My observation of the Palestinian Israeli issue is pretty simple. The Palestinians want their land back and they expect that Israeli’s to give it back to them. The rest is noise. Or if you will violence.
I don’t excuse Israeli violence nor do I excuse Palestinian violence. I’m simply going to say this. Palestinians have had extremely poor leadership. Arafat had a chance to make peace but he was a grifter. It is a matter of faith that the Jews must be driven out of Palestine. For a Palestinian leader to cave and make peace it will be seen as a betrayal. It won’t last. Why?
Somebody please tell me. Hove you seen a Gandhi or a Mandela or a Martin Luther King present in Palestinian politics? I don’t see a peace movement. I think a two state solution is fine, except I don’t see a Palestinian leadership who will lead it. A leadership who will not do what Hamas did, which is to build up a armyto kill Israelis. Netanyahu, may be an asshole, but his retort to Blinken and Biden should simply be, "who do I make a peace with"? Who has a following? Who has the personality to sustain a peace, to get the Palestinians to lay down their hatred?
Until you have a true leader with whom the Palestinian people will follow, there is no-one to make a peace with.
Not having an hour to watch this, I am not interested in hearing the voice of an iconoclastic and brave new reader on this issue. I watched Bibi on two talking head shows yesterday and saw they are in the final phase of the military operation. The attack against Rafah is the last place to root out the structure of Hamas. Once that is done, then what?
For me, a two-state solution is not viable as long as the Palestinian mindset is based on hate, revenge, and retribution. The land for peace deal in 2005 led to the massacre of October 7th. Gazans have proven they can not govern themselves, so some sort of international force is going to have to rule and administer the state with the hope of the people becoming modern and reasonable in their outlook.
Sadly, that is a pipedream, but they can never allowed again to be a threat to Israel. So, they will be a subjugated people for the foreseeable future, which will be harsh, cruel, and necessary.
This was an incredible interview. I would have liked to hear more about Lucy's parents.
As Lucy said, this didn't suddenly happen on October 7. I was ten years old when my family escaped out of Egypt right before the 6 Day War. I will never forget the hatred that came to the surface, like an explosion just waiting to happen. Nassar's voice blasting in the streets of Cairo, "Death to America and its stooge, Israel!"
I went back to Egypt a few years ago and lived in Luxor for 3 years, a beautiful magical place. I wanted to believe that it would be better than what I experienced as a child. I started the first and only boxing club for girls there, a miracle in itself. But I ended up in a dangerous situation during COVID, helping another woman escape a mob of violent men, and once again, barely made it out of the country alive.
People in the West are naive. They do not understand the complexity of the situation in the Middle East. They do not understand the hatred. I confronted it, both as a woman and as a western 'infidel'. I don't know the answer, how you ever root it out, it goes so deep.
And yes, as Lucy says, Hamas leaders are laughing at us. At an educational system that indoctrinates our youth to protest for Islamists who live under Sharia Law instead of standing up for the one democracy in the Middle East, Israel. We must stand with Israel.
Not a fan of podcasts and interviews. I am very busy. I can scan an article in minutes but don't have time to sit for 20-30 mins listening to something I may find myself disinterested in half way through. Respectfully, can you at least provide a transcript or summary?
All of us in Israel know Lucy Aharish - because she's in media and married to a famous actor. Most people don't have a problem with her. But another reason she's famous is because she's an anomaly. She's different than most Israeli Arabs. Saying most Israeli Arabs are like her is patently false.
Aharish does say some things I disagree with - her story about being a speaker in Megiddo - fine that she got paid but they should not have invited her to speak on that Jewish holiday. Her definition of "racism" is certainly different than mine. Also her description of her personal experience on 7th October was a bit overly dramatic - she was never in any danger in Tel Aviv (neither was I and I knew it on that day). And she's not a f-cking gatekeeper for Israel (!!).
Also the overly dramatic ending...good grief. I have zero compassion for the Gazans - they made their bed and their behavior has consequences. My eyes are open and there will never be a "Palestinian State" - that is a hill to die on.
Great interview -- subject and interviewer. I would encourage anyone who hasn't to watch in its entirety. I disagree with many of the comments here.
Lucy is not exceptional. Her strength and refusal to be labeled a victim is typical of Israeli women. That Americans view her as exceptional is simply an indication of how successfully the oppressed/oppressor narrative has permeated our culture. Young women who don't define themselves by their perceived trauma are an anomaly here.
