The Rostra

Benjamin Berman
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The Rostra is a podcast dedicated to examining global affairs and world politics with honesty, depth, and moral clarity. Hosted by Benjamin Berman—a government relations professional with over 14 years of experience working in politics and public affairs. Each episode seeks to go beyond surface‑level commentary to confront the deeper moral and political questions behind the headlines. Watch episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheRostra

  1. Aug 11

    The Truth About Israel Today

    Roughly three in four Jewish Israelis agree there are simply no innocent people in Gaza — which means they don't consider Gaza's children innocent either. 70% say they're literally the chosen people. 85% say their suffering is worse than any other persecuted group in history. This isn't a fringe view. It's the majority in Israel today. This episode traces exactly how a belief system built on chosen status, exclusive victimhood, and dehumanization moved from psychology into law — and what it's producing right now, from military courts with a 96% conviction rate to a facial recognition system that scans one ethnicity and no other. Watch this episode on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TheRostra This episode draws on independent polling, Israeli government and legal documents, human rights organizations, and direct statements from Israeli officials. Full source list below. SOURCES: Gideon Levy, National Press Club remarks (2015) Polling/Survey data: PCPSR/Pechter Middle East Polls | Hebrew University of Jerusalem | Penn State University | Israel Democracy Institute (Israeli Voice Index) | Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) | Channel 12 (Israel) Academic research: Daniel Bar-Tal, Professor Emeritus, Tel Aviv University | Nurit Peled-Elhanan, Professor, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; "Palestine in Israeli School Books: Ideology and Propaganda in Education" (London: I.B. Tauris, 2012) Ministerial statements: Bezalel Smotrich, "total annihilation" remarks — Haaretz (April 30, 2024) | Bezalel Smotrich, Huwara remarks — Times of Israel (March 2023) | Yoav Gallant, "human animals" remarks — Middle East Eye (Oct. 9, 2023) | May Golan, Knesset remarks — Palestine Chronicle (Feb. 19, 2024) | Amichai Eliyahu, radio remarks — Times of Israel (Nov. 5, 2023) Legal/Institutional: Knesset — Basic Law: Israel as the Nation State of the Jewish People (2018) | Amendment No. 28 to the Entry Into Israel Law (2017) | Death Penalty for Terrorists Law (2026) | Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law (2003) | International Court of Justice | Budget Foundations Law, Amendment No. 40 ("Nakba Law") (2011) | Israel Prison Service | Palestine Center for Prisoners' Studies | Gaza Ministry of Health Human Rights Orgs/NGOs: Save the Children International | UN OCHA | UNICEF | B'Tselem | Amnesty International | Human Rights Watch | Adalah | Human Rights Defenders Fund | Defense for Children International – Palestine News Articles: Haaretz | Times of Israel | Jerusalem Post | Al Jazeera | Middle East Eye | BBC | Reuters | +972 Magazine | The Guardian | Mondoweiss | CNN

