Weekly Update: Nachum Segal and Malcolm Hoenlein Discuss the Latest News

Malcolm Homeline is with us. Conference of Presidents of major American Jewish organizations. We call this the weekly update. Mr. Homeline is back on this side of the world for this uh morning's weekly update. Mr. Homeline, welcome back to JM in the A.M. >> Thank you. I wish I could say it's great to be back when it was so great to be there and the Shabbat and weekdays when it was 40° 50° even 60° warmer in Jerusalem than it was in New York even warmer than by many degrees than Orlando and um I tell you so anybody who has worries about the weather and everybody who wants to have a place to go you go and you see the cranes are working everywhere, every city, every corner. And the demand is greater and greater as people realize that our future is there. >> So they treated you well in Israel. Why' they mistreat Tucker Carlson, Malcolm? >> Cuz he deserves it. But the Listen, the story is such a lie and it's just consistent with the lies that he tells all the time and the um the fact that he was quote detained. Where was he? In the lounge. He was in the in the executive lounge. And they they came to him. They didn't even make him go out online. And they didn't uh interrogate him. They asked him standard questions in the lounge so he would not be quote exposed to the public, Jewish public, I guess. And um >> it looked to me it looked to me like the terminal one lounge, not the terminal 3 one. Am I right about that? I I don't I don't really know where >> Yeah, you have to you have to analyze the photos like I did. >> I I see that. I think they could use you in in Arizona right now. >> Oh, yeah. Yeah. Don't even start with that. What a terrible thing. Uh but yeah, hello. This is what this is what we expect when it comes to those who find every and any excuse to criticize Israel. Um, before we talk about the potential, and I know that it's so hard, as you said last week, to keep track of what the president of the United States is thinking and wants to do and is thinking of doing and actually will do, and we'll talk all about that. Obviously, Iran is a big piece of it, but what did you think of the And you you were just in Israel. Obviously, you've spoken to some government officials there, and I know the media had its uh a tremendous run with this story over in Israel. What did you think of the president of the United States calling the president of Israel? I don't know if he called him or his behavior regarding the lack of a pardon for Netanyahu disgraceful. Tell us what you know about the reaction there. And what do you think in general of a description like that by the president of the United States? Well, I could tell that the people's reactions, even Americans that I ran into, even some American political leaders, um, were taken aback by the comment and, uh, I certainly think that the president was, and I saw him afterwards, I did not ask him about it because we there were other important things to talk about. Uh, and I mean, it's sort of humiliating for for both. uh and the the uh uh you know the president is given to making these kind of comments. It seemed to be off the cuff uh you know then the press of course starts raising the questions didn't Netanyahu asked him to do it and there's no evidence that that that was the case. I think the president has said it before. He's reiterating the fact that um and and and the process that's required in Israel. It doesn't allow the president just to make a a decision and dictate a pardon. The the um so the reaction uh was people were surprised, people were some people felt it was inappropriate. >> Um >> I mean the word disgraceful is you know >> Yes. That that that goes overboard. He could have >> if he wanted to mention it, there other ways that he could have done it. >> Do you think do you think it helped the effort to get him a pardon or it hurt the effort to get him a pardon? >> I I certainly think it does not help because it draws the line in the sand more and it makes people, you know, come out on one side or the other. Uh I I mean I think it would be good if we got over this process. And you know, prime minister spends several days a week in court. And in fact, when we were setting a meeting, he asked me to come to the courthouse cuz that's where you can hold meetings on Wednesdays. >> Oh my god. >> Uh I did not go and then uh um but but you know the the process is very demanding on him. Justice should be served. I mean there's nobody's above justice. But I think in this case given the nature of the charges and some the serious consideration should be given to a way to come to a conclusion he made the formal request for a pardon that um they said was required and you know whether that implies an admission of guilt or not I guess the lawyers and judiciary will debate but I think you know given all the divisions in Israel and this is really a serious issue. We talk about aut all the time, the unity which is really essential to face the outside world and the challenges that Israel confronts and and it's more than one. Iran is the dominant theme right now, but there are many more. You see the the changes in Syria, Iraq around that the all around Israel that we'll talk about, I'm sure. uh we need to have internal unity and the fact that that um we project an image of divisiveness is what encouraged October 7th because they felt that Israel was not prepared and was not unified to respond. They look at the demonstrations not as a reflection of a democracy where people have a say and people have the right to give expression to it but uh as a sign of