Transcript [00:02] So about a year ago, God SAD, who I've [00:05] talked about in some recent videos, [00:07] great public intellectual and professor [00:09] from Montreal, [00:11] was on Joe Rogan's podcast, and they [00:14] were talking about Islam and Judaism, [00:16] and they said some things about the [00:17] Jewish people. One of them went viral, [00:19] and it's in this clip about how many [00:21] Jews there are in the world. But I want [00:23] to I want to play you this this snippet [00:26] of conversation and then talk about it [00:29] because I think in it there is the [00:31] secret to what makes the Jews as strong [00:35] as they are and what makes the state of [00:37] Israel as strong as it is. So let's [00:40] watch the clip and then I have something [00:43] to say about it. Here we go. [00:44] >> Islam is the only religion that I'm [00:46] aware of. I mean maybe there's more that [00:47] I'm just ignorant to where if you leave [00:49] the religion they can kill you. [00:52] Absolutely. [00:53] >> I mean, that's like that's what God [00:55] wants. God wants you to die because you [00:57] don't believe in him anymore. [00:58] >> Well, I've always said that Islam is the [01:01] perfect mimoplex. [01:02] >> So, are you familiar with that term, [01:04] mimlex? [01:05] >> So, a meme is a term that Richard [01:07] Dawkins coined in his book uh in 1976, [01:11] selfish gene. Thank you. [01:12] >> Uh where he was analogizing the idea of [01:15] a gene, genes propagate. Correct. Well, [01:19] memes are packets of information that [01:22] spread from one brain to another. And so [01:25] memes also spread. We are both a [01:27] biological and a cultural animal, right? [01:29] Both our gene spread and our ideas [01:31] spread. So a meme is something that can [01:33] go. So if you read my books, I am [01:37] infecting your brain with my memes, with [01:39] my ideas. Correct? A library is a [01:41] collection of memes. So a mimoplex is a [01:44] collection of memes that in this case [01:46] falls under a religious ide ide [01:48] ideology. Well, Islam is the perfect [01:51] mimoplex in what sense? In that its [01:54] contents are made to spread. For [01:57] example, Judaism, you mentioned earlier [01:59] Judaism. Do you know how many Jews there [02:00] are in the world? Not to put you on the [02:02] spot. 12. What? [02:04] >> No, I don't know. I'm just taking Yes. [02:05] >> You want to take just not not to put you [02:07] on the spot. [02:07] >> Okay. Let me think. [02:08] >> How many How many [02:09] >> There's seven billion people in the [02:11] world. I would guess there would be [02:13] somewhere in the neighborhood of a [02:15] billion Jews. [02:16] >> A billion. Uh Jamie, you want to take [02:18] >> maybe 500 million? Maybe. I'm going to [02:20] I'm going to I'm going to take a very [02:21] conservative guess. I'm going to change [02:23] it to 500 million. I [02:24] >> I'm so glad that we did this. You're [02:26] going to be shocked. [02:27] >> How many? [02:27] >> There's somewhere between 13 to 15 [02:29] million Jews. [02:30] >> That is more than that in New York. No, [02:32] >> you're out of your [ __ ] mind. [02:33] >> No, just look it up. [02:34] >> Shut shut the mic off. This guy's [02:35] talking crazy. [laughter] He's an agent. [02:37] >> Let let I'm a Zionist shill. Uh, let let [02:40] Jamie now do his little Google magic. [02:43] >> 13 to 15 million. That's [02:44] >> 13 to 15 million. [02:45] >> There's more idiots in America than [02:47] there are Jews. [02:48] >> And that's only in Arkansas. No, I'm [02:50] just kidding. Sorry, guys. I'm just [02:51] joking. Uh, [02:53] >> is that really it? Yeah. [02:54] >> Well, think about how many Nobel Prize [02:57] winners are Jews. [02:58] >> I think 25 to 30%. [02:59] >> It's incredible, [03:01] >> right? And that that, by the way, some [03:03] people will say there's a genetic [03:04] element, but even if [03:07] >> Here we go. What do we got? 14,200,000. [03:09] >> Did I just say between 13 and 15 [03:11] million? That's insane. [03:12] >> Always perfectly accurate. [03:14] >> What is the enlarged? What does that [03:16] mean? So the world most the most the [03:19] largest number