Transcript [00:00] The Houthies have seized a strategic [00:02] waterway that could put global shipping [00:05] in their crosshairs. And Jared Kushner [00:07] comes out with a claim that Washington [00:09] [music] [00:09] pressured Israel into the Gaza deal as [00:12] explosive reports about [music] the [00:14] hostages and October 7th are being [00:16] branded outright fiction. So, what's [00:19] true, what's political, and who benefits [00:22] from the new spin? Jerusalem Minute [00:24] starts now. [00:30] Welcome back to Jerusalem Minute here on [00:32] JNS TV. Alex, let's get right to it. [00:35] Prime Minister Netanyahu accused of [00:36] being warned about the October 7th [00:39] massacre, reportedly in a conversation [00:41] with the leader of the UAE. Now you have [00:43] Foreign Minister of Strategic Affairs [00:45] Ron Durmer, saying this is fiction. This [00:47] is a fabricated story. Alex, what do we [00:49] know? [00:50] >> Well, first of all, it's the election [00:52] narrative. We're coming up on uh Israeli [00:55] elections on October 27th and what [00:59] everybody wants, whoever wants Netanyahu [01:01] out is to demonstrate that the failure [01:03] of October 7th was squarely on [01:06] Netanyahu, right? Both in the weeks, [01:09] months, and years leading up to October [01:11] 7th, but certainly in the immediate [01:14] runup to October 7th and specifically in [01:16] the morning of October 7th. So there's [01:18] been uh there have been different calls [01:22] sta stating that Netanyahu they tried to [01:25] reach him in the morning of October 7th [01:26] and he wasn't available for 2 hours uh [01:29] after they called him. But here now [01:33] there are accusations that Netanyahu was [01:36] specifically warned by the United Arab [01:38] Emirates specifically in a conversation [01:40] between NBZ Muhammad bin Zed and [01:43] Netanyahu stating that [01:46] Netanyahu was warned specifically that [01:48] kamas was planning a major attack. Uh [01:51] now you have the minister of strategic [01:54] affairs Ron Durmer who was minister at [01:56] that time stating that that call didn't [01:59] happen. And the reason why he knows that [02:00] that call didn't happen is because he's [02:03] saying that if there was a call between [02:05] Netanyahu and NBZ that he would have [02:08] been on that call. Now remember that it [02:09] was Durmer who negotiated the Abraham [02:13] Accords with the United Arab Emirates in [02:15] Washington DC. So part of his part of [02:19] Durmer's uh portfolio had three issues [02:21] on his portfolio. One is is dealing with [02:23] Iran and that strategic portfolio. Two [02:27] with the Abraham Accords, expanding the [02:29] Abraham Accords and managing those [02:30] relationships and three managing the [02:32] USIsrael relationship. So you know this [02:35] is part of the second which is managing [02:39] the relationship with Abraham Accords [02:40] countries. He's saying I would have been [02:41] on that call uh and he said I was never [02:45] on such a call. Now, here's the really [02:47] interesting thing about this, okay? [02:51] Hamas, [02:53] Iran, Houthis supposedly had a master [02:56] plan, [02:57] >> right, [02:57] >> to attack Israel on October 7th. And [03:01] according to Netanyahu and others, they [03:04] say what happened was Kamas jumped the [03:07] gun. They attacked Israel on October 7th [03:10] without giving advanced notice such that [03:15] hesitated. Right. And then what [03:17] Netanyahu did on the morning morning of [03:19] October 7th was to uh divert Israeli [03:23] troops immediately to the northern [03:26] border causing to pause and they didn't [03:28] get involved in the war on October 7th. [03:30] So basically what this accus acc [03:32] accusation is saying is that even [03:36] who was part of the plan with kamas and [03:38] Iran didn't know that kamas was going to [03:41] launch that attack on October 7th but [03:43] somehow the United Arab Emirates knew [03:46] and NBZ knew that kamas was going to [03:48] launch the attack that didn't know kamas [03:51] was going to do and apparently tipped [03:53] Netanyahu off. So, I think that there's [03:56] a lot of holes in this theory, but [03:57] again, this is all about trying to [04:00] signal that Netanyahu was the one who's [04:02] the cause of the major failure on [04:04] October 7th, as opposed to the [04:06] intelligence agencies, which should have [04:08] been tracking and the military, which [04:10] should have been tracking Kamas [04:11] movements near the border in the days, [04:14] hours, weeks before October 7th. [04:16] >> And you're saying this is all coming out [04:17] now because Israel is going to elections [04:20] on October the 27th, elections for the [04:22] next Knesset, [04:23] >> right? You you would have hoped that by [04:25] now you would have had a commission of [04:27] inquiry launched and I think a lot of [04:28] Israelis want to know exactly what [04:30] happened on October 7th. The fact that [04:32] you haven't had a commission of inquiry [04:34] is a failure. Why haven't you had a [04:36] commission of inquiry? Well, that has [04:38] everything to do with what would be the [04:39] makeup of the commission of inquiry. the [04:42] opposition uh and the courts want a [04:45] courtrun commission of inquiry to be [04:48] chaired by a retired Supreme Court [04:50] justice uh to run the commission of [04:53] inquiry. Why doesn't Netanyahu want [04:54] that? Well, because remember Netanyahu [04:56] and his government was trying to [04:58] implement a judicial reform. So, the [05:01] court is squarely against Netanyahu and [05:04] what the opposition wants as I mentioned [05:05] is for all points to lead back to [05:08] Netanyahu. They want to give a pass to [05:10] the uh the Shinbet, the Israeli security [05:12] services, the intelligence agency, the [05:14] equivalent of the Israeli FBI. They want [05:16] to give a pass to the military. And what [05:19] they want to do is show that the one who [05:20] was distinctly responsible for October [05:22] 7th is Netanyahu. So that Netanyahu [05:25] would be forced to in their hopes [05:27] resign. And so what Netanyahu didn't [05:31] want was for a commission of inquiry to [05:34] be rushed by the courts and to come out [05:37] when ahead of this election because that [05:39] could have swung the election against [05:41] Netanyahu. What Netanyahu wanted to do [05:43] was to have a politically backed [05:45] commission of inquiry which you've had [05:47] those in the past as well. Uh and [05:50] Netanyahu had suggested that that [05:52] commission be halfapp appointed by the [05:54] coalition, half appointed by the [05:55] opposition that we be be balanced. uh [05:58] but the opposition of course didn't want [05:59] that. So now because you don't have a [06:02] commission of inquiry what you can have [06:04] is free flowing accusations and [06:06] conspiracy theories again all meant to [06:09] lead back towards Netanyahu on the [06:12] morning of and in the week before [06:14] October 7th again to say that Netanyahu [06:17] was the one who was squarely [06:19] responsible. So in addition, you have [06:22] the Likood, Prime Minister Netanyahu's [06:24] party saying that those responsible for [06:27] trying to leak this fake news was the [06:31] opposition in particular Ya Golan and [06:33] Muhammad Dlan who is a senior PA figure [06:37] now apparently living in the UAE. [06:39] Perhaps he's trying to reclaim his stake [06:42] to run Gaza on a day after the war. What [06:46] do we know about what the Likud is [06:48] saying in terms of Golan and Dlan here [06:50] perhaps being responsible for the [06:52] leaking this story? [06:53] >> Well, let's first talk about Dlan. Now, [06:55] Dlan was a member of uh Mahmud Abbas's [07:00] Fatak party, and he was the one who was [07:02] sent to Gaza after the Israeli [07:06] withdrawal of 8,500 civilians and 21 [07:10] thriving Jewish communities and [07:12] destruction of those Jewish communities [07:14] in order to hand over Gaza to the [07:16] Palestinian Authority. Daklan was the [07:18] first one who was there to be [07:20] administering the Gaza Strip. Now, what [07:23] happened within less than two years, [07:26] Kamas takes over the Gaza Strip. They [07:29] are killing Fatak members, throwing them [07:31] off RS and and Daklan needed to flee. He [07:34] he first fled to Egypt. Uh and now it [07:37] says that apparently he is residing in [07:40] the uh United Arab Emirates. Now, he [07:43] probably wants to get back into Gaza [07:46] somehow or another. So what he's trying [07:47] to do is to reestablish his credibility [07:50] as the one who actually had the [07:51] information on what kamas was doing [07:54] inside Gaza in the runup to October 7th [07:57] and basically saying that he himself [08:00] gave that information that he had to NBC [08:04] and that NBC picked up the phone and [08:06] called Netanyao. Now what's secondarily [08:09] interesting about this is that you know [08:11] who is Dan working with here on this [08:13] which is Yer Golan who is the head of [08:16] the party called the Democrats party but [08:19] actually what this is is the old merits [08:22] party the merits party which didn't even [08:25] >> make it across the threshold in this [08:28] last government that's how far to the [08:30] left and extreme the Israeli public [08:33] thinks that the merits party is now they [08:36] went through a rebrand and and a change [08:38] in leadership and yet you're go on [08:39] change the name of the party to the [08:40] Democrats to make uh people and [08:42] especially people abroad think that this [08:45] is some kind of like mainstream uh [08:47] center-left party. No, this is the most [08:49] extreme left-wing party uh in Israel [08:52] today. It represents a very small [08:53] fraction of the government. But here you [08:55] see that uh Geran is collaborating, [08:59] coordinating with Muhammad Dlan, who is [09:02] a horrific person uh and uh yet somebody [09:07] that still gets floated as a possible [09:10] moderate name to come back and run [09:13] affairs in Gaza or even run affairs in [09:16] the entirety of the Palestinian [09:17] Authority. Uh and what you have here is [09:20] that uh what's interesting is that [09:23] Netanyahu [09:25] instead of just trying to throw this [09:26] under the rug is specifically uh [09:29] fighting back and and saying that this [09:31] story was leaked by Yar Golan and [09:33] Muhammad Daklan which is uh I think also [09:35] indicative of the fact that he is in [09:37] election mode and and he's no longer [09:39] holding back. I'm glad you brought up [09:40] Dalan's character because he is 100% a [09:43] terrorist in a suit linked to a bus [09:45] bombing targeting Jewish children, a [09:48] school bus bombing in Kafar Dar, I think [09:50] back in 2000 or 2001 or one of those [09:53] Jewish communities in in Gaza, Gushkif, [09:55] in which children were were murdered and [09:57] maimed in that attack. So, I'm glad you [09:59] brought that up. But let's stick with [10:01] the Israeli election here. uh former US [10:04] Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in [10:06] the news this week getting involved in [10:08] Israel's election saying that the US [10:10] should adopt a tough stance against [10:13] Israel if voters reelect Prime Minister [10:15] Netanyahu. Let's check out this clip. [10:18] >> I love Israel and I hate Netanyahu's [10:21] government and his policies. I love [10:24] America and I hate Trump's government [10:26] and policies. If the Israelis want to [10:29] vote for that again, then I think the [10:31] United States has to take a very tough [10:32] position. Well, I would hope that a new [10:35] prime minister would crack down on [10:37] settler violence in the West Bank. There [10:39] should be no impunity for that kind of [10:42] violence. [10:44] >> Wait, let me get this straight, Alex. [10:45] So, you're saying that if Israel, a [10:48] democracy, elects a certain leader, then [10:50] the United States should crack down on [10:53] the state of Israel? What is Hillary [10:55] Clinton doing getting involved at this [10:57] juncture? Well, first of all, Hillary [10:59] Clinton is a former Secretary of State, [11:01] so she obviously was engaged in a lot of [11:04] direct diplomacy with Prime Minister [11:06] Netanyahu. There's no question that [11:08] she's always uh had a strong distaste [11:12] for Netanyahu. Now remember after the [11:15] war what we had was members of the let's [11:20] call it the wider Biden team which [11:24] included Hillary Clinton. It also [11:25] included Chuck Schumer senator all [11:27] coming out and saying that Netanyao [11:29] should step down. Uh that they were [11:32] trying to do that in the early months of [11:34] the war. They thought that they could [11:35] get the uh Israeli public to put enough [11:38] pressure, get a whole anti- Netanyao [11:40] movement going during the early months [11:42] of the war to get Netanyahu out because [11:44] they consider Netanyahu to be their [11:46] nemesis. Why? Because Netanyahu does not [11:48] give in to their dictates. He stands up [11:50] for Israel's interests even if those are [11:53] not in America's interest. It's very [11:54] clear that America is looking for at [11:56] least uh I would say on both sides of [11:58] the spectrum, both both on the [12:00] Democratic side as well as on this [12:02] isolationist side. They're looking for [12:04] an Israeli prime minister that they can [12:06] control, that they can manhandle, that [12:08] they can wave carrots and sticks and get [12:10] them to do what they want. And what do [12:12] they want? What does Hillary Clinton [12:13] want? She wants to see a two-state [12:15] solution. remember her husband, Bill [12:17] Clinton, was the one of the architects [12:20] or at least the broker of the Oslo [12:22] Accords, which was supposed to create [12:25] the pathway toward a two-state solution. [12:27] But what you have here is Hillary [12:28] Clinton, a former Secretary of State, [12:30] basically, as you said correctly, trying [12:32] to tell the Israeli people that if they [12:35] make the mistake once again of voting [12:38] for Netanyahu, for Netanyahu, which [12:40] Netanyahu has won more democratic [12:42] elections than any leader in the world. [12:45] Mhm. [12:45] >> Okay. Israel, people like to say that [12:48] Netanyahu is some kind of a fascist or a [12:51] dictator. This guy goes to the polls [12:53] every several years and wins an [12:55] election. And there's a reason why he [12:57] wins an election. And he's more likely [13:01] just as likely to win now as he ever was [13:03] in the past. Not to mention that even if [13:06] he's defeated, [13:08] it's going to be the policy direction [13:09] that he's laid out over the last 20 [13:12] years basically that any other candidate [13:15] is going to basically follow. The the [13:18] concept of a Palestinian state being [13:21] agreed to now by any Israeli leader, I [13:24] think, is is very very slim. Unless, of [13:26] course, the United States comes down [13:28] with tremendous pressure, uh, which [13:30] you're getting the sense that they are [13:32] prepared to do. Now, if they were going [13:33] to do this to to Israel under Netanyahu, [13:36] then they would be prepared to do it to [13:38] Eisenhot. And the question is, could an [13:40] Eisenhot stand up to that pressure if [13:43] the United States tells under some kind [13:46] of democratic president, whether that [13:47] would be a Camela Harris, a Gavin [13:49] Newsome, an AOC, whoever that would be, [13:51] like no more weapons for Israel unless [13:53] you go ahead and create a Palestinian [13:55] state. Would an Eisenhot stand up to [13:56] that? We know Netanyahu. Netanyao told [14:00] uh Blinken told who was the secretary of [14:03] state under Biden told Biden, "We'll [14:05] fight