weakness. With that in mind, unfortunately, I have to ask you uh what was your reaction to the Benet Barack episode? >> I think it was disgraceful and inexcusable fact that many religious leaders leaders of religious parties came out and condemned it and many uh Russia Yeshiva leaders of yeshivas and and communities have told people not to go to these demonstrations because they seem to be hotheads and and irresponsible. you can have a cost. There's ways that you can demonstrate responsibly when you block the entrances to the city. You know, you block uh ambulances, you block other important uh abilities that people have to to transit, let alone the anger and the cost that's entailed with these demonstrations. And it's not just by them, by others as well. Um so the the right to demonstrate and the right to express concern is legitimate. You got to decide how to do it and and and what the consequences of your actions are. >> Yeah. No question about that. So, it's interesting. Last week and really for the last couple of weeks, you've we've discussed the again the president has a way of issuing these veiled threats, some of which become unveiled, etc., etc. And we were basically talking about the possibility of this all being a bluff, right? the military presence and the big buildup in the Middle East and everything that he's sending from the United States, it could be a bluff to pressure Iran or obviously it could be, you know, preparation for a full military action. Now, it seems there's a hybrid out there because people are talking about an initial limited military strike by the United States to at least discourage to to at least encourage Iran to get back to a more serious position at the bargaining table of the three possibilities. Is that now the most likely one? >> I think all three are are partially likely. I think the first of all, you don't invest the kind of uh to have the kind of buildup that we're seeing in in the Middle East. I I don't know that there's been an Armada like that in in certainly many decades. And the you know the cost is is uh astronomical to bring two aircraft carrier groups which is many many ships beyond just aircraft carrier. the fact that we have dozens if not hundreds of planes and other resources in the in the area. Uh the disgraceful decision of Britain yesterday to say that US can't fly from Diego Garcia the base Diego Garcia which is really critical and other bases and the United States and President Trump retaliated appropriately. I mean, to to deny an ally in a war against somebody that threatens Britain as all of Europe as much as they threaten uh the United States and their ballistic missiles certainly come with the current ones come in range of most of Europe, let alone the nefarious activities that they're engaged in in Europe. And you see the the spineless and gutless Europeans and in this case Britain first but France all of them um you know and fact that many of them didn't participate yesterday or in the overall effort of the peace board uh raises a lot of questions which will be dealt with later. So the three scenarios you cited um I think any one of them is possible if it depends on who emerges as uh dominant in in Iran also you see the defiant statements of the supreme leader regarding the ballistic missiles even regarding levels of enrichment we don't know if it's grandstanding we don't know if it's if it's u you know posturing but if uh if it's in act the resistance position, then the president could be waiting. I don't think they're going to wait till mid-March for the third aircraft carrier to get there. They don't need that additional power, I think, to be able to strike. The there are uh that you saw the the special planes that um are used for coordination and electronic surveillance fly from England to to the Middle East. So, the buildup is there. I don't think you can sustain it indefinitely. You need the ships elsewhere and and the people of Iran are anxiously waiting to see what happens. As you know, today is the 40th day of mourning which is the special commemoration in Islamic tradition. And people tried to go out into the streets. They were arrested. They were people were beaten. They were threatened. They couldn't even lay flowers at the graves of their loved ones. They couldn't uh take pictures. It it it is it the crackdown and the severity of the situation is sustained. So the you know you got to look at the words you got to look at what actions they're taking the capacity that Iran has today. It's a suicide mission for them against the overwhelming force that's there in the region uh American force and America may take the lead. not Israel this time although Israel will have to play a role and I think the strikes in Lebanon yesterday against uh stockpiling and weapons deployment places uh is a preparation because said that they would join this time if the Iran and the United States get into it and Israel that they would um that they would enter the frey. So, this I think was a preemptive preemptive strike >> uh as as well as part of the ongoing effort to to uh have them live up to the agreements that they sign and be disarmed. >> Well, you you just answered a question which you don't normally like to answer because one of the things you don't like to do, understandably so, is make predictions. But it sounds like you're saying if there's this type of presence already, if there's this type of um of a presence in the Middle East of the American military, it it you know, I don't want to say you'd bet your bottom dollar, but the like it sounds like the likelihood is that they're going to attack. I mean, again, I