If I hate you, that's great.
But if I have a story to support that hate,
ah, that's even better.
One of your favorite words, jihad?
That's my favorite hobbies.
It doesn't matter now who do you vote into power.
They will not listen to you.
They would listen to the people who paid them to be there.
When the military came in,
people were walking to me like pointing their fingers,
like don't speak about CCU.
Don't speak about the army.
We love you now, but don't, they would like that.
So I called Jon Stewart.
I was like, I don't know what to do.
And he said the most interesting thing ever.
And say, if you're afraid of something,
make fun about the fact that you're afraid of it.
The following is a conversation with Bassem Youssef,
a legendary Egyptian American comedian,
the so-called Jon Stewart of the Middle East,
who fearlessly satirized those in power,
even when his job and life were on the line.
Bassem is a beautiful human being.
It was truly a pleasure for me to get to know him
and to have this fun, fascinating,
and challenging conversation.
This is the Lex Friedman Podcast.
To support it, please check out our sponsors
in the description.
And now, dear friends, here's Bassem Youssef.
Your wife is half-Palestinian,
and I've heard you say that you've been trying to kill her,
but she keeps using the kids as human shields.
So have you considered negotiating a ceasefire?
Well, the thing is, every day, every minute of the day
in a married life is a negotiation.
Everything can blow up into a full-scale war,
starting from a simple sentence like,
good morning, what should we do with the kids today?
What should we do with that piece of furniture?
Any sentence can lead you to heaven or to hell
at the same time.
So you do negotiate with terrorists.
Oh, yeah, yeah, 100%.
You must?
Yeah.
And for her, I am her terrorist too, so it's equal.
Terrorists on both sides.
On a more serious note,
when you found out about the attacks of October 7th,
what went through your mind?
If I'm allowed to use a curse word, I was like...
As many as possible.
I was like, oh, shit.
Part of my stand-up comedy is I describe a situation
where I was in a restaurant with producers
and there was a bombing two blocks away
in Chelsea, New York in 2016.
And, of course, this is the, like,
damn, what's going to happen to us now?
And there's, like, two different reactions.
There's the white reaction, which is like,
oh, my God, I hope nobody is hurt.
This is terrible.
I hope everybody is okay.
And there's the Arab reaction.
What's his name?
What is his name?
What is the name?
You know, because you know what's going to come.
It's kind of...
I was scared what's going to really happen in that area.
And I said, like, oh, my God, it's going to be horrible.
And the way that it was reported,
I didn't know how to handle this.
So I basically, I went into hiding for a few days,
three or four days.
And I talked about Piers Morgan team talking to me
two times, three times.
I was like, no, I can't.
How can I defend that?
How can you defend the rape, the decapitated babies,
and whatever.
And then I started kind of looking in the news a little bit.
And then I started seeing people coming on the shows
and saying things that I know as an Arab, as a Muslim,
as someone from that region that it's not true.
But I didn't know what to say, how to say it.
So I said, by the third time when they asked me,
I said, like, fine, put me on.
And I went there, it was more of a, figuratively speaking,
a suicide mission.
And because it's a lose-lose situation.
I can lose stuff in Hollywood.
I can, I even, I remember my managers like,
Bessim, be careful.
I mean, are you sure you want to do it?
My manager was like, please don't do it.
Please don't do it.
And on the other side, if I don't perform well,
whatever well means,
I'm going to be rejected by my own people.
So it was a lose-lose situation
because whatever I say, it will never be enough.
And whatever I say will not be good enough.
And I was going into there
and I felt that I was going into a trance
for the 33 minutes that I was on that interview
for the first time.
You blacked out.
I blacked out.
I blacked out.
And a lot of people ask me,
is the earpiece, was that a bit?
When the earpiece kept falling, it's like, no.
It was really falling off and it disconnected.
And I had to save it because I cannot see them.
All I can hear, I can just hear them.
And I could expect it at any time.
Okay, Bessim, thank you.
I was like, I was fighting for every second
to say words, to put stuff in there.
Yeah, for people who don't know,
this is your conversation interview with Piers Morgan.
And you couldn't see.
I couldn't see.
I was just like, the lens with the camera.
And I was just like-
Just like a surreal dream or nightmare.
Yeah, hello, Bessim.
I was like, hello, Bessim.
I was like, hi.
And it could end at any moment.
Your career and everything.
Everything, yeah.
Yeah.
So what was the drive that got you to actually do it,
to overcome that fear?
Multiple things.
First of all, I don't want to say
it's just my wife's family
because my wife's family has always been there.
But this time was different.
The bombing, the attack,
they're usually one of those people
that they're away for everything.
Whatever happened in Gaza,
they are always in safe places.
But this time,
it seems that there was no place safe.
And already we heard about like two or three
of the cousins and the uncles already lost their home.
So this was too much.
So I wanted to say something for those people
because I know that,
you know,
I made one of the jokes that I made about like,
oh, you know,
it's Hassan,
her cousin.
He's a loser.
He's a doctor.
He's a doctor.
And he,
every time a hospital was bombed,
we were worried about him.
So I wanted to say that
because I felt that these are,
this is a family that I have never seen in my life.
I have never.
She actually hardly saw an uncle or two
because,
you know,
they cannot leave.
But I said like,
I need to speak.
At least I do something for those extended family
that I have never known.
But also because when,
when,
when Piers Morgan team called me a couple of times
and said,
okay,
let's,
let's see what's going on in the show.
And I just watched the stuff
and the lies
and the one sided reporting
that made my blood boil.
And then I thought like,
what,
why am I,
what am I afraid of?
I'm afraid of,
if I say something,
I can lose my career.
It's like,
wait a minute.
But that was the reason why I left Egypt.
I said,
wait,
I left Egypt.
I came to United States.
I came to the land of the free
where I can say anything I want.
And yet I have limitation of what to say.
I mean,
I thought we left that shit behind.
I mean,
what's happening?
And I understand,
I understand the connection of,
of like how sensitive it is
when you speak about Israel
and all of the ready-made accusations.
But as a,
as an Arab,
as a Muslim,
I don't react the same
when you talk about Saudi Arabia
or Iran
or Egypt
or any of them.
It's like,
hey,
you want,
you want to diss some of these countries?
I'll,
I'll do that with you
because I have strong opinions
about what happened
and I already been expressing them.
But when I talk,
when that's why I,
and I speak,
and there's a lot of Jewish people
who come to my show
and they understand that.
They understand that,
the,
the separation.
But that kind of a grouping
of blackmailing people
and saying
and not saying
what they have in their mind,
it is,
that kind of like
one of the things
that kind of like
push,
push me to go on the show.
The thing that was bothering you,
was it what was being said
or how it was being said?
Both.
Because there are lies,
which is usually in the media,
but there was
the total disregard
of humanity.
You talk a lot about,
in your show,
about human suffering.
And I felt
that here,
the human suffering
was not equal.
I felt,
that's why I came up with this,
like,
what's the exchange rate today?
What's the exchange rate today?
There's,
there's,
of course,
it's terrible
to see anybody die.
But,
but I feel that,
like,
is it,
isn't our life
not worth anything?
Yeah,
you had a chart
akin to crypto.
Yeah.
From an invest,
you analyzed it
from an investing perspective,
of course,
in a dark human kind.
ROI on that.
ROI.
And you were saying
that a certain year
was a good year.
Yeah,
2014.
2014 was a good year
for,
for investment purposes.
And also to,
to refer to the,
to a family member
that you called a loser.
You were saying that,
you called him,
had a conversation with him
and he keeps saying
that he's not using anybody
for human shields
and you called him a loser.
What do you,
you can't even give a job.
The liar.
He lied to us
because I have to believe.
But this is what,
the one thing,
it's like,
it's also one of the things,
like,
how it was said.
It was stuff
that I've been hearing.
I don't know what,
what turned on in my head.
But it's stuff
that I've been hearing
all my life
from the media.
Israel warns civilians
before bombing them.
And that's okay.
But that's not okay.
Israel is trying
to minimize the civilians
but killing them anyway.
And that's okay.
But that's not okay.
So it is kind of like
the indoctrination
that we've been hearing
as if it is okay.
and then suddenly
it's not.
Yeah,
there's a kind of
several layers of bullshit
almost sometimes hiding
the obvious
horror of the situation
with kind of politeness
and all this kind of stuff.
Just the basic value
of human life.
That said,
it's a difficult situation.
It is.
It is.
What would you do
if you were Israel?
BB called you.
Awesome.
Big fan.
Big fan of your comedy.
First of all,
would you hang up right away?
Would you hear him out?
No,
I'll definitely hear him out.
That was like,
wait a minute.
That's material.
That's material.
That's material, man.
I was like,
so Netanyahu called me.
I was sitting with my family
and just like
I have my phone
and they're like,
oh, Netanyahu.
Yeah,
it just shows up that way.
I mean,
what would you do?
What would you do
in this situation?
To answer this question,
we need to understand
how Israel thinks.
There is an incredible speech
given by Gideon Levy
at a famous Israeli report
in Haaretz.
And he describes a situation
where he was in the West Bank
and there was a checkpoint.
And in that checkpoint,
there was an ambulance
with a Palestinian patient
and it was there
sitting for an hour and a half
not moving.
And then he went to talk
to the soldiers like,
guys,
why are you not letting them go?
It's like,
ah, let them go.
And then he told them,
imagine if he was your father.
And the soldiers stood up.
It's like,
what?
These are pigs.
These are not humans.
So when you tell me
what would you do
if Israel would do,
it really needs to,
we need to ask
how does Israel
look at the Palestinians
and view the Palestinians
because they do look at them
less than human.
And there is an incredible talk
by Mehor Meyer.
He was a Holocaust survivor
and he said,
I learned in Auschwitz
when I was there
in the concentration camp
that in order for a dominant group
of people
to dehumanize another group,
they need first
to dehumanize themselves.
And Israel looks at Palestinians
as lesser people,
as lesser beings,
as some people
who are dispensable.
And the way
that they treat them
is that
they don't really care about like,
that's why
the exchange rate thing.
So for me,
if I am Israel,
it will be like,
what would you do
if you're the United States
in the time
of the Native Americans?
They were killing people
with the millions.
When you dehumanize
a group of people,
you really don't care.
So if I was Israel,
I would do exactly
what Israel is doing right now
because there's no one
that's holding me accountable.
There is no one stopping me.
And I can get whatever I want
throughout my history
through violence.
I think a lot of the things
you just said
are a tiny bit
slightly exaggerated.
So let me try.
Please, please.
Let's try.
So not everybody in Israel.
Of course.
So let's look at
several groups.
So people in government,
IDF soldiers,
and citizens
that are neither of those.
And not everybody
of any of those
sees Palestinians
as less than human.
Just some percentage.
So what percentage
is that in your sense?
It's the people
who have the power.
So it's mostly the focus
of your commentary.
When you say people in Israel,
you really mean
the people in power.
The people have the power.
But as much as like,
of course,
I mean the people in power
because when I speak about,
even when I speak about America,
I speak about people in power.
When I speak about Egypt,
I speak the people in power
because I can't really talk
about the 100 million people
in Egypt
or the 11 million people
in Israel.
Of course not.
There are people who go in
and they demonstrate
against Netanyahu
and they want him
out of the government.
But we have to admit
that the Israeli society
at a whole
have moved
quite a bit
to the right
and has been
like many extreme.
And you know what happens
when you go to the right
or you go to the most extreme,
the other person
go to the most extreme.
And extremism
breeds extremism.
So thank you
for the clarification,
but like I really meant
with the people of power.
When people criticize
the United States
for going in Iraq,
of course,
I'm not criticizing citizens.
But you made another point,
which is an interesting point
and it's very difficult
to see in the heart of people.
But I wonder
if you look at
the average Palestinian
and the average Israeli
and when they look
at the other,
do they have
some hate
in their heart?
Well, everybody
probably has some.
What is that amount?
You know,
when you look
at a person
that looks different than you,
how much hate is there?
It depends on
what is the
living situation
of each person.
So in the Berlin Film Festival,
just like a few,
a couple of weeks ago,
there was an Israeli
and a Palestinian
receiving
an award together.
And the Israeli director
said,
we're going to go back
to Israel.
He's going to go
to the West Bank.
He will have no rights
and I will have
full living rights.
These people managed
to work together
and be friends
and they have empathy
to each other.
Now,
the average
Palestinian,
it's a very difficult
question because
is it the Palestinian
in the diaspora
or the Palestinian
in Gaza
or the diaspora
in the West Bank
or the one
in the citizen
as a citizen
of Israel
who still have
less rights
than a Roman
citizen of Israel
than a Jew?
And it really depends
if I am,
there are people
in,
Arabs
in Israel
who are having
a great life
and there are people
Arabs
who are having
a miserable life
but definitely
people that live
in Gaza
or in the West Bank
is kind of like
on the lower tier
of their living conditions.
Now,
let's talk about
the hate.
What does that
Palestinian see
with whom
the Israeli?
The Palestinians
see oppression,
limitation of movement,
limitation of freedom.
And then
when something happens,
you see the full force
coming in,
destroying their home,
taking away members
of his family.
There would be
absolutely no reason
for him to love the other.
The Israeli,
because he,
you know,
he doesn't have the power
but he lives
under his government,
all he sees
is the rockets
or whatever
but like he sees
the reaction
and he doesn't see
what happened
to those women.
And as humans,
we are selfish.
We see what
really affects us
as humans.
And I cannot
even imagine
what it would be like
to live as a Palestinian.
And I'm not even
talking about Gaza
because everybody
talks about Gaza.
But let me give you
an example.
And I'm not going to
talk about the 12,000
kids killed in Gaza.
Let's talk about
just like the four
weeks in the West Bank.
March 4th,
Amr Najjar,
age 10,
sitting next to his father
shot while he's
sitting in a car
next to his father
by the IDF soldiers.
Mohamed Ziyad,
13 years old,
March 3rd,
shot in front
of a UN school
while sitting
with his friends.
Mohamed Ghanim,
age 15,
March 2nd,
he shot
while standing
in front of a
stove front
during a night raid.
February 23rd,
Saeed Jardal,
he was killed
by a drone fire.
February 22nd,
Fadi Suleiman
killed while
standing in front
of a top
of a Red Cross
building.
Nihil Ziyad,
February 14th,
Valentine's Day,
killed a shot
in the head
while leaving school.
February 11th,
Mohamed Khattour,
U.S. citizens,
killed while
being in a
parked car.
And Moad Shams,
February 9th,
killed
right in front
of his home
because a
military car
came reversing
back to him
and then
somebody opened
the door,
shot him
and leave.
This is the
daily life
of people
in the West Bank.
What is the
justification
that IDF
provides?
Terrorism.
Terrorism.
Or,
I don't know,
I mean,
you cannot really
say like
human shields,
but they would
say like
they were
throwing rocks.
There was a
guy who
went on
Chris Rock
and he said
like his son,
a U.S. citizen
would kill
and they were
throwing rocks.
So he killed
them.
Even when
they were
throwing rocks,
you kill him.
But the
thing is,
you see,
this is how
easy for them
to get rid
of Palestinians.
I mean,
I love,
like,
I was,
I had to say
I prepared a
little bit
for the podcast
because you
are in tech.
So,
and I am
ignorant in
tech.
There is a
movie called
The Lab.
It is
directed by
an Israeli
director called
Yutam Feldman
and he talks
about how
the military
industry in
Israel is very
advanced.
and what
is really
mind-boggling
is in that
movie he
shows how
the military
tests its
weapons in
the field,
in urban
areas of
Palestinians.
It is
heartbreaking.
As a doctor,
there is five
stages of
trials.
There is
discovery,
preclinical,
clinical,
and then
market and
then post-market
evaluation by the
FDA.
The FDA
approval and
then the FDA
post-market.
Five,
just to take
a pill.
And you
go in and
he interviews
people and
he's like,
where did you
test this?
They test it
in the field.
So when
you just like,
when human
life is so
cheap and
it is so
indispensable,
it made me,
it gave me a
visceral reaction
because you
know,
we as
human,
this has been
actually the
state of
humanity.
humanity
have lived
and survived
and thrived
by actually
killing each
other.
But there
was kind
of a,
we were
remotely,
we were
removed from
it.
People in
Greece didn't
know what
Alexander the
Great was
doing.
