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‘Pod Save America’ Staff Revolt Over Israel-Hamas War
Pod Save America hosts on tour. Photo: Screenshot
Crooked Media, the liberal media company that runs the popular “Pod Save America” podcast, is facing an internal staff revolt over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
Staffers at “Pod Save America,” arguably one of the most influential media platforms among Democrats, are lashing out at the show’s hosts — former US President Barack Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor, Jon Lovett, and Dan Pfeiffer — for taking tempered stances on the war in Gaza, according to Bloomberg. The staffers, who are typically much younger and progressive than the hosts, have become incensed at the show’s alleged lack of sympathy for the plight of Palestinian civilians in Gaza or anti-Israel protesters in the United States.
“The war in Gaza in particular pitted employees against each other and their bosses. Some people said the hosts weren’t empathetic enough toward Palestinian suffering, or understanding of pro-Palestine protesters,” Bloomberg reported.
To express their support for the Palestinian cause, staffers have reportedly started sharing news reports by anti-Israel outlets in the company’s Slack channel. They have also placed watermelon emojis next to their Slack usernames — a symbol that activists have used on social media to indicate their support for the pro-Palestinian movement. Some Crooked Media employees have even reportedly started wearing the keffiyeh — a traditional Palestinian head covering — around the office.
Staff members have urged Crooked Media to hold an office-wide conference to address the internal fracture over the Israel-Hamas war, according to reports. Crooked Media denied these requests, instead encouraging employees to discuss the topic individually during office hours with the company’s founders.
Moreover, the company’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war has reportedly sparked conflict between staff members, causing some employees to depart the company.
Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported, one producer was discussing anti-Israel protests on university campuses, and someone else overheard the conversation and thought the producer had uttered a slur. “The incident was reported to human resources, which investigated the claim and cleared the producer of any wrongdoing, though the producer later quit rather than endure the highly-charged workplace culture,” according to the report.
The ongoing Israel-Hamas war has somewhat divided the American political left. Polling suggests that commanding majorities of liberals support a “ceasefire” between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group. A majority of US Democrats also believe the unsubstantiated notion that Israel is committing a “genocide” in Gaza, according to a poll conducted by Zeteo and Data for Progress that was released in May. Democrats also now indicate more “sympathy” for Palestinians than Israelis, according to recent polling from Quinnipiac University.
In response to a shifting sentiment among liberal voters, Democratic leadership has changed their posture toward Israel. Roughly half of House and Senate Democrats skipped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress last month, with many making clear they were boycotting the event in protest of Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza. Some argued the Israeli prime minister was meddling in US politics or using the speech to boost his own position at home, taking shots at the Israeli premier over social media. Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, also skipped Netanyahu’s address to attend a sorority convention.
The post ‘Pod Save America’ Staff Revolt Over Israel-Hamas War first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.