Bais Yaakov To The White House

I think a Jew walking in the streets of the United Arab Emirates right now with a keep on his head can often be safer than sadly most of Western Europe and even some of our cities now in the United [music] States. >> Doesn't that just blow your mind? >> None of your business, Oshi. None of your [music] business, Michael. >> It's the None of Your Business podcast hosted by Michael and Oshi. >> Welcome back everybody to another riveting episode of the None of Your Business Podcast. I'm your host, Michael Greenfield. Joining with me is Hushi Schwarz. We are sponsored by Twillery. Thanks for wearing a shirt. >> I did it by design today. Normally just by accident, but today I woke up. I said, "Wait a second. There's a podcast. Today we have a new sponsor. It would be inappropriate if I don't wear one of their things." >> You look great. >> I'm wearing their shirt. >> You look great. I'll get mine in the mail next week, so I'll have it soon. And of course, we're produced by the Prime Source Production team. Thank you to subscribers, listeners, commenters. Speaking of which, we are with someone who I've been looking forward to this for a while, Ellie. I got to be honest with you. Ellie Kohanim, am I saying it correctly? Got it. >> Wow, what an amazing name. What an amazing story. I can't wait to get into it. Welcome to the program. >> Thank you. Great to be with you. >> And uh I have to say that uh we always ask for recommendations at the end of the podcast for someone else, which we'll get to at the end, but we also ask people on LinkedIn, you know, who would you recommend? Someone recommended someone and that person was here. And we ask also our teammates from Prime Source like who do you recommend every month when we have our call for uh the entire company and Karen kudos to you Karen second mention on the none of your business podcast recommended you. >> Wow I love Karen. So uh she and I are good friends and I'm so honored to be here with you. >> Amazing. Well we love her too and we appreciate you being here and um again I'm excited. You know we have this little thing called chat GPT said what >> about you? It helps our audience get to know you real quick. I am so curious to hear what chat GBT has got to [laughter] say. It'll be fun. >> It seems like everybody is like weary but curious at the same time. >> What does CH GBT have to say? But it's funny because most people don't check. Like they're they come on the podcast, they're sitting right where you are and we do the same thing every time and they're like, "Oh, really? What what do they say?" And I'm like, I would think by now most people would have put their name into the chat. >> Yeah. I think people are afraid actually. And you know what? I didn't do it this time, but from now on, I think I'm going to add give me something negative. Exactly. [laughter] Let's see what happens. >> Cuz all these things seem to be a little bit positive. >> It is very positive. Can you dig up a little dirt, please? Like get us through what we really want to know. >> Well, there is a lot of controversy in this. I got to be honest with you while I'm reading it right now. I'm like, "Oh, you said that and you did." Wa. Okay. So, uh, >> hear it. >> First of all, I am blown away by reading this now. I didn't even know this. You were born in Iran. >> I was born in Iran. >> Wow. Did I say that properly? >> You did. You like that? for an Ashkanazi Jew. You got it right on. >> She right. >> No, it's Iran. Michael, I don't know who you think you are that you get to say it that way. >> Iran. >> You could say it that way. Say we're uh like white collar Americans, you know. So >> if I was there, I'd run away. So [laughter] uh yeah, >> good. >> I like that. >> Good one. >> You were born in Thran and you fled the Iranian revolution in 1979. >> That's wild. >> Which is proof that resilience isn't just a buzzword, it's your origin. >> Oh wow. Yeah, >> that's wow. >> That's pretty amazing. From a journalist to a US deputy envoy for combating anti-semitism, you literally went from breaking news to making news. >> Oh, >> aren't they good? >> This is good stuff. >> Aren't they amazing? And you've been on Fox, right? >> Yes. >> And not just on a video. >> No, I've I've been in Fox in studio multiple times. Very honored for that. >> Wow. What' they call you in for? Um, so typically Fox has me as a commentator on Iran, um, which is fantastic because, um, I love being given the opportunity to talk with the American people essentially about the Iranian threat and there's so much for us to talk about there. If if you want to discuss, >> I'm just going to read this quickly because I really want to go back to everything and I want to hear your story and where you're from. I'm fascinated by this stuff. Uh I think most of us are, you know, when we hear that like um you know, modern woman living in New York City, America, whatever, and you're coming in here, >> she's like a foreign concept. >> Yeah. Like it doesn't make sense to me. What you're from, >> we don't come across people like you every day um amongst our circles. Like you already just by starting out coming from Iran, it's like, all right, there's a lot to unpack here. Like let's get into it. >> You're fighting anti-semitism by convincing imams to put hatred on mute. I'm not sure what it means by that. want to get into that. Cold COVID conspiracy theorists, modern-day blood liables. I'm not sure where he gets that from, but the translation is you know how to drop a mic and a history lesson at the same time. >> Thank you. >> Okay, cool. And uh Twitter uh once had a thing in your past with Ayatollah or something where >> she was pressuring Twitter to ban the Ayatollah. >> That's right. when they decide to ban President Trump >> and still gave >> what I call the uh haterinchief, the supreme hater in Iran, the uh Ayatollah ami um was always given a platform. They've never deplatformed him. And this is Twitter under the old regime before Elon Musk bought it and turned it into X if you remember. Sure. Uh right. President Trump was the platform president of the United States. And yet they had people like Ayat Kame still uh free speech for him but not for the president >> and and others. >> And you responded to something or like the >> Yeah, I mean I was I I actually went on Fox News about it. I was um very outspoken and vocal on social media on Twitter at the time, you know, asking them to reconsider what they were doing against President Trump. And again, if you're going to do that to the former president of the United States at that point, why not take the uh haterin-chief off of the your platform, you got to have it both ways. I mean, >> like either a general rule, you know, anybody that spreads hate or is a danger to society, take them off. I hear, but you can start picking and choosing. Exactly. >> And it's a very clear line with the Ayatollah, the Iranian supreme leader. I mean, he wants the whole world under Sharia law, you I mean, he's very open about what he really wants and what he what what they stand for. How could he be on and forget about Trump and anybody else? Like, it just doesn't make sense. It's like, obviously, you're allowing anybody like any maniac could be on here, but him, you have a problem with >> a lot of credibility coming from someone like you. So, we have to go back. Oh, she always comes in at this point and says like, "Let's dial it back a little bit." >> Yeah. But normally, I would say like, "Let's go back to when your life got interesting." Like, don't take me back all the way to the beginning. But with you, I actually do want to go all the way back to the beginning. Okay. >> I want to understand like where you were born, where you grew up, um what your life looked like at that point, a little bit about your family, and then when you made your way out, let's let's go through the motions, unfold all of this, unpack all of this for us. Let's start from the beginning. >> Okay, Oshi. So, I was born in Iran, like we discussed um to a Jewish family, and Iranian Jews are uh one of the two most ancient Jewish communities in the world. We trace back to the first temple in the Bible. Um when uh Jews are forced out of uh Jerusalem and into the diaspora, they go to Babylonia, ancient Persia. And so um the Jews in Iran were there predating the Islamic conquest. And so we were there for thousands of years, uh approximately 3,000. And uh fast forward to 1979, there's this Islamic revolution. Ayati comes in, grabs power. The king at the time, the Sha of Iran is pushed out and the Jews suddenly find ourselves under threat. There were about 100,000 Jews living in Iran at the time under the Sha. Um, you asked what life was like for for the Jewish community. Uh, certainly and I would say for a huge segment of Iran, um, there was a flourishing middle class. There was so much prosperity. there was oil and the sha of Iran was modernizing the country and that was part of why the radical Islamists pushed him out because he uh instituted anti-hijab laws. He brought again modernity, prosperity um and western flavor to Iran. So if you see pictures of my mom in Iran in the 60s and 70s, she looks like she could be in New York. She looks like she could be in Paris. Really fashionable latest styles. Um so 1979 Islamic revolution 100,000 Jews and um one of the first things that the regime did was they executed the president of the Iranian uh Jewish community Mr. Habib Alvanayan and that was when the Jews in Iran understood that we were under threat if they could kill the president of the community >> under what charges? What was their >> I think they called him a Zionist spy, >> which is like the, you know, the typical thing. Zionist. >> That's the go-to. >> Yeah. The go-to. Everybody's a Zionist spy. And so if they could execute him, they could execute anyone. And so that was when my my family and uh majority of the Jews of Iran began our escape. We were so blessed and fortunate to come to the US and be given refugee status. And uh so we came to the United States as real refugees. in contrast to let's say uh quote unquote um you know the asylum seekers who today are coming in through the southern border um we were actual political refugees understanding that we could be killed for