He was
killing and
pillaging,
like we
called him
the Great,
but he was
killing.
He was
conquering,
he was
invading.
Julius Caesar,
all of the
greats,
he was
doing,
but killing
was difficult.
Killing had
to have some
sort,
you have to
be with
your enemy,
then you
go back,
catapults,
then cannons,
then a little
bit back,
and then you're
kind of like
starting remotely.
Now you're
killing people
behind the
screen with
a button,
with a push
of a button.
You know,
a lot of
people say
terrorism,
they killed
you with a
knife,
killed one
person with
a knife,
shot you,
that's
terrorism.
But if
you fly a
64 million
dollar F-16
and you
drop up
an A-84
bomb that
cost
$16,000,
that's not
terrorism
because it's
remote,
you're behind
the screen.
So what
happened,
what Israel
being selfish,
like America
too,
drones,
and then
when you
push someone
to be in,
they always
brag about
bombing them
to the stone
ages.
What happens
when the
screens and
all of the
obstacles that
you have been
put between
you and
those people
that you
have treated
them this
way,
when this
is a breach
and you
come face
to face,
you will
come face
to face
with what
you have
created.
Yeah,
there's a
lot of
interesting
things you
just said.
So one
is the
methodology
of
killing.
If you
want to
look at
some
horrific
large-scale
killing,
people often
talk about
the Holocaust,
but that's
visceral.
You can
look at
Hollermore by
Stalin,
where the
murders
through starvation.
By Churchill
in India.
Churchill in
India,
and the
Great Leap
Forward
by Mao.
Yep.
So starvation
is a
thing we
don't often
think of
it as
murder,
because it's
quiet,
it's slow,
and the
interesting thing
about starvation
is that the
people don't
complain as
they're dying,
because they're
exhausted.
That's one.
And the
other is the
value of
human life.
It does
seem that
every culture
has an
unequal
valuation of
human life.
So those
two things
combined
create a
complicated
military
landscape of
the world.
Yes,
but the
thing is,
is that how
we would look
at technology
as the
savior,
as we talk
about how
AI will
disrupt,
will disrupt,
will disrupt.
And now,
if you go,
you talk about
like going to
the West Bank,
the people in
the West Bank
walk and they
don't see humans.
They see people
shouting them from
towers or behind
the screens or
doing,
and they
have like
biometrics
that is
developed by
Basel system
like that's
done by
HP or
Google and
Amazon who
are like part
of Project
Nimbus.
And you
see Indivision
developing all
of this like
metric and
surveillance and
all of that
stuff.
And then you
have like
something like
the gospel
that like people
have actually
said that the
gospel can
actually create
a target list
using AI
and give you
a green,
yellow or
a red to
go ahead.
And now
AI is not
just disrupting
the market,
it's disrupting
our humanity.
And it is,
we became so
comfortable killing
people from
afar,
killing people
with a push
of the button.
And now
it is like
dating apps,
you know,
when you swipe
left and right,
it becomes so
cheap.
It's not like
meeting someone.
it's like a lot
of fish in the
sea.
Same with AI,
boom,
500 people
killed,
boom,
they killed.
It's so easy,
it's so easy,
it's so easy.
And then it's
so far removed
from you.
So when you
put these people
in this condition,
you have literally
put them in a
different universe
than yours.
You are behind
in your condition
screens like
pushing them,
blowing up a
university.
It's amazing.
But then you
meet what you
have done,
that you meet
the Frankenstein
that you have
created.
And then people
are like,
oh,
look what they
did to us.
You just gave
me this image
of a dating
app from hell
where leaders
are just sitting
there and kind
of swiping
left.
Invade,
destroy.
Like a puppet
government.
And then turn
off the phone,
go to sleep.
So I got,
you know,
I traveled to
the West Bank
and I mentioned
to you offline
that I really
loved the people
there.
Just,
you know,
I've met a bunch
of people like
that in Eastern
Europe where I
grew up.
Yeah,
like the flamboyant,
the big personalities,
all of that.
I also met
a person
who's in charge
of a refugee
camp who was
shopping IDF
soldier.
And I'm not
sure the words
he said are
important as
the consequences
of the thing
that you mentioned,
which is
the deep
hate in his
eyes.
That was,
didn't feel
repairable at
all.
It was pain,
it was like a
foundation of pain
and on top of
that a hatred.
And I was like,
wow,
this is what,
you kill,
you kill one
person,
this is what you
create.
Because we have
kind of like a
front row seat
to what's happening.
We,
we think we're in it
but we can't really
grasp it.
I mean,
people's like,
oh,
we're just
going to go
in,
get Hamas out
and we're going
to get them
back in.
And I don't want
the people
to get back
in.
How do you
think they
would look
at you?
What have
you created?
What have
you done?
My show
in Egypt
was all
about propaganda.
It's all
about the
use of
words.
Words
are very
important.
The decapitated
babies were
not chosen
randomly.
Because you
see,
it plants
a certain image
in your brain.
Imagine if
you're going
in,
what a baby
can do?
It can smile,
cry and poop.
That's it.
It's absolutely
no threat.
So when you
tell people
40 decapitated
babies,
they are so
animalistic,
they didn't
see the
babies.
Women
raped.
Of course,
it's an animal
to do that.
And they
would go
through that.
And they
would,
what was
very frustrating
about the
conversation
is the
gish galloping.
The gish
galloping.
Throwing,
you see the
distractions.
You see what
happens?
What's the
proportioned
response?
Can Israel
defend itself?
Do you
condemn Hamas?
Does Israel
have the
right to
exist?
Decapitated
babies,
raped women.
Why don't
the Arab
countries
take them?
Why don't
the Muslims
kill Muslims?
Look what
happened in
Yemen,
in Syria,
in Iraq.
See how
they kind of
distract you?
They throw
little things
at you.
So you
don't know
what to do?
Oh,
the UNRWA,
the UNN,
anti-Semitic,
October 7th,
October 7th,
October 7th.
And then
suddenly you
are distracted
and pulled
into discussing
all of these
little things.
And you're not
discussing what's
happening right
now.
It is basically
stalling,
giving them
time to do
what they
do.
So there's
some degree
to the
propaganda,
the beheaded
babies and
all this kind
of stuff,
that is so
over the top
that it shuts
down actual
conversation about
actual wrongs,
war crimes on
both sides.
So it's
overstating it to
where everyone
on social media
and everywhere in
the press and
everywhere is
arguing,
almost become
desensitized to
actual horrors of
death, which are
more mundane.
They're not so
dramatic as beheaded
babies.
Yeah, because
people,
a baby is
short, but
decapitated babies.
There's like a
knife blade that
goes into the
skin, the
trachea, the
flesh, the
spine.
Decapitated.
You can just
like, he's
dead.
No, you go
in, this is
the hate, so
much hate.
You have made
me laugh at
the darkest
shit.
You're such a
beautiful person.
Your dark
humor is just
wonderful.
But you see,
this happened to
Jews before.
Remember, blood
libel?
Where did the
blood libel come
from?
It comes from
these rumors
that Jews
suck baby's
blood.
This is what
they did to
them.
That's what's
in the cup.
That's a very
delicious baby
cup.
Delicious baby
blood.
But this is
what you do.
You tell people
something, and it
happened with the
Native Americans
when they were
here, when they
went in, and
they wipe a
whole tribe.
And Jewish
people, one of
the minorities that
were persecuted and
had this used
against them for a
very long time, and
it is terrible, and
it's terrifying, that's
been used again.
So I just did a
very lengthy debate
on Israel and
Palestine, and the
really painful thing
from that, there's
two historians, it
was deep, it was
thorough, it was
fascinating, but in
constantly asking about
sources of hope or
solutions, there was
none.
There was a sense of,
like a really dark
sense of, it's
hopeless, from both
sides, it's
hopeless.
So, you know, I
look to you for a
source of hope.
Is there any hope
here?
Solutions, short
term, long term?
Obama have kind of
summarized this
beautifully in his
book, he said, the
reason why the
Israeli-Palestinian
conflict is so
chronic, is one
side has so much
power, and the
other side have
absolutely no
power.
And that's
Obama, he said,
like, you have
Israel that
faith-based, they
don't listen to us,
because they are
supported by people
who are bigger than
the president, bigger
than the
administration, they
know that they
can.
I mean, like
Netanyahu was
caught on tape many
times saying, like,
he's basically, like,
belittling Americans,
like, we control
80% of the
population, we
don't care, this
has kind of, like,
nonchalant kind of
like, we have
them, and there's
nothing really that
compels Israel to
give up anything,
because at the end
of the day, what is
compromise?
Compromise is like, I
give something, you
give something.
Israel is not
giving anything, and
they project that on
you.
So, for example, how
many times have we
heard, like, oh,
Palestinians were
giving, like, four,
five, six, seven,
15 chances, and
they said no to
them, and yet, when
you read the
history, that's not
the case at all.
Like, for example, in
2000, the whole idea
about, like, Arafat
walked away from
Oslo, that didn't
happen, and there is
an incredible video
by, you know, what's
his name, Joe
Skorboro with
Misha, and they
were hosting her
father, Brzezinski,
he was the national
security advisor, and
Joe Skorboro said,
like, well, you know,
like, Arafat left the
Oslo court, and the
Palestinians, and then
Brzezinski said, like,
this is, like,
embarrassingly shallow.
It's like, listen, what
happened was, there was
a lot of catches on the
Oslo court, it was very
unfair to the
Palestinians, so Arafat
said, like, I agree, but
I need to take it to the
Arab capitals, and
they went to, and they
went to Sharm el-Sheikh,
they came to Egypt, and
he and Hilbarak went to
there, and then he had
Hilbarak left, because there
was election, and he
lost it, the Israel
Sharm came, and it was
destroyed.
This is one of the
reasons why people, it
is, it's kind of like,
facts don't matter as
much as what is the
narrative that has been
controlled.
But what were the
biggest barriers to
peace there?
Do you think it's
fundamentally, leaders
don't want a two-state
solution, or was there
nuanced, small
differences that, if
solved, could have led
to a two-state solution?
I mean, there was a,
maybe there was a
certain point when the
Israeli leaders were
more open to
compromise, but I
can't say that because
each time Israel gives
back land, it has to be
after some use of
force.
The 1973 war, the
Intifad, the first and
second, the casualties
in Gaza, they never give
up land willingly and
because of peace, because
if I have that much
military, I can do
whatever I want, why
would I give up
anything, I have that
much power, why would
America or China give
everything if they're so
powerful, and especially
if they have this kind of
open check from the
United States.
So it is really about
what can push Israel to
give up something, because
you are so much stronger
than me.
What could compel you to
give up something?
And this is why the
whole thing about like
trying to equalize
Palestinians and the
Israeli state and
government, it doesn't
make any sense.
So what is the source
of hope?
You know, Jon Stewart,
who will talk about it
from many angles,
somebody you admire, a
friend, he proposed a
two-state solution.
Look to the comedians for
hope.
Yes, well, everybody's
talking about the two-state
solution, but Israel has
said many times on
Netanyahu and
Venezuela, like, there
is going to be no-state
solution.
In the past, it's like,
even Naftali Bennett, he
came in on the hard
talk, it's like, yeah,
maybe in the past we
wanted two-state
solutions, but like,
look, every time we give
them land, they kill us,
so no-state solutions.
And they are openly
saying it.
That's perhaps rhetoric?
Rhetoric that is
supported by action.
Because look at what
they're doing in the
West Bank that you said.
They are cutting it,
illegal settlement,
piecemealing it.
So how, if you have an
intention at all to give
them anything, why would
you keep doing this?
And you've called it a
bunch of little Gazas.
Yeah.
It's a nice little picture
of what's happening.
Yeah, yeah.
Piecemealing it, dum,
dum, dum.
Because it is, what
happened in the past four
months, the Palestinians have
been microdosing on it for a
very long time.
Little by little.
Little by little.
And we would shout every
time when it gets too much
and then we shut down and
then little by little.
But this time it was hard.
It was hard to see the
blatant oppression.
And the world said, maybe the
Hamas Ministry of Health are
giving us the bad numbers.
Maybe it's just human shields.
And I laugh.
There's 13,000 babies killed.
Does that mean that there are
13,000 military targets hiding
in their diapers?
Because it is so, it doesn't
make any sense to kill that
baby.
It's like, oh, oops.
It is out of our heads.
It's hard to know what to do
with those numbers.
I mean, I, it's just one baby
is enough.
But you know what happens?
When you hear so many numbers,
numbers become numbers.
And you become so desensitized.
And this is why there's a
difference between saying 13,000
Palestinian kids did.
It's like Mila Kohane, an
Israeli baby, 10 months old.
She was killed in her crib.
And this is what we hear from
CNN.
We never hear a story about a
Palestinian kid.
That's why, thank you for giving
me the space, for saying the
names of the Palestinian
children that were killed just
for four weeks.
Like, it's, it's because humans
needs context.
They need depth.
They need like a 3D look at what
they can look at.
But if you just give them numbers,
oh, they don't mean anything.
Is there some degree to where
both leaderships, Hamas, PA,
Palestinian Authority, Israel,
all want war?
Like, perpetual war to, to
remain in power?
There is, that's, that's an
interesting question.
But, I mean, let's admit
something.
The Arab regimes in the, in the
area have actually used the
problem of Palestine in order
to stay in power, in order to
take, get excuses, like, have
this enemy.
And Israel, the Israeli
government has used that too.
And maybe the Palestinians.
But, but my problem with, when
going into discussion, this is
that the, the two sides are not
equal.
They're not equal in power.
They're not equal in influence.
And they're not equal in
international support, especially
with the United States.
So, Palestinians can, the people
who have made changes in history
were the people with power.
The people who would have the
ability to change things.
And the Palestinians cannot really
change anything.
What, what can they change?
Well, is that true, though?
Okay.
With, uh, how much support the
Palestinian people have?
So, just like you said, there's a
lot of Arab states that are, uh, that
will voice their pro-Palestinian
position in order to distract from
their, the own corruption and
abuses of power in their own
countries.
But, you know, I don't think if
you look globally, there's a
complete asymmetry of power and
public opinion here.
Maybe in the press, in the West.
But if you look globally.
But do they have the same kind of
weapons that the Israeli have?
So, literally power?
No.
There's a major asymmetry of
literal power.
Some money to their leaders.
Does that make any difference?
I mean, and also when you say
Palestinian authority, which
authority are you talking about?
Hamas?
Or the Palestinian authority who
has been kind of a domesticated
kind of like a puppy for the
Palestinians who basically have
been an informant for their own
people.
And this is the thing also that
kind of like really pissed me off
when I was hearing the thing about
these things.
Like Hamas, Hamas, Hamas, Hamas.
Like we have Netanyahu on tape
confessing that he supported Hamas,
gave him money in order.
To cause factions
between the Palestinians.
So, it's just like,
it doesn't make,
you just told me this.
You just told me this.
You just told me Netanyahu
support Hamas.
Like, what?
Hamas?
Like, what?
I mean, to which degree does Netanyahu
represent
the Israeli people?
Is a real question.
To which point does Trump or Biden
represent the American people?
And to which degree does Hamas
represent the Palestinian people?
It does.
None of these represent it,
but who have the power in order
to make the decisions?
It really comes down to that.
Well, who does have the power?
You're giving a lot of power to Israel.
Yeah.
But the Arab League-
What should Hamas do?
What do you think we should Hamas do?
Continue doing what a charter says,
which is trying to destroy Israel.
And the role of the Palestinian people
is to overthrow Hamas
and get a more moderate leadership, probably.
And the role of the Israeli people
is to vote out
this right-wing government
and elect a more moderate leader
so that there's a chance at peace
with two moderate leaders.
So before Hamas even got
to control 2006 Gaza,
there was Ariel Sharon in 2000.
And we all know what happened.
And Ariel Sharon kind of like
came up with this amazing policy
of like breaking people's kids' bones
in the Intifada.
So,
Hil Baraki was also like,
I mean,
which one is moderate?
I mean,
I think Hamas is a product
of what happened.
I mean,
we can-
If there was no apartheid
in South Africa,
there would be no NFC.
There would be no Nielsen Mandela.
If there were no Nazis in Paris,
there would be no French resistance.
And I'm not saying-
And again,
I'm not-
I don't want to be in a-
put in a position
to defend Hamas or anybody
because you know what that entails.
