1 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:19,800 Speaker 1: And we are back with another edion of the Federalist 2 00:00:19,879 --> 00:00:23,359 Radio Hour. I'm Matt Kittle, Senior Elections correspondent at the 3 00:00:23,359 --> 00:00:28,039 Federalist and your experienced Shirpa on today's Quest for Knowledge. 4 00:00:28,399 --> 00:00:30,960 As always, you can email the show at radio at 5 00:00:31,079 --> 00:00:35,679 the Federalist dot com, follow us on x at FDR LST, 6 00:00:36,359 --> 00:00:39,479 make sure to subscribe wherever you download your podcast, and 7 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:42,960 of course to the premium version of our website as well. 8 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:47,520 Our guest today is Victoria Coates, former national security advisor 9 00:00:47,560 --> 00:00:51,560 in the Trump First Trump administration and Vice president of 10 00:00:51,600 --> 00:00:56,119 the Heritage Foundations Catherine and Shelby Cullam Davis Institute for 11 00:00:56,240 --> 00:01:02,000 National Security and Foreign Policy, today talking about Victoria's new book, 12 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:08,319 Battle for the Jewish State. Timely conversation really at any time, 13 00:01:08,359 --> 00:01:12,280 but none more so than today. Welcome to the program. 14 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:15,239 We appreciate you joining us on the Federalist Radio Hour. 15 00:01:16,239 --> 00:01:17,359 Speaker 2: Thank you for having me met. 16 00:01:18,239 --> 00:01:24,120 Speaker 1: You just returned from or recently returned from the Middle East. 17 00:01:24,560 --> 00:01:28,159 What is the mood like on the ground there post election? 18 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:31,840 Speaker 2: Yeah, well, it's a fascinating time to be there. And 19 00:01:31,879 --> 00:01:36,200 I was in Israel then in behind for the Security conference, 20 00:01:36,599 --> 00:01:40,959 and the mood in Israel is somber, you know, after 21 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,519 a year of war with one hundred hostages still in Gaza. 22 00:01:45,079 --> 00:01:48,840 But at the same time, I think very anticipatory of 23 00:01:48,920 --> 00:01:52,519 a return to the very close coordination we had during 24 00:01:52,519 --> 00:01:56,120 the first Trump term between the United States and Israel, 25 00:01:56,280 --> 00:01:59,400 and I think maybe a fresh appreciation for how critical 26 00:01:59,439 --> 00:02:04,680 that relationshiphip is, how much work it merits, it takes, 27 00:02:04,680 --> 00:02:08,639 but it also merits to get it right and great 28 00:02:08,680 --> 00:02:11,599 benefits to both our people. And then, you know, being 29 00:02:11,639 --> 00:02:15,199 in the Gulf, the mood is maybe a little bit 30 00:02:15,199 --> 00:02:18,599 more at buliant because they also felt the first Trump 31 00:02:18,719 --> 00:02:21,719 term was something of a golden age. They felt extremely 32 00:02:21,759 --> 00:02:26,599 neglected by the Biden administration. There's been virtually no contact 33 00:02:26,719 --> 00:02:31,800 between the administration and for example, Bahrain. They all feel 34 00:02:31,919 --> 00:02:35,280 very abused over the fact that their fossil fuel producers, 35 00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:37,800 they get a lot of blame, a lot of criticism 36 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:40,840 for that, even while the administration is pleading with them 37 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:43,879 to produce more. So it's kind of a catch twenty 38 00:02:43,919 --> 00:02:47,800 two situation for them. You know, they really welcome the 39 00:02:47,879 --> 00:02:52,199 United States. It's kind of putting back on our mantle. 40 00:02:52,319 --> 00:02:55,520 Is one of the three great energy producers in the world. Yes, 41 00:02:55,560 --> 00:02:58,919 that's competition for them, but they also see, you know, 42 00:02:58,960 --> 00:03:04,120 a plentifully applied, well priced market, stable market as something 43 00:03:04,159 --> 00:03:06,919 that comes with the United States playing that role. So 44 00:03:07,400 --> 00:03:08,680 so overall very positive. 45 00:03:09,599 --> 00:03:12,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, you noted how much damage has been done over 46 00:03:12,560 --> 00:03:16,520 the last four years between in the relationship in the 47 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:20,360 United States between the United States and the countries of 48 00:03:20,919 --> 00:03:24,240 the Middle East. Really because of the I guess you 49 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:28,120 could call them the priorities. It seems so disjointed the 50 00:03:28,680 --> 00:03:33,680 foreign policy initiatives of the Biden administration, particularly as it 51 00:03:33,719 --> 00:03:34,719 related to the Middle East. 52 00:03:35,599 --> 00:03:38,319 Speaker 2: Yeah, really, it really is. And one thing that I know, 53 00:03:38,520 --> 00:03:42,319 in a way made me happy was some Israeli counterparts 54 00:03:42,360 --> 00:03:45,080 told me that they had been hearing from their friends 55 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:47,319 in the Gulf. You know here, here's what it is, 56 00:03:48,199 --> 00:03:52,759 kind of welcome to our boat, that their position perception 57 00:03:52,919 --> 00:03:56,520 has been that for years the United States relationship with 58 00:03:56,599 --> 00:04:00,680 Israel was uncle crackable, it's very very close. Well, they 59 00:04:00,719 --> 00:04:03,639 felt the United States was not always the most reliable partner, 60 00:04:03,680 --> 00:04:06,319 and they were actually joking in a kind of macabre 61 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:09,199 way with the Israelis. Well, now you know how we feel, 62 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:12,080 you know, in the United States turns it on and off. 63 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,959 So I think that has been very much their perception 64 00:04:17,560 --> 00:04:20,399 of the relationship over the last four years. And it's 65 00:04:20,439 --> 00:04:23,800 really why I wrote the book to the Battle for 66 00:04:23,839 --> 00:04:27,399 the Jewish State to make clear, you know, these are 67 00:04:27,439 --> 00:04:32,240 two dimetrically opposed policy approaches to the region. This is 68 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:35,360 not random. And you know, four years of the Trump 69 00:04:35,399 --> 00:04:39,680 administration brought us the Abraham Accords, which have endured, which 70 00:04:39,720 --> 00:04:42,040 is I think a great mercy for the world over 71 00:04:42,079 --> 00:04:44,360 the last four years. But the four years of Biden 72 00:04:44,399 --> 00:04:50,279 and Harris have resulted in you know, war, conflict, terrorist attacks, 73 00:04:51,120 --> 00:04:54,319 you know, great instability in the region, and I think 74 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:59,199 it's really important to document both of those so people remember, 75 00:04:59,399 --> 00:05:01,600 you know, this is just a series of accidents. These 76 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:03,399 are very deliberate policy. 