Transcript [00:00] So, Joe Rogan interviewed Gad Saad the [00:02] other day. The full interview is 2 and [00:03] 1/2 hours long. Don't worry, I'm not [00:05] going to be playing a 2 and 1/2 hour [00:06] video. [00:07] But, you know, Joe Rogan's kind of the [00:09] everyman. His attitudes, his opinions [00:12] tend to reflect the opinions of a lot of [00:15] regular Americans who, frankly, don't [00:17] know a whole lot about the issues that [00:19] they have opinions about. [00:21] And there was a 10-minute segment of [00:23] this interview that touched on a number [00:25] of issues that I want to talk about that [00:27] I really want to address some of the [00:29] some of what was raised by Joe and also [00:31] some of what was raised by Gad Saad. So, [00:33] I'm going to I'm going to break up this [00:35] segment. Uh but let's go ahead and and [00:38] see the first bit of [00:40] Joe Rogan and Gad Saad. Here we go. So, [00:43] the idea that ultimately all religions [00:46] are simply preaching the same [00:48] indistinguishable thing in slightly [00:50] different ways is simply not true. [00:53] But it feels good to think that, right? [00:55] It's empathetic for us to think that. We [00:57] should never speak amongst mixed company [00:59] about politics and religion. So, [01:01] therefore, if I start saying something [01:04] that might be [01:05] pejorative of another religion, that [01:07] feels icky. That feels gauche. [01:10] Right? And that's why, by the way, [01:12] earlier you mentioned that when we're [01:13] talking about this uh [01:15] when I asked you, are Americans more [01:17] likely now to talk openly about Islam? [01:19] You said, well, the Democrats are more [01:21] terrified to do so than the Republicans. [01:23] But even the Republicans are to some [01:25] extent suicidally empathetic because if [01:27] you watch even the ones who very [01:30] forcefully criticize Islam [01:34] as being incongruent with, you know, [01:36] American values, they'll always use lin- [01:39] linguistic coverage to protect Islam. [01:42] So, it's Islamism. Yes. [01:44] >> It's radical Islam. It's radical [01:47] >> agree with that? [01:48] No. No? Not at all. So, [01:50] uh [01:51] political Islam and Islamism [01:54] is a indelible, inherent feature of [01:57] Islam. Much of Islam is Islamism. So, if [02:01] you do a content analysis of all of the [02:05] canonical texts of Islam, which are the [02:08] Quran, the Hadith, the the deeds and the [02:11] sayings of Muhammad, and the Sira, which [02:13] is the biography of Muhammad, you could [02:16] do a quantitative analysis of how often [02:18] is it preaching brotherly love? How [02:21] often is it really concerned about the [02:23] infidels? How And so, Islam in its [02:26] nature is political. Why? There are many [02:29] reasons why, but let me just give you [02:31] one. And then, if you want to drill [02:32] down, we can do so. [02:34] Islam is a fully proselytizing language, [02:37] uh religion, meaning that it is [02:40] incumbent [02:42] in an ideal world to turn the entire [02:46] world into the one true faith. It is a [02:49] peaceful religion if by peaceful it [02:52] means the following. Eventually, [02:55] the entire globe, every millimeter of [02:58] the globe, will be united under the [03:00] unifying flag of Allah. [03:02] Now, let's take, for example, Judaism. [03:04] And it's not because I'm Jewish, but [03:06] it's just to compare. [03:07] Judaism is precisely the opposite. It is [03:11] It is an anti-proselytizing [03:13] language. You're not allowed to [03:15] proselytize. As a matter of fact, if you [03:18] proselytize, [03:19] let's say I try to convince you, Joe, [03:21] "You know, why don't you join the [03:22] tribe?" And you say, "You know what? I [03:24] think I'd like to." It's a grind. It's a [03:26] grind, exactly. [03:26] >> long haul. My uncle did it. Well, there [03:28] you go. Thank you. So, the it is [03:31] literally in the canons of Judaism to [03:33] try to dissuade the prospective convert [03:37] to coming into the fold because the the [03:40] idea is to have a costly signal of your [03:44] commitment, your your your religious [03:46] piety to want to join the group. So, it [03:49] is a grind. It's very hard. In Islam, [03:52] you just have to say the one [03:53] proclamation, the Shahada, one sentence, [03:56] and you're in. Now, try to get out, [03:58] there are apostasy laws against you [04:01] getting out. So, the the the circuitry [04:05] of Islam is one that is expansionist. [04:08] That's why you have 2 billion Muslims. [04:11] One out of every four human beings is [04:14] Muslim, and