Transcript [00:00] Today on the Stand with Us podcast, [00:01] [music] [00:02] >> October 7th itself, I got the call just [00:04] like I get calls, you know, for rocket [00:05] attacks or terror attacks. It's a black [00:07] hole. Uh obviously [music] like for many [00:10] people, we saw things that uh human eyes [00:12] should never see. The officers fighting [00:14] for their lives and you need to remember [00:17] how this started. We're stepping over [00:19] blood. We're stepping over bodies. [00:20] [music] And I don't want to get into too [00:23] much of the gruesome nature of what was [00:24] happening there. [00:28] Welcome to the Stand With Us podcast. [00:29] I'm Michael Dixon, executive director of [00:32] Stand with Us in Israel, and we're [00:33] coming to you from our studios in [00:35] Jerusalem. [00:43] [music] [00:46] of Israeli spokespeople. [music] He's a [00:48] special forces veteran and international [00:50] spokesperson for the Israeli police, our [00:53] friend, Lieutenant Dean Elstein. Thank [00:55] you for joining us, Dean. [00:56] >> Thanks for having me. [00:57] >> First of all, you are owed a muzzle to [00:59] because you recently were given the [01:01] award of excellence from the Israeli [01:03] president. How was that? [01:04] >> That it was wild to stand up there with [01:06] heroes to be recognized for the work of [01:08] October 7th was I can't put it into [01:11] words. It was great. [01:12] >> Must have been extremely proud. Very [01:13] very welld deserved. I do want to [01:15] discuss with you about how Israel gets [01:17] this message out. But before I do, uh, [01:19] South Florida to the border, please. [01:21] Let's talk a bit about that. What did [01:22] your friends and family say back home [01:24] when you told them the plan? Was it the [01:26] plan? I tried to keep it on the down low [01:29] in the beginning cuz it was a really big [01:31] step. And if something happened, I [01:33] didn't want to then have to explain [01:34] everything. But I knew coming to Israel, [01:36] like this was my goal. Sat down with my [01:38] mom, said, "Listen, I was already almost [01:40] 23 at that point, finished college, and [01:43] always wanted to do this. I said, "If I [01:44] don't do it now, I'm going to live a [01:45] life of regret." And uh 2 weeks from [01:48] that conversation on the couch, I was [01:49] already in Israel. And maybe like a [01:51] month after that, I was already in [01:53] uniform in Mikon. Wow. [01:55] >> It was wild how fast it went, but the [01:57] best decision of my life. [01:58] >> Incredible. So, walk us through how [02:00] someone goes from being a patrol officer [02:02] to being the international face of [02:04] Israel for the Israeli police. [02:06] >> So, I I wasn't too much of a patrol [02:09] officer. I was working in [02:11] counterterrorism. I was doing undercover [02:13] work at a unit called Damasim [02:15] in Jerusalem and uh I got to see there a [02:19] world that really a very small amount of [02:22] people get to see the the headlines that [02:25] come out or the pushes to the WhatsApp [02:28] group of a terrorist attack thwarted [02:29] here or things like this. It's a drop in [02:32] the bucket from what's actually [02:33] happening. to to give you a u an idea. [02:37] One of my first missions, we were inside [02:39] of a village maybe two miles from the [02:42] old city uh Jab Mukab. Okay, very close [02:45] to the old city and we arrested two ISIS [02:48] affiliated terrorists that wanted to [02:50] commit a terror attack on Yoma on [02:53] Israel's Memorial Day. They wanted to [02:54] dress up as soldiers and massacre [02:57] soldiers a as we're um all mourning our [03:01] pain of uh of our lost heroes, our [03:03] fallen heroes. And we were able to put [03:05] our hands on them in out without the [03:07] rest of the village knowing, get them to [03:09] uh get due process uh obviously get seen [03:13] before a judge and now they're sitting [03:14] in jail. And uh that was the beginning [03:17] of uh of my work dealing with [03:19] terrorists. And uh fast forward after [03:22] that service, now I'm serving my country [03:25] in a different way. Now I get to be the [03:26] voice for these heroes who are doing [03:28] this work. [03:29] >> Absolutely. And I think I first met you [03:32] in Kibbutzka Aza. So that was one of the [03:35] worst sites of uh destruction following [03:38] October the 7th. And uh you were showing [03:41] us around to and I know you showed so [03:43] many uh different uh media personnel and [03:46] different officials. Tell us what [03:48] October the 7th itself was like for you. [03:53] >> Right now it's a black hole. [03:55] >> Uh obviously like for many people we saw [03:57] things that uh human eyes should never [03:59] see. Felt things we shouldn't see uh [04:01] feel or smell things we shouldn't smell. [04:04] October 7th itself I got the call just [04:06] like I get calls you know for rocket [04:08] attacks or terror attacks routinely [04:10] throughout the year. I got the call [04:12] originally for rocket attacks and then [04:15] uh infiltration of terrorist and then [04:16] terrorist activities and uh people [04:18] dying. And so I quickly got to our [04:21] headquarters, listened to the police [04:23] radios of the officers fighting for [04:25] their lives. Uh got an assessment of [04:27] everything that was taking place. You [04:29] have to remember in the beginning we [04:30] didn't know is it going to come also [04:32] from Judea and Samaria and Jordan? Is it [04:34] going to come from the north? Is it what [04:36] else is going to happen? And so we were [04:38] getting all this data in at one time as [04:41] everything's unfolding. And then already [04:43] at the ETH I was down there uh