Josh Hammer on Israel, the West & Saving America from Moral Collapse

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
We are we are, we are live.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
We are live, Ladies and gentlemen.

Speaker 1 (00:05):
Good evening, Erica, Hello, Robert, Hello Erica. So you know
how I always like to start the show with like,
would you believe? So Stanford? Just so, Stanford just came
out with a groundbreaking study that the CCP is using
students for espionage, and I just sit there and you
and you roll your eyes and you go, where's the

(00:27):
news in that?

Speaker 3 (00:30):
Right?

Speaker 1 (00:31):
Maybe now we'll they'll do something about it. But I
mean the only problem is, like Chinese has been at
war with us since what they got to the WTO
or before. Yeah, and now maybe we're fighting back, so
go President Trump. But yeah, we'll see students for espionage
Confucius institutes. I mean, you know, hello, anyway.

Speaker 4 (00:49):
Secret Chinese police baces, you know, whatevs.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
Exactly excited to have with us Josh hammert Ladies and
gentlemen for the show. Stay tuned, Senior editor at Large
for Newsweek. Just as a new book is reel and
Civilization just really connects all the dots about the war
Israel and Hamas, but really the implications for Western civilization.
Definitely exciting to have him with us. Erica. Its role
and we'll go from there. Hello and welcome to of

(01:37):
the people. The only way we win we need to
be honest about anti Semitism. It's not just rising. It
has exploded coast to coast in America, on college campuses,
in our cities, even in the halls of Congress. And
it's no longer some fringe movement. Unfortunately, anti Semitism has

(02:00):
become mainstream and normalized, and on college campuses in some places,
it's even cool to be anti Semitic. But the hard,
cold truth is we will never defeat anti Semitism by
playing defense. We will not win this battle by issuing
press releases or passing laws, or filing lawsuits and hoping

(02:20):
against hope that the mob suddenly rediscovers their morality. The
only way to win this war, and it is an
existential war, is to go on offense. This is not
just about anti Semitism. This is a clash of civilizations.
It's a war between those who believe in freedom and
reason and moral clarity and those who glorify victimhood vengeance

(02:45):
with an ideological hatred. It's a battle between Judeo Christian
values that built the West and the radical forces that
want to tear it down, and yet the very people
who should be shouting the loudest have been quiet for
too long. We apologize, we explain, we whisper, when we

(03:05):
should be shouting from the rooftops that Israel is not
the problem. Israel is part of the solution, and we
should be shouting that the Jewish people are not occupiers,
their survivors, that the Judeo Christian values are not some
outdated relic, but are the very bedrock of liberty, justice
and human dignity in the Middle East. Israel stands as

(03:29):
the sole beacon of democracy in a region that knows
only tyranny. Israel has given the world life saving medical advances,
cutting edge technology, and agricultural miracles, and yet even military
restraint that no other nation would ever attempt. The Israeli
people they don't burn American flags, they wave them. They

(03:52):
don't chant for death, they build for life. It's time
we stop explaining and we start inspiring. We need to
win the hearts, and not by defending Israel, but by
celebrating it. We need to show America the truth, the beauty,
the courage, and the values of Israel. And we need
to go on offense by flooding social media and classrooms

(04:12):
and boardrooms and dinner tables, not with panic, but with pride,
and not with fear, but honestly with truth, and certainly
not with apologies and convictions, because the only way to
win is to change the narrative and expose the lies.
And the only way to do that is to take
the fight and go on offense. It's a cultural fight,
it's a moral fight, but it's a fight for civilization.

(04:35):
We don't need more conferences or echo chambers. We need courage,
we don't need more banal statements. We need strength, and
we sure the hell don't need more silence. We've had
enough of that. And the time to be quiet is
over and the time to be vocal and loud is now,
because that, ladies and gentlemen, is the only way we win.
And joining us, Erica, let's roll back, and joining us

(04:57):
to help make sense of all of this and connect
the dots is Josh Hammer, Senior editor at large, Excuse
Me It, Newsweek, host of his own podcast, The Josh
Hammer Show, and syndicated radio show Josh New book, Israel
and Civilization. You know, thank you for joining us. One
of the things that we were excited to have you
on the show was because in your book you really

(05:19):
do connect the dots between the war that's going on
between Israel and Hamas and the hoodies and Hezblah and
everything in the Middle East, and the greater battle for civilization.

Speaker 5 (05:30):
Yeah, so look, thank you for having First of all,
so the book can only understood insofar as the word
Israel in the title something of a double entendre, where
on the one hand it does refer to the State
of Israel, and the other hand it also describes just
as much, if not more so, probably in fact more so,
the nation of Israel, the children of Israel, in other words,
the Jewish people. And the basic argument to the book

(05:52):
is essentially that just as the State of Israel is
the geopolitical canary in the coal mine for the West
broader pushback against the three hegemonic four fores that seek
to subject us, which I identify as in a particular order, Wokeism, Islamism,
and what I referred to as global neoliberalism, the same
way that the State of Israel is the canarian, the
col mind, the tip of the spear pushing back against
those three horrific forces so too are the children of Israel,

(06:15):
the Jewish people the tip of the spear in the
Biblical Judeo Christians West fight to retain some sense of
self identity, and that necessarily raises the corollary question the
follow up, which is what is Western civilization? And in
the book I make an extended argument, especially in the
earlier chapters, that Western civilization, as we refer to it,
and as we take its teachings, its ethical norms, its

(06:38):
legal norms, as we take all that for granted so
often today, we really are fundamentally talking about the Bible.
And I argue that Western civilization as we think of it,
actually does begin with God's revelation to Moses and the
Israelite standing there at Mount Sinai and the Jedeo Christian West,
the two biblical religions Juda has been Christianity. They are

(06:58):
the reason that Western civilisation exists. The Jewish people, the
original people of the book. They are where it all begins. Christians,
who are numerically much greater than Jews. They're the ones
who have built Western civilization on the backs of the
original people of the book, the original divine revelation that
mounts and I and so forth there. But the core
argument to this book is that unless Jews and Christians,
the two biblical religions, unless we engage in some introspection

(07:21):
and engage and do the hard work of an ecumenical
biblical restoration, I really is what this book is calling
for is an ecumenical joint Jewish Christian nationalist biblical restoration.
And that is what it's going to take to turn
back the tide against these three headgemonic forces. I think
nothing less will suffice. We are at a crossroads, but
in order to know where we're going, it's very important

(07:42):
to know whence we came and where we're heading because
all these pieces really do fundamentally.

