Inside Israel Today: Why the Korean Deal Matters for Israel

you're listening to inside Israel today with Gil Hoffman on the land of Israel Network hello and welcome to inside Israel today here on the land of Israel Network on the land of israel comm where it is a historic day we just finished watching donald trump's press conference there in singapore about the agreement that he reached with kim jong-un and the dictator of north korea he sounded hopeful he sounded confident he sounded vindicated he even looked like he enjoyed talking to the press that certainly doubted him and here he is there to explain the agreement that he reached that could make things better for the people of North Korea and you know what also is real - we're here in Israel and inside Israel today on the Land of Israel Network and so with all due respect North Korea is not the subject here if you want to go to the land of Korea Network I'm sure they have their own podcasts but the important question is how does this impact Israel here on the Land of Israel Network so look this can impact Israel in many ways at that press conference Donald Trump started speaking about Iran and Iran is of course the issue that Israelis worry about the most after all Iran is a lot closer to us than North Korea and Netanyahu put out a video this week to the people of Iran telling them how much Israel can help them trying to bypass their leadership trying to show how the North Korean agreement can be lead to a brighter day for the people of Iran and therefore a brighter day for the people of Israel look what Donald Trump said was the things in Iran are changing that they're not the same way they were right before Trump pulled out of the Iran deal since then we've had companies like Pujo Citroen car company and a total uh gas company pull out of Iran there are businesses that are realizing that if given a choice between doing business in Iran and doing business in the United States they're gonna pick the United States there was even a shoe company and that stopped giving shoes to the athletes of the Iranian teams because they want to continue doing business with America with all due respect and Donald Trump also hinted he said they don't seem to be focused as much on the Mediterranean now on Syria well that's a very important quest that the United that the Prime Minister of Israel Netanyahu is on right now he was just last week in Germany England and France persuading the people over there that they have to join this effort to get Iran out of Syria and I was at a meeting of the Likud faction yesterday on Monday where Netanyahu said that he succeeded in bringing the Germans the British and the French on board to get Iran out of Syria so this is momentum that's going in a very positive direction the pressure that they'll be on Iran is going to intensify after Donald Trump emerges victorious from Singapore from his meeting with Kim jong-un there will be pressure now from around the world on Iran that if North Korea is giving up their nuclear program that also Iran is going to have to give up its nuclear program and that means permanently and not just the way it was during the deal that President Obama signed with Iran that said ok 10 years no but after that it's okay and meanwhile we're not really gonna inspect it very much meanwhile we'll have inspections but not in military sites and those inspections aren't even gonna find a billion and a half documents that Israel happen to find no that's going to have to change and one thing that we've seen is that the unconventional approach Donald Trump has proven effective in North Korea and perhaps it can prove effective with Iran they don't know what to expect they don't know how to avoid him when he sets his mind to something he's proven that he keeps it and I'm sitting here about a five minute drive from the US Embassy in Jerusalem to prove that and so this is a very very big deal for Israel when it comes to the Iranian issue yesterday I had lunch with Tzipi Livni who has moved more and more to the left diplomatically in the Knesset cafeteria she said this gives hope for peace between Israel and the Palestinians and I admit I was surprised when she said that because Abbas the Palestinian leader McCall Abu Mazen he recently has been giving more and more anti-semitic speeches and they certainly don't sound like speeches of someone who wants to make peace with Israel just this past week sighs Eric had wrote nasty against Jason Greenblatt the Palestinian negotiator wrote nasty about the American negotiator and that's not the kind of thing that leads to a peace process and and Jason Greenblatt rightly wrote that and the time has come for the Palestinians to have a negotiator who won't make mistakes who is willing to make the sacrifices necessary for his own people say Barakat has been on that job now for more than 30 years and has failed non-stop in bringing about a two-state solution to his people and so you have here really a courage by Jason Greenblatt in standing up to cyber account and saying he's part of the problem so but after the left-wing merits party the organization peace now and the obviously left-wing newspapers hearts in the New York Times all said that the time of Abbas is done after those anti-semitic speeches Tzipi Livni without addressing Abbas typically said there can be hope there can be hope for having a peace process between us around the Palestinians right now and if anything what