Transcript [00:00] The reason we know that Hamas did what [00:01] they did on October 7th, they strapped [00:03] GoPro cameras to their heads and they [00:06] videotaped themselves raping, [00:08] slaughtering, beheading, massacring [00:10] women, children, and elderly people. [00:12] They boasted about it online. They [00:14] boasted about it in phone calls. They [00:17] boasted about it as they took the naked [00:19] bodies of young women and paraded them [00:22] down the streets of Gaza, uh, beating [00:24] their dead bodies. So, you know, this [00:27] guy has zero credibility. [00:28] >> Hey, everyone. So Piers Morgan sat down [00:31] with US Ambassador to Israel Mike [00:33] Huckabe this week and they covered a lot [00:34] of ground. The Kamas ceasefire deal, [00:37] whether Kamas has any future in Gaza, [00:39] Iran, and Israel's collapsing global [00:42] popularity. That was only part of the [00:43] interview and it's the clip I'm going to [00:45] play you. Huckabe says a lot of things I [00:47] agree with. He also says a couple of [00:49] things that I think need more [00:50] elaboration, need a more layers of [00:53] understanding. So let's get right into [00:54] it. I'm going to play this in pieces and [00:56] stop where I have something to add. [01:00] Okay, let's uh so let's start with the [01:01] clip. Pull it up here. Where am I? [01:05] Sorry, everyone. Here we go. [01:07] >> Let's just turn um if I may, to several [01:10] other issues which are in probably more [01:12] in your wheelhouse. One is the the deal [01:15] that's been announced with Hamas. You [01:18] know, I I interviewed uh earlier the [01:20] official spokesman for Hamas, who seemed [01:24] to be going along with the idea this was [01:27] a deal that could potentially work, [01:29] whilst at the same time persisting in [01:32] saying, for example, that on October the [01:34] 7th, nobody from Hamas committed any [01:37] crime or deliberately targeted any [01:40] civilians, and if anyone did, it was a [01:42] mistake. [01:45] You know, Hamas as libration [01:47] organization, we never commit crimes. We [01:50] never kill civilians. We try all the [01:54] time to liberate our Honda. [01:55] >> Well, that's complete nonsense, Mr. [01:57] Hammad. Sorry, I Sorry, I made I have to [02:00] interrupt there. When you say you don't [02:01] commit crimes and you don't kill [02:04] innocent civilians, we all saw what [02:06] happened on October the 7th in 2023. [02:10] You had 3,000 members of your [02:12] organization, Hamas, pour over the [02:15] Israeli border and commit a series of [02:18] despicable crimes in which you massacred [02:21] innocent civilians uh all over uh [02:24] Israel. You then captured over 250 of [02:27] them, including Holocaust survivors and [02:30] a baby. So, the idea you've not [02:32] committed crimes is ridiculous. [02:35] >> I I say 100% I'm confident that 100%. We [02:39] never commit crimes against the [02:41] civilians. Maybe it's some mistake [02:42] happened but it is not the policy of it [02:45] is not committed [02:48] down innocent people. Sorry again Mr. [02:51] Hammed. I'm sorry. I can't let you get [02:53] away with saying that. [02:55] >> Hamas deliberately massacred people at a [02:58] music festival. Hundreds of young people [03:01] enjoying a music festival. That is a war [03:03] crime. [03:04] >> Very well. There was no commands to kill [03:07] civilians or to kill women or to kill [03:10] children. I think maybe some mistakes [03:11] happened but I think that [03:17] >> not a plan uh which obviously were [03:19] abhorrent uh blood liels that he was [03:22] spewing. Um and it made me think I [03:24] listen to this guy. He was the one who [03:26] after October the 7th went on camera and [03:28] said we're going to do this again and [03:30] again and again and said they were [03:31] wedded to the annihilation and [03:33] destruction of Israel. Um, can Israel do [03:37] any deal with Hamas? Is there any point [03:40] that you could actually trust Hamas, [03:42] which many view to be a terrorist [03:44] organization, to be any kind of body [03:47] that you could do a deal with? [03:49] >> Well, first of all, they are a terrorist [03:50] organization. They've been design, you [03:52] know, before we go on with um with what [03:55] Huckabe actually answers here, um I want [04:00] you to notice what the Hamas spokesman [04:01] did there. You know, I I obviously cut [04:03] that in where Piers mentioned that he [04:06] had just spoken to the guy I pulled in [04:07] the clip from earlier. It's