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--:-- John Bickley: Welcome to an extra edition of Morning Wire. I'm John Bickley, editor-in-chief of the Daily Wire, and I'm joined by my co-host Georgia Howe.
--:-- Georgia Howe: Thanks for tuning in, everyone. Today, we're discussing the latest developments in the Middle East, particularly the comments made by Senator Chuck Schumer on the Senate floor. Joining us is Aryeh Lightstone, former senior advisor to the U.S. ambassador to Israel. Welcome, Aryeh.
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: Thanks for having me.
--:-- John Bickley: Aryeh, let's dive right in. Senator Schumer called for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down and for Israel to hold new elections. What was your reaction to this ultimatum?
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: My first reaction is that this may be one of the most public betrayals of any ally in U.S. history. And that's without exaggeration. When the problem to peace in the Middle East is our democratically elected ally and not the people who rape, murder, and behead people, we've completely and totally lost our way.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a strong statement. To your knowledge, has a U.S. political leader made a public statement like this, pushing an ally to dissolve its government and change course?
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: Not in my following of politics, not in foreign policy, and not when our ally is in the process of fighting for a war of, I don't want to say it's existential survival, but for its meaning and purpose. And in that way, it's survival.
--:-- John Bickley: Schumer has been a supporter of Israel and even touted his record on Israel during his speech on the Senate floor. Why turn on Israel so publicly now?
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: So I think this answer is actually pretty easy. The Democrats led by Joe Biden and followed by Chuck Schumer in this case are stuck in between a rock and a hard place. They need to be, the Palestinians. The challenge is the Palestinians in this case, and it's not all Palestinians, but Hamas specifically, have shown themselves to be some of the worst most vile human beings on this planet.
--:-- Georgia Howe: So, how did the Democrats justify trying to stop Israel from finishing the job in Rafah and from demanding the hostages back and instead calling for a ceasefire?
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: Because ultimately what the Democrats want is this to be done. So Biden has a chance for re-election. So the only way to do this is to say this is not Israel's war, this is Bibi's war. And if they can go ahead and make Bibi the enemy, then all of the repercussions that they will then push onto Israel will be justifiable to their base because, yeah, we should really support the poor people who are dancing at the music festival, and we should really support Israel's rights to be able to protect itself.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a fascinating analysis. You mentioned Hamas earlier. What's your take on the Biden administration's handling of the conflict, particularly with regards to Hamas?
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: So there's an enormous difference in between how they treat Bibi and how they treat Gantz, and it's the following. Bibi is publicly admonished, and Gantz, the discussions that happened in the meeting were against some of Israel's policies as led by Bibi. In other words, they brought Gantz to Washington, D.C. to see if they can create their hero who will rescue the Israeli people, right? They didn't ask Phoebe to come to Washington, D.C. They asked the leader of the opposition, who happened to have formed a wartime cabinet with the prime minister, because Benny Gantz is a good man and he believes in the future of the state of Israel and he does not want to play politics.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a great point. The Biden administration's hostility toward Netanyahu could backfire, right?
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: Absolutely. And the people of Israel do not want their government decisions being led by Biden, who just gave $10 billion to Tehran, to Iran, who thinks that there's equivalence in between Hamas and Israel and who believes, as Secretary of State Blinken said, that Israel's number one priority in the war should be should be providing humanitarian aid to their enemies.
--:-- John Bickley: That's a stunning statement. You've been watching the war closely since it began. What is the current state of the conflict?
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: So there were 24 battalions when the war started, 24 Hamas battalions. People like to think it's a terror organization. It's an army. They control territory, taxes, very well-funded and well-trained army. They had 24 battalions. 18 or 19 of those battalions have been destroyed to the fact that they can no longer operate in a command and control fashion. There are six or five remaining battalions all left in the Rafiach part of the Gaza Strip.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That's a significant development. What's your take on President Biden's latest plans to get aid into Gaza?
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: What is fantastic virtue signaling. There's no shortage of aid being able to get into Gaza. It's what happens with that aid once it's in Gaza. And this is what the failure of the entire Biden regime has failed to acknowledge, that the fastest way to help innocent Palestinians in Gaza is to aid and encourage Israel to defeat Hamas.
--:-- John Bickley: Aryeh, thanks for joining us today.
--:-- Aryeh Lightstone: Thank you for having me.
--:-- Georgia Howe: That was an interview with Aryeh Lightstone, former senior advisor to the U.S. ambassador to Israel.
--:-- John Bickley: And this has been an extra edition of Morning Wire.