  2. Jul 18

    How Israel Deceived America to Build the Bomb

    Israel has nuclear weapons. Everyone knows it. No government has ever said so out loud — not Israel, not the United States, not once, in over sixty years. That silence isn't an accident. It's a policy. And it's covering for something the declassified record makes very hard to defend. This episode isn't about whether Israel has the bomb. It's about the paper trail nobody wants you to read — CIA memos, FBI wiretaps, a president's ultimatum that arrived too late, and a fifty-year pattern that stretches from a small town in Pennsylvania to a freighter in the Mediterranean to a Hollywood producer's front company in California. Washington tried to stop it. The documents show exactly how, and exactly why it failed. This is a fully-sourced investigation into Israel's nuclear weapons program — built on declassified CIA, FBI, and State Department documents, drawn from the National Security Archive, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, and multiple published historical accounts. Watch this episode on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TheRostra Every claim in this episode is sourced to declassified documents, primary records, contemporaneous reporting, and published scholarship. Full source list below. Sources: National Security Archive, "The U.S. Discovery of Israel's Secret Nuclear Project" | National Security Archive, "Kennedy, Dimona, and the Nuclear Proliferation Problem, 1961–1962" | National Security Archive, "The Battle of the Letters, 1963" | National Security Archive, "Duplicity and Self-Deception: Israel, the United States, and the Dimona Inspections, 1964-65" (2020) | National Security Archive, "1960 Intelligence Report Said Israeli Nuclear Site Was for Weapons" (2024) | National Security Archive, "The NUMEC Affair: Did Highly Enriched Uranium from the U.S. Aid Israel's Nuclear Weapons Program?" (2016) | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, "The Sampson Option" | Gilinsky, V. & Mattson, R., "Did Israel steal bomb-grade uranium from the United States?", Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (2014) | Gilinsky, V. & Mattson, R., "Revisiting the NUMEC Affair," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (2010) | Hersh, S., The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy (Random House, 1991) | Davenport, E., Eddy, P. & Gillman, P., The Plumbat Affair (Lippincott, 1978) | United Press International (Lori Santos), "Israeli agent linked to uranium disappearance" (June 16, 1986) | Haaretz, "The Mossad Agent Who Took the Fall for the Lillehammer Fiasco Breaks His Silence" (2023) | FBI/DHS declassified MILCO International case file, FOIA Reference F-2010-01210, released 2012/2015 | The New York Times, "Californian Indicted in Export of Triggers to Israel" (May 17, 1985) | Los Angeles Times, "Engineer Sentenced in Nuclear Trigger Case" (April 30, 2002) | Polakow-Suransky, S., The Unspoken Alliance: Israel's Secret Relationship with Apartheid South Africa (Pantheon, 2010) | Cohen, A., Israel and the Bomb (Columbia University Press, 1998) | IAEA Board Reports GOV/2026/8 (Feb. 2026) and GOV/2026/33 (June 2026) | Kristensen, H. & Korda, M., "Israeli nuclear weapons," Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Nuclear Notebook | Congressional Research Service, R40094, "Iran's Nuclear Program: Tehran's Compliance with International Obligations" | Novara Media, "No evidence Iran is building nuclear bomb, says UN atomic energy chief" (March 4, 2026)

  3. Jul 5

    Israel Has Been Spying on America for Decades

    The Pentagon's own Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) just rated Israel's espionage threat to the United States as "critical" — the highest level it has. This isn't new. It's the latest chapter in a sixty-year pattern of Israel spying on American government and military officials — a record that's never once cost Israel a dollar of U.S. support. Since 1948, Israel has received more U.S. foreign aid than any other country in history — over $300 billion, adjusted for inflation. This episode lays out exactly what Israel has done with that loyalty. Watch this episode on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TheRostra Every claim in this episode is sourced to federal court records, declassified U.S. Government documents, congressional testimony, and reporting from NBC News, the New York Times, Politico, Reuters, and the Arms Control Association. Full source list below. Sources: U.S. Department of Justice / National Security Archive, declassified 1987 CIA damage assessment on Jonathan Pollard | NPR; The Times of Israel, reporting on Pollard's return to Israel, Dec. 30, 2020 | U.S. Department of Justice, press release, "Former Army Employee Pleads Guilty to Acting as Israeli Agent," Dec. 30, 2008 | France 24/Reuters, "Man suspected of spying for Israel spared jail sentence," May 30, 2009 | U.S. Department of Justice, press releases on United States v. Lawrence Franklin | The Forward, "Once Labeled an AIPAC Spy, Larry Franklin Tells His Story" | National Security Archive, "The NUMEC Affair," 2016 | Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Victor Gilinsky and Roger Mattson, "Did Israel steal bomb-grade uranium from the United States?" 2014 | Federation of American Scientists, declassified 1978 GAO report on NUMEC, released 2010 | Foreign Policy, "What Lies Beneath," 2015 | Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, "Middle East History: U.S. Had to Wage Long Battle Against Israel's Technology Transfers to China," 1997 | Christian Science Monitor, Duncan L. Clarke, "Israel is reexporting restricted US military technology to Beijing," July 22, 1998 | Office of Naval Intelligence, unclassified reports, 1996 and 1997 | Arms Control Association, "Israel Halts Chinese Phalcon Deal," 2000 | Haaretz, "China to Get $350M for Lost Phalcon Deal," March 14, 2002 | Arms Control Association, "U.S., Israel Reach China Arms Deal," September 2005 | FlightGlobal, "USA and Israel in crisis over China Harpy deal," January 2005 | Politico; CBS News, reporting on Israeli IMSI-catcher devices near the White House, Sept. 12, 2019 | The Times of Israel, on Netanyahu's denial of the StingRay report, Sept. 12, 2019 | Reuters; Associated Press, reporting on NSO Group/Pegasus hacking of State Department officials in Uganda, Dec. 2021 | NBC News, reporting on DIA "critical" threat-level designation and surveillance of senior U.S. officials, June 2026 | The New York Times, reporting on DIA "critical" threat-level designation, Witkoff/Colby/DiMino surveillance, and 2021/2025 bugging incidents, June 2026 | Al Jazeera, "Why has Pentagon assessed threat of Israeli espionage as 'critical'?" June 7, 2026 | ynetnews, reporting on senior U.S. officials allegedly surveilled by Israel, June 2026 | IBTimes UK, report on spyware found on phones of U.S. military personnel in Israel, June 2026 | Council on Foreign Relations, "U.S. Aid to Israel in Four Charts" | Congressional Research Service, report on U.S. foreign assistance to Israel | USAFacts, analysis of U.S. foreign aid to Israel

