Israel-Hamas Mini Episode
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The horrific attack on Israel. The bombing campaign in Gaza. These aren’t things Sarah wanted to talk about in her return to the podcast, but here we are. In this mini episode, Sarah doesn’t take any calls, but she does share what she’s thinking and how she’s feeling.
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Transcript
SPEAKERS
Sarah Silverman
Sarah Silverman 00:14
Hi, everyone, it’s your old pal, Sarah Silverman and the podcast is back. We were just putting our first show together and then the attack on Israel happened. And the attack on Gaza bend and the aftermath. And we’re seeing it now. And I knew I wanted to talk about it. I knew I had to talk about it. Don’t want to, I never want to talk about it. But this is, this is what is. So here’s the little a special mini episode, and we recorded it on Tuesday, October 17. So when you’re done, go listen to our full episode back. That’s a little more fun. But for now, here’s what I’m thinking on this. I mean, I’m godless. You know, I’m godless. But I find myself praying, you know, for like, praying for the safety of my family and Israel as attacks continue and praying for the Palestinian people in Gaza who are fucking sitting ducks, having to figure out who to believe you know, or where to be safe. with Israel, you know, retaliating against Hamas and Hamas using their people as human shields. What a fucking impossible situation all this death all this death and rage between cousins. I can’t stand it. I can’t stand any of it. I wish I could protect everyone or anyone. I just heard about that. Kid outside of Chicago, six year old Palestinian kid murdered by a fucking lunatic. The Islamophobia that is gonna reverberate and the anti semitism that is reverberating is it’s a it’s bad, and it’s gonna get worse and my heart is broken for the innocent civilians in Gaza. More than half of Gaza are children. Just as I continue to be fucking horrified by the October 7 massacre in Israel and the continued attacks by Hamas, and how the fuck did Hamas breach Israel supposed to be so well protected? But I will tell you it I will never forget or forgive the democratic socialists statement on October 8, after over 1000 Israelis, Jewish, Arab Palestinian Do people understand that Israel is a Jewish state but it’s 20% of the country is not Jewish. It’s there’s Palestinian Israelis. There’s Arab Israelis represented in the government in the Supreme Court. You know, I just want to make sure people know that. Anyway, I was saying I’m I’m a Democratic socialist and the DSA, the Democratic socialists of America posted a statement the day after the massacre, as Israel is being rampaged, blaming Israelis for their own slaughter. Saying Israel brought this massacre on themselves on the day, on the day that they were being massacred and the day after, to not be able to have empathy for human beings. These Israelis were murdered so brutally, and tortured and ripped from their homes, children, babies, elderly, people, survivors. No sympathy just But Palestine, free Palestine really is. For people who like to use the term tone deaf a lot like know that that’s your stand by that still up. It makes me want to punch. I mean, come on. We know the atrocities America has has caused in this world. In that specific world, by the way, and I don’t think people on 911 were like, well, America deserves it. No, I think on 9/11, we all came together and said, Oh my God. People, it’s human people. I don’t know. I’m all over the place. And I apologize. I’m not, you know?
Sarah Silverman 05:16
If you’re looking for me to say, hey, you should think this, like, you’ve come to the wrong place because I’m all over the place with this. I’m so angry. I’m so scared. Boy, my dad would have been this is just just this is brutal. And so, back to democratic socialists, so they blamed Israel for their own massacre on the day. And I’m so fucking tired of that day people going, where were you and Palestinian children are killed. I was next to you, you fuck horrified and enraged and heartbroken, you piece of shit? Like you should be. I’m just I’m so fucking disappointed by the people. I thought were my comrades, unable to conjure a moment of sympathy for this massacre, before jumping into but free Palestine. And by the way, please tell me how that’s done. Like it’s a button that Israel could push but won’t. It’s just, it’s insane. My friend Ronnie Ceric, Aro n i s a r IG. He wrote an unbelievable open letter to a young liberal Jewish college student who wrote Free Palestine in reaction to the October 7 massacre. And it’s brilliant. And it’s on his Facebook page. I’m not on Facebook. So he sent it to my email and I wanted to read the whole thing out loud, but I can go on forever. And I can’t do that. So um, check it out. It’s really, really well done as a liberal Jew himself and obviously as myself, boy, this you know a lot. This reminds me, you know, the feeling I felt reading the the statement by the Democratic socialists and you can see how I responded in their comments. And I also posted it. I was so mad I was not my best self, but I don’t take it back as they have not taken it back either. Is this homelessness this political homelessness that so many liberal Jews feel including myself, where the far left where we’ve This happened in England a couple years ago, where the Labour Party became wildly anti semitic. There are way less Jews in England there are so many Jews were in the Labour Party, and a lot of Jews were MPs were representing the Labour Party. And they had they were forced out because of anti semitism flat flat out. That’s why I mean, fucking, we’re not talking about Israel right now at all we’re saying Jews who have had the backs of so many minorities stand fucking alone because of this country in the Middle East, that, you know, almost none of us have anything to do with him from fucking New England. I don’t want to be talking about this shit. But I do because I see anti semitism rising up everywhere. And the scary part is when it’s on the left, this is a new thing. And it’s, it’s, I think, here to stay. And I also see Islamophobia rising up once again. And I, I say something that’s what I do. As a Jew from New Hampshire. That’s how I was raised. I will say it was really appreciative of Viola Davis, who right away posted a meme or whatever the fuck, you know, a thing with words on it. And it said, if you have less empathy towards victims, because of how you feel about their government, then propaganda is working on you. There you go. Take it with you hold it and know that that’s a fact. Check yourself no matter where you are in this debate, fight war. Whatever. Yes, you know it. Hamas is not an underdog story. Gaza. Fuck yes. The people the Palestinians of Gaza. Yes. Hamas is not an underdog story, there are a terrorist group. And look, Israel has a super shitty right wing government right now.
