Transcript [00:00] Hey everyone. [00:01] So, last month uh the president of [00:05] Serbia walked through a brand new [00:07] Israeli factory an Israeli factory. Um [00:11] well, it was a factory in Serbia, but an [00:14] Israeli factory about 30 km west of [00:16] Belgrade. [00:18] And uh it's a drone factory an Israeli [00:21] drone factory in Serbia. The factory is [00:23] a joint venture [00:25] 51% owned by Israel's Elbit Systems and [00:29] 49% [00:31] owned by Serbia's state arms company. [00:34] And yesterday that man that Serbian [00:37] president lost his job. That's right. He [00:39] was voted out of office. [00:42] So, I want to start this story of what [00:44] we're going to talk about in this video [00:46] with Serbia because there's a real [00:48] question about what happens next and [00:49] then I want to pull back the camera [00:51] because the Serbia story is really a [00:54] small piece of something much much [00:56] bigger. You see, for 3 years [00:59] uh 3 years plus since October 7th, we've [01:01] been told that Israel is isolated and in [01:04] that same period Israel's defense [01:07] industry has had the most successful run [01:09] in its history. I've talked about this a [01:11] few times, but that's what this video is [01:12] really about. So, let's get right into [01:14] it. Let's start with the headlines. [01:16] Okay, so I started with that headline [01:17] from a month ago. [01:20] Right, you see it here up on your [01:21] screen. [01:22] Um Serbia's president inaugurates [01:25] assembly factory for drones made by [01:27] Israel's Elbit. [01:29] That's September 17th and that's Vučić. [01:32] That's the name of the president. He [01:33] opened the factory. He posted a video on [01:35] Instagram. He said that Serbia and its [01:37] Israeli partners will open at least [01:39] three more factories. [01:42] And then we have uh and then we have [01:44] this story. [01:46] Hold on. [01:48] And we have this one. Serbia's leader [01:51] concedes defeat to student-led move- [01:54] movement [01:55] in seismic political shift. [01:59] Okay, so yesterday what happened was [02:01] Vucic conceded defeat to a student-led [02:05] movement after almost 2 years of [02:08] protest. So he lost his election. [02:10] And this does not bode well for Israel. [02:13] As you see the Ynet headline from today, [02:16] Israel loses two key allies in Brazil [02:19] and Serbia putting strategic ties at [02:21] risk. [02:22] Right? Because And the question is and [02:24] that's dealt with in this piece is what [02:26] is what does this mean for weapon [02:28] shipments and the drone partnership with [02:30] Serbia? Because again, if Israel's [02:32] investing [02:33] in in in putting together this this [02:35] partnership, you're building Israeli [02:38] defense tech in Serbia and then the guy [02:40] who you made the deal with is voted out [02:42] of office, what does that really mean? [02:45] Uh but there's more. So I'm going to add [02:47] a few more headlines to the story before [02:49] we start analyzing. Take a look at this [02:51] one. This is from Israel Defense. Greece [02:53] and Israel [02:55] uh advance [02:58] talks on co-production of LORA missiles. [03:01] This is from just a couple of days ago [03:02] from October 19th. [03:04] Uh they're talking about building [03:05] Israeli ballistic missiles on Greek [03:08] soil. [03:10] And finally, [03:11] uh [03:12] last headline I'm going to Well, [03:13] actually it's not the last headline. [03:14] Sorry, second to last headline I'll [03:16] share is this. And this is from just [03:18] also from last week. [03:20] Meaning from the same day. Uh [03:22] Elbit wins 235 [03:26] uh million dollar rocket launcher [03:29] contract for European customer. [03:32] Okay, so that's another rocket artillery [03:35] deal. That's not the same as as what we [03:36] started with. [03:38] And then finally, [03:40] to sum this all up nicely, we have a [03:42] Times of Israel headline. [03:44] And this is a headline from a number of [03:46] months ago uh from back in June, but [03:49] it's so relevant uh that uh it's really [03:51] the story I want to talk about. Israeli [03:53] arms sales break record for fifth year [03:56] in a row. Fifth year in a row. [03:59] All right, let's pull the headlines down [04:01] and I will talk about what all this [04:03] means. Okay, so I I made a handy slide [04:07] deck for this video. I hope you find it [04:08] helpful. I'm trying to do more of that. [04:11] But let's start with Serbia. Serbia is [04:14] is an interesting country to