possible is 20 million. [03:21] You know, that's like given uh [03:23] >> I've never seen 20 million. It's usually [03:24] the highest I've seen is 16 million. [03:26] >> It says core Jewish and and large [03:28] Jewish. What is that? Like dudes who get [03:31] converted because their wife makes them. [03:33] >> I don't know. [03:33] >> My uncle did that. But by by by strict [03:36] by strict conversion laws that would not [03:38] be allowed. You're not allowed to [03:39] convert for ulterior motives. [03:41] >> What alternative motives? He wanted a [03:43] Jew. [03:43] >> No, it has to be spiritual. It's a [03:44] spiritual awakening. [03:45] >> Well, he went through the whole process. [03:47] He went to Hebrew school, the whole [03:48] >> that process has to be for no ulterior [03:50] motive. It can't be because my wife [03:53] would not marry me otherwise. [03:54] >> Well, I think he did it because she [03:56] wanted him to do it. Then he decided to [03:58] do it because it was what you know, I [04:00] mean, [04:01] >> I get it. [04:02] >> But anyways, let's let's go back. So [04:03] there are there are about 13 to 15 [04:05] million Jews. There are 1.6 billion [04:09] Muslims. 1/5if of humanity. To to every [04:13] one Jew, there is 100 Muslim. Which [04:17] ideology is more successful based on [04:19] propagation, Islam or Judaism? [04:22] Right now. Why is that? Well, take for [04:25] example conversion laws for as you said [04:28] about was it your cousin? [04:29] >> No, my uncle. [04:30] >> Your uncle. uh in the way that he did it [04:33] as you said it's a very assiduous [04:36] process. It's takes a long time before [04:38] and as as a matter of fact the rabbis [04:40] are supposed to try to dissuade you from [04:42] converting to Judaism because that in a [04:45] sense tests your your your faith your [04:47] desire to change [04:49] >> in Islam. Do you know what you have to [04:51] do to convert? what I [04:52] >> I won't say it because if I actually say [04:54] it in Arabic that can be taken have [04:57] converted and therefore if I leave it [04:59] but basically you just have to say the [05:00] shahada which it's like the I testify. [05:03] >> Wow that's it. [05:04] >> It's a one one sentence [05:06] >> and then that's it. Bam. Boom. You're in [05:08] and then if you leave they dead. In [05:09] Judaism there isn't that. [05:11] >> How about laws laws for marriage? A [05:14] Muslim man can marry up to four women [05:16] including non-Muslim women and convert [05:18] them. But a Muslim woman cannot do the [05:20] other way around. So the whole structure [05:23] of Islam is built on the propagation of [05:26] the belief system. So just by that which [05:29] one is going to be more dangerous. One [05:31] is a procilitizing religion. The other [05:34] one you're not allowed to in in Judaism [05:36] to procilitize. You're not supposed to [05:38] try to convert others. In in Islam da is [05:42] to procilitize. You have to now in [05:45] different countries they'll do it in [05:47] different ways. in the west where they [05:48] are in the minority they'll do it [05:50] through interfaith exchanges but the [05:53] interfaith exchanges are always the [05:56] Muslim telling the non-Muslim how great [05:58] our religion is and why you should [06:00] convert it's never it's never give and [06:01] take uh so just going back to your [06:04] earlier point about Israel and so on yes [06:06] of course undoubtedly there are some [06:07] Israelis that do very bad things to [06:09] their non uh Jewish brothers no question [06:13] but when we're talking about existential [06:16] threats to our western ways. You and I [06:18] probably don't stay up worrying about [06:20] radical Jews. [06:22] >> No, no, I don't. Um, I wonder what it is [06:25] about people that makes us so [06:28] susceptible to ideological thinking and [06:31] still and whether or not it's ever [06:34] expungeable, you know, whether or not [06:36] it's ever something that we can [06:37] eradicate from the thought process. It [06:40] just seems inherent to being a person. [06:42] So much so that I recognize it in [06:44] myself. Like here's a perfect example. I [06:46] ran into a guy just a few days ago and [06:49] he was he said hello to me and then he [06:51] explained to me that he trains jiu-jitsu [06:53] with the Machados and immediately we [06:56] were like brothers [06:57] >> because that's my lineage, [06:59] >> right? [07:00] >> So it's like ah what's up man? Like [07:02] immediately and I'm like that is so [07:04] weird. It's so weird you know like I I [07:08] understand like when I talk to someone [07:10] like oh how long you train? 