it only took 1,400 years for [04:16] that. So, from a marketing perspective, [04:18] as someone who studies consumer [04:20] behavior, Islam is a brilliant marketing [04:23] religion. It has found a way to get a [04:27] lot of customers and adherents. Judaism [04:30] sucks at marketing because the entire [04:33] circuitry of Judaism is meant to keep it [04:36] very, very small. And so, which one is [04:40] likely to lead to greater problems? The [04:43] one that is meant to ensure that all of [04:46] us become Muslim, or the one that says [04:48] even if your uncle wants to become [04:49] Jewish, [04:50] we're going to put the barriers so so [04:52] high that nobody will ever become [04:54] Jewish. So, we still have only 15 [04:56] million Jews, roughly, in the world, [04:58] almost the same as we had before the [05:00] Holocaust. So, Judaism sucks as a [05:03] marketing religion, Islam incredibly [05:05] successful. [05:08] Okay. [05:10] So, Gad Saad is a [05:12] is a is brilliant, uh and he makes a [05:15] good point here about Islam being [05:16] proselytizing and and expansionist. [05:19] But, I want to push back slightly on the [05:21] reason he gives for Islam being [05:23] inherently political. And he said [05:25] there's other reasons, but he's just [05:26] going to bring up one, so I'm sure he [05:28] would agree with what I'm saying. [05:31] Because it's easy to compare it to [05:32] Judaism and talk about proselytization, [05:34] but Christianity also proselytizes. [05:36] Christianity absol- absolutely wants [05:39] everyone in the world to accept Jesus. [05:41] That's the goal of Christianity. So, you [05:43] could say, well, Christianity might, by [05:45] that measure, the measure of [05:46] proselytizing, Christianity is just as [05:49] political as Islam, but Christianity is [05:51] not political. We don't consider [05:53] Christianity a political movement. It [05:55] doesn't behave that way. Why not? [05:57] Because the issue with Islam being [05:59] political is not that it seeks to [06:01] convince the world to accept their [06:04] faith. [06:05] It's that Islam seeks to govern the [06:07] world. [06:08] And that means govern everyone, [06:10] including those who don't accept their [06:12] faith. And that's why there's rules for [06:14] second-class citizenship for people of [06:15] other faiths. But the goal of Islam is [06:18] to govern the entire world, to bring the [06:20] entire world to heal, to submit to [06:23] Islam. [06:24] That's the distinction. [06:26] And I made this point before on this [06:28] channel. The goal of Islam, according to [06:30] its own theology, is [06:32] definitionally a political goal. It is [06:35] governance. It is rule. [06:38] So, under Islamic law, the non-believer [06:40] has two options. They could submit to [06:43] Islamic authority and pay a special tax [06:46] as a as a as a as a second-class [06:48] citizen, and there's all sorts of rules [06:50] about how they have to give respect to [06:52] Muslims, etc. Or they could they could [06:55] accept death. [06:57] Okay, that's not a faith mission. That's [06:58] a political mission. That's what makes [07:00] Islam categorically different from [07:02] Christianity and why I say Islam is a [07:04] political movement that happens that has [07:07] a religious dimension, has a religious [07:08] component to it, has a religious [07:11] uh infrastructure under it, but it's [07:12] it's not a religion. It is a political [07:15] movement, meaning in in practice, that's [07:17] what it seeks. [07:19] What it seeks is a political goal. [07:22] Uh so, it's not a religion that happens [07:24] to have political elements. It's the [07:25] reverse. Now, [07:28] with regard to Judaism, so God saw it as [07:30] right that Judaism does not proselytize, [07:32] that we discourage it, [07:34] uh that when people come to convert, we [07:36] we try to push them away, and then they [07:37] have to really show their commitment. [07:39] It's true. And he talks about it as a [07:41] test of commitment, which is true, but [07:43] there's another dimension worth adding [07:44] cuz [07:46] a Jew- Judaism's also non-expansionist [07:48] politically and territorially, [07:51] which is [07:53] a huge outlier when it comes to [07:55] religious ideas. Even in the Bible [07:57] itself, the nation of Israel is given a [08:00] land that has specific defined borders. [08:04] It's a very small piece of land, but has [08:05] very specific and defined borders. This [08:07] is your land and beyond it is not. [08:11] So, Judaism definitionally [08:13] has no goal of ruling over the world or [08:16] ruling over other people's lands. It has [08:19] no goal of world governance. It's the [08:20] opposite of Islam in every dimension, in [08:23] both faith, proselytizing, and in terms [08:25] of governance. [08:27] Okay, so why doesn't Judaism seek [08:28] converts? Cuz this is a question that [08:30] God doesn't address and you might and it [08:32] is one of the weirdest things about [08:33] Judaism, so strange. If you [08:36] think of it simply, if you believe that [08:39] your faith is the truth, [08:41] why aren't you trying to spread it with [08:43] the world? It seems kind of [08:45] obvious that every faith should be [08:47] proselytizing. Every faith should want [08:49] to seek other people, especially [08:50] Judaism, which is so tiny, has been so [08:52] persecuted over the centuries. Why Why [08:54] doesn't Judaism actively seek converts? [08:58] So, God Saadia talks about it as a [09:00] marketing failure because we have this [09:01] test of uh of of commitment, [09:04] but I'd like to frame it differently. [09:05] It's actually by design. [09:08] In Exodus chapter 19, right before the [09:11] the covenant at Mount Sinai, the giving [09:13] of the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai, [09:15] in the chapter before that, I mean, the [09:17] Ten Commandments are chapter 20 of [09:18] Exodus, so chapter 19, which is the prep [09:22] for the Ten Commandments, for the [09:23] revelation at Sinai, God refers to the [09:25] Jewish people, he says that he will make [09:28] them a kingdom of priests, mamlekhet [09:30] kohanim in Hebrew, a kingdom of priests. [09:33] Now, the word priest, kohen, doesn't [09:34] only refer to the family of Aaron, the [09:36] high priest, it's actually much much [09:38] more of a generic biblical word that [09:40] refers to people who serve in a [09:41] ministering priestly role. Even the For [09:44] example, even the pagan priests of Baal [09:46] are called Kohanim. It's the same word. [09:48] So, a kingdom of Mamlekhet Kohanim, a [09:50] kingdom of Kohanim, a kingdom of [09:53] priests, or in modern English we would [09:55] say a society of priests. So, what does [09:57] that mean? Doesn't mean that everyone's [09:59] clergy. [10:01] It means that there's a priestly role [10:04] that the nation of Israel is meant to [10:07] to play. Okay, so if the if the nation [10:09] of Israel are the priestly [10:11] a community, [10:13] who is the flock? Right? A priest [10:15] doesn't try to turn everyone else into [10:17] priests. A priest serves the flock. They [10:19] serve the congregation. They help the [10:21] congregation. They help the flock draw [10:24] closer to or they [10:26] you know, to the to the God, to the [10:28] deity that they're worshipping. They [10:29] help them in their worship. [10:32] So, when when Isaiah talks about the [10:33] nation of Israel as a light unto the [10:35] nations, when God tells Abraham to bring [10:37] blessing to all the families of the [10:38] earth and to teach all the families of [10:40] the earth justice and righteousness, but [10:41] he also makes a a a particular covenant [10:45] with the covenant of circumcision and [10:46] the covenant of law. He makes the [10:48] particular covenant with the nation of [10:49] Israel, but he wants the entire world to [10:53] to recognize the, you know, God's God's [10:56] values, God's morality. [10:58] That's the That's how Judaism defines [11:00] itself. Now, I'm not talking about [11:01] whether or not Judaism lives up to this [11:03] or whether we whether Judaism has been [11:05] successful in this That's a very [11:07] interesting conversation [11:09] uh about [11:10] to what extent we can interpret [11:13] the history of the Jewish people as a [11:14] success or failure in this regard. Okay, [11:16] that's a whole other topic. We're [11:18] talking about definitionally, how the [11:19] how the religion defines itself. [11:22] Okay? Judaism wants the entire world to [11:25] have faith in the God of the Bible. We [11:27] talk about objectives of religions, [11:29] right? The objective of Islam is to [11:30] govern the world. The objective of [11:32] Christianity is for everyone in the [11:34] world to accept Jesus. The objective of [11:37] Judaism is for the entire world to have [11:39] faith in the God of the Bible and to [11:41] embrace the values of the Bible, the [11:43] basic moral values of the Bible. Not to [11:46] become Jewish. The Jews are the catalyst [11:49] and they're meant to play a central role [11:51] and they're the priestly nation meant to [11:53] help the world draw closer to God. Okay, [11:55] that's not So, it's