Discussion on Israeli-Palestinian Conflict

Maybe you talked about this, I just came in a little late.

I heard you talking about political agreements, like, and now advancing a solution, uh,

a Palestinian state. Don't you think that after all the terrorism they committed against us,

and Judea and Samaria, and Hamas, like, and now there are Gazans still

approaching our outposts, like, along the yellow line, just today I saw

a video. Don't you think it's giving them, okay, we committed violence and got

a state, like, we committed violence and got agreements.

Like, what would you say to half your people who say that giving them

agreements after everything they did to us is, like, in my view, it simply represents,

uh, we committed terrorism and got a state, like, that's the way.

What do you think about that?

Good thing you're sitting down. I'm about to surprise you. You're right.

You're right.

Okay.

It's terribly upsetting.

It's terribly frustrating. Not only to give up

territory for Palestinians, but also that they

will see it as a reward for terrorism.

It makes me very angry. So what?

So what?

So because it upsets me? Because they'll see it as a victory or

a prize, I should refrain from this step, which is

logical. We've now spent several, several, several minutes here

ruling out

the options, looking rationally at the Middle East.

It's the only step that's good for my security, to preserve the Jewish majority

in my Jewish state, to preserve a law-abiding state, a democracy,

Jewish, but a democracy. So because they'll see it as a reward

for terrorism, and it'll offend and frustrate me, I won't take the step that's right

for me?

We're not playing a children's game in kindergarten. We need to protect

our security, our lives, and our Jewish state.

Let's overcome the feelings of frustration,

sorrow, rage, and insult, think rationally, and do

what's necessary.

You're entering late, not into the room. You're entering late into the conflict in the Middle East.

We've been acting out of emotion for several years now.

The question is whether it won't physically encourage them, like, whether it simply won't make them

Say, okay, we've received these territories, after all, we want

from the river to the sea. Let's continue. Let's commit more violence.

There are two things I want to tell you about that.

First, I have to assume that yes,

I, Israel, we need to safeguard our security, our

borders at all times, by every means.

And here's the second part. We'll be able to do it better when we have a

border with a political agreement. I'll go back to Egypt

in 1973. There was opposition to that agreement too.

Search YouTube, search Google

for what Menachem Begin said. Now he's starring

in campaign ads. Everyone wants to be as right-wing as Begin.

About the pain, the sorrow, the price of peace.

And look at how that peace agreement holds to this day, a country that a minute and a half before

signing an agreement with us came to destroy us.

Now, regarding the other thing you said about half my people

and how they will feel, how they will see it, and how they will accept it.

You're right about that too. So, for my part

The disabled person goes from room to room, from group to group

and tries to persuade,

to show,

to explain why I reached this conclusion. It would be nice if

the leaders who are supposed to lead millions of liberal Israelis did

the same and did not come to millions of Israelis, especially

young people like you, and say, no, no, no. We will continue with exactly the same

security doctrine that led to this disaster, only we will be polite to

the attorney general. That is the reality.

Seven million Jews in a Jewish democratic state in the heart of the Middle

East, with 350 million Muslims and a world of 1.9 billion

Muslims, and this is very relevant because Qatar is relevant, because what

is happening at universities in the United States is relevant, because the way we are treated by all

European countries, and today also by Republicans and Democrats, is relevant.

We cannot say we must draft ultra-Orthodox Jews into the army because we are short

seven thousand, eight thousand, nine thousand soldiers, and in the same breath ignore

our place and our true size in this world.

We must abandon the dangerous illusion that if we only

use more force, our problems will be solved.

I wish that were true. We've now been sitting

in shelters for years. You haven't gone to school.

Your education, your studies, your knowledge,

your confidence, your ability to sleep at night, all of it

has been screwed up because we believed that if we elected Ben Gvir

and let this Likud, Netanyahu's, not Begin's,

lead us and use force, our problems would be solved.

Look at the results. That's all I'm asking.

Look at the results. It doesn't have to be

this way. If we understand our size, our strength,

our weaknesses, but also our strengths and what good

there can be here,

we'll do the right things to protect our security

and our country.