143: Pursuit of Floppiness, with Chris Kunzler

SUMMARY

Hosts Matt Lieb and Daniel Maté, joined by British content creator Chris Kunzler, dissect UK repression of Palestine Action as a terrorist group, far-right Tommy Robinson's pro-Israel ties, and Hollywood's evolving responses to Gaza's genocide, blending humor with sharp political critique.

STATEMENTS

Matt Lieb and Daniel Maté host the Bad Hasbara podcast, joined by Chris Kunzler to discuss UK politics, Palestine activism, and Hollywood reactions to Israel's actions.
The episode promotes donations to Bridge of Solidarity, a Gaza-based mutual aid group aiding marginalized Palestinians without external support.
Hosts encourage listeners to subscribe, leave reviews, and attend live shows in Pasadena and Brooklyn featuring Francesca Fiorentini and friends.
Daniel Maté shares his "What's the Spin" segment, highlighting mashup albums like Danger Mouse's Gray Album and Beatles covers by Booker T. & the MGs.
Netanyahu addresses a US congressional delegation, boasting about Israeli inventions like cherry tomatoes and cell phones to justify military support.
British far-right activist Tommy Robinson, a cocaine enthusiast and IDF supporter, leads marches waving Union Jack and Israeli flags.
Robinson's obsession with a debunked 2016 Syrian schoolboy bullying story led to his imprisonment for contempt of court.
Post-WWII European far-right parties avoid overt anti-Semitism, instead embracing Israel as the top Muslim-killer, funded by groups like Friends of the IDF.
Palestine Action, a five-year-old direct action group, targets Elbit Systems factories in the UK to protest British complicity in Israel's Gaza genocide.
The UK government proscribed Palestine Action as a terrorist organization under the 2000 Terrorism Act, alongside neo-Nazi groups like the Maniac Murder Cult.
Proscription means up to 14 years in prison for supporting or affiliating with Palestine Action, including wearing related insignia at protests.
Activists employ "going floppy"—going limp during arrests—to highlight police overreach, requiring multiple officers to carry them away.
UK police criticize the floppy tactic as a nuisance, echoing complaints from Extinction Rebellion protests, but it draws public sympathy.
Palestine Action's actions include smashing Elbit factory gates, spray-painting equipment, and defacing Balfour portraits to symbolize colonial guilt.
British public opinion and officials criticize Israel more openly than in the US, with events like Paralympians turning backs on Israeli anthem.
Ilan Pappé, a lecturer at Chris Kunzler's university, called Hamas "brave" post-October 7, facing accusations of supporting terrorism.
Hen Mazzig's Hollywood Reporter article attacks Hannah Einbinder's Emmy speech for saying "Free Palestine," calling it unbrave and dangerous.
Javier Bardem denounced Gaza's genocide on the Emmys red carpet, citing the International Association of Genocide Scholars and calling for sanctions.
Over 4,000 film workers, including Emma Stone and Joaquin Phoenix, signed a pledge boycotting complicit Israeli cultural institutions.
Jerry Seinfeld compared Free Palestine supporters to the KKK, claiming they are less honest about their alleged anti-Semitism.
Chris Kunzler began creating TikTok content on Palestine in January 2023 after studying Middle Eastern history, inspired by Chomsky and Pappé.
Kunzler's university education under Pappé and connections to Edward Said's sister deepened his focus on Palestinian issues.
Hosts mock Netanyahu's cherry tomato speech as a desperate hasbara tactic to equate Israeli innovation with moral impunity.
UK counter-protests to Palestine Action include far-right groups blasting "We Are the Champions" with altered lyrics supporting Israel.
Proscription creates absurd enforcement, like arresting people for parody T-shirts spelling "Plastine Action" to evade bans.
British media downplays massive Palestine marches, reporting thousands instead of hundreds of thousands, unless clashes occur.
Over 800 arrests for Palestine Action support have overwhelmed UK courts, forcing media coverage and highlighting repression.
Liberal Zionism in Hollywood, exemplified by Mazzig, conflates anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism to silence critics.
Pew Research from 2021 shows 80% of American Jews support Israel, but Mazzig uses it to claim Zionism as Jewish consensus.
Hannah Einbinder's Emmy win and "Free Palestine" remark signals shifting Hollywood norms, despite backlash from Zionists.
Direct actions like defacing Balfour's portrait at Manchester University underscore Britain's historical role in Palestinian dispossession.