But
there are-
those are like-
Hamas,
again,
not defending them.
They went into
October 7th.
What was their-
why did they do that?
Like,
release our hostages,
the people in prison.
Because if you're talking about
people who are kidnapped,
Israel kidnaps people
every single day.
And when they had
the first exchange
on November 4th,
Israelis,
400 people,
three quarters of them
were women and children.
Why are those people in prison?
There's one in four kids
that are in prison
that stay in solitary confinement,
which is by international law
a form of torture.
and you're putting kids through that.
Is it possible-
so first of all,
ceasefire.
Yes.
And longer term,
is it possible for
Arab states
and the United States
to get together
and
with power
through diplomacy
enforce a solution?
It's a very, very ideal
solution,
but you know,
and I know,
that Arab states
don't really have the power.
All of the powers
are in the hands of America.
They have the power.
See, I would,
I think they have the power.
I don't-
Maybe they don't want to use it.
They don't want-
Maybe they don't want to use it.
Because there's a benefit,
like,
maybe there's a benefit.
The dark,
the dark sense I have
is that
a lot of people
win from
the suffering
that Palestinians
are going through
because they can
point to that
and distract from
corruption
in their own states.
And then,
obviously,
Iran can benefit also
from the same kind
of dynamic
distracting from
the authoritarian
nature of their regime.
Definitely,
but what is the core
of the problem here?
Is it the Arab states
using the suffering
or the,
actually,
the suffering itself?
And the suffering
comes from
people being displaced,
their homes
were taken away,
there are
7 million Palestinians
in diaspora.
7 million.
7 million went out there
and now they're living
in Canada
and America
and Europe.
They had homes there.
They cannot go back to.
1.7 million people
of the people in Gaza
don't belong in Gaza.
They were pushed
from other places.
The,
the piecemeal thing
of people are being,
you know,
in Germany,
I'm going to shift gear
a little bit,
it's going to be
a little bit of fun.
There is a,
there is a book
that I bought the rights to
and I want to turn it
into a movie.
And I bought,
I optioned the right
for two months,
for two years
in March of last year,
before October 7th.
After October 7th,
I bought the permanent right.
That book
is called
The Muslim and the Jew.
And it is written
by an author
called John L. Steinke.
I read an article
about this book
in 2016
and I chased that book
for rights
for seven years.
I didn't have
that much money
but I wanted that book.
And that book
was translated
into English
called Anna and Dr. Helmi.
And that book
tells the incredible story
under Nazi Germany
where Arabs
went in droves
to Berlin in 1920s
after the First World War
in the Weimar Republic
and they became
doctors and engineers
and journalists
for two reasons.
Number one,
it was dirt cheap,
very cheap
because of the inflation.
And two,
a lot of the Arab nationalists
didn't want to send
their kids
to England
or France
because they were
the occupiers.
And Dr. Helmi
was the hero
of that.
He's an Egyptian doctor.
And that's why
I kind of like
I personally
kind of connected
with him.
And he went
to medical school,
didn't find
a place to live
so he lived
in the Jewish ghetto
like many Arabs.
He didn't find
a school to work
at a hospital
to work in
so he worked
in a Jewish hospital.
So there was
a lot of the Arabs
who lived
with the ghetto.
And actually
the first director
of the Berlin mosque
was a Jewish convert
who converted
to Islam
and he was
a gay activist.
I'm telling you,
this is like
a crazy story.
And this is
not a fiction story.
This is actually
like a nonfiction.
It's written
actually based
on the documents
of the Nazis
in the Gestapo.
Dr. Helmi,
he was in this hospital
and the Nazis
came in
and they killed
and tortured
and beat up
the Jewish doctor
and they made him
the head of his department.
And now he's surrounded
by a Nazi doctor.
They didn't touch him
because he was an Arab.
There was kind of
like a thing
between Germany
and the Arabs
because they wanted
to appease to them
in order
to have
kind of
a
a
grassroot base
in the Arab world
where he want
to go next.
And this is why
1934,
1935,
the racial laws
of Nuremberg,
they had a name change.
First,
they were called
anti-Semitic.
Then they changed
into anti-Jewish
because also Arabs
were Semitic.
So they wanted
to appease the Arabs.
Now,
what happened
to Dr. Helmi
when that happened
to him?
He would go back
to the ghetto
and he would see
the apartments
next to him,
the Jewish apartment
become more
and more
and more
flooded with people
because they were
moving Jews
and pushing them
and putting them
together,
pushing them
to the side.
And each
each flat,
each flat,
each apartment
instead of one family,
it would have
three,
four,
six,
seven families.
And he was there
going at home
and he looked,
he was
he was there,
this is where
the people
he grew up with,
he lived with
and now
he's seeing
that kind
of discrimination
just because
he's an Arab.
And then
he started
to kind of
like atone
for,
like because
he felt
responsible
because he
wasn't treated
the same way
and he started
to go and
treat Jewish
people in their
homes because
they couldn't
go to hospitals.
And then
one family
gave them
his daughter.
It's like,
this is Anna,
save her.
he took her,
pretended that
she's his niece,
put a hijab around
her,
taught her Arabic,
called her Nadia,
my daughter's name
by the way.
And they,
and he hid her
in plain sight
for seven years
in front of the Nazis
as his nurse.
It's an incredible story.
And then,
not just that he went
to prison
and then he went
out and he formed
with the Arab people
that was in prison
with him
a network
that saves 300 Jews.
See that kind
of story?
This is the Jews
that were living
in the Arab world.
I'm not saying
that the Jews
living in the Arab world
was living
like an incredible life.
Of course,
as a kind of
minority,
they did not have
like the full power
of their full,
you know,
advantages of the ruling.
That's normal.
But we had this
kind of a relationship
before Israel
was erected in 1948.
and then,
of course,
everybody looked
at Jews
at the time
as fifth column
and of course
the nationalistic
regimes used that.
And this is why
what Biden said
was very dangerous
when he said,
if there is no Israel,
no Jew in the world
will feel safe.
You are the leader
of the free world.
You are the president
of the United States.
Do you mean
that you are telling me
that the Jews
in your country,
in the United States
of America
are not safe?
That is wrong
on two levels.
Number one,
America historically
and right now
is more safe
to Jews in the world
than more than anybody.
They are safer
than the Jews in Israel.
They never had pogroms
or the Holocaust
like Europe.
They live here
a good life,
not perfect life
but they are better.
Second of all,
if you are the president
and you are telling
that a group of people
will not feel safe
unless there is
a different one,
you are already feeding
into their fifth column.
They are like,
you are Russian.
You come from there.
And there is a group
of laws in the Russian
constitution that says
that Russia will protect
its citizens
everywhere in the world.
What happens
if the president says like,
oh, you are Russians.
You are protected
by your own country.
You don't belong here.
This is terrible.
Yeah, you are right.
That is actually
an indirect threat.
Yes.
You know,
even saying Muslims
cannot feel safe
in America
or something like this.
That means like
that is a threat.
But what would
a Jewish person
in Beverly Hills
or in Brooklyn
feel if he hears that?
You are already
telling people
you need to be loyal
to Israel.
I mean,
Israel is a foreign country.
I am sorry,
but Israel is a foreign country.
Israel is a client country
that we sponsor
and it should actually
be responsible
and held accountable
for what they do.
You mentioned 1948,
the Nakba,
but before that,
41, 39, 41 to 45,
the Holocaust.
What do you do?
What do you do
with the Holocaust?
Like what,
how do you incorporate
into the calculus
of what's,
Oh, it's terrible.
Of morality
that leads up
to the displacement
of 700,000
Palestinians
from the land?
How do you work that out?
Well, it is terrible,
but like,
I mean,
what the systemic
annihilation
of Jewish people
under the Nazi,
that is like
a carefully engineered,
thought for,
planned.
It was terrible.
It was like,
kind of like
the human ingenuity
put into like
something that is very evil.
But also,
it is not just,
not just that happened.
We need,
we need to remember
that Otto Frank,
the father of Anna Frank,
has his visa,
refugee visa,
rejected by the United States.
There's a lot of people
that were rejected
by the United States,
rejected by other
European countries,
and then they were
pushed into Palestine.
So you have to put yourself
between like,
and the Arabs,
okay,
we're sitting here,
okay,
come,
and then,
all right,
you don't have a home
or a country anymore.
That,
that,
that,
that,
that kills you.
I mean,
you see,
if I'm not an Arab,
and you give me
that kind of piece
of like,
terrible human treasure,
like,
oh my God,
that is terrible.
But then,
I'm an Arab,
like,
yes,
I'm so sorry,
but what do I have
to do with that?
What,
why is that my fault?
The persecution
of the Jewish people
have started
since the 8th
and 9th century
because they,
they were like,
they were first
anti-Christians,
they were like,
criminal immigrants,
they were like,
conspirators,
this,
this,
this is,
this is,
this is the anti,
like,
people kind of like,
as if Europe
kind of like,
throw anti-Semitism on us.
You understand that?
Like Henry Ford,
Henry Ford,
he's one of the biggest anti,
he was,
he was the,
the inspiration
for Adolf Hitler.
this is how anti-Semitic
Henry Ford was.
And you,
kind of like,
gloss over that.
And then suddenly,
we as Arabs
have to pay the price.
Why?
Several questions
I want to ask there.
So,
but one,
just zooming out,
why do you think
hatred of Jews
has been such a
viral kind of idea
throughout human history?
Oh,
it's very easy.
It all started from Christ.
They killed Christ.
They killed Christ.
They killed Christ.
They're the killer of Christ.
That's a very sexy story.
That was so,
yeah,
that was,
and that stayed for years.
That stayed for centuries.
I'm sorry.
Centuries.
They're the killer of Christ.
And then,
the Catholic Church
did not allow usury,
but they would work in usury.
So,
they become rich.
Now,
the people that we hate,
that we accuse them
of feeling Christ
are becoming rich.
So,
that's envy now.
And that's,
and that's hatred.
I mean,
when you talk about
ghettos,
ghettos were
not just
as secluded parts
in cities,
sometimes those ghettos
were outside the cities.
Jews were not even allowed
to work a lot of professions.
They were not allowed
to get into
the syndicates
of certain
professions.
So,
they had to go work usually
and they got rich.
So,
the people hated them more.
The first,
the first crusade
didn't kill a single Muslim.
All they killed were Jews.
And when they finally arrived
to Jerusalem,
all they killed were Jews.
They almost annihilated
the Jews.
So,
it was all this.
And of course,
you have the dark ages.
Who do you need
as an enemy?
The Jews.
Right?
They're the killer of Christ.
There's nothing bigger
than this.
And then,
you fast forward.
I mean,
one of the things
that I found out
that was very,
very,
very,
very crazy
when Henry Ford
imported
the protocols
of the elders
of Zion.
By the way,
in the Arab world,
protocols of the elders
of Zion
is so popular.
For obvious uses.
And for the people
who don't know it,
it's kind of like
a bunch of stories
and basically,
it's like
the Jews saying,
like,
we're going to control
the world
and we're going to do this
and we're going to do that
and whatever.
What people don't know
that is a work
of plagiarism.
It was plagiarized
from a satirical play
called
Conversation in Hell
between
Machiavelli
and Montesicchio.
And it is just,
it is,
and it is kind of like
based on one chapter
or one scene
or something.
It's crazy.
But it's crazy
how sticky it is.
Yes!
That's weird.
Yes!
Because if I hate you,
that's great.
But if I have a story
to support that hate,
that's even better.
But it's like
one of the best stories,
one of the stickiest stories
about hate.
Of course.
It's probably
the most effective.
It's like
there,
you know,
a lot of peoples
hate other groups
of peoples,
but that's just like
the sexiest story
of them all.
Because humans
need
to concentrate
their
hate,
their insecurities,
and their shortcomings
into one thing
that they can practice
that hate on.
If it's a person,
great.
If it's a group,
even better.
How do you,
into this calculus,
incorporate that
that group
is pretty small?
There's 16 million
Jews worldwide.
And you mentioned
how is that
the responsibility
of the Arab peoples?
You know,
everybody should be
to blame for not
taking in Jews
after the Holocaust.
But,
you know,
the reality of the situation,
if we look at
the religious slice
of this,
there's 16,
let's say,
million Jews,
and there's,
I don't know how many Muslims,
but 1.8 billion?
Yeah, yeah.
How do you,
that difference,
that 100x difference,
do you incorporate that
into the sense
that Jews in Israel
might feel
for,
you know,
the existential dread
that we might,
this small group
might be destroyed?
Jews in Israel
have every right
to feel afraid
because of everything
that they see
and everything
they've been told,
everything.
But,
I would say
that the calculus
or the numbers
doesn't,
like,
of course,
like being small,
it is,
of course,
a factor,
but it is never
an excuse
in order to take
something that's not yours.
It's saying like,
hey,
you have 300 million Americans
and we have 52,
52 says,
give one state
for them,
there's too many of them,
too many of you,
just give them something.
You know,
it's like the fact
that I have something
and you don't
and there's too many of me
and there's little of you,
and then you come in
and it's not really
Israel against the Arab world
or the Muslim world
because we have to say
we fucked up big time,
but it is
the Palestinians
that are in
and they are being
subjected to that,
so it's not really
like the 1.8 billion
and the 16 million Jews
and the 1.8 billion,
if you look at them,
some of them,
like,
don't care,
some of them live
into regimes
that are being oppressed
and those regimes
are supported
by the United States
in order.
it's easier for me
as an empire
to take what I want
from this country
if I control the dictator
and I tell them
that his power
is linked
to my ability,
to my desire
to keep him in power,
so that's why
you have a total disconnect
between people in power
in the Arab
and the Muslim countries
and the people themselves.
Can you speak
to the 1948,
you know,
because you mentioned
taking land
that's not yours,
maybe parallels
with Native Americans?
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
There was a war.
The Jewish minority
fought that war
against several Arab states
and won that war.
how do we incorporate
that into the Catholics?
Yeah,
well,
that's also
a misconception,
like a misinterpretation
of the event
because it seems
that it was
like the small,
it's kind of like
a David and Goliath
kind of story.
But,
and I was always like,
how did we,
how did we not do that?
but in reality
with numbers,
I can't pull it up right now
but if you look
at the numbers,
the number of tanks,
the planes,
the trained officer
because those,
many of those Jewish fighters
came from World War II.
They were seasoned fighters
and they actually
had more planes,
more tanks,
more artillery,
more pieces of weapon,
more of the,
all of the other combined
because they,
the people that really,
like fought was Egypt
and you have to say,
1948,
some,
many of those Arab countries
didn't even have
their independence
so they would kind of like
send like a cavalry
or like a people in horses
but in fact,
the whole idea was like,
we won against
seven nations.
Sure.
The numbers were totally
in Israel's favor.
They were better equipped,
they were better trained,
they were,
they had like more tanks
and,
and artillery
and,
and,
and,
and airplanes
and they planned,
planned better
so they,
yes,
they deserved the win.
Because they planned
and we did it.
So to you,
there was an asymmetry
of military power
even then.
But what do you do
with the fact
that the war was won?
So like,
if you look at the history
of the world,
there is,
wars fought
over land.
I agree with you.
This has been
the history of humanity.
Humanity was not
living peacefully.
It's all about like
people taking people
and killing people
taking their land.
But there's two
difference here.
Mostly,
usually,
usually,
the conquering power.
Like,
for example,
England.
They had England
and they conquered
you in India.
And after the occupation
finished,
they go back to England.
France,
Greece,
Persia,
Egypt,
they were like,
go in,
expand,
and shrink,
expand,
and shrink.
So it's all been there.
What is different here
is exactly what happened
in Australia
and the United States.
A group of people
came in,
not just to conquer
and take the land,
but to completely change
to replace them
and get them out
or kill them.
It was very easy
with the Indians
because they had smallpox,
there was no social media,
they did it over 400 years,
they had time.
The problem is,
what is happening right now,
I agree with you,
it might not be that new,
but we are there
and we're watching it happen.
And so now we have to confront
the realities of war
and empire
and conquering.
Because you know
what's the problem?
We told ourselves
we can be better.
Yeah.
After 1948,
there was the universal
declaration of human rights.
It means that
we are going to be better humans.
We're not going to kill
and take land,
we're not going to displace people,
we're not going to
take people for what they are.
There's now laws,
there's international laws,
there's international
court of justice,
and now Israel
is giving the middle finger
to all of them.