  4. Jun 22

    Forgotten History: When Israel Turned on American Marines

    The Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps once accused Israel — in writing, to the Secretary of Defense — of running a deliberate campaign to threaten the lives of his Marines. Most Americans have never heard this story. In this episode, we revisit the 1967 USS Liberty attack, then dig deep into the 1983 Beirut Marine harassment campaign — the tank confrontations, General Robert H. Barrow's extraordinary letter, and the Israeli withdrawal that left U.S. Marines exposed and got two of them killed. We also cover the documented pattern of American lives lost to Israeli forces and settlers since 2003, and a brand-new 2026 Pentagon assessment rating Israeli espionage against the United States at the highest possible threat level. Almost every American politician will tell you Israel is the United States' greatest ally. The historical record tells a different story. Every claim in this episode is sourced to declassified documents, primary records, and contemporaneous reporting. Subscribe for more investigative deep dives into U.S. foreign policy, the Israel lobby, and underreported history. Watch this episode on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@therostra SOURCES:U.S. State Department / Office of the Historian FRUS 1964–68 Vol. XIX, Document 352 | CIA FOIA Reading Room "Richard Helms Oral History Interview, conducted by Robert M. Hathaway" November 8, 1984 | General Robert H. Barrow (USMC Commandant) "Letter to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger" March 14, 1983, published by Washington Report on Middle East Affairs | Donald Neff "Israel Charged With Systematic Harassment of U.S. Marines" Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, March 1995 | Washington Post "Letter Cites 'Life-Threatening Situations'" March 18, 1983 | UPI / TIME Magazine coverage of Captain Charles Johnson tank confrontation, Rayan University Library, February 1983 | Britannica "1983 Beirut barracks bombings" | Responsible Statecraft "41 years ago: 220 Marines involved in Israel's war on Lebanon killed" October 24, 2024 | DAWN (Democracy for the Arab World Now) "U.S. Citizens Killed by Israel: Soldiers and Settlers in Palestine" tracker | Al Jazeera "Why has Pentagon assessed threat of Israeli espionage as 'critical'?" June 7, 2026 | IBTimes UK "US Military Personnel in Israel Found Secret Spyware on Their Phones" June 2026 | Politico "Israel placed surveillance devices near the White House" by Daniel Lippman, September 12, 2019 | NBC News "Netanyahu denies report that Israel planted spy devices near the White House" September 12, 2019 | HSToday "Israel Accused of Planting Mysterious Spy Devices Near the White House" September 14, 2019 | Fox News "Israel blasts report it planted spy devices near White House" September 2019 | Middle East Eye "Republican lawmaker calls for new probe into Israel's USS Liberty attack" June 8, 2026 | Al Jazeera "Why was Israel spared scrutiny for the 1967 USS Liberty attack?" June 8, 2026