12 years. Oh [07:12] okay. So you understand me and I [07:14] understand you. Where do you where do [07:16] you train? Machados. Oh, we come from [07:18] the same thing. Oh, we're like brother. [07:20] There's a weird thing. Like I'd give [07:22] that guy a ride. I don't even know him. [07:23] You know what I mean? But that's that's [07:25] the the case with religion. That's the [07:28] case with with many things. It's the [07:30] case with ethn ethnicities often times [07:32] with even with state pride. Like we we [07:36] branch off into groups and we have micro [07:39] groupoups and macro groups. And it gets [07:41] real weird when we do this, but we all [07:43] do it. [07:44] >> So to speak exactly about this ever [07:47] granular way to compartment [07:50] compartmentalize us versus them, let me [07:52] mention the hetic uh story. [07:54] >> Oh yeah, please do. [07:55] >> Um [07:56] >> because the reason the reason that's a [07:59] good segue is because I I actually [08:00] raised it with him on the plane. I used [08:03] to live in an area in Montreal called [08:05] Utramo for the Montrealers out there [08:06] that don't know where it is where there [08:07] are a lot of hesetic Jews. So now you [08:10] would think that within this very small [08:13] group of people called Jews, within an [08:15] even smaller group of people called [08:17] Hetidic Orthodox Jews, once you're an [08:20] Orthodox Jew, you're an Orthodox Jew. [08:22] No. On this side of the street are the [08:24] Polish Orthodox Jews. On this side of [08:27] the street are the Hungarian Orthodox [08:30] Jews. And I wouldn't be caught dead [08:33] marrying my daughter to those heathen [08:35] pigs from the other side of the street. [08:36] Right? So in other words, our ability to [08:39] create us versus them distinctions as [08:42] you said is is infinite. That's what by [08:45] the way I hate most about religion and [08:46] not only Islam, right? Certainly every [08:49] Abrahamic religion has a very clear [08:51] alienation between us and them. Uh if we [08:54] are Christians, we're going to heaven. [08:56] The rest of you who haven't accepted [08:57] Jesus are going to hell. If you are [08:59] Jewish, they are the Jews and they are [09:01] the go right the Gentiles. If you are [09:05] Muslim, of course, there are us Muslim [09:07] believers and all of you kufur, right? [09:09] And so it is an inherent part of [09:12] Abrahamic faith to play on this very [09:15] innate mechanism of tribalism, us versus [09:17] them. It's it's [09:20] okay. [09:22] Um I found this absolutely fascinating, [09:25] got to say. uh thought it was really [09:27] really something, you know, [snorts] cuz [09:29] um you go back to what Rogan said about [09:33] meeting a guy who trained in the same [09:36] school of jiu-jitsu as him and how he [09:38] immediately felt close to him and felt [09:40] that they understand each other. He'd [09:41] give him a ride. [09:43] Jews feel that way, right? any of the [09:46] Jews watching, you're you're sitting on [09:48] an airplane, sitting next to someone, [09:50] there's another Jew, you you're [09:51] somewhere. It's But you only really feel [09:54] that way or you feel that way even more [09:57] even more when you're in an area where [09:59] there aren't a lot of Jews. You see, if [10:01] everyone was training on machado [10:03] jiu-jitsu, Rogan wouldn't feel that way. [10:06] Okay? So a lot of it has to do with [10:08] percentage with the granularity as he [10:11] called it of a piece of your identity or [10:13] something that's important to you that [10:15] happens to be a very small subset and [10:17] you meet other people of that subset. So [10:18] you feel a greater kinship which would [10:20] not apply