Transcript [00:00] When a nation gets anti-Semitic, it [00:03] self-destructs. I don't know of any any [00:06] exception to that rule, and that's [00:09] exactly what is happening there. The [00:11] amount of good that would happen if the [00:14] Islamic Republic is overthrown is almost [00:18] too good to even imagine. Dennis Prager, [00:23] one of the great public intellectuals of [00:25] our day, was just a few days ago being [00:28] interviewed and he was asked his [00:31] thoughts on what is going on in Iran. [00:34] And he said something without saying it [00:37] explicitly that I believe was issuing a [00:41] very stark warning to the United States [00:45] of America as well. Have a look at this [00:49] >> status. the revolution that is happening [00:51] now. We have seen so many revolutions in [00:53] Iran. People have tried to um rise up [00:56] against the regime there and [00:58] continuously they have been squashed. Do [01:00] you think this uprising is going to be [01:02] any different? [01:04] >> It looks like it will be different and I [01:07] wouldn't have said this even a week ago, [01:11] but I think it is different. We're [01:13] talking about millions and millions of [01:17] Iranians [01:18] all over Iran [01:21] and the [01:24] they are on the offensive. [01:26] This was not the case in any previous [01:30] widespread [01:32] demonstrations in Iran. [01:35] The demonstrations are massive. [01:41] This corrupt, vile [01:44] regime of the Islamic Republic of Iran [01:50] can't give its people water. [01:55] I mean, most third world countries give [01:57] their people water [01:59] and and Iran Iran [02:02] uh can't [02:04] uh it's it can't give the and [02:07] [clears throat] the the [02:09] Iranian currency [02:12] is worthless. It reminds me of the [02:15] German currency [02:17] uh at the end of the VHimar Republic [02:20] where people took wheelbarrels of of [02:23] rice marks [02:25] uh in order to buy a loaf of bread. This [02:28] is what is happening there. [02:31] And [02:33] the people of Iran [02:36] know [02:37] in their hearts at any rate that this [02:41] regime is corrupt. You know what it [02:43] spent all its money on? It spent all its [02:46] money on Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, [02:52] and every group [02:55] that is [02:58] dedicated to destroying Israel and [03:01] killing all its Jewish inhabitants. [03:04] That's what they spent their money on. [03:06] And now they have no money for water. [03:10] So if I may digress for a moment, this [03:15] is why I have said for years [03:19] that [03:21] anti-semitism, [03:24] when a nation gets anti-semitic, [03:28] it self-destructs. [03:31] I don't know of any any uh exception to [03:36] that rule. [03:37] And that's exactly what is happening [03:39] there. The amount of good that would [03:42] happen if the Islamic Republic is [03:46] overthrown [03:48] is is almost too good to even imagine. [03:55] It would be one of the great things to [03:58] happen and deserved after October 7th, [04:03] 2023. [04:06] You know, it's interesting that you [04:07] bring up anti-semitism in Iran because [04:10] their leader originally ran on an [04:13] anti-Zionist anti-Jew anti-West [04:16] platform and kind of got everybody [04:18] behind him. But now, apparently research [04:21] is coming out of the Iranian people that [04:23] they're the one of the least [04:25] anti-semitic people in the Middle East. [04:28] uh mostly because they were so disgusted [04:31] by what their leaders have done to them [04:32] and they realized that the whole thing [04:34] was one giant lie just to get them into [04:37] political power. And the other really [04:40] interesting thing that is happening with [04:41] the most recent revolution that we're [04:43] seeing is that it's not just students. [04:45] In the past, you saw students who are [04:47] going to the streets in Iran. Now you're [04:49] seeing merchants going out to the [04:51] streets. So, in the past when the regime [04:53] kind of neglected the the uprising and [04:56] called it, oh, just silly little [04:58] students. Let's just not pay attention [04:59] to these little girls. Now, you're [05:01] seeing actual merchants, people who [05:04] can't sell anything, can't buy anything, [05:06] can't run an economy. They are the [05:08] bedrock of whatever is left in Iranian [05:11] economy. and they themselves are now [05:13] coming out as no longer just the [05:15] students and wondering whether that can [05:18] be enough of a change for the Iranian [05:21] people to muster the courage to to move [05:23] forward. [05:25] >> Apparently it