Sarah Silverman 10:13
And the Prime Minister, Benjamin Bibi Netanyahu is garbage. And his thugs are garbage. He’s like Trump, he really is just like Trump. He’s like, a criminal thug. But the people of Israel are not. In other words, thinking Netanyahu represents the hearts and minds of Israel is like thinking Trump represents the hearts and minds of Americans. You know what I mean? Or Hamas represents the hearts and minds of Palestinians in Gaza? They don’t do you understand like, Hamas will never make peace with Israel, because there besides their mission statement being kill all Jews, which is what from the river to the sea means. So you know, when you chant it, know what that means. If you are for the rib from the river to the sea, you want to wipe out Israel. Now, if you wipe out Israel, they will kill all the Jews there if they can’t get out. Okay, so let’s say that Israel gets kicked out of another country managed to now Lila Rosa. What does that mean? Amy? Why is this night different than all other night? Why is this night different than all other nights? Right? Tell me something new. Without Israel in the Middle East. One, there’s no safe haven for Jews, which obviously we need. I say, just give us New Jersey, I’d be fine with it. Can we just take New Jersey? Can we just have New Jersey and it will stay New Jersey, but also it’s like a sanctuary state for Jews or something? I don’t know why I’m asking for New Jersey. You know what I’d love like a Rhode Island. But that’s what Zionism is. So now let’s talk about Zionism equals racism. Because I hear that, and it makes me insane. What Zionism is, is the belief that there can be a Jewish state, a safe haven for Jews. Now, there is one now in Israel, right. And that doesn’t mean that it’s only Jews. It just means Jews can go there and and be safe pre October 7. So Zionism, like my family in Israel, our liberal Zionist, they believe that there should be a Jewish state where all people are welcomed, but that Jews can be safe in but they’re against the occupation. And they, like so many Israelis have been protesting for months and months and months against Netanyahu to try to get him out of power. And, you know, this is who Hamas killed, they killed a lot of peace workers. And there are 200 hostages in Gaza. Alive or dead? Who knows? Killed by Hamas are killed by bombs from Israel? Who knows? We don’t know. So this is why I do No, Zionism just means that in a sea of Muslim states that everyone’s fine with it. I certainly am. There’s a teeny tiny and we have a picture if this has ever shown on video of what that looks like. The green is Muslim countries. And let me go in and and there See that little bit of blue. It’s a tiny dot, that’s Israel. So the people that are anti Zionist, think Israel can’t exist on any level not I mean, what we want as liberal Zionist is a two state solution, equal freedom, respectful, done. I’m just I’m so sorry, my heart bleeds. But for all the people out there who seemed to absolutely know how to end this war, and how to Free Gaza and how to do all of it. I please, please tell me how to call in. Tell me how this can be done. I I’d love to hear it. I you know, I’m sister Rabbi Suzie, my sister, the rabbi Susie. She said something in our sisters thread. She said, people evaluating this from afar need to look at this as they look at any country and judge us by those standards. The big questions of civilians in war exist in every war. And as humans we have made that part of what we Do in that world reality which no one on this thread likes, Israel is no different. And in a defensive war, which this simply is, the external criticism is generally much lower just not for us. It’s different when Jews do it, it seems to be the thing. Then she said, I am seeing all over the media of focus on missiles in Gaza and the forced movement of Gazans with zero empathy for the fact that only by destroying Hamas, will we survive. God, Americans killed people by neglect every day and solving that would be so much simpler, like taxing the rich, but we are expected to die for the sake of protecting others. There’s a good point there. Link, it’s a really good point. That said, I don’t like murdered civilians. That said, not to what about is a myself. But it is interesting that Russia invaded Ukraine and Ukraine, who we all support, of course is fighting back. And we’re all behind them. No one is saying anything about Russian civilians killed at their border. Because this is just war. This is what war is. civilian lives only seem to matter when Israel is doing it. Which of course I disagree with, because I think it matters all of these times. But be aware of how you’re thinking about this. And remember what Viola Davis posted while you do it. Alright, so this is what I’m thinking and feeling right now. It’s going to change in an hour, it’s going to change in two hours, it’s going to constantly change. Let me let me know how you’re feeling I’d love to hear you call in. There’s going to be you know, a lot of different views and I want to hear them and we’re going to post in the show notes wherever you listen to this podcast. Places that you can donate that are committed to aiding civilian victims from Israel and Gaza both and please take listen to our actual full episode. It’s in the feed and it’s our first real episode back and it’s a hell of a lot funnier than this was. So enjoy and take care of yourself.