Speaker 2 (07:47):
Connect to another.

Speaker 1 (07:48):
Well.

Speaker 4 (07:49):
I love how you connect those things. I've always found
it fascinating how people talk about, oh, you know, religious
people are backwards and you don't want anybody to know things,
and you deny science. And I'm like, I'm pretty sure
like religious groups, Jewish people, Christians, Catholics, we were the
ones building colleges and universities and hospitals and to this

(08:15):
and then over this last you know century, we've withdrawn
from those places we used to have influence. We built
those institutions, and now we're saying, oh, no, no, no,
just kidding, I'm out.

Speaker 6 (08:29):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (08:29):
Look, I mean, so the book will actually also, you know,
into some of the earlier chapters, I actually do get
into this kind of extended debate of reason versus revelations.
So the you know, the the traditional conception, or at
least one traditional conception of what is Western civilization would
be the Straussian formulation. You know, we're getting a little
bit into the weeds here where. That's okay, you know,

(08:50):
I mean, I mean, that's Leo Strauss, the famous twentieth
century political philosopher of German birth, rose to prominence at
the University of Chicago. And Leo Strauss, who was a
great teacher of natural law now at riety, famously conceived,
or at least he taught, the Western civilization was essentially
something of a DNA strand like double helix, these two
inter interweaving strands of reason and revelation of Greco Roman

(09:13):
reason and revelation of Athens and Jerusalem. And I talk
a great length about this in some of the earlier chapters.
And I don't contend that Strauss had it wrong. Rather,
what I do contend is that in contemporary society, revelation
tends to get the short end of the stick, frankly,
and that we tend to kind of overexalt reason and
Enlightenment liberalism when it comes to sixteenth century European thought.

(09:36):
But we, frankly, just in many ways don't actually just
talk about scripture. We don't really talk about the Bible.
Certainly when you're taught classics in high school and university there,
you know, you kind of jump right into Cico and Aristotle.
You're not really talking about Psalms or the Book of
Kings or a Book of Genesis for that matter, Right,
I mean, these are not really the kind of things
that you're typically doing there. But I mean I'm a

(09:56):
student of American history. I love the American founding. I mean,
you know, look at the Liberty in Philadelphia. You know,
is Aristotle's Nicol McKee and ethics written there on the
outside of the liberty bell.

Speaker 6 (10:05):
No, it's actually not.

Speaker 5 (10:06):
It is a direct scriptural quote from Leviticus chapter twenty times.
Thus shall proclaimed liberty throughout the land and to all
the inhabitants thereof. Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin famously won the
Great Seal of the United States to be Moses leading
the Israelites across the Red Sea. He did not want
the Great Sel of the United States to be Socrates
teaching Plato in his academy. So, I mean, you know,
there are many different examples here, but the book makes

(10:26):
an extended argument frankly that yes, reason has a role
to play, but actually, if you really want to think
about it, revelation the Bible really is the very core
of who we are.

Speaker 1 (10:36):
And one of the things that you say in the book,
in this one of your chapters is that Jewish morality
is the bedrock of Western civilization. I assume we're really
talking to Judeo Christian values obviously the Old Testament, the
New Testament, but it starts with the Old Testament, right,
And I think, and one of the arguments we've made
for a long time is that by moving away from
these fundamental values, and whether it's the family or other things,

(10:58):
you know, that's happened in society. And he can certainly
enlarge this to talk about multiculturalism and other things you
talk about in the book, But really it's that, isn't it,
The move away from sort of fundamental religious or as
you say, Jewish morality values. That's sort of driving where
we are today.

Speaker 6 (11:15):
Totally one hundred percent.

Speaker 5 (11:17):
So in the book, I argue that the singular foundational imperative,
the single claim that undergirds all of what we call
Western civilization, at least as I have identified it as
being essentially co terminous with the Bible, with the Geo
Christian inheritance.

Speaker 6 (11:33):
The singular moral undergird, I argue.

Speaker 5 (11:36):
Is Genesis chapter one, verse twenty seven, the famous imperative
of the divine image, the notion that God made men
in his image, male and female.

Speaker 6 (11:43):
Who created them?

Speaker 5 (11:44):
And from my perspective, when you reject to that, everything
is ultimately downstrom a bat So, for instance, you know,
to take today's great campus debates between the folks on
the color blind side of the debate and the folks
on the DEI wokeism racial determinism side. There, those folks
are fun mentally rejecting Genesis one twenty seven. They are fundamentally,
at its core rejecting the claim that we are all

(12:05):
God's children, that we are all made with a spark
of the divine. We are not the divine, but we
have a spark of the divine there, and they're essentially
saying that you are an oppressor, or you are oppressed,
you are x, or you are hy not necessarily because
you were made in the image of the divine, but
because of the racial or ethnic or some other sort
of idiosyncratic circumstances of your birth. There So when you

(12:27):
reject that, it really really all starts to go wrong
directly from there. But I have so many examples in
the bug let me let me just give one more.
So I'm a lawyer, naturally, I think and talk a
lot about the law. I practice law clerk for federal
appeals judge and so forth. There So the law is
a big part of me, and there's definitely a little
bit of law in this book as well.

Speaker 1 (12:45):
Well.

