British Elections Will Change Nothing That Matters, Israeli Ultra-Orthodox to be Forced to Fight, Israeli Policy of Famine in Gaza, more...

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Welcome back to Political Misfits on Radio Sputnik, where we bring you news, politics and culture - without the red and blue treatment. I am John Kiriakou here with Michelle Witte.

It’s not too early to begin talking about the UK’s upcoming national elections, scheduled for July 4.  The conventional wisdom is, of course, that Keir Starmer’s Labour Party will win an enormous, perhaps historic, victory.  Indeed, polls released yesterday show that Labour holds a 20 point lead over the Conservative Party of Rishi Sunak.  But that’s not really the story.  The story is more complicated.  On the one hand, there is no guarantee that the Conservatives will even come in second.  The Reform Party of populist Nigel Farage is surging and is polling just three points less than the Conservatives.  And second, the British economy has been on autopilot for more than a decade.  The Conservatives did nothing to grow the economy.  And it doesn’t appear that Labour has much of an idea how to do that, either.  //  In Israel, the Supreme Court has made a momentous ruling.  It may not sound like much to most of us, but it has the ability to reshape Israeli society.  The Supreme Court yesterday ruled that ultra-Orthodox religious students must serve in the military.  That doesn’t sound like a very big deal.  But it is.  The ultra-Orthodox have always refused to serve.  Many of them don’t even recognize Israel as a state, saying that only the coming of the messiah heralds the creation of a state called “Israel.”  Israeli pundits today are comparing what the aftermath of this decision could be to the nationwide protests that we saw last year when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tried to take control of the nation’s judiciary.  //  Yesterday we told you that both the United Nations and the World Food Programme were warning of an imminent famine in Gaza.  We said that the border crossing from Sinai was closed, the air drops were ineffective, and the so-called humanitarian pier was on-again-off-again.  Well, today, Netanyahu said that the fact that anybody was starving was the fault of Hamas and Hezbollah and UNRWA and the West, etc. etc.

We're joined by foreign affairs and security analyst Mark Sleboda.

Questions:

1. Thanks for being with us, Mark.  Let’s start with the UK.The election is in a week, and it looks like Labour is headed for a huge victory.  But pundits aren’t sure that really matters in any real sense.  Many major policies won’t change.  And more importantly, the economy likely won’t get much of a boost.  What are your thoughts on this?  With a gigantic working parliamentary majority, it would be easy for a Prime Minister Keir Starmer to implement socialist policies.  But will he?  Will anything change?

2. Everybody seems to hate the Tory idea of sending refugees to Rwanda.  What about the rest of British foreign policy?  Do you see any changes coming there? 

3. Nigel Farage has left the fringe of British politics and is now being seen as the Donald Trump of British elections.  His Reform Party has a real chance to come in second.  Is this a fluke?  Or do you expect Farage to be a serious political player?  And if so, in what way?

4. Tell us about this Israeli court decision that mandates that ultra-Orthodox Yeshiva students serve in the military.  The Jerusalem Post today predicted violence, as the ultra-Orthodox refuse service.  What do you expect to see?  And what effect will this have on the current conflict in Gaza?

5. Do you think we’re actually heading for a famine in Gaza in the coming weeks?

6. I also have to ask you about Evan Gershkovich, whose trial began in Russia today.  In my mind, there are some serious parallels between his situation and Julian Assange’s.  Is this a political case with a possible political solution?  Or are the Russians treating this as a straight case of espionage?
   
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   https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cnee42vmn7xo

   https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/6/25/israel-war-on-gaza-live-leaked-un-report-warns-high-famine-risk-remains
   
   Both feted and gilded, Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak are two sides of the same rotten politics | Aditya Chakrabortty | The Guardian
   https://labour.org.uk/updates/stories/10-labour-policies-to-change-britain/
   https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/clll8d2vd8yo
   https://www.chathamhouse.org/2023/10/labour-foreign-policy-lot-conservative-foreign-policy-israel-hamas-war-no-exception

   Inside Labour’s foreign policy factory - New Statesman
   Does U.K. Labour's Keir Starmer Have a Foreign-Policy Plan? (foreignpolicy.com)
   Has Reform really overtaken the Tories in the polls? And does that mean it could beat them on July 4? (theconversation.com)
   Who are the five Reform UK candidates predicted to win their seats? | The Independent
   
   Israel is perennially swept up in religious conflict. Yet many of its citizens are secular | AP News
   Gantz vows 'real service plan for both Haredim and Arabs' if he forms a government | The Times of Israel
   Supreme Court Rules Israel’s Haredi must do compulsory military service - The Washington Post

   
   The CIA Owns Everyone of Any Significance in the Major Media - Peace & Planet News (peaceandplanetnews.org)
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   Kevin Rothrock, A Gem in the State Department's Eyes, by Anatoly Karlin - The Unz Review
   Private Email of Top U.S. Russia Intelligence Official Hacked – Foreign Policy