IDEAS

Proscribing Palestine Action alongside neo-Nazi cults reveals the UK's selective terrorism labeling to shield arms profits over human rights.
Tommy Robinson's cocaine-fueled IDF fandom shows far-right opportunism, pivoting from anti-Muslim rants to pro-Israel alliances for funding.
"Going floppy" transforms arrests into public spectacles, exposing police absurdity and echoing Gandhian nonviolence in modern activism.
Netanyahu's cherry tomato hasbara to Congress humanizes Israel's image while ignoring Gaza's bombardment, blending innovation myths with genocide denial.
British Paralympians turning backs on Israel's anthem signifies grassroots defiance rarer in America's polarized politics.
Elbit Systems factories as direct targets highlight everyday complicity, where UK drones enable distant atrocities without voter accountability.
Hen Mazzig's "as a queer Jew" opener weaponizes identity to equate Free Palestine with anti-Semitism, inverting victimhood narratives.
Hollywood's Emmy protests mark a cultural boycott tipping point, inspired by South Africa's anti-apartheid model to isolate Israel globally.
Jerry Seinfeld's KKK comparison to pro-Palestine activists flips moral scripts, portraying honesty in hate as preferable to perceived hidden bias.
Chris Kunzler's TikTok pivot from cancel culture rants to Palestine analysis democratizes education, filling gaps left by formal schooling.
Balfour portrait vandalism reclaims colonial symbols, forcing Britain to confront its empire's legacy in Palestinian suffering.
UK's polite arrest rituals—courteous warnings before forceful removal—juxtapose civility with repression, amplifying the farce.
Massive unreported Palestine marches versus amplified counter-protests reveal media bias favoring Zionist narratives.
Ilan Pappé's "brave" Hamas comment challenges proscription's chilling effect, prioritizing scholarly nuance over binary terror labels.
Overwhelmed UK courts from mass arrests inadvertently boost visibility, turning legal backlog into propaganda for the cause.
Mazzig's article ignores Palestinian humanity, centering Jewish feelings to prioritize hasbara over Gaza's documented genocide.
4,000+ film worker pledges signal industry fracture, where celebrity silence crumbles under ethical pressure from peers like Bardem.
Far-right UK splits on Israel—some embracing it for Islamophobia, others rejecting endless wars—mirror America's conservative shifts.
Kunzler's accidental university path via Middle East studies underscores serendipity in radicalizing young voices against empire.
Seinfeld's observational humor repurposed for hasbara mocks generational activism, revealing comedy's weaponization in propaganda wars.

INSIGHTS

Proscription of nonviolent groups like Palestine Action normalizes state terror against dissent, mirroring Israel's Gaza tactics to suppress solidarity.
Far-right pro-Israel alliances expose anti-Muslim racism as the glue binding nationalists to Zionism, prioritizing shared enemies over ideology.
"Floppy" tactics invert power dynamics, forcing authorities to visually embody overreach and humanize activists in the public eye.
Hasbara's innovation boasts, like cherry tomatoes, distract from ethical voids, equating tech with moral absolution in colonial narratives.
Hollywood's slow awakening via Emmys protests reveals celebrity influence as a double-edged sword—hedging delays justice but amplifies breakthroughs.
Identity politics, wielded by figures like Mazzig, conflates state criticism with personal erasure, shielding policies from accountability.
Direct actions against Elbit factories democratize resistance, linking local sabotage to global supply chains of violence.
Media underreporting of Palestine marches sustains invisibility, but arrests force spectacle, eroding the silence machine.
Scholarly voices like Pappé's face terror accusations for nuance, illustrating how proscription stifles discourse on resistance's humanity.
Pew polls on Jewish support for Israel weaponize consensus to moralize occupation, ignoring internal dissent and ethical imperatives.
Cultural boycotts erode Israel's soft power faster than military aid, as isolation stings ethnostates reliant on Western validation.
UK's polite repression—warnings amid force—highlights performative liberalism masking imperial continuity in Palestine policy.
Seinfeld's KKK analogy inverts victimhood, equating anti-genocide calls with historic hate to delegitimize moral outrage.
Kunzler's content creation arc shows digital platforms as radical incubators, bypassing gatekept academia for grassroots education.
Arrest backlogs overwhelm systems designed for compliance, turning repression into unintended amplification of the cause.
Liberal Zionism's death throes in Hollywood signal broader ideological collapse, as ethical isolation outpaces diplomatic maneuvering.