being a religious minority in the country we came from. >> Yeah. And how old were you at that time? >> I was about six and a half. So I started first grade in the US. >> Wow. Do you remember that time period of actually traveling like to the like do you remember that at all? Any memories? So, Ushi, I have a child's memory of Iran. I remember our house. I remember I have a memory of um during the revolution, there was a lot of chaos in the streets and there were um people just shooting bullets into the air. One bullet landed in my cousin's bedroom. My own father had done business with Israel in the 70s. He had a large construction works company and he had hired Israeli engineers. And so he uh what happened with my family in particular was that he had lent people some money during the revolution tried to uh to collect and the person said to him, "Ooh, come back again. I'm going to denounce you as a Zionist spy." And so that's why my father decided very early on in the revolution to leave and we got on an airplane and left. After that point, we were on I think one of the last flights they closed the borders. >> Wow. So just in the nick of time. >> Just in the nick of time. And how many in your family? >> Um so we're five total. Uh my parents and three children. So older brother, older sister, and myself. And um I just want to share we have a real American dream story. So again, I'm so blessed and fortunate to have been raised in the US. Um my older sister is the first Iranian-American elected judge in the United States and my older brother's a doctor. So my parents, you know, they hit all the check marks of Jewish parents, a doctor, a lawyer. Did your parents uh up in heaven before they came down and they were grabbing like you know different luck and different things. Did they take it all and leave anything for the next person? >> I I think my parents are amazing people. >> I mean you're all very undercomplished you know I [laughter] mean all three you know you guys went 0 for three there. That's very impressive. >> Thank you. >> I'm curious you left people behind. I'm curious about that. Like when you left like you knew people that didn't make [clears throat] it out and what was that vibe like? Like oh we're coming we're not coming. >> I have to interrupt. Do you see the stark difference between us? You see how empathetic he is? He's immediately thinking about all right so you left people behind and that must have been your friends your cousins your family >> I'm impressed by the success and I want and the glamour that's what I want to know about that's what you'll learn a lot of differences between >> you're a great balancing act [laughter] um and Michael that's a great question so we did uh so we got here 79 in the early 80s we did still have family left in Iran eventually all of my immediate family thank god left. So they either came to the US or majority went to Israel. That has been a great advantage for me in life because I am very outspoken against the Iranian regime. And partially the reason I can do that is that they cannot target my family who's still left behind um for it. A lot of Iranian dissident, journalists, opposition figures, um, are always worried about any family they might have back home who will get targeted. I mean, that's part of what the regime does is they target family members. >> Wow. How many people today actively are living in Iran as openly Jewish? So, the numbers are somewhere between less than 10,000 Jews left. 8 8,000 10,000. Um, >> and what's keeping them there? Why aren't they why isn't every last person being brought here or to Israel or somewhere? >> So, Ushi, I would tell you that um partially I think people feel they are really really Persian. They are Iranian. You know, it's how we began our conversation about this being one of the most ancient Jewish communities. And I think partially they are just so part of the place that even the Iranian regime cannot push them out. [clears throat] >> Um and then the other is there are people who are elder elderly and I think it's hard for them to leave. Um some of it is financial. I think people have um you know a middle class lifestyle and they think about the currency is worth nothing and every day that goes by the Iranian currency is worth less and less. Um, so they could never, you know, recreate a lifestyle. They I think they understand that once they leave Iran, they will be povertystricken, whether it's Israel or the United States. >> Um, so all of those reasons I think combined make it whoever's left makes it hard for them to leave. >> There's a lot of history. I mean, the whole McGiller, right, that whole story of Purim took place in in Iran. Is is the Morai buried there? >> They're protecting it, I believe. >> Yeah. Right. There's a lot of burial sites there from a lot of, you know, large big leading figures, you know, in in our history. So, it's really holds a lot of a lot of place in our hearts, you know, for uh many thousands of years. So, I get I get the connection to logging through to it. But, at a certain point, you know, it's it's either your life or your, you know, or or your heritage and you're going to have to ultimately pick and there's a lot of Jewish I mean, Israel, look what Israel is thriving today. You know, even in America, all the communities are thriving. So, you come to New York, where did you guys end up? Where'd you go in uh in America? >> So we came to Queens, New York. >> Okay. >> And that is the Iranian Jews have two u big centers in the US. Uh one is New York, the other the bigger one is Los Angeles. >> And so if you go to LA, there's neighborhoods where um they call it like Terranel. And there's a lot of stores with Farsy signs in the windows. Very fascinating [clears throat] for me. In the Pico area is kosher and Persian Jewish. Uh, so there's a lot in LA, New York. Um, we most of us came to Queens and then eventually I call it the Jerusalem of the Iranian Jews is Great Neck, Long Island and the communities in Great Neck. >> Yeah. >> Yeah. What's the difference between Syrians and and I are there any connect any synergy between that or is it totally separate? >> Totally separate. I have a lot of respect and admiration for the Syrian Jewish community. They've been here about four generations, so they're here longer than us, and I think that they've managed to maintain um their Jewish heritage much stronger, their religious identity much stronger. Um I think the Iranian Jews have a lot to learn from the Syrian Jews. Um unfortunately, the public schools in Great Neck have been so fantastic that a lot of the kids in our community have gone to public school, know less about their Judaism. So, um I think it's been one of the advantages of being in Brooklyn. You wouldn't put your kids in public school. naturally people wind up putting their kids in yeshiva and I think you maintain their the heritage stronger that way. So um I think that Persian Jews could really learn a lot from the Syrian community but there is some intermarriage and it's so funny to say that because both of our communities are very I think tight-knit >> and um so there but there is some marriage between our communities. >> I did learn about it. I spent the weekend in uh New York City in Saffra Synagogue and a lot of Persian Jews there. I learned about the community. They don't let them marry from outside because they don't want to lose that, I guess, community base. >> Yeah. The purity of it. >> Yeah. I think the parents definitely prefer for everyone to marry within, >> right? And they push for that a lot, which is kind of cool. I mean, in a way, but in a way it's makes it more difficult then because you're, you know, less options, I guess. >> I I agree, Michael. But the one thing I'll say is that um again, these Jewish communities are so ancient. The tradition is so ancient and if if there's any way for the elders to to maintain the heritage, it's just so rich. It's such a it's such a beautiful part for me of the Jewish tradition. And and you know, I say this as someone who when we first came to America and wind up in Queens, so my parents have no idea. They're like total immigrants. No idea what's going on. >> They don't even speak the language. >> They don't speak the language. They don't know what's going on. But they did put me and my sister in public school first. Quickly realized public school is bad news in uh Queens, Ringo Park, New York. So um they find the Bayakov of Queens and they put me and my sister there um not realizing really anything what Bakov is. But you know it's all girls, it's Jewish. What could be bad? >> That's what I want to hear about. How did that work out for you like going through that process? So I think what happened was that first of all I feel very fortunate that I believe have a good um Jewish educational foundation uh as a a graduate of the Bayakov of Queens through 8th grade. Um the second thing though I think it did for me was um really exposed me to the Ashkanazi Jewish experience. And so um what I think that's helped me understand is having more of a sense of the overall Jewish experience. So I have obviously grew up Persian and know about the misrai the sparty Jewish experience and and so much of the oppression the sad stories but also the happy but the sad story is the oppression that Jews in the Middle East under Islam faced and then understanding the Ashkenazi experience of Jews in Europe and you know obviously in the culmination of the Holocaust and I can tell you as as a little girl in Basakov of Queens I didn't realize what it meant but we had teachers who had the the numbers on their arms and we had the cooks in the bayakov because Rabbi Newman, the the great and famous rabbi who was our principal. Um I think he went out of his way and so the the kitchen staff were all survivors. Again, we didn't really understand any of this until about seventh or eighth grade, but they had numbers on their arms. And so this was just like the millu that I grew up in was survivors. to his children and grandchildren of survivors in Basakov. And after we got to a certain age, Rabbi Newman and the teachers did obviously talk to us about what happened. And and I'll never forget that he was in particular very angry about the British not allowing the Jews to