Transcript [00:00] So, can you tell us about Ben-Gvir [00:01] voters? What sectors do they come from? [00:03] What's the data? What do you know about [00:04] them? [00:05] >> Well, Hannah, you've come here to join [00:07] me in Tel Aviv, and and another reporter [00:10] said to me, "Why are you in Tel Aviv? [00:12] This is not your, you know, main hub. [00:14] This is not your your center of power." [00:16] As you could see, it's not correct. We [00:18] have all kinds of voters, secular, [00:20] religious, Sephardi, Ashkenazi. Our [00:22] voters are very simple. They're folks [00:24] who want security for the Jewish people. [00:26] They want to make sure They want to make [00:27] sure that their wife comes home safely. [00:29] That's the kind of voters that we have. [00:31] So, I've met all kinds of people, [00:33] intellectuals, [00:35] falafel makers, whatever it is. It's all [00:37] kinds of folks that want to vote for [00:40] their safety. What is the government [00:41] supposed to do? [00:43] Government is supposed to provide, first [00:44] and foremost, security for its [00:45] citizenry. And if it hasn't done that, [00:47] it has failed. And Ben-Gvir promises, [00:49] and he runs not on promises, but on [00:52] record. His record is to bring safety. [00:54] He's going to keep doing it. [00:56] >> So, after security, [00:58] >> What comes after security? [01:00] >> Jewish identity. [01:01] Jewish identity, Temple Mount, praying [01:03] on the Temple Mount. Uh we have a we had [01:05] a minister [01:07] uh of heritage who did a great job uh at [01:09] recognizing heritage sites, bringing [01:11] students to heritage sites, education, [01:14] uh the army problems, Judean Samaria [01:16] problems, uh and and jihad in Judean [01:19] Samaria, jihad in Arab cities, jihad [01:22] that strikes first against normative [01:24] Arabs who want to be part of a normal [01:26] Israel, who want to be part of the body [01:28] politic of Israel, but are suppressed by [01:31] the jihad. So, we got plenty of jihad to [01:33] fight, and then we got heritage, we got [01:35] education. We got a lot of stuff to make [01:37] better. We got a lot of stuff to make [01:39] better. So, so we we we We're here to [01:41] make our country stronger. That's what a [01:43] government is supposed to do. [01:44] >> What does it look like when you just [01:45] think about the Arab vote in particular? [01:48] >> Uh [01:49] we we don't we don't think about things [01:52] and talk about things. We actually get [01:53] it done. Uh Minister Ben-Gvir has [01:56] brilliantly [01:58] uh brought in ultra-Orthodox [02:00] to serve [02:01] in the Magav border patrol units, in the [02:05] police, and in uh firefighting. [02:08] He simply created units that fit them [02:10] more. [02:11] And instead of uh using them as some [02:13] kind of punching bag political punching [02:15] bag and to call them the other, [02:18] he says, "You're my brothers. I sit with [02:20] you in a coalition. I think that people [02:22] who don't learn Torah should serve in [02:24] the army." And then he's created units [02:26] for them to move in. So, it's action, [02:29] it's loving, it's an attitude of of we [02:32] are one peoplehood, and yet here are new [02:35] frameworks uh for you to enter and serve [02:37] in the army. [02:38] >> Okay. And those who study Torah, [02:41] can they not study Torah at part time, [02:43] after, before? [02:44] >> First thing is we believe that the study [02:47] of Torah, i.e. Jewish heritage, is a [02:49] state value. [02:51] It is a state value. Okay? Now, we need [02:53] we need defense because Israel is an [02:55] embattled country. So, the defense is [02:57] something that we can't have Torah [02:58] without defense. You can't have anything [03:00] without without property. [03:02] So, that comes first. We recognize the [03:04] value of Torah, and we have to find a [03:06] middle ground as we move forward. A [03:09] strong Israel in the end leads to [03:10] regional cooperation. [03:13] And that regional cooperation means more [03:15] welfare for more people in this region, [03:17] more roads, more hospitals, more [03:19] education, more tourism. That's what [03:22] That's what we're here to do. We're here [03:23] to shore up the strength of Israel, and [03:25] then relate to our Arab cousins, have a [03:28] better Middle East, a more robust Middle [03:31] East. But it's going to come first and [03:32] foremost through understanding that [03:34] we're not going anywhere, and that that [03:36] we're strong. We have respect. Then [03:38] there is [03:39] uh economics, strong robust Israeli [03:42] economy, strong robust Israeli military, [03:46] strong robust Israeli spirituality. [03:48] These are three pillars