Pod Save America hosts on tour. Photo: Screenshot

Crooked Media, the liberal media company that runs the popular “Pod Save America” podcast, is facing an internal staff revolt over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. 

Staffers at “Pod Save America,” arguably one of the most influential media platforms among Democrats, are lashing out at the show’s hosts — former US President Barack Obama staffers Jon Favreau, Tommy Vietor, Jon Lovett, and Dan Pfeiffer — for taking tempered stances on the war in Gaza, according to Bloomberg. The staffers, who are typically much younger and progressive than the hosts, have become incensed at the show’s alleged lack of sympathy for the plight of Palestinian civilians in Gaza or anti-Israel protesters in the United States. 

“The war in Gaza in particular pitted employees against each other and their bosses. Some people said the hosts weren’t empathetic enough toward Palestinian suffering, or understanding of pro-Palestine protesters,” Bloomberg reported.

To express their support for the Palestinian cause, staffers have reportedly started sharing news reports by anti-Israel outlets in the company’s Slack channel. They have also placed watermelon emojis next to their Slack usernames — a symbol that activists have used on social media to indicate their support for the pro-Palestinian movement. Some Crooked Media employees have even reportedly started wearing the keffiyeh — a traditional Palestinian head covering — around the office. 

Staff members have urged Crooked Media to hold an office-wide conference to address the internal fracture over the Israel-Hamas war, according to reports. Crooked Media denied these requests, instead encouraging employees to discuss the topic individually during office hours with the company’s founders.

Moreover, the company’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war has reportedly sparked conflict between staff members, causing some employees to depart the company.

Earlier this year, Bloomberg reported, one producer was discussing anti-Israel protests on university campuses, and someone else overheard the conversation and thought the producer had uttered a slur. “The incident was reported to human resources, which investigated the claim and cleared the producer of any wrongdoing, though the producer later quit rather than endure the highly-charged workplace culture,” according to the report.

The ongoing Israel-Hamas war has somewhat divided the American political left. Polling suggests that commanding majorities of liberals support a “ceasefire” between Israel and the Hamas terrorist group. A majority of US Democrats also believe the unsubstantiated notion that Israel is committing a “genocide” in Gaza, according to a poll conducted by Zeteo and Data for Progress that was released in May. Democrats also now indicate more “sympathy” for Palestinians than Israelis, according to recent polling from Quinnipiac University.

In response to a shifting sentiment among liberal voters, Democratic leadership has changed their posture toward Israel. Roughly half of House and Senate Democrats skipped Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to the US Congress last month, with many making clear they were boycotting the event in protest of Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza. Some argued the Israeli prime minister was meddling in US politics or using the speech to boost his own position at home, taking shots at the Israeli premier over social media. Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, also skipped Netanyahu’s address to attend a sorority convention.