QUOTES

"We invented the tomato and USB drives. Israeli salad staff's orange ros taco salad sauce all dark sabra as far as hello everybody."
"The Jews, we are the immune system of the world... have you ever heard of autoimmune disease?"
"Tommy Robinson is basically this far-right individual who's changed his name a lot of times and got arrested for... he keeps showing this documentary."
"Who's the best at killing Muslims and just killing a massive amount of Muslims? It's Israel really."
"Palestine Action are a direct action group that have been around for about 5 years... their main point of concern in the UK is to do with Elbit Systems."
"One of Palestine Actions crimes is that they sought to intimidate a section of the population... Elbit system UK employees and influence the UK government."
"We have asked them to stop being floppy... when we arrest them and pick them up, they go all floppy, which is why you see four or five officers carrying them away."
"It's a complete waste of the officers's time and a complete pain in the neck."
"As a queer Jew, son of refugees from Iraq and Tunisia... what she did wasn't brave. It was populist and it was dangerous."
"There is nothing risky about pariting the most popular slogan in Hollywood."
"The claim that anti-Israel rhetoric is separate from anti-semitism collapses under the weight of reality."
"To oppose Zionism is not merely to challenge a government policy... It is to challenge Jewish existence as a free people."
"Here I am today uh denouncing the genocide in Gaza... Free Palestine."
"Finally. Um, go birds. Um, [__] Ice and Free Palestine. Thank you."
"I said free Palestine protesters are less honest than the KKK."
"What's the deal with Gen Z supporting Hamas? Do you know how hard that's going to make it for me to find a girlfriend?"
"The Palestinians want right or return. I want right of return. Return to success in film or television."
"From the river to the sea, plasticine will be AI free."

HABITS

Hosts maintain a podcast routine of weekly episodes, blending humor with political analysis to build audience engagement.
Daniel Maté curates music playlists like "What's the Spin," exploring mashups to unwind and share cultural insights.
Chris Kunzler reads foundational texts like Chomsky and Pappé early, fostering lifelong habits of historical inquiry.
Kunzler balances casual TikTok filming with phone propped on a laptop, prioritizing accessibility over polished production.
Hosts promote daily listener actions like subscribing and reviewing to sustain community and podcast growth.
Matt Lieb networks at comedy events like Sketchfest to build lasting industry friendships for collaborative support.
Kunzler takes year-long breaks from academia to reflect, avoiding unwanted career paths like intelligence work.
Hosts encourage concise communication, limiting voicemails to 20 seconds for efficient mailbag episodes.
Daniel psychically manifests health during illness, using humor to cope with personal setbacks.
Kunzler browses internet debates critically, evolving from casual politics to focused content creation.

FACTS

Palestine Action formed five years ago, escalating post-October 7 to target Elbit Systems, Israel's largest weapons maker.
UK's Terrorism Act 2000 allows proscribing groups, amended for modern threats; Palestine Action joins 80+ listed entities.
Tommy Robinson imprisoned in 2024 for contempt after screening a debunked documentary on a Syrian schoolboy incident.
Elbit factories operate in Bristol, northern UK, and near Newcastle, producing drones used in Gaza operations.
Over 800 arrests linked to Palestine Action support since proscription, overwhelming UK courts.
British media reported Palestine marches as "a few thousand" despite estimates of 100,000 to 1 million attendees.
Hamas's political wing wasn't fully proscribed in the UK until 2021, unlike its military arm.
2021 Pew survey: 80% of American Jews identify as pro-Israel; half of global Jews live in Israel.
International Association of Genocide Scholars declared Gaza events a genocide, cited by Javier Bardem.
Over 4,000 film workers signed the boycott pledge against complicit Israeli institutions by late 2024.
UK's Brize Norton RAF base targeted by Palestine Action for arms links to Yemen bombings.
Extinction Rebellion's "floppy" tactic inspired similar nonviolent resistance in UK climate and Palestine protests.
Ilan Pappé taught at Exeter University, where Chris Kunzler studied Middle Eastern history.
British Paralympic team turned backs on Israeli anthem during 2024 opening ceremonies.
Hen Mazzig advises Hollywood stars on pro-Israel social media navigation, per New York Times profile.