  5. Jun 12

    How Congress Is Quietly Fusing the U.S. and Israeli Militaries (NDAA Section 224)

    Buried on page 8 of a 500-page defense bill, Section 224 of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act would permanently fuse the U.S. and Israeli militaries — merging their weapons development, technology pipelines, and defense industrial base in ways that could never be undone. This isn't a foreign aid provision. It doesn't say "give Israel money." That's exactly what makes it so dangerous. In this episode, we break down what Section 224 actually says, how it moves U.S. military support for Israel out of public view and into the Pentagon's procurement system — beyond the reach of congressional votes, the Leahy Law, and foreign aid oversight — and why it directly contradicts Netanyahu's own promise to wean Israel off U.S. military funding. We also examine the role of AIPAC and JINSA in writing these provisions, and the documented ties between Palantir, Oracle, Google, Amazon, and Microsoft and both the U.S. and Israeli militaries. The NDAA has passed every year for 62 consecutive years. Section 224 is counting on you not to notice. TOPICS COVERED:— What NDAA Section 224 actually says in plain English— How it shifts military support for Israel into the Pentagon's procurement system— The Netanyahu contradiction: promising to end aid while Congress deepens it— AIPAC and JINSA's role in writing the provisions— Palantir, Oracle, and the tech companies powering both militaries— The bipartisan opposition from Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie— Why 60% of Americans now view Israel unfavorably — and why Congress doesn't care Sources: H.R. 8800 FY2027 NDAA Chairman's Mark | U.S.–Israel FUTURES Act of 2026 (Sen. Budd/Gillibrand) | H.R. 8445, 118th Congress (Reschenthaler/Miller) | FY26 NDAA Conference Summary, House Armed Services Committee | Ben Freeman, Responsible Statecraft | The Cradle | Al Jazeera | Truthout| AIPAC Statement on FY26 NDAA | JINSA, Partners in Production Report | CET Sandbox | CBS 60 Minutes, Netanyahu Interview | Reuters | Bloomberg | The Economist, Netanyahu Interview | OpenIntel/ECCHR, Palantir Forensic Analysis | UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese Report | The Intercept | Business and Human Rights Resource Centre | Byline Times, Oracle/Palantir Defence Ecosystem | +972 Magazine | Pew Research Center, April 2026 | New York Times/Siena Poll, May 2026 | Quinnipiac University Poll, August 2025 | YouGov/IMEU Poll, November 2025 | Arab Center DC, April 2026

  6. May 30

    The Price of Opposing Israel: The $34 Million Campaign Against Thomas Massie

    Thomas Massie lost one of the most expensive congressional primaries in American history. More than $34 million was spent on a single House primary race — with millions coming from pro-Israel Super PACs, billionaire donors, and political organizations aligned around one goal: removing one of Congress’s most outspoken critics of foreign aid and intervention. In this episode, we examine what actually happened. Using campaign finance records, FEC filings, polling data, public statements, and historical examples, we'll take a closer look at: • The record-breaking spending campaign against Thomas Massie • AIPAC, Super PACs, and the political infrastructure behind modern lobbying operations • How billionaire donors influence congressional elections • The role of foreign policy, Israel, Gaza, and U.S. aid debates in American politics • Why Massie became a target after opposing foreign aid to Israel and introducing legislation challenging lobbying influence • Whether this election represents an isolated case — or part of a larger political pattern This is not simply a story about one politician. It's a story about money, the pro-Israel lobby, political incentives, and what happens when elected officials challenge powerful interests. Watch this episode on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TheRostra Sources: FEC Filings | OpenSecrets | Sludge | Al Jazeera | The Intercept | Al-Monitor | Middle East Monitor | Middle East Eye | Anadolu Agency | Lexington Herald-Leader | USA Today | PBS News | Daily Northwestern | Evanston Now | New York Times | New York Times/Siena Poll | Pew Research Center | BIG DATA POLL | Quantus Insights | Common Dreams | JNS (Jewish News Syndicate) | Americans for Transparency | Barack Obama, A Promised Land (2020) | Paul Findley, They Dare to Speak Out (1985) | Haaretz | Courier-Journal