have as a [04:16] friend. It's not in NATO. It's not in [04:18] the EU, although it wants to be. It buys [04:21] weapons from Russia and China. It bought [04:24] French jets and it has worked very hard [04:26] to keep a foot in every camp. And over [04:28] the last few years it became one of [04:30] Israel's most important military [04:33] partners in Europe. [04:37] The now the uh [04:39] the started with Serbia buying from [04:41] Israel. Elbit has been modernizing the [04:43] Serbian army including its digital and [04:46] encrypted communications. Last year [04:48] Serbia bought Elbit's pulse rocket [04:51] artillery and Hermes 900 drones in a [04:53] deal that was worth around $335 million. [04:57] It also went the other way when the war [05:00] started meaning it wasn't just Israel [05:02] selling to them. But when the war [05:04] started and country after country in [05:05] Europe restricted weapon sales to [05:07] Israel, Serbia kept selling. Serbia's [05:10] arms exports to Israel went up about [05:12] 42-fold. [05:14] 42x between 2023 and last year. So [05:17] Serbia really stepped up helping Israel [05:20] which that's another thing that when we [05:22] talk about the implications of Vucic [05:24] losing the election. See the Serbian [05:25] election actually matters for Israel. [05:28] Um but [05:29] uh I mean like during the war there was [05:31] an there was an airlift [05:33] of ammunition and shells from Serbia to [05:37] Israel at the moment that Israel that [05:39] the IDF was burning through its stocks. [05:41] People don't talk about this much, but [05:43] it really mattered at the time. You [05:45] know, [05:46] and [05:47] then we get to this drone factory. [05:50] Right? [snorts] [05:51] So, in September [05:53] we have the next step. Serbia became a [05:55] production partner for Israeli weapons. [05:57] That factory that we've been talking [05:59] about employs about 100 people in [06:01] Serbia. The warheads for the drones are [06:03] going to be made at Krusik, a Serbian [06:06] weapons plant. And Vucic showed a drone [06:09] that he said can fly through windows and [06:10] chase down the enemy. Serbia also plans [06:13] to sell these drones to other armies, [06:15] including some countries that can't or [06:17] won't buy directly from Israel. So, it's [06:19] a way around, you know, you know, [06:21] countries that, you know, still have to [06:23] maintain the, you know, appearances and [06:25] not do business with the, you know, with [06:26] the horrible Israelis, they could buy [06:28] from Serbia. So, an Israeli company now [06:30] has a production line in the Balkans [06:33] staffed by Serbs building [06:35] Israeli-designed drones with Serbian [06:37] warheads for export. [06:40] Now, yesterday, as I mentioned, Vucic's [06:42] party lost badly. Uh the the student, uh [06:47] the student protesters, basically, the [06:48] student list got about 53% to his 39 on [06:53] the highest turnout Serbia has seen [06:55] since the breakup of Yugoslavia. And [06:57] Vucic blamed the independent media. He [06:59] blamed, uh you know, European countries [07:02] and what he called the American deep [07:03] state. He blamed everybody. Ursula von [07:05] der Leyen of the EU congratulated the [07:07] winners within hours and said that [07:09] Europe is ready to help Serbia move [07:11] toward the EU. So, they like, so the, [07:13] you know, the globalists in the EU like [07:15] the new like the new winners. But what [07:18] happens to the drone factory? What [07:20] happens to these deals with Israel? And [07:21] I want to be honest here, we don't know [07:22] yet. The student movement hasn't taken a [07:24] clear position on Israel. Uh we can have [07:27] suspicions, but we don't know. Uh this [07:29] election was about corruption and about [07:31] Vucic himself. And Israel wasn't an [07:33] issue in the campaign. And contracts [07:36] don't automatically get canceled when a [07:38] government changes. But as Serbia moves [07:40] closer to, [07:42] you know, the globalists in in in in [07:44] Brussels, there will definitely be [07:46] pressure to line up with other European [07:49] countries on their positions on Israel, [07:51] and that could pose a real risk. And [07:53] Wynette in that piece analyzing this [07:55] problem of the threat of the Vucic [07:58] defeat [07:59] makes a sharper point, and I think it [08:01] deserves uh [08:02] uh some attention. [08:04] The argument is that too many of [08:07] Israel's friendships are built on [08:08] personal ties with individual leaders. [08:10] When