So isn't in some
fundamental way
this whole thing
that we're talking about
is us as a civilization
on social media,
in articles and books,
in newspapers,
we're just trying to figure out
who are we as a people?
I think the shock
came from the fact
that we thought
that we as humanity
have evolved
and now we are,
what have actually changed
is that we became
more advanced
in effectively
eradicating
a group of people
because of the technology
that we have
and the fact
that we can do that
under the eyes
and ears
of all the world
and we are watching it
under our phone,
we have a window,
we have a window
to the war.
You know,
1945,
people didn't know
what was happening
in Japan.
and we heard about it
on the radio.
Like, oh, today,
our forces came in
and they launched.
We don't know.
We heard it.
Maybe we saw pictures
after that
and it's quite edited.
But now we see it.
We're into it.
And it is so much
for our psyche
and we can't get it.
And it's like,
and the Arabs say like,
guys,
you told us
we came to the West
because we were told
that we were equal.
You know the
Universal Declaration of Rights?
One of the co-authors,
his name is
Stefan Hassel.
He's a Jew.
He is a survivor
of the Holocaust.
And you know
what happened to him?
He died, by the way,
a couple of years ago.
But he,
before he died,
he was canceled
by so many people
and he was called
anti-Semitic
because he joined
the BDS movement
and he spoke
about Palestine.
That is the author
of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights
that we value
so much
and we think
that that would
define our humanity.
But then we go in
and we are shocked.
It's like,
maybe we were
sold something.
Maybe that was
false advertisement.
You shared a tweet
by an account
called Awesome Jew.
It reads,
Islamo-Nazi
comedian,
Bassem Yusuf.
Comedian in quotes,
by the way.
Yeah, yeah,
of course,
because I'm not funny.
So Islamo-Nazi
comedian Bassem Yusuf
is now denying
the October,
I love that you retweeted
this like twice.
Yeah.
I guess suppose
because it's advertising
some upcoming dates.
He's now denying
October 7th massacre.
The Muslim radical,
Bassem Yusuf,
is notorious
for his radical,
radical said twice,
for his radical hatred
of Jews and Israel.
In a recent clip,
he claims that the atrocities
committed on October 7th
are fabricated
or are looking
for all information
regarding any
of his upcoming shows
as well as the venues
which host the scumbag
where Jews feel safe
around this Nazi.
Nazi.
Yeah.
I've never,
this is my first time
interviewing a Nazi.
It's my first time
I actually get called a Nazi.
First time.
First time.
I have been called
so many things in Egypt.
So,
in Egypt,
I was called
a CIA operative,
a Mossad spy,
a secret Muslim brotherhood,
a secret Jew,
a secret Jew.
There was also an article
that was published
about me
in the state-run media
saying in details
how Bassem
has been
recruited
by CIA agents
using John Stewart
in order to use satire
to bring down the country.
I was a Freemason,
an infidel,
a member
of the
Knights of the Temple,
something like that.
And there's actually
people,
the Muslim brotherhood
on their show
they would say like,
he is actually an Israeli
and they have forged
an Egyptian ID
for him to come.
So,
it's kind of like
when I guess
I said,
I had,
I left all of that behind
and I come here
it's like boom,
anti-Semitic Nazi.
Damn.
I mean,
I really covered everything.
I don't know what else.
I mean,
I think I have,
it's kind of like
I'm collecting PhDs.
I'm just like getting
like all of these credits.
How do you deal with that?
How do you deal
with the attacks?
I mean,
this goes back
to the decision
to do the interview
with Piers Morin.
Like,
how do you like
psychologically
do all of it?
These kind of attacks,
at the beginning
it's fun.
But when they
evolve
into something else,
so for example,
I was like laughing
off all of the stuff
about calling me this,
calling me that,
but then when people
would come in
and thread the theater
because it's not the people
who are making
those accusations
that would come to you,
it's the people
that will hear
and see those
accusations
and act on it.
And there's always
the fear of like,
I mean,
we have in the Airboard
a lot of things
that somebody
would hear something
about someone else
and go kill him
and whatever,
like anybody else.
So there's this,
but somehow
I want to make fun of it.
And it is,
to be called
an Islamo-Nazi,
it must have been
the funniest thing ever
because it does
an Islamo-Nazi.
Wow!
How did you,
how did you,
and a radical Muslim,
me,
a lot of Islamists
hate me.
They don't call me
a secular infidel.
So it's kind of like,
who am I?
Maybe I have
an identity crisis
and I need the people
to tell me
who I am.
Hmm.
Let's go to the beginning.
Let's go to your childhood.
You grew up in Egypt,
Cairo,
Egypt.
My childhood.
Well,
let's figure out
how you came to be
who you are.
How did you become
an Islamo-Nazi?
Yeah,
exactly.
It's a long journey.
I do like the swastika tattoo
on your ass,
which I didn't.
How did you see my ass?
You know what you did.
I know what you did.
It was very inappropriate.
You're also,
obviously,
a sexual harasser.
Is this like a me too?
Yes.
Is this like 2020?
Someone will come up
and it's like,
okay,
we have it.
Flip it.
This is your me too moment.
All right.
So,
Cairo,
what's a,
what's a,
what's a memory,
defining memory,
positive or negative
from your childhood?
My memory in general
was,
was cool.
It was cool.
I went to a Catholic school
until the,
for,
for primary school,
the elementary.
And by the time I'd done,
there was kind of like
a start of a decline
into the public education.
And my parents,
they're like middle-class
working officials.
My dad was a judge.
My mom was a business professor.
And she's,
and they were like,
one of the people's like,
they didn't have that much luxury.
My dad like drove like
a regular like car,
a Fiat,
which is like the equivalent
for the Lada
in Russia.
Thank you for speaking
to the audience.
Yeah.
The Lada.
And,
well,
so would that be a good car?
No,
no,
it's kind of like,
kind of like the minimum.
And my dad was not like a man
of,
of,
of showing off.
Whatever money they would do,
they would put it for us.
Education,
give everything to their kids.
This is kind of like
a very,
very typical,
mentality.
And I'm sure it's in many cultures,
but like we grew up with this,
like everything that we have
is left for kids.
So they would put us
into education.
So,
middle school,
that was the big,
1986 was the beginning
of the explosion
of like international schools,
private schools.
And these schools
were relatively expensive.
Of course,
now with today's currency,
it's ridiculous.
But at that time,
it's very expensive.
So I went to that school.
And from,
there was this moment,
it was like,
you feel less
right away.
I mean,
of course,
there's the regular bullying
and stuff,
but it's,
it's not that.
It's kind of like,
you always feel less.
You don't have that much
of like purchasing power
that can allow you
to go to the same outings
or travel with them.
And even like how you dress,
it would be modest
compared to them.
So I was always an outsider.
I was,
and I compensated with that
by two things,
being good at school
and being good at sports.
So I was not like
the typical nerd
who was just like,
I was like,
I was playing football,
basketball,
crattering field.
And I was like,
one of the people
would like to have me
on their team.
So I wasn't like,
kind of like,
ah,
he's a nerd,
get him away.
But I never had a girlfriend.
I never had any kind of,
I was not boyfriend material.
So that's kind of like,
it leaves remnants in you
that you're not good enough.
But psychologically,
you were always,
like when you were by yourself,
you felt like an outsider.
Yes,
all the time.
And that's why it's kind of like,
I'm more of a loner.
I don't have a lot of,
what you call friends.
I have acquaintances people
that I do stuff with,
but I don't have like the people
that I tell them everything.
When I went to medical school,
now medical school
is a different animal.
Medical school is where
all of the people
from the public schools go.
Public schools are very,
like,
they are not,
they don't have like,
they don't have English language
as like a strong,
but they are brilliant people.
So,
because they would mostly
study in Arabic.
But they are brilliant
and they are very,
very,
very smart,
very sharp.
But then I'll go there.
Now I am the sissy boy
from the private school
that comes into medical school.
Now I'm an outsider again.
And I go into,
I go into residency
and I pick up salsa.
So now I'm a salsa teacher
while being a cardiothoracic
surgery resident.
And I'm an outsider
for the third time
because in salsa
I'm kind of like
the respectful doctor
and in resident
I'm the guy
who is just dancing.
So,
and everything,
of course,
as a medical resident
you will mess up a lot.
So they would always like,
oh,
because you're a dancer,
oh,
because you don't care
about medicine,
you just like want to go there
and dance with women.
Which is true.
Yeah.
But,
and so,
all of my life
I felt that
I'm an outsider.
I'm not part of the team.
I'm not part of the core group.
So,
and I have a story
that you would love.
I,
right before my residency,
I was so much into salsa.
So I,
I had all of the money
and then you saved that
and I was working in summers
and I was doing extra jobs
and I took that money
and I went to Miami
in order to,
to learn
Rueda de Casino,
which is the Cuban
kind of like circle salsa
kind of thing.
And I,
and I went there
in the summer
of 2001.
Yeah.
And my return ticket
was 9-12.
2001.
The universe is a sense of humor,
I gotta tell you that.
No,
no,
9-12.
I was supposed to be on a plane
coming back to Egypt.
What happens?
Thank God
I ran out of money
10 days before that.
So it's like,
all right,
I changed my ticket
and I came back.
9-11.
I'm kind of like,
my mom,
wake up!
Wake up!
What?
What?
It's like,
and I see like the two tower phone
and it's like,
my mom's like,
oh,
you're here,
you're here,
you're here.
Thank God,
you're here.
That,
and I was like,
I was like,
I should,
I could have been in Guantanamo
right now.
Yeah.
Flying at 9-12.
But by the way,
I was in Miami.
They were,
when they went to the,
the flying,
the flying school.
In Miami.
So,
I mean,
I had like,
9-11 written all over my face.
You'd be all over the news.
All over the news.
And mama's like,
what?
He went there to dance salsa?
I didn't know that salsa
is like a name for terrorists.
Why salsa?
Why,
why did that attract you?
And what,
like,
can you explain what salsa is?
So I,
I mentioned to you offline
that I've been doing
a little bit of tango,
trying to learn it.
Yeah.
Like,
you know,
samba,
salsa,
pachata,
meringue,
it's kind of like Latin dances.
And it's like,
you know,
I don't know how you describe salsa.
Couple dance on Latin beat.
And I,
I did it because
I,
I once I,
and I talk about that about my,
in my Arabic standup comedy,
not the English.
I talk about like how I was,
you know,
I didn't have like really
like a great,
like social life.
And I,
my friends went there one day
and then I go,
go into a place
which called,
it was called El Ghetto Negro.
No,
no,
it was called Big Fat Black Pussycat.
And then I think they,
they,
they thought it will be
like racist or something.
So to change it to El Ghetto Negro.
Anyway,
so.
Great,
great.
I know.
Great decision.
I know.
So I went there,
it's like,
damn,
music and women.
And my doctor,
a doctor dancing salsa.
That is a chick magnet.
Yeah,
100%.
We know,
we do,
you know,
we do everything for,
for that.
All of humans.
Even power,
even money.
All the wars we've been talking about.
Women.
At the end of the day.
The approval from the other sex.
We are,
we are babies.
We,
we are terrible people.
Yeah.
So of course,
like,
I mean,
that was like,
that was like great.
But then I,
as,
as a nerd,
I went in so hard.
And now I became a salsa teacher.
Yeah.
And I earned more money from salsa,
more than I did as a doctor.
I didn't know this part of you.
That's hilarious.
I know.
I was,
I was making,
I was making killing amount of money,
like huge amount of money.
And I,
I was just like,
you know,
I would go finish my,
my,
my shift.
And I go to the salsa class.
And sometimes I would have like 70 people in my salsa class.
Oh wow.
I had like the biggest salsa class in Egypt in the,
in the beginning of 2000 and it was fantastic.
And it was an outlet because you go there and there's the shifts and people dying.
Damn.
And he got salsa.
You must've been good.
I was okay.
I was cool.
I was fun.
There were people better than me,
but I,
I,
I have a thing about teaching.
I like teaching people.
So you,
you mentioned heart surgery.
So what,
what motivated you to become a doctor?
It was a choice of exclusion.
I mean,
there's nothing else you can do with these high grades other than doctor and engineering.
I hate math.
So go be a doctor.
This is the Middle East.
What do you expect?
It's either like I,
in my joke and my show,
I said like,
there's,
it can be one of three things in the Middle East,
a doctor,
an engineer,
or a disappointment.
It is,
that is the choices that you have.
So years after.
I'm a disappointment.
You're damn good at it though.
That's a hard path though.
Yeah.
And it's,
it's a fascinating one.
Can I tell you something?
Yes.
That actually I was thinking about,
why did I actually go into medicine?
And why did I always choose the hardest thing,
although I didn't love it?
And I have to tell you,
I had an epiphany only two weeks ago.
And I don't know if that's actually related or not.
You know,
remember when I told you I went to this school
and I didn't have that much money
and I didn't have the luxury of time or money
to be with those people and do what they do.
So by the time I finished school
and everybody was going to university,
oh,
everybody in my school went to the AUC,
the American University in Cairo,
of course,
private,
like American education,
party time,
like,
I mean,
of course they're brilliant and everything,
but they have,
yeah,
they have a different,
you know,
social life.
And part of me,
now I,
I kind of like,
I realized that just like very,
very recently.
Maybe I went to the hardest school ever
so I don't have space to use other than studying.
Because if I have that much space,
what I'm going to do with it?
I don't have that much freedom.
I don't have that much money.
I'm not,
I can't compete with those people going out.
So maybe I need a solid excuse
that I'm in a place
where I don't have that much of a spare time.
Is it also possible,
I like how this is a therapy session
where we're psychoanalyzing it.
Is it also possible
that you always just pick the hardest thing
you could possibly do?
Maybe.
But,
maybe that's the Piers Morgan thing too.
Like,
what is,
maybe,
but like when I left Egypt
and I came here,
I still had the choice
to go back to medicine.
Sure.
But I hated it.
I hated it.
Medicine traumatized me.
The amount of like,
you give up,
you know my,
my brother in Egypt,
he had a daughter.
She's a brilliant basketball player.
She is in the national team.
Amazing.
I would,
I used to play basketball
also in the Egyptian league,
but I never,
I was kind of like,
my favorite position in the court
was the bench.
And,
I was not as good as her,
but she,
and then,
and then he,
it was time for her
to go into,
into college.
And he,
he didn't talk to me
for six weeks.
I said,
tell me,
what's happening to Farida?
Which college?
Like,
I didn't want to tell you.
She went into medicine.
I said,
what?
Medicine?
Why did he do?
Because he knows how I hated it.
I was traumatized.
I said,
and I said like,
dude,
she's a basketball player.
Make her go like
to an easy school.
So that's kind of,
it's fine.
You still did it.
You still did it.
I still did it,
but I don't know,
is it because of the difficulty
or because,
because of what I told you,
maybe I needed something.
Maybe because I was not
very confident
in my social life.
So I needed a distraction
not to be,
to have that much
of a social life.
Oh,
wow.
Okay.
You understand?
Yeah.
Uh-huh.
So it's,
it's kind of loud
because I will always
have an excuse.
I'm studying.
I have something.
I have exams.
And I don't know,
I kind of like
self-sabotaged
my own thing
because I couldn't compete
with,
with those people
on,
on the outing
and the money
and whatever.
So I need an excuse
to be like,
oh,
he's a doctor.
He's studying.
At least in your own mind,
you couldn't compete.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I always felt
as less
because I mean,
I didn't have
any girlfriends
in school.
I had very late in life
and everything
to me came to life.
So I always felt,
even stand-up comedy,
it came very late
to me in life.
So I always feel
that I'm not good enough.
I feel that
I didn't spend
the time
of to build
the foundation
that other comedians do.
So I always feel
that I am too lucky.
I always feel
that this is
a fleeting thing.
and when I went
had the height
and the fall
in Egypt
when I went
like the top
of everything,
I was like so famous
and then everything
was taken away from me.
That's like,
ah,
you see,
I told you
that happens
when you don't
build foundation,
you fall.
So I always feel
that I am not good enough
or if I am in a position
where people think
I am deep inside,
I am not.
You know that
I have a speech impediment
that I was not meant
to be a TV presenter.
I have an,
in Arabic,
it's very obvious.
I cannot roll my R's.
I cannot say er,
I cannot roll it.