know you don't like to predict and I know that there's three possibilities here and we would like to think that each one has some equal value, but it sounds like from what you're saying that there's no way they would take this type of action to this extent and not actually attack Iran. >> Well, you know, the president is driven by the art of the deal and he knows the maximum pressure is like is the only way to produce a result. I think he also knows that the Iranians are unlikely to do anything that will publicly project them as the weaker party and uh and also they look at the dynamics in the region and there are a lot of changes that people don't know and and potential threats. You know, you look at the Iraqi border, the border of Iraq and Iran, and you see the Iranians uh Iraq and Syria, and you see the buildup of pro-Iranian militias in Iraq on the borders, and uh you see that the uh possibility of Maliki being elected as the next leader of Iraq despite the fact that the United States threatened him and said that it would be unacceptable, which is which is true. Uh and you see the the changes where the United States is announcing that we're going to pull out the troops, but it's over a year. We have a thousand troops in Syria. That's all. But their symbolic presence is very vital whether they'll be replaced with a diplomat increased diplomatic presence or not. But certainly for the Kurds and the Drews and all of those people, this is a very worrisome development as well. And you you see the um I mean this is not particularly pressure on Israel because they're not the US troops aren't near Israel, but it could certainly shift the balance when we're moving from our support from the SDF, which was the Kurdishbacked groups to towards the Shara and and really im uh emboldening him in Syria and saying, you know, that he keep praising what a great job when we we we see that the Islamization process The persecution of the minorities, including Kurds and Drews, continues. And the, as the Jews leaders told me just again this week, we're only alive because of Israel, and the Kurds are further away. And the you see that the efforts to bring them under the um government forces. And so I'm saying there's so many factors that you have to take into account that you look at Turkey and and Turkeykey's role, you know, it's a huge power and the you know that uh Turkey becomes part of the charm offensive and they're talking about putting troops by the way this came out late last night that there Israel has said they would not accept Turkey or Qatari troops on inside and now Turkey is supposed to be uh saying that they're going to put uh forces as well which is putting the box in the in the chicken coop. Uh um so the and Turkey, you know, is a major power and we're where they could easily hit Israel as well. So um you know, we have to look at what's happening with the on all fronts in order to understand the balance of power and the situations that we'll face in any option. I I spoke to a lot of Iranians. They they're wary, but all of them want action because they just can't take it anymore under this regime. >> It's America's one and only Jewish moments in the morning radio program heard on listeners sponsored digital radio around the world web.com and the school network and of course the beloved NSN app. Reminder, our fundraiser finally ends a week from today. And those of you who have not yet had an opportunity to give something in order to keep JMA and the NALM single network going, which has been a tradition for 43 years, I'm proud to say, uh, here's your opportunity. fjbunity.org fjbunity.org. And again, a week from today at 9:00 a.m., we will conclude our annual campaign. Um, and we'd like to get to our goal, fjunity.org. By the way, there's one other factor. There's one other factor when it comes to all of this. I thought there was an unwritten rule, and for some reason, maybe it only applied to Israel and didn't apply to others like the United States. I thought there was an unwritten rule that you don't attack Muslim countries during Ramadan. >> You're absolutely right. That's a very good point. And Ramadan began this week, as you know, it's always uh connected to Kesh. So we we know sometimes before then when Ramadan's going to begin, >> but um uh uh but you're absolutely right. There was in the past an understanding um >> you know and then people said to me this week, yeah, but but Iran's not a Muslim country. I said it's not a Muslim country that they're Shiite Muslims and they uh and they um the same protections and policy would apply to them. But it's uh that's a very good question and I've not heard an answer to it. >> And I guess the attack would be toward the end of the day when everyone's fasting and they're at their weakest. >> Well, no. I I don't know that they would that they go that far. It it all depends if if Iran does it, but uh I I understood that the humor there. Um >> I'm hilarious. >> But they also have to worry about porum. So, you know, they don't want to think it's a pur joke. You know, >> it's odd there, Malcolm. I've turned on my hilarity button. >> I've switched it on. >> Um, >> yeah, it's uh, it's one of the first things I thought of. And then again, those of you who are paying even more attention to the calendar than than Malcolm and I are doing, um, they have those people have pointed out to me that Roshes Nissan is March 19th. So, they could, which of course would be the end of Ramadan. So, they could they could wait till the middle of March. could wait for that other aircraft carrier and actually take action then. But who knows? Uh I guess