  7. May 23

    Why Israel Is Spending $730 Million on Propaganda

    Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government are spending an unprecedented $730 million on “public diplomacy” — what Israel calls hasbara — in an effort to reverse collapsing global support for Israel following the war in Gaza. In this episode, we examine Israel’s expanding propaganda and influence campaign, including state-backed social media operations, influencer and pastor outreach programs, AI-driven messaging efforts, media consolidation, censorship allegations involving major technology platforms, and covert online influence networks. We'll explore how Israel's government has responded to a dramatic shift in public opinion, as polling shows declining support for Israel in the United States and around the world. Featuring discussion of: Israel's state-backed social media operations and coordinated digital messagingInfluencer, pastor, and faith-based outreach networksAI-assisted content production and narrative targeting systemsMedia consolidation and pro-Israel billionaire influence shaping information ecosystems in the U.S.Censorship allegations and platform moderation disputes involving Meta and TikTokCoordinated online narrative management across state and non-state actorsThe broader global shift in public perception and Israel’s deteriorating imageThe central question: Can a government spend its way out of global outrage? Watch this episode on YouTube:www.youtube.com/@TheRostra Sources: CBS News / 60 Minutes — Netanyahu interview, May 10, 2026 | Nira Data — 2026 Democracy Perception Index | Pew Research Center | Gallup | Jerusalem Post | Times of Israel | Haaretz | The Guardian | Al Jazeera | 972 Magazine | Human Rights Watch | Electronic Frontier Foundation | New York Times | CyberScoop | Middle East Monitor | Truthout | Responsible Statecraft | 7amleh

  8. May 12

    How Israel Pushed Trump Into War With Iran

    Donald Trump campaigned on “America First” and promised to keep the United States out of another major Middle East war.Instead, the U.S. became directly involved in a war with Iran after years of pressure from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, pro-Israel lobbying organizations, billionaire donors, and hawkish policy networks in Washington.This episode examines how Israel’s political influence network inside the United States helped shape the path to war.From Miriam Adelson’s reported $120 million contribution to Trump’s political operation, to AIPAC’s influence over Congress, to Netanyahu’s direct communications with Trump before the bombing campaign — we'll follow the money, the political apparatus, and the pressure campaign surrounding the conflict with Iran.We examine:• The role of Israeli-American billionaire donor Miriam Adelson and her reported influence within Trump’s political orbit• How AIPAC spent more than $100 million shaping Congress during the 2024 election cycle• The influence of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) and other pro-Israel policy groups on White House Iran strategy• Reuters reporting on Netanyahu’s direct communications with Trump before the bombing campaign• The collapse of peace negotiations mediated by Oman shortly before the outbreak of war• The economic consequences of the conflict, including oil price spikes, Strait of Hormuz disruptions, and the broader impact on Americans at homeThe episode also explores a broader question:To what extent is U.S. Middle East policy driven by American national interests — and to what extent is it shaped by the priorities of Israel, lobbying organizations in Washington, and the billionaire donor networks that finance modern American politics?How is any of this putting America first?Watch the full episode on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TheRostraSources: Reuters | Al Jazeera | CBS News | Newsweek | The Times of Israel | Jacobin | Al Jazeera | NBC News | Washington Post | Arab Center Washington DC | Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas | CEPR | International Energy Agency | Track AIPAC | Spirit Airlines | Axios | Washington Post | New Republic | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

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About

The Rostra is a podcast dedicated to examining global affairs and world politics with honesty, depth, and moral clarity. Hosted by Benjamin Berman—a government relations professional with over 14 years of experience working in politics and public affairs. Each episode seeks to go beyond surface‑level commentary to confront the deeper moral and political questions behind the headlines. Watch episodes on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheRostra

Information

  • Creator
    Benjamin Berman
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Benjamin Berman
  • Show Website
    The Rostra