Lucy is indeed inconsistent, but why is that interpreted as disingenuousness, rather than ambivalence? I think most Muslim Arab Israelis are torn, and shouldn't be faulted for it. Most American Jews are likewise torn.
What do you do when you've got two incompatible ideologies or claims? You go to war. I don't know why people continue to debate history or land ownership or colonialism. The Palestinians want Israel gone; clearly Israelis aren't going to pack up and leave. In situations like this, deterrence is typically effective. When you are dealing with an adversary that doesn't care about its own losses, however, deterrence doesn't work and so, war. You destroy the will to fight; you demilitarize the losing parties; and you re-educate the losing party -- just like the Allies did to Germany & Japan in WWII. This is a proven strategy.
Toward re-education, dissolving the UNRWA should be the highest priority. I believe they are the single biggest impediment to peace. Their existence implicitly endorses the idea that someday Palestinians will return to 'their land.' How else do you explain designating subsequent generations as refugees? They actively work against UN resettlement goals.
"Muslim Jewish son"? You are not BORN a Muslim! You may be born into a Muslim family or, as in this case, born into a mixed marriage, but you are not a Muslim just because one of your parents are. A more accurate description would be an Arab Israeli. Now, perhaps the son has converted to Islam, and in THAT case he COULD be called a Muslim Jew, so there IS that!
Revolutionary Iran seeks to encircle Saudi Arabia and destroy the kingdom. They have Yemen, Iraq and Syria. They need Israel. Palestinians are nothing more than cannon fodder. If they could see that, they might think living side by side with Israel would be pretty good. Why do we think the Saudis decided to accept Israel?
I think the world will always benefit from people with the courage to ACTUALLY find their own voice. Most people parrot things they've heard, but lack some combination of the integrity and awareness to recognize that fact.
Most of us are not brilliant. Most of us are not unusually perceptive. But the world is not demanding we be brilliant. Most of the lies being told are transparent and ridiculous, and the only needed work is for people to see with their own eyes, and where appropriate to GENUINELY speak with their own voices.
As Lucy said “it all starts with education” and unfortunately the West failed. Can we recover here and in Gaza? Israel has to win for the sake of all so give a chance to start all over.
I see the trolls wake up early. . . . This, right here, is one big reason I'm constantly recommending The Free Press to anyone who will listen, and why everyone got a gift subscription for Christmas. I think you're the only actual journalists left in the West. Thank you.
Let me see, Muslim in Israel, very successful and married a Jew. Woman running for Congress in NY, former Israel solider who is Sudanese Jewish. Yeah the Jews are truly racist, unlike the welcoming Muslims who love all religions, sexual preferences, and provide equal opportunity to all. OK I get it now.
Maybe, just maybe, this is an example of love, understanding, and tolerance that shows the artificial hate lines created by those seeking power and wealth out of chaos are really the evil in the world.
I am Christian, wife is Buddhist, we both attend each others religious services. We let our children choose what they want to worship. They had exposure to both and were free to choose. Not really that unusual accept this hatred has been on-going since Sara and Hagar the hand maiden both had children by Abraham. Well that is short version, so rest easy if you disagree as that is what makes life unique.
I lived in the Middle East for many years. I liked many of the Arabs I lived and worked with, there are very hospitable, hospitality is important to them.
However, I also saw raw hatred for Jews from Arabs, holocaust denial was only one aspect. America and Americans too were often reviled, despite the fact most of them wanted to go to the U.S. Most Arab children are raised to hate Jews, it’s undeniable when you live there. The worst insult for young Arab boys is to be called a “Jew”.
When it’s ingrained like that, I don’t how you change it and learn to live peaceably with Jews.
I remember when she got married and the hullabaloo that followed. I am very glad to see she is happy in her marriage. She has not chosen an easy path. But in life we are to do what is right not what is easy.
And yes, we should not look away from Gaza either. We can rightly blame what is happening on Hamas. But on the other end innocents are suffering. The problem is that UNRWA and the other NGOs who are tasked with helping the people of Gaza are actually aiding and aligned with Hamas and using the innocents for propaganda.
We know how much aide is getting through, Israel publishes it daily. That the NGOs are allowing it to be stolen by Hamas or are not distributing it is the reality. They are causing the suffering to be worse than it needs to be. Time to end that charade and get people in there who really want to help the Palestinians instead of cynically using the NGO's status to try to kill Jews.
My observation of the Palestinian Israeli issue is pretty simple. The Palestinians want their land back and they expect that Israeli’s to give it back to them. The rest is noise. Or if you will violence.
