Ep. 108: Geopolitical Fright Fest
Hey FRs,
It's Halloween tomorrow, but it's basically been Halloween in my house for weeks. My daughter keeps wavering between Coraline and Wonder Woman. I'm secretly rooting for Wonder Woman. I mean, c'mon.
But there are no real losers here- blue hair or a magic lasso; both are excellent. When it comes to choices, you can't say the same for Israel's election. There, the choices are between the worst option and an also-awful-but-maybe-a-fraction-less-awful option.
It's like if everyone in our neighborhood gave my daughter the choice of those awful orange circus peanuts that taste like spray foam or Necco wafers, which are basically edible chalk. Since she's 4, she'd likely throw a tantrum. Actually, maybe that's what Israelis need to do?
Does any major Israeli election candidate support a Palestinian state?
Nope. Not Netanyahu, not his chief rival Gadi Eisenkot, not a single leading party contesting Tuesday's election. Eisenkot, a former IDF general, told the New York Post he fears the moment for an Iran deal has passed and says Hamas should be removed "by force" within 18 months if elected. The only party polling in favor of Palestinian self-determination is also polling near irrelevance. Whoever wins, the policy floor stays basically the same.
How many settler attacks has the West Bank seen this year?
Too many. The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs counted more than 1,800 settler attacks causing Palestinian casualties or property damage in 2025. That's about five a day. Since January 2023, 48 Palestinian communities have been fully displaced.
Eisenkot has said he'd remove illegal outposts in Areas A and B, a position slightly more sober than Netanyahu's, who has called the violence the work of "a handful of juvenile delinquents."
Why did Saudi Arabia's defense minister just meet with Iran?
Great question. Saudi Arabia's defense minister, Pakistan's army chief, and Turkey's intelligence chief all met with Iran's president this week, an alignment that would have been unthinkable before this year's war. Saudi Arabia and Iran have spent decades as rivals, fighting proxy wars through the Houthis in Yemen. Reuters reports the goal was avoiding renewed military escalation, which is feared to follow the US midterms. If nothing else, Trump can say he's creating new friendships in unlikely places.
WTF was Vivek Ramaswamy thinking?
Ramaswamy's gubernatorial campaign ran an ad against Ohio Democrat Amy Acton featuring her estranged mother, who sided with the man accused of sexually abusing Acton as a child. In the ad, her mother calls Acton a liar. The campaign reportedly tested it privately, and despite bipartisan outrage, Ramaswamy initially doubled down. Trump even encouraged him to keep running it. The campaign has since pulled the ad from rotation, but not before spending roughly $1 million airing it.
I mean, that level of fidelity to a bad idea is almost impressive.
Missed the episode? Here ya go!