happened in Singapore shows it because what we saw there wasn't the United States used a dual approach of both threatening North Korea and out stretching its arm she says that's what she's been begging Israel to do and when she's been in power trying to implement it for so many years and perhaps that will happen as well whether the listeners of the Land of Israel Network who tend to be a more conservative and more against any kind of agreement with the Palestinians wanted or not there could very well be an approach on that coming up soon by the president of United States and his son-in-law and senior advisor Jared Kushner there has been talk that there of for the last few weeks that maybe the long-awaited israeli-palestinian plan will be released after Ramadan ends well Ramadan is ending tomorrow and so maybe that will indeed be happening soon and maybe that North Korean momentum will then be used on the Palestinian front and maybe this will be something that Netanyahu will welcome because obviously there's going to be a different approach that he'll like better under Trump then there was under Obama to put it mildly and it Sani I was certainly not in a place to be able to say no to the President of the United States after all he's done for Israel after moving the embassy after breaking the Iran deal after keeping his promises to prevent the deal legitimization of Israel around the world perhaps Netanyahu will cooperate in there being some kind of peace process now unfortunately the Palestinians they are not interested and perhaps fortunately perhaps this will show the world once again that Israel wants peace wants to help the Palestinian people more than their own leadership does we don't know but this could be happening very soon it should be interesting to follow what's going to be happening the last several weeks on inside Israel today we've had guests and I want to admit we tried to have guests today with all due respect to any other issue obviously North Korea is the biggest issue and so I wanted just like last week when I interviewed a reporter who was on location with the Prime Minister of Israel in Europe I wanted to have a reporter come on board from Singapore and so I was in touch with a couple reporters there from various Israeli media outlets and they said no for various reasons including being quite busy and I am not paying their salary and I really respect that but ladies and gentlemen know we tried and I think that we've gone into some of the impact that we've had over here about Israel that the correspondence I would have spoken to would have talked about and if they happen to get if another one that I tried happens to get back soon we will put him on the show but meanwhile I want to reflect on some of the shows that we've had recently because if you've noticed that I haven't done much talking and the reason why I haven't done much talking is because I've just had really good success in planning shows and getting really good people over the last several weeks we had aa real Kahana the top print journalist in Israel reporting for us from Europe from Netanyahu's trip before that we had the legal adviser of the foreign ministry Sarah Weiss Modi before that we had Saul singer the author of startup nation before that we had politicians from the left and right me Ravi Kelly from the Labour Party and before that Naftali Bennett from there by the UD Party before that we had Michael Medved the internationally acclaimed talk show host and movie reviewer speaking about Natalie Portman the last time I spoke on inside Israel today was a long time ago it was the week that Omri Casspi was cut from the Golden State Warriors it's been a while and so I want to reflect on these shows that was April 10th wow it's been a while so first of all Netanyahu is having a lot of success in getting across Israel's point of view around the world and the efforts right now to get Iran to pull out of Syria if he is really drafted Europe into that and if the Donald Trump can gloat about that about how Iran isn't in the same place that it was a few weeks ago that is something that Netanyahu deserves tremendous credit for and people spoke about a diplomatic tsunami it would Barak use that term a few years ago and we're seeing it is absolutely anything but and diplomatic Renaissance I don't know about that but it's going very well for Israel right now and that's despite the bad news that there was over the past week with the soccer game that was supposed to be between Israel and Argentina that was cancelled over here for various reasons and that made Israelis very very depressed they like their soccer over here in Israel they apparently like Argentina and soccer better than Israeli soccer and I that I understand we're not so good at soccer here in Israel in fact we're not really good at any sport politics is our national sport here in Israel but we are continuing to fight the fight and I was very impressed by what Sarah Weiss Modi had to say about how around the world the world not only wants to learn from Israeli security diplomacy technology and how we're fighting terror they also want to learn from Israel about how we handle international law that were actually become experts in that and we can help third world countries in how they build up their legal system so that was really nice to hear startup nation and the fact that Saul singer who has gone from being the guy who wrote the editorial for The Jerusalem Post a