in the same [04:09] episode of Piers Morgan. Now, you notice [04:12] he didn't say that the GoPro footage was [04:14] fake or that the phone calls home [04:16] boasting about how many people a certain [04:19] terrorist killed calling home to mom and [04:21] dad, which actually happened. He didn't [04:23] say that that didn't happen. He he just [04:25] asserted that, oh, this all a mistake. [04:27] They weren't commanded to do so. and [04:30] and uh it's a problem because the [04:34] evidence says otherwise. There was a a [04:36] report that came out recently, the civil [04:38] commission report on October 7th called [04:40] Silence No More that was released this [04:42] year and it was and you know it was [04:44] endorsed by everyone from Hillary [04:45] Clinton to Cheryl Sandberg to former [04:48] Israeli Supreme Court president Aram [04:50] Barak. Uh, and it's a pretty substantial [04:53] report with a lot of experts and [04:55] documented evidence materials recovered [04:57] from the attackers bodies. Arabic to [05:00] Hebrew phrase books were found, [05:03] meaning phrase books for the attackers [05:06] on October 7th were given to them that [05:09] included phrases, commands prepared in [05:12] advance, take off your pants, lie down, [05:15] spread your legs that were carried [05:17] alongside kits of zip ties and other [05:19] materials to restrain victims. And in [05:22] this report, it refers to these as kits [05:24] that were used for kidnapping or rape. [05:26] they were displayed at Israel's return [05:28] to October ex uh e exhibition. So saying [05:32] that it's not a mistake and not a plan [05:34] is I mean there's obvious evidence [05:37] besides the fact that we know this [05:38] already. I'm just saying even if you [05:39] wanted to dispute this on the on the on [05:41] the point of evidence, but there's also [05:42] a religious dimension to this which [05:45] which we have to point out here because [05:47] you know this guy Gazi Kamad goes on TV [05:48] and says no no no no we're a liberation [05:50] organization and uh and of course [05:52] mistakes happen but [05:56] the same report cites Hamas linked [05:59] religious material that was circulated [06:01] before October 7th declaring that every [06:04] Jew including women, the elderly, [06:06] children, the unarmed are to be treated [06:08] as a combatant. [06:10] Okay, it's not a that's not a fatwa [06:12] about sexual violence specifically. It's [06:14] something more basic, a doctrine, [06:17] meaning they were they were told the [06:20] attackers were told that the entire [06:21] civilian population has no protected [06:24] status and is ultimately viewed as [06:25] combatants. So when this guy gets up and [06:27] says we never gave them instructions to [06:30] to uh to attack civilians, I mean, not [06:32] that I have to prove to you that a kamas [06:33] guy is lying. I just wanted to give you [06:35] stronger talking points if you ever [06:37] wanted to argue this point uh over and [06:39] above what my Kakabe is about to say. [06:42] Um [06:45] yeah, look, when you look at what Kamas [06:49] says, um this guy Kazi Kamad, who is a [06:54] spokesman for Hamas, a member of Kamas's [06:56] political bureau, went on Lebanese TV [06:59] and said on camera, and I'm going to [07:01] this is he said it in Arabic, so I'm [07:02] just going to say to you, this is a [07:03] quote of what he said on Lebanese TV. He [07:06] said, "Israel is a state that has no [07:08] place in our land. We must remove it. We [07:10] are not ashamed to say that with full [07:11] force. We must teach them a lesson. We [07:14] will not do this again a second time. [07:16] I'm sorry. We will do this again. [07:18] Meaning October 7th, he said this right [07:19] after October 7th, like a week or two [07:21] later. Said we will do this again a [07:23] second time, a third time. The al Axa [07:25] flood, that's their name for what [07:27] happened on October 7th. Will it will uh [07:30] it he says will not be the first time, [07:32] it will be the second, the third, the [07:33] fourth, because we have the resolve and [07:35] the capacity to fight. Yes, we are [07:37] willing to pay the price. We are the [07:39] nation of martyrs. We are proud to offer [07:41] martyrs. We don't want to harm [07:43] civilians. But there were complications [07:44] on the ground. There was a festival. [07:46] There were residents in an area nearly [07:48] 40 kilometers wide. The existence, [07:50] listen to what he says. The existence of [07:52] Israel is illogical. Israel is what [07:55] creates all this pain and suffering and [07:57] blood. Not us. We are victims of the [07:59] occupation. Full stop. So no one should [08:01] blame us for what we did on October 7th. [08:04] On October 7th, on a million October, [08:06] everything we do is justified. This is a [08:08] guy saying, "Everything we did on [08:10] October 7th, we're going to do again." [08:12] I'm not translating this loosely for [08:14] effect. This interview was documented by [08:15] Memory, the Middle East Media Research [08:17] Institute. It was reported by many [08:20] different media outlets. You could look [08:21] it up. Look up Gazi Kamad uh October 7th [08:25] and you'll find it pretty quickly. You [08:26] can watch the video with subtitles on [08:28] that. And here's the same guy on Piers [08:31] Morgan denying uh you know, denying it [08:34] all. Okay. Um, let's watch uh let's [08:37] watch what Huckib answers here. [08:43] That way the United States certainly has [08:45] designated them that so is Israel and I [08:48] think most civilized countries in the [08:49] world would. The reason we know that [08:51] Hamas did what they did on October 7th [08:53] because they were proud of it. They were [08:55] so proud, in fact, that they strapped [08:57] GoPro cameras to their heads and they [09:00] videotaped themselves raping, [09:02] slaughtering, beheading, butchering, [09:05] massacring women, children, and elderly [09:07] people. That's how we know they did it. [09:09] And they boasted about it. They boasted [09:11] about it online. They boasted about it [09:14] in phone calls. They boasted about it on [09:16] the videotape that they shot. Uh they [09:19] boasted about it as they took the naked [09:22] bodies of young women who had been [09:24] kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival [09:26] and paraded them down the streets of [09:28] Gaza uh beating their dead bodies. So, [09:32] you know, this guy has zero credibility. [09:35] And I think that it's very important to [09:37] understand that if there's any way in [09:39] which Hamas wants to uh make a deal, the [09:43] first thing they have to do is what they [09:45] said they were going to do last October, [09:47] and that's they're going to disarm and [09:49] demilitarize. They haven't done it yet. [09:51] So when they do, then we can take them a [09:53] little more seriously. I hope they do. [09:55] It would be a wonderful gift to the [09:58] world if Hamas did not have weapons [10:01] because if they have them, they're just [10:03] nutty enough to want to use them to [10:05] slaughter people, particularly civilians [10:08] and innocent people. They don't need [10:10] weapons. Uh they need to disappear and [10:13] go away. If Hamas do keep their word, [10:16] which I think is highly unlikely, but [10:18] let's assume for a moment they do and [10:20] they do demilitarize, [10:23] is there a scenario where the United [10:25] States and Israel would accept Hamas [10:28] continuing to be a governing body in [10:30] Gaza, for example? [10:32] >> Okay, before we get to the answer on [10:34] that one, let me comment here. Um, [10:37] everything Huckabe says is true. Um, and [10:40] it's good to hear moral clarity like [10:42] that, but I want to add a piece that's [10:44] that uh people might miss. He says, you [10:46] know, if Kamas keeps its word, um, [10:50] Kamas is not going to disarm. Let's just [10:53] be very clear. Despite everything you're [10:54] hearing in the media right now, it's a [10:56] movement that is built on an jihadist [10:59] Islamist reading of religious [11:02] obligation. Uh, giving up weapons is not [11:05] something they're going to do. It's a [11:06] form of apostasy according to them. [11:09] Uh so every disarmament promise uh from [11:13] you know from kamas is is just nonsense. [11:16] Okay that's that that's that's number [11:17] one. Uh obviously that doesn't mean we [11:19] shouldn't demand it. I just wanted to [11:20] make it you know you know make it clear [11:22] here. Uh and you know Huckabe is now [11:25] going to uh you know he's going to [11:27] respond. PICE just asked him um about [11:32] you know Pierce just asked him about [11:33] about Hamas in uh you know disarming and [11:38] in Gaza. [11:41] I don't think so. The president has made [11:42] it very clear regardless of what Israel [11:44] would say. President Trump said [11:46] repeatedly that Hamas has no future in [11:49] Gaza. I think they forfeited the future. [11:52] Uh, it would be like asking, would it be [11:53] okay if the Nazis