So in Arabic,
like Spanish,
it's very obvious.
So when I did
my first video
on the internet
that made me famous
and then I got
my television deal
back there in Egypt,
my partner at the time,
he took the video
and he went to a producer
and I said like,
are you giving me
a guy with a lisp?
He couldn't,
he should,
that's why when I came
on television,
I was the first ever
guy with a lisp.
I had two things
going for me.
The lisp
and the big nose
and I was always bullied
for two,
for these two
all the time
so I always felt less.
See,
but that's the foundation
of like creating
a great person.
Yeah.
Because if you're pretty,
you don't need
to do much.
I probably wouldn't
recommend it
but it is,
it is true that.
So if you are pretty,
do some disfigurement
that you're right.
Yeah,
find the flaws
and be extremely
self-critical
about them.
So you saw
Jon Stewart
on TV
for the first time
in 2003,
I believe.
How did that
change your life?
I was in a gym
and I was running
on the treadmill
and at that time
CNN was coming up
on like
on cable
and
I was watching
and there is
this studio,
I don't know what it is
so I put
the earphones on
and I started watching
and I was so
taken by this
that I stopped
the treadmill
and I just like
stood for the
20 minutes like this
on the treadmill
and then I left
and I just like
standing there.
I didn't know
what he was saying.
I didn't understand
what is Democrats,
what is Republicans,
what is,
what the,
those names that he's saying,
what is Fox News,
I don't understand
but I was fascinated.
There was something,
you know when you don't
understand the music
but you get the rhythm,
it was that.
I wonder what that is
that you saw.
It's like the timing
of the humor.
I mean there is,
John Stewart is one of a kind.
His biting
criticism of power
I would say
and also ability
to highlight
the absurdity of it all.
But you understand
I didn't understand
any of that.
I didn't understand
any of the references
but it is the rhythm,
the rhythm.
You know sometimes
when you even see
like a comedy
that is,
that's a language
you don't understand
but there's a rhythm.
Boom, boom.
There's something,
there's something
in the music.
So there's something
with the videos
and the pictures
and he and the face
and people reacting.
Yeah.
What is this?
What is this?
Yeah.
What is this?
And we had the global edition.
So I went to the YouTube
and I just like started
to kind of like
watch every single episode
that I can.
I said like,
do you think we can have
this in Egypt?
I said,
nah, never.
And then 2011,
I was like,
like I had a friend
of mine who was
also a YouTube partner
who was something new
at the time.
He said like,
let's do something
on internet.
Let's do something.
I said like,
I want to do John Stewart.
It's like,
do Ray William Johnson.
John Stewart will not work.
It's like,
I want to do John Stewart.
So that was in there.
Yeah,
it was in there.
And I did it
and it worked.
Can you talk about 2011?
I mean,
what is it?
The Arab Spring.
What is it?
People here in America,
you know.
Depends on which side.
Did something happen
or what?
Depends which side
of the equation you are.
Because for a lot of people,
it's a conspiracy.
It's American made.
It is the Muslim Brotherhood.
It's the Islamists.
It is Israel.
It is everything else
other than people.
Oh,
but it's a pure revolution.
It's a pure.
I think we put too much weight
on conspiracies.
I think it is normal human behavior
that then become,
get maybe used or abused
or taken advantage of
by other powers
and then the conspiracy starts.
But at the time,
the Arab Spring didn't start in Egypt.
It started in Tunisia.
Boaziz,
a fruit vendor,
like burned himself up.
Like the American soldiers
who did that a few days ago
and that kind of sparked
protests in Tunisia
and Ben Ali was a dictator
in Tunisia
for about like 20 years
and they removed him.
So suddenly,
it was kind of like
a domino effect.
So then Egypt started
and it just took 18 days
and you know,
people,
hindsight is 20,
20,
since I said like,
you know,
just Mubarak became
like a burden on the military
because the military
are the real rulers
of the country.
You might have a president
that kind of like
have certain powers
but at the end of the day
when the military sees
that a certain president
is like too much of a burden,
too much of like a,
you know,
so like they cut him off.
And Mubarak is the leader
of Egypt at the time.
At the time.
He was there for 30 years.
30 years.
By the way,
speaking of which,
because it was a joke
in your Mark Twain speech,
I got teary-eyed
just watching that.
That was just great.
You're like fucking great.
Like what you did
with the Mark Twain Awards
for Jon Stewart.
It's great.
I mean,
your comedy is great in general
and I wanted to go to your show.
I definitely will.
But that's like a little stroll
on the complete tangent
of just the masterful introduction
and celebration of Jon Stewart.
Anyway,
Mubarak.
Yeah.
30 years.
And it's a joke
that I say also like
Mubarak was a president
for 30 years.
Like,
oh my God,
you had a president
for 30 years?
Like it's the Middle East.
It's a very short first term.
It's like,
we're still warming up, baby.
We're still warming up.
And I thought like,
we need to plan ahead.
We need to plan our vacations,
our careers,
our jail time.
It's just like,
we need to.
That's great.
So,
so we had kind of like
the shortest,
nicest revolution,
18 days.
Yeah.
And we thought,
oh,
18 days.
We can change the country
in 18 days.
So,
but of course we were naive
and we had this kind of hope.
So,
Mubarak was removed.
There was an interim period
by the military,
took it for one year.
Then they did elections.
Muslim Brotherhood came to power.
They stayed for one year
and then the military removed them.
And in these three years,
my show started.
It started by kind of like
a YouTube video.
It became famous overnight.
Overnight.
Yeah.
Five to six videos,
boom,
went out.
And at that time,
I was waiting
to get my clearance
to go to Cleveland.
I was accepted in a fellowship
as a pediatric art surgery
in a hospital in Cleveland.
And I said,
all right,
I'm just going to do
a couple of videos.
Maybe I'm going to put it
on the internet
and maybe after a year or two,
after I come back
from the fellowship,
somebody will come,
hey,
why don't you write a show
that looks like John Stewart?
That was my mind.
Took five weeks.
I had my first contract
of television.
And overnight,
the exposure,
and over the next two,
three years,
I had 30 to 40 million people
watching every episode.
A lot of it's like,
wow,
that's too much.
That is terrifying.
Yeah.
Because it means
that there are 30 million people
who have an opinion about you.
Yeah.
You said there's a lot of aspects
of that sudden fame
that were just horrible.
It's toxic.
It's toxic.
It's unnatural.
It's unnatural.
When people started
to recognize me in the street
and take pictures,
I was awkward.
It's like,
why do you want
to have a picture with me?
Why?
Why is it?
Because I didn't feel
that I'm worthy enough
to be like a reward
for someone to have a picture.
And I didn't understand it.
I was actually,
I was kind of an ass sometimes
because people thought
it was arrogance.
No,
it was confusion.
And I remember like
my director
and my producers
and people around,
they always saw me
in a very bad mood.
It's like,
why are you not enjoying this?
It's like,
because this is not natural.
This is not natural.
This adoration,
this love,
and this have to end somehow.
And it did.
And because at a certain point,
you are human.
And people,
kind of the adoration
and the fun
and the love
comes because
they see you saying stuff
because you do your job,
basically.
Political satire
is basically us
making fun of politicians
in the media.
And a lot of people
have a lot of really strong opinions
about politicians
in the media.
So we came that,
we articulate that
and we give it to them
and we make them laugh.
So for them,
we made a great job.
So why don't you do more?
But you are limited.
And at a certain time,
you can't.
And at a certain time,
you're afraid
because we're humans.
Because you're afraid
about like,
if I continue speaking up,
not like something
will happen to me.
I'm kind of like,
maybe have some protection
because I'm,
people see me.
But a lot of the people
around you.
And we,
I've seen that.
So that's why
at a certain point,
it's like,
that's it.
I can.
I mean,
there's a lot of things
to say there,
but one of the difficult
things of fame
in your situation
is you're not just
having fun,
you're criticizing power.
Yeah.
And,
and,
and it is loved
by the people,
but it comes with a price
because at a certain price,
if the power is too strong
and you're not
into a situation
or a,
or a,
or a system
that allows that,
that gives you
that kind of safety.
So what happened?
What happened?
I was,
so when,
so the height
of our,
my fame,
when the Muslim brothers
were,
brotherhood was in power.
And at that time
they had their media
and I had one show.
I had like one hour
per week
and they had five channels
24 seven
and they were like,
you know,
I'm,
I'm busy.
John Stewart said it
beautifully once.
It's like,
we say shit
and you say shit
and we just say shit
better than you.
This is exactly
what John Stewart was like.
We're just better,
we're just better
at saying shit
back.
So,
so basically I had one hour
and they have like the five things
that they were like,
you know,
they're calling me
all kinds of names,
not just me,
like all their enemies,
you know.
And then I just had one hour
and I would kind of like
annihilate them
in one hour a week.
So at a certain point
they would,
they would even like
kind of be
the side with the army
against the,
the,
the,
the kind of the,
the liberal sectors,
whatever you call it.
And at a certain point
the army kind of like
flipped everybody.
What do you mean?
Like kind of like
they made,
they made,
they,
they,
yeah,
they removed the Muslim brotherhood,
they came to power
and we,
I,
I can't,
I have to say,
I admit it,
I supported that
in the beginning
because I had
daily threats.
I had,
I was actually interrogated
and arrested
under the Muslim brotherhood.
and I was in,
in an interrogation
for six hours
and they were asking
all day my jokes
and I used that
in my stand-up comedy
describing exactly
what happened
in the six hours
and it is so funny.
Okay,
well,
it's,
it's hilarious.
But what,
it's slowed down.
You were interrogated
by the,
the Muslim brotherhood.
The general prosecutor,
the general prosecutor
and it was made,
based because of complaints
by the,
the,
the officials
and the government
because in order
the general prosecutor
to do it,
it has to have
a high up mandate
to bring that person
to questioning.
So they went through
kind of official channels.
Oh yeah,
yeah,
absolutely.
So it's all,
yeah,
it was official.
It was legal.
Very legal.
So I went there
and,
and I,
and I asked
and,
and it's kind of like
a bunch of like
insulting Islam,
insulting president,
spreading false rumors
and I went there
and I,
and it was funny
because I,
I go into the building
where there's police officers
and there's judges
and all of them
are big fans of the show
and some of them
were taking pictures of me.
And then I'm sitting there
and it was the most
ridiculous interview ever
because he was asking me
about my jokes.
It's like,
what did you mean
by this joke?
And I was like,
nothing.
And it was there
for six hours.
He's just reading
your jokes back to you.
He was reading my jokes
and he's reading the jokes
and the junior judge
is sitting there
like cracking up.
It's like,
oh,
I remember that.
It's like,
guys,
guys.
That's dark.
It is,
it's kind of like,
and I'm laughing
but in the same time
it's like the whole city
situation is ridiculous.
But then at the end
I was released on bail
so I went back to my show
and I make fun of that.
And you have to be honest,
the Muslim Brotherhood
were in power
but Egypt was like
right out of the revolution
for there was kind of
like an equal
spread of power
between the people.
There was not like
someone who had come in
and just like,
the Muslim Brotherhood
didn't have that power yet
but there were kind of,
people saw that
they were moving
towards that.
And then the tension rose
and then there was
like a kind of
a confrontation
between them
and the army
and then a lot of people
were killed in the streets.
It was a terrible massacre.
And then suddenly
I am blamed
for all of that.
It's like,
you made fun of us
so now it made it easier
for people to kill us.
Like,
dude,
come on.
You're doing that to me too.
I just did it better than you.
And the fact that you sided
with the same people
that flipped against you,
that's not my fault.
Did you criticize
the army at all?
Yeah,
so after that show
I did like one episode
against the army
and I was canceled
the next day.
And then I went
to another channel,
did 16 episodes
in a different season
and it was,
I was walking on eggshells
and then that was canceled again.
And then my,
the production company
that was doing my show
that we severed ties
because we didn't have the show.
They had their offices raided.
They have people like
having death threats.
So I woke up one day,
11th of November, 2014
and my lawyer said like,
leave,
leave,
the country right now.
There is this legal case
that we,
that,
that they kind of like,
they're coming for you.
But I said like,
you cannot,
it was an arbitration case
and I lost
against my,
the channel
that basically canceled me.
And I said like,
I don't know,
but there's no jail time
in arbitration.
It's like,
yeah,
tell that to the judges,
leave.
So I,
I jumped on a plane.
The verdict was 12 noon,
11 November,
five afternoon.
I was on a plane
left Egypt
and I never came back
since then.
Was there a worry of,
non-legal things
like assassination?
I can tell you something.
I was so stressed
because of the show
and because of everything.
I,
sometimes I would wake up
in the morning
and I hope that like,
bullet will come
and finish everything
because I was so stressed.
It's like,
I would love
because I'm too much
of a chicken
to kill myself.
so I would like,
rather have someone
else do it for me.
So,
I,
I,
I,
I was,
I was so,
under so much pressure
and I remember the day
that like,
my show was cancelled
indefinitely,
the second time
under the army
and I was like,
I don't have to worry
about what kind of script
I have to write next week
because this is,
you know,
remember when you asked me
about like,
that tweet
about like,
all of those,
this accusation
doesn't bother me.
Infidel spy,
a secret Jew,
Zionist,
the Slamo Nazi,
that's bullshit.
What is really,
what really leaves a mark
is the criticism
to your craft
and your work.
So,
you're not funny.
Goes deeper.
Yeah,
certain things
get to you
better than others.
Especially if you have like,
a secret suspicion
that you are,
like maybe not funny,
maybe I'm not
because I was put into that
it's like,
because that toast
to your insecurities
like,
I know,
but you shouldn't
say it out loud.
You shouldn't say
the truth out loud.
You shouldn't say it out loud.
The truth is out loud.
But what about
the weight
of the responsibility
of speaking truth
to power?
So,
like walking on eggshells,
like what did that feel like?
Well,
after
the Muslim Brotherhood
were removed,
you have to understand
like when the military coup happened,
it was a very popular coup.
Like people loved the army.
In Egypt,
the army is more sacred
than the religion.
People loved the army.
But the army can go wrong.
So,
me going against the army
was,
I mean,
the Muslim Brotherhood
was not very popular.
They were popular
for their own bases.
But people accepted
the fact that
like we make fun of them.
But Sisi at that time,
he was a god.
And I used to go
to this high-class club
called Gizir Club.
And this is basically
kind of like the
kind of upper-middle-class,
upper-class kind of people.
And I,
during that year
of the Muslim Brotherhood,
I was the most popular ever.
People come,
yay!
When the military came in,
people were walking to me
like pointing their fingers
like don't speak about Sisi,
don't speak about the army.
Huh?
We love you now,
but don't you,
they would like that.
So I called John Stewart.
I was like,
I don't know what to do.
I don't know what to do.
And at that time,
all of the channels
were like closed down.
All of the,
I was the only one left
because it was difficult
for them to get rid of me
very quickly
because I was too popular.
It was kind of like
peace,
peace-mealing
kind of like go.
And I remember
I was like,
I don't know what to do.
He said like,
you don't have to do anything.
Just your safety comes first.
And he said,
but I can't.
I mean,
I've been doing that
for two years
and I cannot just like say,
bye-bye guys.
I have a responsibility.
I have a team.
I have people working for me.
And I also,
I cannot just like
disappear.
And he said
the most interesting thing ever.
And say,
if you're afraid of something,
make fun
about the fact
that you're afraid of it
instead of talking
about that something.
Brilliant.
Yeah.
So there was like
a whole episode
that we did not
even mention Cici.
We did not even mention it,
but the videos
did all the thing.
And the whole episode
was me
trying to avoid
talking about him.
And that,
that how the comedy
was created.
The fact that
I don't want to be here
and I don't know.
So he said like,
if you will be surprised
how people can relate
to that
because there was
a lot of kind of like,
oh,
we love him,
but we feel
we cannot speak.
So just by doing
the simple thing
about mirroring
the society,
that goes a long way.
And I kind of tried
to do
what I can
under the military.
I mean,
they came up with
a machine
that treats
AIDS
and
hepatitis C virus
and basically
every single,
and I went
to town
with that
because
people think
it doesn't really
have to go in
to go
to the bigger
post like,
you're an asshole.
No.
You talk about
their propaganda.
You talk about
what they want
people to perceive
them at
and it's a failure.