REFERENCES

Bridge of Solidarity mutual aid organization in Gaza.
Danger Mouse's Gray Album (Jay-Z and Beatles mashup).
Booker T. & the MGs' McLemore Avenue (Abbey Road covers).
George Benson's The Other Side of Abbey Road (jazz covers).
Reggae Specials' Beatles reggae album.
Dub Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd dub version).
Dread Zeppelin (Led Zeppelin reggae parodies).
Wu-Tang Vs. the Beatles: The Magical Mystery Chamber (hip-hop mashup).
Netanyahu's speech to US congressional delegation.
Tommy Robinson's documentary on Syrian schoolboy bullying.
Nick Griffin's British National Party.
Marine Le Pen's National Rally (formerly National Front).
Friends of the IDF charity.
Palestine Action underground manual and social media actions.
Youth Demand and Just Stop Oil direct action groups.
Filton 18 activists awaiting trial for factory sabotage.
Maniac Murder Cult neo-Nazi group.
Russian Imperial Movement.
Ilan Pappé's "brave" Hamas comment post-October 7.
Balfour portrait at University of Manchester.
Javier Bardem's Emmys red carpet speech.
Hannah Einbinder's Emmy acceptance speech for Hacks.
Film Workers for Palestine boycott pledge.
Hen Mazzig's Hollywood Reporter article "No, Hannah, that wasn't brave."
Jerry Seinfeld's KKK comparison comments.
Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé's Palestine book.
Rosemary Sayigh (Edward Said's sister) and Exeter's Middle East center.

HOW TO APPLY

Research local arms manufacturers like Elbit Systems to identify complicity in global conflicts.
Organize direct actions by driving vehicles to breach factory security gates safely.
Document vandalism of war equipment with video for public dissemination and accountability.
Train in nonviolent tactics like going limp during arrests to maximize spectacle and minimize harm.
Wear parody apparel, such as "Plastine Action" T-shirts, to test and expose arbitrary proscription laws.
Display support symbols in private spaces like home windows to skirt public bans legally.
Submit concise questions via email (100 words max) or voicemail (20 seconds max) for community discussions.
Curate themed playlists of protest music or mashups to build cultural solidarity online.
Read foundational texts on colonialism, like Chomsky and Pappé, to inform personal activism.
Pivot casual social media rants into focused content series on underreported issues.
Network at industry events to recruit allies for cultural boycotts and pledges.
Sign and promote open letters boycotting complicit institutions, aiming for mass signatures.
Mock hasbara tropes in comedy sketches to humanize and popularize resistance narratives.
Attend or organize mass marches, accepting arrests to overload legal systems with visibility.
Critique media underreporting by amplifying accurate attendance figures on social platforms.
Use university modules or online courses to deepen historical knowledge of conflicts.
Balance activism with breaks to avoid burnout, reassessing career paths annually.
Collaborate with mutual aid groups to direct funds to marginalized communities in crises.
Respond to repression with polite defiance, echoing UK's courteous arrest rituals for irony.
Monitor court backlogs from mass actions to leverage delays for broader awareness campaigns.

ONE-SENTENCE TAKEAWAY

Resist hasbara's distortions by amplifying direct actions and cultural boycotts against Israel's genocide.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Donate to Bridge of Solidarity before any other cause to support Gaza's most vulnerable.
Subscribe to Bad Hasbara on all platforms for weekly anti-Zionist humor and analysis.
Attend live shows like October 1 in Pasadena or October 13 in Brooklyn for immersive activism.
Leave 5-star reviews and voicemails to boost podcast reach and community healing.
Read Chomsky and Pappé's Palestine to ground activism in historical truth.
Create simple TikTok content on local complicity, like Elbit factories, without fancy editing.
Practice "going floppy" in nonviolent training to prepare for potential arrests.
Sign the Film Workers for Palestine pledge and urge industry peers to join.
Boycott Israeli cultural events tied to human rights abuses, following South Africa models.
Mock hasbara in comedy, like Seinfeld parodies, to expose its absurdity online.
Document direct actions publicly to counter media silence on Palestine marches.
Challenge far-right Israel alliances by highlighting their Islamophobic roots.
Use parody symbols, like misspelled T-shirts, to evade and ridicule proscription laws.
Curate music mashups blending protest themes for viral cultural resistance.
Network with scholars like Pappé's network for deeper Middle East education.
Overwhelm systems with mass civil disobedience to force media coverage.
Prioritize mutual aid over capitalist donations for genuine solidarity.
Critique identity-based hasbara, like Mazzig's, by centering Palestinian voices.
Attend counter-protests to amplify pro-Palestine messages against small Zionist groups.
Reflect on personal trajectories, like Kunzler's, to inspire youth content creation.

MEMO

In the dim glow of a virtual studio, Matt Lieb and Daniel Maté—hosts of the irreverent Bad Hasbara podcast—welcome British TikTok provocateur Chris Kunzler, a 24-year-old voice slicing through the fog of UK repression and Hollywood hesitancy. Under the weather but unbowed, Maté spins vinyl tales of Beatles mashups, from Danger Mouse's audacious Gray Album to reggae reinterpretations, setting a defiant cultural tone. The trio dives into Netanyahu's weary pitch to a fawning US congressional delegation, where cherry tomatoes and USB drives are trotted out as hasbara talismans, masking the grim reality of Gaza's siege. It's a performance laced with pathos, Netanyahu phoning in justifications for endless aid amid personal scandals, his baritone cracking like the facade of moral clarity.