Speaker 5 (12:45):
Let's think about the past few years from a legal perspective, especially,
I'm talking here about the law fair against President Donald Trump.
How many times do we hear folks on the left
in particular kind of yell at the top of their lungs,
no one is above the law, above the law. I
happen to agree with that claim. No one actually is
above the law. I disagree a little bit as to
what the law actually says, but for present purposes. Here's

(13:07):
the key point. You know, do these folks know where
the notion then no one is above the law? Do
they actually know where that comes from?

Speaker 3 (13:13):
No?

Speaker 5 (13:14):
Of course not, ye, right, I mean the answer to
I mean the question iSER itself, But it's literally from
the Book of Deuteronomy. That is a Deuteronomistic principle. In fact,
John Fordescu, who was a late fourteenth century early fifteenth
century Conservative English common lawyer, when he famously codified the
notion that the King of England is not above the
English common law, that that is a bedrock principle of

(13:35):
the English common law. Guess what he cited for that proposition,
Literally the Book of Deuteronomy, because according to the Book
of Deuteronomy, the king is not above the law. There So,
I mean, so much of what we think and do
on day to day basis really does come from the Bible.
And part of this book is basically just trying to
encourage people to actually engage with the text and just
remember whence we came, because only upon understanding whence we

(13:56):
came can we have a firm grasp as to where
we are going.

Speaker 4 (13:58):
As well, thinking of engaging with the text, you guys,
I want you to share screen.

Speaker 2 (14:05):
Let me see get in here.

Speaker 4 (14:07):
I'm trying to share my screen to show everybody your
book Israel Civilization. Here we go, Israel and Civilization, the
fate of the Jewish nation and the destiny of the West.
You guys, we've got mister Josh Hammer with us today.
I'm fangirling out a little bit. I told him before
we started that he was a big part of my

(14:27):
Walkaway story.

Speaker 2 (14:29):
So you guys, you have to go get this book.

Speaker 4 (14:31):
Go on Amazon, Simon and Schuster, all of the places
it's available. We've got links in the description. Go get
it and hang on with us for just one second
while we hear from one of our sponsors, Israel Appreciation Day.

Speaker 6 (14:46):
Hello, and thank you for being here.

Speaker 7 (14:49):
This is the first ever Israel Appreciation Day.

Speaker 8 (14:53):
I believe in the words of Israel's first leader, David Bengorian,
who said, one does not write history, one makes history.

Speaker 4 (15:04):
The history of the Jewish people is one of rising
and flourishing, despite thousands of years of being attacked, exiled,
and scapegoaded.

Speaker 9 (15:13):
Here and I'm honored to join all of you in
celebrating the first annual Israel Appreciation Day and there are
many reasons to appreciate israe in f one of America's
closest allies in the world. It's a safe haven to
persecuted people, and it's a well sprint of innovation that.

Speaker 4 (15:27):
The land of visual was given to the Jewish people,
not by the United States Nations, but by God himself.

Speaker 10 (15:34):
Well, no one wants to find that love, not to
have this weapon, to be in a bulletproof vest, to
serve in the idea.

Speaker 9 (15:40):
We cannot allow the worst instincts in our society to win.

Speaker 6 (15:43):
We must stand proud and we must stand tall.

Speaker 10 (15:46):
This is the Jewish moment when the Jewish people stands
for life over death and shows the lost and confused
West how to survive.

Speaker 11 (15:58):
From the hollow team the Pane years, the original and
early inhabitants of the land, even before the official creation
of the State of Israel in nineteen forty eight.

Speaker 1 (16:09):
In my mind, one does not have to be Jewish
to support Israel in the battle against the evil that
is Hamas. One only has to be human.

Speaker 11 (16:17):
Our Jewish community is stronger than ever in.

Speaker 12 (16:21):
Israel's two days. It's not just a place, it's also
a people.

Speaker 1 (16:26):
Well. The generation away from the Holocaust and understanding yes,
it could happen again.

Speaker 6 (16:31):
My daughter came home and said, is there going to
be another Holocaust?

Speaker 4 (16:34):
I couldn't live with myself if I didn't stand with
Israel and the Jewish people at this moment in time
when they most need us.

Speaker 1 (16:43):
The treat press during the Israel Hamas conflict has provided
real time updates on terror at text. And if we
don't learn from those conflicts more, we're doing to repeat
the same mistakes.

Speaker 3 (16:55):
Fall And it takes a lot of courage and a
lot of strength to come out and be a voice
of one sometime. What did you do professionally prior to
October seventh?

Speaker 12 (17:07):
It is your duty ever due to shine a lot,
go on to solch and media.

Speaker 7 (17:12):
Why would you flourish under persecution and the answers. That's
our knee church, That's always been our e check. When
our enemies terrorize us and they come after us, what
you see is a direct correlation to innovation.

Speaker 1 (17:25):
The nation of Israel lives. And we are back with
Josh Hammer, Senior editor at large, Newsweek, Josh Hammer Show
podcast and syndicated radio talk show host. Josh. I'm want

(17:49):
to throw left, I want to throw a little bit
of a curveball at you, is there, in your opinion,
a fundamental incompatibility between Islam and Western or Judaeo Christian values.

Speaker 6 (18:01):
So look a bit of a curve ball.

Speaker 5 (18:03):
But you know, you're hardly the first person that's that's
tossed this one my way.

Speaker 1 (18:07):
Okay, fair enough, fair enough.