giving [04:46] interviews to media uh that were [04:49] arriving flooding Israel. Um and at the [04:52] 9th I started in the kibbutim. The [04:55] eighth I was already in uh NOA. 9th I [04:57] was in the kibbutim with a really good [04:59] buddy of mine Leah Diamond who you know [05:01] very well as well. And uh he understood [05:04] that I needed to we needed to be glued [05:08] like peanut butter and jelly and do this [05:10] together and nobody asked us to do it. [05:13] It was just uh it was the role that we [05:14] took upon ourselves. [05:16] Speak to as much media as possible. Show [05:18] them the truth. Remind them. Tell them [05:20] listen in in a few days time, in a few [05:22] weeks time, whenever it is, there's [05:24] going to be a response by Israel. And [05:26] you need to remember how this started. [05:28] We're stepping over blood. We're [05:30] stepping over bodies. And I don't want [05:32] to get into the gruesome too much of a [05:33] gruesome nature of what was happening [05:34] there. But there were journalists [05:36] throwing up. They couldn't handle it. [05:39] People were crying. People were breaking [05:40] down. And I was telling them, "This is [05:42] this is our enemy. This is who is living [05:44] right next door." And Samas was already [05:47] going on the news saying, "We're going [05:48] to do it again." And they were flaunting [05:50] it. And their videos were coming out. [05:53] And as the days went, I went from kind [05:56] of just having [05:58] all this to show them to being in a [06:01] position where I had to now convince [06:02] people. And it was wild to me, [06:05] especially seeing what I saw, being in [06:08] what I was. And most of the journalists [06:11] who were there in the first days being [06:12] flown back to wherever they came from [06:14] and they brought fresh journalists here [06:15] who didn't get to experience those first [06:17] moments with us. And uh the narrative [06:20] started shifting. And so my work started [06:22] shifting and I tried to position myself [06:25] in every place I can be. Whether it was [06:28] uh shur the mass casualty collection [06:30] site where we're identifying bodies, the [06:32] IDF was identifying military, Israel [06:35] police were identifying civilians and I [06:37] would stand there in open trailers [06:39] stacked with bodies and show them look [06:42] you they were questioning me how do we [06:45] know this amount of people died? How do [06:46] we know that they were actually [06:47] butchered? How do you know that this and [06:49] this? And I would open the trailers and [06:51] I would show them and they say, "Well, [06:52] show us exactly who was sexually [06:54] assaulted." Say, "Hey, there's still [06:57] more bodies coming. There's still things [06:58] happening." And we would try our best [07:00] obviously to work with the families cuz [07:03] we're limited here. We're not uh it [07:05] there's different variations that that [07:07] are considered uh with the things that [07:09] we were showing. But as time went and we [07:11] got more permission for families, we [07:12] were showing them. And I remember [07:14] sitting there translating a survivor [07:17] testimony. Women who saw what they saw, [07:21] people who who went through what they [07:22] went through. It was in Hebrew. And I [07:24] would have to sit there in the room, put [07:26] the English translations, and think to [07:28] myself, how can anybody not like [07:31] understand who we're dealing with right [07:32] now? [07:33] >> This is the worst of human nature, the [07:36] worst of humankind coming and attacking [07:39] and doing things that you couldn't [07:40] imagine. And now you're going to excuse [07:43] them. Since when do we excuse the the [07:45] murderers and the terrorists like this? [07:47] And it was wild. It was a wild couple of [07:49] months, couple of days, weeks, and ever [07:52] since. [07:53] >> And it must have been traumatic as well. [07:55] >> I I took that trauma and I really first [07:59] of all, I I can't take any credit for [08:03] getting through that trauma. I had a [08:05] support system at home. my wife who was [08:07] there with me [08:08] >> um who understood she was pregnant at [08:10] the time [08:11] >> and so it was [08:13] >> it was very difficult to personally turn [08:16] that switch off. One second you're [08:18] standing over dead bodies, the next [08:19] second you're walking through your door [08:21] and you're coming home and you need to [08:23] leave all that at threshold of the door. [08:26] But she understood that she her support [08:30] wasn't in Milim. Her support was here. [08:32] this was her role to support me to [08:34] support the nation and uh and she was [08:36] great and she helped me through it and [08:38] uh thank God thank God for that. [08:40] >> Absolutely. And and so you were showing [08:43] journalists, you're going network to [08:45] network. Um, you also showed me around [08:47] Kar Aza and of course one of the places [08:50] worst hit was that area where the young [08:52] people live right on the fence where [08:55] kamas terrorists infiltrated early [08:58] morning and that to my understanding has [09:01] not yet been rebuilt but a lot of has [09:03] been rebuilt and people are moving back. [09:05] We're now you know around 3 years on [09:08] from that terrible day. Do you have any [09:10] strong feeling about what we need to do [09:13] to memorialize that? I know there's a [09:15] lot of debate about whether you leave [09:16] the destructure, whether you completely [09:19] rebuild. Do you have thoughts on that? [09:23] I'm very conflicted. It's hard for me to [09:25] give my opinion on a place that's not my [09:27] home. [09:28] >> Mhm. [09:28] >> Um that's not mine to