So, when the leader goes, the [08:12] friendship goes with him. It's a fair [08:15] warning, and we've seen it before. We [08:16] saw it in Hungary where Orban [08:19] the relationship was with Orban. We saw [08:20] it in Brazil where Jair Bolsonaro, [08:23] incidentally his son lost yesterday as [08:25] well. Jair Bolsonaro had the was really [08:27] the reason why Brazil was pro-Israel, [08:29] and then as soon as he was out, we lost [08:31] that relationship. I'm not saying that [08:32] that's a flaw in Israeli diplomacy. It's [08:35] just a it's a fact that [08:38] Israel's relationships often run through [08:40] individuals who are pro-Israel who take [08:42] power. [08:43] Anyway, side point. [08:45] I think what Israel did in Serbia [08:47] especially in light of this, is the [08:49] right way to make a friendship outlast [08:51] these individual leaders. [08:53] What do I mean? [08:55] Israel built a factory there with a [08:57] hundred local jobs, a local warhead [08:59] plant, right? And and export business [09:02] that benefits Serbia. A new government [09:04] can change its tone towards Israel on [09:06] the first day, [09:08] but shutting down a factory and firing [09:11] the workers there and walking away from [09:13] export contracts with other countries is [09:16] not so simple. [09:18] So, as you're about to see, Israel is [09:20] using this same model all over the [09:22] world. So, let's pull back the camera, [09:24] look at the big picture of all this, [09:26] and um [09:28] and and see what this all what this all [09:30] amounts to. All right. [09:34] Here we go. Here's the number. In 2025, [09:37] Israeli defense exports hit 19.2 [09:41] billion dollars. 19.2 billion dollars in [09:45] 2025. [09:46] Now, that's up nearly 30% from 14.8 [09:50] billion dollars the year before, which [09:51] was itself a record. It's the fifth [09:53] record year in a row. Israel's defense [09:56] exports have doubled in in the last 5 [09:58] years. They've quadrupled in the last 10 [10:00] years. Let that sink in. [10:02] This This happened this [10:04] This 19.2 billion dollars happened [10:06] during the third year of a war with [10:08] boycott campaigns, with Israeli [10:10] companies being pushed out of arms [10:12] exhibitions, with the International [10:14] Criminal Court and the UN and half the [10:16] European media calling Israel [10:18] genocidal pariah. And the world's [10:20] governments bought more Israeli weapons [10:23] than ever before. [10:28] Now, most of these deals are between [10:29] governments. About 10 billion dollars, [10:32] more than half of the total, came from [10:35] government-to-government deals. That's [10:36] also a record. So, when one country's [10:38] defense ministry signs directly with [10:41] Israel's defense ministry, that's a [10:42] strategic relationship between two [10:45] governments. [10:47] Now, the biggest buyer [10:49] uh of all [10:51] is Europe. 36% [10:53] of Israel's exports went to Europe last [10:56] year, almost 7 billion dollars. That's [10:58] That's the same Europe where Spain [11:00] canceled deals and where protesters [11:02] chant about embargoes against Israel. [11:05] And there's There's pro-Palestine [11:06] protests going on in Rome yesterday. [11:08] This That's Europe. But most of Israel's [11:11] weapon sales go to Europe. [11:14] Um [11:15] Now, [11:17] let's go Let's go into some specific [11:19] countries. Let's talk about Germany [11:20] first, cuz this is this is very [11:22] important. We'll start Germany tells the [11:24] story better than anyone. In 2023, [11:27] Germany bought Israel's Arrow 3 missile [11:29] defense system. Last December, it [11:32] expanded the order and the total is now [11:34] about 6 and 1/2 billion dollars, the [11:36] largest export deal in Israel's history. [11:39] Think about the history in that [11:40] sentence. I mean, it's uh [11:42] uh it it [11:43] that's really quite something. [11:45] Um [11:47] you know, [11:48] 80 years after the Holocaust, Germany is [11:50] defending its skies with a system built [11:52] by the Jewish state. So, that's just, [11:54] you know, kind of irony of history. But, [11:56] this September, just uh last month, a [11:59] German frigate in the North Atlantic, [12:01] somewhere between Ireland and Iceland, [12:03] fired two Israeli Laura ballistic [12:05] missiles. It was the first time a German [12:07] warship had ever launched a ballistic [12:09] missile. And the chief of the German [12:11] Navy at the time said that they'd made [12:13] naval history. Germany wants this [12:15] capability cuz it's worried about Russia [12:18] and it turned it to Israel to get it. [12:20] And then there's this funny Volkswagen [12:22] story. I say funny, it's sort of the [12:24] comic relief in this whole story. I I [12:25] love this story. Volkswagen has a car [12:28] plant in Osnabrück with about 2,300 [12:32] workers. It's a big auto plant. And it [12:34] was scheduled to close next year. [12:37] And the plan was to convert it into a [12:39] factory for Iron Dome components [12:42] together with the Israeli company [12:43] Rafael, but there was a problem. [12:46] One of Volkswagen's [12:48] biggest shareholders is Qatar. [12:50] And Qatar blocked the deal. They didn't [12:53] want they Qatar could not in any way go [12:55] into business with an Israeli weapons [12:57] contractor. [12:59] So, what uh or weapons manufacturer. So, [13:00] what did the Germans do? The state of [13:03] Lower Saxony, where this town is, found [13:05] a workaround. They decided that they, [13:08] the state, would take over the plant [13:10] together with Rafael and an [13:12] Israeli-founded investment fund so that [13:14] the deal doesn't have to go through [13:16] Volkswagen's board and that way Qatar [13:18] doesn't have a say. And then in [13:20] September, last month, they all signed [13:22] the deal and production at this Iron [13:25] Dome components factory in Germany is [13:28] supposed to start next year. [13:30] You know, and it's whatever. We talk [13:32] about Qatar's influence in the West all [13:34] the time in media companies and uh and [13:36] universities and and industry. And this [13:39] is an interesting case where, you know, [13:41] Qatar had a share of Volkswagen, but [13:43] they got a work around so that they [13:44] could make Iron Dome parts. Anyway, [13:46] let's go to Greece now. [13:48] Um [13:49] uh if you watched my video on Gree- uh [13:52] if you watched my video yesterday on the [13:54] Turkey [13:55] uh Libya maritime deal, [13:58] uh then uh this is the other side of [14:00] that story. [14:01] Here, this is uh this is the Greece [14:03] story. [14:05] Uh at the end of August, couple months [14:07] ago, Israel and Greece signed what [14:09] Greece calls the Achilles Shield. Okay, [14:12] it's worth about 3 billion euros. [14:14] David's Sling, Spider, Barack MX, [14:18] Israeli radars, and a full uh [14:21] national command and control uh network. [14:25] Israel's defense ministry said it's the [14:26] first time that Israel has supplied [14:28] another country with a complete air [14:30] defense system, a complete air defense [14:32] array from ballistic missiles all the [14:34] way down to drones. Now, a lot of it [14:36] will be built in Greece. This is part of [14:38] the key here. Like, think about Serbia, [14:40] think about Germany. They're going to be [14:42] building it in Greece. More than a [14:44] quarter of the deal, around 750 million [14:47] euros, goes to Greek industry. There are [14:49] 19 Greek companies involved. And a [14:52] production base in Greece that can [14:54] export. [14:56] Now, the next step. [14:57] Greece is negotiating to buy LORA, the [15:00] same ballistic missiles that the Germans [15:01] just tested in the North Atlantic. [15:04] And the focus of talks is going to be [15:06] producing the LORA missiles in Greece. [15:09] Nothing signed yet, but Turkey's state [15:12] news agency is already complaining about [15:14] it. The Turks don't like this. And [15:15] Turkish media have pointed out that the [15:17] LORA that a LORA missile fired from [15:20] Greek islands could reach Turkish [15:22] airspace, uh air bases, sorry, around [15:25] Izmir. So, the Turks are complaining [15:27] about this. You know, uh [15:29] takes one to know one. You know, Turkey [15:30] does things that are that antagonize [15:33] Greece and and the other Eastern [15:35] Mediterranean countries all the time. [15:36] So, I guess uh let them complain. But, [15:39] remember what I said yesterday, right? [15:40] Turkey is playing a long game in the [15:43] Eastern Mediterranean. [15:44] And this is part of Greece's answer, [15:47] closer working relationship with Israel. [15:49] But, I want to I want to [15:51] keep coming back to the point that [15:53] Israel is working to build the [15:56] factories. The manufacturing of these [15:57] missiles is going to be in Greece. Now, [16:00] let's talk about [16:02] uh the rest of Europe. [16:04] So, let's pull up another slide here. [16:06] Here we go. [16:08] Great. [16:09] Romania. Let's talk about Romania. In [16:11] June, Romania