Transcript [00:00] you see that people like Emanuel Macron [00:02] were uh in favor of us giving up more [00:05] land and giving up more control to the [00:08] so-called Palestinian Authority which is [00:09] just a gateway drug to kamas. So Emanuel [00:12] Mcronone was one of those people pushing [00:13] for Palestine in our land. Well, lo and [00:16] behold, there's a Palestinian flag over [00:18] the Eiffel Tower. simply put is the only [00:20] party that is out there challenging [00:23] jihadism [00:25] uh and and and stopping Paris Tel Aviv [00:29] from becoming a Paris. Okay. And [00:31] Jerusalem from becoming a Paris. Welcome [00:33] to this episode of Shouldertoshoulder, a [00:35] podcast where a pastor and a rabbi get [00:36] to the heart of issues that matter to [00:38] people of faith. I'm Pastor Doug Reed [00:40] here with my friend Rabbi Pesak Wiki. [00:42] And on this episode, Pesak and I will be [00:44] having a conversation with Yishi Fleer. [00:48] He is running for Knesset and you are [00:51] going to want to hear what he has to [00:52] say. Before we jump into our [00:55] conversation, please like our Facebook [00:56] page and join our Facebook group, the [00:58] Shoulder-to-Ser Community, where you can [01:00] interact with Pesak and me all week [01:01] long. The best way to support this [01:03] podcast is to go on over to Patreon, [01:05] subscribe to Shouldertoshoulder. For [01:07] just $10 a month, you're helping us [01:09] bring this message of [01:10] shoulder-to-shoulder to more and more [01:12] people all around the world. As a thank [01:14] you for your $10 subscription, you're [01:16] getting exclusive access to chapterby [01:17] chapter Bible study beginning in Genesis [01:20] chapter 1 from Rabbi Pesak and myself. [01:22] So go on over to Patreon, subscribe to [01:24] Shouldertoshoulder for just $10 a month. [01:27] We're grateful for our sponsor, Israel [01:28] 365 News, which is the place for you to [01:30] go and get your news and information [01:32] before going to anyone else. Go on over [01:34] to israel365news.com [01:37] to check out some of their articles. And [01:38] be sure to read Rabbi Peso and my [01:40] columns. PESOC. Each and every week, [01:43] Israel 365 has incredible initiatives [01:46] and products happening on their website [01:48] that we need to go and support and [01:50] purchase. What are we promoting today? [01:54] Well, Doug, this week we're talking [01:55] about a book, a new book that Israel 365 [01:58] has published called the Pro-Israel [02:00] Handbook. The Pro-Israel Handbook. If [02:03] you want to equip yourself with the [02:04] facts to defend Israel, the genocide [02:07] claims, other claims about Israel [02:10] stealing Palestinian land. If you want [02:12] to know the answers to the most frequent [02:15] challenges and the most frequently cited [02:17] lies about Israel in one handy short [02:20] book, you want the pro-Israel handbook. [02:24] We will put a link in the description of [02:26] this video and uh you can click that [02:29] link and just put in the word handbook [02:33] 15 and you'll get 15% off of your copy. [02:36] So, it's the Pro Israel Handbook on sale [02:38] at Israel 365 right now. [02:43] That sounds like an important book that [02:45] you should go and pick up. So, stop by [02:47] and make sure you get your copy today. [02:50] Well, Pesak, we missed you last week. I [02:52] had uh Marcos on who's our new Brazil [02:55] director for Eagle's Wings. So exciting [02:58] uh to hear his journey and story uh of [03:01] the last year. So if you missed that [03:02] episode, go back and uh check it out. [03:04] But we missed you. But you were on a [03:07] little vacation. You were enjoying the [03:10] London skyline, Big Ben. Did you have [03:14] tea with the Queen? What were you doing [03:16] in London? How was it? [03:18] >> Oh, London was wonderful. It was the [03:19] first vacation my wife and I took in [03:21] many years. We certainly weren't going [03:23] to go on vacation with our kids uh you [03:24] know fighting on the front lines. And [03:26] right now it for the first time in many [03:28] years I have no I have no kids in the [03:29] army. So we decided to uh to get away [03:32] for a few days and we went to London. We [03:34] had a private tour of the House of [03:36] Commons of the Parliament by a friend of [03:38] mine Peter Mana who works uh he's the [03:40] chief of staff for one of the members of [03:42] the House of Lords. We visited a lot of [03:44] art museums. But we went to a flea [03:47] market, Doug, and I found something [03:49] unbelievable. And I'm going to hold it [03:51] up here. For people who are watching on [03:52] YouTube, you can see uh you can see this [03:54] little pin that I bought. So, I was in [03:57] we were in this flea market in London. [03:58] My wife likes to go to flea markets, so [04:00] she had looked up where there was one. [04:02] And the first day we were there, [04:03] >> and there was someone selling all sorts [04:05] of little trinkets, [04:07] and I noticed a a monora, a gold manora [04:11] in a little box. And I held it up and I [04:13] looked really closely and under the [04:15] manora it says the word kadima which [04:18] means onward or forward. [04:22] So I took a picture of it and I looked [04:26] up what it was what this picture was [04:29] and this is an authentic pin of the [04:34] Judean Brigade of the Jewish Legion of [04:37] the British Army. Now let me explain [04:39] what this was. in World War I when [04:42] [clears throat] the British were [04:43] fighting against the Ottoman Empire [04:45] besides also fighting against you know [04:47] the Germans. The Germans and the Turks [04:48] were allied in World War I. And it was [04:51] during that time that the Ottoman the [04:53] Ottoman Empire got basically dissolved [04:56] and destroyed. And over here in this [04:59] part of the world in Israel in what was [05:01] then the British called Palestine, the [05:04] Arabs called it southern Syria. this [05:06] whole region of the Ottoman Empire, the [05:09] Jewish Legion fought to push the [05:13] Ottomans out to essentially liberate [05:15] Israel, to liberate