The Rostra

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 home
The 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/@TheRostra
Sources: 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

This was never a ceasefire.

Israel didn’t intend to leave Gaza—and the pattern on the ground makes that clear. While officials frame the situation as “self-defense” or “de-escalation,” Israeli forces continue to expand control, restrict aid, and carry out strikes that make large parts of Gaza unlivable.

This episode breaks down what’s actually happening:

• A ceasefire that is repeatedly violated

• Territory that continues to expand under military control
• Humanitarian aid that is deliberately restricted
• Public statements from Israeli officials pointing to long-term presence and expansion

Taken together, this isn’t a temporary phase of a war winding down.

It’s a strategy.

A strategy that makes life in Gaza increasingly impossible—pushing Palestinians into smaller, more crowded areas with no viable path to return or rebuild.

If a ceasefire doesn’t stop the violence…

If forces don’t withdraw…

If control on the ground keeps expanding…

Then the question isn’t whether this is ending.

It’s what the end goal really is.

Watch this episode on YouTube: www.youtube.com/@TheRostra

Sources: BBC | Sky News | Al Jazeera | UNICEF | UN OHCHR | Forensic Architecture | Christian Science Monitor | CounterCurrents | Times of Israel | Ynet | Haaretz | Middle East Monitor | JNS | Channel 12 (Israel) | Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft | Brown University Costs of War Project | IMEU | Human Rights Watch

This episode breaks down the mounting evidence that Israeli military operations in Gaza and Lebanon have repeatedly targeted paramedics, ambulances, hospitals, and aid workers—all protected under international law.

From the Rafah paramedic killings in March 2025 to consecutive strikes on emergency responders in Lebanon and the systematic destruction of Gaza’s healthcare system, these are not isolated incidents. The reporting points to a pattern.

Citing investigations from the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations (UN), Human Rights Watch, and on-the-ground reporting from the Associated Press and others, this episode examines whether Israel's actions meet the legal threshold for war crimes—repeated and systematic violations of the Geneva Conventions.

If the evidence is this clear, the real question is:
why won’t Western governments call it what it is?

Sources: World Health Organization (WHO) | United Nations (UN) / OHCHR | Human Rights Watch (HRW) | Associated Press (AP) | CNN | Reuters | TRT World | The Guardian | EU Observer | Al Jazeera | The Washington Post | BBC | Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) | Doctors Without Borders (MSF) | Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem | Geneva Conventions

You can judge a society by how it treats children.

This episode examines the conditions facing Palestinian children living under Israeli military occupation in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Drawing on reporting from the United Nations, UNICEF, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Save the Children, and B'Tselem, this episode connects individual cases to broader, documented patterns.

It looks directly at:

• The scale of child casualties and injuries in Gaza
• Medical testimony from doctors working in the conflict zone
• The treatment of Palestinian children in the West Bank
• Israel’s military detention system for children

This episode is an examination of patterns—what is happening, how it is happening, and what it suggests about the system and country behind it.

It focuses on what has been documented—and what that means when the victims are children.

Since October 2023, the United States has committed over $30 billion tied to Israel’s wars — including more than $20 billion in direct military aid.

In this episode, we'll break down where that money actually goes, how the system works, and what it means in practice.

We'll walk through:

• The structure of U.S. military aid to Israel, including Foreign Military Financing (FMF)
• The surge in funding following October 2023
• Additional spending tied to the broader regional conflict
• Early cost estimates from the ongoing war with Iran
• And how U.S. support can indirectly shape Israel’s domestic spending priorities

This is a clear, fact-based look at one of the largest and least understood areas of U.S. foreign spending.

Israel has passed a new law authorizing the execution of Palestinians. In military courts, the death penalty is now mandatory, with a timeline that can move from conviction to execution in as little as 90 days.

But this episode argues that the law cannot be understood in isolation.

Palestinians in the West Bank are tried in a separate military legal system—one with a near-total conviction rate and a long record of documented abuses. At the same time, Israeli settlers are tried in civilian courts under a different legal framework, with vastly different outcomes.

Drawing on reporting and analysis from organizations such as B'Tselem, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch, this episode examines how the new law fits into a broader system that critics describe as structurally unequal.

The result, they argue, is not a departure—but an escalation.

Because when a system built on unequal justice is given the power to kill, the consequences are irreversible.

Israeli settlers have carried out repeated attacks on Palestinian civilians—burning homes, destroying property, and forcing communities off their land. These incidents are frequently framed as isolated clashes or the actions of a few extremists.

This episode examines a pattern of violence in the occupied West Bank that is often described as “complex,” but rarely analyzed on its own terms.

Using widely accepted definitions of terrorism, I'll look at whether this violence—deliberate, organized, and politically motivated—meets that threshold.

This episode also examines the role of the Israeli state, from settlement funding and infrastructure to military protection during attacks on Palestinians and the integration of settler extremists into government.

Finally, it looks at the international response—particularly from the United States and other Western governments—and asks why the standards used to define and confront terrorism appear to shift when it comes to Israel.

Sources: Haaretz | Associated Press | BBC | The New York Times | CNN | TRT World | Al Jazeera | France 24 | B'Tselem | Human Rights Watch | Standing-Together | Peace Now

The recent killing of four members of a Palestinian family raises broader questions about what’s happening in the West Bank: is this still an occupation, or is Israel pursuing an even darker policy shift?

This episode explores settlement expansion, Israeli military and settler violence against Palestinians, and the growing argument that Israel is moving toward de facto annexation and permanent control of the West Bank.

The world is watching Iran. Gaza has been forgotten. But the killing hasn't stopped.

Since October 10th, 2025, Israel has violated the so-called ceasefire more than 1,620 times. Over 650 Palestinians have been killed. More than 1,700 wounded. The confirmed death toll since October 2023 now stands at over 72,000 — including more than 20,000 children.

This is not a ceasefire breaking down. It is a ceasefire that never existed.What we are watching is the continuation of Israel's managed genocide — systematic, daily, and deliberate — carried out under the false cover of diplomatic language while Western governments and media look the other way. The violence is not a deviation from Israel's policy. It is the policy.

Palestinian children in Gaza are still dying almost every day. Not because the ceasefire failed. Because Israel never intended to honour it.The word "ceasefire" has become a lie the Israel, the United States, and other Western governments have agreed to tell. It's time to stop pretending otherwise.

[Recorded on March 13, 2026]

Sources: The Guardian | Reuters | PBS News | The Lancet Global Health | Committee to Protect Journalists | B'Tselem | The United Nations OHCHR