Jon Stewart On Israel - Palestine | Murtaza Hussain & Yair Rosenberg

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Host Shown Stewart who welcome, Welcome call to the Daily Show. I am your host, John Start listen. Is the third episode. This is my third episode.

The first two very controversial, a lot of discourse around it, a lot of carping back and forth, a lot of anger, a lot of commentary. Tonight, I'm done with it. Tonight is perhaps in a moose bosh, a trifle something light. Tonight we discuss Israel Palace. Are we.

Who wrote this?

Well? I legally have to read what's in the prompter. So here we go. We're going to take a look in our new and probably never ending segment.

Somehow the audience knew. But tonight.

We discuss Israel Palestine.

You you excists on the rebounce that iss not to do it, scitritify all the ctions of your nations like a mouth the fieldic demnust be not mean. We don't condemounts. Don not listen to the second If you're predispostn simensis and lays on the foe comonie efects, guessing in the least ourtpresisonniety, infections of the parenty yam, and craging humsses.

Well, folks, this is an awful situation.

We're coming off on five months of a brutal bombing campaign brought on by a horrific massacre and hostage taking, and we seem no closer to ending anything but the reigns of a couple of Ivy League presidents. Well, this weekend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyah, who finally laid out his plan for.

Peace, Benjamin Netanyah, who is calling for complete demilitarization of Gaza as well as Israel taking over security and controlling entry and exit points to Gaza.

So your peace plan is a siege, a military sege. You really think a military solution ends this cycle?

Well, victory is within reach, and you can't have victory until you eliminate Hamas.

But okay, but your plan to eliminate Hamas by destroying all of Gaza doesn't that just make more Hamases? Is that the plural of us Hamasi? I mean it's an idea. Pl City liberation is an idea unless you have a bomb that kills ideas. Do you have a bomb that kills ideas? I mean, how long would it even take to bomb the shit out of an idea?

The intense phase of the fighting is weeks away from completion, not months weeks away from completion.

Oh, dear God, if you insist on this plan, if you think that ends hamas, I believe we in the United States have a banner you can use. It's a little wind damaged, but equally delusional. Look, the United States is Israel's closest ally, Israel's big brother in the Fraternity of Nations, Israel's work emergency contact. Maybe it's time for the US to give Israel some tough moral love. This is shameful.

There has to be accountability for these war crimes. No targeting civilians in war.

Stop the war crimes and the atrocities, and end the war today.

It could happen right now, right.

Now, thank you. These atrocities.

So I'm being told the administration was talking about Russia bomb in Ukraine. I apologize, also a war crime. But I'm sure they're giving equally stern advice to Israel. The Bide administration is urging Israel to be much more careful to be more cautious.

How Israel does this matter?

Israel must do more to protect innocent civilians.

We want to see the government of Israel take steps to minimize civilian harm. Be more surgical and more precise and more careful.

Hey, Israel, a turner nurs.

Could you please be more careful with your bombing.

It's good advice, but really, couldn't The United States have told Israel that when we gave them all the bombs. When there are bombs, this is like your coke dealer coming in with an eight ball and going, don't stay up all night. Don't sleep is very important, you don't want to, and breakfast is an important part of the day. So look, the Israeli position doesn't seem so tenable. Perhaps I can find some diplomatic leeway in the Hamas position.

Israel is a country that has no place under land. You must remove that country.

Does that mean the annihilation of Israel?

Yes, of course I cannot find diplomatic leeway in the Hamas position.

Well, this is when we need the world, the civilized world of nations, to come together and stop this madness.

A resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza has just failed to pass are.

You in Security Council drop resolution?

Throughout aid delivery has been vetoed.

Russia and China used their veto against American resolution condemning Helmas.

The immediate cease firing Gunza has failed.

Western Nations voted against it.

It was delayed four times this week.

Drafts resolution has not been adopted.

Why do you even have a fighting building? Why? Why do you we can use that we have a housing crisis.

Give us back a fucking building?

Is right? What is what is the United Nations even?

What?

Are you just a support system for a diverse and pleasing food court? What are you that cannot be the UN's food court? By the way, that is that is clearly just a mall in Long Island. Doesn't anyone care about the suffering of all these civilians? What about a good neighbor?

Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian cause is the Arab world's most important cause.

I want to see a good life for the Pedestinians. Thank you, Saudi, thank you. And while Saudi Arabia does not accept Palestinian refugees and Egypt doesn't either, for that matter, the Saudis are the richest country in the region, and they've given this can't be right? Uh, on average about two hundred million dollars a year to the Palestinians. Jesus, are you kidding me? The Saudis have given just as much money to phil Mickelson.

Is that true? I assume, I assume.

To promote the equally important cause of the Mikelsonian people. So Israel, the United States, the United Nations, the Arab Nations. No one seems to be incentivized to stop the suffering of the innocent peace in this region. I didn't want to bring this up, but there is another player, small religious startup out of Bethlehem. I think he might have begun as a carpenter's union, but has gotten big. Did they have a plan for the Middle East?

There will be the Battle of Armageddon. Jesus Christ is going to sweep over that battlefield and to annihilate that army of two hundred million people. The blood will flow to the bridle of a horse.

So that's the plan for the principece is that all? I am not in a questrian expert, but if the blood goes all the way to the bridle.

That's an enormous amount of blood.

No, unless talk about the mini horses, because that's still.

It's a lot of blood, but more manageable.

And adorable. But I think, I think we have to get real here. The status quo cycle of provocation and retribution is predicated on some idea that one of these groups is going to go away, and they are not. If we want a safe and free Israel and a safe and free Palestine, we have to recognize that reality. And I know that there is a twisted and much contested history in the region that has brought us to this point. But we are at this point and anything

Along the shores of Pleasant Lake in Maine, ninety five Israeli and Palestinian teams are trading.

Rockets for rackets. Not The goal of Seeds of Peace is to open these young mines.

Okay, that one hasn't been scaled up yet and may take longer than we have unless we just bring the whole region to Maine. How fast can we make fourteen million rackets?

But that's just my opening offer. That was just one peace plant. People don't abandon me yet.

No number two.

Let's just ask God. It's his house, He's the one who started all this. Just ask God. He can tell us who is right? Is it the Jews? Is it the Buslims? Is it the Zoroastrians?

If it's the scientologists, a lot of us are going to have egg on our faces. But given God's lack of communication over this past, let's say millennia. All right, here's another one, and heaven forbid, I actually think this last one could work starting now, no preconditions, no earned trust, no partners for peace. Israel stops bombing Hamas, releases the hostages. The Arab countries who claim Palestine as their top priority come in and form a demilitarized zone between Israel and

It's me too. It's tweet it out me too tonight.

People, let's get this region me too.

Now.

Obviously I have not worked out.

The exact verbiage. But anything is better than the cluster cycle we have now, because honestly, what is the alternative?

The trump of God sounds and the rapture happens, We're gone in the twinkling of a nine, We're just simply not here.

Poof indeed, Sir Poof Indeed, when we come back, Martaza Hussein, and yeah, your Rosenberg will be joining me on the program and fixing everything I said.

Don't go away about the Palace show.

Let's continue our conversation about Israel and Palestine. Please welcome, senior writer at the Intercept. We're Tazan Hussein and staff writer at the Atlantic. Yeah you're Rosenberg.

Please word that show. You placome.

The audience. Very rarely do you get a standing ovation for the guests, but clearly they think Muslim and Jew sitting next to each other, how can that be? But thank you both for being here. You are both obviously you're American writers that write al a lot about the Middle East, the Peace Plan, the Stewart Plan as I call it, the me too Plan. And Taza will start with you, how unrealistic is that? It's similar to a two thousand and two Arab League resolution. Why why can't this happen?

Well, you know, it's not a bad idea, and on paper we're going.

To cut there.

Thank you so much for.

So appreciate that.

Well, you know, I think the problem is I write about US foreign policy, especially in the Middle East, and I feel that the consistent theme here is that when we give blank checks to countries which are clients or partners, we enable their worst tendencies or their worst behaviors. In this case, you know, you mentioned the Arab Peace Plan.

Bright they've read.