with our fingernails. If you don't [14:06] give us weapons, we will fight with our [14:07] fingernails." Um so they don't like [14:10] Netanyahu because they don't like an [14:11] Israeli prime minister standing up to [14:13] them. Uh but here, you know, I would say [14:15] this is absolutely disgusting uh in the [14:17] run-up to elections is to hear Hillary [14:19] Clinton say that. I mean, now what she's [14:21] saying is, you know, I love America, but [14:22] I hate Trump. I love Israel, but I hate [14:24] Netanyahu. What we've actually seen is [14:28] this progression over the years. You [14:30] know, people saying, you know, I don't [14:32] like Jews. Well, oh, no, you can't say [14:33] that. You can't say, I don't like Jews. [14:35] Everybody has correctly branded that as [14:38] anti-Semitic. So, people say, okay, [14:40] okay, I like Jews. You know, I had a [14:42] Jewish neighbor. I had a Jewish guy in [14:44] my campaign one time or a Jewish aid or [14:46] a Jewish accountant or a Jewish realtor. [14:49] So, Jews are okay. Like, my Jewish [14:50] neighbor is fine, but I don't like [14:52] Israel. And then Israel did a pretty [14:54] good job of demonstrating that being [14:57] anti-Israel is a new form of [14:58] anti-semitism. So now what people do is [15:01] they say, "Well, well, Jews are Jews are [15:03] fine. Fine. They're perfect. You know, [15:05] Israel, I like Israel as a country, [15:07] right? I remember going to Israel and [15:09] the Israeli people were fine. I just [15:10] hate Netanyahu." Right? So this is that [15:14] that progression that we've seen over [15:15] the years that uh people like Hillary [15:18] Clinton think they can get away with, [15:20] but they don't like Israel. They like [15:22] the version of Israel that they have in [15:24] their minds. But the ver the what Israel [15:26] really is is a right-wing country and [15:28] they don't like Israel as a right-wing [15:29] country. Why don't they like Israel as a [15:31] right-wing country? Because Israel is a [15:32] right-wing country is the the Israel [15:34] that continues to vote in Netanyahu. [15:37] What they like is the Israeli left. What [15:39] they like is Golan and Muhammad Daklan, [15:42] the ones that leaked the story about NBZ [15:45] calling Netanyahu the week before and [15:48] saying that October 7th was going to [15:50] happen. and and pitching the conspiracy [15:53] theory that Netanyahu was complicit [15:55] somehow in the October 7th attack. [15:57] >> First of all, what Hillary Clinton did, [15:58] that's the epitome of Kutzbah. Secondly, [16:00] it reminds me what you were just saying [16:02] of the rapper Mmore this week who used [16:06] his uh used the stage in which he was on [16:10] concerts in the US to say, "No, I don't [16:11] hate the Jews. I only hate Israel." Yet, [16:14] so many videos circulating of him [16:16] putting on this huge hookshaped nose at [16:18] one of his concerts. No, no, it's not [16:20] the Jews, only Israel. [16:21] >> Well, I'm glad you brought that up [16:22] because uh you know, Meccmore was [16:24] supposed to be going onto stage on many [16:27] different uh stadiums, some of the [16:29] largest stadiums, including like the [16:31] Craft Stadium in in New England in [16:33] Boston area. And so many of the stadiums [16:37] said, "We don't we don't want this guy [16:39] on our stage that that he was kicked off [16:42] the tour." Right. [16:43] >> Okay. So what you see is that, you know, [16:46] you've got these influencers and [16:48] politicians, you know, that are are [16:50] pitching a certain message, but when [16:52] actually comes to the American people, [16:53] when it actually comes to business [16:54] owners, they're not buying it. And [16:57] they're not they're not anti-Israel, [17:00] right? And we saw also this week, I [17:02] think it was during the Subway series [17:03] between the Yankees and the Mets. It was [17:05] on September 11th that some pro [17:09] Palestinian, [17:11] you know, fan suppose or somebody in the [17:13] stadium ran onto the field with a [17:15] Palestinian flag and he was tackled. [17:18] Okay. And what do you get from the the [17:21] crowd? Chance of USA, USA, USA. They're [17:24] not pro Palestinian. Now, the the media, [17:28] the the leftwing, sometimes on the right [17:31] wing, and social media, they all want [17:33] you to think that America's turned on [17:35] Israel. But real Americans know and real [17:38] business owners know that Israel is [17:41] America's ally and that uh this pro [17:43] Palestinian, pro- Hamas, pro- Hisbala, [17:46] pro-Iran uh push that this is a bull. [17:50] It's not uh representative of where the [17:53] American people actually are. Uh, and [17:55] it's not aligned even one bit with [17:58] American values. [17:59] >> Reminds me of that clip that was [18:00] circulating for years and still is now [18:02] of the PA street celebrating on 9/11. [18:05] The American people have not forgotten. [18:07] But we were talking about former US [18:09] Secretary of State. We mentioned Hillary [18:11] Clinton and now Anthony Blinkin who was [18:13] the Secretary of State as you said under [18:15] Joe Biden in the news. There was a [18:17] report in Hararitz on the Israeli [18:20] hostages which claimed Haritz claimed [18:23] that after October 7th, Qatar informed [18:25] Blinkin that Hamas was willing to give [18:27] back all the hostages right away to do a [18:28] deal. So you had the former US Secretary [18:31] of State on X saying this was a complete [18:34] fiction and what those at hearts are [18:37] essentially saying, they're saying that [18:39] Blinken basically had an opportunity to [18:41] free the hostages but chose to back [18:44] Israel's war instead. Let's break it [18:45] down. Well, this is another version of [18:47] the same story that we opened the show [18:49] with, right? The same way that you had [18:52] Yer Go on of the farleft political [18:55] spectrum leaking a story that Netanyahu [18:59] knew a week before the attacks that [19:01] kamas was planning this. Well, Haritz, [19:03] which represents that same far-left [19:06] opinion in the media, releasing this [19:08] story that uh that Qatar informed [19:13] Lincoln that kamas was willing to give [19:15] back all the hostages, right? So, [19:17] basically what they're saying is that [19:20] kamas took 255 hostages in addition to [19:23] killing 1,200 people and [snorts] [19:25] injuring 6,000 others and burning houses [19:27] to the ground and just committing this [19:29] horrific massacre. But they were [19:31] actually willing to give back all the [19:33] hostages, right? Uh which is complete [19:37] nonsense. I mean, it's just it's utter [19:40] absurdity. But what they what they want [19:42] to do is to show that Netanyahu could [19:43] have gotten the hostages back [19:45] immediately, but he didn't want to get [19:47] the hostages back because he wanted to [19:49] launch this war of genocide and war [19:51] crimes and that the cleansing against [19:53] the Palestinian people. though he left [19:54] the hostages there that he would have [19:56] the cover to commit genocide and war [19:59] crimes because that's what Netanyahu [20:00] wants to do, right? So, it's another one [20:02] of these stories just designed to place [20:05] all the blame for October 7th, all the [20:07] blame for the war, all the blame for the [20:09] diplomatic fallout of the war, which is [20:12] all kamas and Qatari strategy to to [20:15] delegitimize Israel and to demonize [20:17] Israel as being guilty of war crimes and [20:19] genocide and ethnic cleansing. Uh but [20:22] good on Anthony Blinkin for coming out [20:25] cuz he could have ignored this. [20:27] >> Sure. And he came out and said [20:28] absolutely this is not true. So even [20:30] though Blinkin was part of that team [20:32] Biden and was aligned with Hillary [20:34] Clinton and Chuck Schumer uh you know at [20:36] least he had some dignity here uh to to [20:39] come out and say that what Harets is [20:42] saying was completely and total [20:43] fabrication. it was fake news and that [20:46] uh Qatar never informed him that Kamas [20:49] was willing to give those hostages back. [20:51] And in fact, you know, whatever Blink [20:54] tried to do to get these hostages back, [20:56] I I mean, they did get some back earlier [20:59] on in the in the war before the [21:02] election, before Trump came into office, [21:04] but it wasn't until Donald Trump [21:06] ratcheted up the pressure big time uh on [21:09] Hamas with some help of the other [21:12] countries in in the region, including [21:14] Qatar and including Turkey and Egypt, [21:18] that they were able to reach the [21:20] conditions to get the hostages out. [21:22] >> Alex, let's stick with Gaza. President [21:23] Trump this week repeating once again [21:26] that Hamas is willing to disarm. Also [21:29] giving credit to envoys Jared Kushner [21:32] and Steve Whit saying they would never [21:34] have come out without their influence. [21:37] Let's check out this clip. [21:39] >> Wid Kushner at all and their ability to [21:42] to close the deal. [21:43] >> Great job. Look at Gaza as an example. [21:45] Look at the fact we got all the hostages [21:47] back. We got the hostages back. You [21:50] know, people forget uh there's not a lot [21:52] of fighting in Gaza. Hamas is now [21:55] willing to give up their weapons. No, [21:57] they've done an incredible job. Nobody [21:58] could have done the job. [22:01] >> So, we've talked about this before, but [22:03] Hamas willing to give up their weapons. [22:05] I highly doubt that. [22:06] >> Well, two things. Number one is I didn't [22:09] hear Trump use Witoff and Kushner by [22:12] name. the the reporter said Kushner [22:14] Witco and he said okay they did a [22:17] wonderful job but [22:18] >> you know I don't think that he went out [22:20] of his way to say well Kushner and [22:22] Witoff they're the ones that did it so [22:24] you know let's uh let's you know give a [22:28] little bit of distance just a slight [22:30] amount of distance to to Trump going out [22:32] there and saying that it was [22:33] specifically Kushner and Wickoff I mean [22:35] you look at at the entire administration [22:37] I think Trump you this the buck stopped [22:39] with him on this and he was willing to [22:41] to ratchet up the pressure and they did [22:43] a great job to get the hostages out and [22:45] and President Trump made it a priority. [22:47] I mean, I was in the Oval Office a few [22:49] times and in Mara Lago uh and you could [22:52] see that Trump really cared about the [22:55] hostages. He met many times with the [22:57] families of hostages. He made it an [22:59] absolute priority to get those hostages [23:01] out. Uh and he did broker the ceasefire [23:03] deal and Israel basically stopped [23:05] fighting. He says there's not a lot of [23:06] fighting going on in Gaza. There's not a [23:08] lot of fighting because Israel agreed to [23:10] cease fire for return of the hostages [23:12] and that has by and large held. Yes, [23:15] there's been some skirmishes but in [23:17] terms of major military operation, you [23:20] haven't seen any major military [23:22] operation launched by Israel uh once [23:24] kamas released those hostages. Now the [23:26] question number two of whether kamas is [23:28] willing to disarm. You know when I hear [23:30] that it sounds to me almost the same as [23:33] when Trump is saying that the Iranians [23:35] are willing to negotiate. [23:36] >> Sure. Right. [23:37] What power does kamas have if not for [23:40] their weapons? That the only thing that [23:42] keeps them in charge on the streets of [23:43] Gaza is their weapons. Uh if they were [23:46] willing to disarm, they would have [23:47] disarmed already. The fact that they [23:49] continue to maintain their weapons now, [23:51] you're you're coming up on a year um [23:54] since the ceasefire and they haven't [23:57] disarmed until now. And every story that [24:00] we've heard about kamas disarming is uh [24:03] you know some kind of [24:05] symbolic disarmament. We'll lock our [24:08] weapons away inside a shed and we'll [24:10] give those shed to the Palestinians who [24:13] definitely are not kamas, right? And [24:15] maybe we could get them later. So, you [24:17] know, I don't I don't really think that [24:19] we're seeing any kind of real signal [24:21] that kamas is actually willing to disarm [24:24] over here. But at the same time, I think [24:26] Israel is somewhat comfortable with the [24:31] status quo. The major weapons, Kamas [24:33] does not have them anymore. A lot of [24:34] them have been destroyed. They don't [24:36] have the Kasam rocket capacity that they [24:38] had to inflict uh harm on Israeli [24:41] civilian population centers. They [24:44] probably do have some anti-tank and RPG, [24:47] but not nearly as much as they had [24:49] before. And they're certainly not going [24:51] to use that because if they use it now, [24:53] the IDF is still holding more than 50% [24:57] of Gaza on the other side of this yellow [24:59] line. And if if Kamas starts using heavy [25:02] weaponry, well, that's going to be a [25:04] major excuse for Israel to go back in [25:06] and do the kind of stuff that you see [25:07] them doing in in in Lebanon, which we'll [25:11] talk about in a couple minutes. So [25:13] they're they're not they're deterred [25:14] right now and Israel sees it as a [25:19] reasonable status quo. If they would [25:21] have to go in and disarm Hamas [25:23] themselves, what would that mean? That [25:24] would mean another major operation. That [25:27] would mean the loss of Israeli soldiers, [25:30] God forbid, in booby trapped areas. It [25:32] would be uh it would mean rising death [25:36] counts or at least the uh the stories of [25:41] rising death counts stating that [25:42] terrorists are civilians, terrorists [25:44] hiding near civilians, uh civilian [25:46] casualties as a result of kamas using [25:50] civilians as human shields and then [25:52] further delegitimization and isolation [25:54] in the diplomatic community which Israel [25:56] doesn't want. So I think Israel is very [25:59] comfortable right now holding half of [26:01] the territory of the Gaza Strip, [26:02] allowing Hamas to run around with their [26:04] weapons and basically being deterred uh [26:07] from attacks against the IDF and there [26:10] being a significant buffer zone between [26:12] where Kamas holds positions and Israeli [26:15] population centers on the other side of [26:17] the Gaza Israel border. Let's turn to [26:19] Jared Kushner if we can. There was a [26:21] clip released this past Friday in terms [26:24] of what he called the terrible Israeli [26:28] strike which Israel carried out on [26:30] Dohaqar about a year ago. He says that [26:34] the US pressured Israel into the Gaza [26:37] deal after that strike. Let's check out [26:39] the full clip. [26:41] And then actually there we use the [26:43] errand strike. You know, Israel did the [26:44] strike in Doha which uh which which was [26:47] which was a terrible thing. And [26:48] obviously uh you know there was it was [26:50] unsuccessful as a military operation and [26:52] that led to Israel being globally [26:53] isolated and we used uh that dynamic in [26:56] order to push them into a deal uh that [26:58] now today they're quite happy with. We [26:59] turned out to be great for the people of [27:01] Gaza because now we have a new you know [27:03] government there that's obviously [27:04] looking to uh take over soon once we uh [27:07] advance on the demilitarization. Uh but [27:09] we had to uh both find the opening in [27:11] order to put in place. But had we not [27:13] done all the pre-work before when the [27:15] opening came nothing would have [27:16] occurred. [27:18] So, here's what he said. It was a [27:20] terrible strike in Doha, unsuccessful [27:23] militarily, and this