it would be appropriate if it happened more around Purim time than around Pesak time. Um all right. So now you mentioned earlier the board of peace somebody I think it was Lieberman and I I got to have your reaction to this. I think it was Avdar Lieberman who said that now Netanyahu has essentially overseen the establishment of a Palestinian state. And I never I never thought of it like that. This board of peace if in fact it's going to be uh the world helping to rebuild Gaza and insert some type of government authority there. What do you think of that comment that he goes ahead and says that Netanyahu is actually endorsing a Palestinian state? Well, it means metaphorically, but but also practically. And it's something I heard from others when in Israel in discussions about the arrangements, though nobody knew exactly or knows exactly how it will function. Uh the fact is that you're bringing in 8,000 Indonesian troops that supposedly there's a huge base being planned inside uh Gaza that the um uh you know that the Hamas is not been disarmed yet even though the president does stress that as a it is one of the agreements in in in they are not honoring it. uh the the fact that you have uh five moderate Muslim countries sending troops. The danger there is that you know because of the number of incidents and because the provocations will continue certainly by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad trying to draw Israel into uh some sort of conflict or or situational um events that would endanger the troops that are sent in. it couldn't it could jeopardize the relationships with the moderate Muslim countries uh that Israel approved coming in certainly not the Turks are a completely different story uh and you see all the money that is being poured in UAE 1.2 two billion the Saudis a billion US 7 bill 5 billion or 10 billion over the period and 7 billion from other countries. Uh the they have not disarmed kamas. Whether they these troops would be willing to confront them is very dubious. They have not generally in the past. Uh they're more of a police force. the um and the you know the the Egyptians and others are training the Palestinian uh police force. One of the things that people pointed out the Arabs pointed out to me is that there are no Palestinians at the table uh when you had the border peace etc. Israel was there the foreign minister of Israel who gave a great speech at the UN as well this week um directly challenging Great Britain and others for their hypocrisy and and their behavior. So it's it's you know it's a gamble and I don't I don't think people thought it would get as far as it did with the turnout of 45 countries endorsing it. many European countries did not and their absence obviously is is pointed to as well. Uh you know the Egyptians training the police so people say is a a very mixed situation as well. What isn't told is the number of trucks going in every day has increased sharply. So much so that it's caused a shortage in Israel of sweets and certain other things because they're exporting all of it to Gaza and um and I guess that will have to be balanced at some point uh as well because Israel needs their sweets especially with Shal Manas coming up. So another crisis that the the I guess the peace board will have to deal with. So again, the situation in Gaza, you see every day that there are attempts to infiltrate across the border. Israeli troops have not crossed the yellow line. This is uh you know the the um myths that that are created about Israel. Israel responds to them coming out of the tunnels or strikes at at weapons depots and other things which are violation of the agreement. And Israel can't afford to let these cancers grow because they will metastasize all over Gaza. And and they only control they control less than 50% uh of the area and are still discovering new tunnels and working with other groups to try and and uh uncover them and deal with them. But they all represent the challenge. And what happens then when the how long do you think troops will stay if they come under fire and they have to fight people emerging from tunnels that Israel uh paid a heavy price for as well. >> The discovery this week of the tunnel I think it was a 1 kilometer long tunnel. That's a pretty long tunnel. >> That's a long and some have been much longer. The question I kept asking officials is how can they do it? You not know. So the answer is that there are so many and there and they you know they start in a child's bedroom uh in a house and they find the entrance underneath a crib again this week. It's not just the past. >> So it's it's a you know it's easy to be armchair generals and and um decide that you know what's going on. we face formidable enemies, the terrorism and the assistance that they're getting, the weapons that are coming in, the money from Qatar, Turkey, and others, and the um the situation to to fully disarm and they're saying now that they won't. So, they're willing to challenge even the agreements before anything has started. >> I know. And that I don't know. What do you think the real cost is, by the way? I mean, five billion from the US, a billion and a half here and there, but what do you think the real cost is to rebuild Gaza? It's got to be the hundreds of billions of dollars. >> Look, just just removing all the debris though there are some countries that you know they're taking specific responsibilities rather than contributing um to the overall thing. So you know that Turkey and Qatar wanted to take education and Israel, you know, obviously screamed and anybody who had had a brain screamed about it because