give the opinion, [09:30] so to say. But what I can say is that I [09:35] did countless tours there. I met with [09:37] countless people who lived there, people [09:39] who fought there. And when I was giving [09:42] the tours in these areas and walking [09:44] through the homes and showing them uh to [09:47] people who were visiting Mike Pence, [09:50] Lindsey Graham, rest in peace, um all [09:52] the way to different heads of police [09:55] agencies and armies and and influencers, [09:59] it made a difference [10:00] >> because it goes from being just words to [10:03] now walking through that day. Um, and so [10:08] I think it's important just like the the [10:10] places of Awitz and and places in Poland [10:13] that uh you're able to really feel what [10:16] happened and what took place there. The [10:18] world needs to understand who Kamas is, [10:21] what they did that day. And I think the [10:23] best way for them to uh be able to feel [10:25] that and and and absorb that is to stand [10:28] in that that youth village to stand [10:30] there and to see it and to feel it. [10:33] >> Absolutely. Um you from then onwards you [10:37] were a constant face in front of the [10:39] media throughout the war. There have [10:40] been a lot of events some of them no [10:43] less traumatic than what happened. I [10:45] know you were at the scene when [10:47] ballistic missiles fell from the Houthis [10:49] or or from Iran. Talk to us a bit about [10:51] that experience. Obviously a lot were [10:54] infiltrated [10:55] by the uh defense systems but of course [10:58] some did land and caused devastation. [11:00] Yeah, I think in those early days, the [11:02] main question that I kept getting from [11:04] the press was asking me about the [11:06] rockets, the missiles that were that [11:08] were getting through the uh the Iron [11:10] Dome, the Patriot, the defense system. [11:12] >> And I would tell them, do you understand [11:13] what you're asking me right now? The the [11:15] question is why are the missiles getting [11:16] through and not why are they firing [11:18] missiles at areas? [11:19] >> Like we're standing in the heart of Tel [11:21] Aviv. You and I are running to shelter. [11:23] You understand that there's no soldiers [11:24] around us. We are the target and you're [11:27] asking why the missiles are getting [11:29] through. like there's something [11:31] warped in in the way that you're looking [11:33] at this right now. Um, but in order to [11:37] report the work of my officers, the work [11:40] of our security forces, and and the the [11:42] haz of our country, you need to be in [11:44] the middle of it. And that's where I [11:46] was. Whether it was the rockets or I, [11:48] you know, October 7th or even up north, [11:52] I try to be everywhere I can be to [11:55] absorb all of it so I can do the best of [11:57] my ability to then relay it outwards. [12:00] >> And the north of course was pummeled by [12:02] missiles coming in from Lebanon uh for a [12:06] long period of the war and of course [12:09] many many people displaced from that [12:11] region as well. [12:12] >> Right. you had tens of thousands of [12:13] people displaced from their homes, [12:15] probably even upwards of hundreds of [12:16] thousands. I don't want to get specific [12:18] in numbers, but I do remember that in [12:19] the early days, I was reaching out to [12:22] anybody that I could to tell them, I [12:24] will drive you up there. I know it's 3 [12:26] hours away. Get in the car with me. I'll [12:28] take you up there. I'll give you a [12:29] bulletproof vest. Once we get up there, [12:31] I can get an armored vehicle. I'll take [12:33] you around an armored vehicle, but you [12:34] have to see this. And and there were [12:36] people who were accepting it. uh Lizzie [12:38] Sevetski and journalists and all these [12:41] different people were were coming up. [12:44] There was no lack of rockets being fired [12:46] at us. Every couple of minutes we had to [12:49] stop so that we can take cover or if we [12:51] were on the armored vehicle to just pray [12:54] uh that it wasn't going to be a direct [12:55] hit on us. I remember with Lizzy, we [12:57] were across the street. We were on [12:59] FaceTime with somebody who was evacuated [13:01] from their home and they they uh told us [13:03] where they hid the key. So, we're [13:04] walking around their house and [13:05] everything. As we get out of the house, [13:09] rocket alert and over there it's very [13:11] different than in Tel Aviv and these are [13:13] you have seconds if you're lucky. [13:15] >> Rocket alert goes off. We run into the [13:17] bomb shelter waiting there. We feel the [13:19] house shake. We get outside of the house [13:23] across the street. The the missile [13:25] landed, hit a vehicle, the vehicle is on [13:27] fire and um so this is this is the [13:31] reality. And you know who's left here? [13:33] It's not the citizens. The citizens [13:35] left. It's the police officers and the [13:36] firefighters who are here right now, [13:38] right? [13:38] >> Cuz the police need to, the bomb squad [13:41] needs to take away these uh dangerous [13:43] pieces from the explosives. Fire [13:45] department needs to put out the fire. [13:46] The police also, it's a ghost town. we [13:48] need to stay here because uh in case [13:50] people are coming to uh conduct criminal [13:53] activity whether it's to steal or to [13:56] vandalize or whatever it is um and also [13:59] act as reinforcement to the IDF who are [14:02] maybe they're inside of Lebanon but that [14:04] whole gate is now open and we were [14:06] standing there with bulletproof vests [14:07] and machine guns and armored vehicles to [14:09] be that front line in case there's an [14:11] infiltration. [14:13] >> We