get to Israel. He used to talk about that to us all the time besides what happened with the Holocaust, the fact that the British didn't allow the Jews to go to Israel. So, you know, so, so this is something that I think became like really a fabric of who I am. And when you asked me, Oshie, about, you know, like when did life get exciting? I got a phone call out of the blue. Um, I guess it was 16. I should get my timeline. No, I think it was 17. Phone call out of the blue asking me if I would serve in the Trump administration. And I said, "In what capacity?" And they as they said in the anti-semitism office. And without even thinking about it for a second, I immediately said yes. And not even understanding it means relocating to DC, nothing. I just immediately say yes, of course, because it was the opportunity for me to finally give back to America, this amazing country that took me in as a child refugee, but also to help the Jewish people. How do you say no to that? Right? But I think the reason why that was just my immediate gut reaction was because I had understood anti-semitism in my bones from having escaped Iran as a child coming here and then also learning the Ashkanazi experience of anti-semitism. And so it's something that I think has been my life's work with you. You did this in high school like how did they get your number? Were you outspoken? Like what did we miss? >> So yeah, I was extremely outspoken. Um really I would tell you that I think Barack Obama is the person who turned me into the most outspoken person at that time against the Iran deal. Um Obama, as you all know, as your audience knows, um sold the American people this very bad bill of goods about how um the US made a deal with Iran that uh put the Iranian regime on the pathway to a nuclear bomb um in 2025. And that was the pathway that they were on. And um and I knew right away that this was incredibly dangerous for the whole world. Certainly for the Jewish people, certainly for the Jewish state of Israel. Um Kame, who we started this conversation about on Twitter, he had he had tweeted out a 13-point plan for the destruction of Israel. Um in Iran, they the their policies, the state policies, death to America, death to Israel. So, you know, as an Iranian, someone who escaped that regime, I knew this was an incredible existential threat to Israel, to the Jewish people, but also to America and to the world. And so, I Barack Obama made me very outspoken. And so, I think maybe that is part of the reason, Michael, that I was tapped for that deputy envoy to combat anti-semitism position. >> Whoa, that's a mouthful. That's what it ended up being. >> Yes. But you so in terms of you know the reaction that you had to everything that you saw though were you feeling it on the streets? Were you discussing it with people? Were you tweeting like what were you doing? What what was your world like then as a teenager? >> What was your real entrance way into making a scene? Be vocal teenagers like feel >> I wasn't a teenager at this point. At that point um I I appreciate this. I think maybe think I'm younger than I am. Michael, [laughter] no I wasn't a teenager during Obama. Um I was a broadcast journalist. I was working for Jewish broadcasting service for JBS TV. Um and um before that, you know, I had I had been very involved in the Jewish Communal World. I had been on the boards of um American Jewish Committee. I had worked at U.J. Federation of New York. I had spent many years in my career in the Jewish Communal World. Um but I would say the the journalism I was doing was what gave me a a platform, an outlet to be outspoken against the Iran deal and also activism. I just I kind of became an activist. >> Right. Right. >> What was that first thing that you you left high school like where where did your life go in your early 20s? >> I was a student at Barnard College, Columbia University. And so when you ask me what does Fox News bring me on often about Iran, but also about anti-semitism, of course. And I've been also very outspoken about my alma mater becoming the ground zero for the uh pro Hamas movement in our country since October 7th. So um you know it's it's been for me a great shame my alma mater that I was so proud of being a graduate of Barnard College of Columbia University. um you know as a as an immigrant child it was such a big deal for me that I had achieved that and now to look at my alma mater and say God you know this is where the president of Columbia University on the day one when she saw this pro Hamas movement flourishing on her campus she should have stood up to them and said no get out you know we're not a a a we're not a font of hatred we're a university a place for ideas and they didn't do that at Colombia and to this day Colombia has a a lot of work ahead of them. >> Yeah. Yeah. And anybody who doesn't do anything about it, like you know, um the inability to act is complicitness, you know, it's it's helping it get along and it's adding fuel to the fire. It's like when you see something that's wrong, you go and you stop it, you know, and if you don't, >> it's somewhat of you agreeing to it. It's it's giving your your approval. I want to go back a minute to your parents when they got here because I could already see you. You're obviously very accomplished person as are your siblings. What did your parents do when they got how did your parents make a living? Your father, uh what was your mother like? Um how did they integrate, you know, and and produce such amazing offspring? Like it starts with them. How did they how did this happen? >> So, it's a great question and I think um understanding the America as a place uh where immigrants um for generations have come and um have achieved the American dream. I always say that I feel like our family and I I always said that earlier, right? that this is a country where the American dream is so still alive. And one of the things that infuriates me the most is all the hatred that's uh directed towards our country. Um so many people are just um completely just lying lies propaganda about America. Um and so look, my parents came here with basically the shirts on their back. They came with very little. they were able to bring very little out of Iran during the revolution because if you think about what happens during a revolution the currency goes into uh freefall um nobody wants to buy your assets because everybody's you know it's a revolution people everybody all anyone who can is trying to escape you don't know it's complete chaos nobody knows where the country's headed so your assets become worthless so my parents couldn't bring much with them um we landed in Rio Park Queens and they had to start over again they had to learn the language which they did um and they had to just start over again and they struggled and it was very traumatic for them. They had a beautiful life in Iran. They came here with practically nothing. Had to start over again. It was very very hard. >> Um >> so you grew up in not in in luxury. You didn't grow up comfortable. You grew up in a struggling environment. >> Yes. Very much so. Very much so. And um again you know um I think that is the classic American experience that uh somebody in the family at some generational point was an immigrant to the US. And this is a country where people bootstrap >> and that is the beauty of America is that we don't live in a classist country where opportunity doesn't exist. Opportunity exists everywhere. Yeah. And so um I think that you know my parents bootstrapped to the best of their ability to give us everything that they could and I would say that my father was a big believer is a big believer in education. So even though I would tell you traditionally Iranian men were not big on education for their daughters. My dad was exceptional in that way and he really did push education on me and my sister and I think that that was a big part of and he really encouraged us. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. He had the foresight. Yes. >> Um and you know, Michael and I, we talk about this a lot. We're big believers. Um in the Jewish community, the firm Jewish community, a lot of times we put a lot of stock in the boys and in the teenage boys and you know, in the men and the women, you know, they they you know, don't necessarily you don't see them at the forefront as much as you'll see in men. And it's changed. It's in our communities. It's really changed. And women can accomplish anything. You know, it's very traditional to like, you know, uh the boys do this, the boys do that, and the girls more or less stay at home. But I mean, look, look at what you've done and what you've accomplished. I mean, you're a voice for hundreds of thousands of people. So, I'm I'm really uh grateful to your father that he had the foresight to say, "No, no, I want them to be educated and not follow the traditional path, you know, of of putting stock in the boys." And I'll say one more thing, Ellie. I'll say one more thing. For all the people, and there are many, that hate on America and the United States, somehow nobody ever leaves, and everybody is still dying to get in. >> Exactly. Right. >> Yeah. It's it's probably the leading country where most people are attempting to get into, right? >> By far. It's not even close. You may want to combine the rest of the country. You still won't get to the number of how many people are desperately people are giving up their lives for. You always hear about people crossing the southern border. You mentioned, but do you know at what peril and at what risk they're actually trying to get in? I mean, they're doing just unfathomable things to try to get in. That's how desperately they want to be here because we're such a bad country. That's the reason why. No. So, obviously, there's something uh there's something to it. There's other ulterior motives that people have. A lot of self-interests also being being served. Um and and one more thing while I'm on this rent I'll say is because you also mentioned it is that you know um why protect Israel like a lot of American taxpayer money goes towards Israel and goes towards you know and there's a side that you know why are we giving that's a foreign country it's America first why are we giving to them you know nobody seems