Across the US, the Trump administration has unleashed ICE on an aggressive, lawless rampage. In a repressive move many have called unconstitutional, ICE agents shot a Chicago priest in the head with pepper balls as he peacefully protested the administration’s violent anti-immigrant agenda.
“This is all tied together,” Mehdi says. “What you’re seeing ICE do is very much similar and inspired by what Israelis have done in the occupied territories.”
The parallels are chilling: earlier this month in Houston, ICE reportedly abducted a teenage boy with autism and held him for a week without notifying his family. And just this week, Israel released a Palestinian hostage, a teenage boy – also autistic – who was shot and detained while waiting for aid, and disappeared for months, with his family left waiting in the dark.
In this livestreamed Q&A on Substack and YouTube, Mehdi shares his takes, and Zeteo subscribers jump in with their own.
Watch the full, wide-ranging video above to hear Mehdi debunk the right’s claims about antifa (a “boogeyman” to justify repression), explain why the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal isn’t bringing us closer to justice, call out what Democrats are lacking (“balls”), and make the case that people power may be the only way to stand up to authoritarians.
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