Editor of Jerusalem Post Zvika Klein on Biden slow walking Israel aid

Zavika Klein joins us now, the Editor-in-Chief of the Jerusalem Post.

Thanks so much. Did I get your first name right? Uh, it's pretty close. Zavika, yeah. Zavika, so my apologies.

All good. So you're here for the annual Jerusalem Post Conference in New York City. Regardless of October 7th, you would have had this conference.

Yeah, we would have had it, but it's just so different. You know, I haven't been to America actually since October 7th, and it's wow, you know, it's both Israel and America have gone through these, you know, disturbing trends, I would say, and situations. Yeah. How do you think, how would you characterize the IDF's military operation? That's a big question. I would say the IDF took it, took a while for the IDF to get its act together. And then, you know, many friends of mine are fighting and have been fighting and people that left their families for months behind. I think the government, because of international pressure and other reasons, kind of did not give them enough of a leeway to operate fast and more exact. And I think also the pressure from the U.S. now with the issue of international, with the military aid is a big issue, right?

So whether it affects it or not, the U.S. saying we're not going to give you aid is something that affects the way you are perceived. And it's a victory for Hamas. Every time there's a protest, every time there's friction between the U.S. and its public and Israel, it makes your enemies and these radicals feel as though we're winning the PR war, are they?

I think so, yeah. I think, well, there are a lot more Muslims around the world, but it's not just Muslims, obviously. I mean, there's many just individuals or people who just don't understand. Slovakia is recognizing a Palestinian state.

Ireland did, Spain did, Norway did. What are they talking about? Have they been on another planet? Do they know how hard people have worked in order to come up with a two-state solution and how little commitment there is on the left? And now they're going to decide on the outside, where are these two states? The Oslo Accords started in Norway, right?

And who walked away from that? A hundred percent. But the issue is you need two sides. I think what Israel kind of approved was leaving Gaza, the Gaza Strip, in 2005. We covered it was a one-sided... You had to rip out Jewish settlers.

A hundred percent. But it was a one-sided move. Israel decided that without any negotiations, it was like to show we are doing this, right? Because we want, you know, quietly, yeah, it was Ariel Sharon who had, you know, had a huge courage to do something, which I was very against by the way, back then and demonstrated as, you know, as a young guy. But that said, you know, Israel, they just got closer to Israel and sending missiles towards Israel. So it used to be the settlers who would experience, you know, these, these, these rockets. And now it's everyone across Israel. So short time later, now you're getting rockets into Israel on a regular basis. And now with the money that they got and the aid that they acquired, they were able to build miles and miles of tunnels.

Which are one and a half times the size of what the London Tube is. Which is crazy. It's just crazy. And, and, you know, I just saw, you know, the US is pressuring Israel to let more aid in. Now you speak to people who know what's going on in Gaza. The amount of aid and food that has entered Gaza in the past few months is more than before October 7. But, you know, Hamas is obviously taking a lot of it, not all of it. But you can't, I mean, you know, we're a democratic country. We don't want to harm civilians. We allow aid to go in.

And yet the world just keeps on seeing us as this demon. You're in Rafa. You now, they surrounding Rafa, right, moving through the middle of the city.

Right. Here's what John Kirby said about Rafa. He's the admiral, who's a spokesperson for the White House, cut 37. We still don't believe that a major ground operation in Rafa is warranted.

We still don't want to see the Israelis, as we say, smash into Rafa with large units over, over large pieces of territory. He's a military guy. What is he talking about? Do you agree with him? I disagree with him. Of course. This is where the headquarters of Hamas is. Right.

How would you not go in? Right. And, you know, I wish I wish we were smart enough. We meaning Israel in the US, that this would be like a game. But it's not. No, I'm saying like a decoy.

I'll come out. I wish. Yeah, exactly.

Head fake. But it's not because I think in President Biden, you know, has lots of you know, he I mean, the beginning of the war, I think lots of Israeli supported him now. Not as much, definitely not as much. And, you know, far from it. But the people around him, I think, are really the problem, because he himself deep down inside is actually a Zionist. But he's up for reelection and his advisors and people in the administration, from what I understand, they have left a lot of them because they don't like this policy. Right. But but they left because a lot of the muscle left because they it's not anti-Israel enough. Right.

You know, so it's a complicated it's a complicated situation. So you said or initially when Joe Biden landed, the people of Israel thought this is unbelievable. This is great.

His speech was I get I get the goosebumps when I hear it. You know, quoting Golda Meir, former prime minister, you know, displaying total support. That said, as time goes on, something got lost in translation, something got lost, you know, from from Washington to to Jerusalem.

And and we don't feel that support. Well, yeah, 300 rockers come to you from Iran for the first time ever. The world got together, knocked out of the sky from Jordan to Saudi Arabia. Right.

The U.S. got it. Understood. That was that was impressive. It was. But what about the response?

Was that impressive? We were you OK with that Jerusalem post? I obviously we don't know enough.

Right. Obviously, they targeted a lot more than what we know in Iran. I think we kind of expected a bigger response. And the question is how much of it was dumbed down because of the U.S. How have you covered the Iranian president dying in that 1967 helicopter crash? And is it your belief, your reporting show that the Israelis were not involved?

We don't believe the Israelis are involved. We had to initially tell the editors to not show any emotion of we're not joyous when people are killed, though this is a person that called for our destruction. Yeah. As well as yours. Right. They don't want Israel to exist.

They don't want the U.S. I'm happy he's dead. Right. So we we try to obtain our semi happiness. But we you know, I think it's I think it's it's really I mean, so there'll be another one. You know, I'm saying like it's not. Well, he wasn't more than Rollani. Right. Yeah. Right.

But Ronnie was was like the more moderate. Right. I mean, before or after. I don't know. I don't I don't feel like that's going to have an effect. Zavika, you're going to be at a conference. Mike Lawler is going to speak. Eric Adams, the mayor here, is going to speak very pro-Israel. Mossab Yousaf Hassan Yousaf, the former son of Hamas.

Mike Pence. So it's going to be an important conference. Yeah. We 100 percent support you. We know who the guys so much.

We really appreciate it. And it's not a given, you know. Right.

Sometimes people take it for granted. You got to know your allies. And war is not easy.

It's a war you didn't want. Right. You know, so the other thing is you're 100 miles. How many miles off your northern border with 100000 displaced? You know, you're going to be on your northern border with 100000 displaced because of Hezbollah.

Right. So, I mean, yeah, it's a very it's a very difficult situation. And I think the implications psychologically, physically, mentally, you know, financially to Israel are going to be very long term. Is it's really important, I think, for the IDF to amp it up as bad as the criticism will be and get it over with. I think we need to get over with how many hostages are alive. So we're talking, I mean, the report.

Do you think? Yeah, I actually just spoke to sources very close to the negotiations, who were assuming 35 out of the 100 and I think about 10 that we that we are, you know, waiting for their return. That's a very low number.

Initially, I was hearing higher numbers. 15 seconds. Where's Sinwar?

I hope in hell, but not yet. He's under the ground, under the ground, like a coward. Khan Yunis hanging out with the hostages.

Mm hmm. Right. And you had him in prison, but you had him let him go in a prisoner exchange. And he learned Hebrew and everything there.

He did. And he has life saved by one of your doctors, Zavik Akhaim. Thanks so much. Thank you, Brian.

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