not bad marketing. [11:57] It's just a completely different [11:59] mission. And that's what the Jewish [12:01] mission is. That's what uh little just a [12:03] little bit there that God saw I think uh [12:06] missed. Let's get back to the clip and [12:07] now we'll watch the the second half [12:10] of what I wanted to share with you. [12:13] In this country, the concern with [12:15] Judaism is the support of the Israeli [12:18] military. Right. [12:20] >> That's the concern. The concern is the [12:22] amount of influence that it has on the [12:24] United States government, how we got [12:26] into the Iran war, why we give them so [12:30] much influence over our military, over [12:33] our decision-making, [12:35] over our politicians. I mean, AIPAC [12:38] famously [12:40] promotes and supports a tremendous [12:43] amount of politicians in the United [12:44] States. That's that's the big fear is [12:47] that there's there's an inordinate [12:48] amount of influence that Israel has over [12:51] foreign policy, our our decisions, [12:55] and even our political structure in the [12:57] country. Right. [12:59] Several ways to tackle this. Say the [13:02] Iran war. Take Israel out of it. Do you [13:05] think that the Do you think there are [13:07] multiple countries that would share in [13:11] the recognition that probably uh [13:15] Iranian regime that hasn't [13:18] uh eschatology that basically says the [13:20] end of times requires that there is sort [13:23] of death to everybody before the final [13:26] uh you know [13:28] Imam comes back. [13:30] Would it be a good idea for the Brits or [13:33] the Romanians or the French or some of [13:36] the other the Gulf countries would they [13:39] be happy if Iran had a nuclear weapon? [13:42] So to to to frame the issue of the US is [13:46] attacking or is involved in the attack [13:49] on the Iranians as you know the United [13:52] States doesn't have personal agency. [13:54] They're all crickets that being [13:56] puppeteered by this incredibly powerful [13:59] lobby called Israel. That simply doesn't [14:02] pass the smell test. Of course Israel [14:05] has shared interests with the United [14:07] States as most allies would where they [14:09] both agree that probably an Iranian [14:11] regime that has nuclear weapons should [14:14] would not be a good thing for world [14:16] peace. And so because these two [14:18] countries have maybe greater testicular [14:20] fortitude than the NATO countries, it [14:23] seems as though the the Israelis are [14:25] puppeteering the [14:27] the Americans. But do you really think [14:29] that Donald Trump is sitting and saying [14:31] you know had I not been such a weak guy [14:34] with no personal agency I wouldn't have [14:36] fallen sway to the incredibly [14:39] influential Zionist lobby? Well, it's [14:41] not just incredibly influential. It's [14:43] the amount of financial support they [14:45] gave his candidacy. [14:47] And again all the different politicians [14:50] that are beholden to Israel. That's the [14:51] concern that a lot of people on the [14:54] right and on the left have here in [14:56] America. [14:57] So I Most people in America do not [15:00] support this war. [15:01] It's the the the large percentage of [15:04] people think it was a bad idea. What are [15:06] your what are your thoughts? I don't [15:07] think it's a good idea. But I well [15:08] because first of all it doesn't seem to [15:10] have a clear resolution, right? It's [15:13] like [15:14] we went over there because we were told [15:17] that they were very close to developing [15:20] a nuclear weapon. But if you paid [15:21] attention to what Netanyahu has said [15:23] over the last few decades, it's always [15:26] been they're a year away, they're 2 [15:28] months away, they're whatever it is. I [15:29] mean, he's been doing this forever. Ever [15:31] since he spoke at the UN and had that [15:34] giant cartoon bomb. Remember the the [15:36] Looney Tunes bomb? Yeah, yeah, [15:38] yeah, when he spoke at the UN. I [15:39] remember that. [15:41] >> enrichment of uranium. [15:42] He's wanted this for a long time. [15:45] There's also a deep concern that he is [15:48] only in office because of the war. And [15:51] he has corruption charges in Israel. And [15:54] that in order for him to stay in power [15:56] and for him to avoid going to trial, he [15:59] has to continue war. [16:02] Can I comment on that? [16:04] >> Sure. [16:04] >> Yeah. [16:06] Let's suppose you go to see your [16:08] physician and your physician says, "Hey, [16:10] Joe, God forbid, it looks like your [16:12] blood sugar is very high and