Transcript [00:00] Insanity is doing the same thing over [00:02] and over again and expecting a different [00:05] result. I'm sure you have all heard the [00:07] saying. People often attribute it to [00:09] Albert Einstein or Ben Franklin over and [00:12] over again, but neither of them have [00:14] actually said it. It comes from a 1981 [00:18] narcotics anonymous pamphlet which was [00:20] then popularized by feminist author Rita [00:23] May Brown. Both cases they use the term [00:25] insanity. Though these days people very [00:28] often swap it with insanity or [00:31] stupidity. [00:33] And looking at the leading news stories [00:34] of the past few days, both of these [00:36] words apply. It is true and it applies [00:39] for Israeli politics as it does for the [00:41] world. Insanity in Israel and stupidity [00:45] in Europe. First, let's look at the [00:47] recurring insanity in Israel, especially [00:50] the Israeli left and the Israeli media. [00:52] As Israel enters another tense election [00:54] season, we are witnessing this exact [00:56] brand of political insanity play out on [00:59] full display. Once again, left-wing [01:01] media outlets led by Hararit's newspaper [01:03] this week launched a sensational smear [01:06] campaign against Prime Minister Benjamin [01:07] Netanyahu. They were pushing a [01:09] sensational headline adapted from a new [01:11] book by journalists Schlomi Aldal and [01:13] Ruth Yuval. The headline picked up and [01:16] repeated by outlets in Israel and the [01:17] world over alleges that roughly 10 days [01:20] before the October 7th war, UAE [01:23] President Muhammad bin Zahed held a [01:25] secret 45minute phone call with Prime [01:28] Minister Netanyahu in which he [01:30] explicitly warned him that Yera Sinir [01:32] was planning a massive bloody attack on [01:35] Israel. The narrative claims that [01:37] Netanyao brushed off the alert and [01:39] concealed it from his defense chiefs. [01:42] Unsurprisingly, opposition figures here [01:44] in Israel like Yay Laid and Gaddy [01:46] Eisenkot immediately pounced on the [01:48] story to launch fresh new political [01:50] attacks on Netanyahu. This is what they [01:52] wanted. The echoing of the shallow [01:54] headlines and the misleading content. [01:57] But as soon as you look past the [01:58] headlines, the entire narrative crumbles [02:01] under the weight of the basic facts. [02:04] First, Prime Minister Netanyahu's office [02:06] flatly denied the claim. Second, top [02:08] defense and security officials dismissed [02:10] the report as complete fake news, [02:12] pointing out that the leadertoleer phone [02:15] calls require extensive administrative [02:17] co coordination, encrypted routing, and [02:20] official logging. You cannot simply [02:22] erase a 45minute diplomatic [02:24] conversation. Third, the core witness [02:27] cited in the story was a Gazin migrant [02:30] who claimed he was physically sitting in [02:31] the room during the top secret call. A [02:34] claim experts on the Gulf protocol [02:36] dismissed as absurd giving the strict [02:38] security surrounding the royal inner [02:40] circles. And besides, he was a Gazin, so [02:43] he has to be telling the truth, doesn't [02:45] he? But that source was all the [02:48] fericification that the media needed. [02:51] Even the UAE foreign ministry distanced [02:53] itself, expressing deep frustration at [02:56] being dragged into a domestic Israeli [02:58] political squabble. In Israel, we we [03:00] also have a saying, and that saying is, [03:02] "They say your sister is a whore." Now, [03:05] try telling them that you don't even [03:06] have a sister. But there's more. Most [03:09] revealing of all is what the article [03:11] actually admits in its fine print versus [03:14] how it is framed in the headline. The [03:16] article itself notes that the [03:18] information in question was merely a [03:20] general intelligence update about Hamas [03:22] using force if negotiations at that time [03:25] stalled. [03:26] An update that was brought to Netanyao [03:29] by the Shinbet in the first place, [03:30] leading to an immediate security [03:32] discussion. Yet, the media spun this [03:35] into a sensationalist headline claiming [03:37] that Netanyao received a specific [03:39] warning and hid it from the very agency [03:42] that were the ones who gave it to him. [03:45] This is where the political insanity [03:47] becomes obvious. The Israeli left and [03:49] their media surrogates are running the [03:51] exact same playbook that they have [03:53] relied on for years. Push an [03:55] uncorroborated allegation based on [03:57] anonymous or implausible sources. [04:00] Weaponize the headlines for political [04:01] gain and ignore the truth when it [04:03] unravels. We saw this with the German [04:06] submarine affair which they accused [04:07] Natao of being involved with where he [04:09] wasn't at all. Allegations over Qatari [04:12] funds that Natao wasn't involved with. [04:14] and the various legal charges where [04:16] years of media hysteria were ultimately [04:19] exposed as baseless or stripped of their [04:21] sensationalism upon legal review. The [04:24] left keeps repeating the strategy, [04:26] expecting that this time the public will [04:28] finally take the bait, but the Israeli [04:31] electorate isn't falling for it anymore. [04:33] And they didn't even fall for it before. [04:36] The ones the only ones falling for it [04:38] are the left wing. So the Israeli public [04:41] recognize the pattern. They see through [04:42] the media manipulation and refuse to let [04:44] the headlines replace the hard facts. [04:47] And as we'll see next, this habit of [04:49] repeating the exact same failed approach [04:51] while expecting a different result isn't [04:53] just an Israel an Israeli political [04:55] phenomena. It is the very same insanity [04:58] defining European stupidity of today. [05:01] While Israel is fighting for its [05:03] survival on multiple fronts, European [05:05] politicians are busy playing foreign [05:08] policy dressup. On Tuesday, Britain [05:11] along with 11 other countries including [05:13] France, Canada, Spain, and Ireland [05:15] announced a coordinated push to impose [05:17] economic sanctions on Israeli [05:19] settlements in Judea and Samaria. [05:21] British Foreign Secretary Ed Milliband [05:24] took the lead, suspending arms licenses [05:26] and threatening to punish any company [05:28] providing services in the regions of [05:31] Udav Shamon. And why? Because according [05:34] to London and Paris, securing a [05:36] Palestinian state is their ultimate [05:39] north star. Europe continues to babble [05:42] about a Palestinian state as if October [05:44] 7th never happened. They sit in their [05:46] comfortable capitals and lecture us [05:48] completely blind to the realities here. [05:50] They don't seem to understand that for [05:52] the vast majority of the Jewish public [05:54] in the state of Israel, a Palestinian [05:57] state is not a peace project. It is a [06:00] staging ground for kamas forces, a [06:02] conclusion to the tufanil Axa, the [06:05] flooding of Jerusalem as they fondly [06:07] call October 7th. It is a launching pad [06:09] for another slaughter, only this time in [06:11] the heart of Israel. After October 7th, [06:14] any Western diplomat or any Jewish [06:16] appeaser who still fawns over the [06:18] murderous idea of a monster state [06:20] sitting on the mountain ridge [06:22] overlooking our population centers is [06:24] perceived at best as a useful idiot [06:27] stuck in the 1990s. These European [06:29] statements are beyond hypocritical. [06:31] They're pathetic. Israeli commentator [06:33] Mosh Gennazi, who I've interviewed here [06:35] and quote very often, described it this [06:37] way. The withered, collapsing Europe is [06:40] trying to put on the dress of its youth, [06:43] slap on cool makeup, and briefly relive [06:46] its bygone colonialist glory days. They [06:50] act as if the British mandate has [06:51] returned, and London can issue new white [06:53] papers filled with the blackest of [06:54] deeds. Britain, the very nation that [06:57] once turned back Jewish refugees fleeing [06:59] the claws of the Nazis, is today [07:01] completely incapable of stopping the [07:04] evasion of its own country, of ships [07:06] landing on historical scale across the [07:08] coasts of Europe and Britain itself. [07:10] Empires that once arrogantly drew [07:12] boundaries across entire continents can [07:14] no longer even defend their own borders. [07:17] Yet, they have the audacity to dictate [07:20] where our boundaries here in Israel will [07:22] be drawn. And if that hypocrisy isn't [07:25] enough, look at who they are trying to [07:27] protect and prop up. For years, the same [07:31] foreign policy establishment sold us on [07:33] the lie that the Palestinian Authority [07:35] is our partner for stability and is [07:38] responsible adults that will be keeping [07:40] the lid on terror. They're trying to [07:43] impose their preferred solution on