with so many people which [10:24] uh leads to some a comment about [10:27] something that has bothered me for a [10:28] long time. So I work in the field of [10:30] Jewish Christian relations. Most of you [10:32] by now know that if you're still just [10:33] getting to know me, my main career for [10:36] the last more than a decade has been [10:38] interfaith work, Jewish Christian [10:40] relations, interfacing with uh Christian [10:43] churches and Christian seminaries and [10:45] Christian leadership and and building [10:48] that bridge between Jewish and Christian [10:50] communities. It's a space I've operated [10:51] in. I've gotten more into political [10:52] messaging only in the last couple of [10:54] years. And it's always bothered me that [11:00] Christians [11:03] around the world don't care enough about [11:06] the persecution of Christians. I've [11:08] raised this issue with many Christian [11:10] leaders and they acknowledge it that [11:12] Christians just don't feel that sense of [11:13] kinship with other Christians around the [11:15] world in the same way that Jews do. Like [11:17] with Jews, a few Jews, you know, a [11:20] couple of Jews get killed somewhere or a [11:21] couple of Jews get kidnapped somewhere. [11:23] like when those three young boys were [11:25] kidnapped [11:27] by terrorists in Israel a bunch of years [11:29] ago and it sparked a war. But all over [11:31] the world, all Jewish communities are [11:32] having prayer vigils and they're raising [11:34] funds and they're and they're mobilized. [11:36] Okay. So, and I always thought of this [11:38] as something that's uniquely Jewish, but [11:40] it really has to do with size. That's [11:42] what I think has to do with size. And [11:45] among Christians, Christians, you know, [11:47] a Christian community in Nigeria could [11:49] get massacred and the Christian world is [11:51] not all up in arms even if they see it [11:53] in the paper. They don't feel that same [11:54] tug uh of concern that we feel. And I [11:59] think it again I think it has to do a [12:01] fair amount a fair amount not entirely [12:03] I'm going to get into a few other issues [12:05] here but I think it has a lot to do with [12:08] size of the group that you're in. [12:11] Now what he said that you know what God [12:13] sad said about the orthodox Jews the [12:15] Hungarians and the Poles I would never [12:16] let my daughter marry that heathen. They [12:18] wouldn't call them heathens. Just [12:19] understand it's not a theological issue. [12:21] There are some very you know within the [12:23] kidic groups particularly there's some [12:26] real particularity about you know which [12:28] group you're in and who marries who and [12:30] that has a lot to do with family customs [12:32] and and things like that. But there is a [12:34] general kinship that Jews feel with each [12:36] other all around the world a real [12:38] strength. So if a Jew gets like the [12:41] Bondi beach attacks happened in [12:42] Australia, some Jews got killed. Jews [12:44] everywhere feel that pain. And now let's [12:47] move to the state of Israel. State of [12:48] Israel. You might think, well, there's [12:50] millions of there's millions of Jews [12:51] here. You won't feel that same way. But [12:52] we do because for centuries and [12:56] centuries, the fact that there were so [12:58] few Jews in the world meant that Jews [13:00] have always felt that sense of kinship [13:02] with each other. Traveling from place to [13:04] place, bumping into another Jew, being [13:06] aware of other Jews in other places. [13:07] There's always been this sense of being [13:09] this tiny minority who's embattled and [13:12] we have this and we have this this [13:14] connection and this bond with other Jews [13:17] and that's what creates this sense of [13:18] family, this sense of blood relation [13:20] even for people who've converted in. [13:22] It's not about blood really. It's about [13:24] being a part of this very small group [13:27] everywhere in the world. So Jews have [13:28] always felt this. This is why for for [13:31] interesting historical note, one of the [13:32] ma one of the big reasons why Jews got [13:35] into