signed a framework deal [16:14] for Rafael's SPYDER air defense system [16:16] worth more than 2 billion euros. [16:19] Rafael's CEO called it the largest [16:21] contract in the Israeli company's [16:23] history. Romania is a NATO country on [16:26] the Black Sea right next to the war in [16:28] Ukraine. And there's also a steady [16:30] stream of smaller deals that never make [16:32] the front page. Like last week, Elbit [16:34] announced a $235 million deal for uh [16:38] pulse launchers and precision rockets [16:41] for a European customer. Elbit didn't [16:43] name the country, and some Israeli [16:45] reports said it was Azerbaijan. [16:48] That's what's leaked out. Uh [16:50] Azerbaijan's a Muslim country, so maybe [16:51] they didn't want to make it public that [16:52] they were that they were buying these [16:54] things from Israel. Elbit has already [16:56] sold pulse in Europe to Germany, to [16:58] Greece, to the Netherlands, to Denmark. [17:01] There's a lot of other deals. I'm not [17:02] I'm nowhere near talking about every [17:04] deal Israel's made. [17:05] Uh and it's it's become it's becoming [17:08] Europe's main alternative to the [17:09] American HIMARS. [17:12] Uh anyway, Elbit's order backlog is [17:14] apparently now about $32 billion. So, [17:17] that's what's coming down the pipe. [17:19] Now, if we go beyond Europe, [17:22] let's go beyond Europe now. [17:25] Um Asia is also a big part of this. Uh [17:27] it's now about a third of Israel's [17:29] exports. India is the biggest customer [17:31] of all. [17:32] From 2020 to 2024, India bought about a [17:36] third of everything Israel sold. And [17:39] this year, India approved a package of [17:41] Israeli weapons worth around 8.6 to 8.7 [17:45] billion dollars, with a B, including [17:47] precision bombs, air-launched missiles, [17:50] uh the LORA uh missiles we've been [17:52] talking about. Israeli missiles were [17:54] used in India's strikes on Pakistan last [17:57] year, and India wants more of them. Now, [17:59] before we go on, [18:01] I just want to uh [18:02] uh bring your bring to your attention a [18:04] new book that we are that we have rolled [18:07] out on Israel 365. [18:09] Uh it's called the Pro-Israel Handbook. [18:11] This is a a short uh very uh [18:14] easy-to-read handbook that has uh [18:17] information, historical information, the [18:20] uh factual information, the arguments to [18:23] equip you to push back against all of [18:26] the most common accusations and lies [18:30] about Israel. This This The purp- This [18:32] is a very practical book. It's there to [18:34] help you be in a better position to [18:36] defend Israel when you get into those [18:38] conversations, and we all have those [18:40] conversations. Written by Matan Peleg, [18:42] published by Israel 365, and you can get [18:45] a discount, a 15% discount, if you uh if [18:47] you click the link on this in the [18:49] description of this video for the book, [18:52] and you put in the promo code [18:54] handbook15, you will get a 15% discount [18:57] on the book. So, go ahead and check that [18:58] out. It's The link is in the description [19:00] of the video. The Pro-Israel Handbook: [19:02] Winning Facts Against Pro-Palestinian [19:05] Progressives. Okay. [19:08] Now, where are we in this uh story? [19:10] Ah. Yes. [19:12] Let's go to [19:15] this slide here. All right, this is what [19:18] we're up to. [19:20] Still getting used to these slides. So, [19:22] why is the world buying Israeli weapons [19:23] at record levels at the same time that [19:26] it that its politicians are always, you [19:29] know, shaking their finger at Israel or [19:31] criticizing Israel or, you know, and and [19:33] they have that's all going on also and [19:35] we're all concerned about public opinion [19:37] about Israel. Meanwhile, Israel's [19:38] selling weapons to everybody. Why is [19:40] this happening? The first reason is that [19:42] the world got more dangerous [19:44] in the last few years. Russia invaded [19:45] Ukraine, China's building up, Iran fired [19:48] hundreds of ballistic missiles all over [19:50] the place, [19:51] uh, drones changed warfare. [19:54] Countries are spending more on defense [19:56] than they have in decades and they want [19:58] systems that they know work. [20:00] Um, the second reason is that Israel's [20:03] systems have been tested in real war at [20:05] a scale that no one else has seen. [20:08] Tested and improved in wartime [20:10] conditions. So, the Arrow, David's [20:12] Sling, Iron Dome have shot down [20:14] ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, [20:16] rockets, drones. They don't have to It's [20:18] not hypothetical. They've seen them in [20:20] action. They know that they work. [20:22] Missile and air defense systems were the [20:23] single biggest category of Israeli [20:25] exports last year. [20:27] Defense ministries in Athens, in [20:29] Bucharest, in Berlin watched how these [20:32] systems performed over Israel and that's [20:34] a big part of why they are buying them. [20:36] So, to be fair, [20:37] to be fair, the head of Israel's defense [20:40] export agency said something honest [20:41] about this. [20:45] He said [clears throat] [20:46] that Israel's not is no longer the only [20:48] country with com- [20:51] that has that label of being combat [20:53] proven around their equipment. Ukraine [20:55] has it now also and Ukraine is also, uh, [20:58] uh, making weapons and and, uh, but [21:01] you know, so there's competition. It's [21:02] not like Israel's alone in this. But, [21:04] there's a real reason that they're [21:05] turning to Israel. They see the success [21:07] of the Israeli systems and they want to [21:09] rely on them. [21:11] Now, [21:13] let's move on. The third reason that [21:15] they're buying from Israel is the one I [21:16] want to stress. [21:18] Israel now builds local production into [21:21] its deals. [21:22] This is what we've been talking about [21:23] throughout the video. Serbia has a [21:25] factory. Germany will make Iron Dome [21:28] components in Osnabrück. Greece has 19 [21:32] Greek companies in the deal [21:34] and a production base and possibly [21:36] building Laura missiles in Greece. And [21:38] in India, Israeli companies already [21:40] build their drones and missiles and air [21:42] defense and air defense systems in [21:45] Indian factories together with Indian [21:47] partners. [21:49] Israel's putting production lines and [21:51] jobs [21:52] inside its partner economies. [21:56] That Okay, so again, it creates jobs, it [21:58] creates political support in those [22:00] countries. [22:01] People know they're working for an [22:03] Israeli company. It ties their security [22:05] to Israel in a much longer-term way. [22:07] It's not just a matter of like, "Oh, [22:09] we're not ordering this anymore." If if [22:11] they're manufacturing it together with [22:12] the Israelis. [22:14] So, that's my answer to Winnett's [22:16] concern about the personal the [22:18] personality-driven alliances and and [22:21] people losing elections and then we lose [22:22] an alliance. These alliances, these [22:25] ties, they're not quite alliances, but [22:27] these ties with these countries are [22:29] built into the to the partner countries' [22:31] economies. [22:33] And that way they don't depend on any [22:35] one leader. [22:37] So, [22:38] let's talk about the bigger picture of [22:41] let's kind of sum up like the bigger [22:42] picture of like what this really means [22:45] for Israel. Okay? So, first of all, [22:48] on the issue of isolation, right? We [22:50] constantly hear that Israel is a pariah. [22:52] Now, some of that is real at the level [22:54] of public opinion and the street [22:55] protests and UN votes, but governments [22:59] governments know. [23:00] Governments are making different [23:02] decisions. You see this in the Middle [23:03] East with all of the two-faced behavior [23:05] around Israel. [23:06] They're betting governments are [23:08] increasingly putting their national [23:10] security [23:11] into the hands of Israeli technology. [23:14] That's a much more serious commitment [23:16] than any vote at in the UN General [23:18] Assembly. [23:20] Now, there's also the issue of [23:21] self-reliance [23:22] for Israel. This is another implication [23:24] of all of this. [23:25] I've said this on this channel. I've [23:27] said this I I've written about it. I [23:28] said it on the Charlie Kirk show. [23:30] Uh Israel needs to phase out the [23:32] military aid that it gets from the [23:34] United States. I know we might have to [23:35] tighten the belt a little bit, but we [23:36] need to phase it out. [23:38] People ask me, can Israel afford that? [23:40] Look at these numbers. [23:42] Israel's Defense Ministry says openly [23:44] that exports are a cornerstone of how it [23:46] funds the IDF's own build-up. The The [23:48] military aid to Israel [23:51] is aid that is given to Israel to spend [23:53] in the United States, and it's $3.8 [23:56] billion a year. That's it. [23:58] We're talking about last year alone over [24:01] you