us. [07:46] That solution that has been proven to be [07:48] a failure. We were told that if we [07:50] recognize the PLO, there will be peace. [07:53] Well, we recognize the PLO. What did [07:56] that get us? We were told that if we [07:57] seed territory, there will be peace. We [08:00] withdrew from every inch of the Gaza [08:03] Strip. What happened there? We were told [08:05] that we have to recognize the [08:06] Palestinian right to self-determination. [08:09] Once again, we did that and we lost our [08:11] own right to self-determination in the [08:14] eyes of many. They themselves, they tell [08:17] you it is no longer about Judea and [08:18] Samaria. They're the ones speaking about [08:21] from the river to the sea. [08:23] But hey, the Europeans, those the left [08:26] consider as the white colonial [08:28] supremists, now suddenly we have to [08:30] listen to them. But the left hypocrisy [08:33] is not surprising. They support [08:35] migrants. But isn't that what Europeans [08:38] did? They were persecuted religious [08:40] minorities who fled Europe. But no, they [08:43] are colonialists who took lands from the [08:45] natives. They conquered, expelled the [08:48] native population and [clears throat] [08:49] changed the name to America, and that is [08:52] wrong. But the Romans taking Judea and [08:55] changing the name, that's acceptable. [08:58] And the Muslims moving into the area as [09:00] they had from Persia to every corner of [09:02] the Middle East, that isn't colonialism. [09:05] Jews escaping persecution in Europe and [09:07] Muslim countries, were they not [09:09] migrants? Remember how often they tell [09:12] us Jews were expelled from 109 [09:14] countries. So we were not locals in [09:18] these places. We were migrants. But [09:20] suddenly coming to Judea makes us [09:22] colonialists. Absolute brain rot. [09:25] Probably why they need the rags around [09:27] their necks. So no surprise here when [09:29] the one leading the repeated stupidity [09:32] is the British foreign secretary Ed [09:34] Milliband. the man who taped himself [09:37] leveling false statements about Gaza. [09:40] >> So I just came out of this meeting [09:42] talking about Gaza to people who've been [09:43] there and are there on the ground and [09:45] and frankly it was horrific what is uh [09:48] unfolding. You know the stories that [09:50] people were telling me of medicines [09:52] being blocked, children dying while [09:56] waiting for vital life-saving treatment. [09:59] When you hear that account of what is [10:02] happening, you know that we as a UK [10:05] government, as the prime minister has [10:07] said, have got to act and act more [10:10] decisively than we have. Himself [10:12] righteously whining about the stories [10:14] people keep telling him. Who are these [10:16] people and why is he repeating their [10:18] stories without verification? Maybe [10:20] they're the same sources who gave the [10:22] story to Ararit's newspaper. Israel's [10:24] official response to this was very [10:26] simple. If the foreign secretary were [10:28] interested in facts rather than stories, [10:30] he would know that there are no [10:32] restrictions whatsoever on the entry of [10:34] medicines into the Gaza Strip and that [10:36] no medicines are being blocked. That [10:39] 22,500 [10:41] tons of medical supplies have entered [10:43] Gaza since the ceasefire began. And that [10:46] Gazins exit the strip for medical [10:48] treatment, including 200 who just did so [10:51] just two weeks ago. But this very [10:54] British foreign secretary is well aware [10:56] of all of these facts. The UK is a [10:59] member of the International Gaza Support [11:01] Center which facilitates the delivery of [11:05] medical aid into the Gaza Strip. And [11:07] while they are all out there telling you [11:09] about genocide and hunger, the Gaza [11:11] themselves are showing you the truth as [11:13] I show you here every week and in this [11:15] video here. So here too, just like with [11:18] Harit's newspaper in Israel, the media [11:20] is very much part of the deceptions and [11:22] the perpetuation of lies. Eight years [11:24] ago, for example, a BBC reporter was [11:27] given access to the terror tunnels under [11:29] the Gaza Strip. But then in October and [11:31] November 2023, the BBC claimed that they [11:34] had no evidence of tunnels and they [11:37] could not verify Israel's claims. Of [11:40] course not. But even without this their [11:43] own documentation of the facts there, we [11:46] told them this. I told