The Israel-Gaza Conflict
A Conflict that Divides Our Country
EmpowerU Podcast
Tuesday, May 14, 2024
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
How Well is the Mainstream Media Covering the Israel-Gaza Conflict?
The events of October 7 shocked the world, and what has happened since is even more shocking. The conflict between Israel and Hamas is gradually expanding, and every day the risks of an even wider conflict increase.
The United States is deeply divided over the conflict, with a faction supporting Israel’s action, another supporting Hamas, and another supporting Israel’s self-defense as long as innocent Palestinians aren’t injured. The Biden administration is sending mixed messages, contributing to the escalation.
Joel Pollak has been covering the Israel-Hamas conflict for Breitbart from the beginning, and he has visited Israel several times since October 7. He’ll join EmpowerU to share his insights about the conflict, including its underlying causes, its expansion, the mainstream news coverage of the conflict, the trajectory the conflict seems to be taking, the Biden administration’s handling of the conflict, and what an effective solution will look like.
Hear the facts straight from the source as EmpowerU Podcast Host Jerry Thomas talks with Joel Pollak- one who has been to Israel multiple times since the conflict started.
Speaker Bio:
Joel Pollak- Senior Editor-at-Large for Breitbart News.
Joel Pollak is one of the most prolific writers at Breitbart News with his regular column, Blue State Blues, his on-the-ground reporting from Israel after the October 7 Hamas massacre of innocent civilians, and his fearless political reporting where he challenges the status quo.
Born April 25, 1977, in Johannesburg, South Africa, Joel Pollak immigrated as a young boy to the United States with his family. He grew up in Chicago, Illinois, becoming a US citizen in 1987. After graduating from Harvard University, Pollak returned to South Africa to earn a master’s degree in Jewish Studies at the University of Cape Town, and he later worked as a speechwriter for South African politician Tony Leon.
Before joining Breitbart News, Pollak ran unsuccessfully for Congress as a Tea Party Republican representing Illinois’ 9th district. He ran against incumbent Democrat Jan Schakowsky, who promoted the corrupt ShoreBank bailout while ignoring community banks in her own district.
Joel Pollak actually used to be what he described in an interview with Chicago Mag as a “raving Democrat,” but started moving to the right while at Harvard Law School, feeling that Democrats in Congress had no agenda other than bashing President Bush. He earned his law degree in 2008.
One of Pollak’s many books is, How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, in which he discusses the reasons for Trump’s 2016 win, especially pointing to the fact that Trump defied the media. In 2020 he published Red November, in which he argued – presciently – that Joe Biden, despite posing as a moderate, was the most extreme leftwing presidential candidate in history. Later that same year Pollak published, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, in which detailed the distortions that made a Trump re-election difficult if not impossible – vote-by-mail, political violence, tech censorship, media bias, claims of voter fraud and more. His most recent book, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order!’: A Biography is about his late mother-in-law, a South African antiapartheid activist who became a noted political columnist and Trump supporter.
In addition to serving as senior editor-at-large for Breitbart News, Pollak hosts the Breitbart News Sunday radio show on SiriusXM Patriot Channel 125, 7 – 10 p.m. Eastern.
Joel’s wife, Julia, was born in Cape Town, South Africa. Joel and Julia met while she was working as an intern in the South African Parliament and Joel was working as a speechwriter for South African politician Tony Leon. Julia eventually graduated from Harvard with a degree in economics. She is also a 10-year veteran of the U.S. Navy Reserve. Joel and Julia live with their children in the Los Angeles area.