77 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:08,199 Speaker 1: Choices, indeed, and everything was reset so tragically on October seven, 78 00:05:08,240 --> 00:05:13,240 two twenty three. I mean, that's really at the heart 79 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:15,920 of the Battle for the Jewish State, because we're talking 80 00:05:15,959 --> 00:05:20,000 about the battle for the existence of the sustained existence, 81 00:05:20,120 --> 00:05:23,759 the very existence of that state and the Jewish people. 82 00:05:25,079 --> 00:05:28,839 The events of October seven, two thousand and seven were 83 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:35,800 horrifying enough, but how horrifying has it been to watch 84 00:05:36,160 --> 00:05:42,519 the response of Americans. Some Americans anyway on college campuses. 85 00:05:44,439 --> 00:05:46,720 You know, the whole notion. 86 00:05:46,759 --> 00:05:48,319 Speaker 2: Of those who. 87 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:52,360 Speaker 1: Forget their history or doomed to repeat it kind of 88 00:05:52,399 --> 00:05:58,040 got lost over the last year plus in this country. 89 00:05:58,160 --> 00:06:01,560 Speaker 2: Absolutely, and that's you know, that's maybe the critical theme 90 00:06:01,600 --> 00:06:04,399 of the book and why the subtitle is how Israel 91 00:06:04,519 --> 00:06:08,720 and America can win. And the premise then is that 92 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:13,079 October seventh was only the beginning, that that was the 93 00:06:13,079 --> 00:06:17,519 opening battle in what is emerging is really a civilizational war. 94 00:06:17,759 --> 00:06:20,759 But that war is against both Israel and the United States. 95 00:06:20,839 --> 00:06:25,240 Israel's in the crosshairs first, it's smaller. I think our 96 00:06:25,360 --> 00:06:29,120 enemies perceive it as being easier, and there's this sort 97 00:06:29,120 --> 00:06:32,439 of historic animist towards towards Jews that they're trying to 98 00:06:32,480 --> 00:06:34,839 harness there. But make no mistake about it, Matt, their 99 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:38,439 ultimate target is the United States, and so much of 100 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:40,800 the work that we do both at Heritage and the 101 00:06:40,839 --> 00:06:45,199 Federalist is dedicated to preserving that. So what I wanted 102 00:06:45,240 --> 00:06:47,079 to do with the book is give us all more 103 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:51,839 ammunition to defend ourselves against this attack which is coming. 104 00:06:51,879 --> 00:06:54,639 And as you said, you know, these people have revealed 105 00:06:54,639 --> 00:06:57,959 it themselves. I think they've been some decades in preparation 106 00:06:58,920 --> 00:07:02,399 as the critical theory has taken a stranglehold on our 107 00:07:02,439 --> 00:07:07,680 academic institutions. That is an academic approach that holds that 108 00:07:07,759 --> 00:07:11,480 both Israel and the United States are uniquely illegitimate states 109 00:07:11,639 --> 00:07:14,920 because we are both what they call subtler colonialists. I 110 00:07:14,959 --> 00:07:17,000 had to study up on that one. I wasn't familiar 111 00:07:17,079 --> 00:07:19,480 with it. But what it means is that we were 112 00:07:19,519 --> 00:07:25,120 both created by people who came from elsewhere, and rather 113 00:07:25,199 --> 00:07:29,680 than sharing a single ethnic identity the way you could 114 00:07:29,680 --> 00:07:32,319 say neither the French do, for example, or they used to, 115 00:07:33,639 --> 00:07:36,079 we are made up sort of a melting pot of 116 00:07:36,319 --> 00:07:40,040 external folks who have appropriated land from the indigenous people 117 00:07:40,439 --> 00:07:45,439 unfairly and most importantly illegally. And so our two nations 118 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:51,439 then are uniquely imperialist, bigoted, racist, and ultimately, as I said, illegal, 119 00:07:51,560 --> 00:07:56,079 And there is a vast now bibliography on this, which 120 00:07:56,279 --> 00:08:01,000 is in the most elevated peer reviewed academic journals used 121 00:08:01,079 --> 00:08:04,920 routinely in Sillavide. So I delved into that so your 122 00:08:04,920 --> 00:08:07,040 listeners won't have to. They can get enough of this 123 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:09,439 smattering of it in the battle for the Jewish State 124 00:08:09,560 --> 00:08:14,319 to earn them for argument. But it's really remarkable that 125 00:08:14,439 --> 00:08:17,959 the links to which they will go to demonstrate the 126 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:21,040 illegality of the United States and Israel. And so this 127 00:08:21,720 --> 00:08:24,399 is coming for both of us. And we have now 128 00:08:24,759 --> 00:08:27,199 at least a generation, if not a generation and a 129 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:31,160 half of American undergraduates who have been indoctrinated in this. 130 00:08:32,320 --> 00:08:36,480 Speaker 1: Indeed, it is so inculcated now for the last couple 131 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:40,799 even few generations, building on, building on, And so as 132 00:08:40,919 --> 00:08:46,960 you talk to officials in Israel, and as you continue 133 00:08:47,000 --> 00:08:49,480 to work on this in your book, as you dealt 134 00:08:49,519 --> 00:08:53,440 with it, there have to be some serious trust issues 135 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:58,960 in Israel about the United States in general. And I 136 00:08:59,000 --> 00:09:04,200 know there must be a feeling of relief post election, 137 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:10,120 but Israel really, I think, did not know where it 138 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:16,120 stood with the United States in the Biden administration because politics, 139 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:23,080 and particularly divisive Dei style politics, put the Israel state 140 00:09:23,159 --> 00:09:28,200 I believe, in the crosshairs even more so. It was 141 00:09:28,279 --> 00:09:32,799 almost a feeling of aiding and abetting their enemies in 142 00:09:32,919 --> 00:09:36,759 some corners of the United States. Are they dealing with 143 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:39,200 trust issues right now with the US? 144 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:42,720 Speaker 2: Oh, oh, for sure. And I think the fact that 145 00:09:42,840 --> 00:09:47,080 the pro Hamas demonstrations started almost as quickly as the 146 00:09:47,519 --> 00:09:52,240 hesbe La rockets started right after October seventh. So we 147 00:09:52,320 --> 00:09:56,240 had hes Blah attacking Israel from the north in solidarity 148 00:09:56,240 --> 00:09:59,360 with Hamas, and we had Americans taking to the street 149 00:09:59,600 --> 00:10:04,240 to test in favor of Hamas. And I think, perhaps 150 00:10:04,320 --> 00:10:07,679 even more damningly, we had elements within the Biden Harris 151 00:10:07,679 --> 00:10:12,240 administration publicly demonstrating in support of Hamas. And you know, 