And for that,
that kind of
hit them even more
because
what do
authoritarian figures do?
They work on
two things,
fear
and propaganda.
And from that,
it gets the respect.
So when you go
into their propaganda
and expose them,
they have nothing else.
That's brilliant.
So like,
you are walking
on eggshells
but you're doing
it masterfully
that you're revealing
sort of the flaws
in the propaganda,
the absurdity
of the propaganda
and in so doing
are criticizing them.
And this is why
comedy is very
specific because
people say,
you were not
as hard on him
as you were
in a Muslim brotherhood.
Yes,
because on the Muslim
Brotherhood,
we were just like
saying shit for each other.
But now,
the ceiling was like here.
So it's kind of like
how can you
do something from here?
Yeah,
exactly.
That's the art form.
Yeah,
in the Soviet Union
under Stalin,
a lot of the criticism
came from
like children's stories
and children's cartoons.
Double meaning,
double in the window,
stuff that means
other stuff.
That is the brilliance.
But everyone knows.
Everyone knows.
Because you are
like putting a mirror,
you're mirroring the society.
It's fascinating actually.
And that's why
I was cancelled twice.
And that is a scary one,
the army.
You see that in Ukraine.
Yeah.
Everybody supports the army.
That's why Zelensky
getting rid of the head
of the army
was a big,
big deal.
It's a really dangerous thing
because everyone supports,
and everyone's afraid
to say anything negative
about the army,
especially during war
in that case.
And in this case,
maybe there's civil war,
that kind of thing.
But think about it.
Actually,
an army during peace
is much more dangerous.
Because think about it.
I don't really have
an enemy to fight,
but I have all of this power,
all of this tank.
Why does this actor
have more money than me?
Yeah.
I'm protecting him.
Why does this businessman
think that he can get
onto his private plane
and go to Paris?
And why I'm here sitting
like not having
all of these things?
So,
and there's a lot of time
on your hand
because your job
is to go fight
when you don't go fight.
And when you have
the lack of,
that's why,
that's one of the things
I love the United States
about is the fact
that the army
cannot really get power,
but the kind of like,
the army is,
the power is actually
in the military-industrial complex,
which is a different issue.
Yeah.
It's kind of like
a different kind of issue.
But if you have
all of that power,
like why am I sitting
around just like
playing guard for you guys?
That's why Iran
is terrifying
because you have
this military
that it just
becomes a police force
that turns
against its own people.
Yeah.
So you're,
you're a famous guy
talking shit
in the middle
of all that.
Yeah.
And I,
when I left,
I went through
a very dark side,
dark,
dark,
dark,
because all of
the insecurities,
all of the stuff
that had been like
working on my head
now came to life.
And now I'm in America
and I'm a nobody.
I'm a nobody.
And now it's like
I have to do something,
I have to earn some money.
So I started to do
stand-up comedy
five years ago.
And I sucked
because it was my second language
and I was new.
And now I would go
to these comedy clubs
with like kids
and 21,
22 people.
And then I'm there
with a family
to support that.
I'm going there
to doing it
for $15,
$20.
And I was bad.
I was bad.
You're bombing.
Bombing big time.
Eating shit.
Eating big time.
Dying up there big time.
And I would go back home
and I would cry.
And then what made it worse
is sometimes
like a fan.
Not a fan.
A bunch of fans
from Egypt.
Oh,
that's a music.
They come.
And then
I know there's
disappointments
on there.
That kind of
like face of adoration
that goes
and I could see it
in their face.
I think he's going to
drive an Uber
in a couple of weeks.
That's
that kind of pressure.
And I would go
and I would cry
and I
and then the sensual
oh,
you left.
You
you
you
you gave up.
You were a sellout.
You're a coward.
Why don't you speak
from abroad?
You're
you're safe now.
Like I
I don't
I already spoke.
I don't want to be
because I don't want
to be an activist.
I was doing that
for comedy
when it was good
for everybody.
But now
they want me
to go into YouTube
and just like
throw rocks
from outside.
I was like
you know I understand
I have family there.
And it was
this kind of like
thing like
that I am being
like attacked
for not doing
what I should do
in their face
and attacked
for not being funny
and not doing good
being
and now I feel like
maybe it was wrong
and I was
I didn't know
I really
it was so traumatic
that I don't know
actually how I went
through these years
and I blocked
so many details
from my brain
because
I have been
using this technique
for a while now
that I have been
erasing a lot
of my
there is a lot
of memory
gaps
in my brain
and I'm trying
to suppress it
because it was
very very very
traumatic
and a lot of people
told me
you have to go
to therapy
but I
I don't
I don't know
I'm worried
to open the floodgates
and I'm thinking
as if I'm functional
and I'm not killing
anybody
I'm okay
I was like
I think
Elon tweeted
never went to therapy
it's gonna be
on my headstone
yeah
to your best buds
okay
I mean
that is like
terrifyingly difficult
to
like
after being
a surgeon
after being
a superstar
super famous
going to eat
shit
at local
tiny clubs
in the United States
I mean
eating shit
period
yeah
like bombing
is really really
really difficult
really difficult
for 20 year olds
imagine when you're
45
46
and then people
it's like
is this his
midlife crisis
what is this
I
I
I
I
I went through
a lot of pain
and a lot of
like
the doubts
and
it was terrible
what
I mean
how did you survive
I mean
I know you
blocked off
most of it
but what
what gave you
like strength
through all that
because I didn't have
any other choice
because I started that
and the only reason
that I could
is to continue
I
I
I
I
I don't know
what else to do
I don't want to go back
to medicine
I don't want to do
I don't
I don't want to do that
and I don't
I don't know
I was
and bit by bit
bit by bit
I started to kind of
like be better
be better
be better
and I was
at a certain time
a year ago
a year ago
this is where I
started to kind of
like hone
the craft
and
kind of sell more tickets
and sometimes even sell out
some shows
and sometimes sell a theater
so like it was going
and the money was flowing
and it was good
and then I was like
why didn't
I
I wanted faster
I wanted more
I want it now
I want
I want Netflix deal
or whatever
and then the Piers Morgan thing
happened
and then I blew up
and then suddenly
I'm selling out everywhere
and it's like
ah
if those people came
if that
the war happened
two years ago
I will not be ready
so now they come to the show
and by the way
my show
had nothing to do
with the
October 7th
my show is my
thing that I've been
crafting and working on
you know
how difficult it is to do
the first hour
the hour that I've been
working on for five years
and it's all my personal story
all about like
what happened to me
me as an immigrant
coming here to the United States
finding Trump as a president
finding myself in the middle
of a guns rally
finding myself in the middle
of a bombing
kind of like
talking about how I got
my citizenship
it's all like funny stories
about like my origin story
so they come in
and they expect
October 7th
and all of this
is my personal story
but it's good
and it kills
and they love it
it's like
if that
if that kind of like
blew up in America
happened to me
two three years ago
I would not have
people who come and be
disappointed
I gotta say
the timing of October 7th
is very suspicious
oh my god
please don't say that
I don't know
I'm just asking questions
I don't know
I'm telling you
one of the funniest thing
a guy
I was in Dubai
and like a TV anchor
came to me
Passim Yusuf
he flourishes
during revolutions
and war
it's like
whoa whoa
what
dude
you're making me
sound like a bad omen
a very bad omen
yeah
you Hamas
and Bibi
together
orchestrated all of this
oh my god
that's the
that's the trilogy
you guys should go
on the road together
I'm telling you
that phone call
is coming
yeah but Hamas
has to open
and they would
really bomb
right
they would
really bomb
oh
I love dark humor
you do a show
like you were saying
in English
and in Arabic
so
and the story
is very different
totally different
two different stories
I would love to
just the language
difference
because it's
the music
of the language
is also different
so like
what
what's
how can you
convert it
into words
but what's
what's the difference
in the music
of the languages
I'll tell you
because I thought
about that a lot
all right
all right
okay
so
when I was doing
the English first
I was
I actually had
good jokes
but I was missing
the delivery
because the cadence
and the music
and the rhythm
is different
the way that
an English speaking
American
member of audience
will receive it
it will be different
than how
I receive it
the energy
everything's different
so when I kind
of like got it
I didn't know
how to switch
back to Arabic
oh wow
yeah
fascinating
because here's the thing
with English stand-up comedy
you have a huge library
you have like a legacy
you have like years
and years
and years
and years
of people doing comedy
but in Arabic
it's very new
very new to us
and most of the Arabic
stand-up comedy
especially in Egypt
is very
tamed
this is kind of like
imagine the stand-up comedy
scene in America
1960s
before Lenny Bruce
so no swearing
conservative
no swearing
nothing conservative
everything
it's kind of like
very
so
I didn't know
what to do with Arabic
so
I broke the barriers
I became
Lenny Bruce
I became
George Collins
so I went in
and I went
and I changed
the whole thing
seven words
you're not allowed
to say
for me
15 words
Arabic is a very
rich language
so
when I did
here's the difference
between the Arabic
and the English show
the English show
surprise surprise
is a unifying language
even for a group of Arabs
so if I give
the same exact show
to the same
1000 audience members
in the same theater
and they're the same people
same
makeup of like
Lebanese
Egyptian
Syrian
Saudis
English
will be a unifying language
Arabic
is a dividing language
because you have
22 dialects
and the dialects
are vastly different
and like
maybe Egyptians
understand a little bit
of Lebanese
but not that much
but the references
Algerian, Moroccan, Tunisian
totally different animal
that's like a totally
different language
Saudi, Emirati, Kuwaiti
totally different
people understand
the Egyptian dialect
because it's the dialect
of most of the artwork
and the movies
but the reference
and the everyday street talk
might not be
understood by them
so now I have to go in
and talk to
all of these dialects
together
so I formed
my
big part of my show
is like
what are you guys
expecting of this
this is what
this is
we're gonna
when I do profanity
and you're gonna like it
this is the problem
with the show
as a dialect
and I construct
all of these sentences
formed of
so different
different
words
for example
an iron
in any
in any
Arabic dialect
is an iron
in Saudi Arabia
it means ass
that's one example
that's one example
you know
so imagine
if you can actually
construct sentences
having all of these
things in one
so I would
I would construct
like a whole
section of my show
about that
so it's really
very much about
like self-reflective
on language
and the limits
of language
that's allowed
and the limits
of language
and I tell them
part of the show
is like
I know what's the problem
with me doing Arabic
it's like
if this was an English show
and I was telling you
fucking shit
and bitch
you'll be
ha ha ha
but if I do
one swear word
all of you will
cringe
it's like why
is it because
we are ashamed
of our own language
so it's kind of like
it's not just
like about swearing
it's about like
there's a lot
of philosophical
pathways in this
yeah there's profanity
and people have fun
whatever
but like
it is about
like what does
how do we treat
our language
and I tell them
we speak Arabic
as Arabs
but it's not the same Arabic
it's crazy right
and you're doing
the show in America
also which is
another level of
oh yeah
actually the Arab
diaspora in America
is some of the
best audiences I have
they are like
wonderful
and they come from
they just
and I did
and I do
and I did it also
in the Middle East
and maybe I'll do
like an Arab tour
in the Middle East
in the fall
which countries
would you go to
and not
I worried
Jordan
Lebanon
I'm doing
UAE
I'm doing Kuwait
Egypt
Bahrain
Egypt
I don't think so
I don't think so
is it
personal
is it
worry about
your safety
well I have the
American citizenship
right now
so I am
relatively safe
there's a block
sure
honestly
there's a block
there's a person
there is
there is
there's so much
that happens
and I don't
and I never
I know never
bad mouth Egypt
it is my country
it is some
like it has all
of my marriage
40 years of my life
I lived there
but when you
get hurt
so much
instead of
trying to
kind of
I don't want
to take revenge
I don't want
to like
I just want
to avoid
because
Egypt gave me
so much fame
and so much
love and so much
hate and so much
rejection
it is a very
it was a very
tumorous
relationship
very very
difficult
and it's
and a lot of
people tell me
well don't you
miss Egypt
and I tell them
every time
the Egypt
is not there
anymore
it's not bad
or good
it's not worse
or better
it's just
I'm different
and the places
are different
and the people
are different
and their
circumstances
are different
whatever image
that you have
of what you
love is not
there anymore
that's why
a lot of
immigrants
especially Arab
immigrants
they live here
but they're there
and then when
they go back
for a vacation
they get disappointed
because they didn't
find what they
want
and then they
come back here
and they're
disappointed
because
this is what
they want to
come back
but it's not
there anymore
yeah
their view
of that place
is from a
different time
I have that
you know
my parents
but everybody
that left
the Soviet Union
I mean
it's such a
complicated
relationship
with that
it's
sometimes
borders on
hate
disappointment
in the
in the case
of the Soviet Union
perhaps similar
to Egypt
is the promises
sold when you
were younger
and the
promises broken
by the possibility
of what it was
supposed to be
with the Soviet Union
I'm sure
with Egypt
is the same
Iran
is the same
so they have
a very complicated
relationship
with that
yeah
that's why
like for example
people from Iran
I remember
I remember
quite well
the World Cup
that was made
in the United States
and the Iranian
team
would play in America
and there were
people
people
in the audience
all wearing
Iranian shirts
they hate
the regime
but they have
this kind
of connection
with the country
yeah
and this is
this is the whole
thing
you can actually
love the country
and you not have
to agree
with the regime
would
would you ever
perform in the
West Bank
no
Gaza
because if I go
there I have
to go to the
Israeli checkpoints
and I don't want
to go through
this I don't want
to have an
Israeli soldier
telling me what
to do
yeah there's a
demeaning aspect
to that whole
very
even in subtle
ways
yeah
I mean I have
so many
Palestinian friends
with an American
passport
US passport
living here
they are born
here
and they talk
about the
humiliation
and the
intimidation
and the
harassment
that they go
in
it's like
do you want
me to try
yeah that
little bit
of a
humiliation
little bit
sometimes it's
major but
I noticed
that you know
even a little
bit
after a
lifetime
of that
it can
turn to
it can
turn to
hate
towards the
other
yeah and
resentment
resentment
and then
how do you
do anything
with that
resentment
I have a
friend of
mine
he is from
Palestine
from the
West Bank
he's American
here he's born
here and
we talk about
you know we
have of course
all of this
discussion about
what happened
and he tells
me you know
in October
11th in the
West Bank
and there was
a village called
Khosra
and on that
village like
the the
settlers went
in around the
village and
they sent a
message on
Facebook it's
like you
rats going
get out of
your sewers and
we're going to
be waiting for
you intimidation
through technology
and then they
went it is
Khosra have
like another
settlement next
to it called
Ishkodesh
Ishkodesh
they have people
there who were
training something
called Mishmeret
Yisha which
is basically
the guardians
of Yisha and
it's like a
paramilitary group
that trains
other settlers
on military
combat give
them weapons
and do like
military drills
and they went
there like
militarized and
went there and
and it was
actually co-founded
by a Jew from
Brooklyn not
even and
and like an
Israeli and
he is like one
of the disciples
of Meir Kahana
I'm sure that you
know who Meir Kahana
is who was
the Jewish
defense lead
the people who
assassinated Alex
Aouda here in
the United States
and and they
were they were
there with their
weapons outside
intimidating people
now this story
carries everything
that is wrong
with the situation
you have people
from Brooklyn
from outside
just because
they're Jewish
they can't come
and they can't
claim the land
from the people
there anybody
from Paul just
because he's Jewish
you can come
and take the land
from other people
they're using
technology to
intimidate
Palestinians
they have
unchecked
military power
these are not
IDF soldiers
these are settlers
and they have
free reign in order
to intimidate
and to kill
the people