pushed Israel into [27:26] a deal. Let's break down his comments [27:28] here. [27:29] >> Well, you know, I think each one of [27:31] these you can twist it a little bit. Was [27:34] it terrible? It's terrible in the sense [27:37] that all war is terrible, right? In the [27:39] same way that what Israel's had to do [27:42] inside Gaza is terrible because nobody [27:45] wants to do strikes anywhere. So all [27:47] strikes are terrible. But in terms of [27:49] whether the strike in Doha was [27:51] particularly terrible, it seems like the [27:52] strike in Doha was a major success. Now [27:55] was it a military success? So what [27:59] Kushner is saying is true. It was not a [28:01] military success. Israel was trying to [28:04] carry out assassinations of Kamas [28:06] members in DA and apparently they [28:10] missed. They did not get the targets [28:12] that they wanted to to get, which by the [28:15] way is somewhat unusual because Israel [28:18] has had a incredible track record of [28:20] hitting their targets during this war. [28:22] So they they happened to miss. So was it [28:24] was it a successful military operation? [28:27] No, it wasn't a successful military [28:28] operation, but it was an extraordinarily [28:31] successful attack because what this did [28:33] was it demonstrated that Israel was [28:35] willing to take this war beyond the [28:37] confines of Gaza or beyond the confines [28:39] of Lebanon where was already proved that [28:42] they would strike as deep as Yemen [28:44] against the Houthis. They already proven [28:46] that they would strike uh in Iran [28:48] directly against Iran. But the fact that [28:51] they would be willing to strike in [28:54] Qatar, which is seen as an American ally [28:57] during this process, which was seen as [28:59] the the facilitator of the negotiations [29:01] with Kamas, that Israel would be willing [29:03] to strike all the way over there in [29:05] order to target Kamas leadership. This [29:07] sent a shock wave throughout the entire [29:10] region that Israel was not to be messed [29:13] with and that they would keep going and [29:15] keep going until they met their is until [29:17] they met their objectives. And instead [29:20] of Kushner saying that once they failed [29:24] that attack, then there was diplomatic [29:26] isolation. Well, there was a lot of [29:28] diplomatic isolation way before the [29:31] strike. Absolutely. In DOA, right? [29:34] You've had diplomatic isolation which [29:36] already started when the Biden [29:38] administration was in office and they [29:40] were the ones pressuring and then France [29:42] and others they were the ones leading [29:44] the diplomatic isolation against Israel [29:46] way before the Trump administration and [29:48] Kushner got back into their positions. [29:51] Okay. And what happened is that [29:54] instead of what Kushner saying that that [29:57] strike gave the United States leverage [30:00] to make a deal that Israel was forced [30:02] into, it's it's exactly the opposite. [30:04] That strike is what gave Israel the [30:07] leverage to force the Qataris to force [30:10] Kamas into a deal. So I think that that [30:13] deal was actually one of the major [30:15] turning points in this war in Israel's [30:18] favor. So I think it's a bit of [30:19] revisionist history here by uh Kushner [30:22] to say that. And then the other thing [30:23] that he said that this has been great [30:24] for the people of Gaza. I mean the [30:26] people of Gaza have been living in tents [30:29] for three years. Okay. And Kamas is [30:32] still running around terrorizing them. [30:35] And Kamas says Kushner says, you know, [30:37] and Trump said Kamas is willing to [30:38] disarm. And Kushner says here, oh, as [30:41] soon as we get the demilitarization [30:43] complete, then we'll have this new grand [30:45] government in in Gaza. that's going to [30:47] be great benefit for the Palestinian [30:49] people. Like, show me the money. You [30:51] know, I I don't think that you're going [30:53] to see this disarmament take place so [30:55] quick. And I don't think that you're [30:56] going to get any government that's going [30:57] to be great for the people of Gaza. And [30:59] meanwhile, the people of Gaza are [31:00] trapped. They're not allowed to flee the [31:02] war zone, even though, as Trump has [31:04] stated many times, it's a demolition [31:06] zone. And Kushner has even said it's a [31:07] demolition zone. So, you know, I don't I [31:09] don't see how this has been great for [31:10] the people of Gaza. What it was was [31:12] great for Israel because that strike is [31:14] what caused the pressure which forced [31:16] the Qataris to negotiate the release of [31:18] the hostages and the ceasefire. Yeah. So [31:20] you had the Likun on Sunday rejecting [31:22] Kushner's account of how the Gaza [31:24] hostage release came to be. So the [31:27] question is why is he doing this now? [31:29] Why is he going on camera? Why is he [31:30] making these statements about Israel's [31:32] terrible strike in Qatar? What's going [31:34] on behind the scenes here? Well, there's [31:37] a couple of questions. The first [31:38] question is again about election hearing [31:40] and we talked about Hillary Clinton and [31:42] what she said and uh there are many [31:45] reported allegations that Kush or [31:48] Whitkoff are really not very supportive [31:50] of Netanyahu and they would prefer to [31:53] have another Israeli prime minister, one [31:55] that they think that they can force more [31:57] easily into what they want to see [31:59] happen. Remember Kushner just a few [32:01] weeks back tried to change the terms of [32:04] this 20point ceasefire deal and [32:06] introduce a new 15-point uh plan which [32:10] calls for a lighter demilitarization. [32:13] Right. So Kushner has got his own agenda [32:18] visa v the Gaza Strip and a lot of that [32:20] involves the rebuilding of Gaza and [32:22] commercial deals which he may have a [32:25] role in brokering. Right. And then [32:27] there's also the questions of his [32:29] financial interest specifically in Qatar [32:32] and why he's trying to whitewash the [32:35] Qataris on all this and once again [32:37] forcing all the blame essentially on [32:39] Netanyahu for issuing the orders to [32:42] strike in Doha. [32:43] >> So you really have questions here about [32:45] that potential relationship with Doha. [32:48] What can you make of that? Well, if [32:51] somebody was going to be appointed an [32:53] ambassador or an official envoy, they [32:56] would have to go through a Senate [32:57] confirmation. [32:59] And what Trump did is he's given these [33:02] guys the [33:05] free pass to go conduct diplomacy on the [33:08] highest level for the president of the [33:09] United States without having to go [33:12] through that process. And and why did he [33:15] do that? maybe he would not have gotten [33:17] through the Senate uh because of the [33:20] fact that he has done so much business [33:22] first with the Saudis and also with the [33:25] Qataris. Remember Steve Wickoff for [33:27] example? He had a distressed hotel, the [33:30] Parklane Hotel on Central Park South and [33:32] the Qataris swooped in and purchased [33:34] that hotel from him for $600 million. [33:38] Okay. So, how do you think he's going to [33:39] feel uh when he's talking to the Qatari [33:42] leadership? Is he going to be looking at [33:43] at the Qataris as terrorists or is he [33:46] going to be looking at the Qataris as [33:48] reasonable businessmen that you can work [33:50] with when they're the ones that bailed [33:52] them out of a of a hotel deal? So, you [33:55] know, I think that there's a good chance [33:57] that Kushner Wickoff might not have ever [33:59] passed a Senate confirmation hearing if [34:02] they had gone through those normal [34:04] channels the way that Mike Huckabe had [34:06] to uh go through Senate confirmation in [34:09] order to be appointed