Transcript [00:00] With some numbers, 700 humanitarian [00:02] missions in 2 and 1/2 years, I can [00:04] promise you that a lot of elite units [00:07] and operational units cannot reach those [00:09] operations. And pay attention, I'm [00:12] calling a humanitarian military [00:15] operation because it was a full military [00:17] operation going to an hostile border. We [00:21] had to do to treat it like a military [00:23] operation. So, 700 of them. In Israel, [00:26] 6,000 Syrian has been treated. The life [00:29] 99% of them the life has been saved from [00:32] babies, children, mothers, [00:34] and fathers, [00:36] boys, and girls. [00:37] >> Welcome to this episode of Shoulder to [00:39] Shoulder, a podcast where pastor and a [00:41] rabbi get to the heart of issues that [00:42] matter to people of faith. I'm Pastor [00:44] Doug Reed here with my friend Rabbi [00:46] Pesach Wolicki, and on this episode, [00:48] we'll be having a conversation with [00:50] Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Dror of the IDF [00:53] and founder of the Good Neighbor [00:55] Project. Before we jump into our [00:57] conversation, please like our Facebook [00:58] page and join our Facebook group, the [01:00] Shoulder to Shoulder community, where [01:02] you can interact with Pesach and me all [01:03] week long. The best way to support this [01:06] podcast is to go on over to Patreon and [01:08] subscribe to our Shoulder to Shoulder [01:09] page for just $10 a month. You're [01:12] helping us bring this message of [01:13] Shoulder to Shoulder to more and more [01:15] people all around the world. As a thank [01:17] you for your $10 subscription, you get [01:19] exclusive access to chapter-by-chapter [01:21] Bible study beginning in Genesis chapter [01:23] 1 from Rabbi Pesach and myself. So, go [01:25] on over to Patreon and subscribe to [01:27] Shoulder to Shoulder for just $10 a [01:29] month. We're grateful for our sponsor, [01:31] Israel 365 News, which is the place for [01:34] you to go and get your news and [01:35] information before going to anyone else. [01:37] Go on over to Israel the number [01:39] 365news.com [01:42] to check out some of their articles, and [01:43] be sure to read Rabbi Pesach and my [01:45] columns. Pesach, each and every week [01:47] Israel 365 has incredible products and [01:50] initiatives that they are supporting. [01:52] What are we supporting today? [01:55] >> At Israel 365, we don't just talk about [01:57] standing with Israel. We give people [01:59] around the world tangible and meaningful [02:02] ways to do it. We fight anti-Semitism. [02:04] We advocate for Israel. We educate our [02:07] audience both biblically and in terms of [02:10] what's going on in Israel in the Middle [02:11] East. We work to get the truth out about [02:15] Israel in front of more and more people. [02:17] We're educating Christians around the [02:19] world, bringing young leaders [02:21] to Israel to experience the land of [02:24] Israel and the people of Israel for [02:25] themselves and through Israel 365 [02:28] charity, we care for widows, orphans, [02:31] Israel's heroes, and families who need [02:34] our help. So, if you believe in this [02:35] work and want to stand with Israel in a [02:37] tangible way, I invite you to support [02:39] Israel 365 today. Just visit Israel [02:42] 365/give. [02:45] That's Israel 365/give. [02:49] We're going to put the link in the [02:50] description of this video. If you're [02:52] watching on YouTube, we'll put it in the [02:53] description of the podcast as well. So, [02:57] please go ahead and support Israel 365. [02:59] And Doug, I also want to just add in I [03:01] just mentioned bringing young leadership [03:03] to Israel and Israel 365 has done a [03:05] number of young leadership trips. [03:07] Eagles' Wings just did a large young [03:09] leadership trip. I think there were [03:10] about 100 participants on it and [03:14] in collaboration with Israel 365, they [03:16] spent a Shabbat in the city of Efrat [03:20] where rather than having one big Shabbat [03:22] dinner together, these Christian these [03:24] young Christian leaders who were on this [03:26] Eagles' Wings trip were divided up a few [03:30] to each home among I think something [03:32] like 30 or 40 different homes in the [03:35] neighborhood of Efrat and they [03:37] apparently had an amazing time at [03:39] Shabbat dinner in the Efrat community. [03:41] And the the hosts were very impacted by [03:44] these young Christian students and [03:47] leaders. And we got feedback from the [03:49] hosts saying that they were just blown [03:50] away. For a lot of them was their first [03:52] real exposure, you know, to Christian [03:54] Zionist, to Christian supporters of [03:55] Israel and hosting them for a Shabbat [03:57] meal was really it was really magical. I [03:59] don't know what you guys heard on your [04:00] end, but it was a smash hit from our [04:02] side. [04:03] >> I have heard nothing but good things. [04:04] Everybody loved the dynamic of it. You [04:07] know, on our trips, as you know, many [04:09] times we're bringing hundreds of people. [04:11] It's multiple buses and to try and do [04:14] Shabbat in the dining hall at the [04:17] hotel is not all that it's it's not the [04:20] same as going into a home in a small [04:22] group of people and experiencing the [04:24] intimacy, the family, the beauty that [04:27] really is Shabbat. And so [04:30] that experiment of going and breaking up [04:33] into small homes with Israel 365 taking [04:36] kind of the lead on that evening, I've [04:38] heard nothing but good things. Everybody [04:40] seems to really like that model and [04:42] going into a fraud is really special. [04:43] That's actually where you and I first [04:44] met 10 years ago in a fraud in the [04:47] synagogue there doing Bible study with [04:49] 30 pastors for the first time. So [04:52] I love that. And there's lots going on [04:54] in in Israel right now. You have [04:56] election coming up. I I'm hearing lots [04:59] of buzz around the Israeli election. [05:02] Obviously, there's never any foreign [05:04] influence on Israeli elections, just [05:06] Israel influencing everyone else's [05:08] election. [05:09] So [05:10] what's going on right now? Give us the [05:13] kind of lay of the land for the Israeli [05:15] election that's coming up this fall. [05:16] >> Well, [05:17] it's definitely getting exciting. It's [05:19] definitely getting fun today, actually, [05:21] the day we're recording this. We're [05:22] recording this on Monday, [05:24] is the day of the Likud primaries. Now, [05:26] not all parties in Israel have [05:28] primaries. [05:29] A number of the parties in Israel, [05:30] there's no rule for how [05:32] how parties have to run. A party can can [05:34] just be really one guy naming a bunch of [05:37] people to his Knesset list and we have [05:38] parties like that. But Likud [05:41] has primaries. There's a number of [05:42] parties that do and it's the largest [05:45] party in Israel and I happen to be a [05:46] registered Likud member, which is [05:48] interesting even though I didn't vote [05:49] for them in the last election, but [05:50] whatever. I'm a