of how Israel [03:51] continues to thrive in this region, but [03:53] also helps other countries grow as well. [03:55] >> We've seen other coalition parties drop [03:57] in popularity, but Jewish power has more [04:00] or less remained the same in the polls. [04:02] Why do you think it's the same in the [04:03] polls? [04:03] >> I must strongly disagree with you. We [04:06] sit at six seats in the Knesset right [04:08] now. We're going up to 15. Okay, it [04:10] doesn't matter what the polls say. We [04:13] know there's a swell in the nation. We [04:15] have all of our youth polls show us at [04:18] 15. Why? Young people understand what we [04:20] represent. We really represent very [04:22] simple things, really. It's It's It's [04:24] Jewish strength. It's It's strong [04:26] Israel. It's a successful Israel. In [04:28] America, Ben-Gvir would be called a [04:29] Texan. [04:31] Okay, he's a Texan. He believes in [04:32] strength. He believes in suppressing bad [04:34] guys. Let the good guys succeed. [04:37] And so, that's why we're growing. We're [04:39] a growing party, and that's why other [04:42] parties are concerned about our growth. [04:45] And this party is is is really a [04:47] blessing for Israel that is no longer [04:50] apologizing to the Europeans, no longer [04:52] on our hands and knees begging them to [04:54] accept us and to like us. [04:56] No, they're going to respect us because [04:58] we're strong. [04:59] Because Hashem, with the help of God, of [05:00] course. [05:01] >> Okay. [05:02] >> We know we do believe in God. It's part [05:03] of it as well. We We appeal to the [05:05] non-religious, but we have faith in our [05:08] in our history, our tradition, and our [05:10] God above. [05:12] Ben-Gvir [05:13] is not [05:14] facing the West. [05:17] He's facing the East. [05:19] He's talking to the jihadis. He's [05:22] talking to the terrorists. He scares [05:25] them. He speaks their language. He's got [05:28] a sex He's got a Kurdish background, [05:30] Kurdish background. He knows their [05:32] mentality. And I know that he knows his [05:34] mentality because I speak to Arabs in [05:36] Hebron, and they tell me [05:39] First thing we respect him, and we don't [05:40] want to get into his prisons, and he [05:42] thinks like us. [05:44] And that's the point of his diplomacy. [05:46] His diplomacy is East facing, not West [05:50] facing. And that's why he's successful [05:52] in in batting down terrorism. And the [05:54] West has to start to learn how to speak [05:57] the language of the Middle East if it's [05:59] going to ward off its own the jihad that [06:01] is attacking. [06:02] It's clear now that the West [06:06] appeasing the West, kowtowing to the [06:08] West, [06:09] uh bowing to the West has done nothing [06:11] for our industry. Has done nothing. [06:13] So, it's not successful. We We might as [06:15] well first have our our region respect [06:18] us and accept us. Then the rest of the [06:20] world will understand Israel's here to [06:21] stay. In general, in general, I just [06:23] want to say it's not easy for the world [06:26] to understand Israel. 2,000 years of [06:28] exile, return to the land, it's [06:30] miraculous, hard to deal with for a lot [06:32] of people. Sometimes with Christendom [06:33] it's hard to deal with. With Islam it's [06:35] hard to deal with. For Jews it's hard to [06:37] deal with. It It It Israel is a It's an [06:40] explosion of of of of consciousness [06:44] and of and of [06:46] uh [06:46] God's presence in this world. It's not [06:48] easy for everybody to swallow. It's not [06:50] easy for Jews to swallow. For Israelis [06:52] to swallow. [06:53] Uh and so a lot of people have a [06:55] challenge inside to deal with Israel. [06:57] But with time, soon, you know, another [06:59] 25 years Israel will be 100 years old [07:01] and more and more people will come to [07:02] accept that Israel's here. It's a Middle [07:04] East country. It's Jewish country. It's [07:06] here to stay. It's a cooperative [07:08] country. It's got technology to teach [07:10] the world. It's got medicine to teach [07:12] the world. It's got spirituality to [07:13] teach the world. It's got military to [07:15] teach the world. [07:17] So, therefore, with time people will [07:19] understand that we're here to stay. [07:21] The European ideas that they'll be able [07:23] to shrink us [07:26] are going to fail. [07:28] And they're They have to have a [07:29] transition moment. They're going to have [07:31] to accept us that we're not going [07:33] anywhere and respect us for being [07:35] strong. [07:36] Thank you very much for letting me speak [07:37] with you today. [07:38] >> Okay, thank you so much. [07:38] >> Thank you. [07:44] >> Mhm.