United States [34:11] Ambassador to Israel. [34:12] Alex, [snorts] I want to turn to now and [34:14] the situation in Lebanon. Major [34:16] accomplishments by Israel over the last [34:18] week or two. Um, capturing tons of [34:21] weapons. The IDF capturing tons of [34:23] weapons, intelligence from the Kazbala [34:25] position at the Ali Taher Ridge. Israel [34:28] taking out a major underground uh really [34:31] underground city, if you will, that they [34:33] were going to use potentially to attack [34:34] northern Israel and the Galilee. Let's [34:36] check out this clip from Prime Minister [34:38] Netanyahu up in Lebanon. [35:04] So these are major accomplishments by [35:05] our military in Lebanon, Alex. [35:07] >> Yeah. Yeah, I mean first of all just [35:08] talking about Netanyahu in the last week [35:10] or so Netanyahu has been in the northern [35:13] Golan which is basically previously [35:15] Syrian territory. Now you see Netanyahu [35:18] inside Lebanon in areas that is [35:21] controlled by the IDF. So he's saying [35:23] I'm going out to the front lines. I'm [35:25] going into Syria. I'm going into [35:26] Lebanon. Uh, and what you saw Netanyahu [35:31] um, present was, like we said, some of [35:35] these major weapon systems that was [35:38] preparing. And people don't realize that [35:40] everything that kamas was doing [35:42] underground in the Gaza Stripbu was [35:46] doing in southern Lebanon near the [35:49] northern border of Israel. Everything [35:51] that kamas was doing to use hospitals, [35:54] mosques and schools and civilian homes [35:56] as command centers as storage [35:58] facilities, was doing the same thing in [36:02] southern Lebanon. reports came out a [36:04] week ago that Kizbal was using an [36:06] abandoned hospital as a center for [36:09] military operations. Now, what's really [36:12] interesting is this Ali Tahir Ridge, [36:16] we had heard a few weeks ago that Israel [36:19] was going to conduct major operations [36:20] there and then the Iranians said that if [36:24] Israel does anything on this Alahare [36:26] ridge that the Iranians would start [36:29] firing directly at Israel again. And [36:31] here what you see clearly is that Israel [36:34] operated in the Alita ridge. They did [36:38] the Lebanese people a tremendous favor [36:40] by removing this Kazbala stronghold [36:42] which now this area is probably going to [36:44] turn into a pilot zone where the IDF [36:47] might step back and allow the Lebanese [36:49] army to demonstrate that it can hold the [36:51] territory without allowing to return. [36:54] But the Iranians are deterred. They have [36:56] not struck at Israel despite their [36:57] threats. Uh we've seen Iran strike at so [37:01] many different countries across the [37:03] Middle East uh over the past months, but [37:06] they're not striking at Israel because [37:07] they know that if they do strike at [37:10] Israel, that Israel will unleash not [37:12] epic fury like the United States did [37:15] because epic fury ended after five or [37:18] six weeks without achieving a full [37:20] political objective. The Israelis have [37:22] said over and over again that it is [37:24] their goal to completely overthrow this [37:27] Iranian regime. And if the Iranians give [37:31] Israel another excuse to [37:34] violate the ceasefire, they're going to [37:36] go full force and it will be the final [37:39] end of the Iranian regime. So meanwhile, [37:42] the Iranians are deterred. And then you [37:43] could ask the question, well, why [37:45] doesn't Israel do it anyway against [37:46] Iran? But that's a whole other strategic [37:48] discernment that's uh not necessarily uh [37:51] to be discussed today. So you have Iran [37:54] not striking Israel, striking other [37:56] countries in the Middle East. You also [37:57] have the Houthis once again very active [37:59] this week. Reports indicating the [38:01] Houthis there, the Yemen Iranian-based [38:04] Yemen terrorist organization seizing [38:06] control of parts of the Bob El Mandab [38:09] Strait in the southern Red Sea. also [38:12] launching ballistic missiles and drones [38:14] targeting Saudi military sites and [38:16] civilian infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. [38:18] Reports here of 13 civilians wounded [38:20] over the last 24 hours. [38:21] >> Well, let's talk about the Bob Elmande [38:24] Straits. Uh there's been a lot of talk [38:26] about the Straits of Hermuz. And what [38:27] the Straits of Hermuz are are this [38:30] little straits, this very narrow [38:32] passageway from the Persian Gulf where [38:35] something like 12% of the world's oil [38:37] passes through uh and natural gas from [38:40] Qatara. goes through the uh straits of [38:44] Ramuz and essentially the Iranians have [38:46] been acting like pirates in the straits [38:48] and targeting ships and placing mines [38:50] and blocking it uh and interrupting the [38:53] flow of oil for the international [38:55] community. The Baal Mandeb strait is on [38:58] the other side of the Arabian Peninsula [39:00] and it is another narrow straits that [39:04] leads directly to the Red Sea and the [39:07] Suez Canal. Now what the Suez Canal does [39:10] is it shortens the travel for commercial [39:12] goods coming from China, coming from [39:14] India, coming from Southeast Asia, [39:16] Korea, Japan to Europe in the [39:19] Mediterranean Sea significantly by [39:22] something like 2 to 3 weeks journey for [39:25] a ship that otherwise has to go all the [39:27] way around the southern tip of Africa. [39:29] So this is a a major international [39:32] waterway for commercial shipping, a [39:34] major shortcut for commercial shipping. [39:36] It's also the number one source of [39:38] revenue for Egypt, which is losing [39:40] billions and billions of dollars because [39:43] ships are not able to get insurance to [39:46] go through the Suez Canal because of the [39:48] Houthis acting as pirates. And this is a [39:51] major violation of international law. [39:54] Now what it also is strategically is the [39:57] Houthis who are an Iranian proxy trying [40:00] to widen the war and put more economic [40:04] pressure on Western countries and also [40:06] test the metal of Western countries [40:09] including the UK and France and Italy [40:11] and others that benefit from the lower [40:15] cost of shipping via the Sewish Canal [40:18] than the extra two to three weeks of [40:19] going all the way around Africa and the [40:21] United States to be the protectorate of [40:24] international global commercial [40:26] shipping. So what they're doing is [40:29] trying to go the United States or test [40:32] them. Uh and this is how Iran basically [40:35] thinks that they can defeat the United [40:37] States by terrorizing the international [40:41] shipping and deterring the United States [40:44] from attacking. This is how they they [40:47] can a tiny broke country like Iran can [40:51] can terrorize and ultimately defeat the [40:54] United States. And what they're also [40:55] doing is aside from just attacking the [40:57] the straits and the Red Sea is that [41:00] they've been launching rekindling the [41:03] civil war inside Yemen, forcing the [41:07] Yemenite army to fight against the [41:09] Houthis. And then they've also been [41:11] attacking in Saudi Arabia. and the [41:13] Saudis have been attacking at the [41:15] Houthis and both Yemen and their army [41:18] and the Saudis have both been asking the [41:21] United States for military assistance. [41:24] Meanwhile, they haven't found any [41:26] military assistance from the United [41:28] States, but of course that can change. [41:30] Alex, there's also a story which came [41:31] out today indicating that Israel and [41:33] Saudi Arabia under SenCom held talks [41:36] about the situation in regard to the [41:37] Houthis. [41:38] >> Exactly. So the United States is not [41:40] willing to provide military assistance [41:41] right now, but