Speaker 5 (18:09):
But but no, but but but it isn't It is
an important question to ask. So the question is uh.
The answer, in my opinion, and I'm going to give
a very loyally answer, is that it depends depends what
kind of Islam. It depends what kind of Muslim that
you are dealing with here. And you're talking about Sharia supremacism,
You're talking about the kind of Islam that conceives of
Islam not merely as a private faith within the confines

(18:31):
of the home, but as but as an all encompassing
entity that that will have effects not merely on how
you pray within your home, but also on how the
rule of law will be affected on this totalizing impulse
to basically conquer other civilizations, to evangelized by by by
by by force, by the sword if necessary. There then, yeah,

(18:52):
that obviously is wholly and completely incompatible. On the other hand,
I mean, you know, I are there such things as
as Muslims who are able to fully reconcile of their
own private faith with living a fully dutiful and patriotic
American life. Yeah, of course there are any number of
examples there. So for instance, you know, I've known Uti
Jasser for years, right, I mean, you know, if popular

(19:12):
cable news personality ran for Congress recently out of Arizona,
doctor Jasser is an absolutely amazing patriot. And there's a
number of other personal examples like that. But I do
think that it is relevant and we have to bear
this in mind that Islam has in many ways been
at war with the Jaeo Christian West, well, I mean
pretty close to as long as how Islam has existed there,

(19:33):
and that kind of just is what it is. And
you know, I think even from an American perspective there,
we think that a lot of this is new. You know,
a lot of these propagandists on American campuses would have
you believe that America's only at war with Islam because
it has to do with the state of Israel's post.

Speaker 6 (19:47):
Ninety forty eight. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Speaker 5 (19:50):
Literally, America's first two wars after it had its independence
from Britain were against the Barbary Muslim pirates off the
coast of Tripoli and Algiers. In the media trans Aanian Sea,
I mean the Crusades. I mean, we talked about the Crusades.
I mean, how about the Siege of Vienna.

Speaker 2 (20:05):
You know, I think sorry for interrupting.

Speaker 4 (20:07):
People don't know that what we call the Crusades were
actually the response to Crusades, right, do you know what
I mean? Like, they don't know that that was actually
in response to war forever and people taking land.

Speaker 6 (20:22):
Yeah.

Speaker 5 (20:22):
Look, and I'm obviously not a Crusades apologies. I mean
a lot of a lot of the Crusaders on both
sides indiscriminally slaughtered Jews.

Speaker 6 (20:30):
So I mean.

Speaker 5 (20:30):
Far far far be it from me to you know,
far be it for me to be an apologist there.
But I'm merely saying that, you know, Islam has been
a war not merely with uh, you know, with with
Judaism or Jewish people, but in many ways of Christianity
and Christendom for a very very, very long time. I
mean Islam was established as a as a as a as.

Speaker 6 (20:50):
A largely conquering religion.

Speaker 5 (20:52):
Anyone who has any familiarity whatsoever with the earliest days
in the conquest of Mohammed back in the seventh century,
you would be able to deduce staff for your help.
So look, I mean, is there such thing as as
Muslims who can reconcile themselves to the American experiment? Yes,
of course, you know, I've really established that. Does that
also mean that we should be extremely careful about bringing

(21:13):
in Muslims as as immigrants to the United States? Yes,
it also means that as well.

Speaker 2 (21:17):
That's fair.

Speaker 1 (21:18):
So let's let's continue that kind of conversation. Because right now,
if you I don't remember the exact population, but there
are three billion Muslims in the world something like that, right,
and ten percent are supposedly radicalized. That's an awful large number, right.
And then when you look at sort of what the

(21:39):
open borders, the multiculturalism, the globalist isn't there a connection
with all of that?

Speaker 2 (21:44):
Yes, one point nine billion, just.

Speaker 1 (21:48):
So ten percent, you know, ten percent are supposedly radicalized.
So connect that. Because one of your chapters you talk
about the DEI, you know, the woke left, and the
what did you say the Nietzschean right. Now, you know,
Nietzsche was obviously, you know, most famous for God is Dead, right,
And I mean that's obviously what most people would know
about him. But I understand about the woke left. Tell

(22:09):
me about the right that you're concerned about.

Speaker 5 (22:13):
Sure, so, uh, you know, first to get to your
other point there, I do think that islam Is and
globalism are are very closely tied. You know, Zoodi Jasher,
who I mentioned a few minutes ago, you know, he
had a great op ed for us in news Week
a few years ago. I was talking about this red
Green alliance, this alliance between Marxist and Islamists who don't
necessarily seem to share a whole lot in common other
than the fact that they both want to tear down

(22:34):
Western civilization. So it's kind of like, you know, you know,
like the enemy of you know, the enemy of your
enemy is your friends kind of situation there. So yeah,
they definitely have a whole lot in common as well.

Speaker 6 (22:44):
So I did. But to your latter question, I do.

Speaker 5 (22:47):
I do have a chapter in the book you're talking
about the threat of the DBI, woke left, and the
neo Nietzschean right. Now, there are there are various strands
of right leaning people that that I think a lot
of us ought to be a little wary of these day.
Is one of them is kind of this legitimate Nietzschean
neo pagan strand. You know, folks like the like the
pseunonymous writer Bronze Age Pervert. I would put Andrew Tate

(23:09):
in this camp as well, people that are essentially trying
to undermine the various claims and foundations of the Biblical tradition.
I mean, someone like Andrew Tate has no particular need
for Genesis one twenty seven, this idea that that man
has made in God's image there. So there are people
that are literally just trying to throw out all of
the all of the basic claims that the general equality

(23:30):
of human existence that naturally flows from Genesis one twenty
seven and so forth. There, that's the Nietzschean right. They're
also and this is perhaps even more troubling. I don't
talk about a ton in the book. I do talk
about a little bit, but there is there is this
rise of a strand to people who who are spewing
a lot of anti Semitic stuff, while not calling themselves
pagan but while while cloaking themselves in the entrapments and

(23:52):
the accouterments of Christianity. Now they may or may not
be faithful themselves. I have no such inside information there,
But there are a lot of people that seem to
really enjoy kind of tweeting Christ as King in a
way that's not necessarily affirming the tenets of their own faith,
which I have no issue with that whatsoever. I mean,
God Bless, but are doing so as kind of a
middle finger to people for whom that statement does not

(24:14):
necessarily apply.