just commemorated 25 years since [14:15] 9/11. [14:16] >> Yeah. And of course, we're around the [14:19] time of the commemoration of 3 years [14:21] since October 7th. Two days that are so [14:24] terrible that they're referred to by [14:25] their dates and everybody knows what [14:27] you're talking about. Do you think the [14:29] world has learned the lessons it needs [14:31] to learn about fighting terrorism? [14:36] I want to say yes. [14:38] >> But then I see on social media, and I [14:41] don't know how much I can trust it. [14:42] Yeah. But I see what's happening in [14:44] places like the United States, [14:45] throughout Europe, and it's scary. It's [14:49] scary to know that a band of terrorists [14:52] can fly planes into buildings, kill [14:55] nearly 3,000 people, slaughter, murder [14:58] families, [15:00] and then that's it. It's like as if it [15:02] never happened. Or they shift the blame [15:05] on to somebody else. They start [15:06] believing conspiracy theories instead of [15:08] facts. And I remember this since we're [15:11] bringing up 9/11. I remember standing in [15:14] in Ber in Kibbutz Bi and I had a group [15:18] of influencers there with me that I was [15:20] trying to explain to them exactly what [15:22] was taking what took place there as much [15:23] as we knew. So remember in the beginning [15:25] days we're still gathering everything. [15:27] >> Sure. [15:28] >> But I told them as I'm literally [15:30] standing over a pile of blood on 911 [15:33] nobody asked how do you know it's [15:35] al-Qaeda? How do you know it's these [15:36] terrorists? They took the word. They [15:40] understood that the reality is there's [15:41] people who want to harm us because of [15:43] our beliefs, our beliefs of freedom. [15:45] They they don't believe the same way as [15:47] us. They're extremist jihadist and they [15:50] want to take that away from us. And in [15:53] order to do that, they're going to kill. [15:55] And people believe that. They understood [15:57] that. And now here I am. Fast forward. [16:00] I'm standing in Kibut and I'm explaining [16:04] I'm not making something up. Like I'm [16:06] not You don't have to take my word for [16:08] it. They're saying it. It's in their [16:10] charter. It's in their videos. It's in [16:13] all these things. Like they want to [16:14] eliminate the Jewish nation. They want [16:16] to eliminate the Israeli nation, the [16:18] Israeli people. They want to slaughter [16:20] us. And they're willing to do it over [16:22] and over again. And they're not going to [16:23] stop. And this is their whole purpose in [16:26] life. [16:27] >> Why do I need to convince you of that? [16:29] and and that was a battle that was till [16:33] today I'm still struggling with uh [16:35] convincing people. [16:36] >> You've been part of the uh police force [16:39] that intercepted the flotillas. [16:42] >> Yeah. [16:43] >> Uh we've seen a number of them these uh [16:47] gimmicky uh actions led by the likes of [16:50] Greta Tunberg. So you know you actually [16:53] got on board. So tell us what you found [16:55] there. They spoke about bringing loads [16:58] of humanitarian aid to the poor people [17:00] of Gaza. Um, what was it actually like? [17:03] We knew it was a media stunt. We knew [17:04] that it was a stunt from the beginning. [17:06] Especially when you see when you follow [17:08] along with their journey, you see their [17:09] stops of partying. You see their videos [17:12] they're posting on social media of, you [17:14] know, all the things that they're doing [17:15] on the boat. So, it wasn't a surprise [17:17] that when I actually got on the boat, [17:19] what do I see there? I see drugs. I see [17:23] signs of uh promiscuous activity and [17:27] what I don't see is aid [17:30] >> and I'm like I got to take a video of [17:32] this. I got to I got to show like this [17:34] needs to get out. So I take a quick [17:36] video as I'm like running through and [17:38] I'm showing I'm like look there's no aid [17:39] here. Absolutely no aid except for some [17:42] water. And I look at the water and if [17:44] funny enough the water's mayed Israeli. [17:47] How did they get Mayed Eden? It's the [17:48] water that our soldiers gave to them [17:50] during the interception because they [17:52] didn't have enough water for all the [17:53] people left on the boat. We're giving [17:55] them water. We gave them the aid and uh [17:58] and they get on they get off the ships [18:00] and you know there's the whole process [18:02] that we set up for them and we tell them [18:05] listen [18:07] we'll put you on a pl from here. We will [18:09] put you in Benorion. We will put you on [18:11] a plane or you have the right to appeal. [18:13] you're going to be seen before a judge [18:16] and then you're going to be put on the [18:17] plane. And they had it all figured out. [18:19] Half of them were going to stay so that [18:21] they can claim they were hostages. They [18:24] can claim all these nonsense claims with [18:27] no proof. And the other half were going [18:29] to [18:29] >> This is when there were actual hostages [18:31] in Gaza, Israeli hostages in Gaza. [18:34] >> And I was telling the people that I work [18:36] with, they're doing this on purpose. You [18:39] realize this, right? Because what they [18:41] want to do is they want to eliminate all [18:43] the when somebody Googles Israel [18:45] hostages, they want to take away from [18:48] the actual hostages that Hamas are [18:50] holding and they're going to show their [18:52] pictures and uh genocide. They're going [18:55] to take it away from genocide that's [18:57] happened to Israeli people and now it's [18:58] going to be over here. All of this is [19:00] part of a game that they spent millions [19:03] and millions of dollars creating this [19:05] playbook and we need to we need to be [19:08] smart about it. We need to break this [19:10] narrative and show the truth. And so the [19:12] people who are willing to accept the [19:14] truth, they'll see it falls apart so [19:17] easy. All their their claims and all [19:19] these lies fall apart so easy. Those [19:21] that are just against Jews or hopping on [19:22] a bandwagon cuz it's cool, because it [19:24] gets them media attention, cuz it gets [19:26] them money. It doesn't matter what [19:28] you're going to do, they can stand [19:29] there, their own family can be killed, [19:31] they whatever it is, they're not going [19:32] to believe it. And and that's the [19:34] unfortunate reality. I want to talk a [19:36] bit about Jerusalem where we're [19:38] obviously in Jerusalem now and Jerusalem [19:41] is an incredibly special place also an [19:43] incredibly challenging city. So talk to [19:45] us a bit about the policing that's done [19:47] in the capital. [19:49] Wow. So complex, so multifaceted. I just [19:53] in the beginning that I was telling you [19:54] when I was working in in Yamas, literal [19:57] attempted terror attacks, any ones that [20:00] you can imagine attempted to to have [20:02] been taking place. And these are things [20:04] that our officers are thwarting all the [20:06] time. If you're walking around [20:08] Jerusalem, you better know that there's [20:11] an officer somewhere around you, whether [20:13] he's seen, whether [20:14] >> it feels safe. I can say from my [20:16] perspective, I love walking around [20:17] Jerusalem. Feels safe. [20:18] >> Absolutely. [20:19] >> You you have I'm sure you have no [20:21] problem allowing your kids to walk [20:22] around 11:00 midnight around Jerusalem. [20:25] You know that they're going to be okay. [20:27] I can't imagine the same being said for [20:29] areas of United States or Europe or [20:31] these areas. [20:33] You just know that the police are going [20:34] to be there for you. I can tell you that [20:36] we work so hard with different agencies [20:38] as well. It's not all the credit doesn't [20:40] go just to the police, but work with the [20:42] the Shabbach. We work with other [20:44] agencies in order to keep everybody [20:46] safe. And I think a big misconception is [20:48] that, you know, they think, "Oh, we're [20:50] only keeping the Jews safe." It's such [20:52] nonsense. The guys who I was working [20:54] within the special unit, they were [20:56] Christian, they were Muslim, they were [20:59] Jews, they came from all walks of life. [21:01] We had karedis, we had Ethiopians. And [21:03] that's the same reality across all the [21:05] units of the police and AC across the [21:07] army. We're protecting everybody. All [21:10] backgrounds are protecting all [21:12] backgrounds. [21:13] >> And of course, the charge that's often [21:14] leveled at Israel is of racism. You [21:16] know, they use the term apartheite. I [21:19] guess your experience of the personnel [21:21] within the police force and also of [21:23] policing religious, you know, [21:25] multi-diverse [21:27] uh events kind of belies that. Yeah, it [21:30] listen, you have Ramadan that takes [21:32] place. It's a whole month. You have [21:35] hundreds of thousands of Muslims coming [21:37] walking through the old city while you [21:40] have over the last few years we saw [21:42] Jewish holidays as well taking place [21:44] overlapping. And you have these officers [21:47] who are working in one square kilometer [21:50] box, okay, of the old city. It's very, [21:52] very small, which on a typical day has [21:56] about over 30,000 residents. Just so you [21:59] understand how dense it is there. Now [22:01] add the influx of hundreds of thousands [22:03] of how complex it is to police there. [22:07] And they do it in a way so they say okay [22:09] we're going to open this avenue so the [22:11] Muslims can get to their prayers [22:12] unaffected and then we'll have this area [22:15] for the Jews. And then you have the the [22:17] media I don't want to say all media but [22:19] you have certain media and certain [22:21] social media figures who come there and [22:23] say this is aparthide look. [22:24] >> Yeah. They want to cause trouble. [22:26] >> No this is not a part. We're thinking [22:28] about emergency routes. We're thinking [22:30] about, okay, we have this x amount of [22:33] people that are coming through. Let's [22:34] separate it so that, you know, this goes [22:36] through this corridor, that goes through [22:37] that corridor. We're thinking ahead and [22:40] it gets played against us. Uh you have [22:42] the holy fire ceremony where you have [22:44] the church or the holy supplr. You have [22:46] thousands of people who want to come [22:48] into a relatively small church [22:52] and light fire. They're holding a [22:55] candle, small candle, a very large [22:57] candle with a very large fire on it. [22:59] Everybody's packed like sardines. And [23:02] our job, especially after the disaster [23:04] of Miron in the north, is to think [23:07] public safety. We bring a safety [23:09] engineer, not our safety engineer. We [23:12] tell the church, choose a safety [23:13] engineer. You brings a safety engineer. [23:16] The safety engineer says this is my [23:17] recommendation on the amount of people. [23:19] And we say, okay, this is what he says. [23:21] We accept it. You choose who's going to [23:24] come. We don't even choose who's coming. [23:26] The church, there's different factions, [23:27] denominations. They hand out the permits [23:30] and that's the people who are going to [23:32] come in and we stand there cuz again, [23:35] you have thousands of people coming. We [23:37] need to have our