Under repatriation plan, which which.

Can mean negotiate the details of it, but that was the crux of it. And you know they've reiterated this plan many, many times, including recently. It's not just our world, the broader Muslim world as well too. I interviewed the Pakistani ambassador to the UN a few weeks ago. He told me that Pakistan, Indonesia other large population Muslim countries would be willing to normalize with Israel, but they do

And the US backing of that enables I think reticence.

I think the US putting itself in this position, not just this position, many other situations where it's acts as a blank check writer for its clients, it enables these situtions.

We got to make money somehow, and without selling weapons, what are we going to fall back on? Wheat? Come on, yeah, you probably have a slightly different interpretation of that piece plan and also what we laid out here.

So yeah, well I think that again the idea is actually a pretty good one, which is they had to put some third party in between these two parties.

That's what seems like hash.

That would then be sort of like the you know, the referee. The problem is is that while you, as you showed in your monolog the Aero States are willing to talk a big game. In the United States and sometimes depending on the administration, will also talk a big game, but no one actually wants to put their own troops

We're just going to pack it up, right, because this is a country, but he's going anywhere. Yeah.

And also if this is a country that's full of people, right who fled other countries, including those Arab countries, because they were persecuted, right, killed, dispossessed. Right, there's like, you know, half of Israelis are now Middle Eastern Orich.

But two diasporus don't make a right you know, but.

They won't they won't trust that. But let me, let me let me push back on both of these for just one so.

And this just pushes back on both you know, we get into this litigation of well, the Palestinians and the Arab state. They proposed something very reasonable to these religues, but these Raelis wouldn't do it. And they just rarely say, well, we don't have a partner for peace, and we propose something very reasonable, but they didn't do Doesn't it appear that no party is in incentivized to fix this at

You know, I think that was the case for some time. But I think that things have changed in the sense that the Arab countries are very eager to get this off their plate. Actually, that's why they had this Arab Peace Initiative and keep reiterating it because they no longer want to have a complict.

Israel's not in their interests.

They like to move past it, but they cannot do so in a way which ignores the Palestinians. And I think that the idea of the Abraham Accords, for instance, was let's a side set this issue and make deals with the Amortis and Saudis and so forth. I was in South Arabia recently, and I was talking to a

That's my point is the two state solutions. But if nobody is there to just guarant everybody has preconditions for everything. You know, Nyahu, I need a partner for if you don't meet these certain conditions of no violence, I won't negotiate with you. Well, America occupied i Rock and there was violence there entire time. I mean, imagine if we had set a precondition that there'd be no Iraqi government

I would put it a little differently with just to say that the people who are running your and I'm a comedian, we'll see, we'll see when it's done. The people who are running the show for some time, which is how we arrive at this disastrous destination, are these absolutist actors who they might say that we'll negotiate and

Be solved if the United States and Israel, the two, let's face it, most hated entities in that part of the world, are the ones responsible for the peacekeeping effort. It doesn't make any sense if Abs don't step in, if the Arab nation's there, And couldn't you say that this was a great bulwark against the strength of Iran. Couldn't you convince UAE in Saudis that the only way to temper Tehran is by forming this alliance and recognizing them.

Well, it's interesting you mentioned that the US stance in the region that's very unpopular.

I think it's related to this issue.

This is the core issue of why the US has not had normal relations in the Arab world and Muslim world generally. It's a very bitter and a symbolic issue for a lot of people.

We do have normal relationship. There's not more weapons of the Saudis than we do to these.

On a public level or like you know, only with dictators for instance. The reason this democracy is very skeptical in our world, we're afraid that regimes which are matter at US will come to power.

But I think the main issue, I.

Think from a US perspective, primarily is that we're involved in this very bitter conflict. We're not taking it seriously and solving it. We take a very one side approach, I think, and we do that supposedly in Israel's interest, but I think what it does in reality is prolonged the conflict and definitely to everyone's detriment. I had come to the position that we should either be fair in this conflict and adjudicate it in a way which is fair and results in a just solution both sides.

Except or we should leave. We should leave because.

Impacting us in very very negative ways militarily, economically, strategically. We have other problems in the world to deal with as well too.