registered Likud member, [05:51] so I voted in the Likud primaries today, [05:53] which was which was fun. And it's an [05:55] interesting primary system. You get to [05:57] pick 12 names off of, you know, [06:00] this large list of names, probably well [06:03] over 100 names on the list that you get [06:05] to name, and then however people do in [06:08] the primaries, that's how far up they [06:09] are on the Knesset list. So, there's a [06:10] number of Knesset members that I know [06:12] who I've worked with in the past on [06:13] different projects that were definitely [06:15] right at the top of my list. But it was [06:17] it was, you know, so things are ramping [06:19] up. In terms of how the election system [06:21] works and and what all the different [06:23] parties do, I'm going to be putting out [06:25] videos on the Israel 365 News Channel as [06:27] well as on my on this channel on the on [06:30] the Pesach the Rabbi Pesach Wolicki [06:31] channel on YouTube explaining everything [06:33] going on in the elections. We'll [06:34] probably talk about it on the podcast [06:36] some more. But things are ramping up. [06:38] For most people outside of Israel, [06:40] everything's always about defense and [06:42] security and foreign affairs issues, and [06:44] they don't realize that for Israelis, [06:45] there's a lot of very serious domestic [06:47] issues, and especially right now, [06:50] where even though the biggest issue in [06:51] the country is defense and security, the [06:53] problem is I would it's not really a [06:55] problem. It's good for the country, [06:57] but the problem for electoral politics [06:59] is that there's consensus pretty much [07:01] right now. There's not a lot of [07:02] difference from left to right about how [07:05] we're supposed to handle Gaza, how we're [07:07] supposed to handle Hezbollah, how we're [07:08] supposed to handle Iran. Meaning the [07:10] criticisms of the government from the [07:12] left and the right are almost identical [07:13] at this point. So, because there's so [07:16] much national consensus on those issues, [07:18] it really opens up the field for some [07:20] other domestic issues that usually would [07:24] fall, you know, fall to, you know, into [07:26] the background because, [07:28] you know, the security issues are [07:29] usually the be-all and end-all of [07:31] Israeli politics, but they're not [07:32] anymore. So, it's really going to be I [07:34] think there's going to be some domestic [07:36] issues that are going to dominate this [07:38] election season. [07:39] >> Yeah, outside of Israel, all the buzz [07:41] that I'm hearing in America all [07:44] surrounds Bibi Netanyahu. [07:46] Is Prime Minister Netanyahu good for [07:48] Israel, not good for Israel? And [07:49] depending on where you fall on the [07:50] political spectrum, and everybody thinks [07:52] that if Bibi is not Prime Minister, that [07:55] somehow that's going to change the way [07:57] Israel deals in Gaza and in the north [08:00] with Hezbollah [08:01] or Iran for that matter. Israel, to your [08:04] point, is having a consensus on the [08:06] foreign policy. It's really the internal [08:08] politics [08:09] around domestic issues that is [08:11] separating candidates. [08:13] >> Yeah, and you know, this was really [08:14] brought home to me in a big way. You [08:17] might remember this about a month and a [08:18] half, maybe 2 months ago, where Israel [08:21] warned Hezbollah that for any attack [08:24] that they carry out, Israel's going to [08:25] strike the Dahiya, which is the [08:27] Hezbollah stronghold, the Hezbollah [08:28] neighborhood of Beirut. [08:30] And [08:31] and then President Trump didn't like [08:34] that, and he and he kind of called out [08:36] Netanyahu and and you know, made it, you [08:39] know, and and backed us off. [08:41] The criticism at the time from the [08:44] left-wing parties and from like Ben-Gvir [08:47] on the far right was identical. [08:50] The criticism was that we should that, [08:52] you know, if Bibi gives in to Trump, [08:54] then he's showing weakness. Meaning, it [08:56] wasn't that the left's criticism was [08:58] like, "Oh, we shouldn't be in Lebanon at [09:00] all or we should negotiate." Like what [09:01] you might expect a left-wing criticism [09:03] to be. It wasn't. The criticism, and [09:05] this was a a a very serious security [09:07] situation, the criticism on Netanyahu [09:10] was identical wall-to-wall. So, that [09:12] just that just underscores the point. [09:14] Exactly what you say. People People on [09:16] the left in America think that if if [09:18] they get rid of Netanyahu, they're [09:19] suddenly going to have someone who's [09:21] going to capitulate to Western demands [09:23] on security issues. That's probably not [09:25] the case. It's just not where Israel is [09:27] right now. [09:28] >> Yeah, it's interesting to watch it from [09:30] the outside as you say all the time. [09:31] You're a professional fly on the wall in [09:34] the Christian world and in American [09:35] politics, I feel that way with Israeli [09:37] politics because of this podcast and my [09:40] deep love for Israel and all my friends [09:42] there. So, it's interesting to watch [09:44] from a distance. [09:46] >> Yeah. All right, I'm going to bring in [09:48] our guest who I'm very excited about. I [09:50] met him just not long ago. We both had [09:53] dinner together with a very interesting [09:56] group that was visiting from the United [09:57] States, a group of leaders from the MAHA [10:00] movement, the Make America Healthy Again [10:01] movement, were visiting in in Israel and [10:05] and Lieutenant Colonel Dror spoke to the [10:07] group and I also spoke to the group and [10:09] and we were able to meet each other at [10:10] dinner and I started looking at this [10:12] book and I was blown away. So, let me [10:14] just introduce him. Lieutenant Colonel [10:15] Eyal Dror lives with his family in [10:17] Kibbutz Dafna, a northern Israeli border [10:20] community near Lebanon. He has served in [10:22] the Israeli Defense Forces for more than [10:24] 30 years and is an active reserve [10:26] officer in the Golan Division. He [10:28] previously founded and commanded [10:29] Operation Good Neighbor, that we're [10:31] going to hear a whole lot about, on the [10:33] Israeli-Syrian border. He's author of [10:35] Embracing the Enemy, The Inside Story of [10:38] Israel's Secret Humanitarian Mission to [10:40] rescue Syrian civilians from civil war. [10:43] He lectures in Israel and abroad on [10:45] security, the Middle East, humanitarian [10:48] aid, leadership, and communal [10:50] resilience. He also has an author page [10:53] at JNS and so you can go to the website [10:55] of JNS, the the Jewish News Syndicate, [10:58] and he writes very interesting columns [10:59] there that I've been reading up on in [11:00] advance of this podcast. And without [11:03] further ado, it's my honor to introduce [11:05] Lieutenant Colonel Eyal Dror. Lieutenant [11:07] Colonel Dror, welcome to the Shoulder to [11:08] Shoulder podcast. [11:11] >> Thank you very much, Rabbi Pesach. Thank [11:13] you very much, Pastor Reed. And before [11:17] if I [11:18] may, before we will start to talk about [11:20] Syria or Lebanon, I just want to say [11:22] that I heard your talks about the [11:24] Shabbat dinner in a flat and it makes me [11:27] feel very very excited because Now, me [11:30] as an Israeli to see people coming [11:32] outside Israel and having the time not [11:35] like you know ordinary tourists that [11:37] staying at the hotel, mixing, staying [11:40] with the Israeli population together, [11:42] having the Shabbat dinner, which is [11:45] as everybody knows, it's something very [11:47] important. Even if you're secular like [11:49] myself, it's it's something that is very [11:52] special. So, it's warming my heart. So, [11:54] thank you very much, Pastor Reed, for [11:56] that. And I hope that in your next [11:58] delegation, I will be able to host some [12:01] of them on the northern border in my [12:02] kibbutz. It will be a different Kabbalat [12:04] Shabbat, I can promise you, but I'm sure [12:06] it will be [12:08] same interesting like it was in the [12:09] front. So, thank you for that. [12:13] >> Of course, and we would love that. We'd [12:14] be honored to connect up in the north. [12:17] Very, very beautiful area up there, and [12:19] you get up above the Galilee and the [12:20] Golan is beautiful. [12:24] So, Lieutenant Colonel, [12:26] you talk about the north and your book, [12:28] Embracing the Enemy, the inside story of [12:31] Israel's secret humanitarian mission to [12:33] rescue Syrian civilians from the civil [12:36] war. I mean, there's so much we could [12:38] talk about, and I do want to talk about [12:39] the current situation in Syria and how [12:41] it might be how things might have [12:43] changed since then, but let's start with [12:45] this famous mission. If you could just [12:47] walk our audience through the basics of [12:49] what this was. I know it took place [12:51] during the Syrian civil war, and Israel [12:53] got involved with helping the Syrian [12:55] civilian population. Give us the story. [13:02] So, I shall we try to do it as short as [13:05] I can, although it will it might takes [13:07] 45 minutes only just to explain. But, [13:09] no, no, we'll do it very quick. Today's [13:12] was the day of the Syrian civil war. [13:15] Um [13:15] something that's important for the [13:17] audience to understand, Syrian [13:19] population never met Israelis. Not like [13:22] neighbors from the Palestinians guys, [13:26] Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syrians never [13:28] met Israelis and they were educated for [13:30] years to hate the state of Israel. We [13:32] had two [13:34] difficult wars with them back in '67, [13:36] '73. [13:37] However, for 40 years until 2011, the [13:40] Syrian Israel Israeli-Syrian border was [13:42] very quiet from security [13:45] meanings and then the Syrian civil war [13:47] started. What we we could have seen on [13:50] the other side of the fence is people [13:52] literally slaughtering, dying by their [13:55] own government and the state of Israel [13:57] took, I think, a moral and a brave [14:00] decision. We are not going to let them [14:02] die without doing anything. We cannot uh [14:06] for the moral position, we cannot stand [14:08] behind the fence and just wait because [14:11] it was a big concern from Al-Qaeda, [14:13] ISIS, Hezbollah. All of them were in [14:15] this area. So, we will not wait only to [14:19] defense the state of Israel. We must do [14:21] something for the population. This was [14:24] the roof of Operation Good Neighbor. It [14:26] started back in 2013 when Israel decided [14:28] to open the border for wounded Syrians [14:31] for 3 years under the radar, very [14:33] classified operation. 3,500 Syrians [14:36] entered the state of Israel. Their life [14:38] has been saved in the Israeli hospitals. [14:41] Something magical had happened. They met [14:44] the Israeli society. Now, for you Rabbi [14:47] Pesach and I'm sure that for you Pesach [14:49] reading it's very clear to understand [14:52] that Israel is a mixed population. [14:54] They're very diverse population. When [14:56] you're coming to the hospitals, you will [14:58] hear Arabic, you will see Muslims, you [15:00] will see Druze, you will see Christian [15:02] people. For the Syrians, it was a light [15:05] opening because they didn't know. They [15:07] heard, they thought it's an apartheid [15:08] country, only the Jews control, Muslims [15:11] don't have rights. And suddenly [15:14] the Muslim guy, the doctor from Tu'an, [15:17] which is, you know, an Arabic Muslim [15:20] city, he's the guy that's saving this [15:24] Syrian guy's life and then they're [15:26] praying to God together, calling the [15:28] Fatiha [15:29] together. And then you realize that [15:31] Naila, which is a Druze nurse, she's the [15:34] one that helping him to do his recovery. [15:37] So for them it was a huge surprise. They [15:40] were going back to Syria telling the the [15:42] story and in 2016, [15:45] Israel decided that we can do much, much [15:47] more. [15:48] And to save many more Syrians, this was [15:50] the time where we started to operate [15:53] operation good neighbor. My book is [15:55] based on that story. I was called to [15:57] duty and I had one role, to build a unit [16:01] that will take care to people that until [16:04] 3 years were supposed to be called our [16:07] enemies. And we did an amazing project [16:09] 700 humanitarian mission. We saved life [16:12] of [16:13] dozens of thousands of human beings by [16:15] providing food or medical assistance or [16:19] bringing them to Israel to make [16:21] operation, to make them exams in the [16:23] hospitals. [16:24] Fabulous [16:26] operation, humanitarian one. Built [16:29] bridges with Syrians. And what was even [16:32] more interesting, we collaborate with [16:34] Christian organization and Muslim [16:37] organization. So basically I think it's [16:39] the first time in history while the [16:41] Jewish guy is commanding Christian, [16:44] Muslim, Jews, Israelis, all together [16:47] were working in order to save Muslims. [16:53] >> Wow. Take us back to the beginning of [16:56] that, the genesis. I'm sure that there [16:59] was disagreement. I'm sure that there [17:01] was wrestling through how to do it. What [17:03] what were some of the concerns in doing [17:06] it and how did we overcome them to be [17:08] able to serve the Syrian population? [17:12] >> So one of the biggest concern was [17:14] connected to our situation. [17:17] our [17:18] sake of our soldiers. [17:20] Again, the border, and it's important to [17:22] understand the border at this time was [17:25] controlled, or [17:27] part of it was controlled by ISIS, [17:30] by al-Qaeda, [17:32] by Hezbollah. Now, we may if I will ask [17:35] a random guy in Europe, what is the [17:37] difference? Probably he doesn't even [17:39] understand that those are Shiite, those [17:40] are Sunni. If I will ask, what is [17:43] common? They all swear to kill Jews. So, [17:46] this was some of the type of the rebels, [17:50] the people with the weapon that was [17:52] controlling the other side. So, every [17:54] time that we reached the fence, and like [17:57] I said before, 