continued to run [11:55] Germany after World War II? I can't [11:57] imagine anyone, I don't care who they [11:59] are, who would believe that that had any [12:02] credibility whatsoever. So, Hamas has [12:05] forfeited any hope that they're going to [12:07] have a role in governing Gaza. What they [12:10] should hope for is that they would be [12:12] given some level of asylum that they [12:14] could get out of Gaza, disappear, uh [12:19] find some place to live anonymously in [12:22] asylum. But the idea that they're going [12:24] to govern Gaza, I don't think the people [12:26] in Gaza would tolerate it, much less the [12:28] United States or Israel, or hopefully [12:31] any other civilized country in the [12:33] world. [12:36] >> Yeah. [12:38] Uh I actually think the that this [12:40] analogy is stronger than Huckabee is [12:41] using it for the analogy to the Nazis [12:43] because he's using it he's he's using it [12:46] as like a kind of mic drop line like you [12:48] know you know of course Kamas can't have [12:50] any role in Gaza would the Nazis have [12:52] been allowed to continue governing [12:53] Germany fine but if we take that analogy [12:57] seriously if we play it out further we [13:01] it's actually even there's even more to [13:04] learn from it than just a mic drop. Let [13:06] me explain what I mean. See, Germany [13:09] didn't stop being [13:11] um being a Nazi problem the day the war [13:15] ended. You know, the the denazification [13:18] of Germany wasn't just a flip of the [13:20] switch. Although, of course, the [13:21] unconditional surrender was critical, [13:23] and it could not have happened without [13:25] that, but it took years of a complete [13:28] overhaul of the education system, war [13:30] crimes trials that were very public. And [13:33] honestly, it took a generation [13:36] um to denazify the population. And if if [13:40] if you if so if you take the Nazi [13:42] Germany comparison and I think there's [13:44] real there's real force to that [13:46] comparison then it's then you're also [13:49] it's also implying something about what [13:50] we need to do in order to get to a post [13:53] kamas to a post kamas Gaza and a quick [13:58] handoff to some technocratic Palestinian [14:01] council like what's happening now is not [14:04] going to do it. So, that's what I [14:06] thought of when I heard him bring up the [14:07] Nazi Germany uh the Nazi Germany [14:10] comparison. [14:12] Um, let's move on from here. Okay, we're [14:13] going to play a few minutes now. He's [14:15] going to they're going to change topics. [14:16] Here we go. [14:18] >> Let's just pivot quickly to Iran. Uh, I [14:20] spoke to President Trump on Sunday night [14:23] about this and he reiterated to me what [14:26] he was saying publicly that, you know, [14:29] he was ready, locked and loaded to [14:32] launch the biggest bombardment of Iran [14:34] that the world had seen since World War [14:36] II. Would that have been a smart move if [14:40] the president had gone ahead with that [14:42] kind of of strike? [14:43] >> You know, the only person who can make [14:45] that decision is the president. uh all [14:48] of us who work for him trust his [14:50] instincts. If he says it's time to go, [14:53] we're going to be behind it. Uh if for [14:55] whatever reason, in having talked to [14:58] many people in the Gulf countries and [15:00] they urged him to give, as John Linen [15:03] would so brilliantly say, give peace a [15:05] chance to give one more round of [15:07] negotiations and opportunity. And he [15:10] made that decision. So let's see if it [15:12] works. Let's hope it does. But if it [15:15] doesn't, I think the president has also [15:16] made it very clear that there is the [15:19] military option. It's on the table and [15:21] if he takes it, it's not going to be a [15:23] mild tap. It is going to be [15:26] overwhelming. This war has not been [15:28] going the way Donald Trump thought or [15:31] the way he was told it would go by the [15:33] Israelis when they met with him in the [15:35] White House situation room before it [15:37] began. Um, would it not be better [15:40] politically, economically, putting aside [15:43] anything else for the United States to [15:46] extricate itself from this war, claim a [15:49] victory, you know, do what Trump does [15:51] very well, you know, just paper over the [15:53] cracks and just say, "Look, we've we've [15:55] achieved these aims, boom, boom, boom, [15:57] boom, boom, and just get the hell out of [15:58] this." Well, first of all, I was