Kunzler's arrival electrifies the chat, his crisp English accent unpacking Tommy Robinson's bizarre ascent: a far-right firebrand, cocaine aficionado, and unlikely IDF cheerleader, marching with Union Jacks and Israeli flags. Robinson's obsession with a fabricated Syrian schoolboy tale—debunked yet replayed obsessively—landed him in prison, emblematic of post-WWII Europe's right-wing pivot. No longer overtly anti-Semitic, these nationalists embrace Israel as the ultimate Muslim-slayer, bankrolled by lobbies like Friends of the IDF. Kunzler traces this to opportunistic funding, contrasting it with growing conservative skepticism in the UK and US, where Israel's body count alienates even populists. Yet Robinson persists, a paid shill in a fracturing ideology, his rallies a grotesque fusion of Brexit bile and Zionist fervor.

The heart of the episode pulses with Palestine Action's audacious resistance. This five-year-old direct action collective, now branded terrorists under the UK's 2000 Terrorism Act, storms Elbit Systems factories—Israel's drone behemoth—with sledgehammers and spray paint. Kunzler details their blueprint: breaching gates, sabotaging high-tech gear destined for Gaza, all filmed for viral impact. Proscription, lumped with neo-Nazi oddities like the Maniac Murder Cult, bans even T-shirts emblazoned with their name, sparking absurd arrests for "Plastine Action" parodies. "Going floppy"—limp resistance during takedowns—forces police into Monty Python-esque farces, four officers hauling floppy elders and veterans, medals clinking in protest. It's Gandhian genius, turning brutality into spectacle, overwhelming courts with 800-plus cases and forcing media to confront the chill on free speech.

Britain's polite authoritarianism shines through: officers issue courteous warnings before dragging floppy activists away, a stiff-upper-lip ritual underscoring the farce. Kunzler recounts defacing Balfour's smug portrait at Manchester University, red paint dripping like colonial guilt, a nod to the empire's Balfour Declaration that birthed Palestinian dispossession. Counter-protests, mere dozens strong, blast mangled "We Are the Champions" anthems under heavy guard, while massive Palestine marches—hundreds of thousands strong—get shrugged off as "a few thousand" in biased press. This asymmetry reveals a system rigged for hasbara, where old women with placards are "anti-Semitic threats," yet far-right genocide enthusiasts roam free.

Across the Atlantic, Hollywood's dam cracks at the Emmys. Javier Bardem, kaffiyeh-clad, denounces Gaza's genocide on the red carpet, invoking scholars' rulings and demanding sanctions—a "friendo of the pod" moment. Hannah Einbinder, Emmy in hand for Hacks, slips in "Free Palestine" amid cheers, her words a quiet thunder. Over 4,000 film workers, from Emma Stone to Joaquin Phoenix, pledge boycotts of complicit Israeli institutions, echoing anti-apartheid triumphs. Yet backlash bites: Hen Mazzig, self-styled "queer Jew" whisperer to stars, pens a Hollywood Reporter screed branding Einbinder's utterance "populist danger," conflating anti-Zionism with synagogue shootings. It's hasbara Mad Libs, ignoring Palestinian lives to center Jewish "safety," citing outdated polls as consensus.

Jerry Seinfeld, clinging to old-guard irrelevance, likens Free Palestine to the KKK—less honest, he claims, in a rant that hosts gleefully skewer with Seinfeldian riffs. Kunzler's origin story grounds the levity: a teen devouring Chomsky and Pappé, flunking exams into Exeter's Middle East program under Ilan Pappé himself, then TikTok radicalism post-university. His January 2023 debut on cancel culture's Palestine blind spot exploded amid October 7's horrors, filling voids where comedy giants like Colbert stayed silent. The episode closes with calls to action—donate to Gaza aid, join boycotts, flood mailbags—affirming that floppiness, in body and spirit, dismantles empires.

Through sarcasm and solidarity, Bad Hasbara unmasks the absurdity: a world where smashing drone factories is "terrorism," yet bombing weddings is policy. Kunzler's insight—that UK's repression inadvertently spotlights the cause—offers hope, as floppy defiance and Emmy stings erode isolation's armor. In this under-the-weather broadcast, laughter becomes weapon, urging listeners to invent their own hasbara-busting inventions.