is. And I again I don't [05:28] know if I would have said this a week [05:29] ago because I I'm not an optimist about [05:34] overturning evil regimes [05:38] from within. [05:40] But apparently [05:42] it's so widespread. [05:44] I mean, they've they've rendered the [05:48] currency virtually worthless. [05:51] They uh have no no water to give their [05:55] people. [05:57] And by the way, I saw an amazing video [06:00] on the internet about how [06:04] uh the [06:07] Iranian regime had mismanaged [06:10] this giant lake in uh in Iran [06:15] and cut it off as a supplier of water. [06:20] Uh it's good for the heart to see the [06:24] evil get what they deserve. [06:27] And apparently, I don't know if I don't [06:30] know that this is true, but I've seen [06:32] many reports that Kamini has gone to uh [06:39] or will go to Russia [06:42] [laughter] [06:44] and I can only say Russia deserves him [06:48] and he deserves Russia. [06:51] It's a bizarre thing that some of the [06:54] Iranians had more animosity towards the [06:57] West than they had towards the Soviets [07:00] given what the Soviets have done to the [07:01] Iranian people and the Soviets [07:04] relationship with the leader that [07:07] literally destroyed their country. [07:10] >> I don't know. It's a very tough [07:12] question. [07:14] What do the Iranian people in general, [07:17] understanding there always exceptions, [07:20] what do they really believe is the enemy [07:23] of their country, the West or the [07:27] dictatorships [07:29] of of [07:30] the North and East? I don't know the [07:33] answer, [07:35] but it's clear now. I mean, [07:39] I wrote when I was still being published [07:42] in the Los Angeles Times regularly, [07:46] I wrote a long piece on the tragedy of [07:50] abandoning the Sha [07:53] that as bad as he might have been, he [07:57] was a giant compared to what's coming in [08:01] now. And that was in 1979 or 1980. [08:07] when people were saying we shouldn't [08:09] support the sha [08:12] and now the sha's son [08:16] is they're chanting for him I I got to [08:20] tell you uh I kept hearing marbar [08:26] dictator [08:28] margbar even I who know no fary even I [08:33] know what that is marbar Israel. Marba [08:38] America [08:39] is death to Israel [08:42] and death to America. [08:44] And now Margar [08:47] has been shifted over to the leader of [08:51] Iran to the dictator. [08:55] >> If Donald Trump uh or Marco Rubio were [08:58] listening to our conversation, what [09:01] would you say to them now? [09:03] You too [09:05] and others in in your administration [09:08] have done so much good in your first [09:12] year [09:14] that [09:15] historians [09:17] will be beside themselves [09:20] that a guy they had total contempt for [09:23] had achieved so much good. [09:25] >> Anti-semitism destroys societies. You [09:27] know, it's it's interesting the we've [09:30] been talking about these protests and [09:32] how they are motivated by economic [09:35] concerns that they were led by the [09:36] merchants and by the collapse of the of [09:39] the Iranian currency and by the lack of [09:41] water and the lack of basic necessities. [09:43] And what Dennis does does here is he [09:46] connects the dots and says, "Yeah, the [09:48] reason the economy was collapsing is [09:50] because of not just because they spent [09:52] their resources on the terrorism, which [09:55] is what people say, but because of the [09:58] anti-semitism, the hatred for Jews [10:01] destroys societies." And that is such a [10:04] powerful statement. And it's and he he [10:06] he said there that he does not know of a [10:10] historical exception to this rule. Look, [10:13] it it's been true so often. [10:15] Anti-semitism takes over. Hatred for uh [10:20] someone to blame becomes, you know, the [10:23] ethos of the society. And therefore [10:26] failure [10:27] is never blamed on the bad leadership or [10:30] on the corruption or on oneself or on [10:32] people not using their human agency. The [10:35] the failure becomes blamed on the Jews, [10:38] on the Zionists, on on this external [10:40] enemy. And this kills accountability and [10:45] it causes a distortion when it comes to [10:48] coming up with real solutions to a [10:49] society's problem. So it's not just some [10:51] spiritual thing that hatred of the Jews [10:54] leads societies to collapse. But Dennis [10:56] points us to the fact that yeah, if [10:58] you're consumed by hatred of the Jews [10:59] and you see them as the source of your [11:01] problems and therefore you put your [11:03] resources in that direction or your [11:05] thinking in that