And I believe that if.

The US were to pull what I'd say is blank check from Israel, it would incentivize Israel to compromise more because ultimately Israel has to live in the Middle East. That's where the country is, that's where the people are.

Going to be. Their neighbors who are willing to compromise with us.

We can move them to main is wide open. They could play tennis, really, But I hear your point. But to that, I do think that the idea that this is all about the United States, that we are the actor that drives all that, I think plays into a myth of United States control. And I think if we've learned anything in these last twenty to thirty years of the United States is we've got big influence, but we sure as hell don't have control. And I'm not so sure that by the US changing its policy in certain

Mean, John, that's a very controversial thing to say that the United States is not the main character of the entire plan.

And you said it, and I didn't say it. That was him. Okay, you know.

Because you know this is not live, so maybe we'll cut that, yes, exactly, but you know.

That is clearly the case.

There is this sort of sense that a lot of people have that the United States, and the President of the United States in particular, have the ability to sort of wave a magic wand and solve these things.

If they could.

There are multiple American presidents who would have done so, and they would have changed the policies and they would have tried, and there were always people in different factions in the State Department, and they tried different things. You go out to Eisenhower and Nixon, they all had plans, right and you know, they pressure at Israel in ways

Get out of the Middle East.

And those two things are in contradiction, and people are ultimately going to have to make choices about what the US does and doesn't do.

But I don't necessarily have the answer to not be so involved in the region. I do think if there is to your point, if the Arab States form a more broader alliance with Israel in a genuine way, and that the United States wouldn't feel maybe that it had to be on the line there. Listen. I'm no fan of any of it. I think this cycle of violence over the seventy five years is destroying the dreams of two peoples not just a palistinis. I think it's destroying

Well, the backstory of the two of us is that we've been having these conversations for something like ten years. And the further backstory is that we reached out to each other on Twitter because we both realized that we shared a lot in common about how we approached the world, but we had very different opinions on issues like these, and that's that we became friends some ten years ago, is it like?

And so.

We've been doing this over you know, atsher in kosher restaurants because for Sunnia Muslims, many of them kosher mediashalal. And so I will take murders to a coachure restaurant, introduce him to it, and then we'll have conversations like these. And John is just you know, interloping, you know, just sort of you know, we decided to let him come

Yes, well said, Well, you know, ultimately, as ye I mentioned, we're journalists and you know we seek out people's perspectives are different from you, who see different world to see the world from a different view, and then that's how you learn about the world a little bit. I think I have to say that it's easier for us to though, because not Israeli and not Pastenian.

Ultimately we're American and review it that way.

You know, both of us know people who've families members have been killed recently, many dozens in some cases in Gaza recently, and you know that emotional component. You can compartmentalize it when you're not so directly involved. So we look at an American perspective two different sides. It's issue in some sense, but we're able to have that conversation, which is constructive.

What I would say, you know, I could accept.

Any Palestinians view or any Israelis view when they're so intimately involved in it, But I can never respect the blood thirsty American. That's the only person that can not respect.

So it is you know, I have said this for many years, one of the biggest issues I have with American foreign policy is how cavalier it is about the destruction that so money of our policies have had internationally, even something is simple. As you know, we had a big issue here with burn Pitch, with Iraqi war veterans and Afghan war veterans, and we talked a lot about

Of report from Iraq, and I met so many people whose found members were killed by the US military or by the violence of the place in that time. Also a value elevated rates of cancer and other indirect causes of the war, and.

It's kind of not just kind of forgotten.

Actually those people are, their lives go on, but you know the impact that we had in a very cavalier moment to us because of the new cycle and Mozan so but you know, those memories stay and the impacts our ability to operate there or how we're viewed there in the future. So it's something which you know, it's maybe very pessimistic about US foreign policy, and since that, I know many at the end of the Cold War there's an optimistic view we can make the world a

I think there's a mythology around sort of the Marshall plan, and it's the you know, after World War Two we were in war with Germany and Japan, and we threw a bunch of money at it, and now we're the best of friends and they buy our cars and we buy their cars, and it's all lovely and all it takes is a little bit of money and some American know how, and we can turn the world into allies. I think we might have learned the wrong message from all that.