they are brokering [41:44] discussions between Israel and Saudi [41:46] Arabia to provide intelligence [41:48] assistance, which is very important for [41:50] the Saudis to be able to strike [41:52] specifically at the correct targets that [41:54] will neutralize the Houthis. So you see [41:57] that Israel is aligning itself uh with [42:01] the Saudis. Another interesting [42:02] component of this is that several weeks [42:05] back the Saudis had signed what was [42:07] called the Mecca Accords which was a [42:10] defense alliance between Saudi Arabia, [42:14] Turkey and Pakistan which basically [42:16] stated that any attack on one of those [42:19] countries was an attack on all those [42:21] countries. Now the Houthis have attacked [42:23] Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is now [42:26] attacking against the Houthis. Where's [42:28] the Pakistanis? back. Where's Turkey? [42:31] Now, in July of 2024, Netanyahu went [42:35] into Congress to give a speech and he [42:38] called for a NATO style alliance of [42:41] Abraham Accords nations, which included [42:43] Israel, which would include Saudi Arabia [42:46] to counterbalance Iran. So here you know [42:51] Pakistan which has been negotiating on [42:53] behalf of Iran, Turkey which is part of [42:56] this new uh Sunni axis, the head of the [42:58] Muslim Brotherhood uh today and and an [43:01] enemy of Israel. They're they're nowhere [43:03] to be found when the Houthis are [43:05] attacking Saudi Arabia. But the United [43:08] States is brokering conversations [43:10] between Saudi Arabia and Israel where [43:12] Israel is providing critical [43:14] intelligence. And let's see, there could [43:16] even be the possibility at some point of [43:18] Israel renewing attacks against the [43:21] Houthis. And I I still wouldn't rule out [43:22] the possibility of America and Sentcom [43:26] uh attacking against the Houthis if they [43:28] don't back down from their aggressive [43:30] posture in the straits in the Babel [43:32] Mumdub Straits and in their attacks on [43:34] Saudi Arabia. Certainly to be continued [43:36] with the Houthis. But wrapping up this [43:38] week, Alex, and this probably could have [43:39] been the top story. I'm referring to the [43:41] film Naza, which won at the Venice Film [43:44] Festival. I don't even want to say it's [43:45] an Israeli film. And we'll talk about [43:47] exactly what this is, what this is all [43:49] about. Uh, last night on Israel's [43:52] television, I believe it was Channel 14, [43:53] they actually dedicated the first 18 [43:55] minutes of the program, that's a lot of [43:57] TV time, to the fact that you had these [43:59] two Israeli filmmakers who made this [44:01] movie, now an awardw winning film, [44:04] claiming that Israel deliberately [44:05] targeted civilians in Gaza. Israeli [44:08] culture and sport minister Mickey Zohar [44:11] this week called for the citizenship of [44:13] the two filmmakers Yval Raham and Raquel [44:16] Zor to be revoked after their Gaza war [44:20] documentary a very loose term I'm using [44:22] there called Naza won the special jury [44:25] prize at the Venice International Film [44:27] Festival. I mean, you have people saying [44:28] that this is essentially an anti-semitic [44:31] movie by two Israelis, so to speak, [44:35] using their Israeliness, I guess, as [44:37] their as their credentials to make such [44:39] a movie. Just just a horrible, horrible [44:41] film. The fact that they won this award, [44:42] I guess maybe in today's day and age [44:44] shouldn't be surprising. Um, you know, [44:47] accusing Israel of deliberately [44:49] targeting civilians, we know that's an [44:50] absolute lie. Well, certainly not a [44:52] surprise that this documentary won the [44:54] special jury prize at the Venice [44:56] International Film Festival. That's for [44:58] sure. I mean, anything that promotes [45:00] Israeli war crimes, genocide, ethnic [45:02] cleansing, targeting civilians is going [45:05] to go right to the tops of these film [45:08] festivals. By the way, a special jury [45:10] prize usually means that the film was [45:12] not good by any standard of film making, [45:16] but that the jury said, "Well, yeah, [45:19] it's it's probably a terrible film, but [45:21] because we love Bashing Israel so much, [45:24] we're going to give it this special jury [45:26] prize." It's not like it won the film [45:28] festival, but the the jury just couldn't [45:30] help themselves, so they gave it a [45:32] special jury prize. Now this film which [45:35] is promoted I it was made by Yuval [45:38] Abraham and Rachel Zor is promoting a [45:42] blood liel. What is the blood liel? That [45:46] the IDF was using AI to generate targets [45:49] which they do by the way. The IDF [45:51] generates targets in real time using AI [45:54] using intelligence. they can they can [45:56] match phones to other phones and get to [45:59] terrorists based on that and they they [46:01] can generate targets very fast. But what [46:04] the film was was alleging and and all of [46:07] it by the way using um using [46:12] anonymous [46:14] uh interviewees, right? So you never see [46:16] the name of the person, you never see [46:18] the face of the person, right? You have [46:20] these like blackened figures who are [46:21] basically accusing the IDF of generating [46:25] targets with the specific knowledge that [46:28] there were civilians and specifically [46:31] women and children that were at those [46:34] targets and saying that the IDF not only [46:37] uh chose to go through the red light if [46:40] they knew that there were women and [46:43] children and civilians there, but that [46:44] they were actually picking the targets [46:47] on the basis of civilians and women and [46:49] children being at those sites, [46:52] asserting, alleging, accusing Israel of [46:54] intentionally increasing the number of [46:57] civilian casualties as a form of [46:58] collective punishment. Now, that goes [47:01] directly against what people like John [47:03] Spencer, who's the head of the urban [47:05] warfare department at West Point, who is [47:07] the number one world expert on studying [47:11] urban warfare and and conflict zones, [47:14] who's been to Gaza several times and has [47:16] said that Israel has done everything to [47:17] go out of its way to avoid civilian [47:20] casualties. everything from dropping [47:22] leaflets telling people to get out of [47:23] harm's way, moving people through safe [47:25] passage uh into safe zones before they [47:28] would carry out attacks, which doing so [47:32] put Israeli lives on the line. Israel [47:34] has lost many soldiers as a result of [47:36] all of the efforts that they took to [47:39] reduce civilian casualties. And Spencer [47:42] reports that Israel in its campaign in [47:46] the Gaza Strip had the lowest uh [47:49] civilian to combat ratio in the history [47:51] of warfare. The lowest in the history of [47:53] warfare. And and exponentially lower [47:56] than the United States had done in in [47:59] wars in Iraq and elsewhere. And yet here [48:02] you've got Israelis coming out and [48:04] saying that no, in fact, the IDF uh [48:07] specifically was targeting women and [48:09] children. And then that also leads you [48:11] to this question of which I get all the [48:14] time. I go out speaking. I just came [48:15] back from two and a half week road show [48:16] and people always ask me why is it that [48:19] Israel loses the battle of the [48:20] narratives, right? How come we can't get [48:22] our story straight? Well, because you [48:24] have Israelis often times that are [48:29] seconding the lies and the blood liels [48:31] and saying it themselves. You got these [48:33] filmmakers saying that Israel's [48:34] targeting civilians, basically [48:36] committing war crime war crimes. You've [48:38] had during this war former heads of the [48:40] Mossad, the Israeli uh external [48:42] intelligence agency