Transcript [00:00] Over the past couple of years, Call Me [00:02] Back has grown into something much [00:03] bigger than we ever expected. A place [00:06] for clarity, context, and honest [00:08] conversations. At a time when those [00:10] things can seem hard to find. That's [00:13] what Ark Media is all about. Building a [00:15] truly independent voice, which means no [00:18] one shaping what we say or how we say [00:21] it. To help support our rapidly [00:23] expanding operations, we created Inside [00:26] Call Me Back, our membersonly feed. If [00:29] Call Me Back has been meaningful to you [00:31] and you want to be part of what we're [00:33] building, I hope you'll join us. Your [00:35] contribution goes a long way in helping [00:38] us show up when it matters most. You can [00:41] subscribe at arkmedia.org or through the [00:44] link in the show notes. And to our [00:46] insiders, thank you. Quick note before [00:48] we start, big things are coming to Arc [00:50] Media. Somewhere in the small gaps of [00:52] time between putting out three episodes [00:54] each week, we've been secretly working [00:57] on something we think all our listeners [00:59] are going to be really excited about. [01:01] We're announcing everything live on [01:02] October 5th. If you want to be the first [01:04] to hear about it, RSVP to our virtual [01:07] announcement event. You can find the [01:09] sign up link in the show notes. See you [01:11] there. Welcome to Inside Call Me Back, [01:14] our membersonly edition where we open [01:15] the door and let you shape the [01:17] conversations. And speaking of [01:19] conversations, let's jump into it. In [01:21] the hot seat, addressing your questions [01:23] and personal dilemmas is Arc Media [01:25] contributor Amit Seel. Amit joins us [01:28] from Jerusalem. Welcome back to the [01:30] inside. [01:31] >> Thanks for having me. Amit, before we [01:34] get into the questions, there was this [01:37] horrendous news yesterday uh regarding [01:41] um a an Israeli soldier in critical [01:44] condition who is the son Narier Lighter, [01:47] the son of Israeli ambassador to [01:49] Washington, uh Yil Lighter, you and I [01:52] spoke late afternoon uh yesterday when [01:55] you and I were both getting the word [01:56] about this. I was actually supposed to [01:58] meet with Ambassador Lighter yesterday, [01:59] but obviously had to cancel uh and and [02:02] um he let me know he had to dash back to [02:03] Israel. But can you tell us a maybe a [02:07] little bit about the family and and then [02:08] what actually happened yesterday and why [02:10] the story is attracting the attention of [02:13] so many of us? So [02:16] has been in Netanyahu's entourage for [02:19] the last 30 years, you know, punctuated. [02:22] He worked with him when he was the head [02:24] of the opposition who fought the Oslo [02:27] Accords in the 90s. then his advisor in [02:31] the treasury ministries at the beginning [02:33] of the century and today he is the [02:37] Israeli ambassador to Washington uh [02:39] appointed the Israeli ambassador to [02:42] Washington two months after his [02:46] son Mushe a platoon commander um was [02:50] killed in Gaza at the very beginning of [02:52] the ground offensive uh [02:55] >> and he was in the shell dug in and shell [02:56] dug just so like his special forces [02:58] pretty elite [02:59] fighter, right? [03:00] >> Absolutely. He he he was killed by the [03:03] way. Uh one of his [03:07] soldiers was Elisha Maidan who was [03:10] heavily injured and critically injured [03:13] and today he's a candidate in the liquid [03:16] list. So I I mean there are many many [03:19] connections here. It was a very famous [03:21] incident. Now, Elite was appointed the [03:25] Israeli ambassador to Washington. And [03:28] last night or last afternoon, uh, [03:32] Eastern time, he got a phone call [03:35] telling him that, uh, his second son, [03:37] Naria, was injured while in a reserves [03:42] um, guarding a uh, checkpoint between [03:45] Judean, Samaria, and and Israel. And [03:49] it's it's it's worth noting that, you [03:51] know, every berieved [03:55] brother is exempted from military [03:58] service in reserves. But Na insisted on [04:01] going again and again uh to serve as [04:04] reserveist for 400 days over the last 3 [04:08] years. So his unit was being deployed [04:10] and they said to him, "You can stay [04:11] back." And he was like, "No, if my [04:13] unit's going, I'm going. You should stay [04:15] back." And it means that he really tried [04:17] to serve his country and there he was [04:20] injured. Now I can't imagine the [04:23] horrific flight back from New York City [04:25] to Tel Aviv 12 long hours when you are [04:29] under the impression that your son it's [04:32] your son's uh last hours. Now uh luckily [04:38] um in Nya's situation now's condition is [04:42] slightly better than even his father [04:45] thought had thought uh he had gone [04:47] through an 8hour long brain surgery in [04:52] order to help him survive the situation [04:54] and um we we all hope he he'll survive [04:58] it. If um folks are interested in [05:00] learning more, uh Ark News Daily, the [05:03] episode of Ark News Daily that was [05:04] released on today, Thursday, um opens [05:09] with with uh Ambassador Lighter and the [05:12] story of his family and and this [05:14] development with tragic development with [05:15] Nura and um and there's some very moving [05:18] clips uh audio clips in it uh from [05:22] Ambassador Lighter that's um worth [05:24] listening to, but we'll we'll include [05:25] that in the show notes. And obviously we [05:27] are truly truly [05:29] uh praying for Niran and the entire [05:33] lighter family. So John from Pittsburgh, [05:35] Pennsylvania writes, "I listened to Call [05:37] Me Back yesterday with a meet in the [05:39] Dove where you spoke about Netanyahu [05:40] speech at the UN. You cited data stating [05:42] that 84% of