Speaker 13 (24:15):
There.

Speaker 5 (24:15):
I'm thinking here about people like Candie Owens, the whole
kind of new orbit of Tucker Carlson's new online podcasting
influence there. This is a major problem. This is this
is an absolutely massive problem. And frankly, you know, trying
to kind of keep some some younger Christians in particular
from kind of taking the Tucker Carlson Candice Owens deep dive.
Trying to prevent some of that was definitely one of
the reasons why I wrote this book in the first place.

Speaker 4 (24:37):
Yeah, that is something that you know, we've we've talked about.
You know, there's people going out there and they're and
they're saying things and you know, how do you disprove it?
How do you you know, without doing a lot of
the research yourself and finding good, credible sources. You hear
people that you used to trust saying things that you're like, well, well,

(25:02):
what is that? What does that mean?

Speaker 2 (25:04):
Why? Why are we hearing these things?

Speaker 4 (25:07):
And I think that a robust debate where we can
hear all sides, like we're we you know, I want
to hear people knock that stuff down, like that needs
to be out there. We need to encourage it because
the one thing that you know, not to be cliche,
what is that?

Speaker 2 (25:26):
What is that expression?

Speaker 4 (25:27):
Like the way to combat bad speech is more speech
or something like that.

Speaker 5 (25:35):
Yeah, no, I mean there have been variations of that
that have been said all throughout the years, for sure.

Speaker 14 (25:38):
Yeah.

Speaker 4 (25:38):
Yeah, all right, I know I have one more question,
but Robert.

Speaker 1 (25:43):
You will I know, I know he has a hard stop,
so we're just trying to be respectful of his time.
So yeah, I think I think the last question I'd
like to understand or get your perspective on, because is
Erica touched on. Part of the problem is a lack
of education. It's a breakdown in family. You even reference
in your book poor parenting, which I think accounts for

(26:03):
a whole lot for a whole lot of this. But
how do we retake the ground on college campuses, Because
at the end of the day, I mean, obviously I'm
a little older than you are, but you know, it's
not about our generation. It's about the ones that come
after us. And the problem is, as I said in
the monologue, I think we're losing the battle. The Gallup

(26:24):
poll that came out about a month ago, give or take,
basically said that that support for Israel's at an all
time low in this country about forty six or forty
eight percent if I recall support for the Palestinians cause
and or two state solution failed two state solutions so
called is at an all time high about thirty I
believe it was thirty six percent. And the problem, Josh,
is that the trends are going the wrong way. And

(26:46):
then when you get on college campuses even worse, how
do we take back college campuses? How do you fight that?

Speaker 5 (26:52):
So look, I don't have all the answers right, but
I do know that kind of getting your knuckles dirty
and start throwing some punches and start try trying to
to punish enemies of Western civilization i e. The Ivory
Tower within the confines of the rule of law. That
is totally the way that it should be. That sent
you what Donald Trump has been doing when it comes
to his fight against Harvard Columbia and so forth.

Speaker 3 (27:14):
There.

Speaker 5 (27:14):
You know, these these woke madrasas that's you. You know,
used to be these universities that conduce to the common good, which,
by the way, is the only reason that they get
favorable tax treatment and all these perks and breaks in.

Speaker 6 (27:25):
The first place.

Speaker 5 (27:26):
That it was all predicate on this implicit quid pro
quote that they are actually going to sculpt good young
men and women who are going to be patriotic, virtuous
young citizens who love their family, their nation, and God
Almighty above there. But you know, they they long ago
have dropped, They have broken their their end of the
bargain in this implicit quid pro quo. And the natural
thing that has to happen as a result of that

(27:46):
is that they're going to have to lose their funding,
their perks, their favorable tax treatment, and so forth.

Speaker 1 (27:49):
There.

Speaker 6 (27:50):
So, look, that is definitely part of it.

Speaker 1 (27:52):
There.

Speaker 5 (27:52):
I happen to think that we need in all the
above strategy when it comes to trying to get good
people into administrative and profess orial positions. What that means
is that if you have someone who has a sane
outlook on Western civilization and you have the opportunity to
make inroads at a liberal institution like a Harvard or Princeton, whatever,
by all means you should do that. On the other hand,
we also have to establish and to cultivate our own

(28:13):
institutions as well. I happen to be a big fan
of Hillsdale College. I'm a big fan of it of
all that they're doing at places like hills Does, so
we absolutely need that path as well there. Ultimately, I think, though,
you know, the higher education fight is very important, don't
get me wrong there, But as someone who is the
son of a longtime elementary school teacher, and my grandmother

(28:33):
and great grandmother they actually were all elementary school teachers,
I happen to think that education starts a lot earlier
than higher ed there, and I actually probably am most
concerned about the indoction nation that's happening a lot of
our schools literally as early as like preschool in kindergarten.
These days there. So, you know, I live in the
state of Florida. You know, Robert, I know you do
as well. You know, the Florida model of higher education

(28:53):
and K through twelve educational take back. You know, the
whole Roma Santis model of trying to get involved with
local school board races.

Speaker 6 (28:59):
That stuff matters, That stuff really, really really matters.

Speaker 5 (29:02):
They're trying to turn around these public school curricula at
a grassroots, small K through twelve level. Yes, school choice vouchers,
that's part of that's part of the answer as well,
But it is not a panacea because most of most
American children do go and will continue to go to
public schools there. So you're gonna have to find some
ways to kind of get involved with school board races.

Speaker 6 (29:20):
You know, this whole this.

Speaker 5 (29:22):
Whole debate about books that the media disingenuously refers to
is as book manny. It essentially just means that we're
debating what to teach our impressible young children when it
comes to a material to teach them with their These
things really matter, And yes, higher education is very important there,
but increasingly I find myself these days probably even more
focused on K through twelve education.