officers there, public [23:39] safety order. [23:42] And then the media stands there at these [23:44] points where they know that there's [23:47] going to be influx of people who are [23:48] angry they didn't get permits from their [23:50] church to come in and say it's the [23:52] Israel police blocking them. This is [23:53] apartha. Look at what they're doing. And [23:55] the reality is a completely different [23:57] thing. And we hold briefings ahead of [23:59] time and we tell them and I call them [24:01] out and I say guys please for the love [24:03] of God this is my third fourth year in [24:06] this job. Every year like clockwork, you [24:08] guys put out the same false headlines [24:10] and the same false claims of part of [24:16] separating or oppression or whatever it [24:18] is or police forces are doing ABC. [24:22] Please understand our main concern is [24:24] public safety. Our main concern is that [24:26] in the event that something happens, we [24:28] have enough exit routes. We can be able [24:30] to protect these citizens. [24:32] Our officers are also Christian officers [24:35] there. We understand the the sensitivity [24:38] that everybody wants to take part of [24:39] this holiday, but there's considerations [24:42] of human life that we need to take into [24:43] account and that's what comes first. And [24:46] of course, you have police operations to [24:48] secure the capital when you have world [24:50] leaders coming. Um, across the street [24:52] from us is the King David Hotel. In [24:54] recent years, we've had, you know, uh, [24:56] President Obama, President Biden, uh, [24:59] and, uh, President Trump staying very [25:02] complex operations. CD you could say the [25:05] least. And you have different units in [25:07] the police, whether it's from the [25:08] traffic division, aviation, different [25:10] special units, everybody. We all need to [25:13] speak the same language so that we can [25:15] secure them. No lack of threats. But as [25:18] you can see, our officers, knock on [25:20] wood, you know, they they dedicate their [25:22] lives to this and they want to do it the [25:24] best that they can do it. [25:25] >> Absolutely. One of the criticisms that's [25:27] leveled quite often now in the media uh [25:31] towards Israel is about settler [25:33] violence. So, we're talking about Jewish [25:35] citizens of Judea and Samaria, also [25:37] known as the West Bank, uh who are [25:40] attacking Arabs in those areas. And the [25:44] criticisms that are leveled are that [25:45] Israel isn't doing enough to tackle it. [25:47] Um the phenomenon itself is given a lot [25:51] of play on international media. Um, and [25:54] then also about the followup to that, [25:56] you know, investigating them afterwards. [25:58] What can you tell us? [25:59] >> I can tell you that the Israel police [26:01] invests a lot of resources into [26:04] investigating these incidents. We've [26:06] opened up a joint task force with [26:08] different agencies so that there's no [26:12] red tape. We're all together in the same [26:14] room with the same purpose that [26:16] extremist violence, no matter what side [26:18] of the table it's on, is dealt with [26:20] properly. We don't condone any violence [26:23] against any innocent civilians. And [26:24] anyone who believes otherwise is [26:28] they want to believe otherwise because [26:30] they're not believing the facts. We show [26:32] them. We say, "Look, here's a joint task [26:34] force. This is what we're doing." But in [26:37] this area of Judea and Samaria, it's [26:38] very complex. Okay? I can talk to you [26:41] about investigations. I can't talk to [26:42] you about warding and preventing. Why? [26:45] Because area A and B of Judea and [26:47] Samaria, the responsibility given by the [26:50] attorney general is to the IDF and to [26:54] the to the Shabbach, the ISA, the Israel [26:56] security agency for preventing, [26:58] thwarting um and responding to violent [27:01] incidents. So what happens is the Israel [27:05] police comes into the picture afterwards [27:06] to investigate, say that there's a crime [27:08] that took place, vandalism for example. [27:11] Uh the IDF will respond um and then [27:15] afterwards they coordinate with the [27:16] Israel police cuz the police need um the [27:20] the escort to get into these areas. [27:23] You have to remember these areas can be [27:25] very violent to security forces, [27:27] throwing Molotov cocktails at them, [27:29] throwing stor [27:31] villages. Say say a uh violent incident [27:33] takes place in an Arab village that's uh [27:36] believed to have taken place at the [27:38] hands of Israelis. [27:40] We the Israel police need to coordinate [27:43] entry with the IDF because these areas [27:45] can be very violent to security forces [27:47] at the hands of Arabs. They can throw [27:49] rocks at them. They can throw Molotov [27:50] cocktails at them. And we need armored [27:53] vehicles to get in. We need to wear [27:54] bulletproof vests to get in. We need [27:55] heavy we need our machine guns to get [27:57] in. Why? because the threat in these [27:59] areas is very real against security [28:01] forces. Every day there's attacks [28:03] against security forces there. But [28:05] nonetheless, we go because it's our duty [28:07] to investigate. And when we arrive to [28:10] these locations, many times there's no [28:12] cooperation from the community members [28:15] that are there. I had one incident where [28:19] they claimed that an American [28:20] Palestinian uh was murdered at the hand [28:23] of Jews, Israelis, and the Israel police [28:27] weren't doing enough to investigate it. [28:29] And so I got a call from I won't say who [28:33] because I don't want to get into [28:34] specifics, but