position that apparently is so insignificant that it's currently uh not even bothered to be filled to being the best-selling author of a book that has taken him around the world persuading the world to learn from Israel about how to be more innovative is very very beautiful now if Tully Bennett spoke about how he has maneuvered politically to get his agenda across in Israel and that's only becoming more and more true every day Netanyahu Netanyahu with the current government has let himself be pushed further and further to the right and Naftali Bennett deserves tremendous credit for that and that's been true on issue after issue after issue but maybe that's gonna change right now maybe Donald Trump will come out with a peace plan that perhaps I've done better wouldn't like very much and it's in Yahoo would that could make things very interesting in the months ahead now the interview with me Rafael II I've seen her a number of times since then including yesterday and she still brings up how it shook her because she didn't used to be treated like a pterodactyl for being left-wing it's not an endangered or extinct species there are plenty of left-wing people here in Israel and they've been pretty silent and modest because a lot of what they pushed for has been proven wrong over time they said that Israel would be boycotted around the world if Israel didn't give up land and that's obviously been proven false the land in Israel did give up on like Gaza has been used as launching pads for rockets and mortars and they they thought maybe building a fence around that would work but no the Rockets aren't stopped by fences and and neither are mortars and neither are kites that have been causing tremendous damage and you can dig tunnels on the ground and that really puts into perspective whatever Donald Trump is going to do on israeli/palestinian front about the West Bank Judea and Samaria about Jerusalem I interviewed for today's Jerusalem Post like one of the leading candidates for mayor of Jerusalem Ocean Leona it's pronounced Lyon but it is spelled Lyon and even if I want it would urge him to spell it a different way no he likes it that it's spelled Lyon he says that there can't be Arab neighborhoods divided from Jerusalem because then they'll be rockets fired from there and and terror tunnels underground his opponent is a Belgian is in favor of removing Arab neighborhoods from Jerusalem and so it's interesting that the Likud politicians a belacan is being attacked from the right and that leads us to Natalie Portman who obviously wants Israel to make concessions that Israel is not making and I think that Israel didn't in retrospect lose out by her not coming we've since then gained respect from a different Natalie there's Netta Barzilai who is a young Israeli singer who won the Eurovision Song Contest and her name is Netta and Natalie Portman's the original name was in Hebrew also Netta and so net two bars Eli proving that you can win a contest voted on by people all across Europe and also Australia really showed that Israel can have respect from ordinary people around the world despite mistakes made by people like Natalie Portman who decide not to come here because of one political opinion or another and she used to be a big advocate ambassador for Israel I'm sorry that people have given her false information that's made it otherwise there remains someone in America who is still a great great ambassador for Israel and that's Omri Casspi the Omri Casspi tragedy has only gotten worse because the Golden State Warriors proved that they could win with Steph Curry and klay Thompson and Kevin Durant and without Omri Casspi we in Israel were cheering for the Golden State Warriors to lose then we again we were also to cheering for the Cleveland Cavaliers who they faced off against and swept to lose because of the way that they treated their former Israeli coach David Blatt disrespectfully there are Israelis who I'm sure would have liked to see a Boston versus Houston final but that did not happen and so at the very least with Golden State winning the series quite easily in a series that was really five Golden State Warriors against one LeBron James the positive that's come out is that there's no doubt that Omri Casspi is going to be given an NBA ring an NBA championship ring by the Golden State Warriors team he was with them that the whole season that's pretty standard that they do that for players and I wonder if he'll wear it because Emory was interviewed on channel 2 of Israel last week a very painful interview if you know Hebrew I really suggest you see it I tweeted it where he said he hasn't been watching the games now I can understand okay you're not part of the team anymore but you're not on the bench but these are your guys these are your friends these are the people who spent a whole year with I would think he would want to attend the games or at least be in America to watch them or at least be part of the fans like on the streets when they win it it was too painful for him he's here in Israel he's running youth clinics helping children which just shows you what a great guy he is he hasn't been able to watch and I can only hope and pray that whether it's the Golden State Warriors again or some other really really good team I hope that they sign Omri Casspi and I hope they make him winner I hope he breaks this terrible record that he has of the longest-serving NBA player who has not played a single playoff