152 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:14,360 you see it from almost the very beginning of the 153 00:10:14,399 --> 00:10:19,200 administration response, even overnight on October seventh. You know, as 154 00:10:19,279 --> 00:10:21,519 everyone was trying to figure out what was going on, 155 00:10:22,000 --> 00:10:25,159 you had the State Department Office of Palestinian Affairs, which 156 00:10:25,200 --> 00:10:27,440 was not enough as we had during the Trump administration, 157 00:10:27,519 --> 00:10:30,440 but they had it during the Biden Airs administration. They 158 00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:33,320 were tweeting out o restrained on both sides, Their knee 159 00:10:33,399 --> 00:10:37,080 jerk response to the largest terrorist attack in Israel's history, 160 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:40,120 the most deadly day for Jews since the Holocaust was 161 00:10:40,320 --> 00:10:44,159 restrained on both sides. Their reaction was concern about how 162 00:10:44,279 --> 00:10:48,679 Israel would retaliate against the Palestinians, not how Israel would 163 00:10:48,679 --> 00:10:52,799 defend itself from this hideous attack, and that just continued 164 00:10:52,799 --> 00:10:55,159 to play out. You know, we had you know, they 165 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:58,120 threatened they were going to have a walkout of work 166 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:01,600 day in solidarity with Hima. There turned out to be 167 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:04,600 a snowstorm in DC, and as you know, Matt, you know, 168 00:11:04,639 --> 00:11:06,799 a quarter of an ache of snow shuts things down 169 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:10,080 in the nation's capital. So they wound up not having that, 170 00:11:10,120 --> 00:11:14,000 but they threatened to do it. And yeah, I mean 171 00:11:14,159 --> 00:11:18,120 they are literally snowflakes. And you know this, this has 172 00:11:18,240 --> 00:11:23,080 gone on throughout the administration, where weapons systems have been 173 00:11:23,120 --> 00:11:26,399 slow walked. Uh. You know, there have been insistence on 174 00:11:26,679 --> 00:11:30,559 aid to the Palestinians through various means that are utterly impractical. 175 00:11:31,000 --> 00:11:33,080 You know, one of my favorite stories in the book 176 00:11:33,200 --> 00:11:40,759 is about the world's central kitchen, chef Jose Andres's charitable institution, 177 00:11:40,960 --> 00:11:44,320 which I'm sure has done admirable work elsewhere in the world, 178 00:11:44,679 --> 00:11:47,519 that doesn't make them experts on the Middle East. And 179 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:52,919 I had a former State Department colleague, a career diplomat, 180 00:11:53,080 --> 00:11:55,399 tell me, right before the State of the Union this year, 181 00:11:55,519 --> 00:11:59,360 you just watch they're outsourcing the policy in Israel to 182 00:12:00,120 --> 00:12:02,840 Chef Andres, And I said, you've got to be kidding me. 183 00:12:03,279 --> 00:12:05,159 I mean, he's a celebrity chef, you know, I like 184 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:07,159 his food trucks, but I really don't want him doing 185 00:12:07,159 --> 00:12:10,399 our Middle East policy. They well is and what it 186 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:13,559 turned out was he was Nancy Pelosi's guest at the 187 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:16,279 State of the Union, and they're the ones who insisted 188 00:12:16,279 --> 00:12:20,279 on that crazy three hundred million dollars secondary Peer humanitarian 189 00:12:20,320 --> 00:12:24,960 Peer into Gaza, which killed an American, wound up washing 190 00:12:25,039 --> 00:12:28,120 up on shore, and was ultimately dismantled because it was 191 00:12:28,200 --> 00:12:32,240 utterly and effectual. And then recently it was revealed that 192 00:12:32,399 --> 00:12:36,320 ten percent of the World Central Kitchen employees in Gaza 193 00:12:36,639 --> 00:12:41,039 are Hamas. And so this is what we're handing this 194 00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:43,799 all over to, you know, and the State Department has 195 00:12:43,879 --> 00:12:48,039 really abdicated its leadership role to folks who are infiltrated 196 00:12:48,039 --> 00:12:51,120 by hamas. Same thing with the United Nations Release Relief 197 00:12:51,360 --> 00:12:56,120 Works Agency or UNRUM, you know, also complicit in October 198 00:12:56,159 --> 00:13:00,200 seventh and actually participate. Some of their members participated or 199 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,519 employees rather participated in the attacks. And we're still sending 200 00:13:03,919 --> 00:13:06,639 taxpayer dollars to these people. It's madness. 201 00:13:07,759 --> 00:13:10,840 Speaker 1: It is absolute madness. And I think that Peer is 202 00:13:11,519 --> 00:13:15,200 emblematic of what we've experienced in the last four years. 203 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:19,639 Do you believe that I know there were a lot 204 00:13:19,679 --> 00:13:25,720 of influences that affected this election cycle, but do you 205 00:13:25,879 --> 00:13:29,440 believe those examples? And I think the image that we 206 00:13:29,480 --> 00:13:33,720 see in Afghanistan, you know, the disastrous withdrawal, those things 207 00:13:33,759 --> 00:13:35,840 stayed in the mind of the American voters. How much 208 00:13:35,879 --> 00:13:41,399 of that in Israel, how much of what happened in 209 00:13:41,519 --> 00:13:45,679 terms of the protest at places like Columbia and U. C. 210 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:46,120 Speaker 2: L A. 211 00:13:46,279 --> 00:13:52,399 Speaker 1: And across our campuses, how much of that became a 212 00:13:52,519 --> 00:13:55,679 guiding point in these elections for a lot of Americans 213 00:13:55,919 --> 00:13:57,200 in how they voted. 214 00:13:58,399 --> 00:14:01,720 Speaker 2: This was a unique election in many ways. I think 215 00:14:01,759 --> 00:14:03,679 we all hope it was unique. I'm sure you all 216 00:14:03,799 --> 00:14:08,919 for your sleep deprivation and whatnot. Hope it's not always 217 00:14:08,960 --> 00:14:13,279 this way. But you know, it allowed us to compare 218 00:14:13,320 --> 00:14:16,440 those two records, as I said earlier, And also I 219 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:20,080 think national security issues were a much bigger piece of it, 220 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:23,639 because usually when I'm advising politicians, I tell them, if 221 00:14:23,679 --> 00:14:26,360 you're talking about foreign policy for more than ten percent 222 00:14:26,399 --> 00:14:28,799 of the time, you're losing. Don't do it, you know, 223 00:14:28,840 --> 00:14:31,120 stick to the issues that matter to your voters. But 224 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:35,120 this year, these were the the issues that mattered. And 225 00:14:35,159 --> 00:14:37,039 you know another reason I wrote the battle for the 226 00:14:37,120 --> 00:14:41,200 Jewish State is the majority of Americans mercifully continue to 227 00:14:41,240 --> 00:14:44,639 support the US Israel relationship. Most people don't know why, though, 228 00:14:45,159 --> 00:14:48,879 you know they reflexively want to be supportive of Israel. 