to ask the question why are I don't know how many other hundreds of other countries also getting foreign aid do you have a problem with that specifically a problem with Israel but I think what a big portion of our country faces um um they're ignoring is that This isn't just an Israel America problem. It's a world problem and we're doing everybody a favor. We're fighting the good fight and we're sending our little boys and girls to go out there and fight on a war that is going to come on your doorstep very very soon. If people realize the dangers of radical Islam of a radical and Trump always says he always said is say it what it is. It's radical Islamic terrorism. That's what it is. We have no problem with the Muslim community. We've been side by side for thousands of years. We have many periods of time that we got along with them. You know, we're cousins. We have relationships. But it's the radical extreme Islamic terrorists that are a big problem and that's manifesting itself all over the world. They're growing. They have a lot of resources and if we don't get rid of it, so we're doing a big service to the entire world. We should be thanked for it. Quite frankly, we should be thankful instead of that. All of this propaganda that's being strewn about everything, it's like what is going on? Sometimes it just boggles your mind. How can people not see clearly what is they themselves telling you? It's like it's not even like they're hiding it. You have to go find it. They're putting it out there for you to see. And yet people still go I'm sorry. I'm on a rant over here. >> Ushi, I think I think you're 100%. >> Give Fox News his number, please. [laughter] >> No. Listen, I I'm saying this now here between [clears throat] spoken. >> It's much harder to say it on a big platform when you know really millions of people listen to you. I give you a lot of credit and you know we need people like you that are out there that are fighting the good fight and speaking your mind and uh you know a Jewish representative nonetheless you know and it's uh I have a lot of admiration for for what you're doing. >> Thank you. And and look you know I really appreciate that you are making the distin distinction between radical Islam and the Muslim world. Um because you're right, we are cousins with our Muslim neighbors, you know, my former neighbors. And um part of what I had the privilege of doing in the Trump administration is that, you know, when when they tapped me, I immediately asked for the Iran portfolio. I asked for the Middle East portfolio, and I was given that for our office. And we came into office not knowing where things would land. But um thanks to President Trump's leadership, senior adviser Jared Kushner and others, I I can't go through the whole senior list um of the administration, but by the end of the administration, President Trump brokers the Abraham Accords. >> Now, we were kind of under the guidance of the White House that we were working in this direction. So part of what happened for me in my portfolio was that I was a part of the Abraham Accords, what we call the warm peace team. And so I was working very closely with the Arab world and with the modern Gulf Arab countries and um they are now proving to be just the best allies that Israel has. And part of what I have found to be just the most um greatest cause for optimism in the world is um my Arab Zionist friends. And believe it or not, they exist. So um you know I'm talking about people like Lal Sharif Amja Taha if you go on social media you will find them um the NGO called Sharaka um they have a whole group of people in the from Muslim countries in the Arab world who are out there actually advocating on behalf of Israel. It's an incredible thing to see and um just all of the people-to-people relationships that have come out of the Abraham Accords have have just again been such a cause of optimism. And I will tell you that um I think a Jew walking in the streets of the United Arab Emirates right now with a keep on his head can often be safer than sadly most of Western Europe and even some of our cities now in the United States. >> Doesn't that just blow your mind? >> It is mind-blowing. It's unbelievable. >> And it's so true what you're saying. I believe every word of it because you could like some for myself, Michael, I'm sure you too. We go sometimes just to New York City and I feel a little bit unsafe. I have I have like this little flinch of maybe taking off my yamaka because why should people over here know that I'm Jewish? What do I need this for? This extra headache. Like, oh my god, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, I never would have thought of that. >> And it's only getting worse, you know? and in Saudi Arabia and in in the UAE, whatever in certain places, they actually understand the culture and the religion more and they're more acceptable. It's just it's mindboggling. >> I by mistake bumped into a protest in New York City and didn't know what was going on. >> Yeah, I remember that story. >> And I said to the cop, I'm like, "Is it safe for me to be here?" And he literally looked at me goes, "You should leave." Yeah. >> I have it on video. I was like, "Oh my gosh." Cuz I I wasn't sure what was going on, right? >> And I couldn't believe I was scared. And it was just like I I I couldn't believe I was scared to be in New York City at that moment. It was just we were going down such a dangerous path. That's why I think it was such an heroic thing where Trump came into office because he was the exact opposite and he has no boundaries, no limitations. And I think that's what a lot of people don't like about him as well. But at the end of the day, you needed somebody on the other side that's not afraid to say what he wants, not afraid because we were we were really heading in a terrible direction. We needed somebody crazy, needless to say, to come in and just quickly turn it all around. Have you met him? Have you met him? have had the honor and privilege of meeting President Trump. Um, I wouldn't use that language to describe President Trump. I would tell you this. I think President Trump on the world stage is unpredictable as a leader. >> And I think that is one of his greatest strengths and it's one of the biggest assets we have as a country because when you look around the world and you understand who our adversaries are, you're talking about China, Russia, Iran, North Korea and um these are just some of the most evil people and most evil regimes out there and they want to destroy America if they could. you know, they want to destroy our entire lifestyle, our freedoms, our prosperity, everything good about this country. Yeah. >> And um >> you have a president like Donald Trump in the White House who is unpredictable, >> it makes them think twice about what they're going to do to the US and to our allies and to our interests in the world. And so I think that, you know, President Trump is really, I believe, the greatest leader, uh, greatest president in our lifetimes. And, um, it's funny, just yesterday, I I reposted, um, a couple of years ago, so between the first administration um, and this election, I had the honor of, um, helping to present President Trump with this award. It was the defender of Zion award at Mara Lago. And that night uh in my presentation to him, I called him our modern-day Cyrus the Great and said that he would be remembered in history for standing with the Jewish people. And um look, obviously I know that I look at the world through a Jewish lens, but if you look at the h the the broad sweep of history, Cyrus the Great is someone who to this day we all know who that is. We know his name. Um, and that's partially because he gave the Jews the freedom to go back and rebuild the temple in Jerusalem and gave, you know, he was like the first leader to uh believe in human rights at the time. And I believe that President Trump is going to go down in history. He will be forever remembered for all of the brave acts that he's done for our country, but also for the Jewish people. >> You can't dispute that. You cannot dispute those are all facts. Everything you just said um is and you need a little bit of crazy to combat crazy. You know, you need fire. You got if you if you're playing with fire and a way to put it out is with more fire. You need fire with fire. That's the way it is. You're looking at Putin, you're looking at, you know, China, you're looking at North Korea. I mean, they all have nothing in common except one thing. They all hate America. That's what they banned behind. That's what they unite on. That's it. Is that they want to become the next world power. Imagine there's no America. You know what's next? Each other. Then they're going to go after each other. That's what's going to be left, right? >> You know, so you need a protector of the realm. And at the end of the day, I think Donald Trump, that's what I meant before when I said you needed somebody that is capable and somebody that can like I I don't know. It's even it wasn't about Republican or Democrat. It was way beyond that. You needed somebody as uh outrageous as as Donald Trump. So like what are you seeing in the political arena? Um as far as you know, not even for for Judaism. Let's put putting that aside. Just you know, for you yourself, do you have any more aspirations? Like do you have something you want on your radar? or you want to do something next like you know what's the next big thing coming for Ellie. >> Well, I will tell you she that I feel like my life has been very much guided by the hand of God. >> So, I very much um defer to what comes my way. Um because that phone call that I got from the Trump administration in the first in the first administration was completely out of the blue. >> I still can't believe that that it was so spontaneous and you did not see it coming. >> I had no idea. >> And you immediately accepted too. >> And I immediately accepted literally within you know just >> and you said you moved you you relocated. >> I relocated to Washington DC. um which was you know a lot to ask my family to do but we did it and um and yeah you know it it I had to do the job in DC and so >> you live there now? >> No, we are back in New York. Okay. But um but it was you know it was a great