Speaker 1 (29:40):
Actually good point. So all politics is indeed local at
the end of the day, especially in this kind of
an issue. Erica, I give you the last word, which
is very unusual, but last one is yours. Well.

Speaker 4 (29:52):
I just one of the things that I thought was
so interesting, and this is off topic a little bit,
but was that you talk about how the people in
Israel are more pro Trump than the like the the
Jewish or Israelis are more more pro Trump than American Jews,

(30:13):
and and I thought that was so interesting. Yeah, that
they have Trump Heights, Uh, they named a town after him.

Speaker 2 (30:19):
Even That's what I I when I heard you say, oh,
I took a selfie with the pic with the with
the with.

Speaker 4 (30:25):
The street sign, and I was like, what is what
are they seeing that we don't see in our Mediah.

Speaker 5 (30:35):
So as far as Israeli Jews versus American Jews is yes, okay,
Well there's a there's a few reasons I think that
Israeli Jews are not just more pro Trump than American
Jews thro all is just just more right wing in
general than American Jews, and and and there, and there's
numerous reasons for that. I would say, first and foremost, Uh,
you know, theologically liberal strands of Judaism, I namely reformed

(30:59):
Judy are not are I mean, they barely exist if
at all.

Speaker 6 (31:03):
Essentially in the State of Israel.

Speaker 5 (31:05):
That happens to be the the plurality or majority strand
of Judaism for American Jews. There So, you know, you know,
when when you're starting with a starting point that Jewish
law is not itself binding, which is the entire predicate
of reform Judaism there, then you're not you're not starting
off on a particularly conservative starting point there, so a
lot of your politics are going to be downstream from there.

(31:27):
But it's it's not just you know, the binding nature
of Jewish law alaka. There's also a lot of social
cultural norms as well. So for instance, look, I'm an
Aschanazi Jew, but my wife is a is a Israeli
Sephardic Jew. Her parents they're both born in Eriss, Israel
on the line of Israel. But before that her grandparents
came from a rock to Tunisia, the Morocco so forth.

(31:50):
There So you have a lot of sephardikum is Rocky
Jews in the State of Israel. In fact, I think there's
actually a high percentage of combined Sephardikhum is Rocky Jews
than there actually are of Ashkenazi in Eastern European Jews there,
and a lot of these Jews tend to be much
more hard headed and sober frankly when it comes to
Israeli Arab relations, because that's literally where they come from.
I mean, like they literally live this experience there. So

(32:12):
you know, the younger generation israel especially, it tends to
be a little bit more sober and hard headed. They
grew up in the aftermath of the first and to
fat of the second into fat of the Sabarro bombing,
the bus bombings, you name it there. So there's a
lot of factors that work there. But for all of
these reasons and more, I would say Israeli Jews definitely
tend to be more right wing than American Jews, especially
the younger generation of Israeli Jews. And fortunately that is

(32:33):
a trend that is probably only going to continue to
grow stronger and stronger. For by the way that you know,
I think in America when it comes to American Jews,
I think the future of American Jews is trending in
a more right word direction as well, for various reasons,
but not as dramatically and not as quickly perhaps as
are Israeli Jewish counterparts.

Speaker 1 (32:49):
Right, And I think one of those reasons that Israel
has been surrounded by their enemies since its inception, and
that gives you a heightened awareness. Ladies and gentlemen, We've
been talking with Josh Hammer, senior Editor at Large at Newsweek,
Josh Hammer Show podcast and syndicated radio show about his
new book, Israel and Civilization, The Fate of the Jewish

(33:10):
Nation and the Destiny of the West. Erica, pull that
up real quick, so everybody, thank you can see and Josh,
where can everyone get in touch with you? You know,
where can you be reached if someone wants to reach out?

Speaker 5 (33:21):
Yeah, thank you guys very much for having me. So
I'm on ex Josh underscore Hammer Instagram is Josh B.

Speaker 9 (33:26):
Hammer.

Speaker 5 (33:26):
I read a weekly syndicated column that goes up at
Newsweek from senior editor at Large and then it goes
also to the Los Angeles Times, Real Clear, Politics, Daily Signal,
Daily Call, or town Hall, a bunch of different places
than my own show.

Speaker 6 (33:37):
The Josh Hammer Show is available everywhere.

Speaker 2 (33:39):
Podcasts are available, yes, and ladies and gentlemen.

Speaker 4 (33:41):
Check out the description of this video. You can find
links to a bunch of those places. Go get his book,
go check him out. As I mentioned, I was totally fangirling.
Josh Hammer's awesome. You guys like excellent commentary, just matter
of fact, direct, straightforward and with a legal background, which

(34:02):
I love because you give context. That's one of the
things you do differently than a lot of folks is
you actually explain why things matter and what the historical
information is. And a lot of people just get up
there and bloviate their opinions, but you actually have the
facts to.

Speaker 2 (34:18):
Back it up. So that's why I think you're great.
So all right, I.

Speaker 6 (34:23):
Appreciate it very much. Thank you guys for having me
so much.

Speaker 2 (34:25):
You are so welcome. Thank you, Josh, Thank you. All right.

Speaker 4 (34:29):
So you guys, let's hear from our sponsor, American Center
for Education and Knowledge.

Speaker 1 (34:38):
America came into being based on a shared belief and
a common set of values. Unlike other nations that were
bound together based on common ancestry, race, or cast we
came into being based on a simple and shared set
of ideals that the power of government is based on
the consent of the government that life, the freedom to

(34:59):
live life on our own terms in our own way,
free from government interference, and liberty our most precious value,
and the pursuit of happiness, which means we are free
to pursue that which we choose with the knowledge encouraged
to know that nothing is guaranteed to us in this
life those values. America was founded on these basic inalienable rights.