I'd also say from reporting around the world myself, when you talk to people, this can have the wrong impact. If you have a great mythology about yourself and how you fix all the world's problems, then some people will say, how can the Americans not fix this problem?

And they're like, no, it is they believe us.

People believe us, right, And I will say to them, actually, they are a tremendous number of incredibly well meeting people serving our country trying to do this stuff.

It's just really hard.

But there's a certain story that we've told, and sometimes people really expect us to make good on it, and there are impossible promises that we can't keep.

How do you guys to go siate this pragmatic view within your own families? Because I know within you know, there is no I can't get five Jews to agree on anything at dinner, right, How do you negotiate that within your own families? You know?

I think there's the personality type that tries to really hear where people are coming from.

And speak to You can get one of those in your family.

Sheer, dumb luck or your dad is a rabbi in my case, right, you know, And so that's what you do as the rabbi, right, And you're trying to understand where everyone in the audience is coming from. Your synagogue can be diverse, and there are people with different political and ideological perspectives, and how do you tell them the truth and stay true to that while also saying, you know, speaking to each of them, right? And so yeah, it's

I was much more hot headed when I was younger.

Really yeah, when we first met, you guys seemed the opposite of hot headed.

Like it's we aged a lot.

I honestly, I feel like I want this as my screensaver, like this is just so calming to me that I what about you? Say? So let me ask you this is this because that brings up any interesy point what mitigated the rashness? Was it just youth? What what got you guys less visceral?

I think getting older is one aspect of it.

But then also, you know, reading a lot of books, trying to see other people's to travel that has a big impact on things, keeping open mind, trying to treat others consistently as you want to be treated, keeping that Golden rule in mind as well too. I'll tell you know you mentioned family. It's interesting because I've had confidences family. Family very spread out over the world, and you know,

There. Didn't make anything good from their presence here. It's just very exploitative.

And then he actually visited New York one day and he visited the subway system and he's like, oh, now I get it.

Actually, it's not they just it's not there on purpose. They just can't do it.

Actually, So that's hilarious.

I mean you look at I mean, this is where we're getting to the jokes portion, which is hard in this.

Topic, very hard.

And like people ask me, like, how do I conceptualize that Comas has what is the New York Times as three hundred and fifty to four hundred and fifty miles of tunnels underneath Gaza.

I was like to think, think of it this way.

It would cost New York City six hundred and forty eight quadrillion dollars over two hundred and sixty eight years to build that much tunnel.

Right, you know, it's just a really well it just raised the price to a dollar fifty ride and then that's problem sold two dollars a ride. I appreciate you both so much for coming on and having the conversation and really just admire both of you, not just for having this conversation, but your journalism as well. It's it's really fantastic stuff. Well, thank you both. Uh Mertaco who say.

I have to do.

Well, I want to buy health Coach Trump for tonight.

Before we go, We're gonna check in with your host for the rest of this week, Michael Gosta.

Michael, the people are lamoring for you.

What are the stories you're gonna be covering this week, Well, we're gonna be covering the big political event in this country, John.

President Biden is taking a trip to the border on the same day that Donald Trump is taking a trip to the border. The question, John, is which border, So tune in this week to find out. Thanks everybody, My god, you don't need to thought for and that's not I'm pretty sure, my.

God, I'm pretty sure it's the US Mexico border. So I don't think that I'm gonna dude.

Spoiler alert spoiler it's just.

Everybody I'm called.

Anyway.

So I know we're only three episodes into this, but if you'll indulge me, I wanted to tell you a little bit of a story about twelve years ago, maybe thirteen years ago, my kids wanted to raise a little money for an animal shelter down in New York City. It's an incredible Animal Haven, is the name of it. They do incredible work. It's a no kill shelter for cats and dogs, and so yeah, please, they're amazing. So

Oh darn, Dipper pastorway yesterday.

He was ready, he was tired, but that wasn't and the family we were all together, Thank goodness, we were all with him. But boy, I wish for you one day you find that dog, that one dog. It just it's the best.

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