time to be there under the Trump administration and and so you know th that's I don't know exactly what life will bring meshi but I do have one exciting development that I hope I can share with everybody not not with the Trump administration but um very soon I can't share yet but um as soon as I can I will I will >> that was just a tease. Yeah. Yeah. What was that? [laughter] >> Well it's none of your business. Oh, there it is. She whipped it out. She used it. You know, you only get it once. >> You can use that once. That's it. >> I'm curious throughout your journey, who did you meet that was like unexpected? I mean, obviously you met with President Trump and that's pretty cool. And uh but like you saw someone you're like, "Whoa." Like I, you know, >> Great question. >> Like because you met so many interesting people throughout your career so far. Um, you know, the first person that's coming to mind um is uh Sheh Alisa um who um who is a Saudi uh religious figure, the head of the Muslim World League and um he's such a forward thinker and um the conversations that I have had with him have been just so interesting and eye opening to me and um you know again for me I think the greatest optimism that I feel is is actually coming out of the Arab world and I and I think that might be really surprising for people to hear but um look sadly I look at Western Europe and I see a lot of decay I see um I see a civilization that doesn't know what it's fighting for in a way they are like a post uh religion civilization um they they Europeans seem to have lost all connection with their history and their heritage Um, and to me, I actually think that the Arab world presents us with hopefully um, just opportunity for the future and hopefulness for the future. >> That is very eye opening for people to hear and I I love hearing that. >> A totally different twist. I didn't see that coming, but now that I'm connecting the dots after you saying that, you're probably right. We can count on some of our Arab nations as partners um and supporters more than we can count on a lot of our western allies like France for example. It's like it's unbelievable lots look at Germany. Germany is a stormed supporter of Israel today. Uh who would have thought? Who would have thought, right? It's like things constantly change in this arena. It's it's really amazing. New alliances are being formed. Old alliances are being broken and it's just like there's so many moving parts or so many things. But you know what's been, Michael? I'm so proud of this because I I I always tell Michael and I say I say in the podcast, I'm not the greatest Jew uh at all by far. Like I have a lot of work ahead of me. I'm so proud to be a Jew. I'm so proud to be part of this nation because you know why? We've been a constant for a very long time since the beginning. We've been here the same. Nothing's changed. We've been the same. We've kept our identity and we keep it going. And every other nation, everybody else is just it's up and down. It's a roller coaster. One day they're here, the next day they're not here. They look completely different than they were at one point. It totally lose their entire culture and everything change shifts. But Jewish people, man, we don't change. We're still here. We're in your face bigger than ever. >> I'm with you. >> We're thriving. We're thriving. And Ellie, this is why people hate us. >> Yeah. >> Maybe we got to dial it back a little bit. [laughter] >> Seriously, maybe we shouldn't be so successful. Maybe maybe we need to like tone it down because that's everybody wants to target the bully, the big bad bully in the room. Everybody goes after them. I'm sorry I shouldn't use the word bully. It sounds horrible. What I mean to say is is that you know the biggest companies, right? Everybody else wants a little piece of it, right? This always they're always targeting them. That's the way it is. Like it's just if you go on the internet, you go on the internet, all you see is is is the hate. That's all you see. >> Yeah. There's been a lot of hate coming towards the Jewish people since October 7th. Now, I would not tell you that there wasn't anti-semitism before October 7th because if you were looking at the trend lines and you were looking at the studies and the FBI every year publishes reports and Jews are always have been for so many years the number one victims of hate crimes by religion. Um, so the trend lines were sadly very bad for for a while, but I think October 7th unleashed this worldwide >> um very open hatred. >> They're very brazen about it. >> Very brazen. >> They feel almost entitled like now we can say something in public because you're wrong. Look at what you're doing after October 7. Look at what you're doing. Genocide and this and famine and hunger and >> all the lies, the endless lies and propaganda. And I'll tell you, I personally think part of it is that um it was almost like they're like sharks who um you know, were seeing blood in the water because for one moment, Israel was vulnerable and and Jews were massacred. On October 7, you've got 1,200 Jews massacred and the most heinous atrocities were committed against Jewish women, babies, children, and adults, Holocaust survivors, elderly. And I think for one moment the the true forces of evil felt that the Jews were weak and they were going to come after us. And this is why I believe, you know, when you ask about anti-semitism and how do you address anti-semitism? For me, a big part of how we're going to get this global anti-semitism kind of like back in the box is when Israel has a resounding victory in Gaza. Now, Israel has had a resounding victory. They had a sevenf frontont war. They had a tremendous resounding victory on all of the other fronts and it's just Gaza remaining. And you know, I am just kind of holding my breath waiting for Gaza to end the way we need it to end. And I believe that uh the Jewish people will be safer for it um all around the world. >> You know, I when I was in Time Square this week, I saw this million-dollar billboard and I'm sure it cost a lot of money. you know, was sponsored by probably an organization that you're somewhat a part of or you know, you know, I don't remember who it was from and it and it was huge and it was in Time Square in the middle for like 20 seconds kept rotating. It said, "Did you know that one in every three Jews have experienced a hate uh crime or something to do with hate?" I'm curious because you're on this topic and you're saying Oshi was mentioning earlier you are a voice and what would be your message and this is the time of the podcast that I would ask you what would be your message to our listeners in terms of dealing with it because we hear a lot you know fight the hate or ignore it or you know fight the hate with love you know from your perspective coming from who you are and what you've done and also I agree with everything you're saying amazing uh what would be your message >> well said it before me which is Jewish pride Pride. I think the first, you know, the basis, the layer before everything else is pride in who you are. Jewish pride have to feel pride in yourself. And that means knowing your heritage, knowing your history. And that means that Jewish children need to get educated in Judaism. you know, when you have Jews on the boards of federations and uh foundations and they're trying to figure out, you know, the next next, it's always the next next in the Jewish community. Should we fund this? Should we fund that? What's going to be the band-aid for this? What's going to be for Jewish identity? How do we make sure that, you know, that the Jews exist into the future? Well, it's very basic. It's Jewish education. There's no two ways about it. you ha Jewish children need to have a Jewish education in order for them to maintain their Judaism. So that's that's like the basic level. And so from that I believe comes your Jewish pride. And then from there you can understand why does Israel need to exist? It's the Jewish homeland, right? We it it we are indigenous to Israel. Everybody who claims everything about us that is the opposite of that is lying. We're the indigenous people, right? But you need to have a Jewish education in order to know all that. And also being able to distinguish between, you know, like tikunam Judaism and the Torah because, you know, I am finding that so many of the leaders of the different streams of the Jewish community don't know actually all that much themselves. And they have taught American Jews that everything is tikunol. everything is, you know, there's this like confusion of liberalism and Judaism. And so, you've got a lot of American Jews right now who are just completely lost because they believe in liberalism and they think that's what it means to be Jewish. Hey, look, you can be Jewish and liberal. I don't have anything against it, but don't think that your liberalism is Judaism. Study Judaism, you'll learn what Judaism is. It's not that, you know. And um so that that's the first thing I would say is Jewish pride. Know who you are and what you stand for, your heritage, your history. Then I would say in terms of how do you fight anti-semitism? You know, one strategy that I that I do think is a mistake is trying to um dispute all the lies that are coming at us. If you're spending the entire conversation trying to dispute, well, no, we aren't committing apartheid. No, it's not genocide. No, it's not colonialism. No, we there is no famine in Gaza. Um they've already won because they've framed the conversation. So I think we have to be really careful how much of our time we're going to spend trying to dispute the lies and just spending more time on revealing the truths. Um I would say that in the the Israel's war, these last two years, the post October 7th war, I think that Israel could have done a better PR job. Um there were too many times where um there were accusations made of Israel um where Israel wasn't fast enough to to reveal the truth. Um but at the same time I also think that they are in an impossible situation. We heard uh Prime Minister Netanyahu say uh in an interview recently, well I was busy fighting an actual kinetic war um and we couldn't necessarily fight the information war. But I I I think I think the last piece