game Omri Casspi deserves better so now that we have good news presumably out of North Korea and Singapore we have good news out of Germany England and France for Israel with good news from the Eurovision Song Contest out of Portugal it was held in let's hope for some good news for Omri Casspi after the break we're gonna talk about what's going on and with the powerful Anglos in Israel today in an unprecedented revelation that shocked the world Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exposed Iran's diabolical plan to build nuclear weapons and ultimately thrust the world into nuclear war how did Israel successfully penetrate the most protective and secretive bunker into Iran and extract thousands of files from under the Iranian regime and the one question nobody seems to be asking is why does Iran want to destroy Israel in the first place this week on Israel inspired Israel inspired with re Abramowitz and Jeremy Gimpel on the Land of Israel network at the Land of Israel calm sharing the truth and beauty of Israel with the world and we're back here on inside Israel today on the Land of Israel network on the Land of Israel calm I wrote an article for The Jerusalem Post in October called meet the Anglos who whisper in the years of Israel's leaders I recommend you google that article I worked hard on it and I liked it a lot it was really intended to show that people who move to Israel from english-speaking countries become successful they're only two american-born MKS currently a Michael Oren and yahuda Glick which is actually a record high number of american-born Knesset members are there have been a many Russian born Knesset members at the same time how many Moroccan born Knesset members at the same time from America we've had a record of two but behind the scenes we take roles that give us a lot of influence about Israel's future and so in the article I wrote about Italy groaner the director-general the Prime Minister's office who was raised in Binghamton New York and is a former writer and editor of The Jerusalem Post I wrote about Netanyahu's foreign policy advisor dr. Jonathan Schechter who made aliyah from Chicago I wrote about David Keyes Netanyahu's english-language spokesman who made alia from LA and also lived in New York I wrote about Jason Perlman from England and foreign media advisor to President Rivlin now I'll stop there for a second people keep on leaving their jobs the Le groaner announced a couple weeks ago that he's leaving his post Jonathan Schechter announced Netanyahu announced last week and that he was leaving his job to I portrayed 12 powerful Anglos in the article and le gros nur was the sidebars of 13 and out of the 13 8 have either left their jobs or on their way elsewhere now most of them are on the way up le gros nur is going to get a great job after getting this experience as being the director-general of the Prime Minister's Office Jonathan Chester is certainly a very smart man I'm sure we'll find work quite easily behind the scenes not in the limelight that he really apparently the tests Jason Pearlman got a great job in England and more and more and more avi Mayer who is at the end of the article has been the spokesman for Natasha Bronski for the last few years just got a wonderful job with the American Jewish Committee tal Harris who was the spokesman for Amir Peretz of the Zionist union he just got he's just a real located to Africa to Senegal out of all places Aaron Kalman the foreign policy advisor to Naftali Bennett is now going to be working for the Ruderman foundation so it's nice to see that people go up that people said somebody tweeted to me oh if I cursed these people by writing about them and the answer is no these are all very bright successful people and they should continue to go up and up and up and let's hope that also for the newspaper in which that article was written the The Jerusalem Post has been going through its share of challenges there aren't as many people working for us as there were a couple months ago and I hope and pray for the success of The Jerusalem Post please buy The Jerusalem Post in print if you live in Israel if you live abroad please click on those ads they help give food to our families and I'm not just saying that for that reason as a staff member of The Jerusalem Post it was very proud but also because we do such good work we were putting out together a wonderful newspaper every single day a website that's read all around the world by millions of people that has such an important role for the future in telling the truth about what's going on in Israel overtly and behind the scenes I've been working for The Jerusalem Post for its Benna this is June of 2018 that we're in my first article was in June of 1998 it's been 20 whole years and I hope that there'll be many many many more years ahead so I salute you Jerusalem Post and readers in Israel and around the world this has been Gil Hoffman here on inside Israel today speaking to you without anybody else on the show from here in let's see what's gonna happen next week stay tuned the Reverend dr. Martin Luther King said that the ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy ours is a story filled with both challenging controversy but ultimately it's also a story of hope and redemption I'm robbed my fire and this is the Jewish story join Ralph Mike foyer for the best Jewish history podcast the Jewish story on the Land of Israel Network that's the land of Israel