and even former [48:44] prime ministers of the state of Israel [48:46] going out to CNN saying that Israel's [48:49] committing war crimes in Gaza. So, if [48:50] you've got prime ministers, heads of [48:52] Mossad, and filmmakers saying that uh [48:55] Israel is committing war crimes, even if [48:57] you got the head of the urban warfare [48:59] department in West Point saying that [49:00] Israel's done everything possible to [49:02] avoid civilian casualties and is going [49:04] to actually be studied for how they went [49:07] to great lengths to reduce civilian [49:09] casualties by other militaries, you [49:11] can't win the the narrative battle. And [49:14] so, this is just uh extraordinarily [49:16] unfortunate. I wish we didn't have to [49:18] talk about it. But at the same time, [49:19] what Mickey Zora did calling for the [49:22] citizenship of those filmmakers to be [49:23] revoked. Well, Israel is a country that [49:26] allows for freedom of speech. [49:27] >> Yeah, it's never going to happen. It [49:29] won't happen. They It just won't happen. [49:31] They may make some kind of ruling, the [49:33] minister may call for, and then the [49:35] courts, I believe, will say, "No, just [49:36] like you said, freedom of speech comes [49:38] before everything else." So, I don't [49:40] think [49:40] >> you certainly can't uh you can't uh [49:42] prevent Israelis from saying things [49:45] abroad. I mean that's what happens. [49:46] Israelis say [49:47] >> but even if this is incitement to [49:49] violence against Israelis you can make [49:51] that claim [49:52] >> and that's the difference and that's the [49:54] difference between Israel and another [49:55] one of these countries. Could you [49:57] imagine Qataris going out and saying [50:00] that Qatar is committing massive human [50:03] rights violations against the millions [50:05] of basically slaves that uh are waiting [50:10] hands and feet on the 250,000 uh [50:12] citizens there. They would be killed. [50:15] Right. In Iran, in Gaza, if somebody [50:18] said that it was Hamas committing the [50:20] war crimes, why do you think Gazans have [50:21] not been protesting against Hamas on the [50:24] Gaza Strip after all the damage and [50:26] destruction and heartache and and uh [50:31] poverty that kamas has brought them [50:34] because kamas will kill those people, [50:36] right? And here uh Israel can't do [50:39] anything to people that come out and [50:40] spread blood liels against it. uh they [50:43] came in and revoked their citizenship. [50:44] >> Sadly, we didn't even have to go all the [50:46] way to Mackmore in the US. We could have [50:47] just talked about these two filmmakers. [50:49] It's basically two sides of the same co. [50:51] >> There's a pattern here because you [50:53] you've got uh Israeli filmmakers here. [50:55] You have uh Israeli lawmakers that we're [50:57] talking about Gwan stating that uh [51:01] Netanyahu knew what Kamas was going to [51:02] do on October 7th. You had Harat stating [51:05] that uh that Qar had said Kamas was [51:09] willing to release all the hostages [51:11] ahead of the Israeli ground operation. [51:14] These are just lies and lies and lies [51:17] and lies and the lies stick and that is [51:20] the reason why uh Israel's stature in [51:23] the diplomat in the diplomatic community [51:25] and and even among uh the general public [51:29] in much of the west has really taken [51:32] many many shots and has gotten much much [51:34] worse is because so many of these lies [51:37] and these propaganda [51:40] operations prove to be very successful. [51:43] Alex, we're out of time, but let's end [51:44] on something positive. We just [51:45] celebrated the Jewish New Year, Russia [51:48] Shaah, and now we are inching towards [51:50] Yum Kipur, the holiest day on the Jewish [51:52] calendar. Let's talk about something [51:53] positive before we go off the air this [51:55] week. [51:55] >> Well, you know, we wish people a sweet [51:57] new year and uh you know, there are all [52:00] kind of spiritual battles that take [52:02] place in addition to the physical [52:03] battles. Um and the same way that we go [52:06] to war to fight the physical battles, we [52:08] also have to go to war and fight the [52:10] spiritual battles. Anti-semitism is a [52:13] spiritual battle. Uh but the beauty of [52:15] these holidays is that it really does [52:17] raise the spiritual level of the Jewish [52:20] people and u that happens on Rosh Shana [52:24] and Yom Kipur. These are days of [52:25] judgment in which the Jewish people come [52:27] before God for judgment not only on [52:29] behalf of themselves and on behalf of [52:31] the nation of Israel but actually on [52:32] behalf of the entire world. And that's [52:34] why the holiday that comes after Yomipur [52:37] Sukkot is a holiday in which all the [52:38] nations of the world used to come to the [52:40] holy temple in Jerusalem to take part in [52:43] the 70 sacrifices. The 70 sacrifices [52:46] representing the at the time the 70 [52:48] nations of the world. Uh and it's the [52:51] most joyous time on the Jewish calendar. [52:53] So this despite all the internal [52:56] challenges, despite the fact that we're [52:58] in election season and there's like a [53:00] you know a bitterness that comes with [53:03] elections, a toxicity you know we just [53:05] had the election for God which was on [53:08] Roshashana. It's a day of proclaiming [53:10] God's kingship in the world. So that's a [53:11] that's the spiritual election. We say [53:13] once again we put our sovereignty uh [53:17] before God. Uh that he's the sovereign [53:20] in the world and that shines a great [53:22] spiritual light into the entire world. [53:23] We get the slates wiped clean. It's a [53:26] day yomipur. It says that the day [53:28] atones. The day itself is a major [53:31] cleansing for for all the sins. That's [53:32] why the Jewish people fast through [53:34] fasting and prayer and through giving uh [53:36] charity. We undo the evil decrees. We [53:39] clean the slates. And once the slates [53:41] are clean, of course, well, that's the [53:43] greatest joy in the world. And that's [53:44] why we celebrate this what's called the [53:46] Zano, the period of our joy, which is [53:49] the the festival of Sukkot, which is the [53:52] festival of booths. Jews create these [53:54] little uh tent-like structures with u [53:57] straws essentially. Uh and they go sit [53:59] in them and they live, they go camping [54:01] basically in their structures for a [54:03] week. They shake the lu of and the [54:05] antrogue, these four four symbols of [54:08] God's love for the Jewish people and [54:10] they shake them out for the entire world [54:12] and all the nations of the world come to [54:14] celebrate in the great joy and you have [54:16] the great water libations and wine [54:18] libations. It's also a harvest festival [54:20] in the land of Israel where all kind of [54:21] fruits including grapes and figs and [54:24] dates and other things uh you know come [54:26] online. So it's it's really a very very [54:28] special time in Israel. Uh, and if you [54:32] haven't experienced it, I urge everybody [54:34] to make it a goal to come to Israel at [54:37] some 100% during these holidays. [54:39] >> 100%. And I'm glad we finished on a [54:40] positive note. And to everyone out there [54:42] who is celebrating Yonipur, have a [54:44] meaningful fast. He's Alex Traymond, CEO [54:47] of JNS. I'm Josh Hast, correspondent [54:48] [music] for JNS. Thank you for joining [54:50] us on this week's Jerusalem Minute here [54:52] on JNSTV. Make sure to give us a super [54:54] thanks, subscribe, [music] and thank you [54:56] to all the people behind the scenes here [54:57] at JNSTV. Go to js.org for all the [54:59] latest breaking news from Israel, the [55:01] Middle East, and the entire Jewish [55:02] world. And we'll see you next week here [55:04] back on Jerusalem Minute on JNS TV.