(35:22):
Freedom to pray to God in our own way, freedom
to think and speak freely without fear of punishment or harm,
and freedom to gather in our places of worship and
in our local taverns. And freedom to defend ourselves, our families,
our homes, and our neighbors as we see fit. The
American Center for Education and Knowledge is dedicated to protecting

(35:45):
American exceptionalism anywhere and everywhere it is threatened. AASAK is
a five oh one c three and depends on your
tax deductible donations. Please help us continue our fight and
we are back. Great great interview with Josh Hammer, so

(36:05):
many other things. I wanted to ask him a little
more topical right opinions of the Abraham Accords. Where does
he think that's going to go? And certainly about our
new best friends in either it's I always say cutter,
but Qatar, uh yeah, you know sort of makes me
want you know, Peter, Paul and Mary right, you know,
you know I'm leaving on a jet plane.

Speaker 2 (36:25):
Yeah dude here, yeah, dude, that's crazy town.

Speaker 4 (36:28):
So we we know Qatar is funding all these crazy
protests and terrorism and all this other crap, and y'all
are going to take a jumbo jet from them, Like
come on, bro.

Speaker 1 (36:43):
Well, well look, I'm sure that there are calculations, know
what none of us are aware of, but just the
optics of this so bad. No one is more of
a supporter of Trump than I am. It's just not possible, right,
But optics of this is just bad and it's wrong.

Speaker 4 (36:59):
So no, it's going to be freaking spy spies spied up.
There's gonna be freaking you know, listening devices and freaking
cameras and crap in there, Like they're just gonna give
him a jet give me an all the way break.

Speaker 1 (37:15):
Well, I don't know about that. I think I think,
you know, the military and the Apartment of Defense will
go through, but you know, so many other things. But
you know, it just we would have loved to get
his opinion on the Abraham Accords and where he thinks
sort of the Middle East politics are going. But there's
just there's just so much going on. I mean there's
a new term, by the way, oh right, you've heard

(37:36):
you've heard of warp speed. People have now coined and
I'd love to take credit for it. They now think
things now are now happening at Trump speed, which is
I think it's a good term. I mean, there is
so much going on. I know, we have a couple
of clips we have, you know, the Press secretary levit up.
I do want to roll that clip because when you

(37:57):
think about in the last week, everything that just happened
in China is now back at the table. Right, Maybe
there's peace between Russia and Ukraine. There's certainly a piece
or not piece is the wrong word, but there's a
ceasefire between India and Pakistan. There's a six hundred billion
dollar Saudi deal of investment in this country. I mean,
it's just it's Trump speed, right.

Speaker 2 (38:18):
Yeah, But.

Speaker 1 (38:20):
The jumbo jet, you know, like plane strains and automobiles
kind of thing. You know, I'm looking for John Cannony
to go just kidding Anyways, let's roll this tape real quick.

Speaker 2 (38:28):
The Trump accomplishments, you said, of course.

Speaker 12 (38:31):
Look, we told you the next one hundred days would
consist of peace deals in trade deals, and that's exactly
what we have seen. The President announced last week the
big trade deal with the UK, as you mentioned. Now
we have a first deal with China. Just yesterday, the
President announced the release of the last remaining American hostage
in Gaza, Eden, Alexander, who will soon be united with

(38:51):
his loving family, God bless him. That's thanks to President Trump.
We also negotiated a ceasefire with the Hoho Thies, and
President Trump was instrumental and negotiating a ceasefire with India
and Pakistan. This is all in the last week. President
Trump and his team are working incredibly hard on behalf
of the country and the world to secure peace deals,

(39:11):
in trade deals. And don't forget, we have a tax
deal coming too. The administration is working with Capitol Hill
to sign the largest tax cuts in American history right now.

Speaker 4 (39:20):
So, yeah, I want to see those promised no tax
on the middle class.

Speaker 2 (39:27):
I'm looking forward to that.

Speaker 1 (39:29):
Well, so prices are down, including egg prices right the
stock market at even the thought of a detont on
terrorists with China is now up and it's one hundred days. Yeah,
it's one hundred Look.

Speaker 4 (39:44):
It's literally been five minutes and the country is already
moving in the right direction.

Speaker 1 (39:50):
Look. Trump isn't perfect. He is going to make mistakes.
I think I think the jet plane is beyond an
optical mistake. But it is what is. But but again,
things are now moving at Trump speed. My concern, as
we've talked about many times, is that he's got about
eighteen months to really affect change, because then you're into
the midterms and you'll see what happens that that kind
of thing. I know, we have a couple other things

(40:11):
that we want to pull up. We're going to save
your birding Sanders one for last. Oh okay, okay, because right,
you know part of the whole DEI left that we
were talking about with Josh Shammer. Pull up the Ed
Martin video because this is because this is the real problem,
right and this is only spitting, but it's the fact
that violence is now okay to those that you don't

(40:33):
agree with. So we need to get really focused.

Speaker 2 (40:37):
You are annoying how you do who.

Speaker 3 (40:42):
You are?

Speaker 1 (40:47):
So wow, he's given a public statement, some woman comes up,
screams and els and spits on them. I mean, that's
right up there with sort of Tesla bashing.

Speaker 2 (40:54):
Wow wow.

Speaker 1 (40:56):
But it's not only is anti semotism now normalized, so
is so is physical aggression and violence. I want to
see where the violence is coming from on the right side, right,
Because I don't see it doesn't mean there aren't occasional
instances here or there, right, But the Democrats are still
peddling this, you know, Charlottesville.

Speaker 4 (41:19):
Yeah, I'm not hearing about Democrats being murdered on the
street for wearing a Joe Biden hat or a Kamala
hat or Kamala or whatever. Way is not racist, And like,
I'm just not hearing that. I'm not saying it's not happening.
I'm just saying I'm not hearing about it, and considering
what big mouths they all have, seems like we would

(41:41):
be hearing about it on the news on a regular basis.