229 00:14:49,320 --> 00:14:53,559 They have some understanding that the relationship is valuable, but 230 00:14:54,120 --> 00:14:56,759 not you know the history of it, why it's changing, 231 00:14:57,200 --> 00:14:59,840 you know what it could be. So I wanted to 232 00:15:00,039 --> 00:15:03,639 be to all that because I think it was a 233 00:15:03,679 --> 00:15:07,039 campaign issue much more than when one would expect, and 234 00:15:07,120 --> 00:15:10,279 it didn't really play out. I think the way the 235 00:15:10,320 --> 00:15:14,480 Democrats expected. Their biggest problem was actually not the Arab 236 00:15:14,960 --> 00:15:18,840 American votes in Michigan, although that was a concern. Their 237 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:23,600 big issue was the youth voter demographic, because in the 238 00:15:23,600 --> 00:15:26,600 grand scheme of things, the Arab American vote isn't that big, 239 00:15:27,120 --> 00:15:30,320 but the eighteen to twenty nine year old demographic is 240 00:15:30,360 --> 00:15:32,840 why Joe Biden was elected in twenty twenty and what 241 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:36,159 preempted the Red Wave in twenty twenty two. And those 242 00:15:36,200 --> 00:15:40,080 are the folks who have been indoctrinated in this anti 243 00:15:40,120 --> 00:15:45,080 Semitism in academia to a disproportionate extent. I think when 244 00:15:45,120 --> 00:15:49,879 the ADL started polling on anti Semitism, forty years ago. 245 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:54,559 What they saw was anti antisthemic views tended to be 246 00:15:54,679 --> 00:15:58,399 more in an older demographic, and the younger demographic tended 247 00:15:58,440 --> 00:16:01,519 to be less antisemitic, and that gave them the impression 248 00:16:01,519 --> 00:16:03,799 that if they just waited this out, you know, it 249 00:16:03,799 --> 00:16:09,080 would be a way to combat anti semitism almost passively. 250 00:16:09,720 --> 00:16:13,039 And has turned out though in over the last twenty years, 251 00:16:13,080 --> 00:16:17,519 is that anti Semitism among young people has just mushroomed, 252 00:16:17,799 --> 00:16:20,799 while the older demographic tends to be less anti semitic. 253 00:16:20,879 --> 00:16:23,759 And that's then a problem because if you just waited out, 254 00:16:24,399 --> 00:16:29,120 it's going to metastasize. So that's something I think the 255 00:16:29,600 --> 00:16:32,480 Democrats had to contend with because they needed that vote. 256 00:16:32,480 --> 00:16:36,039 But the problem was they were perceived by that group 257 00:16:36,039 --> 00:16:39,320 as being too pro Israel, that the fact that they 258 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:42,480 were arming Israel at all was problematic. The fact that 259 00:16:42,639 --> 00:16:46,720 you know that they were not just blanket condemning the 260 00:16:47,039 --> 00:16:51,519 Yahoo government was too pro Israel, and so they wound 261 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:54,000 up really losing that demographic, and I would say that's 262 00:16:54,000 --> 00:16:55,080 what lost them the election. 263 00:16:55,759 --> 00:16:58,960 Speaker 1: But it is horrifying at many levels to think about 264 00:16:58,960 --> 00:17:06,359 this that eventually the defenses in the United States against 265 00:17:06,920 --> 00:17:14,960 anti Semitism will age out, and this indoctrinated generation that 266 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:24,400 is anti Semitic is so pro Hamas at the end 267 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:27,440 of the day, you know, they talk about pro Palestinian. 268 00:17:27,519 --> 00:17:32,440 The real issue here is, you know, representing and supporting 269 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:40,200 these terrorist movements Hamas and Hesbala and others that simply 270 00:17:40,359 --> 00:17:45,839 do want to destroy the State of Israel and take 271 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:49,920 down Jewish people at the same time. Eventually, if this 272 00:17:50,039 --> 00:17:54,000 sort of stuff isn't stopped in the American school systems, 273 00:17:54,039 --> 00:17:59,240 if we don't have a real change here in the 274 00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:03,240 educational system, what do we expect from our foreign policy, 275 00:18:03,279 --> 00:18:07,400 in our relationship with Israel moving forward a decade from now, 276 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:08,319 or what have you. 277 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:12,839 Speaker 2: That's why this is such a critical moment and why 278 00:18:13,319 --> 00:18:17,279 again when I wrote this book, is it's not enough 279 00:18:17,559 --> 00:18:20,240 at this point to have a president who is obviously 280 00:18:20,279 --> 00:18:24,680 pro Israel and not anti Semitic, as President Trump is. 281 00:18:25,519 --> 00:18:30,039 He has observant Jewish grandchildren, so I don't think you 282 00:18:30,079 --> 00:18:33,240 can accuse him of that. But that's not enough anymore 283 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:37,559 that because what's been revealed since October seventh is that 284 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:40,519 it is a real and malignant and active threat to 285 00:18:40,599 --> 00:18:44,039 us here at home. And so one of the things 286 00:18:44,079 --> 00:18:46,559 I recommend in kind of the What's Next section at 287 00:18:46,559 --> 00:18:51,400 the end of the book is a reconfiguration of the 288 00:18:51,440 --> 00:18:55,000 anti Semitism Special Envoy, which has existed at the State 289 00:18:55,039 --> 00:18:59,759 Department for a while, to deal with international anti Semitism. 290 00:19:00,119 --> 00:19:02,920 That you reconfigure that you take that person into the 291 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,359 White House and don't make them just an international envoy. 292 00:19:06,799 --> 00:19:09,440 Also give them a seat on the Domestic Policy Council, 293 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:12,079 which would be unique. President Trump would be the first 294 00:19:12,079 --> 00:19:16,759 president to do this, and empower that person to work with, 295 00:19:16,839 --> 00:19:22,279 say the Justice Department, on legal penalties for institutions that 296 00:19:22,359 --> 00:19:25,119 permit this. I was interested to see a headline cross 297 00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:29,640 recently that the diversity, equity and inclusion officer at the 298 00:19:29,720 --> 00:19:33,160 Union Diversity of Michigan had been let go over rampant 299 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:37,720 anti semitism in their public remarks. This is the person 300 00:19:37,720 --> 00:19:40,680 who's supposed to be advocating for diversity. It shows you 301 00:19:40,759 --> 00:19:44,960 how empty and counterproductive these initiatives are. They're not actually 302 00:19:45,000 --> 00:19:48,759 for diversity or inclusion. Therefore the exclusion of those they 303 00:19:48,799 --> 00:19:52,960 find questionable and in that case, Jews become part of 304 00:19:53,000 --> 00:19:56,039 the oppressor class. And it was interesting, you know, you 305 00:19:56,160 --> 00:19:59,440 just raise the support for terrorism as we've been following 306 00:19:59,480 --> 00:20:03,400 this store of Luigi Mangioni, the twenty six year old 307 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:07,720 who gunned down the United Healthcare CEO. That is his 308 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:11,319 mindset that this guy was an oppressor. I am an 309 00:20:11,319 --> 00:20:15,359 impressed person and for that reason, whatever I do is legitimate. 