I don’t excuse Israeli violence nor do I excuse Palestinian violence. I’m simply going to say this. Palestinians have had extremely poor leadership. Arafat had a chance to make peace but he was a grifter. It is a matter of faith that the Jews must be driven out of Palestine. For a Palestinian leader to cave and make peace it will be seen as a betrayal. It won’t last. Why?
Somebody please tell me. Hove you seen a Gandhi or a Mandela or a Martin Luther King present in Palestinian politics? I don’t see a peace movement. I think a two state solution is fine, except I don’t see a Palestinian leadership who will lead it. A leadership who will not do what Hamas did, which is to build up a armyto kill Israelis. Netanyahu, may be an asshole, but his retort to Blinken and Biden should simply be, "who do I make a peace with"? Who has a following? Who has the personality to sustain a peace, to get the Palestinians to lay down their hatred?
Until you have a true leader with whom the Palestinian people will follow, there is no-one to make a peace with.
Not having an hour to watch this, I am not interested in hearing the voice of an iconoclastic and brave new reader on this issue. I watched Bibi on two talking head shows yesterday and saw they are in the final phase of the military operation. The attack against Rafah is the last place to root out the structure of Hamas. Once that is done, then what?
For me, a two-state solution is not viable as long as the Palestinian mindset is based on hate, revenge, and retribution. The land for peace deal in 2005 led to the massacre of October 7th. Gazans have proven they can not govern themselves, so some sort of international force is going to have to rule and administer the state with the hope of the people becoming modern and reasonable in their outlook.
Sadly, that is a pipedream, but they can never allowed again to be a threat to Israel. So, they will be a subjugated people for the foreseeable future, which will be harsh, cruel, and necessary.
This was an incredible interview. I would have liked to hear more about Lucy's parents.
As Lucy said, this didn't suddenly happen on October 7. I was ten years old when my family escaped out of Egypt right before the 6 Day War. I will never forget the hatred that came to the surface, like an explosion just waiting to happen. Nassar's voice blasting in the streets of Cairo, "Death to America and its stooge, Israel!"
I went back to Egypt a few years ago and lived in Luxor for 3 years, a beautiful magical place. I wanted to believe that it would be better than what I experienced as a child. I started the first and only boxing club for girls there, a miracle in itself. But I ended up in a dangerous situation during COVID, helping another woman escape a mob of violent men, and once again, barely made it out of the country alive.
People in the West are naive. They do not understand the complexity of the situation in the Middle East. They do not understand the hatred. I confronted it, both as a woman and as a western 'infidel'. I don't know the answer, how you ever root it out, it goes so deep.
And yes, as Lucy says, Hamas leaders are laughing at us. At an educational system that indoctrinates our youth to protest for Islamists who live under Sharia Law instead of standing up for the one democracy in the Middle East, Israel. We must stand with Israel.
Is Anything Worth Fighting for Anymore? https://open.substack.com/pub/khmezek/p/is-anything-worth-fighting-for-anymore
Christians & Jews, United with Israel https://open.substack.com/pub/khmezek/p/christians-and-jews-united-with-israel
Not a fan of podcasts and interviews. I am very busy. I can scan an article in minutes but don't have time to sit for 20-30 mins listening to something I may find myself disinterested in half way through. Respectfully, can you at least provide a transcript or summary?
1400 years of Muslim persecution isn’t enough for Leftist Jews to get a clue.
All of us in Israel know Lucy Aharish - because she's in media and married to a famous actor. Most people don't have a problem with her. But another reason she's famous is because she's an anomaly. She's different than most Israeli Arabs. Saying most Israeli Arabs are like her is patently false.
Aharish does say some things I disagree with - her story about being a speaker in Megiddo - fine that she got paid but they should not have invited her to speak on that Jewish holiday. Her definition of "racism" is certainly different than mine. Also her description of her personal experience on 7th October was a bit overly dramatic - she was never in any danger in Tel Aviv (neither was I and I knew it on that day). And she's not a f-cking gatekeeper for Israel (!!).
Also the overly dramatic ending...good grief. I have zero compassion for the Gazans - they made their bed and their behavior has consequences. My eyes are open and there will never be a "Palestinian State" - that is a hill to die on.
Great interview -- subject and interviewer. I would encourage anyone who hasn't to watch in its entirety. I disagree with many of the comments here.
Lucy is not exceptional. Her strength and refusal to be labeled a victim is typical of Israeli women. That Americans view her as exceptional is simply an indication of how successfully the oppressed/oppressor narrative has permeated our culture. Young women who don't define themselves by their perceived trauma are an anomaly here.