these are the guys with the most radical educational systems fmenting online in classrooms everywhere and in America uh anti-Israel and anti-semitic uh manifestations. So UAE, which I think is the most trusted of the partners, um and giving $1.2 two billion dollars. People have said that they should have education. They offered to take over the management of Gaza and it was refused and as you know they're in a conflict with this with Saudi Arabia which is being lost in the in view of all of the other challenges but it's a very serious issue and developments inside Saudi Arabia are serious. we see trends that are are worrisome. Um and not moving towards the Abraham Accords which I think was is a mistake how we're handling that uh but u moving away they have internal uh problems and you see that they're reaching out to Turkey, Pakistan, others. So we have a lot of other situations going on in the region which will have a direct and indirect uh impacts. Jordan um is uh wanting to send troops others where there are uh questionable past practices and whether they would be willing as I said unlikely that most of them would be willing to engage directly and disarm kamas uh unless they they create their own forces with volunteers and mercenaries which can become uncontrollable too. >> Yeah. It could be a full-blown war in and of itself. >> That's right. just as just to try just to attempt to disarm Kamas could become a full-scale war. Um I thought when the 12 days that everyone always talks about when the United States and Israel attacked Iran, we we we thought that in the aftermath of that episode, we were told that Iran is so set back now in their nuclear program, in their missile program. I think that was mentioned as well because now all we keep hearing about is ballistic missiles. But I think it was mentioned then as well. They're set back by so many months and years that you know Iran will not you know be a problem for a while and here we are a few months later in this situation here. And I'm wondering, you know, I mean, I isn't that somewhat embarrassing for the United States that the president, the White House made sure to make the point that we have, you know, damaged them to the point that it's going to take them years to recover and here we are a few months later with with the necessity to go in and take care of business again. Well, we certainly set them back a lot and the and the amount of destruction and the the damage to the to the both the ballistic missile and to the enrichment process um is is clear, but it's been eliminated and we know that they're rebuilding in some places and they're very determined and you look at some of the weapons they've developed. They don't have an air force to speak of. They don't but they did develop ballistic missiles and drones and other things to to which they sell to Russia by the way for the Ukraine war that uh there is a capacity there and and it can't be dismissed and the the possibility that even if they have a limited number of and more limited number of rockets that can hit Israel and Israel now has the laser defense and other defense, it still could do a lot of damage and the threat to to sink a a warship, let alone an aircraft carrier, which is not an easy thing to do, but a missiles fired at them, could also do uh serious damage. So, they it is um you know, it there's a lot of reckoning that will have to go on about how much damage we really did. Were they able to uh save and salvage significant parts deep down underneath? But, um they certainly are not back to where they were. And the you saw they put up covers over the entrances to some of these facilities so you can't tell exactly what they're doing and whether they are covering them up or whether they are still searching to see what can be uh salvaged from the those operations. The bottom line is Iran remains a threat. >> I'm confused about what you said about the lasers that Israel is now at a point where they could use laser defense and and Iron Dome is obsolete or we're not at that point yet? >> No. No. First of all, they do different things and uh they have different functions. It's part of the network of defense, but the biggest aspect of it is that it costs about $100,000 every time you fire the Iron Dome missiles. Uh each one, I mean, they're very expensive and and hard to replace. the the there's a limit that's supply for the U laser which has been deployed in several parts across Israel and it will take down uh lower fine missiles and it's so and at a cost of of minimal cost almost nothing >> so you still need Iron Dome that's the bottom line absolutely you need Iron dome and arrow all of them it's a combined thing each one it can respond at a different level of missile attack and different size of of the missiles uh but It's a the combined capacity is what they're relying on. >> What do you think of these stories that are coming out now that Kamas and Kamas leadership wanted to make sure that BB stays in power before October 7th? >> Uh I I I have not uh seen any credible actions that >> Well, Navali Bennett Navali Bennett I don't even know if he if he'd call it conjecturing. I think he confirmed it that he felt it was accurate that the uh that the effort politically uh was to make sure that he stays in power and that there were no call for new elections and that kamas was pressuring the Arab parties to do whatever they could in the Knesseta to make sure he stays in power. I mean, is there anything to this? >> I don't think Hamas has the capacity to determine when Israel's elections will or will not be held. I do think there will be elections this