6-year old Hind has been missing for over a week. She was last heard from on the phone with the Red Crescent rescue team after her family had been murdered around her as she was trapped in a car, surrounded by Israeli tanks. Lara and Michael discuss what we know of Hind and attempts at rescuing her. This event, among other heinous crimes, continue even after the ICJ ruling last week calling on Israel to take all measures to prevent genocidal acts. The pod touches on the blocking of humanitarian aid trucks into Gaza, ongoing raids in the occupied West Bank, attacks on hospitals, and the increasing flight departures from Ben Gurion airport. The cracks are causing the structure to crumble, but at what cost to Palestinian lives?

Lara and Michael provide an update on US policy re: Palestinian rights. While the Biden administration recently announced the lifting of sanctions (finally) on the International Criminal Court and its chief prosecutor and the renewal of funding to UNRWA, Lara offers a word of caution: the US may have lifted sanctions on the ICC, but its position opposing the ICC investigation has not changed. As to UNRWA, Lara calls on us never to lose sight of the big picture that UNRWA should not even exist because Palestinians should not be refugees to begin with because they should be allowed to return to their homes in Palestine. In light of the recent viral video of Majd Barbar, a Palestinian father and husband from East Jerusalem who was released from Israeli military prison following a 20 year sentence for his role in resisting Israeli colonization, the rest of the episode focuses on political prisoners. Lara and Michael shout out congresswoman Betty McCollum, who, in 2019 co-sponsored a bill to prohibit American tax dollars from being used by the Israeli military to detain, interrogate, abuse or torture Palestinian children. Lara highlights the twisted reality that Israel jails Palestinian men, women, and children for engaging in what would otherwise be protected freedoms in democratic societies, like the freedom of speech, freedom of association, and the right to protest. Michael quotes Rick Ross.