700 times, it was the [18:00] understanding [18:01] that in any sect, a bullet can hit, or [18:05] an RPG, and we also want those guys [18:07] knows what to do with RPGs, and RPG can [18:10] be shot. Weapon is something that in [18:13] every house you have there. You don't [18:15] have intel about who's coming. And even [18:18] if a mom that came with her son, she [18:21] might have been a suicide bomber that [18:23] was operated by al-Qaeda. So, this was [18:26] one of the biggest concerns, what will [18:29] happen. The second one was [18:31] what will happen in Israel. Now, we [18:34] didn't uh [18:36] uh [18:37] were concerned from that there will be [18:40] spies. People ask me, "Oh, so you didn't [18:42] consider that some of them would be [18:43] spies?" No, they were entering the [18:45] hospital, to the hospital, and back to [18:47] Syria. [18:48] What intelligence they can collect about [18:50] Israel? Everything that you can see in [18:52] Google Map. However, what will happen [18:56] during [18:57] their stay in Israel? What will happen [18:59] if Israelis would see them? What will [19:01] happen if they will not allow uh they [19:04] will not want to go back? What will be [19:07] the threat for their lives? Because, you [19:09] know, in the Middle East, if you have [19:10] been called collaborator, it's not a [19:12] nickname. Probably you will not be able [19:15] to live the day after. So, there was a [19:17] lot of things to calculate, to take [19:19] under consideration. There was [19:20] limitations also for the Syrians. You [19:23] know, the fact that I want to help you, [19:25] it doesn't matter that you can get this [19:28] aid in every platform. For example, in [19:30] the first operation, they burned food [19:33] because we realized that they had factor [19:35] that they cannot get food. Only a year [19:37] after we started uh to bring them food [19:40] or clothes. So, in the beginning it was [19:42] only medical. So, it was a lot of [19:45] um [19:46] a lot a lot of things to take under [19:47] consideration. A lot of limitations in [19:50] order to adjust the operation that it [19:53] will be a successful one. And I will [19:55] mention one more important thing. We [19:57] didn't do it for PR. It wasn't like that [19:59] we brought some Syrians, [20:02] called all the TV channels, and now made [20:05] some PR for Israel. Take a look, guys, [20:07] how [20:09] good is Israel. We are the only country [20:11] that saved you. No, we didn't do that. [20:12] So, in order that it will be a [20:14] successful one, we had to adjust [20:17] ourselves day by day. We learn night by [20:20] night what they really needs, what they [20:22] can do, what they cannot do, what we can [20:25] do. [20:26] I will give you some for example a [20:28] question. [20:30] Should I take a fourth stage cancer boy [20:33] from Syria? I know that I cannot save [20:35] his life. He will catch a bed that maybe [20:38] is supposed to be an an Israeli child. [20:43] Now, it costs money. Isn't it better to [20:47] save 100 Syrian children others in the [20:50] same amount of money? [20:52] It's a lot of difficult questions, and [20:55] you know, [20:56] uh I'm not going to play God. We have [20:58] the doctors that took this hard hard [21:01] decision. It was a lot of discussions [21:03] about this [21:05] um medical uh platform. So, it was one [21:08] of one of the kind of operation with a [21:10] lot of difficulties, a lot of [21:11] challenges, but the most exciting thing [21:13] that I did in my life. [21:16] >> Yeah, [21:17] you mentioned that [21:19] these people might have faced backlash [21:20] when they went home [21:22] for being collaborators, for taking help [21:24] from the Israelis. [21:26] Uh and of course, you also talked about [21:28] how they'd never met Israelis, there [21:29] would be a lot of suspicion there. [21:32] Can you share some of the some of the [21:35] some maybe incidents or interactions [21:37] that you had with Syrians that that were [21:39] the result of these suspicions? Like did [21:41] any of them actually go back and face [21:43] backlash? Like were there problems? Or [21:45] did you have any who came over and [21:47] didn't want to go back to Syria? Can you [21:49] share a few anecdotes of some of the [21:50] things you experienced with the Syrian [21:52] people who were brought over? [21:55] >> Yes, so one of the events that I [21:58] remember was we ended a 9-month years [22:01] old boy [22:03] in need to do a surgery in his in his [22:06] heart. So, we took him to Jerusalem. [22:09] The the hospitals in the north [22:11] >> a 9-month old boy? A 9-month old? [22:14] >> Um [22:17] A 9-month, a baby. A baby who was born [22:21] and it has some problem with his heart. [22:24] We did like a project a cardiological [22:28] project. There was a couple of very [22:30] young children. This boy was 9-month, [22:34] only less than a year. [22:36] And we took him to Jerusalem. I I think [22:38] it was where the Jerusalem where the [22:39] ship, I don't remember exactly. Don't [22:41] don't catch me for that. [22:43] Um and [22:45] uh the doctors made the the operation [22:47] and and unfortunately after like a [22:49] couple of days it passed away. [22:51] Um [22:53] And we were were really concerned Rabbi [22:56] Pesach and I'm sure that you heard the [22:58] pastor read that in our region a lot of [23:00] time Jews is blamed for everything. [23:03] And uh what was like passing on our [23:07] on our minds was that [23:09] when he will go back with his mom at the [23:11] Syria, [23:13] there will be like posters the Jews [23:15] murdered this innocent child and you [23:17] know, [23:19] and then it will reach to the [23:20] universities in the US and all those BDS [23:23] guys will do celebrations from [23:26] this time. So, it was a little bit [23:27] concerning. [23:28] And you know, we didn't know what to do. [23:31] And I shared my thoughts with my [23:33] colleague with the Syrian colleagues and [23:35] they say, "You know what, bro? I I'm [23:36] also with you. I I don't know how the [23:39] family will react the day that we [23:42] send them back to Syria arrive." And in [23:45] the morning I got a phone call from my [23:47] colleague and he told me, "You know [23:48] something? The mother of the baby which [23:51] came with him told her husband, because [23:54] we also the Syrians, we were also very [23:56] concerned from the reaction and whether [23:58] it will be like, we call it in Hebrew [24:00] balagan, it will be a mess now in this [24:02] village. And the mom said, "Whether the [24:06] boy will live or die, it's in the hand [24:08] of God. But [24:10] he got treatment that I wish and pray [24:13] that every Syrian will get in our [24:15] homeland in Syria. The Israeli nurses, [24:18] the Israeli doctors did the best they [24:20] could have done and unfortunately God [24:22] decided to took him. So, they send their [24:25] regards to us and they ask us to send [24:29] this to the medical team that they will [24:31] know that they are not angry with them [24:33] and don't do not blame them. So, he used [24:36] so the humanity which is, you know, in [24:38] the Middle East is something