them that as a [11:48] member of the Israeli government 25 [11:49] years ago, we had all the evidence that [11:52] we needed about members of the BBC and [11:55] other organizations being used by Hamas, [11:58] being employed by them and making them [12:00] employ their activists, their terrorists [12:03] as journalists in the foreign press [12:05] throughout the Gaza Strip. Suddenly, 25 [12:08] years later, they're not sure about [12:10] these things. Well, they know the truth, [12:11] yet they continue to spread lies. And [12:13] all of this for political reasons. So [12:15] the Europeans and the British have no [12:17] other problems to worry about except for [12:19] Jews living in the land of Israel. They [12:22] are not experiencing invasion. There's [12:24] no slow decline into Islam. There are no [12:27] rape gangs raping their daughters. Life [12:29] in Britain and other European countries [12:31] is wonderful. In response to European [12:33] diplomatic pressure, Israel ordered the [12:36] immediate closure of the British [12:37] consulate general in East Jerusalem. It [12:39] historically served as London's primary [12:42] diplomatic presence to the Palestinian [12:44] Authority and expelled European [12:46] officials, including British and Dutch [12:48] representatives from the joint [12:49] coordination center managing regional [12:51] security efforts in Kiraadg. Israel also [12:54] barred elected foreign representatives [12:56] from entering the country and terminated [12:58] the British-led training operations for [13:01] the PA security forces. The Israeli [13:03] cabinet countered economic pressure by [13:05] accelerating civilian administrative [13:07] control and land registration over parts [13:10] of Judea and Samaria while advancing [13:13] major construction projects like the E1 [13:15] corridor near Jerusalem to firmly [13:17] connect major Israeli communities [13:19] throughout Judea and Samaria to [13:21] Jerusalem. But there is more going on. [13:24] As I said, things are the same. They [13:27] want us to do the same stupid things [13:29] over and over again. Well, wake up. That [13:33] illusion is officially shattered. While [13:36] foreign ministers in London and Paris [13:38] obsess over Palestinian statethood, if [13:41] you want to understand why the rules of [13:42] the game in the Middle East have [13:43] completely changed, look no further than [13:46] what's happening right inside of Judea [13:48] and Samaria. Israel's defense minister [13:50] Israel Katz along with Prime Minister [13:52] Netanyao this week instructed the IDF to [13:55] prepare for a total fullscale military [13:58] scenario against the PA. Not just local [14:01] terror cells, but against the PA itself [14:04] and specifically its security forces. [14:07] They are preparing for the very real, [14:09] highly probable scenario where the PA [14:11] security forces turn their weapons [14:13] against Israel in a massive coordinated [14:16] assault. And let's be clear, absolutely [14:19] clear about what Israel's response will [14:21] look like this time. We aren't playing [14:23] the same old game of surgical [14:25] containment or sending sternly worded [14:28] warnings through diplomats. The plan on [14:30] the table is calling for targeted [14:32] eliminations of senior PA leadership and [14:35] officials, mass evacuations, and the [14:38] systematic destruction of terror [14:40] infrastructure across Judea and Samaria. [14:42] If Israel has to go in, the IDF isn't [14:44] just going in to clear a neighborhood [14:46] and leave a vacuum for the next [14:48] generation of terrorists to fill it. The [14:50] military will establish permanent [14:52] long-term security control throughout [14:55] Judea and Samaria, just like we see in [14:57] Gaza and in southern Lebanon and in the [14:59] northern Samaria camps and in Syria. [15:02] Katz made the policy crystal clear. [15:04] Israel is going to aggressively target [15:06] terror, expand and strengthen Jewish [15:08] settlement and guarantee stability on [15:11] our terms. Because after October 7th, [15:15] the concept of trusting host hostile [15:17] actors while they build up capabilities [15:19] on our doorstep, that's dead. That's not [15:21] going to happen anymore. The days of [15:23] allowing international observers to [15:25] demand restraint on Israel while our [15:27] enemies prepare for the next wave of [15:28] violence, those days are over. Israel [15:31] will not allow a return to multi-year [15:33] inifadas and we will never tolerate a [15:36] repeat of October 7th. If the [15:38] Palestinian Authority decides to test [15:40] us, they will learn the exact same [15:42] lesson Fbalain Kamas learned. The old [15:45] playbook no longer applies. It is not [15:47] just our imagination. And the same [15:49] politicians who are quick to scold [15:51] Netanyahu for what they perceive as his [15:53] failure to identify the Hamas threat [15:56] from Gaza. They will be the loudest [15:58] critics of Israel preparing for what I [16:00] just told you. Yet, according to a [16:02] report in the Jerusalem Post, this is [16:04] not the government of Israel. In the [16:05] Jerusalem Post, the Islamic Republic is [16:08] planning to replicate Kamas's barbaric [16:10] terrorist attacks of October 7th. This [16:13] time with the full coordination across [16:14] his extensive terror network including [16:17] in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. [16:19] According to Israeli intelligence [16:21] assessments, Iran is preparing for a new [16:23] attack on Israel modeled on the events [16:25] of October 7th as part of a multiffront [16:28] offensive in cooperation with its [16:30] regional terror proxies. Sources [16:32] informed the New York Post that the IRGC [16:35] is also conducting joint exercises with [16:38] its proxies while ramping up drone and [16:40] missile production to replenish the [16:42] stockpiles ahead of the next campaign. [16:45] All this information must be considered [16:47] alongside reports that are building [16:50] regarding Hamas's actions which are [16:52] placed at this moment under censorship [16:55] as well as warning alerts regarding PA [16:57] security forces in Judea and Samaria [16:59] turning their weapons against Israel. So [17:02] before concluding today, I know that [17:05] what I presented here is a lot to [17:06] digest, a lot to be concerned about. But [17:10] today we mark a new Hebrew year sha, a [17:15] time for reflection and for us also [17:17] anticipation as we enter the yamim, the [17:21] days of awe or the days of dread. The [17:24] 10-day period in the Hebrew calendar [17:25] that begins with rash shaan concludes [17:27] with yamipur, the day of atonement. It [17:30] is also commonly known as the 10 days of [17:32] repentance. It is a time dedicated to [17:35] self-examination, seeking forgiveness [17:37] from others and God. Writing past wrongs [17:40] and making positive commitments for the [17:42] year ahead. According to the Jewish [17:44] tradition, the book of life and the book [17:46] of death are opened on rash shana to [17:48] record each person's fate for the [17:50] upcoming year and the judgment is sealed [17:52] on Yamipur. When we look back and [17:54] reflect on the past year and indeed the [17:56] past few years, we have to keep proper [17:59] context. We have faced the greatest [18:01] challenges of our existence since the [18:02] days of the Holocaust. Yet, as people [18:05] and as a nation, we rose to meet every [18:07] single one of those challenges. Despite [18:10] an extended war, Israel today stands [18:12] stronger and more resilient than ever [18:14] before. We achieve this through absolute [18:17] conviction, a clear sense of who we are, [18:19] and a profound understanding of our [18:22] calling. And yet we are no different [18:24] than any other generation of Jews before [18:26] us who faced hatred, trial, and attempts [18:29] at annihilation. The past year reminded [18:31] us that in that sense, nothing has [18:33] changed for the Jewish people. But there [18:35] is one vital difference. Unlike previous [18:38] generations, we have the immense [18:39] privilege and the blessing of being the [18:41] generation of Kuma, of rebirth and [18:44] restoration in our ancient homeland. And [18:46] yes, all of us have lost friends. Many [18:49] of us have lost family members and yet [18:53] our generation is standing up for the [18:55] victory of the people of Israel because [18:58] today we control our destiny in our [19:00] ancestral homeland. Something Jews of [19:02] the past, our ancestors, could only [19:04] dream of that is a profound [19:06] responsibility and one we must carry [19:08] with absolute pride as we declare in [19:11] this new year of ours. I'm Isel Kai. I'm [19:15] Daniel Seaman. Thank you for joining me [19:17] here on Straight Up from the JNS TV [19:19] studios in our internal capital of [19:21] Jerusalem, Israel. Shabbat shalom and [19:24] shatva. I'll see you next year on 5787 [19:28] Tafin Pine, the new Jewish year. Thank [19:31] you all.