in the [16:00] situation room when that discussion was [16:02] held, and I I do disagree with any [16:05] narrative that says that the Israelis [16:07] talked Donald Trump into it. Uh, that [16:10] simply did not happen. Nobody talked him [16:12] into anything. Pierce, you know [16:14] President Trump really well. You've [16:16] known him a long time. You know him [16:17] better than most people who do [16:18] interviews on TV. And I think it's [16:21] pretty fair to say that he is not a man [16:23] that is easily led around by the nose. [16:26] The idea that the Israelis came in and [16:28] sold him something is probably just one [16:31] of the more preposterous things. Uh it [16:33] was based on the fact that for over 47 [16:36] years Iran has been saying death to [16:38] America. They've begged, pleaded, [16:41] worked, strived to build a nuclear [16:44] weapon. And for what purpose? To first [16:47] destroy Israel. That's always been their [16:49] goal. That's the appetizer. But [16:51] ultimately, they've said this for 47 [16:53] years. Their goal is to annihilate [16:56] America. America is the entree. And so a [17:01] lot of Americans may not have even been [17:02] around in 1979 when the Ayatollah took [17:05] power and they frog marched blindfolded [17:08] embassy employees across the embassy [17:10] grounds, held them hostage, 51 of them [17:12] for 444 days. I remember it quite well. [17:16] And I remember the humiliation that we [17:19] felt in America. I remember the chanting [17:21] of death to America, the burning of our [17:23] flags, and the threats that have never [17:25] ceased, nor have they ever moderated. I [17:28] think the president was looking after [17:29] how can I best protect the American [17:31] public. The proxies of Iran are already [17:35] in the Western Hemisphere. Hezbollah [17:37] alone is in 12 Western Hemisphere [17:40] countries. The idea that this is some [17:42] unique Middle East issue or it's only an [17:45] Iranian Israeli issue is utter nonsense. [17:48] These people have ambitions uh not [17:51] necessarily to rule the world, but to [17:53] destroy every part of it that does not [17:55] agree with their radical Shia [17:57] philosophy. The the problem it seems to [18:00] me with this war is that the Iranians [18:02] have worked out that if you control the [18:04] straight of Hormuse and you terrorize [18:06] your Gulf state neighbors by firing off [18:09] rockets and missiles at them, thereby [18:11] destabilizing their business models [18:14] based around come here, it's sunny, it's [18:16] safe, it's exciting, and so on. uh that [18:19] by working that out in this kind of [18:21] asymmetric war they've been waging that [18:24] has in in many people's lives emboldened [18:27] the Iranian regime rather than [18:29] dismantled them. I think one of the [18:31] problems, PICE, is that the Iranians [18:33] don't [18:34] >> Okay. Um, before we get to Huckabe's [18:37] response again, um, let me just comment [18:40] here. [18:42] Um, [18:46] Huckabe is saying that, you know, trust [18:48] the president's in instincts, the [18:51] military options on the table, right? [18:53] And now he's asked about the Iranians [18:57] behavior. Okay. Okay. And what Huckabee [18:59] is going to talk about here is how the [19:01] Iranians don't think rationally. Okay. [19:04] So, let's so let's watch what he says [19:05] here. I just wanted to pause and kind of [19:07] sum up because it was a lot there. Don't [19:08] think rationally. They don't think in a [19:11] way that Westerners think. Any attempt [19:13] to Americanize their worldview or the [19:16] way that they will approach an issue is [19:18] fatal on its face. They don't look at [19:21] life like we look at life like most of [19:24] Western countries look at life. they [19:26] look at it completely differently. So [19:28] for them whether this takes 10 years or [19:31] a thousand years their goals don't [19:33] change. Uh their methods might get more [19:35] sophisticated. But I think the [19:37] president's uh doing something that is [19:39] the right way to look at it. First of [19:41] all, uh he's prepared to bomb them, but [19:44] he's also focused on bankrupting them [19:46] because he knows that if they don't have [19:49] money, if their economy collapses, if [19:51] the people get fed up with watching this [19:54] government, this Iranian regime [19:57] brutalize its own people, murdering tens [20:00] of thousands of them for simply [20:02] protesting and then making life [20:04] miserable for the rest of