a little [24:39] bit above politics. Now, kinds of those [24:42] examples, you know, I had one one time [24:45] that a girl that she was almost dying, [24:47] she was 9 years old suffering from heart [24:49] disease. She came from the border and [24:52] she was almost dying. The the doctors [24:54] claimed that 24 hours later she wouldn't [24:57] have been alive. [24:59] She was treated in the Israeli hospital [25:01] for 6 months and before she went back, [25:03] she drew the flag of Israel. I have [25:05] still it in in in my room and it is in [25:07] my book. There is a picture of it. And [25:10] it's written above it that the flag of [25:12] Israel and written like [25:14] We have which is a Syrian girl, this was [25:16] her name, the sign of love and Abu [25:19] Yakub, the father of Jacob. Um the [25:22] father of Jacob or Abu Yakub was my [25:23] Syrian name. So, a Syrian girl which [25:25] dedicated the flag of Israel to an IDF [25:27] officer that saved her life. Again, [25:29] those are some moments that maybe [25:32] reflect a little bit from the [25:34] relationship that has been. Of course, [25:36] there is Every night we had something [25:40] something that was making us concerned, [25:42] something that were make us very proud [25:45] of being Israelis, being Jews. Uh and [25:47] you know, with me do there was all the [25:50] special units of the IDF they were [25:51] protecting us. And you see those people [25:54] they're fighting today today in Gaza in [25:57] in Syria and Lebanon. And you see them [26:00] almost crying when they are seeing the [26:02] 9-year-old, 10-year-old little boys [26:05] coming in the rain barefoot. And they [26:07] were like [26:08] You understand the meaning seriously of [26:11] being a Jew, being educated for love, [26:14] not for hate, not to kill anyone, to [26:17] help for any people that you can even if [26:20] you're risking your life. So, those [26:22] moments are incredible and every night [26:25] we have a story like that. [26:29] >> That's beautiful. And I love this [26:31] because I've heard you say before Pesach [26:34] with covenantal return to the land comes [26:36] covenantal responsibility. [26:38] Uh I've heard others say being the [26:40] chosen people of God uh doesn't chosen [26:43] doesn't mean special, it means [26:44] responsibility. And and I love this uh [26:47] narrative right now, this story, because [26:50] all all the news headlines, what [26:52] everybody's talking about, is the war [26:55] and all of the [26:56] antidotes on the left and the right. And [26:59] this is the beauty of Israel. This is [27:01] the people that [27:03] I've met and I see when I'm in the land. [27:06] It's wonderful to hear these stories. [27:09] With that being said, Lieutenant [27:12] Colonel, please tell us what are the [27:14] numbers? How many Syrians were saved? [27:17] What was the success rate of the [27:19] program? And is it continuing to go [27:21] today? [27:23] >> So, [27:25] with some numbers, 700 humanitarian [27:27] missions in 2 and 1/2 years, I can [27:29] promise you that a lot of elite units [27:32] and operational units cannot reach those [27:34] operations. And pay attention, I'm [27:37] calling a humanitarian military [27:40] operation because it was a full military [27:42] operation going to an hostile border. We [27:46] had to do to treat it like a military [27:48] operation. So, 700 of that. In Israel, [27:51] 6,000 Syrians has been treated. The life [27:54] 99% of them, the life has been saved [27:56] from babies, children, mothers, [27:59] and fathers, [28:01] boys and girls. In Syria, we built them [28:05] a maternity hospital. We provide them [28:07] the [28:09] equipment to build a maternity hospital. [28:12] Around 1,000 new babies were born. 8,000 [28:16] Syrians were treated in a field clinic [28:18] that a Christian organization that [28:20] operated under my command, [28:23] the Fitton family friendships unlimited [28:25] from Louisiana. They operate these [28:27] amazing facilities. 8,000 Syrians that [28:30] never met Christian before, they were [28:32] treated in this [28:33] field clinic. So, this is the numbers of [28:36] people that I can tell you that we met. [28:38] However, when you provide the the Golan [28:41] Heights and you spoke earlier about the [28:44] Galilee and the Golan, so probably you [28:47] know, [28:48] and I will clarify for your audience. If [28:50] you're coming in January, February to [28:53] the Golan Heights, you need to be a [28:55] tough guy. You need to bring a coat. [28:57] It's snowing, very [29:00] strong winds. So, it's [29:02] it's not [29:04] like a very nice it might be not a nice [29:08] adventure there. So, when you're [29:10] providing [29:12] 300 tons [29:15] of warm clothes, [29:17] you're saving a lot of I cannot [29:20] calculate it, but it's dozens of [29:22] thousand. When you provide diesel fuel [29:24] over than 1 million liter [29:27] diesel fuel that people can warm their [29:30] houses and make their bread ready, you [29:35] see you're saving life. When you're [29:37] supporting clinics and hospital, you're [29:40] saving life. So, in the region where [29:42] approximately 250,000 human being, I [29:45] think that [29:47] this way or another, the IDF [29:50] assistant [29:52] touch almost every family in this [29:54] region. [29:55] >> Wow. [29:55] >> And I can tell you that I'm really proud [29:57] for that. [30:00] >> And Lieutenant Colonel, [30:01] Pastor Doug asked you if the if the [30:03] program is still ongoing. I understand [30:06] from your writings that it's not [30:07] ongoing. Could you talk about some of [30:08] the reasons why it was shut down and and [30:12] why [30:14] and why we aren't continuing to do [30:16] things like that today? [30:18] >> So, unfortunately in 2018, the summer of [30:20] 2018 [30:22] because of the geopolitical [30:25] situation or circumstances that involved [30:28] the Iranian and Russia with the Assad [30:30] government, [30:32] Assad government succeeded to reconquer [30:34] the area called the Quneitra and the [30:36] Daraa region. This is the two regions [30:38] that close to the Israeli border and [30:40] when they came there, we couldn't have [30:43] collaborate because our colleagues were [30:44] disappeared. They were afraid for their [30:46] lives, and the population were like [30:48] surrounded to the government. Of course, [30:50] we advised to the Syrian government, [30:53] "Although we are enemies, we want to [30:55] continue to support your population. [30:56] You've just came back. You have your [30:59] country almost been destroyed by [31:00] yourself, so you need to put a lot of [31:02] resources in order to rebuild it. Both [31:05] of us know that Quneitra will not be the [31:07] first place that you will invest your uh [31:10] free Syrian lira." And of course, they [31:12] refused to do that, so we unfortunately [31:14] we had to shut it down. So, in Syria, uh [31:17] this operation came to its end back in [31:20] August 2018. By the way, we are talking [31:22] about the the the closure of this event. [31:25] Um [31:26] I always say that uh one day it's [31:28] written in my last chapter in the book, [31:31] uh