Lucy is indeed inconsistent, but why is that interpreted as disingenuousness, rather than ambivalence? I think most Muslim Arab Israelis are torn, and shouldn't be faulted for it. Most American Jews are likewise torn.
What do you do when you've got two incompatible ideologies or claims? You go to war. I don't know why people continue to debate history or land ownership or colonialism. The Palestinians want Israel gone; clearly Israelis aren't going to pack up and leave. In situations like this, deterrence is typically effective. When you are dealing with an adversary that doesn't care about its own losses, however, deterrence doesn't work and so, war. You destroy the will to fight; you demilitarize the losing parties; and you re-educate the losing party -- just like the Allies did to Germany & Japan in WWII. This is a proven strategy.
Toward re-education, dissolving the UNRWA should be the highest priority. I believe they are the single biggest impediment to peace. Their existence implicitly endorses the idea that someday Palestinians will return to 'their land.' How else do you explain designating subsequent generations as refugees? They actively work against UN resettlement goals.
"Muslim Jewish son"? You are not BORN a Muslim! You may be born into a Muslim family or, as in this case, born into a mixed marriage, but you are not a Muslim just because one of your parents are. A more accurate description would be an Arab Israeli. Now, perhaps the son has converted to Islam, and in THAT case he COULD be called a Muslim Jew, so there IS that!
This interview is profound. The whole world needs to see it.
Revolutionary Iran seeks to encircle Saudi Arabia and destroy the kingdom. They have Yemen, Iraq and Syria. They need Israel. Palestinians are nothing more than cannon fodder. If they could see that, they might think living side by side with Israel would be pretty good. Why do we think the Saudis decided to accept Israel?
I think the world will always benefit from people with the courage to ACTUALLY find their own voice. Most people parrot things they've heard, but lack some combination of the integrity and awareness to recognize that fact.
Most of us are not brilliant. Most of us are not unusually perceptive. But the world is not demanding we be brilliant. Most of the lies being told are transparent and ridiculous, and the only needed work is for people to see with their own eyes, and where appropriate to GENUINELY speak with their own voices.
This woman is a good example of that.
As Lucy said “it all starts with education” and unfortunately the West failed. Can we recover here and in Gaza? Israel has to win for the sake of all so give a chance to start all over.
I see the trolls wake up early. . . . This, right here, is one big reason I'm constantly recommending The Free Press to anyone who will listen, and why everyone got a gift subscription for Christmas. I think you're the only actual journalists left in the West. Thank you.
Let me see, Muslim in Israel, very successful and married a Jew. Woman running for Congress in NY, former Israel solider who is Sudanese Jewish. Yeah the Jews are truly racist, unlike the welcoming Muslims who love all religions, sexual preferences, and provide equal opportunity to all. OK I get it now.
Maybe, just maybe, this is an example of love, understanding, and tolerance that shows the artificial hate lines created by those seeking power and wealth out of chaos are really the evil in the world.
I am Christian, wife is Buddhist, we both attend each others religious services. We let our children choose what they want to worship. They had exposure to both and were free to choose. Not really that unusual accept this hatred has been on-going since Sara and Hagar the hand maiden both had children by Abraham. Well that is short version, so rest easy if you disagree as that is what makes life unique.
I lived in the Middle East for many years. I liked many of the Arabs I lived and worked with, there are very hospitable, hospitality is important to them.
However, I also saw raw hatred for Jews from Arabs, holocaust denial was only one aspect. America and Americans too were often reviled, despite the fact most of them wanted to go to the U.S. Most Arab children are raised to hate Jews, it’s undeniable when you live there. The worst insult for young Arab boys is to be called a “Jew”.
When it’s ingrained like that, I don’t how you change it and learn to live peaceably with Jews.
I remember when she got married and the hullabaloo that followed. I am very glad to see she is happy in her marriage. She has not chosen an easy path. But in life we are to do what is right not what is easy.
And yes, we should not look away from Gaza either. We can rightly blame what is happening on Hamas. But on the other end innocents are suffering. The problem is that UNRWA and the other NGOs who are tasked with helping the people of Gaza are actually aiding and aligned with Hamas and using the innocents for propaganda.
We know how much aide is getting through, Israel publishes it daily. That the NGOs are allowing it to be stolen by Hamas or are not distributing it is the reality. They are causing the suffering to be worse than it needs to be. Time to end that charade and get people in there who really want to help the Palestinians instead of cynically using the NGO's status to try to kill Jews.