310 00:20:15,599 --> 00:20:18,359 Same thing with Hamas. They are the oppressed, The Jews 311 00:20:18,359 --> 00:20:23,039 are the oppressor. Therefore October seventh becomes a legitimate expression 312 00:20:23,119 --> 00:20:27,319 of grievance. And that is what is so deeply dangerous here. 313 00:20:27,319 --> 00:20:30,200 And we have to understand, you know, it is it 314 00:20:30,279 --> 00:20:33,880 is focused on anti Semitism, but it's not confined to it. 315 00:20:34,000 --> 00:20:37,680 And if we, you know, accept the kind of glorification 316 00:20:37,799 --> 00:20:42,119 of Hamas, or the glorification of a killer like Luigi Mangioni, 317 00:20:42,559 --> 00:20:46,160 you know that, then we are buying into what I 318 00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:49,039 think is a fundamentally flawed and destructive worldview. 319 00:20:50,240 --> 00:20:57,119 Speaker 3: Indeed, this liberal Attorney general thinks it's Amazon's fault. The 320 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:00,599 Watched Out on Wall Street podcast with Chris Markowski. Chris 321 00:21:00,640 --> 00:21:03,440 helps unpack the connection between politics and the economy and 322 00:21:03,440 --> 00:21:06,079 how it affects your wallet. The Age of DC is 323 00:21:06,119 --> 00:21:09,880 going after Amazon because of delivery times in rough neighborhoods. 324 00:21:10,039 --> 00:21:12,680 Maybe if he would go after the crime, the deliveries 325 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:16,160 would come quicker. Amazon's just protecting their employees. Whether it's 326 00:21:16,160 --> 00:21:18,359 happening in DC or down on Wall Street, it's affecting 327 00:21:18,359 --> 00:21:19,000 you financially. 328 00:21:19,079 --> 00:21:19,640 Speaker 1: Be informed. 329 00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:21,799 Speaker 3: Check out the Watchdot on Wall Street podcast with Chris 330 00:21:21,839 --> 00:21:24,799 Markowski on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. 331 00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:30,759 Speaker 1: We are our guests today in this edition of the 332 00:21:30,759 --> 00:21:34,839 Federals Radio Hour. Victoria Coates, former National security advisor in 333 00:21:34,920 --> 00:21:38,160 the first Trump administration, Vice president of the Heritage Foundations 334 00:21:38,200 --> 00:21:42,279 Catherine and Shelby Clem Davis Institute for National Security and 335 00:21:42,400 --> 00:21:45,720 Foreign Policy. Her new book is The Battle for the 336 00:21:45,799 --> 00:21:50,640 Jewish State. How Israel and America Can Win. And that 337 00:21:50,839 --> 00:21:55,680 is really the tie here. Israel and America no better 338 00:21:55,759 --> 00:22:01,839 ally in the world than Israel, particularly on the Middle 339 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:06,039 East front, particularly when it comes to the real nexus 340 00:22:06,079 --> 00:22:12,079 of world security and security in America principally. Let me 341 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:15,000 ask you this, how much damage have we done over 342 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:19,599 the last four years on this immigration policy, if that's 343 00:22:19,720 --> 00:22:23,200 what you can call it, Basically that left the front 344 00:22:23,240 --> 00:22:27,759 door of the United States wide open to terrorist threats. 345 00:22:29,279 --> 00:22:32,880 Speaker 2: This is really, i think also a critical issue for 346 00:22:33,039 --> 00:22:37,079 the twenty twenty four election is the approach to immigration 347 00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:42,319 and the fact that this administration, buying into the worldview 348 00:22:42,319 --> 00:22:46,279 we've just been discussing, feels that a closed border is 349 00:22:46,319 --> 00:22:50,319 actually immoral. We don't actually own the United States, so 350 00:22:50,359 --> 00:22:52,880 who are we to say who can and can't have it? 351 00:22:53,599 --> 00:22:58,480 And that is an ideological approach to immigration. I think 352 00:22:58,519 --> 00:23:02,640 they also bought into the narrative that all of these 353 00:23:02,680 --> 00:23:05,880 folks who are coming in wi't vote Democrat and perpetuity. 354 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:10,599 What we found is legal immigrants actually vote Republican, increasingly, 355 00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:14,480 particularly on the Hispanic community, which tends conservative in their 356 00:23:14,519 --> 00:23:18,000 social values. And you know, the folks who have come 357 00:23:18,039 --> 00:23:21,400 in legally and established businesses and lives for themselves really 358 00:23:21,440 --> 00:23:25,640 resent you know, this, this mass, unfettered migration, which threatens 359 00:23:25,680 --> 00:23:28,759 them economically as much as anyone. And then on top 360 00:23:28,799 --> 00:23:31,000 of it, as you point out, we have, you know, 361 00:23:31,039 --> 00:23:34,279 the very dangerous elements who've come in, and you know, 362 00:23:34,319 --> 00:23:39,000 every day there's another horrific story of an illegal immigrant, 363 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:45,480 you know, murdering, raping, kidnapping American citizens. And then on 364 00:23:45,559 --> 00:23:48,839 top of it, we have tens of thousands of known 365 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:51,759 terrorists who have come in and simply been let go 366 00:23:52,400 --> 00:23:55,680 and so these are everyone from the Latin American drug 367 00:23:55,759 --> 00:24:01,079 cartel and gang elements to military age Chinese males to 368 00:24:01,400 --> 00:24:04,640 known terrorists from the Middle East, and so, you know, 369 00:24:04,680 --> 00:24:08,839 I think Tom Holman has been a wonderful visiting fellow 370 00:24:08,880 --> 00:24:13,400 at Heritage during the Biden Herris excuse me administration, who 371 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:16,920 now obviously is going back into the Trump administration to 372 00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:20,079 do his good work. You know, he is an incredible 373 00:24:20,119 --> 00:24:23,000 tool for President Trump to use to try to get 374 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:25,240 this under control. But you know, I'm worried about the 375 00:24:25,279 --> 00:24:28,559 next thirty nine days as all this is going on 376 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:32,759 and there's not a clear leadership presence in Washington, you know, 377 00:24:32,799 --> 00:24:36,440 what might happen over the holidays. So so hopefully we'll 378 00:24:36,480 --> 00:24:38,720 get through this period. But it is it is true. 379 00:24:38,759 --> 00:24:41,680 There's a real and present danger you know in our 380 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:45,119 population of folks who are are are not just supportive 381 00:24:45,119 --> 00:24:48,799 of Hummas, but potentially are Hamas. And has belot no 382 00:24:48,880 --> 00:24:49,640 doubt about it. 383 00:24:49,640 --> 00:24:52,160 Speaker 1: It seems to be a fire sale going on in 384 00:24:52,279 --> 00:24:55,839 national security from the Biden administration. Take a look at 385 00:24:55,920 --> 00:24:57,720 all that is happening, and we'll get to one of 386 00:24:57,759 --> 00:25:00,680 the more serious points in the Middle least coming up 387 00:25:00,720 --> 00:25:05,960 in just a moment. But are you concerned. You mentioned 388 00:25:06,119 --> 00:25:10,720 in these final few weeks before we get to the inauguration, 389 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:18,119 I have heard from some folks in the know about 390 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:23,480 national security, domestic security, they are concerned about inauguration day itself. 391 00:25:23,519 --> 00:25:24,079 How about you? 392 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,359 Speaker 2: Oh? Absolutely, I mean there are all sorts of kind 393 00:25:27,359 --> 00:25:29,839 of flash points. I mean Christmas Day will be one 394 00:25:30,319 --> 00:25:34,119 New Year's Eve, inauguration, you know, where you have large 395 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:37,039 numbers of people moving around. It's hard to keep track 396 00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:39,480 of folks. You know, these these are kind of weak 397 00:25:39,519 --> 00:25:42,359 points that you know, if you're a terrorist, you might 398 00:25:42,480 --> 00:25:45,559 you might try to target them. And you know, what 399 00:25:45,599 --> 00:25:49,359 we're seeing out of the Biden administration is just incredible drift. 400 00:25:50,160 --> 00:25:52,160 They are, you know, on the one hand, sort of 401 00:25:52,200 --> 00:25:55,440 trying to tie President Trump's hands as much as possible 402 00:25:55,880 --> 00:25:59,039 by you know, spending money at a ridiculous clip, which 403 00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:03,319 is the one thing extremely good at, and on the 404 00:26:03,359 --> 00:26:05,359 other hand, just kind of letting the rest of the 405 00:26:05,400 --> 00:26:08,279 world run am up. And one of the things that 406 00:26:08,440 --> 00:26:11,400 was very disturbing is right in the lead up to 407 00:26:11,440 --> 00:26:15,880 the ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hesbealah and Lebanon, there 408 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:19,319 were reports that the administration had prepared as many as 409 00:26:19,400 --> 00:26:24,960 seven punitive United Nations Security Council resolutions against Israel, and 410 00:26:25,039 --> 00:26:28,119 we're using those as pressure. And of course this has 411 00:26:28,160 --> 00:26:32,920 happened before. Unfortunately, there's a bipartisan history. For example, the 412 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:35,839 George W. Bush administration on the way out the door 413 00:26:36,000 --> 00:26:41,559 of staining on a resolution that condemned Israel for that 414 00:26:42,240 --> 00:26:45,680 round of violence in Gaza. Then the Obama administration did 415 00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:50,319 it as well on an on a resolution that condemned 416 00:26:50,359 --> 00:26:54,680 Israel for the settlements. So this has happened before, and 417 00:26:54,839 --> 00:26:57,440 I would be surprised if we make it through January 418 00:26:57,559 --> 00:27:01,039 without some kind of action up to an including potentially 419 00:27:01,079 --> 00:27:04,680 the recognition of a Palestinian entity as a legitimate state. 420 00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:07,000 Speaker 1: That's so I was going to ask you as well, 421 00:27:07,039 --> 00:27:12,079 how meaningful do you think the ceasefire agreement brokeered by 422 00:27:12,880 --> 00:27:18,200 the Biden administration they, particularly the current Secretary of State, 423 00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:22,680 who has had a riddled record of failures on the 424 00:27:22,839 --> 00:27:28,000 foreign policy front. How meaningful and lasting is the ceasefire? 425 00:27:28,039 --> 00:27:33,880 And is the ceasefire potentially going to prove more dangerous 426 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:37,359 than the actual war that was going on in Gaza? 427 00:27:38,319 --> 00:27:41,680 Speaker 2: I think for the moment, the ceasefire is fine as 428 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:44,519 far as it goes. The president came out and insisted 429 00:27:44,559 --> 00:27:47,519 this was a permanent ceasefire piece had broken out. Well, 430 00:27:47,519 --> 00:27:51,359 that's just factually inaccurate. The ceasefire not coincidentally expires two 431 00:27:51,400 --> 00:27:55,000 days after the inauguration. It was a sixty day arrangement. 432 00:27:56,160 --> 00:27:59,400 As it has turned out, it has allowed Israel to 433 00:27:59,440 --> 00:28:03,000 take much more aggressive action in what has happened in 434 00:28:03,039 --> 00:28:08,160 Syria unexpectedly, and so they have needed that break with Lebanon. 435 00:28:08,640 --> 00:28:11,599 The other thing that's interesting about this, Matt is given 436 00:28:11,680 --> 00:28:14,759 the collapse in Syria, which I know we'll get into. 437 00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:19,559 You know, this is a deadly blow for Hesblah in 438 00:28:19,599 --> 00:28:22,720 the collapse in Syria, the deadly blow for Hesbela in Lebanon, 439 00:28:22,799 --> 00:28:26,160 because Syria is the land bridge that Iran has been 440 00:28:26,240 --> 00:28:32,119 using to run weapons fighters money to Hesbelah. That's now broken. 441 00:28:32,680 --> 00:28:36,839 And whatever we think of the new leadership in Syria, 442 00:28:36,920 --> 00:28:40,119 they are not fans of either Iran or Hesblah. So 443 00:28:41,119 --> 00:28:43,839 that is that's probably going to endure. And we've also 444 00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:47,000 seen the Israelis be able to take what they're calling 445 00:28:47,039 --> 00:28:51,359 a buffer zone. They say it's not permanent, we'll see, 446 00:28:51,440 --> 00:28:55,119 but additional territory around the goal on heights in Syria 447 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:58,200 to protect Israel in this case actually from the new 448 00:28:58,240 --> 00:29:04,240 leadership of Syria, which may have does have Isis and 449 00:29:04,279 --> 00:29:08,160 al qaiatized and makes them a danger on another front. 450 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:11,519 But as it's turned out, I think that ceasefire for 451 00:29:11,559 --> 00:29:15,480 these sixty days has proven useful, but not I think 452 00:29:15,519 --> 00:29:19,440 for the reasons that the Biden administration intended interesting. 