I got I got a few calls [28:37] and I had to explain to them, listen to [28:40] me, we're doing everything a more than [28:42] that just to give you an understanding. [28:45] Nobody filed a claim. Nobody filed a [28:47] police report. We proactively opened the [28:50] investigation based on social media [28:52] reports to see what happened here. When [28:55] we arrived to these locations and we [28:57] asked to see the body, they refused to [28:59] give us the body for autopsy. So, how do [29:01] I prove that there's a body? Even how do [29:02] I prove that a murder took place? They [29:05] don't. It's hard enough to get into [29:07] these locations and to not get [29:09] cooperations once we're inside. These [29:12] hinder investigations. And so the [29:13] investigation stays open. We don't shut [29:15] it. We try to find different avenues of [29:18] how to do it. And I also explained to [29:22] the interested parties of these [29:24] investigations that it's not a matter of [29:27] Jewish, Arab, Palestinian, Muslim, all [29:29] these different things. Why? Especially [29:31] because some of these investigators are [29:33] Muslims. Some of these investigators are [29:35] Christians. There it's not Jews only and [29:38] whatever. And we're not investigating it [29:39] just because it's just that's not the [29:41] reality here. uh regardless of what [29:43] social media wants to tell you in all [29:45] these lies. But there's another factor [29:47] that I've noticed taking place and [29:50] that's the distortion of the truth. So [29:53] headlines will come out right away [29:55] saying that uh Jews set fire to a [29:58] Christian church in Judea and Samaria. [30:02] Now that's a big headline and that's a [30:03] very big claim. But once you start [30:05] looking into the claim, you say, "Wait a [30:08] second. First of all, it's not an active [30:09] church. We're talking about historical [30:11] runes, not less important, but let's be [30:14] clear on on what we're talking about. [30:16] And then we look at the location and you [30:18] say, "Wait a second. The historical [30:20] runes is up here on the hill, and it's [30:22] actually the the place that caught fire [30:24] was the shrubs down below it adjacent." [30:27] Okay, still important. There's a fire [30:28] that took place. We need to investigate [30:30] to see if it was arson. [30:32] Wait a second. It was Israelis that [30:35] called it in that there's a fire and [30:38] they're working there to put out the [30:40] fire. The footage that we saw from that [30:42] we collected in investigation from uh [30:44] cell phone footage was that it was [30:46] Israelis trying to put out this fire and [30:50] you then speak to the media and you tell [30:52] them all these different things and they [30:54] don't change the headlines and they [30:55] don't change the facts. Luckily, we had [30:57] a really great and we still have a [30:59] really great friend in the US embassy, [31:02] our US ambassador to Israel, uh, Mike, [31:06] and I spoke with his adviser and I [31:07] showed him and I gave him the pictures [31:09] and everything and he brought it to to [31:11] the ambassador and ambassador put out a [31:13] tweet correcting it [31:14] >> because he understands the value of the [31:16] truth. But you understand that all these [31:19] headlines once they go out, the damage [31:21] is done and nobody cares about repairing [31:22] it. And an even more recent case which [31:25] was even crazier to me which nobody [31:27] heard about mainly because of the media [31:30] was that there was a claim that Israelis [31:32] set fire to a home in south of Kron in a [31:35] community south of maybe you heard tell [31:38] me if you heard it would surprise. Okay [31:40] maybe you heard about the fire part. But [31:42] once we start investigating, the [31:43] investigators get there, the firefighter [31:45] investigators, the forensic [31:46] investigators get there, they quickly [31:49] determine based on their years of [31:52] experience and their years of of [31:53] knowledge, this wasn't an arson. This [31:57] was an electrical fire. But it didn't [31:59] stop the homeowners from ringing and [32:02] having a media party at their home [32:04] saying, "I saw Israeli settlers coming. [32:07] They broke the window. They were cursing [32:08] at us. They set fire to the house. We [32:10] saw it and this and that." and and it [32:12] spread like wildfire. Okay. And then we [32:15] bring the the mother and we bring the [32:18] son. We tell them, "Okay, come. We have [32:19] a few questions for you about this [32:20] investigation." The son quickly says, "I [32:23] didn't see anything. Actually, I made it [32:25] up." [32:27] Investigate also speak with the mother. [32:29] We say, "Listen, based on the [32:30] investigation and this and that, your [32:32] story there's there's holes in it. Can [32:34] you account for this, this, and this?" [32:36] And she says, "Well, you know what? to [32:37] tell you the truth [32:39] and and she said this in court [32:40] documents, okay? It's it's written, it's [32:42] proven, it's there, [32:44] I dreamt it and it didn't actually [32:47] happen. But because of everything that [32:49] they said about the Israelis here in [32:51] this area and the Jews and and what they [32:53] do to our people, I I wanted to get [32:55] revenge. And so that's why I said, but [32:58] she already she already interviewed to [33:00] so many international news channels and [33:01] the headlines went out and it's probably [33:03] in all the statistics that are going to [33:05] be used against Israel and and all these [33:07] different things, but it was all false [33:09] and nobody came out and corrected their [33:11] headlines. Maybe they manipulated