young Democrats and 64% of [05:46] young Republicans have unfavorable views [05:47] of Israel. Assuming this data is [05:49] reliable, this calls for drastic [05:52] measures which the Israeli electorate [05:54] does not seem to be inclined to take. [05:56] What kind of signal could sound the [05:57] alarm for Israelis? So, first of all, [06:00] why were you so surprised by this data? [06:02] John seems to be surprised by it too, [06:04] John from Pittsburgh. And two, his [06:06] question is, what what will it take for [06:09] the Israeli electorate to wake up to [06:11] what a big problem they have here? [06:12] >> Okay, so I I think there um this Israel [06:16] problem emanates from a different [06:19] factors. We have a problem within the [06:21] Democratic party. The problem is not [06:24] Netanyahu, although Netanyahu might be [06:27] the presenter of the problem, but it's a [06:30] a a a sharp deviation from the days of [06:33] Scoop Jackson in the 70s and even Joe [06:36] Biden of the beginning of the century [06:38] and even Barack Obama of of of 2009. [06:43] The second problem is within the [06:45] Republican younger generation and there [06:48] I think the problem is more about [06:49] isolationism. [06:51] Uh it's not hatred towards Israel. Um [06:55] it's not um anti-semitism, of course. [06:57] It's just the sentiment that we have [06:59] nothing to do with what's going on there [07:01] and we should not be involved in other [07:05] nations fights. Therefore, I think [07:07] Israel should focus all of its efforts [07:09] in order to go through a rehab from its [07:12] former alliance with the United States, [07:14] which was very efficient. you know, [07:17] mutual values, the Judeo-Christian [07:19] alliance and to move towards something [07:22] which is more JD Vance than George W. [07:27] Bush. It's about self-sufficiency. [07:30] It's about being an ally rather than [07:33] being a patron of someone else. And I [07:35] think Israel in that respect has a lot [07:37] to offer in terms of alliances. we have [07:40] a lot to offer more than than any other [07:43] country in terms of defense tech and [07:45] cyber and interceptors irondom etc. [07:49] Whereas if we speak about merely about [07:51] values which of course I appreciate but [07:54] against our Judeo-Christian alliance and [07:57] the Bible and Jerusalem etc. you all you [08:02] will always have the competition of [08:04] being the aggressors in the Middle East [08:06] of being too heavy a a burden on the [08:10] shoulders of the American taxpayer etc. [08:13] Therefore I think Israel should focus on [08:16] this. Here is the problem. Israel [08:19] according to almost each and every poll [08:22] is not going to have a stable government [08:24] after the election to say the least. In [08:27] the worst case scenario, we are going to [08:29] enter again the loophole of consecutive [08:33] election campaigns one after the other. [08:35] The number one problem of having [08:38] instability, political instability is [08:41] the lack of focus on long-term problems. [08:45] Now, Israel standing within the American [08:48] society is the number one or number two [08:52] strategic problem and long-term project [08:55] to deal with for the next government. [08:56] But if the next government is to deal [08:58] with on ongoing political crisis or with [09:04] election campaigns one after the other, [09:06] the number one project to suffer from it [09:09] is exactly this one. There's a lot here [09:12] amid and obviously [09:14] this data on the young Republicans [09:18] uh being increasingly negative on Israel [09:21] which is which is a very new dynamic. [09:23] It's a problem. The data doesn't reveal [09:26] the complexity. The topline data does [09:29] not meaning 64% of young Republicans I [09:31] think you're you're touching on part of [09:33] it which is it's it's not necessarily [09:35] anti-semitism. It's being expressed as [09:37] isolationism. It's isolationism being [09:39] expressed as hostility to Israel, which [09:41] we can which we can get into the [09:43] distinction, but I do think it requires [09:45] a deeper dive and what what's actually [09:47] going on and what the implications are, [09:49] and we're going to do that on Monday's [09:51] uh episode next week. So, uh John, um [09:54] stay tuned for that. We're going to get [09:55] deeper into it. [09:59] That's it for our sneak peek today. If [10:01] you want to catch the full episode, [10:03] please subscribe to Inside CallMeBack by [10:06] following the link in the description or [10:08] by going to arcdia.org. [10:10] That's arkdia.org. [10:13] Your support is what allows us to do [10:15] what we do here at Ark Media. I hope to [10:18] see you there. If Call Me Back is where [10:20] you come for honest conversations about [10:22] Israel and the Jewish world, [music] [10:24] please hit subscribe and also share it [10:26] with a friend. And if you missed our [10:28] last episode, it's worth going back [10:30] [music] for. See you next time.
This is a sneak peek from the members-only edition of Inside Call Me Back. Dan and Amit Segal discuss the attack against Ambassador Leiter’s son, generational shift in American attitudes toward Israel, why Amit sees different forces driving younger Democrats and Republicans, and what Israel may need to change in its relationship with the United States.
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You can access the full episode at https://inside.arkmedia.org/, where Dan and Amit answer listener questions about:
- What actually divides Israel’s left and right today?
- What would Netanyahu do if he lost?
- Can the IDF convince Haredim that military service won’t change who they are?
- Is the Haredi political establishment starting to crack?
- Why are some Israelis willing to spy for Iran?
- Could the road to Saudi normalization run through Yemen?
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