Joel Pollak
Politics • Lifestyle • News • Travel • Writing
I will share my thoughts about American politics, as well as current events in Israel and elsewhere, based on my experiences in the U.S., South Africa, and the Middle East. I will also discuss books and popular culture from the perspective of a somewhat libertarian, religiously observant conservative living in California. I will also share art and ideas that I find useful and helpful, and link to my content at Breitbart News, Amazon, and elsewhere.
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Most of what I wanted politics to solve is being solved

It's odd to make this observation, because there are still many pressing issues; because we live in a time of division and outrage; and because I make my living writing conservative political polemics, but most of the issues that motivated me to get involved in U.S. politics on the Republican side are being resolved.

That was driven home to me on Tuesday, when a Democrat who backed J Street and its criticisms of Israel lost in a primary to a Democrat who backed Israel and was supported by AIPAC. In 2010, I was the first political candidate to stand up to J Street anywhere, when I challenged Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) in Illinois.

During that election, Obamacare was the major issue on voters' minds. The most offensive part of that law was the individual mandate, through which the government forced people to buy insurance. Republicans could never fulfill their promise to repeal Obamacare, but Trump killed the individual mandate.

Another big issue was spending. The Tea Party opposed massive deficit spending but both parties continued to spend big. They could do so, as long as there was low inflation and slow economic growth. Now that we are facing inflation not seen in forty years, Americans are thinking seriously about fiscal restraint.

Reality is also beginning to intrude into energy policy. Democrats could make sweeping, utopian "green" policies when energy was plentiful and fuel prices were low. Now that our grid is near the breaking point and gas is expensive, there is a growing will to compromise (though we are not quite there yet).

And as for the 2020 riots and "defund the police" -- well, you still see stupid Black Lives Matter signs and flags in liberal neighborhoods in many American cities, but voters, even in left-wing San Francisco, are busy throwing out the George Soros-backed prosecutors who helped drive a nationwide crime wave.

Back to foreign policy: I can't think of any issue on which I've ever agreed with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), whom I regard as one of the most destructive political figures in America. Yet she did the right thing by going to Taiwan this week and confronting China, amid President Joe Biden's weakness.

Biden probably didn't mind much, because he announced the killing of Al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in Afghanistan. That didn't make up for his disastrous withdrawal last year, or for trashing Trump for similar counter-terror operations, but at least killing terrorists is once again a bipartisan pursuit.

And while Biden returned empty-handed from the Middle East in terms of Saudi concessions on oil, he reaffirmed U.S. support for Israel against Iran. He also walked back earlier promises to build a Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem. In other words: he abandoned his own policies, and embraced Trump's policies.

Abortion was not a major motivation for me, politically; I regard myself as personally pro-life, and I donate to an organization that provides financial support to pregnant mothers in need, but I never thought the government should be involved in the early stages of pregnancy. It's a theological issue, IMO.

Regardless, Roe v. Wade is now gone, thanks to Dobbs and Trump's appointees, and behold: the parade of horribles promised by the left is failing to materialize. Voters in Kansas(!) rejected a pro-life amendment to the state constitution. Boundaries are being set in the states, where this issue belongs.

I feel as if I'm starting to see the world I hoped for, coming back together. And maybe I can take some pride in helping bring about this outcome, because when J Street started their crap, I stood up to it. And others, later, did the same. We are back to bipartisan support for Israel. Maybe there is hope on other issues.

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Time-lapse sunrise at Temescal Falls
00:00:17
This is what is left of my special place in the forest

Burned, then covered in mudslides and rockslides. The river still flows through it. But we have lost so much. I have to believe the spirit still lives on.

00:00:16
The drive home 💔
00:00:46
Breitbart News Sunday: show rundown (July 13, 2025)

This is my first broadcast from the new office and studio in Washington, DC, where I'll be for a couple of years my neighborhood back in L.A. cleans up -- and as we follow the Trump administration from a little closer up than usual.

Topics:

  • The anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump
  • The escalating tariff battle with various different trading partners
  • The future of the Middle East peace talks, and ongoing antisemitism
  • The Jeffrey Epstein files and whether they mean anything at all
  • The continued crisis of the Texas floods, and stories of heroism and survival

And more!

Special guests:

  • James Rosen - Newsmax chief Washington correspondent
  • Bob Price - Breitbart News Texas reporter, on the ongoing floods
  • Robert Cahill - Trafalgar Polling, on a new alliance of reliable pollsters
  • Rabbi Yaakov Menken - Coalition for Jewish Values - on Israel & antisemitism

Tune in: 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874

Weekly Torah reading: Balak (Numbers 22:2 - 25:9)

This week’s portion tells the grand story of the prophet who tried to curse people of Israel and instead ended up blessing them.

I am reminded that these portions continue to be relevant anew, as this particular reading lent the title for Israel’s recent 12 Day War against Iran, “Operation Rising Lion.”

https://www.chabad.org/parshah/torahreading_cdo/aid/2495769/p/complete/jewish/Balak-Torah-Reading.htm

Weekly Torah portion: Chukat (Numbers 19:1 - 22:1)

This week's portion includes the commandment of the red heifer -- one of the classic "irrational" commandments whose fulfillment is an expression of faith. It also includes the regrettable episode in which Moses strikes the rock.

I referred to this story in a wedding speech last night. Why was Moses punished for striking the rock in Numbers, when he struck the rock without incident in Exodus -- both for the purpose of providing water to the people?

The answer is that in the interim, the Jewish people had received the Torah, which is like the marriage contract between the people of Israel and God. In a marriage, you do not resolve things by breaking boundaries, but through love.

The additional reading, from Judges Chapter 11, is the story of Jephthah (Yiftach), a man whom the leaders spurn, but to whom they must turn to save the nation. The parallels to our present political circumstances are striking.

Shabbat Shalom and Happy Fourth of July!

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