them. There [20:06] may come the moment at which the people [20:08] of Iran say that's enough. And they're [20:12] the ones who, if anyone, will take down [20:14] the regime and give the Persian empire, [20:17] the Persian culture, the Persian people [20:21] an opportunity to once again live free [20:23] and thrive as they once did quite nobly. [20:26] >> Final qu. [20:28] >> Okay, [20:30] let's pick that up. This is Huckabe at [20:32] his best and I want to build on what he [20:35] says. I'm not arguing with it. He's [20:36] right about the 19 that 1979 isn't [20:38] ancient history, right? It's the [20:40] founding moment of the regime and he [20:41] talks about the humili the humiliation [20:43] of America and the init the first target [20:46] of the Iranian regime was the American [20:48] embassy was America. [20:51] But the the 1979 re revolution wasn't [20:53] just an anti-American coup. It was and [20:57] still is a much larger theological [21:00] project. Okay. Ayatah Kumeni didn't just [21:03] want American troops and influence out [21:05] of Iran. Yes, it it was a goal, but he [21:08] built a governing system around the idea [21:10] that political authority is, you know, [21:13] is flows entirely from submission to [21:16] divine law that that can command us to [21:19] kill and to steal. He said this [21:21] explicitly. um [21:25] the the actual ideology of this [21:28] revolutionary doctrine that put that [21:31] hasbah in 12 countries all over South [21:33] America uh you know and and elsewhere [21:40] Hakabe's is talking about all the [21:41] symptoms of this ideology but I want to [21:45] I want to push back respectfully on the [21:47] ambassador on one point because I think [21:49] he's actually like he comes like one [21:52] sentence away from saying something more [21:53] accurate and and a more useful version [21:55] of this point [21:58] here when he says they don't think [22:02] rationally. [22:04] So it's comforting, right? But it's also [22:07] wrong and it's wrong and it matters in [22:10] the way in which it's wrong. We have to [22:11] stop saying this saying that they're [22:12] crazy or they don't think saying they [22:14] don't think rationally or that they're [22:15] crazy. I don't like doing that because [22:17] then we stop trying to understand them [22:19] because we've just declared them [22:20] irrational. The Iranian regime is [22:22] entirely rational within its own [22:25] framework. And we need to understand its [22:27] framework. It reasons carefully, [22:29] patiently, and consistently within its [22:31] framework. And maybe part of our problem [22:34] is that we think that they're just [22:35] irrational. They're not irrational. [22:37] Um, [22:39] it depends what axiom you're starting [22:41] with because Huckabe said it the axiom [22:45] that laid that they laid out in 1979 and [22:48] it was about bringing down the west and [22:52] in a western liberal framework [22:54] legitimacy comes from mutual [22:58] accountability from a certain type of [23:01] freedom meaning that's and and also [23:04] there's an assumption in the west of [23:06] certain incentives structures. Why do [23:08] people act the way they do? So when we [23:10] see people responding to different [23:12] incentive structures and seek seeking a [23:15] different type of society that they view [23:17] as ideal, to us we say that's [23:20] irrational. But in the framework of [23:22] humenist Iran [23:24] um where legitimacy is all about the [23:27] revolution, [23:30] then they're being totally rational. [23:32] That's my point. Uh and this distinction [23:34] is is not academic. It's very important. [23:36] That's I I think it has strategic [23:38] implications because I I I've said this [23:40] a lot, especially lately that the big [23:44] obstacle to victory right now is the [23:48] Americans [23:50] and the Western media, we could say, but [23:52] the Americans, but we could also talk [23:53] about the larger the larger battle [23:56] against the forces of jihad in the [23:58] world, but specifically in the war with [23:59] Iran. The big problem we're having is [24:02] fully accepting the incentive structure, [24:05] the goals, the the framework of thinking [24:09] of the other side. And that's and that's [24:10] why I'm I'm harping on this point, [24:13] right? Because if you just think you're [24:14] dealing with people who don't think [24:15] rationally, you keep expecting them. You [24:18] might hope that they you might think [24:20] that you can negotiate them out of it, [24:21] get