year, whether they're in June or in September. They will happen regardless. Uh I think that uh they see BB as the strongest leader right now. Uh so I don't know that they uh want to see him removed. I think they do want to stoke the divisiveness and they are doing it. They're doing it online. They're doing it internally. doing it uh in many ways and especially we see manifestations everywhere of the lies, the distortions uh trying to paint Prime Minister Netanyahu in the most uh devilish and and uh extremist way. Uh is he subject to criticism? Of course, but that coming and there's no shortage of it domestically. They don't need Hamas's help to sew the divisions and and um >> Right. But but it's interesting to you know that it's interesting to think that Hamas prefers him as the leader because I I and I'm not quite sure why frankly unless it gives them more of a you know an opportunity or more of an excuse um you know to attack Israel to pull off you know episodes like October 7th but >> they've invested so much money in demonizing because they don't want to demonize have to spend and start all over again demonizing somebody else. But I I I would not um put too much weight on that right now. Uh it it could be that they are instigating inside Israel 100%. Are they trying to manipulate the Arab populations? 100%. You see how much Iran is investing in trying to enlist >> and the longer Netanyah more angry the Arab population gets. Maybe that's what it is. Maybe that's what it is right there. and they they are are you know the crime problem within the Israeli Arab population is very severe and they criticize the the government for not doing enough but I mean it's really first responsibility is they themselves to to police and and to deal with the spiraling crime situation in in in their communities and the government has to give them the resources um to to help do it as well but there have been arrests there are there is more attention being paid to it. But it's it's a serious issue, >> by the way. And uh I know we got to wrap up, but I until I read the New York Times magazine article, I don't think I've heard of Yayer Golan. And uh they they try to paint the picture that he's actually, you know, that he's actually progressing in terms of saving the Labor Party and you know, making uh inroads for the left in Israeli politics. You speak to people in government now and you speak to plenty of Knesset members. is Yer Golana is is there really something to him or not? >> I met with him some time ago I think even two years ago. Um I think that they are trying to create the candidacy. I didn't see any ground swell of support for him. But the point is that they everybody's looking and saying who who is the other candidate that can take it all. Bennett of course is a candidate and he spoke um to to our group this week and we met with him and um he seems very confident the the um we saw Benny Gans and Laid I think they were not looking so confident. The question is can they can the opposition unite because to united they have more seats in the Knesset right now. Although Nataniel I think always is stronger and is able to pull out voters that not necessarily pled uh in in the normal course of things that I think the the um uh you know the political situation is very fraught and sometimes a leader can be there too long. But the question here is the alternative. >> Yeah. I'm just curious if you go a serious candidate or not. >> No. So, so look, this is the same paper that published Tom Freriedman's scurless attack on Israel. This is the New York Times that has done this consistently and they are trying to create an alternative candidate. But look at the polling numbers on the left. They they've diminished so much. Now, could it be a challenge in terms of the opposition of who's the dominant force and who's not? I I didn't see it when I was in Israel, but again, I don't necessarily go around polling and and we talk there's so many important issues, especially Iran to talk about and you know, we have communities there. We have a lot of other issues related to it that can't discuss publicly. But, you know, this is a it's a very complex time on every front in Israel. While they won against the seven countries, we're seeing renewed activity. The Houthies threatening again the uh uh inability. so far to to really disarmah or kamas. These are all really serious issues and and when we look at the prospect of the new troops that would come into to Gaza, I think people uh have good reason to to be concerned, let alone all the internal divisions in the region right now and the conflicts that are going on. The trust of Shara to me is a mystery. I don't know why we believe that that he can do and that a guy who was a supporter of ISIS, you know, he speaks he he he says the right things. But we know that the uh resurgence of uh of Islamism in the areas under their control. Even in Damascus, people tell me you see more women with burcas and etc. uh it is not proven and I think we should be very careful of the steps that we take and I think you know that even some Americans uh engaged in this area uh have not played as as constructive a role as they should have. >> Oo very good. I like that. Uh thank you very much. Have a wonderful Shabas. We'll speak again next week. Please God, >> God willing we will. And we should only have some and Shabbat shalom to everybody. >> Amen. and continue to pray for the safety and security of our brothers and sisters in Israel as they wonder like we do whether the president of the United States is going to call for immediate action or even non- immediate action in Iran.