I'm going [16:14] to classify you as now, never mind [16:16] pre-diabetic, I think you're diabetic. [16:18] And if we don't manage your sugar [16:21] levels, there will come a day where I [16:24] can tell you exactly what's going to [16:25] happen. We're going to have to amputate [16:27] your extremities. You're probably going [16:29] to lose your eyesight. You're probably [16:31] going to have sexual dysfunction and [16:32] you're probably going to have some [16:34] cardiovascular incident. [16:36] That doesn't happen on day two of you [16:39] having been diagnosed with diabetes. [16:41] Like, there is a trajectory and at some [16:43] point, there'll be a tipping point where [16:46] until then, none of the diabetes [16:49] complications happened. And why am I [16:51] saying all this? [16:52] Because I I can't comment as to whether [16:55] he's been lying all the times when he [16:56] said it's there's 2 more years left or 1 [16:59] more year or 6 more months. [17:01] But, surely we can grant the American uh [17:05] government enough leeway to presume that [17:09] if they thought that at this point, it's [17:11] the right time and it is now intolerable [17:14] for them to go another day with the [17:15] current reality, that they probably had [17:18] some intelligence that suggests that [17:20] they are close. So, I can't comment [17:22] whether [17:23] Netanyahu was pulling our eyes, but [17:25] surely it can't be that the Israelis are [17:28] so manipulative in their puppeteering [17:31] that they've pulled the wool over the [17:32] American eyes and really there's no [17:34] danger that the Iranians were posing and [17:37] we've convinced the Americans to go to [17:38] war. Do you think that it it is that? [17:41] Well, I wouldn't say there's no danger, [17:43] right? So, here's here's one thing that [17:45] we do know. They had said that their [17:48] missiles could only reach a certain [17:50] distance. That proved to not be true [17:54] because of the Diego Garcia missile [17:56] launch, right? So, they they have [17:58] missiles that are capable of reaching [18:00] Europe. And that was not something they [18:03] had said before. Um we know that they [18:05] have enriched their uranium beyond what [18:08] they need for nuclear power. [18:10] >> Right. And that they're within striking [18:13] distance of developing a nuclear weapon. [18:16] Right. [18:17] But wasn't it true that they had put [18:21] See, this is it's hard to know as me as [18:23] a person sitting on a podcast studio in [18:26] Texas exactly what their ruling had [18:30] been. But that they had only done this [18:34] in order to [18:35] avoid the possibility of them being [18:38] attacked. That they would get close to a [18:40] nuclear weapon so at least it would [18:45] it would deter some some potential [18:47] attacks on them. And that [18:51] they were doing this out of [18:52] self-interest. [18:53] Um [18:55] Okay, we'll stop it there. That's a good [18:57] place to stop it. [18:59] And [19:00] yeah, we might as well just pull it down [19:02] also. [19:03] Okay. [19:05] Let's take these points one at a time. [19:07] So, first of all, [19:09] on the issue of Israel controlling [19:11] Trump, [19:12] Which is the overarching point [19:15] that that Joe wants to make here. Israel [19:18] controls the US government. Israel [19:19] controls Trump. The claim that the US is [19:22] in this war [19:23] because Israel [19:25] you know, has some [19:27] has some blackmail leverage over Trump [19:30] or controls Trump or pulled the wool [19:31] over his eyes or Trump didn't really [19:33] want to do this, but was pressured. [19:37] It requires you to believe something [19:40] that I that I it's impossible for me to [19:42] believe. And that is that Donald Trump [19:45] who is [19:47] perhaps the most transparent politician [19:50] in American history. [19:52] He tells you exactly how he feels about [19:55] everyone. I mean, he telegraphs how he [19:57] feels about people all the time. [20:00] And that somehow he's this brilliant [20:02] actor [20:04] who's secretly you know, he he's doing [20:07] Israel's bidding while concealing it [20:10] completely and very casually lying and [20:13] saying [20:15] I mean, is he really that good at [20:18] concealing what he really feels? If he [20:20] felt that his arm was being twisted by [20:21] the Israelis or they didn't really want [20:23] to do this. [20:25] Somehow he's concealing all of that in [20:27] every single press conference. He talks [20:29] about this issue every single day and [20:30] he's always concealed that and just [20:32] praises Bibi every