the land of Israel [05:18] from the Ottomans. They fought in the [05:19] British army. And the the soldiers in it [05:21] were not only Jews from Britain, they [05:23] were actually Jews from all over Europe [05:25] who joined the Jewish brigade. And then [05:27] after World War I ended and the Ottoman [05:30] Empire was done, the Judean Legion, [05:33] which was still part of the British [05:35] army, stayed in Israel and they defended [05:38] the Jewish settlements. This is before [05:40] the Jewish underground and what's you [05:41] know the Hagan, the Urggon, and the [05:43] Jewish and the Jewish militias. There [05:45] was actually a British a a a segment of [05:48] the British military that defended the [05:51] Jewish towns against Arab raids. They [05:54] then when the British decided that they [05:56] didn't want to be doing that anymore, it [05:58] was the personnel and the leadership of [05:59] this Jewish brigade, this Judean Brigade [06:02] that became the leadership of the of [06:06] what became the Jewish underground and [06:07] the Jewish militias that protected [06:09] Jewish settlement in the land of Israel, [06:11] which ultimately became the IDF after [06:14] the state of Israel was founded. But [06:17] this Jewish legion, here's the crazy [06:19] thing, Doug. This Jewish legion, [06:22] >> if you think about it, going all the way [06:24] back to temple times, going all the way [06:25] back to the last time there was a Jewish [06:27] there was a Jewish uh nation state in [06:30] the land of Israel thousands of years [06:32] ago until the Jewish Legion. This was [06:34] the first time that you had Jews who [06:37] were a fighting force [06:40] conquering and defending the Jewish the [06:43] land of Israel. and it was formed by the [06:47] British and this is an authentic pin of [06:51] the Jewish Legion. So I picked this up. [06:53] I thought it was just an amazing little [06:54] piece of history that was on sale there [06:56] at this flea market [06:57] >> and really it made me it I mean I [07:00] started thinking about like what my kids [07:01] have been doing for the last few years [07:03] defending the land of Israel and how in [07:05] the modern history of the Jewish [07:07] settlement in the land of Israel and all [07:09] everything that happened with the fall [07:10] of the Ottoman Empire and the British [07:11] come in and the Balffor declaration that [07:13] ultimately leads to this influx of [07:15] Jewish settlement and then and uh and [07:17] all of the fighting that and and defense [07:20] that had to go on for decades in order [07:22] to secure that Jewish settlement and [07:23] this is a very important piece of that [07:25] story. So, it was a great opportunity to [07:27] get a hold of of a piece of that story, [07:30] a piece of history, this authentic pin. [07:32] It's not for sale. This is not an Israel [07:34] 365 pitch. I'm not selling it. I'm going [07:36] to hold on to this for the rest of my [07:37] life. [07:38] >> But this is a uh Yeah, that's what this [07:40] is. It is a Jewish Legion pin from World [07:44] War I. [07:45] >> Very cool. That is that is awesome. And [07:48] and you had a good time with your wife. [07:50] You got lots of tours and art museums, [07:51] which is good. I hope you're refreshed [07:53] and we're glad to have you back with us [07:56] on Shouldertoshoulder. Uh let's get to [07:58] our guest. We got lots to discuss. [08:00] Israel has an election coming up. So [08:02] Pesak, why don't you bring in Yishi now? [08:04] >> Thank you very much, Doug. Yes, it is my [08:06] honor to bring on to the podcast to [08:08] welcome to the podcast my good friend [08:10] Yishi Fleger. Yishi serves as the [08:12] international spokesman for the Jewish [08:14] community of Hebrron of Hevron. He's [08:17] also a city councilman in the city of [08:19] Ephrat. And he is, as we mentioned, he [08:22] is currently on the slate on the Knesset [08:24] slate of the Otsma Hudit party led by [08:27] Itamar Bengai. [08:29] Welcome to the shoulder-to-shoulder [08:30] podcast. [08:31] >> Thank you, gentlemen. Thank you, Doug. [08:33] Thank you, Ra Pasel. Great to be with [08:34] you, Pastor Doug. Thanks so much. So [08:36] Isha, before we get into all the current [08:38] stuff and and your work now and what's [08:40] happening with the election, which is [08:42] just really a few days away, I'd like [08:45] you to just let our our viewers know, [08:47] our listeners know who is Flecher, like [08:50] you know, where how were you raised, [08:52] where do you come from? And uh how did [08:55] you get to where you are today? What's [08:56] your story? [08:58] >> Well, thank you for asking. Um, I was [09:01] born to Russian Jewish parents who made [09:03] it out of the Soviet Union in the early [09:06] '7s and we lived in Kyifa. We were not [09:09] observant. We were not we were not Torah [09:11] observant at the time. Uh, and then my [09:14] parents moved down to America for work [09:17] reasons when I was 8. Uh, thank God many [09:20] years later we're all here reunited in [09:22] the land of Israel. But I did grow up uh [09:25] from 8 till 17 in New Jersey. Um, and I [09:29] went to high school in New Jersey. We [09:30] became more observant. Uh, that's [09:32] sometimes what happens when when you [09:34] leave Israel, you look for Jewish [09:36] community and then you come to through [09:38] Kabad and others came closer to what we [09:41] call Yiddishai, Judaism and observancy. [09:44] And [snorts] then um when I was [09:46] [clears throat] 17, I really yearned to [09:48] get back to the land of Israel and uh I [09:51] wanted to go to the army. I wanted to go [09:52] to yeshiva. And I came to Israel by [09:55] myself. I made what's called aliyah. I I [09:57] I went up to the land of Israel. I [09:59] immigrated to land of Israel by myself. [10:01] I was here for 4 years in the land. Uh I [10:04] was uh I was in yeshiva. I studied [10:06] Judaism. I studied Torah and Talmud. And [10:08] then from there I moved uh there I went [10:11] to the army to the IDF to the [10:12] paratroopers. I was injured in a [10:14] roadside bomb. Kuzbalah almost took me [10:16] out uh