3616 - Trump Revels in War Crimes; Israel Ethnically Cleanses Lebanon in Darkness w/ Zahra Hankir

The Majority Report with Emma Vigeland, standing in for Sam Seder, delivers a blistering critique of U.S.-Israeli military escalation in the Middle East, focusing on Trump's Easter weekend threats to commit war crimes in Iran, including targeting civilian infrastructure and oil resources. The episode highlights how Trump's rhetoric—drawing parallels to Curtis LeMay's 'bomb them into the Stone Age'—reflects a pattern of dehumanizing language and belligerent posturing that undermines diplomacy and escalates conflict. The show also condemns Israel's ongoing bombing campaign in Lebanon, which has led to mass displacement, ethnic cleansing, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, while exposing the media's failure to adequately cover these atrocities. Zahra Hankir, Lebanese journalist and author of a Columbia Journalism Review piece, joins to discuss the collapse of foreign journalism in Lebanon, the targeting of journalists by Israel, and how Western media frames Lebanon as a proxy conflict rather than a sovereign nation facing existential crisis. The episode underscores the humanitarian toll, the weaponization of sectarian divisions, and the broader geopolitical strategy of weakening states to enable territorial expansion. The show also features a sharp critique of mainstream media's complicity in normalizing violence, particularly through the dehumanization of Palestinian and Lebanese civilians. It champions progressive political alternatives like Graham Plattner’s bold stance against military aid to Israel, calling for a reimagined U.S. foreign policy rooted in moral accountability. The segment on The Bulwark’s internal culture war reveals deep ideological fractures within the left, urging listeners to reject right-wing media and embrace authentic leftist discourse. The episode concludes with a surreal, satirical monologue that parodies the show’s own dynamics, underscoring the absurdity and emotional toll of sustained political outrage.