I would say is that Michael is that it is an information war. Um we need to be really cleareyed that there is there's two fronts of a war going on. And um I don't know where I was just reading, but I was just reading something about how Hamas had an entire kind of information ops um part of the war on their side where they had like embedded in their terror infrastructure are people who are taking videos, who are editing, they move around from place to place and they're constantly putting it out there. So um so just you know very important for us to understand that this is not just PR but that this is actual information war that part of the way Hamas has been operating is understanding that the way they manipulate global public opinion and also Israeli domestic public opinion. They were apparently tracking and trying to manipulate and succeeded in in manipulating Israeli domestic public opinion on they understood that that was impacting the way Israel was fighting the war. So all of us need to also understand this is not just PR. It's not it is an actual warfare that that we are in the midst of. >> How'd you do Michael? >> Very I'm like blown away very well. >> Yeah. I think [laughter] you're hired like Donald Trump likes to say you know you're fired you're hired. Yeah. >> Um I just want to add one. I mean I can't really add much to what you say. You said at all, but for the last point that you made I I saw the Reuben report. He's a podcast conservative podcast and uh he brings on very interesting guests and I think he's very well spoken and he always has very good logic. I like the way he thinks. I used to like Paris Morgan by the way. Yeah. >> I used to like um Tucker Carlson. I thought Tucker Carlson also was very well spoken and he was very good at making his points and articulating it until he totally went rogue. That's another conversation we got to talk about. happened to these people. They totally shifted sides. They totally changed their ways. They're clearly getting paid off or they have other something is going on over there. But this guy in Rubenport, he said, and it stuck with me when he said it, and I thought, oh my god, he he's making a good point. He said, "How did Hamas know that they could go and murder in the most vicious, inhumane ways, 1500, 2,000 people and the world would side with them?" >> Yeah. >> How did they know? Because the normal person, a logical person would think if I do something bad, people are going to be upset at me. People are going to people are going to be very very very upset. Hamas knew that they had almost the green light to do it. And they knew that they would be rewarded for it. Yeah. >> That a lot of the world, a big part of the world is actually going to immediately. >> I mean, people were already wondering October 8th, why is Israel fighting back? Israel didn't even respond yet. And people were already on Palestine, Hamas's side, and they didn't even respond yet. That's how far it went. How did Hamas know? What information did they have? How far were they planning this? They've infiltrated a lot of different global systems that they're in cohorts with now clearly some and no one takes such an audacious move without knowing that there won't really be the repercussions that they're probably going to face. It was so thoughtprovoking and I was like, wait a second, he makes a good point. >> I think that's exactly right. And you know the best evidence for that also is the fact that um Hamas took footage of the atrocities they were committing on October 7th. So a lot of people have been talking lately more I think about the 47 minute video that Israel um gathered and it's a video of the footage that comes from Hamas terrorists who were wearing GoPro cameras on their heads as they're committing these atrocities. So, it's the footage that comes from the GoPro cameras, a lot of security footage um and um and some of it, I guess, uh was from the from the first responders. And I saw this footage, I was in Israel twice since October 7th. I was there right after um soon after in December uh 2023 and then again in March. And in December, I saw this footage at an IDF base. And the Israelis, as you know, have been keeping very tight control over the footage, um, showing it to select audiences. So, Ushi, it's exactly what you just said. Hamas was documenting the atrocities as they were committing it, not hiding it, but documenting it so that they could advertise it. Then we live in this crazy world where even though here they are proudly advertising it, you had denial, October 7 denial almost immediately. So with the Holocaust, you have Holocaust denial 70 years after, 60 years after, whatever it is, right? With October 7th, it was immediate denial, attempts at denial immediately after, even though the footage was right out there. And and and so the other thing that this also reminds me of is going back to the question of anti-semitism and how do you deal with it? How do you address it? You know, the I believe the reason why Israel has been careful about not releasing that footage is because again, we walk this fine line of do you want to portray Jews as victims or not. >> If you portray us as victims, it's like open season on the Jews. We need to stay strong. And so even though on the other side they are constantly creating fake footage of Gaza famine and Gaza victims and there's all this, you know, it's all out there on social media where they're like staging um victims to create victimhood on the Palestinian side of the narrative for Jews. We walk this very fine line and people say, "Well, why doesn't Israel just just share the footage? Let >> I wonder about that." Yeah. I believe I've no one has said this to me but I believe it's because we have to be really careful about not portraying ourselves as victims because then it's almost like inviting further >> makes us vulnerable in a way. >> That's a great point by the way. I haven't thought about it either. >> I've thought about [clears throat] why aren't they just blasting this out all over the place. Let people see the other side. See what actually but they haven't done that and and now I'm understanding it makes sense what you're saying. >> It's my theory. >> It's it makes sense. It's a good strategy. It makes sense. We don't want to play the victim card. That's besides the point. Um, but look, you know, this this this was a dark time for us. This was >> this was a gaping hole in our in our history that we're never going to forget. You know, when a [snorts] day is remembered by the actual month and dates, >> right? >> You know, that's going to be for a very long time. It's very unfortunate. >> Um, but look, I I want to digress from some of this stuff if I may, Ellie. >> Sure. >> You're a fascinating person. You have some really deep insights and you're you're an expert. You're you're a subject matter expert on this and we could sit picking your brains all day, but I want to learn a little bit about you. I just want to know like a little bit more about let's talk about you and what you do for fun. Like what excites you in life when you're not being political? >> When you're not being political, you like to read, you like to watch movies. Exactly. What do you do? >> So, yeah, my definition of fun is reading. Um I will admit that um I am on my phone like all the rest of us. Yeah. All the time. But, um, I believe X is the best source of immediate news. So, I'm kind of addicted to it all the time, checking to see if something's happening. Um, >> who's your favorite person to follow on X? >> Favorite person? Well, Elon Musk is such a funny personality. I I I am so sad about the falling out between him and President. Isn't that terrible? >> Terrible. And hopefully there will be a reporma full reporma. >> I still like Elon Musk, by the way. I do, too. even though he had a fallout with >> I I hope that that gets, you know, completely >> smooth. You think it will? >> You know, time heals all wounds. >> Maybe you could broke or something. >> Yeah. [laughter] So, I I love following Elon Musk. Um who else do I I I don't know. I follow so many Oh, you know who I love? Okay. Dan Linius. He's brilliant. Um I'm gonna find him for you. Okay. It's your um maybe your L. Yeah, it's spelled like this. Dan and then L I N A E U S. Very strange last name. >> Very strange. Yeah, Dan. >> He also spells it way more complicated than he needed to. >> Yeah. And I don't even know if I'm pronouncing it right. But Dan is brilliant. I love following him. Um >> like he's a political commentator. Like what is he? >> But yes, political commentator. Um >> you know, I I can't even tell you. I'm on it all the time following, you know, and >> so that's your guilty pleasure. >> That's my guilty pleasure. I have Fox News on at home. The TV is blasting 247, so Fox News is like always on in the background. >> Favorite Fox News host. >> Oh gosh, I love all of them. They're they're really honestly the Fox News hosts are such great people. >> Yeah. >> Um >> very talented. >> Very talented. Also very down to earth. Like I haven't met any Fox News host who is snobby or kind of like full of themselves. They're cuz you know they're celebs, right? >> Correct. But you in a sense are also so you're like one of their like uh you know you're in their business. If I would show up they'd probably like you know kick me to the curb. I'm a nobody. >> I think they are very cool. Yeah. Grounded people. >> Were you intimidated the first time you went on on stage? >> Oh yeah. And and also I have to tell you my heart still like races every time I'm about to do a TV hit. But um but you know you just kind of like get >> exciting though. Yes. >> It means you're alive. You know, it's like it's those are the peak moments that you you look back on and you reminisce and you recapture that feeling for a few minutes. It's it's awesome. >> My favorite host um not that anybody asked me, but I'm going to offer it anyway. Fox News is Jesse Waters. >> Oh, Jesse is great. >> I love Jesse. I think he's funny. I think he's charming. I think he's knowledgeable. >> I think he's also bold. He asks the right questions. He's not afraid to push back. And yeah, he's a little bit biased sometimes. Like you feel like, okay, he's drinking the Kool-Aid. here. >> But he's