them to think rationally. The [24:23] problem is that they are thinking [24:25] rationally. They have a coherent [24:27] worldview. Um, anyway, I'm harping on [24:30] this point, but you you get what I'm [24:31] saying. Let's watch the last couple [24:32] minutes of this and then we'll we'll [24:34] wrap up. [24:36] >> Question for you, Ambassador Huckabe, [24:39] and I really appreciate you coming on [24:41] the program again. Israel's global [24:44] popularity has been plummeting in the [24:47] last two years in particular and notably [24:50] in the United States where now nearly [24:52] twothirds of Americans have a negative [24:54] view of Israel where half the country [24:57] thinks Netanyahu should be arrested when [25:00] he comes to the United States. Um, as [25:03] somebody who is based in Israel, who [25:06] knows the Israeli people very well, this [25:09] has got to be a concern, hasn't you? [25:11] Again, my interview with the Hamas [25:13] spokesman, one of the things he said is [25:15] that however you want to categorize what [25:17] they did on October the 7th, I view it [25:19] as a despicable terror attack. He [25:21] obviously views it as something else. [25:22] But however you view it, I questioned [25:25] that the strategy had obviously failed. [25:28] And he countered by saying, "But look [25:30] how unpopular Israel now is." uh [25:34] suggesting that they had in some way [25:35] provoked an overreaction from Israel as [25:38] many people see it which has made Israel [25:42] increasingly a global pariah. Does that [25:44] concern you? [25:45] >> Of course it does because it's unfair. [25:48] It's unfounded. It concerns me a great [25:50] deal because obviously there's an [25:53] enormous propaganda campaign that is [25:55] aimed against Israel and against the [25:58] Jewish people. And I think that's really [26:01] disturbing to me because the entirety of [26:04] the number of Jews on the entire face of [26:06] the earth is 16 million. Half of whom [26:08] live in Israel. The other half mostly [26:11] live in the US, mostly New York. Uh [26:15] maybe Miami. Uh but the idea that a [26:19] people, a very small minority of 0.05% [26:23] 05% [26:24] of the population of the world is [26:27] somehow the biggest threat to the world [26:30] on its face. Pierce, that's crazy. I [26:33] mean, that is the kind of thing that you [26:35] just scratch your head and say, [26:36] "Really?" But they are up against a [26:39] multi-billion dollar propaganda campaign [26:42] and lot of money being spent in the [26:45] United States on university campuses, on [26:48] social media. The bots are everywhere [26:52] painting a picture of the Jewish people [26:54] as a whole and the Israelis [26:56] specifically. That is simply absolutely [26:59] unfounded. And I say that as somebody [27:01] who's been coming to this country for 53 [27:04] years since 1973, [27:06] who lives here now as the US ambassador [27:08] and who interacts with the uh Israelis [27:11] every single day of my life. And it is [27:13] appalling to me the reputation that has [27:17] been thrust upon them. And it is [27:19] ridiculously [27:20] and [snorts] horribly unfounded. I just [27:23] want the truth to be told. Israelis [27:26] aren't perfect. Jewish people aren't [27:27] perfect. None of us are. Uh but the [27:30] blood liels that are thrown upon them [27:34] should be really something that every [27:36] civilized, every thoughtful, every [27:38] intellectually capable person, every [27:41] knowledgeable person would say, uh say [27:44] what you want about the Israelis, about [27:46] the Jewish people, but these things that [27:48] are being said, they're just not true [27:51] and they're demonstrabably untrue. Uh [27:54] >> Ambassador Huckabe, I really appreciate [27:55] you coming back on sensor. Thank you [27:57] very much. So what do we see there? Two [28:00] things. First, uh, an honesty check on [28:03] the ambassador's math. He made a mistake [28:05] and we need to correct it. Uh, but it [28:07] actually strengthens his point rather [28:08] than undermines it. 16 million out of [28:10] roughly 8.2 billion people on Earth is [28:12] right around 0.2%, [28:15] not 0.05%. [28:17] Whatever, it doesn't matter. It's still [28:18] an unbelievably small number to be [28:21] treated as history's uh the world's [28:24] central threat. So even correcting the [28:26] number the point stands. [28:28] Um second and this is the part I [28:31] actually want to want to lean into. [28:34] Huckabe is describing this as an Israel [28:37] problem, right? He says, you know, this [28:38] a propaganda campaign specifically [28:40] targeting the Jewish state. And that's [28:42] right. Uh and he's unfounded. It's not [28:44] fair. And and uh you know the Jewish [28:47] people aren't perfect. It's true. But I [28:49] would have rather that he pivoted the [28:52] whole argument in a different direction [28:54] because when you look around at what is [28:57] going on, I I think that I think this [28:59] speaks to the big messaging issue that [29:02] we have on the pro-Israel side in [29:05] general with this war. [29:08] And I've touched on it in a lot of [29:09] videos here and there, but I really kind [29:11] of want to say it like what is the big [29:15] mistake that we're making in my opinion [29:19] is that [29:21] we need to [29:23] to move the narrative so that people in [29:27] the West, especially in America, [29:29] view the war that Israel's fighting not [29:32] as about Israel. [29:34] Because like I've talked about the fact [29:36] that Christmas and Easter and churches [29:40] were also being attacked because of [29:42] October 7th. Like people were protesting [29:44] and they still like there were protests [29:46] against the Christmas tree lighting at [29:48] Rockefeller Plaza and against church [29:49] services and against Christmas [29:51] celebrations at Christmas markets in [29:53] Europe in the name of attacking Gaza or [29:56] the fact that Nigerian Christians are [29:59] being massacred by jihadist Muslims who [30:02] have the same ideology as Hamas. [30:05] meaning the reframing Israel's war [30:09] against this ideology focusing in on the [30:11] religious aspects [30:14] the the religious fanaticism of kamasbah [30:18] Iran focusing in on that and focus and [30:22] that's what Israel's fighting will bring [30:25] into focus the fact that the threat that [30:27] Israel is fighting is the identical [30:28] threat to the west meaning make the war [30:31] in Israel not about Israel this is what [30:33] I think we need to do. Okay. So, [30:37] you know, like the expression first the [30:40] Saturday people, then the Sunday people, [30:42] that's that's that's what what I think [30:44] we need to be talking about more. And uh [30:47] so it's not exactly a criticism of Mike [30:48] Huckabe. I appreciate what he's saying [30:50] about Israel, but it brings to mind [30:53] where where I think we need to go with [30:55] the narrative. So, let me just give the [30:57] big takeaway from this video and we'll [30:58] close it up. Hak Huckabe talked here's [31:02] my big picture description of this [31:04] interview. Huckabe Huckabe's answers [31:07] were accurate and honest, but they were [31:08] about the symptoms. Kamas won't disarm. [31:11] Iran hasn't changed since 1979. Israel's [31:15] getting getting destroyed in the court [31:16] of world opinion, right? Um, that's all [31:20] true and it's all important, but almost [31:22] everything in this interview points [31:24] towards the same underlying question [31:26] that does not get discussed, which is [31:28] why [31:30] why do [31:33] you know why is it like this? You know, [31:35] why does Hamas behave this way? Um, [31:38] what's the underlying ideology? And [31:40] therefore, and when you look at it that [31:41] way, you start to think differently [31:43] about things like the possibility of [31:44] disarmament or the possibility of [31:45] negotiations. And we think more clearly. [31:48] Basically, we think more clearly about [31:49] what's going on when we include an [31:53] awareness all the time of their [31:55] ideology, [31:57] of their ideology, the religious [31:59] ideology that they themselves say [32:00] they're committed to. Because when we [32:02] take it out of the equation and we hear [32:04] things like like like disarmament or [32:07] negotiation, [32:09] when you hold it up against their [32:10] religious ideology, you realize how [32:12] absurd that is. Same thing with the [32:13] Iranians. [32:15] So that's that's why I wanted to focus [32:18] in on this. Hope this made sense. Hope [32:20] you found it interesting. And uh you [32:23] know, please drop a comment. Let me know [32:25] what you thought. And uh we'll keep uh [32:27] we'll keep trying to bring you some [32:28] interesting content on this channel. [32:30] Please keep watching. I I just got back [32:33] to Israel today. I'm back in my studio [32:34] at home. And uh uh hopefully uh we can [32:38] get back on track with a an even fuller [32:41] schedule of video production. God bless [32:43] you.