chance he gets and [20:34] talks about how close the partnership is [20:36] and how [20:37] and his conviction about about about or [20:40] Iran not having a nuclear weapon and [20:41] that it's all it's all a show and that [20:44] somehow this incredibly transparent [20:47] blunt person on this one issue is really [20:51] really good at being so deceptive and is [20:53] a great actor. [20:56] Trump has been publicly hawkish on Iran [20:58] since 1988. There's this famous clip of [21:01] him from from the 80s saying that Iran [21:05] has been making America look like fools [21:06] and if they fired one shot at one of our [21:08] ships, we should go in and take their [21:10] oil. He talks about Kharg Island. That's [21:12] it's it's almost 40 years ago. Trump's [21:14] position on Iran has is has never [21:16] changed. [21:20] And it's not something the Israelis put [21:22] in his head. [21:23] It's been his position his entire life. [21:26] Now on the issue of the money that oh, [21:27] the US spends all this money in Israel [21:29] and I've talked about this many times. [21:32] Yes, Israel receives $3.8 billion in US [21:34] military aid and annually and that [21:36] sounds like a lot and officially they [21:38] are the largest recipient of annual aid. [21:41] But look at what the US spends [21:42] everywhere else. The US has massive [21:44] military bases in just to just to take [21:47] the Middle East, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, [21:49] Iraq, Syria, Cyprus. [21:51] And then in Europe, Germany, all across [21:53] Europe, there are bases everywhere and [21:55] there are no US bases in Israel. [21:57] None. [21:58] Because Israel doesn't need US bases. It [22:01] fights for itself. Now if you add up the [22:03] costs of running those bases, the [22:06] personnel, the equipment, those bases [22:08] dwarf the $3.8 billion that Israel gets, [22:11] but [22:13] the $3.8 billion that Israel receives is [22:15] listed as [22:16] aid. [22:18] The bases across Europe and the Gulf and [22:20] the other parts of the Middle East are [22:22] listed as defense spending. So yes, [22:25] technically Israel gets the most aid, [22:26] but if we look at the footprint, the [22:28] amount of money that is spent by the US [22:32] on military expenditures in other [22:34] countries, [22:36] Israel's probably not even in the top [22:37] 10. [22:39] It's just different labels on the money. [22:43] So when you look at it honestly, [22:44] Israel's a remarkably cost effective [22:46] ally and if you look at the money as [22:48] some sort of evidence of Israel [22:49] controlling the US government, again, [22:51] compare it to the money that the US is [22:52] spending on other nations. [22:54] It's not even close. [22:57] And then Rogan brings up this point [22:59] about Netanyahu [23:00] crying wolf about Iran's nuclear program [23:03] where the oh he's been saying for so [23:04] many years that they're that you know [23:06] it's always a year away and this goes on [23:08] and he brings up what his famous speech [23:10] at the UN with the picture of the bomb [23:12] and he's always talking about I mean [23:13] like for what for 10 years already or [23:14] more we keep hearing how close they are [23:16] to the bomb [23:17] and a lot of people roll their eyes at [23:19] this but here's here's what Joe Rogan's [23:21] skepticism [23:23] ignores. [23:25] It's not just Joe Rogan again as I said [23:26] at the beginning of this video Joe [23:28] Rogan's kind of the avatar for how a lot [23:31] of Americans think. [23:35] It's never occurred to him [23:37] that the reason that it kept taking [23:38] longer for Iran to get close to a bomb [23:41] over all those years [23:43] longer than Netanyahu's prediction when [23:45] he held up that bomb picture is because [23:47] Israel kept slowing it down. [23:50] Throughout all those years [23:52] but you have to pay attention to know [23:54] this. [23:55] There have been assassinations of [23:56] nuclear scientists there were Stuxnet [23:59] and other cyber operations Israel [24:02] famously stole the entire Iranian [24:05] nuclear archive there have been sabotage [24:07] operations [24:09] going on throughout long before these [24:11] last you know the war of you know the [24:12] current war and the war this past June. [24:14] Israel's been running sabotage [24:16] operations on the Iranian nuclear [24:18] program for a long time decades long [24:21] covert operations to set back Iran's [24:25] nuclear advances. [24:27] So the timeline kept getting pushed back [24:29] because of those operations but the [24:31] Iranians kept getting