when I was in the army serving in [10:19] Lebanon. Uh and then um after 4 years of [10:23] being here by myself, my father came and [10:25] he said, "Yes, come back to America. [10:27] Your brother and sister are growing up [10:28] without you. Please, please join us in [10:30] the land of in in the United States." [10:32] And I went back. I went to Yeshiva [10:34] University, which is in upper Manhattan [10:37] and New York City. And then uh to [10:39] Cordova Law School, which is also part [10:41] of the Yeshiva University family. And um [10:45] in the meantime I I started thinking to [10:48] myself how strange it is that Jews in [10:51] New York of which there are you know a [10:53] few million uh are not considering [10:56] moving to the land of Israel especially [10:58] students like what's stopping a student [11:01] after being in yeshiva university from [11:03] thinking about going to the land of [11:05] Israel they're Jewish [11:07] they believe in God they should um you [11:09] know be part of this great in gathering [11:11] and so I started an organization called [11:13] Kuma [11:14] which means arise and arise also stood [11:18] for Americans return to Zion and the [11:21] idea was is that we'd start promoting [11:23] the idea of aliyah. Well, we did that [11:25] for a while and then um we we we did all [11:28] kinds of activism. We marched in [11:30] parades, we made pins, we did all kinds [11:32] of stuff to get that consciousness [11:33] going. [snorts] Uh and then [11:36] uh after after finishing law school, [11:39] actually in in the middle of law school, [11:40] I I I met a girl that I liked and we [11:44] were both uh she was pro-Israel and I [11:46] was Zionist. Uh and I I I converted her [11:49] to Zionism, which was to really build up [11:51] the land of Israel. She actually taught [11:53] me the distinction. My wife Mala taught [11:55] me the distinction between pro-Israel [11:56] and Zionist. Pro-Israel is people who [11:58] support Israel, who think it's a good [12:00] idea. And Zionists are people want to [12:01] build the land of Israel, who really [12:03] want to see it, you know, flourish and [12:05] make it happen. Yeah, it's actually an [12:07] important distinction because there's [12:08] many people in America that are [12:10] pro-Israel, but they're not necessarily [12:11] Zionist in in that distinction. Uh in [12:14] any case, um we came to Israel to get [12:18] married. We got married in Hebron. Uh in [12:21] Hebron, which is where the tomb of the [12:22] patriarchs and patriarchs is. Uh it's [12:25] you know the first capital of Judea, the [12:27] the first purchase of the Jewish people [12:29] in the land of Israel. Abraham purchased [12:31] the tomb of the patriarchs and [12:32] matriarchs in chapter 23 of the book of [12:34] Genesis. [12:36] And um uh we went back to America for [12:39] another year. And then when um we [12:41] finished law school, I was invited to [12:44] work for a media organization called [12:47] Arut Cheva, Israel National News. And [12:49] they had a internet radio station called [12:51] Israel National Radio. And they wanted [12:53] me to head it up. And so I headed up [12:55] this radio station. We created a lot of [12:57] podcasts. That word was like unheard of [13:00] at the time. It was called MP3s. And uh [13:03] we created MP3s later to be known as [13:05] podcasts. Uh and we really started [13:07] talking about the rights of Jewish [13:10] people in the land of Israel, the rights [13:12] of Jews to Judea and Samaria, the [13:14] prerogative of moving to the land as an [13:17] aliyah, [13:19] and we also talked about the nations [13:21] coming closer to Torah and learning the [13:24] precepts that that that are that are, [13:27] you know, written and that that are also [13:29] calling to the nations as well. So [13:31] because we were speaking in English, we [13:32] were really speaking to to all of these [13:34] uh issues. Um and then about 10 years [13:38] ago, uh the Jewish community of Hebrron, [13:41] their legendary spokesman, um David [13:44] Wilder was retiring and they tapped me [13:47] to take over that job of the spokesman [13:49] of Hebrron. And I was very excited to do [13:51] that because I wanted to move away just [13:53] from media and and and move over into [13:55] activism to actually getting stuff done [13:57] on the ground. last 10 years, my goal [14:00] was to normalize Hebrron, make it more [14:05] attractive to to the public, make it [14:07] more normal, and I think we've done that [14:09] in in large measure. And my other goal [14:11] was to beautify some biblical heritage [14:13] sites. Uh so we raised a lot of money [14:16] and we rebuilt the tomb of Ruth and [14:18] Isai, Ruth and Jesse, uh and also the [14:21] tomb of Aer Ber. And uh the the other [14:25] project that I worked on the last 5 [14:26] years is renaming route 60 which runs [14:30] from Beereva to Hebrron to Bethlehem to [14:33] Jerusalem to Bethl to Shiloh to [14:36] Sheckchim and to the Jeel Valley one [14:38] road to rename that road the biblical [14:40] highway. I hired a lobbyist and we've [14:43] been working and about 6 months ago the [14:46] prime minister of Israel indeed [14:48] announced that the name is going to be [14:49] changed and signs are going up right [14:51] now. It's called the biblical route and [14:53] it's uh deranak and that that process is [14:57] just beginning and ambassador Mike [14:59] Huckabe was just down in the south he [15:02] talked about how important this idea of [15:03] the biblical highway is. It's an [15:05] American style idea. I I took the [15:07] consciousness from Route 66 and and and [15:10] put it on Route 60 uh and the the [15:13] biblical highway. Finally uh I I helped [15:15] Minister Benir two years ago go to [15:17] America. [15:19] He's the minister of national security. [15:21] I helped his I I headed his US trip uh [15:24] and we had an amazing time there. Spoke [15:26] at Mara Lago, spoke at Yale, spoke at [15:28] all kinds of Jewish places as well. And [15:30] then uh now he tapped me to be uh on his [15:33] slate, the Osmayu slate, which is a law [15:36] and order uh uh candidate slate. That's [15:39] what we are. That's what we stand for. [15:40] We stand for pushing back on the jihad. [15:42] If you want to understand what we stand [15:44] for, it's very simple. Look at what's [15:46] happening in Paris. We don't want that. [15:48] There you go. That's what we stand for. [15:50] So those those are that's really who I [15:52] am in a nutshell. Thank you so much. [15:55] >> No, that's in incredible. I wonder if [15:58] you could shed some light. We really are [16:00] intentional on this podcast of using [16:02] Judea and Samaria and not West Bank. [16:04] We're very we try and be very conscious [16:05] of the words that we pick because they [16:07] have implications. You have fought for [16:11] uh Judea, Samaria, Ephra, Hebron. Uh but [16:14] you're hearing lots of stuff in the news [16:16] right now. There's lots of stuff going [16:17] on in the media with different things. I [16:19] saw yesterday uh Flor Hassan was uh [16:22] attacked while she was going to a [16:24] Palestinian village. Uh the video was uh [16:27] quite startling and uh talk about what [16:31] is actually happening in Judea and [16:33] Samaria right now. Uh for those of you [16:35] that aren't familiar, new listeners, uh [16:37] that area is called internationally the [16:39] West Bank, but it is biblically Jude and [16:41] Samaria. And so talk about that area. [16:42] What's going on? What are the conflicts [16:44] that are happening? What's actually [16:45] happening? not what the news is [16:46] reporting. [16:48] >> Well, Doug, in order to understand the [16:50] story of Judea and Samaria, you have to [16:52] take a you have to take a step back a [16:53] little bit and look at the six- day war. [16:56] Actually, you have to look at the 1948 [16:58] war of independence. Israel wins [16:59] independence but loses the heartland. [17:02] And the heartland is taken by Jordan and [17:05] a different part of the land is taken by [17:06] Egypt and a different part of the land [17:08] was taken by Syria and for 19 years uh [17:11] those other countries were occupying our [17:13] ancestral homeland. 1967 a miraculous [17:16] war. We liberate those lands. We [17:18] liberate the Harland, the mountainous [17:19] region of Judea and Samaria, liberate [17:21] the Golan Heights and liberate Gaza [17:23] Strip. We also liberated the Sinai as [17:25] well. Um we became a big powerful [17:29] Israel. Uh the the the nations and sadly [17:33] even people like uh Jimmy Carter [17:37] got together to try to shrink the land [17:39] of Israel through diplomacy. [17:41] uh and uh they they created a process in [17:43] which we started thinking that we'd get [17:45] peace through giving away our land. Uh [17:48] and that's exactly what happened. We [17:50] gave away the Sinai uh in the early 80s [17:53] and then later we went into a process [17:55] called the Oslo Accords where we gave [17:57] away control of parts of Judea and [17:59] Samaria to a terrorist organization [18:01] called the PLO. They the state of Israel [18:03] itself created a Palestinian authority [18:06] to rule over our lands. Uh and then [18:09] finally culminating with the uh [18:11] disengagement 2005 when the state of [18:14] Israel decided they was going to get rid [18:15] of Gaza. I was the with my wife Malca [18:17] trying to block Israel's very stupid [18:20] decision to give away a part of the land [18:22] of Israel eventually falling into the [18:24] hands of the jihad. Uh so our own [18:27] country has made mistakes. uh when [18:29] whenever anybody talks about Palestine, [18:31] it's important to remember that our own [18:33] country basically created a Palestinian [18:36] authority to rule uh parts of of the [18:38] land of Israel that hug Jerusalem that [18:41] are really where the Bible happened, [18:42] where the biblical road runs. [18:46] Um the there were Jews who understood [18:49] how uh incorrect how misguided that [18:52] policy is and began to settle so-called [18:55] these lands and uh and to hold on to [18:58] them. And the government of Israel also [19:01] uh allowed that to happen. And so so we [19:04] had a kind of two conflicting [19:07] pushes and narratives formed. one, the [19:10] narrative of Judea and Samaria where [19:12] this is our ancestral biblical heartland [19:14] and the narrative of Palestine. All [19:16] those people who want to shrink Israel, [19:18] they prefer the narrative of Palestine, [19:20] right? Uh and all those who want to see [19:23] a big Israel want to see us strong in [19:25] our ancestral homeland. So I am part of [19:28] the settlement so-called enterprise [19:31] which is really the Jewish people the [19:33] heroic Jewish people returning back to [19:34] the land of Israel holding on to the [19:36] land and also uh having to push back [19:39] against parts of our own state apparatus [19:41] which allowed this to happen. So we had [19:43] to push back against the jihad, we had [19:45] to push back against Arab nationalism. [19:46] We had to push back against European [19:48] support of those movements and and [19:51] settle the land and and do it in in in [19:53] not easy conditions and under terror. [19:56] However, the tide began to turn and [19:58] [snorts] more and more Jews started [19:59] settling the land and more and more uh [20:02] Knesset members and ministers came from [20:04] our ranks. So, I belong to a party that [20:07] believes that Jews and Israel has every [20:10] right to control Judea and Samaria and [20:11] to control Gaza and to get rid of the [20:13] jihad. Uh but you see that uh people [20:16] like Emanuel Macron uh were uh in favor [20:20] of us giving up more land and giving up [20:22] more uh control to the so-called [20:25] Palestinian Authority which is just a [20:27] gateway drug to Hamas. Um and so now you [20:31] see that the the Lord who whose world is [20:34] uh fair and runs you know karmically [20:37] like a boomerang when when you try to do [20:39] something against the Jewish people uh [20:41] if you try to curse the Jewish people [20:42] you get cursed. So Emanuel Mcronone was [20:44] one of those people pushing for [20:46] Palestine in our land. Well, lo and [20:47] behold, there's a Palestinian flag over [20:50] the Eiffel Tower. Uh so it boomeranged [20:53] on him. Uh but therefore, uh what was [20:56] the original question? What was [20:58] you know, Doug's asking about what's [21:00] going on on the ground right now? We're [21:01] seeing all these violent attacks. We're [21:03] seeing a lot of news stories about uh [21:05] about violence coming from Jews against [21:08] uh against diplomats, against [21:10] international media, uh all sorts of uh [21:13] you know the all sorts of violent [21:16] interchanges between local Arabs and the [21:19] Jewish population and it's hard to see [21:21] through the fog of what's actually [21:23] happening there. So all history aside, [21:26] what's the assessment? What's your [21:28] assessment as someone who has his finger [21:29] on the pulse of what is the situation on [21:31] the ground right now? What should our [21:33] viewers actually know about the [21:35] situation so they can see through the [21:36] fog? Most days in Judea and Samaria, uh, [21:40] Arabs are shopping in in Jewish [21:43] supermarkets and they work in the Jewish [21:45] supermarkets. You know, the guy who who [21:47] sells the cheese to to my wife in the [21:48] Ramy Levy supermarket is an Arab. The [21:51] the mechanics are Arabs and and we have [21:53] a we have a most of the days we have [21:55] kind of a humming, you know, society [21:57] that lives in these parts. Um, but we [22:00] also have uh efforts to bismerch Israel [22:03] by creating a narrative that Jews are [22:06] violent. It's it's an old style blood [22:08] liable to say Jews are trying to to [22:10] destroy the pastoral lives of Arabs. Uh, [22:14] and and the truth is is that there's a [22:17] constant conflict even though what I [22:18] said before is also true. There's a [22:20] constant conflict over the land. And so [22:22] Palestinian authority has been trying to [22:24] uh uh um take do do a wholesale land [22:28] takeover and land grab. And then there [22:30] are Jews who push back. In the last four [22:32] years, this government has created [22:34] almost a thousand new farms. And these [22:37] farms hold on to uh tens of thousands of [22:41] of uh what do we call it in English? We [22:43] call it dunams in Hebrew, but uh what do [22:45] we Yeah. large large huge tracks of [22:48] land. And there is definitely a [22:50] conflict. This conflict is often times [22:53] uh also spurred on by European [22:56] provocators and the European [22:57] governments. And so there is conflict on [22:59] the ground. Uh it's it's nowhere near [23:05] inner city Chicago or inner city [23:07] Cleveland. It's nowhere near it's the [23:11] numbers aren't even close to what [23:13] happens in a year in in Cleveland. Not [23:15] even close. And it's certainly not close [23:18] to the tens of millions of people that [23:20] are suffering in a triangle. And I know [23:22] Rabbi Pes, you're very on this in the [23:24] triangle of Sudan, South Sudan and Yemen [23:27] where we're talking about like 60 [23:28] million people, you know, struggling to [23:31] eat and are being torn apart by [23:33] sectarial violence, sectarian violence. [23:35] So yes, we have issues, but those issues [23:38] are are inflated and blown up for the [23:41] purpose of trying to bismerch Israel. [23:43] And then there's various actors that [23:45] want to be submerge Israel. Some of them [23:46] are jihadists like Iran and Qatar. But [23:49] some of them just are interested in the [23:51] disillusion of the USIsrael axis and [23:55] alliance like say China. So China and [23:58] Russia, they don't have a problem with [23:59] Israel per se, but they have a problem [24:01] with the USIsrael alliance. So they try [24:03] very hard to to destroy that that that [24:05] alliance by creating a boogeyman [24:07] [snorts] [24:08] of how evil Israel is. Add to that that [24:12] uh anti-semitism is a latent feeling in [24:14] a lot of people and if you kind of pour [24:18] gasoline on that then you could create [24:20] you know an anti-semitic consciousness [24:22] which is what's happening in the world [24:23] today and it's very hard to to to stop [24:25] that just an amazing story that happened [24:27] last week I'm sure you reported on it u [24:29] but uh in the Ukraine Russia war Ukraine [24:33] hit a data center in Russia and suddenly [24:36] globally free Palestine and all those [24:38] other messaging of occupation apartheid [24:41] and all the stuff that they say against [24:42] Israel dropped significantly because it [24:45] was these are mostly bots that are [24:47] sending it out to to the world uh from [24:50] from from Russia the former Soviet [24:52] Union. So um that's what's on the [24:54] ground. But at at the same time if you [24:56] ask the average person uh you know [24:59] people are traveling to Hebrron, people [25:01] are going to this biblical site over the [25:03] last holiday the last festival holiday [25:05] of Sukkot booths we had 70,000 visitors [25:09] at the tomb of the patriarchs and [25:10] matriarchs. And we are in a process of [25:12] normalizing widening out the roads [25:15] normal normalizing Jewish life there and [25:17] of course also helping Arabs live a [25:19] decent life. those Arabs who are uh [25:22] loyal to the state of Israel. [25:24] >> You know, I Yesisha, I want to ask you [25:26] about a about an event that's been in [25:27] the headlines that a lot of people are [25:29] talking about. There was a story last [25:32] week that there was an or a few days ago [25:34] that there was an attack against EU [25:36] diplomats and a Washington Post [25:39] photographer [25:40] and [snorts] you know that there and and [25:42] look as much as [25:44] everything you're saying about the real [25:46] situation on the ground and how people [25:47] are living their daily lives is real. [25:50] There are like in every population there [25:52] are thugs at the margins. There are [25:55] misbehaving people and unfortunately in [25:57] these situations when there are Jewish [26:00] kids on the margins of society who do [26:03] misbehave, it turns into an [26:04] international incident which doesn't [26:06] happen