and you understand
this is the daily
life of Palestinians
not in Gaza
in the West Bank
what do you do
from your
what do we do
what do people
do
to
nudge this
towards
peace
towards flourishing
here's the thing
I want to talk
to
the people
of Israel
what is Israel
doing right now
is not just
unfair to the
Palestinians
it's unfair to
the Jewish people
in Israel
no
it is unfair
to the Jewish
people around
the world
because the way
that Israel
links itself
to Judaism
at a certain point
remember like
ISIS and Qaeda
when everybody
hated Muslims
you know
sometimes
humans
humans are simple
they cannot have
the nuances
to separate
so
anybody
who
with a Muslim
name
with a Muslim
face
with a beard
who looks Muslim
he would do it
because of that
actions of those
atrocities
you have the power
as a person
to separate yourself
from
an abusive power
a horrible power
and be yourself
I am really worried
because
the rise of
anti-Semitism
and the rise of
hate against Jews
is not because
of the Jews
it's because of
the actions
of a government
Jews do not
have to be
on the side
of apartheid
Ronnie Kestrels
he is a Jewish
South African
and he fought
shoulder to shoulder
next to
Nelson Badilla
he was part of
the African
National Conference
ANC
and he had an article
saying like
I know what
apartheid is
and I saw Israel
and this is what
they have
and the thing is
Israel
the Israeli government
should listen
to other people
you cannot call
anybody who
who criticize you
either an anti-Semite
or if they're
already Jewish
you call them
like self-hating Jew
you cannot do that
you cannot continue
doing that
because we did that
when I would go in
and criticize the Islamist
it's like oh
you're a self-hating Muslim
you're not really Muslim
you're an infidel
you're a secret
you're a secular
whatever
we have the power
in order to
reform
the course
by holding people
in power accountable
and the thing is
it is very stupid
to actually call this
anti-Semitism
my idol
is Joan Stewart
I voted for
Bernie Sanders
Sarah Taxler
the one who did
this amazing documentary
about me
tickling giants
she's a Jew
she is married
to an Israeli Jew
we have a good ratio
because we know
what the right is
they don't have to
associate themselves
with the action
of the Israeli government
one of your favorite words
jihad
that's my favorite hobbies
it's his favorite hobby
it's my show
it's like what's his favorite
I talk about like how
when a white shooter
does something
he talks about
all of his family
and I was like
what if we did this
for Arab terrorists
what are his hobbies
jihad
you see
you could be a comedian
yeah
wow
you're making me feel good
okay
Sam Harris
has done several episodes
on jihad
and
people should go
listen to it
even if you disagree
with it
but the basic idea
that he's proposing
is that this
idea of jihad
in the negative
connotation of it
of martyrdom
is the thing
that gets
is counterproductive
is destructive
to
the possible
future flourishing
of Palestinian people
what
what do you think
of that
there's just the idea
of martyrdom
I totally agree
but like
people don't wake up
in the morning
and say like
I want any clergy
jihad
think about it
why would anybody
choose to end his life
by taking other people
with him
and end that life
his life must be
miserable
he must be pushed
into that
nobody chooses
death over life
willingly
one of the first
suicide bombers
in the Palestinian resistance
were Christians
we don't talk about that
I think he would say
that
the presence
of a story
that you can tell yourself
when you're
in a really
shitty place
that you can
go to a much
better place
by sacrificing
your own life
just the fact
that the presence
of that story
is there
is harmful
of course
but these
but here's
my problem
with Sam Harris
and
usually people
they have
free range
talking about
the Islamic faith
and nitpicking
the stuff
that makes
it put
in a bad light
I can go
and nitpick
every single religion
there are Jews
there
like Ben Gafir
who openly say
spitting on Christians
is not a hate speech
alright
there are
I mean
you can bring me
like all kind of videos
of Islamic jihadists
saying horrible things
on YouTube
and I can bring you
Jews who live there
there
so like
we're gonna have
the whole world
enslaved for us
and everybody
would love to be
enslaved for the Jews
you know
I can use
the Talmudic
argument that
if you
tie a man
to a tree
and he dies
of thirst
and hunger
you didn't kill
that man
and this is kind
of the same
arguments
like we're not
killing Palestinians
it's just like
killing
and they're dying
by themselves
you know
so it is
the nitpicking
of a certain
narrative
religious narrative
that is separate
from the
political context
and what's
happening right now
it's very
unfair
because I can
read
if you want
to have
a deep
dive
into
religious
texts
nobody
will be
happy
and I can
bring stuff
from the Talmud
and the Torah
and stuff
that is horrible
but like
you know
this is a way
again
of
like
distraction
I dare you
to talk shit
about Buddhism
and Jainism
though
try
well you know
the people
who killed
the Muslims
in Myanmar
weren't they
Buddhist
yeah
well
let's go
Jain
okay I'll
find you
I'll get to
get back to you
the flying
monster
the church
of the
flying monster
spaghetti
as a person
who tries
not to eat
carbs
I'm deeply
offended by that
I mean
they're
Scientologists
all they do
is actually
buy real estate
I think
there's a few
books written
about the fact
that they do
other stuff
as well
so even
there
Mormons
sometimes
they're some
of the nicest
people I've
ever met
but I'm sure
there's also
darkness
there too
oh boy
religion
there's soaking
in Mormon
there's what
soaking
what's soaking
okay
so I don't
know how much
so soaking
basically
if you
get into
the woman
and you
don't move
that's not
adultery
that's not
like
oh interesting
so there's a loophole
there's a loophole
there's a loophole
that's the thing
religion has a loophole
yes
and Muslims
we do that
the whole time
we pick and
choose our sins
the stuff that
we enjoy
it's just
we're human
there's 72
virgins waiting
for all of us
maybe if I
converted you
as a Jew
I'll get you 80
I don't know
you know
we can negotiate
but I also have
questions about
whether
it would be a
very good deal
and maybe
I'll throw there
a Camry
I have to be
a Camry
it's pretty good
what year
I don't know
1998
best year ever
well they last
a long time
so
I'm not sure
I want 70
72
I'll throw 5
in the mix
and see how we feel
yeah
can we
if you want to
upgrade
can we
can we do
a trial period
but in general
if you just
zoom out
do you think
religion
is
in what way
is it good
for the world
in what way
is it harmful
if there was
no religion
humans would
have invented
religion
because
think about
think of
like the early
humanity
like you're
like a caveman
or whatever
and then
like you see
your family
members killed
and then you
say like
what I'm
gonna be
like
the
sheeter
or the
gazelle
that just
like ends
and perish
I need to
have
I am more
important
I think
I think
with the
development
of consciousness
humans
like thought
that they are
much more
precious
and important
than the other
animals
because they
have now
intelligence
so
my life
will not
end like
that
my death
will be
even more
important
there's
consequences
for that
there's
consequences
for what
I do
and then
the early
man was
like
they're
in the
desert
and all
of these
like natural
phenomena
they didn't
know what
to do
they were
afraid
so they
need to
have
refuge
they need
to have
something
to take
care
of
they need
to have
a reason
for everything
because if
there's no
reason
it's chaos
it's chaos
it's terrifying
it's terrifying
there's nothing
there has to be
a reason
there has to
be a reason
there has to
be a purpose
it has to
be like a
cause
something
it's
it's just
I'm not just
gonna be like
die like
like a cockroach
being stepped
on
and that's
kind of like
part of it
is ego
the whole world
rotates around
you in a way
it's the ego
so religion
actually got
a lot of it
from humanity
itself
like me
us
like us
being humans
and there's
and many religion
is a collection
of stories
and those stories
based on things
that humans
did themselves
and they attributed
it to gods
and there's an aspect
of religion
where you humble
yourself before
a thing that is
much greater
than you
so that has a
I would say
a very positive
effect
of humbling
it will be great
if it stopped
there
but here's
the thing
if you humble
in order
that your ego
kicks in
and feel
that you are
better than
someone else
who's not
humbled
in front of
the same
god
that means
that I will
have all
of that
train
that I can
use
that
because now
what does
mean being humble
I'm divine
yeah
but you're not
I'm way more
humble than you
but you're not
so you see
how they kind
of like the
oxymoron
I'm humble
and I'm surrendering
but in the same
time I am better
than you
and I'm more entitled
isn't it crazy
yeah
it's beautiful
it's crazy
I mean look at
look at like
the Muslim Christians
and Jews
and everyone
it's like
alright Muslims
we surrendered
I'm talking about
the extreme ones
I mean like people
I surrender to God
good
keep it that way
yeah
like if you go
I surrender to God
that means that
I am closer to God
than you
than you should die
okay Christians
Christ is love
and he loves me
and we gonna be together
but you don't
get into his kingdom
I knew that
you see
it's the same thing
yeah
it's just
if you
stop it
stop there
stop where you are humble
and you feel that
you're a piece of shit
and you are worthless
human being
and you are there
yeah
stop there
yeah
but once you say like
oh that makes me
a better person than you
and it makes me
more with God than you
so that will give me
the entitlement
to kick your ass
yeah
we always ruin a good thing
don't we
that ego
you've been
outspoken
you know
with Piers Morgan
but just on this topic
and you
talked about
the Superman story
which
I would love it
if you were in a Superman movie
but have you lost
job opportunities
because of this
because of speaking out
there was other
a couple of things
that were going on
but
they stopped
again I don't know
if October 7th
the Superman story
just so
yeah yeah
so what role were you
uh okay
what did you audition for
yeah it's okay
okay
so in June
I was traveling to Dubai
and right
an hour before
I get into the car
and go there
my manager said like
best I'm gonna send you a script
read it
it's for Superman
it's like oh Superman
you know I
I'm not really good
in auditions
I'm not an
assistant actor
so I was like okay
I'm just gonna do it
send the tape
I do the tape
I send it
I go to the airport
and I read
and I can
I think I can talk
about it now
because they said
they changed the script
so basically
what I found it
interesting in that
new script
is that
there is like
a dictator
in a country
that invades
another country
and Superman
interferes
politically
that's the first time
we ever see Superman
interferes politically
so basically
it was like Russia
and Ukraine
but because of me
it was like
it had
it couldn't be Russia
and Ukraine
so it had to be
something kind of
like with a flavor
so I read the role
as if
as a mixture
of
Trump and Mubarak
I did this mix
and like
you know
I had like
the kind of
but also
like kind of
like
the essence
of Trump
into it
I went to the airport
it's like an hour
it's like
James Gunn saw it
he loves you
it's like what
I never had an audition
that fast
I mean
I had a few roles
but not that fast
not like that
and then
I said like
well
the strike starts
like tomorrow
and we need
to be on the phone
but after the strike
we cannot talk
the SEG after strike
like where the writers
and the actors strike
so like
well I'm gonna be
on a plane right now
it's like
once you land
have a zoom call
with James Gunn
I have a call
with James Gunn
I am a huge fan
of him
the guy
took like something
like Guardian of the Galaxy
nobody knew about it
made amazing trilogy
and he is
like a really cool guy
I like what he did
and it was like
really nice
and he started to talk
to me about the movie
and you know
like I talked to people
before casting them
so I know that
everybody's on set
have a good chemistry
it was amazing
so in your mind
if you're an actor
what does that mean
you got the part
and he told me
you got the part
month goes by
strike goes by
October 7th happens
I do Piers Morgan
one and two
and then I go
to my Australian tour
my manager called me
the circle's over
it's like
you don't have the part anymore
I was sad
very sad
but for three days
and said like
I need to stand up
with it
I'm actually doing very well
Alhamdulillah
and then
when I went
to Chris Como
I
after I finished the show
he told me
did you lose
any opportunities
and that was off record
after the show
was like we concluded
and I said
I talked about Superman
and I found myself
when I was talking
I was angry
I was bitter
and I went home
I was like
why was I angry
why was I bitter
it wasn't meant to be
and I'm living
a good life now
I don't need
so when I was asked again
the next day
in two different interviews
the BBC
and another one
with my friend
I said the story
in a different way
I said
I don't have any anger
as a matter of fact
maybe if I was
Wonder Brothers
I didn't talk about
James Gunn
I thought it was the studio
if I was Wonder Brothers
and I'm a Muslim
I wouldn't have
like a Zionist
or a pro-Israeli
in my movie
but I want to tell them
that like
when I criticize Israel
I am not
a threat to you
as a Jew
and we can actually
have more in common
so I was more
of a kind of empathic
so when I said that
the internet went crazy
and you know
James Gunn have haters
because you know
the Snyderverse
and all of the
it's a word
that I don't understand
and James Gunn
like
had all of these
attacks on him
and I was pissed
of how it was handled
I wasn't angry
at James Gunn
but I thought
it was
so my publicist
I'm just like
Basim stay calm
don't speak
it's better
like to
like not talk about it
I said okay
so as I'm
there's nothing wrong
about me
but I see the heat
is rising
against James Gunn
and that is a guy
that I had a personal
connection
even through Zoom
and I didn't like
what was happening
and then he called me
and he explained to me
I said Basim
you know
I actually use
like have camera tests
before people
before finally
I didn't know that
and I
and then we changed
the script
and it was the strike
so I didn't call
and also I thought
to myself
I'm small
I'm a small actor
I'm not that important
for him to call me
to say we're gonna
change the script
so I still think
that like the timing
sucks and everything
but then I went
and I did a video
explaining exactly
what I'm telling you
because I didn't want
to be famous
for the wrong reasons
because that would be unfair
because that was
already people
and I was having
like interviews
can you come about
to someone
I was like
that's it
I'm not gonna talk about it
because this is a non-issue
and I didn't
and I
when I talked to James
on the phone
I felt how sincere
he was
so I
I didn't want someone
to because of me
will have that kind
of attack
because I know
what it means
to be on the other side
of that kind of attack
it's terrible
and it ruins your life
and it ruins your day
and nobody deserves
to be doing that
and I don't want
to be the reason
for someone else
to go through that pain
and you also said
that you don't want
to be a victim
I don't want to be
I'm doing a great
I'm doing great
I'm selling out everywhere
I'm having a wonderful
loyal audience
that's coming to me
why I would be angry
about the role
if it's Superman
yes it's great
to be in a superhero movies
but so what
you know
but you know
there's a
there's a wisdom
in that
even if you weren't
doing great
that's a choice
a lot of people
can come to
which is like
do I play victim
here or not
it's greed
it's greed
it
they want more attention
they want to be more
into the thing
they want more
and more
and there is so much
to go around
to be enough
for all of us
but it is greed
it is ego
ego
ego
ego
I need to be in the center
I need to be victimized
I need to be people
feel sorry for me
and love me
and it is not the right way
it is not
because it is fake
it is fake
it is made up
and I did not victimize myself
when I left Egypt
I mean
in the time
that I was
now I speak
about it now
but in that dark times
I was detained
in airports
I didn't have
my American passport
yet
I was still traveling
with my Egyptian passport
and I was detained
in an Arab airport
I was going to be delivered
to the Egyptians
I had
shows when I was still starting
I had
hecklers being sent to me
by the Egyptian embassy
and Egyptian council
in New York
and in London
to curse me
and to take videos
of that
and then send it to
state-run media
in Egypt
and I didn't speak
about that
because I felt
that like
if I speak about that
I feel about like
what was going on to me
I would be victimizing myself
it's like
if I'm going to be good
I'm going to be good
because of what I do
not because of what
people's perception
of what I'm going through
yeah
and that becomes
a slippery slope
and somehow
victimizing yourself
goes to more victimizing
yeah
and then you cannot
leave that habit
you can only exist
and thrive
if people feel sorry for you
yeah
I mean
Israel and Palestine
currently
both have that temptation
I
I
would always
push back
when you
do the comparison
because one of them
is not really
in the same
kind of power
I mean
yeah
for sure
it's very easy
to say why
Palestinians