reasonable. He's reasonable. You know, you can you know, he'll admit when something is a little bit off, even on on his own side. Uh but I'm a big fan. I I >> honestly I love all of them. Every single host I've met, they they've just been amazing people. I think Fox has done a great job. Okay. Of the >> Have you traveled around the world anywhere? >> I'm assuming you've you know, in your capacity, have you gone to any interesting places? >> Um yes. I mean, so many. So, I'll tell you that uh again going back to the Abraham Accords, I went on official travel to the United Arab Emirates um to Egypt. I was invited for the grand reopening of the Alexandria, the great synagogue in Alexandria, which President Cece at the time had just spent millions of dollars refurbishing um synagogues, churches, and uh like pharaohic sites in Egypt at that time. So, that was that was really fascinating. Um, I work a lot with evangelical Christians and so I was invited to um speak at the church of um of then President Balsinaro in Brazil. Um that was a very great trip to uh Brazil and with my evangelical evangelical Christian friends whose board I sit on, Latino Coalition for Israel. I have traveled to Guatemala, met with um President Jimmy Morales, who was the first country uh Guatemala was the first country to move their embassy to Jerusalem after President Trump. >> I remember that. >> Yes. And so I interviewed uh President uh Jimmy Morales about you know uh that moment, his decision. Um he >> is he still president there? >> No. No, no longer. Um so uh that was a great trip. Guatemala, they are very religious uh country. Love Israel. Um, Argentina was fascinating. I was there for the I believe it was the 25th commemoration of the Amya bombing, Iranbacked Hezbollah bombing of the Jewish community center um in Argentina. Um, >> do you know about that? I don't even know much about that that incident. >> 1984, I believe, was the year that Hezbollah, which is uh Iranian proxy, um, bombed the Jewish community center in Buenes Iris, Argentina. I'm I'm sorry. I don't remember right now the number of people killed, but way too many. >> Um it was the deadliest terror attack in the Americas. Um I believe still to this day and um it was just a great tragedy. And uh and so Argentina um has one of the bigger Jewish communities in the Americas in Latin America. And um and so you know every year they do commemorate this bombing. Um it it also I think is an important uh event for us to remember because it it should be a reminder that Iran's presence is right on the doorstep of the United States. >> Yep. Those who don't know history are bound to repeat it. Right. It's the old adage. Exactly. >> So when I asked you if you traveled, you're like, "Yeah, I've traveled." And you list off like I don't know like 18 different very cool places I may add. Um going to Egypt. >> Tell me about that. Meeting with cool people. >> Meeting with cool people. Yeah. I interviewed Guatemala. >> Yeah. We're going to the town. I thought you were going to say like I don't know. I've been to Puerto Rico. I've been to Jamaica. You know, like >> Bahamas. >> You've been all across the globe. I I definitely feel very fortunate to do to do the international travel like you said to meet with world leaders and and you know dignitaries and and it's it's what gives me optimism you know when I do meet people counterparts across the world who do um have a sense of morality who are just out there doing the right thing. Um, you know, like President Balssonro of Brazil. Um, I have a picture with his wife. Um, they're just, you know, very religious Christians and they had gone to visit Israel. They really are very interested in the Bible. And, um, she was wearing this gorgeous leather jacket that inside it had been um, like a cutout of Hebrew words from Tahillim. I forgot how you say Tahim in English. >> Psalm. >> Psalms. Right. Yeah. And um and so this is you know the wife the first lady of Brazil. Um it's really it's really incredible when I have I have the honor for experiences like that. >> Incredible. I mean Michael was you know Michael's by smiling from ear to ear. I'm just watching him. He's Michael is uh you know enjoying it. >> He's living it up right now. >> Yes. Yes. This I I love travel in general. It's also Israel. >> I hate traveling by the way. [laughter] >> If I go on vacation to like Pennsylvania for like 3 days, I need to come home already after. I like >> I want to know where you're going next. I want to I want to just, you know, >> I'm going to invite about all your travels. >> Do you have another cool trip coming up that you know about already or it's >> um I'm actually invited to Morocco and I'm hoping to go very soon. >> My mother's from Morocco. >> Oh, is that right? >> My mother was born in Morocco. >> Tell us. >> Yeah. Yeah. She's uh comes from French um um Spanish um origin and um she I think her grandmother great-g grandandmother lived there and then she moved to her mother moved to Jerusalem >> um when she was like one or two years old >> which was a big deal back then cuz it's not easy to travel >> right it wasn't at all. So my mother speaks a little bit of like French. Um that was the I think that's their first language there or something. >> It's still Yes. Is it still you speak other languages? >> I do. >> Yeah, >> of course. Michael, >> I speak Farsy. >> Okay. You heard her story. She probably [laughter] speaks like eight languages. I don't know. >> Oh, I wish. No, I speak Farsy. I speak Hebrew. I am familiar with Arabic. >> Nice. Nice. Farsy is a cool language. >> It is a cool language. >> Yeah. Very hard to learn. >> It is. It is. And people don't realize that Farsy and Arabic are two different languages. They also don't realize that Persians are are different from Arab. So um right Persian >> we know that but I see why people you know conflict don't realize right so Iranians are Indo-Uropeans they're not Semites and the languages are completely different languages but Persian has a lot of well the alphabet is the same alphabet and Persian has a lot of Arabic loan words in it. Mhm. >> It's like Yiddish with German, you know, like there's there's some >> some synergies there, but it's two different, you know, >> two different languages. >> Ellie, do you have any questions for us? >> Yeah. So, um, >> you said that way too quickly, like you were like [laughter] you were prepared for questions. Did you know who's going to ask you if you have any questions? >> So, here's the thing. So, this has been such a fun conversation, but I understand you guys are in the healthc care space. >> Yes, we are. Yeah. >> And that is a very fascinating space for me. So, um, even though I don't get to, you know, spend my time thinking about business and the economy and making money, which is always a nice thing that I somewhere in the distance, um, people do, just not me. But, um, so I would love to know what you guys think is happening next in the healthcare industry because we do always hear that healthcare is the one segment of the economy that is growing. >> Wow, that's a great question. By the way, a lot of voters in the healthcare industry, right? You always see politicians going to nursing homes and assisted living homes because you can just get a 100 votes, you know, just get them out to vote, >> but they got to bust them though. >> So, yes, but they do that. They do it well. But that's a great that's a great question. >> Excellent question. >> Um, yeah. Oshi, I'll let you take a stab at it. >> Really? I'm shocked. >> This is what you let me take a stab at. >> I mean, this particular question, >> go for it. >> Honestly, I don't know if I have the right answer. I don't know. I mean, where the healthcare market is going as far as the the future. I mean, it is the um most sustainable um industry. I think >> I'm I'm very proud. I'm just going to jump in. I'm very proud of the technology that's being adapted to the industry, specifically Israeli technology that's being uh adapted in the industry using radar technology and so on. So, I want to say that it's becoming a younger industry. It used to be a very older industry. Like the owners and operators were in their 70s and 80s or at least it felt that way when we first started. >> Definitely. They're becoming much more educated. Like they know their stuff. You know, they're administrator level operators. >> I wouldn't be nervous today putting a loved one in a nursing home. It just has to be the right nursing home. And there's a lot of right nursing homes today that's forward thinking. So I would say is that it's forward thinking, believe it or not. very forward thinking, very innovative and using technology to really care for the people that are there. The idea is to get them out of the nursing home. >> I think what Ellie Ellie was asking is why is it still growing? Why is it a market that's been so, you know, >> it's been not just sustaining for a long time, it's been thriving. It's been growing and they're expecting in the next 30, 40 years like many many billions, you know, that are going to be in this market. What is it? The financial answer is that the government doesn't want people in the hospitals. They don't want them staying in the hospitals. So after a surgery where it used to be they stay, you know, Mrs. Jones will stay in the hospital to recover. Now it's let's get them to a step down. So in in our world, nursing homes are mini hospitals. So that's the way they should be looked at and it's getting them there. So that's I guess from that perspective. >> Can I ask you one more question? >> You can ask us anything. >> Sure. >> What about AI? Is AI already impacting starting to impact? Oh yeah. >> Will impact a big so curious about this. >> I think from the drugs perspective from the pharmaceutical world it's being uh you know looked at in terms of what works what doesn't work immediate information which I think helps a lot. I think also treating the residents differently rehospizations is a big deal in in our industry meaning you're coming from a hospital and if you're not treating them properly using all the right products and services they're going to go back into the hospital. So using AI to evaluate based on the data and the information that's in their you know charts