the good old USA, who was stabbed 26 times, allegedly by his landlord and neighbor.

In the last debate of Republicans who hope to be their party’s presidential nominee, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie was asked about Wadea’s murder, and the violence that has spread from the Middle East to America. It was right after DeSantis, doing his very best Donald Trump impression, had delivered his “tough guy” pronouncement about which Americans deserve protection.

It gave Christie a chance to distinguish himself among those on the stage, acknowledging that intolerance knows no limits, especially in times of war. Christie described his post-9/11 efforts, after he was tapped on Sept. 10, 2001, to be U.S. attorney for New Jersey, to tamp down “explosive” emotions in a state with citizens who did not look nor worship the same, and may have had different views on life and politics.

It’s not that Christie doesn’t support Israel and its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, wholeheartedly, and endorse the country’s right to defend itself after a surprise Hamas terrorist attack. Christie’s words that night, and in a subsequent visit to Israel, have only reinforced this notion of backing whatever actions Israel views as necessary. His answer only sounded tame when compared with the four others on the stage, full of bluster and slogans for Israel to “finish the job.”

How could they ever hope to govern a country that is a lot more messily diverse than the Garden State, full of Americans whose opinions don’t fit into neat categories?

The rhetoric sounded far less nuanced than what you can read in the pages of Israel’s Haaretz. Its columnists, while steadfast in their condemnation of the horror and brutality of the terrorist attack and the taking of hostages whose fate remains uncertain, have not been shy about criticizing the actions and tactics of prime minister Netanyahu, before and after Oct. 7.

I was reminded about another debate, one I witnessed in a divisive time, with a lineup of GOP presidential nominee hopefuls that included Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani, playing to a South Carolina crowd. When the moderator asked about a hypothetical terrorist attack on America, all conjured up scenes of torture, invoking the tactics of then-popular TV hero Jack Bauer, who, in the show “24,” regularly extracted information in the most gruesome way possible.

Except, that is, for the late Sen. John McCain, the only one on the stage who had been tortured, for years, in a Vietnamese prison. “It’s not about the terrorists, it’s about us,” he said. “It’s about what kind of country we are.”

It’s not easy to take an unpopular stand when emotion and an understandable desire for payback pushes in another direction. And in 2007, while the others were bathed in cheers, McCain’s remarks were greeted with silence.

Isn’t that what leaders do, though: express thoughtful opinions that might not be popular in the moment?

Today, it is possible to condemn the Hamas attack on Israelis, demand the release of hostages who must be experiencing unimaginable terror and express empathy for innocent Palestinians, many of them now-orphaned and injured children, suffering without food, medicine, water and fuel, huddled in hospitals and United Nations shelters in Gaza. You can admire the brave medical personnel in Israel and Gaza. You can fight both antisemitism and anti-Muslim sentiment.

Will Tensions with Iran Lead to a Military Conflict?

CHARLOTTE, NC — The Trump administration has announced it is sending Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the Persian Gulf to discuss a response to an attack on Saudi oil facilities. The president campaigned on not involving the U.S. in wars across the globe, but this crisis has escalated tensions in the region. Though rebels in Yemen claimed credit for attacks on Saudi oil facilities, intelligence services say Iran is the culprit; after pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, the president has been looking for a way to re-start talks with the country’s leaders.