know, close to $20 billion in arm [24:04] sales [24:05] uh just that year. In the previous year, [24:07] it was around 15 billion. Okay, so $3.8 [24:09] billion isn't nothing, [24:11] but just understand, and that's not the [24:13] entire budget of the military. That's [24:14] just We're just talking about the arm [24:16] sales deals. [24:17] Okay, meaning meaning that that number [24:18] $3.8 billion is is a a smaller and [24:21] smaller number compared to the total [24:23] economic picture, [24:25] the total uh financial picture of [24:27] Israel's defense [24:30] of Israel's defense. [24:32] Look, let me put it this way. Every [24:34] Arrow missile sold to Germany helps pay [24:37] for the production lines in Israel [24:38] needed for Israel's own [24:41] own military needs. Okay, uh so a [24:44] country that sells $19 billion of [24:46] weapons a year can afford to stand on [24:48] its own. That's my point. [24:50] All right. [24:51] Um [24:53] Now, I want to give this a little bit of [24:54] a biblical angle. [24:57] Verse in Deuteronomy 28 verse 12, [25:01] it [25:02] it it this is in the in the portion of [25:04] of blessings that God is saying that [25:06] that [25:07] that will befall us at some point in the [25:09] future if we're doing [25:11] if we're behaving properly. And one of [25:12] those blessings [25:14] is where God tells Israel that it will [25:16] lend it to other nations and it will not [25:18] borrow. [25:20] You shall lend to many nations and shall [25:22] not borrow. We're talking about lending [25:23] and borrowing between nations. I don't [25:25] even know how much of that happened in [25:26] the ancient Near East. So, it's an [25:28] interesting verse. You shall lend to [25:30] many nations and you will not borrow. [25:31] For most of Jewish history, that sounded [25:33] like something completely irrelevant. We [25:35] didn't even have a our own nation [25:37] really. We weren't in our own land. And [25:39] what does that even mean that we'll lend [25:40] to nations and we won't borrow from [25:42] them? [25:43] We were always the ones asking for [25:44] protection, asking for permission, [25:46] asking for help for from others. That's [25:48] been that way for decades here. [25:50] But today, the nations of Europe where [25:52] Jews once begged for protection are [25:55] coming to the Jewish state for their [25:57] protection. So, I don't think we should [25:58] take that lightly. [26:00] And And then we have the issue of [26:03] leverage. [26:04] Uh [26:05] you know, [26:07] and this is really important implication [26:09] for Israel. [26:10] Every one of these deals that I've [26:12] talked about gives Israel a seat at [26:14] tables it didn't used to sit at. Greece, [26:16] Cyprus, Romania now have a stake in [26:19] Israel's success. Germany's navy and air [26:22] defense depend on Israeli systems. There [26:25] are jobs that that are Israeli companies [26:27] in India and in in these other [26:29] countries. That is real influence and it [26:31] doesn't depend on who wins the next [26:33] election in any one of these countries. [26:35] So, let's come back to where we started. [26:38] Serbia. Yes, Israel may lose a friend in [26:42] Serbia with Vučić losing. That's and [26:44] that's real and that's a concern. It's [26:46] not good for Israel to lose friends, [26:48] especially when we don't have all that [26:49] many. [26:50] And we'll be watching what the new [26:52] government does and if anything [26:53] significant happens, I will definitely [26:55] report on it. But the bigger story is [26:57] that across Europe and Asia [27:00] from Germany to Greece to [27:03] Serbia, wherever it is, Romania [27:05] to India, governments are tying their [27:08] security needs to Israel [27:10] more deeply than ever before. They're [27:12] doing it at the exact moment that Israel [27:14] Israel's enemies were hoping it would be [27:17] totally isolated. [27:19] And that's what I wanted to share with [27:20] you. So, I hope you enjoyed this video. [27:22] I hope you found it interesting. Please [27:24] like, share, subscribe. Please drop [27:26] comments. And by the way, sharing it [27:29] just think of one person to share it [27:30] with. It really helps the channel. It's [27:32] the best way that you can help me out [27:33] here. And also make sure to check out [27:35] Israel 365 News Channel and all of that. [27:38] But make sure that you are plugged into [27:39] everything that we're putting out here [27:41] on this channel. And thank you so much [27:43] for watching. God bless.