of what can we do for prevention which we speak about a lot as well in general preventing those problems from happening. >> Exactly. Predicting I think that's a very big thing now. Predicting is a better word predict what's going to potentially happen >> by the way. Predicting right exactly. So we're seeing a lot of that in the EMRs where they're they're using a lot of AI as a functionality in order to really learn things ahead of time before it happens. Would you be scared for a loved one to go to a nursing home these days? >> Yeah. I mean, it's it definitely feels like um it's not something that you look forward to for your >> No, I don't care how good the nursing home is. >> No, but we want to be >> about how beautiful it is. And I say this, it's a little bit isolating. You're away from your family. You know, they say, "Oh, you make new friends in a nursing home." Well, not really. It's not how it's not how it works. >> Uh but you don't see a lot of religious um families that send their parents to a nursing home. I'm not just saying Jewish. I'm saying in any religion that the religious part of it, >> the ultra like religious part of they it's a thing where they keep their parents at home. Eventually they move back with you at home. That's how it works. >> Right. Right. I think that's true. But you're saying that there are better nursing homes and there's a way to find absolutely the right. >> Yeah. You ask us. >> Are you into hunt? Are you looking? >> No. [laughter] >> I'll never forget this magnet that one of my friends had in his fridge. Be careful how you treat your children. They'll decide which nursing home you're going to go to. >> Yes. That's true. [laughter] We've we've all heard that. That's a very morbid thought. Exactly. Be nice to your kids otherwise excuse me. I think your kids owe you a lot more, you know, than you'll ever owe them. I think that's uh >> So, as I'm just curious before we wrap up, you're an advocate, which is of course what you do, but your day-to-day, what's that more like there? I don't have a normal dayto-day. I don't have a typical is what I'm saying like because it kind of changes every day. Um, so I guess I would say that I am good at managing chaos. because every day is different. So, I just have to kind of like roll with, you know, like today I'm with you guys and then >> that's chaotic. [laughter] >> No, I'm just saying like today I'm here, but tomorrow I might not have any appearances. I don't know. It's air of Shabbat. Maybe I'll be like a little more family centered on a Friday and then Monday we'll be like uh next week I'm in DC. I'm presenting at a conference about Iran um and hopefully having some meetings with uh Trump administration and also I am a co-chair of this national task force to combat anti-semitism which is my work that I do with the evangelical Christian community mostly. Um so next week will look completely different from this week and I just have to kind of be able to roll with it. >> Love that. Wow. It's exciting. >> It is. Yeah. >> I feel like we haven't really gotten into the weeds of everything that you've been doing and some of your accomplishments. like we haven't really touched. >> That's actually what I wanted to hear. Yeah. More about like your >> Yeah. But I love snapshot. >> You know what? I know it's very clear about Ellie. She's she's very passionate about what you do and I think that's why you're good at it. I think you shouldn't do anything that you don't really care about or like to do because you're probably going to fail. But you're very passionate about it. Like you really like this is a part of who you are. It's your DNA. It's very clear. >> You're also good at it. A lot of people are passionate about things and they just they're not good at it. >> Yeah. But you can't be good at something without passion. You can have passion and still not be good at it. Yeah. Well, you can't have that without the >> path. I would say I feel very fortunate and blessed that I am able to do what I'm passionate about. Yeah. You know, I just feel like again, you know, when I was saying that I feel God's hand in my life, you know, my life story of coming here as a refugee from Iran, escaping anti-semitism, and then being able to to fight back on global anti-semitism. It just feels like the work that I was intended to do and I feel I it's a calling and I feel fortunate that I >> I'm curious more the work that you've done and you know the people you've spoken do you have a mentor someone that you go to for like >> I have a number of mentors. Yeah. So I feel that you know it's kind of like depends on what what it's about. But um one person I'm I'm very happy to talk about is um former deputy national security adviser for the Middle East under President Trump, Victoria Coats, who runs uh the Heritage Foundation's uh Davis Center, which is their international uh and foreign policy, national security arm. And um she's a brilliant woman, always been a mentor to me. >> Beautiful. Beautiful. I have like a inappropriate question. I'm [laughter] sorry, but >> I was about to wrap up and ask her the final question, but go for it. >> I like it appropriate. >> Appropriate. Go to Don't underwhelm me here now. >> It's not appropriate. I'm I'm putting too much pressure on this. Who's the most famous person that you have in your phone that you can call on on whim's notice if you want to? >> Oh god, I don't even I don't even know. I don't even >> have to be a celebrity, not like a movie, famous person. [laughter] Anybody It's a good question. Anybody that's famous, anybody that like is very wellknown. >> Okay. I will I'm not revealing names, but I will tell you I have cabinet secretaries in my phone. That's it. That's all I'm saying. >> Okay. Any movie stars? >> No, I'm not in the Hollywood world. >> She watches Fox all day, not HBO. Why not? Why aren't you in the movie world yet? When are you getting into Hollywood? >> Um, I never really thought, >> you know, that politics crosses with Hollywood at some point. >> Okay, maybe you guys will make that up for me. >> You know what? I'm looking for an in, by the way. So, [laughter] you know, you have a >> This is why he >> Yeah, you have a way better chance of getting in than me. So, I want to know someone who you know who's your most famous and eventually eventually you're getting knows Hollywood. >> But I'm getting closer to Steen Spielberg. I want you to know I'm getting very close. >> Go to LA for Shabbat. You'll be all set. >> No, I don't want to be in there. I don't want to be part of their community. I just want to like go in and out, you know? I want to be like in for a few days and then go back to LA. >> Sorry, I No Hollywood. Sorry. >> Ellie, this has been so much fun. It was great getting to know you. I have to ask our final question which is who would fill that seat? Who would you recommend to be on ourh podcast here after hearing this all today? >> Have you guys ever had Tuvia Tenbalam on? >> No, I don't know who he is. I don't know who that is. Educate us. >> Okay, so Tuvia Tenbalam is um he's one of the funniest people I've ever met in my life. Um he is a journalist, author, writer. Um but but what he does which is so incredible is Tuvia goes undercover and he goes into communities and infiltrates and comes back with the craziest stories and he actually writes for German uh papers and is published in German but also translated into English. Um, his most fascinating stuff was he infiltrated the Palestinian Authority and they literally think he's a German non-Jew kind of like almost Nazi-ish guy and he has the most fascinating stories. Um, I think he grew upic. He's a great >> Let's get him on. I feel like where do you know him? Maybe if we see a picture there. >> Is that him? He looks like a fun guy. Okay. >> He looks like Chris Farley. >> Yeah. Well, you know, better looking version perhaps, but yeah. >> Yeah, Tuvia is such >> All right, so let's get him on. Yeah, he sounds great. >> Does he live around here that he'll be able to come to our studio? He'll be able to come here. >> He travels the world constantly. Um, >> let him infiltrate the none of your business studio. So, can you ask him? We We would love if you can call him. >> I will. Do you want to come right now? >> Yeah, please. Yes. >> This is how we do it here. >> You know, you know, this story line reminds me of uh Sasha Baricone. What does alter ego? >> Yeah. Yeah. He has so many. Ali G. >> Ali G. Ali G. You're going to hate me, but I think I have only his wife in my phone. >> Oh, it's okay. All right. >> Can I call her or you want me to? >> Yeah, you can call him a separate time. It's okay. >> We're going to hound you on this because we're going to make sure I want I want >> You're going to call that Tenbomb, you're going to be on our podcast and we are looking forward to it. Thank you everyone for listening. I listen, I have to tell you something. This was amazing to me. I mean, like >> fascinating. >> Karen said that this was going to be a special episode and she wasn't wrong. She may have even undersold it a little bit, but I think Michael, it's very appropriate and it's only befitting that we end off with saying thank you to you. Really, uh, if there weren't people like you doing what you guys are doing and not just being activists, but um, standing up for what's right and willing to do something about it. There are a lot of people that agree with you and think the same way you think and they're just not doing much about it. Myself included. I'm sitting here in my cushy chair. I'm going to go back to the office very go back to work. I'm going to go play softball tonight. had to have a game later on tonight. Like you're taking a stand and you're devoting a big part of your life for and you're sacrificing a lot of other things you could be doing because you genuinely care. >> Couldn't agree more. >> I really appreciate what you're doing. We all owe you a debt of gratitude. You guys are fighting. I want to say you're fighting hate by not just you know creating policy but you know taking it personally and it's just so amazing to see [clears throat] >> and it's really beautiful and thank you to all our listeners our subscribers prime source production team the Twillery company it's a wrap it's a wrap