in downtown Cleveland. So this [26:09] incident that happened with the EU [26:10] diplomats and the Washington Post [26:12] photographer, do you believe this [26:13] incident is real? Do you believe that [26:15] the perpetrators of this should be [26:17] arrested? I mean, you are running on the [26:19] Law and Order party. What's your take on [26:21] this incident and what should be done [26:23] about it? So yeah, you you know, let's [26:26] let's be let's be super clear about [26:28] this. Anybody who acts in a criminal [26:30] fashion, in a vigilante fashion, that's [26:32] why Israel is a country of police and [26:35] laws and and they will be dealt with. [26:37] And there's just no doubt about that. [26:39] This idea that that we don't have a [26:40] police that's going to take care of it [26:42] is an absurdity. So if anybody's acting [26:44] in a way, you know, that that's hurting [26:46] personal freedoms of other people and [26:47] and attacking them, you know, that that [26:49] that needs to be dealt with and that [26:51] will be dealt with. On the other hand, I [26:54] can't come into this studio and now [26:57] throw under the bus the young heroes [27:01] uh that are building Judea and Samaria. [27:04] young kids with the amazing idealistic [27:06] and Torah grounded Zionist spirit of of [27:10] building up this land and holding on to [27:12] this land and pushing back on jihadism [27:16] that seeks to take away the land and and [27:18] pushing back against state weakness that [27:21] has not stopped this jihad from from [27:23] from doing a giant land grab and causing [27:27] our our roads to be terrorized. So yes, [27:31] deal with criminality. No, do not throw [27:34] them under the bus. These kids are [27:35] heroes, a generation of heroes who are [27:38] beautifying the land. They're a [27:39] throwback to the Zionists of 100 years [27:42] ago. And that's the vast majority of who [27:44] we're dealing with. And I'm certainly [27:46] just not going to succumb to some kind [27:48] of international uh influence campaign, [27:51] a narrative that's created in order to [27:54] in order to try to bismerch this this [27:57] process of the in gathering, this [27:59] rebuilding of Jewish Judea and this [28:01] amazing new generation. [28:04] >> So you mentioned your party is the law [28:06] and order party. You're uh in the the [28:09] business right now, especially this next [28:11] push of getting votes. What makes your [28:14] party different from Laku, different [28:16] from others? Why why should people vote [28:19] for uh your party? [28:22] >> Uh our party's name is Utsma, which [28:25] means Jewish strength, Jewish strength. [28:28] Our call sign, the letter that that if [28:30] you get into that voting booth, you're [28:31] going to see that you got to pick out [28:33] and stick in the envelope. It's called [28:34] bet, which is the first letter of the [28:36] Torah, berit bet. It stands for which [28:39] means blessing. It stands for bet, which [28:41] means security. So it's a B. Okay. Uh [28:45] and it stands also for the leader of our [28:47] party was a very famous Israeli named [28:49] Benirar Benvir. Uh our party uh simply [28:53] put is the only party that is out there [28:56] challenging jihadism [28:59] uh and and and stopping Paris Tel Aviv [29:03] from becoming a Paris. Okay. And [29:05] Jerusalem from becoming a Paris. There [29:07] are other good parties and and we have a [29:08] coalition system which means that we [29:10] need to work with other parties. Uh but [29:12] there's no party that has done more done [29:14] more and runs on its record like Otma. [29:17] Our record is very simple. In the last [29:19] four years we have tripled the amount of [29:22] personal weapons that Jewish people have [29:24] in the land of Israel. Tripled in four [29:27] years the amount of guns that Jewish [29:29] people have to defend themselves. So [29:30] we'll never again have an October 7th. [29:32] Uh we have strengthened our police. We [29:35] pay the police now more because of our [29:37] minister. We have uh we have hired 4,300 [29:41] new police officers. We've brought the [29:43] ultraorththodox into police, into [29:44] firefighting, and into border patrol [29:46] units. [29:49] And uh we have cracked down on the [29:53] lawlessness that was happening not just [29:55] on our streets but in our prisons. Our [29:58] prisons became [30:01] um an education center for jihadism, a [30:04] rehabilitation comfort center for for [30:07] wanted murderers and jihadists. And [30:10] Minister Benvir put a stop to that. He's [30:12] turned the prisons in of of murderers [30:15] into what they're supposed to be, which [30:16] is a hell for people who committed [30:19] unspeakable crimes like October 7th uh [30:22] murderers. And so, uh, he's begun the [30:25] process of, uh, turning the country [30:28] around from being a very blue state in [30:31] the way that it deals with weapons and [30:33] and terrorists and and and the way we [30:36] also talk and the way we also do our [30:38] Israel advocacy, which was also [30:40] apologetic [30:42] and and and if you understand what I [30:44] mean by blue state and and I want to say [30:46] with regarding to that, that in America, [30:48] blue states turn into what I call green [30:50] states, which is jihad. states, right? [30:53] So, we're talking about Vermont and [30:54] Michigan and sadly New York City. And [30:57] so, this country was also on track to [30:59] become a green state, giving away parts [31:01] of our land, allowing criminals to [31:03] behave wantingly in the in the south of [31:06] Israel, in the north of Israel, in Judea [31:08] and Samaria, and in Gaza. And so, uh, in [31:11] American terms, there's a new sheriff in [31:13] town, a Texan type of, uh, uh, leader [31:16] whose ideas are death penalty for bad [31:19] guys, uh, cracking down on polygamy, [31:23] cracking down on mostly Arab polygamy, [31:26] cracking down on protection rackets, [31:29] cracking down on on on on car theft, and [31:32] all these things make a huge difference. [31:34] >> Yeah. Isha at the same time during you [31:38] know during Ben Gver's term