building work [24:32] arounds building underground facilities [24:34] etc. [24:36] So the fact that Netanyahu's been saying [24:38] for so long that they're close to a [24:40] nuclear weapon and oh you know it's like [24:41] it's like the boy who cried wolf that is [24:43] a misunderstanding. It's not that the [24:45] evidence of the threat was exaggerated. [24:49] Okay I hope that was clear. [24:52] You know but Rogan's got this thing like [24:54] you know that why this war why now? [24:59] And he brings up this premise, [25:01] which is the main premise you hear in [25:03] the opposition to the war, that the [25:05] premise was that this was a war to stop [25:07] an imminent nuclear weapon. But that's a [25:10] straw man. [25:12] And it requires you to not actually [25:14] listen to what the administration says. [25:18] Secretary of State Marco Rubio has been [25:20] clear about this from the beginning of [25:22] the war, that the issue was not the [25:24] imminence of Iran having a nuclear [25:26] weapon. The issue was Iran's ballistic [25:28] missile program, [25:31] because Iran was producing had ramped up [25:32] production to over 100 ballistic [25:35] missiles per month, and that they ramped [25:37] it up after the 12-day war, meaning the [25:39] relief that they got after the 12-day [25:40] war, they did not use to make life [25:42] better for their people. They used it to [25:44] ramp up their ballistic missile program. [25:47] And they were ramping up the number of [25:49] missiles they were producing per month, [25:51] and they were ramping up the range of [25:52] those missiles. So, the danger, as Marco [25:55] Rubio said, the danger was that once the [25:57] program reached a sufficient scale, the [26:00] ballistic missile program reached a [26:01] sufficient scale, it would provide a [26:04] defensive shield, an umbrella, under [26:07] which Iran could pursue nuclear weapons [26:09] without any ability to stop them. That's [26:12] the problem. The problem isn't how close [26:13] they were to a nuclear weapon. The [26:15] problem is how close they were to [26:16] creating a ballistic missile umbrella to [26:19] shield them from any attempt to stop [26:22] them from making nuclear weapon. [26:24] Okay? That's That's the issue here that [26:26] he misses. [26:27] And that That's why the war had to [26:29] happen now because that they had to act [26:30] before that window closed, the ballistic [26:32] missile cover window. [26:34] Now, regarding that point he says about [26:36] Netanyahu staying in power [26:38] to avoid going to trial. Now, this is [26:40] just he has no clue about Israeli [26:43] politics. Like he says that Netanyahu's [26:45] only in power because of the war. It [26:46] kind of In his mind, he's kind of [26:48] comparing it to Zelenskyy, who in [26:49] Ukraine canceled elections [26:52] because of the war, used the war as [26:53] cover to cancel elections. Now, [26:55] Netanyahu is [26:58] he was elected prime minister and the [26:59] term [27:00] hasn't finished yet and it's going to [27:03] finish soon and there are going to be [27:04] elections in Israel this fall. So, he's [27:06] just It's not that he's staying in power [27:08] because of the war. [27:10] It's not like one has nothing to do with [27:12] the other. Not staying in power cuz of [27:13] the war. He's staying in power because [27:14] he's serving a term as prime minister [27:16] that he was elected to serve and the [27:18] term isn't over yet. [27:20] And I mean the bigger issue with saying [27:23] that he's saying he's he's keeping the [27:25] war going to stay in power to avoid [27:27] going on trial for corruption. Here's [27:29] the problem, Joe Rogan. Netanyahu has [27:31] been on trial throughout much of this [27:33] war. [27:35] In the recent months, the recent year, [27:37] he has spent many days in court for [27:40] those exact trials. Those trials are [27:41] ongoing. [27:43] He is literally on trial right now. [27:46] So, if the theory is that he's [27:47] prolonging the war to avoid prosecution, [27:50] that's not working [27:51] cuz the trial's actually happening. [27:54] So, the theory doesn't hold up against [27:55] the basic facts. But but Joe Rogan [27:57] doesn't know anything about Israeli [27:58] politics, but he has a big platform, so [28:00] he spouts things out of his mouth. He [28:01] doesn't know what he's talking about. [28:04] Now, his last point that he makes in [28:05] that clip, [28:06] that that maybe that he heard that Iran [28:09] was pursuing weapons to serve as you [28:12] know, for self-defense to prevent them [28:13] from being