our last operation was saving the [31:33] White Helmets people. And like some of [31:36] American my American friends said, "If [31:38] it was another NGO, and not the IDF, [31:41] probably we would have got Nobel Prize [31:43] because we saved over than 400 people [31:46] from certain death." The White Helmets, [31:47] they were the civilian uh [31:50] rescue teams. Uh Assad government blamed [31:53] them uh because they exposed that he is [31:56] using chemical weapon. In the last night [31:58] of the operation, we saved over than 400 [32:00] of them. They crossed to Israel, and [32:02] went to Jordan through the Israeli [32:04] border. They got all all of them got new [32:07] identities, new lives. [32:09] The operation shut down. Today, Israel [32:12] is helping [32:14] uh and I I know that you asked me a very [32:16] personal about it. So, to today the [32:17] Israel the Israel is helping a little [32:20] bit to the Druze population. It's a [32:22] different uh environment, different uh [32:24] circumstances. We can reach it later on. [32:27] And I will uh try to answer the question [32:30] why Israel is not doing that in other [32:32] places. Well, Israel is trying to do [32:35] humanitarian aid almost every place in [32:37] the world that needed. Uh you will see [32:40] Israel rescue team in in Tokyo, in [32:42] Haiti, in Tahiti, even in Turkey it [32:44] happened. When it happened in Syria a [32:46] couple of years ago, although the [32:48] hostile hostility Israel has uh [32:51] permission to send our team, of course [32:54] the government refused. So, wherever [32:56] it's possible and whatever country need [33:00] us, because everybody knows now Israel [33:03] was the [33:04] la [33:05] last month I think it was in Venezuela [33:07] or somewhere yeah in in South America. [33:09] Every country that will ask Israel to [33:12] help because we have [33:14] uh a lot of knowledge with that, Israel [33:16] will be there. Uh why we cannot do uh [33:19] like the good neighbor project two in [33:22] Lebanon or in Syria or I don't know [33:25] where, it's a lot of time depends on the [33:28] government that [33:29] uh against us. Operation the neighbor [33:31] was very unique because wasn't the [33:33] government on the other side. It was a [33:36] Syrian civil war. We could have [33:38] connected directly [33:42] with the population. And I want to [33:43] promise you one thing, although I'm not [33:45] a politician and I'm not a prime [33:46] minister, if the Lebanese government for [33:48] example will ask Israel now as part of [33:51] this MOU, if they would dismantle [33:53] Hezbollah which is a big huge if, uh I [33:56] just wrote about that I I do not think [33:58] so, but if they would ask Israel to [34:01] provide humanitarian aid to Lebanon, I [34:03] can promise you that Israel will not say [34:05] no. This is again, this is goes back to [34:08] our values. We are saving life. We are [34:11] truly believing in saving life and as an [34:13] Israeli, as a Jew, and I will say it [34:15] again and again, as a secular Jew, it is [34:18] not a question whether you are religious [34:20] or not. This is what we are. This is how [34:23] we have been educated [34:25] to save life. Life is important and [34:27] there is [34:28] um a sentence in the Torah that a person [34:30] that or in in the core that the [34:32] president said one life is like saving [34:35] the whole world. We are truly believing [34:37] that. This was what guide us on [34:39] Operation Good Neighbor, and this is [34:40] what guide us [34:42] any place that we are bringing [34:43] humanitarian aid to the world. [34:47] >> And you've had the privilege of working [34:49] between faiths, and a lot of the [34:53] dialogue around Israel is this idea of [34:57] uh you know, Jewish supremacy, there's [34:59] no room for Christians or anybody else. [35:01] Talk about the diversity of Israel. You [35:03] work with Christian organizations and [35:05] Muslims and Arabs and Druze, and I'm [35:07] sure others as well. Uh talk about the [35:10] impact that that makes on you, and what [35:12] that look like from your perspective in [35:14] Israeli society. [35:19] >> So, [35:20] with your permission, Pastor Rita, I [35:21] want to maybe leverage you to to to to [35:25] upgrade uh the the question because for [35:27] me as an Israeli, uh you know, I'm [35:29] living in the northern part of Israel. [35:32] Uh [35:32] we don't have a close hospital. I need [35:35] to take my child 40 minutes ride. For [35:38] Americans, 40 minutes is a piece of [35:39] cake. For Israelis, it's like [35:42] uh it's a lot. [35:46] So, the closest one is in the city of [35:48] Safed, which is a very Jewish, ancient, [35:52] traditional, important city. The second [35:55] is Tiberias, which is also one of the [35:58] most important cities in Judaism, also [36:00] also in [36:01] in the Christianity, but I'm talking [36:03] about Judaism. Safed, if we take my [36:05] children to the hospital there, the [36:07] language that I will hear first is [36:09] Arabic. And you know what? Who cares? [36:12] Uh you will not find an Israeli, a Jew, [36:14] coming to the hospital and say, "Okay, [36:17] uh no, Dr. Musa, I don't think that I [36:20] like him. I want that Dr. Amir will [36:22] treat me." It doesn't bother them. So, [36:24] for us, we are living together. We are [36:26] serving I remind you that are serving in [36:28] the army together. So, we have the [36:29] Druze, we have Muslims, we have [36:31] Christians. We are visiting my friends [36:34] in Majdal Shams, the Druze [36:37] guys. [36:39] When we were evacuated, the [36:41] CEO of the hotel was a Muslim bathroom [36:43] attendant. We are still friends. I came [36:46] to his house to to to eat with him. We [36:49] are talking a couple of times a month. [36:52] So, for us the Israelis, well, it's [36:54] something that we are feeling really [36:56] okay with. That is a part of us, that is [36:58] a part of our society. [37:00] We don't judge them. Again, of course, [37:02] there is extremists everywhere, but the [37:04] most of the majority of the most we [37:07] don't care. What I can tell you about [37:09] Operation Good Neighbor which was for me [37:12] an eye-opening. I didn't know a lot [37:15] Christian people outside Israel. [37:18] And you know, as a Jew, you don't always [37:20] know what is the feelings of Christians [37:23] for Israel, whether they love like us, [37:26] whether they do know the Jesus issue, [37:29] and [37:30] and I found that there is so many [37:33] supporters [37:35] of the state of Israel. [37:37] I work with two Christian organizations. [37:39] Today, I'm working [37:41] with them [37:42] again and again, and I learned to know [37:45] pastors like you that have their people [37:48] that support Israel, that you know, for [37:50] me when a team like that coming to [37:53] Israel, it's something that's so [37:54] exciting. And it was something that I [37:57] said, I'm ashamed in my education system [37:59] back in school that they didn't learn us [38:02] because you are thinking that hey, I'm [38:04] alone in the world. We are Jews, we are [38:06] Israelis, we are all alone in the world. [38:08] Okay, but