as the as [31:41] the minister of internal security was in [31:43] charge of the police there has been a [31:45] skyrocketing murder rate in Arab towns [31:49] internally in the Arab-Israeli in these [31:52] Arab-Israeli community the skyrocketing [31:54] crime rate and murder rate is a major [31:56] issue for them you know so you know I [31:59] understand that Ben is the law and order [32:02] is the law and order guy But you know [32:05] these we can't have we can't have chaos [32:09] and lawlessness in the Arab community in [32:12] Israel. So what do you say to that? [32:16] >> So Minister Benvier has spoken a lot [32:18] about this. Um the our FBI what we call [32:23] here the GSS or the Shabbach was not [32:25] involved in the Arab sector. uh he was [32:28] dealing with other things and he [32:31] mandated that now the Shabbach has g is [32:34] entering these Arab towns, our FBI and [32:37] dealing with these things. The minute he [32:38] ordered that, the minute they allowed [32:40] him, remember we have a very big [32:41] bureaucracy in Israel. In America, what [32:44] they call the deep state is what in in [32:47] Israel we call the state. Okay? It's not [32:50] so deep. It's it's right there. And so [32:54] uh and so the the state, what you would [32:56] call America the deep state, has blocked [32:59] them from doing a lot of these things [33:00] that would have saved countless lives. [33:02] It it has to be said that the murder [33:05] rate inside of the um Arab communities [33:09] is usually organized violence, organized [33:12] crime. Uh Minister Benvir gave a list of [33:16] 50 uh of 50 crime heads and he said, [33:19] "Let's arrest them now." he was blocked [33:21] by the attorney general. Now 25 of those [33:24] are dead because of because of organized [33:27] crime violence and 25 are behind bars. [33:30] So basically uh he has called this out. [33:33] Uh he's done a lot. Now he's putting in [33:34] the the the FBI, Israeli FBI into onto [33:38] the case and we're going to see a drop. [33:40] Let's also be honest, right? the Israeli [33:42] Arab towns uh are not big fans of the [33:45] state of Israel and so you don't have a [33:48] lot of governance in those places [33:50] because they don't respect uh the law of [33:52] Israel and then they turn around on you [33:54] and they they you know in Knesset they [33:55] yell at you we want Palestine down with [33:58] Israel and then the next minute they're [33:59] like why aren't you solving our crime [34:01] problem okay so if you want us to solve [34:03] your crime problem you have to start [34:05] educating in your in your sectors you [34:07] know to be to be law-abiding uh and and [34:11] and and lovers of the state that you're [34:13] living in, the Jewish state. Uh, and we [34:15] will indeed continue this crackdown on [34:18] this lawlessness. Mr. Ben Vier says [34:20] often times, "We have not we're not [34:22] finished." Far from it. Far from it. [34:24] There's there's we've allowed a crazy [34:26] situation with our progressive liberal [34:30] blue policies. We've allowed them to run [34:32] a muk and now the new sheriff is in town [34:34] and we're going to take care of [34:35] business. [34:37] Now, a lot of our audience is uh [34:40] Christian, and I would ask from uh an [34:43] American Christian living abroad. I was [34:45] there on October 7th when the war broke [34:47] out. I brought my family uh to Israel [34:50] over the last few years. We came, we [34:52] were there during an Iranian ballistic [34:54] missile attack. We we got a small taste [34:56] of what uh the people of Israel uh have [34:59] gone through. Uh and the American [35:01] Christians no doubt were late to the [35:03] party after October 7th. you were [35:05] counting on your friends and we were not [35:07] there in the way that I think many in [35:09] the Jewish community thought we would [35:10] be. Uh but no doubt we've we've in many [35:13] ways caught up and we've uh hopefully [35:16] are uh raising a standard against [35:19] anti-semitism. We're standing in that [35:21] gap. We're we're certainly [35:24] doing our best to advocate and to pray [35:26] and to be in solidarity with uh the [35:30] Jewish community. Prime Minister [35:32] Netanyahu has been a huge friend and [35:35] blessing to the Christian community. Uh [35:38] what is that going to look like uh for [35:41] uh Minister Bengave, for your party? How [35:43] do you see Jewish Christian relations in [35:45] Israel? I know most of this election is [35:47] focused on internal uh struggles for the [35:50] state of Israel, but what does that look [35:52] like abroad? And what are you projecting [35:55] uh to the world through your party? [35:58] Well, I I like to say uh to people and [36:02] people laugh when I first say this [36:04] phrase. I say that Minister Benir is a [36:06] great diplomat. [36:10] But his diplomacy is not facing the [36:12] west, it's facing the east. His major [36:15] diplomacy is against would-be jihadists [36:18] and Turkey and Qatar and other states [36:21] that want to uh uh uh sweep over us with [36:26] uh an influx of jihadist and jihadist [36:28] ideology and jihadist money. And that's [36:30] his that's his main priority. His main [36:32] priority is to deal with enemies. Not as [36:35] much thinking about how to deal with [36:36] friends, but more thinking about how to [36:38] deal with enemies because we have a a [36:39] real situation here in Israel. Just just [36:41] to just to make it also clear for you, [36:43] we have, for example, affirmative action [36:45] laws in our medical schools that push [36:48] out Jewish Israelis who are deserving uh [36:51] medical students, but instead we get a [36:53] lot more Arabs in our own schools. And [36:56] so we have an imbalance there as well. [36:58] Just just to give you an example of how [37:00] deep the progressive ideas run here in [37:03] Israel and how they undermine the [37:05] Jewishness of this country, right? So [37:07] with with regarding to non-Jews, [37:09] Christian folks and others, you know, [37:11] when we went to America, we met with [37:12] congressmen and women. Uh we checked out [37:15] how things