the [33:13] headlines a little bit. They distorted [33:15] the truth a little bit to not include it [33:16] or or keep themselves safe uh from legal [33:20] uh response. That's what we're dealing [33:23] with in Judan Sparia. Now, I want to be [33:24] very clear. We do not condone behavior [33:28] of violence against anybody. And if it's [33:30] Jews attacking Arabs or if it's Arabs [33:32] attacking Jews, we treat it the same [33:34] with the same severity. We don't condone [33:36] it. And we invest so many resources into [33:39] bringing these people to justice. But [33:41] criminal cases do not work like Netflix [33:43] and Law and Order and all these [33:44] different shows and and within the first [33:46] few hours you have somebody and you [33:48] brought them to court and they're [33:49] already sitting in jail. That's not how [33:50] it works. It takes time. You have to [33:52] have a certain threshold of evidence. [33:53] You have to bring it. They have lawyers. [33:55] The lawyers dispute this that back and [33:57] forth. And then hopefully hopefully if [33:59] this is the guy who did it, he's brought [34:00] to justice no matter his religion or [34:02] background. And you mentioned the media. [34:04] So our audience, we have, you know, [34:06] students, activists, uh, abroad. They [34:09] often get hit with viral claims about [34:11] Israel's security before any real facts [34:14] are out. So what's your best advice for [34:16] the smartest first move for someone [34:18] actually trying to figure out the truth [34:20] in real time? [34:21] >> It takes time. It takes time. So, you [34:24] know, the the truth is facts are much [34:27] slower than rumors. Um, you have to [34:30] investigate and all these things. [34:33] You have to not rush to pass judgment [34:36] and to keep an open mind and just wait [34:40] till the truth comes out. But you have [34:42] to have trust in the security forces, [34:44] trust in Israel. Uh, I think we've [34:47] proven over the years just how uh just [34:51] how much we care about civilians, just [34:53] how much we care about uh human life. [34:56] And uh [34:58] it's their it's their job to to support [35:01] Israel. Everybody has a role right now. [35:03] You know, whether it's me in uniform or [35:05] you would stand with us or the Jews [35:06] abroad. We're fighting for the existence [35:09] of the state of Israel. Whether you like [35:10] it or not, whether you know our soldiers [35:13] are holding guns or I'm holding a [35:14] microphone or other people are holding [35:15] cell phones, we all need to do our role [35:18] and that's to continue putting out the [35:20] truth. [35:22] What inspires you about Israel? And the [35:24] reason I ask is that especially in the [35:26] last 3 years, you've seen a lot of bad [35:29] stuff. [35:29] >> Yeah. [35:30] >> Um and been through a lot of tough [35:31] events as have many in this country. [35:34] What keeps you going and what keeps you [35:36] positive? [35:38] just the impact that I'm making. I can [35:41] see it. You know, when I first started [35:43] this role, the job sat empty for nearly [35:45] two years. I created um a role that [35:50] really didn't exist before I came in. [35:52] The role was there. somebody held a [35:53] position but in the same um weight I [35:58] would say or seventh and Iran and all [36:00] these different things and the waves of [36:02] terror attacks that were happening one [36:03] after the other and and yes those [36:05] happened before but now you have the [36:07] realm of the digital age that you have [36:09] to take into account for and influencers [36:12] and all these things that weren't before [36:14] and I was very lucky to have a commander [36:16] who understood that and she gave me the [36:19] green light and she said go Dean and um [36:23] she when I say she understood she [36:24] understood also that we're fighting two [36:27] different fights in the spokesperson [36:30] world in the the media world here in [36:32] Israel [36:34] it might be quiet so to say while [36:36] there's a fire blazing in the headlines [36:39] abroad and so to know that I'm able to [36:44] spot these headlines and to be able to [36:47] pull information get facts out bring it [36:49] to the right people make the right [36:51] friends that are working in the same [36:54] maybe not the same you're you know take [36:56] stand with us for example you're not in [36:58] the police but you have you're fighting [37:00] for the truth and you're willing to [37:02] listen to the truth no matter how pretty [37:04] or ugly it is and I'll be able to [37:06] collect all this information and pass it [37:08] along to people like you or others who [37:10] are able to then spread it out and make [37:12] that impact that's something that keeps [37:14] me going knowing that you know I'm not [37:18] in combat boots so to say with a with a [37:20] rifle or undercover in these villages [37:22] fighting and and taking terrorists off [37:24] the streets, but I'm fighting terrorism [37:26] in a different way and we're making that [37:28] impact that keeps me going [37:30] >> and making a huge difference. Um, we [37:32] want to thank you for your service. We [37:33] value you. We value your service and we [37:35] thank you for it. Lieutenant Dean [37:37] Ellstein, thanks so much for being with [37:38] us. [37:38] >> Thank you guys. [37:40] A fascinating discussion with Lieutenant [37:42] Deanstein. You can follow stand with us [37:45] across social media and learn more about [37:47] our upcoming galas events and stand with [37:49] us conference at standwith us.com. [37:51] [music] And if you want to support our [37:53] work and keep it strong, go to standwith [37:55] us.com/donate. [37:57] Thank you for standing with us.