attacked. Now, a lot of [28:14] countries have nuclear weapons and they [28:17] have them for that reason. It prevents [28:19] them from being attacked, right? The [28:21] reason that you can't unseat [28:23] Kim Jong-un from North Korea, who's one [28:25] of the most brutal [28:27] dictators in the world, terrorizes his [28:29] own people. [28:31] The punishment for for becoming [28:33] Christian in that country is routinely [28:35] death. I mean, the reason we can't get [28:36] rid of him is cuz he has a nuclear [28:38] weapon. [28:39] But he's not about to fire it at anyone [28:41] because he doesn't have a goal [28:43] of destroying the world. [28:46] So, Rogan is kind of and a lot of people [28:48] say this like well how dangerous could [28:50] it be for Iran to have a nuclear weapon? [28:51] Look, Pakistan's a Muslim country, they [28:52] have a nuclear weapon. [28:54] But, they miss the point. [28:57] See, this framing [28:59] assumes that Iran is like everyone else. [29:02] Even even the bad actors with nuclear [29:04] weapons aren't about to use them. So, we [29:05] kind of think oh, there's no big deal if [29:07] another bad actor gets one, right? [29:08] Russia's got nuclear weapons, they're [29:10] not good guys. North Korea, they're not [29:12] good guys. Pakistan, hm, they're not so [29:14] great. They all have nuclear weapons and [29:16] it's not a threat. So, that's why in [29:17] people's minds even the threat of [29:19] nuclear [29:20] doesn't seem so outlandish to them. [29:24] But, [29:27] the Iranians don't want nuclear weapons [29:30] to prevent their regime from being [29:32] brought down. [29:35] Because that would assume that the [29:36] ideology of the regime [29:39] is [29:40] a normal self-preservation ideology. [29:44] But, again, even though Gadi Sa'id [29:46] mentioned it here, I guess it just went [29:48] over Rogan's head or he ignored it. The [29:50] ruling clerics of Iran are Twelver [29:52] Shiite Muslims. Their eschatology, [29:55] right, their theology of the end times [29:58] is that the Mahdi, their messianic [30:00] figure, the 12th Imam, is summoned to [30:03] the world by bringing the world to a [30:06] point of apocalyptic chaos. Okay? This [30:09] is how they This is their faith. Like if [30:11] you're a Christian, you believe that [30:13] Jesus is going to come back and [30:14] everyone's going to have faith in Jesus, [30:15] whatever it is. Like their eschatology [30:17] is that the Mahdi comes into the world, [30:19] but what summons him into the world? [30:22] Their Messiah figure, what summons him [30:25] is the apocalypse. [30:27] And that they're supposed to, and this [30:29] is what makes this particular brand of [30:31] Shiite Muslim [30:32] so insane. [30:34] This this goes back to the Ayatollah [30:36] Khomeini. Their [30:38] belief is that they they bring the [30:40] Messiah, they bring the Mahdi by [30:43] destroying the world, by bringing the [30:45] world to apocalypse. [30:47] So, they are not [30:49] building nuclear weapons to deter [30:53] attacks from other countries. [30:55] This is their theology. Now, you could [30:57] say that they don't really mean it. I [30:59] don't know what evidence you have for [31:00] that. [31:03] And that's a risk that I'm not willing [31:04] to take. [31:07] But this is why every other [31:10] nuclear power in the world is governed [31:12] by a logic that is completely different. [31:14] They're governed by the mutually assured [31:16] destruction deterrence logic, but that [31:18] does not apply [31:20] to the Iranian regime. You know, there's [31:22] a lot more I could say about this Joe [31:23] Rogan uh clip and many more clips. Uh I [31:26] mean, I I could probably do a whole [31:28] series of videos on this interview [31:30] because they [31:31] they touched on a lot of topics that are [31:33] worth talking about. Maybe I'll do [31:34] another one. [31:35] But for now, we'll leave it there. I [31:36] hope you enjoyed this. I hope you found [31:38] it interesting. Please like, share, [31:40] subscribe, all that great stuff. Please [31:42] tell people about this channel. Uh word [31:43] of mouth is the is the best way for [31:45] things to spread, and I'm very grateful [31:46] to all of you for helping grow the [31:48] channel. Make sure you're subscribed not [31:49] only to this channel, but to Israel 365 [31:51] News, and that you're receiving our [31:53] newsletters. [31:54] Um and uh I'll have some I'll have some [31:56] news in the coming days about some some [31:58] upcoming events that I want to tell you [32:00] about, but we'll leave it there for now. [32:01] God bless.