are done in America, [37:16] including we visited American prisons, [37:18] American police force. I was with him [37:20] when we, you know, met the the police [37:22] chief of Miami and he toured us and [37:24] explained to us how they do stuff and it [37:26] was really, you know, technologically [37:28] and other ways. So there's there's [37:29] really a strong interest in having [37:31] cooperation. Um, Minister Benvier and [37:34] this party are in no way isolationists. [37:37] We're no way isolationists. We we we [37:38] look forward to working with our Arab [37:41] friends to the east in the Gulf and and [37:43] to our American friends. And we think [37:46] that uh the best diplomacy is a strong [37:50] Israel. When Israel seems strong, when [37:52] it looks strong, when it is strong, [37:54] well, you know, the the nations respect [37:56] that. And one one of the main things [37:58] that B minister Ben has done and I [38:00] haven't even spoken about that is is [38:02] basic Jewish rights on the temple mount [38:04] which is to pray on the temple mount [38:06] which was being blocked by our own [38:07] country. We were not able to pray in our [38:09] own temple mount which is where the site [38:11] of two temples was and we're working on [38:13] that third one right now. Um so [38:17] um the relationship with with with the [38:20] with the world that wants to be part of [38:22] Israel, wants to respect Israel, it's [38:24] going to be great. It's going it's going [38:25] to be amazing. Minister Bank had a great [38:28] time connecting with with with with I [38:31] mean it was really funny. I was just [38:33] remembering yesterday I was remembering [38:34] our trip and I remembered and I can't [38:36] even tell this whole story but I [38:37] remember that a congressman came up to [38:39] Ben and what he what came out of his [38:42] mouth would be something that that and [38:46] what his vision of how we should deal [38:47] with our local problems. Let's just say [38:50] that it could not be repeated. Okay? [38:52] Because because you know Americans, you [38:54] know, a Texan or a Tennessee congressman [38:57] knows he understands what it is to have [39:00] an have a push against you to try to [39:02] destroy you and Israel is our Alamo, if [39:05] you will. Uh, with regarding to to [39:08] uh to people from from the nations, [39:11] well, the book of Zechariah tells us [39:13] that the nations are going to come up to [39:14] Jerusalem on the on the holiday of [39:16] Sukkot. Um, they're going to honor the [39:20] God of Israel. they're going to be in [39:22] the temple. You know, we have found [39:23] archaeology that says in the temple, it [39:27] says non-Jews are not allowed past this [39:30] point. In other words, there were [39:32] non-Jews coming to the temple. Okay, [39:34] that one some point, you know, just like [39:36] Israelites and non non- priests are not [39:39] allowed past a certain point. The point [39:41] is is that the nations are part of it. [39:42] You really don't have to be a Bible [39:44] scholar or maybe you do today to see how [39:47] much the nations are part of the story. [39:50] Uh God has left as as Rabbi uh Nissim [39:54] Black and and musician Rabbi Nissim [39:57] Black said, you know, he's he's left a [39:58] porch light on for the nations to come [40:00] and be part of this thing. Um and and [40:03] when was when Israel is in gathering the [40:06] exiles, making Jerusalem beautiful and [40:10] and and and robust, has a a path towards [40:14] the third temple, then you bet there's [40:15] going to be nations that are going to [40:17] want to be part of it. They're going to [40:18] want to touch it. they're going to want [40:19] to hold on to that seat se seat and and [40:21] and get close to to this great story [40:24] that's happening. I think really uh [40:26] Pastor Doug, it's not so much a question [40:29] about what my party stands for. It's not [40:32] so much a question of what Israel stands [40:33] for. It's much more a question of where [40:35] the nations are at. Okay? It's much more [40:38] a question of will you be able to pull [40:40] America out of a tail spin? Will you [40:42] bring back biblical values? Uh we'll be [40:45] here. I promise. It's God's promise, not [40:48] my promise. We'll be here. Uh, but the [40:50] real question is, will you be able to [40:52] overcome the jihadism that wants to take [40:54] over your country? Uh, will you be able [40:56] to teach kids the Bible and make them [40:58] love the Bible? Will they be able to see [41:01] that Israel is the hero of the story and [41:04] that through the blessings of Israel, [41:06] the world is blessed? If if that can be [41:09] channeled, if if your mamas are going to [41:11] teach the Bible to their kids, then the [41:13] world's going to go in a in a great [41:14] direction. If not, and their minds are [41:16] going to be erased by Sharia law or by [41:19] materialism or by replacement theology [41:22] and all kinds of stuff that will weaken [41:24] that biblical consciousness. Well, then [41:27] then we're in for a ride. But I promise [41:29] you that Israel will be here and Israel [41:30] will be welcoming to lovers of Israel [41:32] from around the world. [41:35] Amen. Well, that was uh incredible. [41:38] Thank you so much for being on [41:40] Shouldertoshoulder [41:42] >> and I stand with you [41:43] shoulder-to-shoulder. God bless you uh [41:45] gentlemen. Continue this amazing [41:46] broadcast and putting out God's truth to [41:49] and a light to the world. God bless you [41:50] and thank you so much. And don't forget [41:52] Israeli folks with with uh with the [41:55] right to vote. Letter Bet uh that's for [41:58] a strong Israel and that will bring a [42:00] blessings to the world. Thank you very [42:01] much [42:03] and thank you for listening to today's [42:04] episode. If you enjoyed this episode, [42:06] please like, rate, share this podcast, [42:07] subscribe on Patreon, come on over to [42:09] Facebook, like our page, join our group [42:11] as we would love to connect with more [42:12] and more of our shoulder-to-shoulder [42:13] family. And we'll see you on our next