Speaker 14 (41:44):
That is so disgusting, Oh guaranteed, right, I mean, it's
just it's and and I think as you move towards
the summer, you are going to see more violence and
more and more mostly peaceful protests.

Speaker 4 (41:59):
Yeah, if you're a politician or somebody who matters, this
is my endorsement for the Second Amendment.

Speaker 2 (42:05):
Get yourself strapped up. That is all I'm saying.

Speaker 4 (42:08):
Okay, so do we So we've got a clip of
Trump and then and then the Bernie Sanders clip.

Speaker 2 (42:14):
Do we want to do Trump?

Speaker 1 (42:16):
Well, you know, I think we did. That's about China
and the tariffs. So I want to end I want
to end this one with your favorite hypocritical senator because
you know, and again, just as sort of a segue
into this, the other person who's in the news is
my friend Al Sharpton, the Reverend now and you know
that if he's in the news, you're probably were on

(42:38):
the other side of the issue. So the Trump administration
is bringing in i think fifty nine after white Africaners,
whose land is being whose land is being what's what's
the term taken by the government by the government, And
here you have Al Sharpton complaining that there's fifty nine
people that are coming in but only because they're white,

(43:00):
which is not true. And then you listen to like
CNN last night, which I do occasionally listen to, and
they said, well, these people shouldn't come in because it's
not a genocide. Well genocide, you know, it was racial persecution.
Genocide was never the standard, right, And then he's lamenting
about all these people who are being taken out of
the country, right because they were criminals or they have

(43:22):
criminal records, and how do we know. It's just the
hypocrisy of the left knows no ends. And to that extent,
this clip on your friend Senator Bernie Sanders on why
he takes jets to his events and that's okay, even
though he's there to save the environment, but the carbon
footprint is ridiculous. Play of the day.

Speaker 13 (43:42):
Five rallies in a week. The only way you can
get around to talk to thirty thousand people. I think
I'm going to be sitting on a waiting line at
United waiting. You know what, thirty thousand people are waiting.
That's the only way you can get around. No apologies
for that. That's what campaign travel is about. We've done
it in the past, We're going to do it in
the future.

Speaker 4 (43:59):
Oh so you can't, you can't have your private jets.
But I can because I'm important and I have people
to talk to.

Speaker 1 (44:08):
Right, And it doesn't matter that I'm trashing the environment.
I think someone did a study of the amount of
the carbon footprint that Sanders jet and the six or
ten stops that he made, and it was more than
you know, fifty six pounds of burning coal plus you know,
cars that had driven you know, one hundred and fifty
thousand miles and they ended up and that was just

(44:30):
you know, for his trip. It's just.

Speaker 2 (44:34):
Ladies, you know, as I do, do as I say,
not as I do.

Speaker 1 (44:38):
Hypocrisy knows me. Hypocrisy knows no bounds.

Speaker 14 (44:43):
It is.

Speaker 2 (44:43):
It is you, guys. I just have to say.

Speaker 4 (44:46):
You know, people always say things to me like, oh,
Bernie Sanders, he's from Vermont, and I'm like, no, he's not. Okay,
I do not he's listen to that accent. Does he
sound like a Vermonter? No, oh sir, he does not
New York. Yeah, that's what I'm like.

Speaker 2 (45:03):
I refuse to claim him.

Speaker 4 (45:04):
He is a no good, filthy socialist who has never
had a job.

Speaker 2 (45:09):
Now here's the deal. This does not look good on
the Vermont people. Y'all is in.

Speaker 1 (45:16):
The what's that lord Benjamin in the studio?

Speaker 2 (45:19):
Yeah, Benjamin's in the backstage.

Speaker 1 (45:21):
So have him look up what Bernie Sanders' original name was.

Speaker 4 (45:26):
What his original name was? Well here, I know he
ran for mayor a few times and lost, I know,
and then he finally won. And that he had been
working on or he had been part of like a
kibbutz or like a freaking you know, a little commune
in Vermont, and he got kicked out because he didn't

(45:47):
do any work. So he's literally been living off of
people forever.

Speaker 2 (45:52):
What is it? Did you find it better?

Speaker 4 (45:54):
And he's a millionaire, yeah, multiple houses. He's selling books
going off of capitalism. Also fine for him to sell
books and make a bunch of money on capitalism.

Speaker 2 (46:07):
But it's bad but cap billionaires.

Speaker 4 (46:09):
And yeah, that's why he doesn't say millionaires are bad anymore.
It's billionaires are bad.

Speaker 1 (46:15):
All I can say is AOC for president.

Speaker 4 (46:17):
Oh don't I just threw up in my mouth? Robert,
Oh God, what is it? Then he's not finding it right?

Speaker 1 (46:25):
Well, that'll be for Schwartz, that'll be for another show.

Speaker 4 (46:29):
What Okay, We're definitely going to talk about this later,
ladies and gentlemen.

Speaker 2 (46:34):
So if you have.

Speaker 4 (46:35):
Been watching this long and you've got something out of
the show, our awesome guest Josh.

Speaker 2 (46:41):
Oh my god, Josh Hammer. Dude, I'm such a dork.

Speaker 4 (46:48):
So if you got something out of it, leave alike
on the video, Share it with your friends and family,
Share it with your enemies, Share it with your coworkers
to make them mad. I mean any any traction, any
engagement is good engagement. We love the hate watching. So
if you've been watching this long you didn't get anything
out of it, thank you for helping the algorithm. Go

(47:09):
check out our sponsors, Israel Appreciation Day and American Center
for Education and Knowledge. Make sure you buy some merch
donate to keep the lights on, ladies and gentlemen, and
if you want to see more content, also you don't donate,
support be a part, help us out. There were anything else,

(47:30):
anything else before we take a take off out of here.
That's it, all right, ladies and gentlemen. We will see
you next week.

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