453 00:29:19,720 --> 00:29:26,640 Speaker 1: So onto Syria, what do we expect from this new regime? Now? 454 00:29:26,680 --> 00:29:32,559 The old regime is we all know, not a friend 455 00:29:32,640 --> 00:29:38,680 to liberty America or you know, basic human rights values. 456 00:29:39,039 --> 00:29:43,079 Certainly weren't a friend to Israel. But what do we 457 00:29:43,119 --> 00:29:47,000 get from this Pandora's box that's just been opened so 458 00:29:47,079 --> 00:29:51,519 many times? We see, you know, this void that goes 459 00:29:51,599 --> 00:29:56,720 on when you have regime change filled by the next 460 00:29:56,759 --> 00:30:01,440 group of terrorists, international terrorists. What do you make of 461 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:05,799 the new regime if you will? In Syria. 462 00:30:05,880 --> 00:30:08,519 Speaker 2: That's the classic warning for the Middle East, which is 463 00:30:08,559 --> 00:30:10,960 there's always a worst monster. You know, you think you've 464 00:30:10,960 --> 00:30:12,640 gotten the worst one and you're going to get rid 465 00:30:12,640 --> 00:30:14,799 of it and you're going to replace it with something marvelous, 466 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:17,400 and nope, it turns out to be a worst monster. 467 00:30:18,119 --> 00:30:20,359 That said, you know, I think it is a good 468 00:30:20,440 --> 00:30:24,000 day for humanity that the Asad grip on Syria has 469 00:30:24,039 --> 00:30:27,799 been broken. The horrific images and videos that are coming 470 00:30:27,839 --> 00:30:31,400 out of the folks who have been so horrendously tortured 471 00:30:31,440 --> 00:30:34,799 by a Sad over decades. Bear in mind his father Hafez, 472 00:30:35,279 --> 00:30:38,799 and he used chemical weapons against their own people, repeatedly 473 00:30:39,559 --> 00:30:42,799 prompting President Trump, for example, to take two separate military 474 00:30:42,839 --> 00:30:47,839 actions against them to to degrade their ability to do that. 475 00:30:48,559 --> 00:30:53,400 So so really, our horrific regime thermally allied with Russia 476 00:30:53,440 --> 00:30:56,640 and Iran. So a good thing that that regime is gone. 477 00:30:56,799 --> 00:30:59,400 But then, as I said, there can be a worst monster. 478 00:30:59,640 --> 00:31:05,400 This HTS group led by Abu Muhammad Algolani Uh named 479 00:31:05,440 --> 00:31:09,640 for the Golan Heights. Interestingly, uh, you know, they are 480 00:31:09,759 --> 00:31:13,759 all Isis and al Qaida alums. They claim they have 481 00:31:14,119 --> 00:31:18,200 renounced this and they're going to be inclusive technocrats. That's 482 00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:21,400 nice to hear, but I'd like to see what they 483 00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:27,440 actually do. There are concerning reports of they're threatening Christian groups. 484 00:31:27,559 --> 00:31:32,720 The government that they announced is exclusively made up of 485 00:31:34,079 --> 00:31:37,319 very extremist Muslim males, not a single woman or a 486 00:31:37,359 --> 00:31:40,599 minority to be found in the slate that they announced. 487 00:31:40,880 --> 00:31:44,119 And you know, Israel has taken, as I said, very 488 00:31:44,240 --> 00:31:49,559 dramatic action to both destroy the Assad Arsenal and they 489 00:31:49,720 --> 00:31:52,200 believe the chemical weapons were done in conjunction with the 490 00:31:52,319 --> 00:31:56,359 United States. But you know that that is good. But 491 00:31:56,440 --> 00:31:58,920 it shows you that Israel is not leading, leaving anything 492 00:31:59,039 --> 00:32:02,519 up to chance, not going to allow these, you know, 493 00:32:02,599 --> 00:32:06,559 these very advanced weapons that Asad had amassed from Iran 494 00:32:06,599 --> 00:32:08,880 in Russia to fall into the hands of the current 495 00:32:08,920 --> 00:32:12,680 government of Syria. And then finally, the other kind of 496 00:32:13,319 --> 00:32:16,519 bad problem we potentially have here is the HTS folk 497 00:32:16,559 --> 00:32:20,559 are backed by Turkey, and in the northeast of Syria 498 00:32:20,640 --> 00:32:25,759 we have the so called Syria and Democratic Forces the SDF, 499 00:32:26,440 --> 00:32:29,200 which are backed by the United States and have been 500 00:32:29,359 --> 00:32:32,359 partners in the battle against Isis, which means the battle 501 00:32:32,400 --> 00:32:35,960 against HTS, and are the ones who are holding tens 502 00:32:35,960 --> 00:32:40,200 of thousands of ISIS prisoners in that region. So very 503 00:32:40,240 --> 00:32:43,559 curious to see if HTS and SDF I apologize for 504 00:32:43,599 --> 00:32:46,880 the alphabet soup. That's why there's a three page acronym 505 00:32:46,960 --> 00:32:49,640 list at the beginning of the battle for the Jewish State. 506 00:32:49,680 --> 00:32:52,200 My mother, I can't deal with this. You have to 507 00:32:52,200 --> 00:32:54,920 have an acronym list. I've got to have something to 508 00:32:54,920 --> 00:32:57,400 refer to here, So I am sympathetic to that. But 509 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:02,200 if HTS and SDF start fighting, that essentially puts the 510 00:33:02,279 --> 00:33:06,880 United States against Turkey, fellow NATO member. So that is 511 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:08,799 another potential, real bad problem here. 512 00:33:09,599 --> 00:33:13,119 Speaker 1: We never can have a moment of relief or relaxation, 513 00:33:13,279 --> 00:33:17,880 can we. It reminds me of the Federalist Elections Team. 514 00:33:17,920 --> 00:33:21,920 You know, we report all year long and all of 515 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:25,279 this the election integrity battles that are going on throughout 516 00:33:25,319 --> 00:33:28,079 the states, particularly swing states, and you get to the 517 00:33:28,079 --> 00:33:32,759 election and the election is decided and there aren't very 518 00:33:32,799 --> 00:33:36,319 many controversies. But yet there's so much more work to 519 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:39,799 be done. Obviously, and these, as you said, these agreements 520 00:33:39,799 --> 00:33:44,039 can fall apart very quickly. New regimes can be worse 521 00:33:44,079 --> 00:33:47,480 than the old regimes. Or as the old who song goes, 522 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:52,680 meet the new boss same as the old boss. You know, 523 00:33:52,880 --> 00:33:56,319 that's what we're dealing with here. But principally, your book 524 00:33:56,640 --> 00:34:02,960 does offer a roadmap on how Israel and America can win. 525 00:34:03,960 --> 00:34:06,519 But I think it's key as we wrap up our 526 00:34:06,559 --> 00:34:10,960 conversation to drive home the point that the world cannot 527 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:16,559 win without an Israel, and Israel is under constant threat. 528 00:34:17,079 --> 00:34:22,119 So how do we deal with that major equation moving 529 00:34:22,239 --> 00:34:23,559 forward in the Trump years. 530 00:34:24,199 --> 00:34:30,800 Speaker 2: Yeah, it's really just a fundamental difference of approach to 531 00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:33,039 what is being done on the left. You know, what 532 00:34:33,159 --> 00:34:37,039 we've talked about, the delegitimization of Israel and the United States. 