the money changing business and why [13:37] they were frequently all over Europe the [13:40] money changers is that currencies and [13:43] items of value came from other parts of [13:45] the world and you could not necessarily [13:46] trust people. But since Jews trusted [13:49] each other inherently, Jews implicitly [13:52] Jews trusted each other all over the [13:54] world. If Jews were transferring the [13:56] money, Jewish money changers tended to [13:57] trust each other. It's one of the [14:00] reasons. Now, um I'm bringing this up [14:02] because of the state of Israel. You have [14:06] people, millions of people, Jews, [14:08] gathered in from all the four corners of [14:10] the earth in this land, lived all over [14:12] the place, and they feel this sense of [14:15] kinship that they've inherited as a [14:17] culture. At this point, after thousands [14:19] of years of exile, after centuries, this [14:21] is part of the culture of being Jewish. [14:23] This concern for other Jews, this [14:25] special feeling that you feel when you [14:27] encounter other Jews. So you have a [14:29] whole country that has a social cohesion [14:32] that is I don't know if it's unique but [14:35] it is it is tangible. You come to Israel [14:38] and the sense of concern that people [14:40] have for each other in the society and [14:43] that goes to how people feel like you [14:45] know on the front page of the paper it [14:47] says that there's a soldier who was [14:49] killed everyone feels the pain everyone [14:50] feels that sense of mourning. It's real [14:52] it's really tangible. Talk to any [14:54] Israeli talk to any Jew they'll tell you [14:55] that. [14:57] So I I believe [15:00] that the fact that the people of Israel [15:02] have been such a tiny people. And by the [15:04] way, the Bible says that we that we are [15:06] the smallest of all peoples, the least [15:08] of all peoples. It was I was thinking [15:09] about that when Joe Rogan was was [15:12] shocked at how few Jews there are in the [15:14] world. That in the book of Deuteronomy [15:16] in Deuteronomy chapter 7, I believe [15:19] verse 7, it says that um we are the [15:21] least of all peoples. Right? Moses says [15:24] that to the people of Israel, you're the [15:25] smallest of all peoples. And it and even [15:27] though he wasn't necessarily uttering a [15:29] prophecy for the future, that has turned [15:30] out to be the case. We're less than half [15:32] of 1% of the world's population. If [15:34] there was a pie chart of the world's [15:36] population, we don't even make it onto [15:37] the pie chart. It's too small a sliver. [15:40] Less than half of 1%. If you're doing [15:41] research, you might not even include a [15:44] variable like that. [15:47] But that I believe based on everything [15:50] I've been saying is actually the source [15:52] of that powerful social cohesion that we [15:54] have in Israel that we have in the [15:56] Jewish people which gives us such [15:59] strength globally and in the nation of [16:02] Israel and that itself gives us the [16:04] strength to fight uh and to fight wars [16:07] when we look at the at the courage and [16:08] the and the and the prowess of the [16:10] Israeli army. And I think a lot of this [16:13] has to do with how Jews view each other [16:16] and with and built on the fact that we [16:18] are such a tiny people. So, and there's [16:20] there's more to say about this clip, but [16:23] I really wanted to share this because a [16:24] lot of people wonder, you know, what's [16:25] the source of Jewish strength? What's [16:26] the source of of of of that ability to [16:30] survive? And I think ironically, like [16:32] I'm saying, I think ironically, a lot of [16:34] it has to do with the fact that we are [16:36] such a small people. So, we feel that [16:38] sense of bond and kinship with each [16:40] other. Hope this made some sense. I hope [16:42] you found it interesting. If so, please [16:44] drop me a comment. Please share this. [16:47] Please subscribe to the channel. And as [16:50] always, please go check out all the [16:52] great content that we're putting up at [16:54] Israel 365 News YouTube channel. God [16:56] bless.