direction, you are [11:07] going to end up collapsing and failing [11:10] and not solving your own problems. We've [11:12] seen this pattern again and again in [11:13] history in medieval Europe, in Nazi [11:15] Germany, in the Soviet Union and the [11:18] radical Islamist regimes of today. They [11:20] have different ideologies but the same [11:21] outcome. Their hatred for Jews brings [11:25] about in the end as the dominoes fall it [11:27] brings about economic decay. It it [11:29] brings about intellectual stagnation [11:32] again not really solving your problems [11:34] and eventually collapse because [11:36] anti-semitism is this moral inversion. [11:39] Right? Healthy societies say how do we [11:42] improve? Anti-semitic societies say who [11:45] do we blame? And it's [clears throat] [11:46] the Jews. And and think of the contrast [11:50] between that and Israel. Israel has its [11:52] enemies, but Israel lives under constant [11:55] threat and yet is constantly innovating [11:57] in medicine, in water technology. They [12:00] export this water technology to African [12:04] nations that need water. So here's Iran [12:07] that's selling billions of dollars in [12:08] oil to the Chinese Communist Party and [12:10] they can't bring water to their people. [12:11] And meanwhile, the Israelis are [12:13] producing water for nations that need [12:16] it. But I think the most important thing [12:20] that Dennis said was this warning, this [12:24] warning he was giving that [12:27] anti-semitism destroys societies. And I [12:30] think it was a warning to America [12:31] because right now on the on the American [12:34] right in the conservative political [12:36] ecosystem, which Dennis is a major [12:38] figure in, we're seeing a disturbing [12:41] rise in anti-semitic, anti-Jewish [12:43] voices. And I believe that Dennis was [12:45] issuing a warning to his own side of the [12:47] aisle saying, "Do not embrace [12:50] anti-semitism. It is brain rot and it [12:52] will destroy society." [12:54] Um, now he also made that comment at the [12:57] end there when the interviewer asked him [13:00] what he would say to Trump and he just [13:01] praised him and said, you know, [13:02] historians are going to look back at [13:04] this administration and they're going to [13:05] see unbelievable accomplishments, [13:08] which is true. And it might seem [13:10] unconnected to what he was talking [13:11] about, but I think it's very connected [13:12] because right now as we record this, [13:15] there is this huge dilemma about what [13:17] the Americans should do. And there there [13:19] are those who are pressuring President [13:21] Trump not to do anything and those who [13:23] are pressuring him to step in and take [13:25] action against the regime because of [13:27] their treatment of protesters. And I [13:29] believe that when we look back on this [13:32] time period, historians will evaluate [13:36] the Trump administration and they will [13:38] praise them for doing all the good [13:39] things. But how this Iran situation [13:42] turns out is going to be a huge part of [13:44] that narrative. And if this regime is [13:48] not brought down, if action is not taken [13:50] against the regime, or worse, if the [13:52] Trump administration makes decisions [13:54] that end up saving the regime from [13:57] collapse, [13:58] this will be a civilizational mistake of [14:01] historic proportions and history will [14:04] judge the Trump administration [14:06] accordingly. One last thought I had as I [14:08] was listening to Dennis Prager here and [14:10] when he was talking about how [14:11] anti-semitic societies end up falling [14:13] apart, it brought to mind the fact that [14:16] the Bible says back in Genesis 12, a [14:18] very famous verse where God says that I [14:20] will bless those who bless you. Talking [14:22] to Abraham and I will curse those who [14:25] curse you up to, you know, that those [14:27] who bless Israel bless Abraham's [14:29] offspring will be blessed and those who [14:30] curse them will be cursed. And I thought [14:32] to myself as Dennis was talking, hey, [14:34] maybe this verse isn't saying some sort [14:37] of spiritual thing like God's going to [14:38] come down and grant you blessings, but [14:40] maybe it's actually talking about cause [14:42] and effect. That societies that are [14:44] consumed with cursing Israel, that are [14:47] consumed with Jew hatred, end up being [14:50] cursed. It ends up causing their [14:52] downfall. And the reverse is true as [14:54] well. So again, very powerful uh very [14:58] powerful message here from Dennis [15:00] Prager.