533 00:34:37,079 --> 00:34:39,119 You know, as I look at the world, meant if 534 00:34:39,159 --> 00:34:41,880 I want to do good things for humanity, that means 535 00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:44,960 I want to preserve and protect the United States of America. 536 00:34:45,039 --> 00:34:49,239 You know, by any factual measure rather than fantasy measure, 537 00:34:49,559 --> 00:34:52,320 the United States has been the greatest force for good 538 00:34:52,519 --> 00:34:57,119 in history. You know, more people liberated, lifted out of poverty, 539 00:34:57,880 --> 00:35:00,440 no and no imperialism. You know, we thought two World 540 00:35:00,519 --> 00:35:05,400 Wars didn't take an inch of territory, and that has 541 00:35:05,440 --> 00:35:08,480 set up the United States apart. Doesn't make us perfect. 542 00:35:08,719 --> 00:35:11,360 You know, We're a work in progress, of course, as 543 00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:15,039 we all are. But it means that if I want 544 00:35:15,079 --> 00:35:18,559 to improve humanity's position, the worst thing I could do 545 00:35:18,679 --> 00:35:22,320 is undermine the United States and increasingly, by extension, Israel. 546 00:35:22,599 --> 00:35:25,239 And I hate to date myself this way, but when 547 00:35:25,280 --> 00:35:28,000 I was born, Israel was twenty years old. It was 548 00:35:28,039 --> 00:35:30,880 still very much in the conceptual phase. They had fought 549 00:35:30,920 --> 00:35:34,119 the previous year, the Massive War of nineteen sixty seven, 550 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:37,400 which gave Israel its modern form. It's now seventy six 551 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:41,679 years old, and one measure is the US News and 552 00:35:41,719 --> 00:35:45,800 World Report sort of list of influential countries. They're now 553 00:35:45,880 --> 00:35:51,400 number eighteen, and so that's an extremely powerful ally for 554 00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:55,559 the United States. And as I've been studying the issues 555 00:35:55,599 --> 00:35:58,320 since October seventh, I mean, obviously I've been working on 556 00:35:58,800 --> 00:36:02,039 the Israel relationship many many years, and paid my first 557 00:36:02,079 --> 00:36:04,480 visit ten years ago in the company of my then boss, 558 00:36:04,519 --> 00:36:07,480 Senator Ted Cruz, who actually wrote the forward to the 559 00:36:07,480 --> 00:36:12,159 Battle of the Jewish State about about anti Semitism and academia. 560 00:36:12,239 --> 00:36:15,320 So that's another reason to check it out. But I 561 00:36:15,400 --> 00:36:18,079 now have no idea how many times I've been to Israel. 562 00:36:18,199 --> 00:36:20,599 When I entered the country on my most recent trip, 563 00:36:20,639 --> 00:36:22,159 they asked me that, and I said, you tell me, 564 00:36:22,239 --> 00:36:26,480 I have no idea, And so it's you know, it's 565 00:36:26,920 --> 00:36:31,119 kind of percolating for me that this is becoming a 566 00:36:31,159 --> 00:36:36,360 civilizational war, that the enemies of the success represented by 567 00:36:36,440 --> 00:36:39,280 Israel and the United States, want to take us out 568 00:36:39,320 --> 00:36:42,960 to prevent others in the developing world, other partners and 569 00:36:43,039 --> 00:36:46,880 allies from drawing closer to us, and you know, joining 570 00:36:46,920 --> 00:36:51,920 this kind of much more pro human you might say, approach, 571 00:36:52,159 --> 00:36:55,480 approach to world affairs. So, you know, I think it's 572 00:36:55,559 --> 00:36:59,719 really important in a way, October seventh, if it has 573 00:36:59,719 --> 00:37:01,960 a U useful function, it is a wake up call 574 00:37:02,480 --> 00:37:05,159 that these enemies are real and they're coming for us. 575 00:37:05,599 --> 00:37:08,559 But the good news is is that they don't differentiate 576 00:37:08,639 --> 00:37:10,719 between us. You know, one of the points I like 577 00:37:10,800 --> 00:37:13,400 to make is that, you know, those terrorists on October 578 00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:16,760 seventh didn't ask for anybody's passports. They didn't care if 579 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:19,679 they were killing or kidnapping Americans, who we have at 580 00:37:19,800 --> 00:37:23,159 least four who are still being held in Gaza fifteen 581 00:37:23,199 --> 00:37:26,000 months on. You know, they just wanted to kill Jews 582 00:37:26,159 --> 00:37:29,960 and more broadly, kill anyone even remotely associated with Israel. 583 00:37:30,000 --> 00:37:33,039 They killed Muslims and Christians as well, because that was 584 00:37:33,199 --> 00:37:38,119 the point. And so, you know, realizing we're in this struggle, 585 00:37:38,519 --> 00:37:41,559 you know, strengthening the institutions, and I would put again 586 00:37:41,719 --> 00:37:45,280 Heritage and the federalists in that category that are trying 587 00:37:45,320 --> 00:37:48,639 to defend ourselves. You know that that is what we 588 00:37:48,719 --> 00:37:51,519 can do going forward, and I think the election of 589 00:37:52,159 --> 00:37:57,239 reelection of President Trump so resoundingly is a really hopeful 590 00:37:57,320 --> 00:37:59,719 sign that the American people are waking up to this 591 00:37:59,800 --> 00:38:00,360 as well. 592 00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:05,280 Speaker 1: Indeed, and I do believe there are hopeful signs. I 593 00:38:05,360 --> 00:38:08,639 also am a student of history, and I know that 594 00:38:08,800 --> 00:38:12,119 nine to eleven was a profound wake up call. But 595 00:38:12,480 --> 00:38:17,000 how long do we remain awake is always the question, 596 00:38:17,679 --> 00:38:20,559 and it's the question that should guide our foreign policy. 597 00:38:20,840 --> 00:38:25,239 Awake and sober. We have not, been, unfortunately awake and 598 00:38:25,840 --> 00:38:29,519 sober on these fronts over the last four years, and 599 00:38:29,559 --> 00:38:33,400 the world is a more dangerous place because of it. 600 00:38:34,000 --> 00:38:37,519 Thanks to my guest today, Victoria Coates, former national security 601 00:38:37,559 --> 00:38:40,760 advisor in the Trump administration and vice president of the 602 00:38:40,800 --> 00:38:44,280 Heritage Foundations Catherine and Shelby Colum Davis Institute for National 603 00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:51,199 Security and Foreign Policy. Her new book very compelling in 604 00:38:51,280 --> 00:38:55,880 these very dangerous times. The book is The Battle for 605 00:38:56,159 --> 00:39:00,639 the Jewish State, How Israel and America can win. Thanks 606 00:39:00,679 --> 00:39:02,079 so much for joining us, Victoria. 607 00:39:02,519 --> 00:39:02,840 Speaker 2: Thank you. 608 00:39:02,880 --> 00:39:06,119 Speaker 1: Matt, you've been listening to another edition of the Federalist 609 00:39:06,239 --> 00:39:09,719 Radio Hour. I'm Matt Kittle, Senior correspondent at the federalist. 610 00:39:10,000 --> 00:39:13,280 We'll be back soon with more. Until then, stay lovers 611 00:39:13,320 --> 00:39:32,119 of freedom and anxious for the fray.