we are strong and God with us [38:10] who will defeat all of our enemies. And [38:13] then I will I retired. This was my [38:16] thought for 39 years. Then I become to [38:18] know the Friendship Unlimited and FAI, [38:22] and then [38:23] we discovered that we have plenty of [38:25] friends here in the world and it was [38:28] awesome. It's It's amazing. Um, [38:31] I can tell you that in some of my [38:33] speaking tours in the US, well, well, I [38:37] had the the BDS that they protest [38:39] against me. You heard my story and they [38:41] were calling me a war criminal, those [38:43] guys. [38:44] I saw Christian students coming, not the [38:47] Jews one. Christians [38:49] students came stand with me. For me it [38:52] was like going back to Israel, to my [38:54] friends and tell them, "You know, guys, [38:56] we are not alone. [38:57] We have a huge back supporting us and [39:00] it's amazing, encouraging. This is why I [39:02] so love to meet Christian groups in [39:05] order to share this appreciation and [39:07] please just continue to do that." [39:11] >> Yeah, I I love what you just said about [39:13] your education. I mean, not that I love [39:15] that that's the case, but I hear it all [39:17] the time and as someone who's been, you [39:19] know, a rabbi involved in [39:21] Jewish-Christian relationships for so [39:22] long, it's something that bothers me [39:25] greatly that the way Jews are raised in [39:29] the Jewish education system, in the [39:30] Israeli education system, [39:32] whether again, whether it's the [39:33] religious system or the secular system, [39:35] it doesn't matter. They're not taught [39:37] anything about contemporary [39:39] Christianity. The only thing that that [39:41] Jews are taught about Christianity is [39:42] the history of Christian persecution of [39:45] Jews that went back, you know, you know, [39:47] back in the Dark Ages and during the [39:48] Crusades and other times where where [39:51] Christians persecuted Jews. But in terms [39:54] of the geopolitics of today, even in [39:56] terms of the history of the Zionist [39:57] movement, the very first Zionist [39:59] Congress that Theodor Herzl organized [40:01] back in the 1890s, there were Christian [40:04] Zionists participating in the Zionist [40:07] Congress all the way from the beginning. [40:09] Yeah, William Hechler and some others [40:10] who were with him, they were always [40:12] Christians involved in the Zionist [40:13] movement going all the way back. That's [40:15] a whole other topic. [40:17] I you know, along this you know, the [40:19] line of who our friends are, I'd like to [40:21] move to a current events issue that you [40:23] are [40:24] better positioned than almost anyone to [40:27] talk about and I've been wanting to ask [40:28] you about this. [40:30] After the Assad regime fell and then [40:33] Julani took over, we know that there [40:35] there was a lot of attacks against the [40:38] Druze community that is near Israel. And [40:41] the Druze were, you know, they were [40:43] fighting for themselves. Some Druze [40:44] Israelis went across the border. It was [40:47] a big as you you said the Hebrew word [40:49] balagan, it was a big mess. [40:51] We haven't heard much about them [40:53] recently. There were also some talk that [40:55] the Druze community in in in southern [40:57] Syria wanted to become part of Israel or [40:59] Israel was going to try to figure out [41:01] ways to help them. What's the current [41:03] state of affairs with the Druze [41:04] community? Are they still under attack? [41:07] Are they are they [41:09] have they made peace with the Julani [41:11] regime? What's the state of affairs with [41:13] the Druze community in the north? [41:19] >> So, I will try to explain it in uh [41:22] like I always say, the Middle East is [41:23] not a TikTok. Uh you cannot explain the [41:26] Middle East in 10 seconds clip. I see [41:29] people that coming and they saw like a [41:31] guy that was doing like 30 seconds clip [41:34] in Instagram and they become experts to [41:37] the Middle East. I told them, "Guys, I'm [41:39] learning 31 years and I still know [41:42] nothing." So, [41:44] uh a little bit modesty [41:47] and we will try try to explain what is [41:50] going on and again it's complicated. So, [41:52] first let's understand what the Druze in [41:54] Syria because there is also some claims [41:57] in Israel that they are our brothers. [41:59] So, sorry to say that they ain't. [42:02] The Israeli Druze are definitely my [42:04] brother. They are serving with me. They [42:06] are fighting with me against my enemies. [42:08] Trust them, I will put my life in their [42:10] hands. Probably they will keep my life [42:13] in in the price of their lives. They are [42:16] my true brothers. The The Druze in [42:19] Syria, and it's important to understand [42:21] they are loyal to the Assad government. [42:23] The days I was operating on Operation [42:26] Good Neighbor, Hezbollah special units [42:28] were in their villages close to the [42:30] border, collaborate with them planning [42:33] to hit us. This was the situation. [42:35] Again, I don't blame them. This is the [42:37] fact. The Druze because they have do not [42:40] uh they do not want to become like a [42:42] separate nation, but a part of the the [42:46] nation. So, they were choose a side. [42:48] They were with the Assad government. [42:49] Again, zero blame for them, but it is [42:52] something that we have to understand. [42:54] When the situation has been but by [42:56] saying that they were parked with the [42:59] Assad, it means they they fought [43:01] because they were serving in the army, [43:03] they fought against the Sunni people, [43:05] the Sunni militias, which called the [43:08] rebels, which some of them today is a [43:09] part of the Ashar Jolani army. So, there [43:14] is uh [43:15] like a decades of hate between the Druze [43:19] and Sunni. It goes back to the [43:22] religious, how the Muslims, the Sunni [43:25] reflecting to the Druze, and it goes [43:27] back to the uh very close past about [43:30] that they remember that they were a part [43:32] of the government that they defeated [43:35] that they defeated them and humiliate [43:37] them. This is something that we know we [43:39] have to understand as introduction. And [43:41] by the way, I will say something else. [43:43] The Druze in Syria are located in three [43:45] different places. There is some that are [43:47] very close to the Israeli border, [43:49] literally living on the Israeli border [43:52] on the other side. However, the the [43:54] biggest uh number of [43:57] uh Druze living in a place called [43:59] Suwayda. It's on the border with Jordan. [44:01] It's 40 mi east to the Israeli border, [44:04] so it's It's so close. There is around [44:07] 600,000. This is the majority of the [44:10] Druze in Syria. [44:13] In this 600,000, not all of them are [44:16] agreed with the guy that's leading and [44:19] called to fight against the Julani. Some [44:22] of them calling let's be a part of the [44:24] of the this government. So, by [44:26] explaining that, I think that it's a [44:28] little bit more making understandable [44:30] the situation. Now, in Syria, a guy that [44:33] used to be the former commander of [44:35] Al-Qaeda, a jihadist, [44:38] which his army is from a lot of jihadist [44:41] people, become the president of Syria. [44:44] Some will claim it's democracy. By the [44:47] way, some will even claim that it is a [44:49] more democracy than in other countries [44:51] in the Middle East. Why? Because 70% of [44:56] Syrians are Sunnis. So, if it will be [44:58] elections, [45:00] probably by a democracy way, he will win [45:03] because the majority 10% is Alawite, 10% [45:07] is Druze, 10% is Kurds, and no Sunni guy [45:10] will fight against him. So, even like in [45:13] democracy, even we understand that it is [45:15] not democracy, of course, but this is [45:18] the claim that they will claim to the [45:19] Western world. Hey, this is democracy. [45:22] The [45:23] we are the majority and the majority [45:24] controls. Now, this guy, I remind you [45:28] already passed half before he [45:29] slaughtered the Druze, he slaughtered [45:31] the Alawite. Again, same situation. They [45:33] had they have a lot of bad blood between [45:36] them, and the world did nothing. [45:40] They raped, murdered, burned around [45:44] 2,000 Alawite. Nobody did anything. [45:50] As a prize, he was called to meet to the [45:52] president of the US, which said that he [45:55] is a handsome and very smart guy. [45:59] This is not the way to react in the [46:01] Middle East because from his point of [46:04] view Assad, he realized that he can [46:06] continue doing that instead of putting [46:10] in a very strong red line, putting more [46:13] sanctions for example, and maybe by this [46:16] way he will be let's say [46:19] more moderate. And then he continued to [46:21] do the Druze. In the Druze because the [46:24] the relationship to the Druze [46:27] in Israel Israel [46:29] made an action in Israel attacked there [46:31] Israel passed a lot of messages and he [46:34] stopped. Whether the situation of the [46:36] Druze today in Syria is better? No. [46:40] And why? Because there is like a siege [46:44] a quiet siege. It means [46:46] Assad realized and by the way he is a [46:47] very smart guy. You you cannot be [46:51] one of the [46:52] most five [46:54] >> [clears throat] [46:54] >> wanted most wanted guys to the CIA FBI [46:58] with a $10 million price on your head [47:00] and stay alive for years. He's a very [47:02] smart guy. He realized that if he will [47:04] do another massacre with the Druze, [47:06] Israel maybe will do what we threat. It [47:09] means that we will defeat him. We will [47:12] bomb his castle. [47:14] But what they are doing, they are [47:16] uh treating it in the Middle Eastern [47:19] way. [47:21] Simply with time. It means that if you [47:25] are now a person living in Sweida and [47:27] for example you are suffering from a [47:29] cancer, [47:30] you don't have hospital in Sweida. By [47:32] the way, they destroyed it. [47:35] What you need [47:36] is to be treated whether in Jordan, but [47:39] Jordan closed the border. There is an [47:40] agreement because this is two countries. [47:42] So Jordan will not allow any [47:45] Syrian resident especially the Druze to [47:48] cross to Jordan without the permission [47:50] of the Syrian authority. The Syrian [47:52] authority will not allow it. [47:54] Then you have the second choice to go to [47:56] be treated in your hometown in Damascus, [47:59] in Syria. [48:01] Now, again, it's not the US, it's not [48:03] Israel. [48:05] You will arrive there. [48:07] You will be be able to cross the siege [48:09] to to to pass away all those random [48:13] checkpoints and reach to the hospital. [48:16] The hospital will say, "Oh, you're from [48:17] Sweida. Yeah, we really really want to [48:19] treat you." It will take another 60 [48:21] months go back to your home. And this is [48:24] the situation. So, the the real [48:25] situation is bad. [48:28] What I claim to say that because they [48:31] were presented as collaborators and we [48:33] talk about the meaning of collaborator [48:36] because they were like shooting that [48:39] they are part of Israel, they were [48:40] raising the flag of Israel. So, some [48:42] Israelis were felt very very good. This [48:44] is not the way to react in the Middle [48:46] East. [48:47] When you did they did it, they drew [48:49] themselves as collaborators with Israel, [48:51] the situation is not simple and Israel [48:55] cannot help them now. We can supply some [48:58] medical aid, but again, when there isn't [49:00] military or terrorist activity activity [49:03] against them, so they're suffering. [49:06] And the end of the day, I do believe [49:08] that what they will need to do, what [49:10] they will be forced to do is to sign [49:12] something with the authorities. However, [49:14] they pay the price and for the long [49:17] range, they have been uh [49:21] called collaborators. This is something [49:23] that they will not be forgotten very [49:26] soon. So, the situation, in my opinion, [49:29] some of it is because Israel did some [49:31] mistakes, is even worse than it was [49:33] before. [49:38] >> Oh, wow. [49:39] Well, I have learned a bunch and [49:42] thoroughly enjoyed this conversation. [49:43] We're coming to the end of our time, [49:46] and our listeners need to get your book. [49:47] They need to get in touch with you. They [49:49] need to follow you. So, let folks know [49:52] uh your website is, how they can get a [49:54] hold of you, how they can follow along [49:56] on social media. [50:00] >> So, like Rabbi Pesach said, first of [50:02] all, if you want to read more, and I'm [50:04] writing almost on a daily base on [50:07] jns.org, [50:09] but the easiest way is to just follow my [50:12] Instagram. It's very simple, like it's [50:14] written here, LTC [50:16] Aldroulo, Lieutenant Colonel Aldroulo, [50:18] then you will see more. The book, [50:20] Embracing the Enemies, on Amazon, and I [50:23] really think that everybody everyone [50:25] need to read it, not just because not [50:28] because I wrote it, because first of [50:30] all, it's humanity, and then it also [50:33] teach you and giving you tools to learn [50:35] about hope, about trust, collaboration. [50:40] So, I do believe that it is very [50:42] interesting book, and I would love that [50:45] people will read it and follow me. And I [50:47] just want to say a huge thanks both [50:51] Rabbi Pesach and Victory for having me [50:54] in this show, and I'm really waiting to [50:57] host your delegation next time on the [50:59] northern border to see what you just [51:01] heard, to see it on your own eyes, the [51:04] borders. [51:07] >> Absolutely. It's been a pleasure having [51:09] you on, and I look forward to [51:11] seeing you the next time I'm in Israel. [51:16] Well, thank you for listening to today's [51:17] episode. If you enjoyed this episode, [51:19] please like, rate, and share this [51:20] podcast. Subscribe on Patreon, come on [51:22] over to Facebook, like our page, join [51:24] our group, as we would love to connect [51:26] with more and more of our Shoulder to [51:27] Shoulder family, and we'll see you on [51:28] our next episode.