will victimize themselves
but Israel
with all of that
military might
man
it's
too much
what Israel is doing
is that they're victimizing
the Jewish experience
and I don't think
a lot of
and I don't think
it is fair
for a lot of Jews
I don't think
that they should
use the holocaust
and the persecution
that happened
to Jewish people
all through history
in order to push
an equally oppressive agenda
that is not fair
and it's not good
for the Jewish people
living
and it is basically
a disrespect
to the memory
of the holocaust
I told you
I want to make a movie
about the holocaust
I do
because what happened
was that kind of
engineered torture
should never happen again
and it should not
be happening now
so to you
what Israel is doing
is leading to more
anti-semitism in the world
100%
and I think
and you know
can I be a conspiracy theorist
for a second
please
the earth is flat
we all know this
a part of me thinking
maybe they are doing
that intentionally
because if there's
a rise of anti-semitism
in Jews
there will always
like points like
see they hate us
so we can do
whatever we want
because if
because you see
if we
let go of our might
and our strength
we're going to go back
to the concentration camps
because you see
how the world hates you
and again
when you say
they are people in power
yeah
oh yeah
absolutely
listen
it's always the people in power
I believe that humans
are easily corruptible
and easily repairable
but the corrupt
corrupting part
is much easier
but
you
people could change
but power
people in power
are very dangerous
very very dangerous
especially if you
have
religion
which is power by itself
military might
political support
and money
dude
that's the
that's a very very very
dangerous recipe
that
you know
all that said
I do believe in the power
of the little guy
the individual
to overthrow the government
you know
I don't know if you heard
but the Arab Spring
will
you know
happen
but
but
but
but
okay
here
we are
we are here
just among friends
we are Americans
right
we're Americans
allegedly
we're Americans
and
how funny is that
like just giving our two backgrounds
we're Americans
we're Americans
there's one thing
about like the power
of the little guy
that I am very sad about
because
you see
I'm
I love America
by the way
I
I consider it
my new home
and I want my kids
to grow up here
I have
I'm very grateful
for the opportunity
that I have
in the United States
and
I criticize
the United States
politics
and I
criticize it
out of love
the same way
that I was criticizing
what's happening
with Egypt
out of love
what is worrying
for me
is
how the power
of the little man
is diminishing
it doesn't matter
now
who do you vote
into power
they will not
listen to you
they would listen
to the people
who paid them
to be there
and it is
very concerning
because I can see
the American
democracies
turning
not even slowly
very rapidly
into an oligarchy
if I'm
I'm sure
that all
of the millions
of people
who are voting
they don't
vote for the NRA
they don't
vote for APAC
they don't
vote for
the pharmaceutical
companies
they don't
vote for
the military
industry complex
and yet
the people
in power
they come in
they take your
vote
and my vote
and they are
loyal to those
people
not to us
and it is
very
very
very
concerning
very
concerning
and it is
this is the
danger
of American
on the American
policies
American politics
and American
democracies
it is dangerous
because basically
the vote
becomes just
like a ceremony
that
someone with
the more
like funding
will get to power
and then he's
not loyal to you
so the fire
I mean we are
in Texas
everybody
everybody's armed
to the teeth
here
yeah but like
what are these
arms gonna do
in front of tanks
well you said
the American
military
is unique
in this way
I know
but
for now
for now
the tanks
are
first of all
I believe
Russia has more
tanks
than the United
States
tanks
I don't know
you know
I'm not an
expert in
military
strategic
deployment
of arms
but
the United
States
uses different
kinds of
weapons
they have
drones
and they
have the
lasers
and they
have
they're
sitting
comfortably
behind the
screens
it's kind
of like
it turns
like a
big
xbox
game
yeah
and they
they sell
a lot
of those
things
to
everybody
it's crazy
because the
defense
budget
is 68%
of American
military
it's like
almost
850 billion
dollars each
year
and most
of that
weapons
we don't
even
need it
yeah
we just
do it
because of
the
contracts
there was
like an
incredible
60 minutes
I'm sure
that you
saw it
the one
about like
the gouging
of the
prices
of the
department
it was
one of
the most
fascinating
things
that I've
ever
seen
they say
like a
valve
a safety
oil valve
that used
to be sold
for $329
now it is
sold for $9,000
why
because there's
only five
weapon companies
and they can
control the
prices
and in 2006
the whole
Apache
fleet
of the
American
army
in Iraq
was grounded
because there
is one
valve
that they
were like
gouging the
price
and didn't
want to
give them
the
stinger
missile
that's
just like
the missile
the one
that you
carry
and it's
like the
anti-aircraft
it used
to be sold
for $25,000
now it's
sold for $400,000
and nobody is
doing that
because the DOD
has fired
130,000 people
including engineers
and negotiators
so now
in order to
cut expenses
now we're paying
more money
and the thing
is we do
not have a
say in this
we don't
have a
say in
how my
tax money
and your
tax money
is being
spent
because I'm
sure you
don't want
your money
to be sent
to Israel
like that
I'm sure
even if
you're Jews
I'm sure
I'm sure
that like
I don't
want my
money to
be given
to some
Muslim
countries
who kill
other Muslims
I'm sure
but it
is not
here's the
thing
what kind
of power
do we have
other than
speaking
so what
is left
for us
is free
speech
and now
when you
speak
they call
you anti-semitic
you see
why I'm
is holding
pretty strong
despite the
criticisms
on the
free speech
front
but if
you look
at the
freedom of
the press
freedom of
the speech
index
America
is not
at the
top
it is
not
and this
is why
for example
it is
very
disheartening
for me
to see
that the
western
media
western
press
that used
to be
the beacon
of freedom
are now
using as
mouthpieces
and it
is funny
how
the
New York
Times
Nixon
got angry
in the
New York
Times
in 1971
when they
found leaks
about him
lying about
the Vietnam
War since
the beginning
and now
he hired
the plumbers
you know
the special
unit
and orders
to go
in and
find the
leaks
this was
Watergate
basically
because he
was angry
to see
who leaked
that
instead
of fixing
the problem
now the
New York
Times
have published
this story
about the
rape
that was
a hoax
that was
written by
Anna Schwartz
who's
someone who
have no
experience
and now
when it
was leaked
instead of
them correcting
themselves
they went
in and
they had
their own
investigation
to see
who leaked
the New York
Times
in 2003
became the
mouthpiece
of George
W. Bush
of the
WMD
and now
as an
American
I see
that the
New York
Times
is becoming
a mouthpiece
of a foreign
country
why do you
do that
one of the
things that's
really difficult
to know
is where
to find
the truth
it does
seem
that both
sides
use propaganda
and both
sides
lie
a lot
but both
sides
as in
both
Israel
and
pro-Palestine
pro-Israel
there's a
lot of
lies
I know
but
it's a
lot of
inequality
man
there's
a lot
of people
on the
internet
but who
have
the
mainstream
media
siding
with
yeah
but
thanks
to social
media
yes
thank God
for social
media
because
now
it's
individuals
they're
people
you're
comparing
BBC
New York
Times
Washington
Post
White
Wall Street
Journal
with just
people
with a
TikTok
account
yeah
who has
more power
in your view
now
it is
actually
very
fascinating
to see
the little
man
having that
power
over the
media
proportionally
so
this is
my problem
but you
cannot call
people with
TikTok
propagandists
while people
are being
paid to
give you
the news
and they
deliberately
lie to
you
yes
I can
they're
both
propagandists
yes
but like
but the
mechanism
and the
intentions
are different
because
here's the
thing
I'd rather
have the
TikTok
guy
than the
like the
TikTok
guy
is a
TikTok
guy
all right
but if
you have
the New York
Times
being told
that
being exposed
to be lying
and then
they get
this like
UN report
which is
like a
disgrace
and you
just put
the title
and you
don't talk
about
like I'm
fine
with CNN
and Jake
Tapper
and all
of those
people
like
spreading
the rape
allegations
for years
they didn't
I don't even
want them
to refute
them
I want
them
to bring
the Israeli
reports
saying that
it didn't
happen
the Israeli
media
themselves
they didn't
even bother
not once
is that
balanced
that's not
so that's
why people
in TikTok
because they
have to take
matters in
their own
hand
yeah but
the problem
with the
people in
TikTok
is the
drug
the dopamine
rush of
getting a lot
of likes
so instead
of talking
about the
death of
civilians
they'll talk
about beheaded
babies
or the
equivalent
of
they're
going to
actually
make up
stories
because
the
made up
stories
are going
to be
more
viral
and so
now
we're
just
in this
scene
this
muck
of
lies
and
there's
a lot
of
people
who
actually
exposed
those
lies
on
TikTok
so
you
have
both
and
it's
kind
of
like
the
democracy
of
the
social
media
as
we
always
call
it
but
if
you
have
the
street
run
media
that
is
the
legacy
media
seen
and
BBC
New York
Times
Fox News
all of
those
people
and
they
are
like
spreading
lies
and
they're
not
even
doing
their
journalistic
job
in order
to at
least
bring
the
other
side
yeah
that's
problematic
and
that's
that's
worse
you're
supposed
to be
journalists
yes
it's
supposed
to be
report
report
yeah
but
I see
that
this
is
like
a
catalyst
an
inspiration
for
the
citizen
journalist
to
rise
up
this
this
is
what
you're
doing
no
this
is
what
you're
doing
because
you
go
into
the
deep
dive
this
is
like
a
no
filter
thing
there's
no
spin
the
long
form
long
form
is
going
to
save
us
I
see
why
you
hate
the
TikTok
like
a
dopamine
rush
stupid
TikTok
five
hours
later
I
saw
the
resentment
in
your
face
I
can't
can't
look
away
like
like
30
seconds
I
do
four
hours
I
mean
both
have
a
place
both
are
exciting
and
you
know
but
I
can't
it
is
very
dangerous
like
you
can't
look
away
and
I
almost
never
maybe
I'm
doing
it
wrong
but
I
almost
never
feel
better
ever
after
having
used
TikTok
makes
two
of
us
I
can't
I
cannot
I
have
a
team
by
the
way
I
give
my
password
to
like
a
team
I
don't
even
go
there
because
I
went
I
once
in
a
dark
night
very
late
at
night
I
went
TikTok
and
it
was
like
two
hours
what
yeah
what
I
said
no
no
no
this
is
dangerous
I'm
I'm
really
like
an
Instagram
and
Facebook
guy
I
don't
need
that
and
I
barely
get
out
of
Twitter
I
mean
like
X
I
can't
X
is
a
cesspool
X
it's
just
like
the
concentrated
hate
so
you
don't
check
it
at
all
you
try
not
to
check
it
at
all
it
is
very
intense
I
don't
I
don't
I
don't
I
can't
I
can't
I
post
something
and I
run
post
and
ghost
so
you're
doing
comedy
here
in
the
United
States
right
now
Joe Rogan
has
the
comedy
mothership
which is
an
incredible
club
have
you
considered
doing
that
club
I
would
love
Do you
know
Joe
of
course
no
I
feel
like
it's
a
small
world
of
comedy
that's
why
I
know
I
think
like
Joe
story
was
like
what
he
did
and
stuff
that
he
did
in the
UFC
and
his
podcast
and
it
just
it's
it's
very
impressive
the fact
that he
is
there
and
he's
bringing
all
of
those
people
whether
in
comedy
or
his
podcast
is
very
impressive
and
this
is
what
this
about
to
give
you
the
experiences
of
stuff
that
you
might
never
experience
and
that
is
very
important
I
mean
you
do
it
with
people
where
you
go
into
their
brains
he
goes
take
people
and
they
take
their
experiences
and
their
life
and
their
story
it
is
very
interesting
and
this
is
the
beauty
of
that
art
form
because
you
have
all
of
these
experiences
at
the
tips
of
your
hands
and
it
comedy
mothership
anybody
who
would
like
push
comedy
forward
that
is
the
most
difficult
art
form
and
the
most
demanding
and
the
fact
that
you
do
that
and
he
might
not
even
be
making
money
out
of
it
but
he
doing
that
because
of
his
passion
that
is
enough
yeah
he
really
believes
in
creating
this
place
where
comedians
can
be
really
free
and
one
of
the
cool
things
about
the
comedy
mothership
like
you
have
to
bow
down
to
the
because
you
know
the
comedian
who
came
there
came
after
like
eating
shit
dying
out
there
everywhere
else
if
you
are
basically
you're
a saint
I have
eaten
shit
for many
years
now I'm
gonna give
you shit
it's
great
you already
told me
what you
think about
the state
of politics
in the
United
States
but now
tell me
what you
really
think
what do
you think
of the
choice
of Trump
versus
Biden
how do
we end
up here
I don't
know
I mean
like
the fact
that
like
you
have
two
people
over
the
age
of
90
yeah
it is
I think
it's over
100
but that's
all combined
like 170
it is so sad
it is so sad
that this is what
we can produce
as a society
like
like a
demagogue
and
a sleepy
Joe
he's too
he's not
there man
he's
he's gone
he's gone
I mean
he could
you know
like when
old people
could be
like a
danger
for
themselves
he's a
danger
for the
whole
world
I mean
like
the
whole
world
like
if
an old
person
would die
who would
like
you know
have
like a
hip
replacement
we can
need
a new
planet
because
of
one
decision
but it's
not just
that
it's
it's
what are
when I came
here
listen
I am
I'm a
democrat
I always
like
and I
told you
like
I
vote for
Bernie
Sanders
I
I
like
I
supported
him
like
2016
but I
couldn't
vote
then
and of
course
a huge
bad fan
of
Obama
and
one of
my
jokes
is like
he's the
first
Muslim
president
but he
killed
Muslims
like
that's
things
Muslims
do
but
anyways
I love
that line
and
it
just
I
I
think
the
whole
idea
like
my
shock
is
I
I
told you
about
like
what
Biden
said
about
like
I'm a
Zionist
okay
we are
Zionist
but then
like
Jews
are not
safe
in
anywhere
other than
it's
like
dude
what
the
hell
are
you
saying
and
if
you
don't
care
about
me
and
you
don't
care
about
my
misery
why
would
I
care
about
you
winning
or
losing
you
know
people
like
why
would
even
Biden
listen
to
us
he
just
raised
145
million
dollars
in
California
alone
from
pro-Israeli
groups
I mean
what
what can
we
Arabs
working
in the
vape
business
do
to
him
it's
like
we cannot
compete
with
that
I mean
like
practically
I mean
it's
like
life is
like
life
is
unfair
the
guy
is
a
politician
he
needs
bills
to
pay
he
needs
a
campaign
to
run
he
needs
money
go to
the
people
who
give
me
money
Joe
Biden
is
the
highest
paid
politician
from
Israeli
lobbyists
4.6
million
dollars
over the
years
yeah but
I also
believe in
great leaders
that go
against all
of that
but
unfortunately
you know
Bernie Sanders
was like
that
Bernie Sanders
yes but
also age
I don't
want to
be age
of course
no no
but even
with like
because I
remember
listening to
Bernie Sanders
20 years
ago
on Tom
Hartman
show
and I
don't want
to say
anything
against
Bernie
but like
he was
sharper
then
of course
there's
a thing
with age
I think
I'm a
huge fan
about like
putting a
limit
on your
working years
because you
don't want
to have
like a
Mitch
McConnell
moment
every now
because now
the whole
thing
is like
what is
this
it's not
like a
hospice
care
home
it is
unfair
it is
unfair
and the whole
idea that
you have
like unlimited
like you have
a limit
for the
president but
you don't
have a limit
for congress
people and
senators
that's
what do
you mean
this is
basically
you can
go in
and be
in governance
forever
and you know
the longer
that you can
get
the more
corrupt
you will
get
yes
and that
is very
concerning
for Americans
everybody
everybody becomes
corrupt
after
I mean
that's why
two terms
is a good
limit
for everybody
yeah
and you know
maybe half
a term
for Egyptian
leaders
well you know
our half
term is
15 years
quarter term
you should
come back
and run
for office
there
oh my god
no
no
there's a
curse
in Egyptian
presidency
nobody
comes there
like
is
dead
or in
jail
yeah
it's
it's not
the most
appealing
job
they might
make a
statue
of you
though
make you
look good
after my
death
I look
very good
dead
in a statue
yeah
when you
look at
what happened
with Navalny
since you
kind of
really thought
about this
in Egypt
what happened
with Navalny
in Russia
what do you
think about
that
yeah but
what happened
in Navalny
in Russia
is not
something
new
in Russia
I mean
Putin
have like
this whole
history
of poisoning
and killing
people
and it's
kind of
like
pretty much
I would
have to
side credit
Putin
he's like
bringing us
the essence
of the
dark ages
the middle
ages
it's like
you know
we know
like
basically
Putin
is like
is the
living example
of what
happens
if Game
of Thrones
was reality
it's like
death by
poison
like a
blow up
a plane
it's like
mysteriously
disappears
it is
it is
it is
very dark
but it's
like
wow
it's like
it's
it's
it's
it's
it's
it's
it's a
television show
maybe that's
what attracts
us to
that part
of the
world
is that
it's so
much on
display
this game
of
of power
of geopolitics
yeah
of war
no
but the
same
happens
in the
west
but I'm
behind
closed
doors
it's
not that
open
it's
not
it's
not that
pronounced
you know
it's like
oops
Epstein
we just
like I
think I
think because
of the
west is
more advanced
like in
movies and
cinemas we
kind of
directed
better
yeah
I think
I think
the outcome
is like
the way
that you
kind of
like said
the scenes
like
scene
and
scene
that's
why people
are all
like landing
on the
moon
and they're
like
I get
it but
you know
we haven't
gone back
all right
if we zoom
out do you
think there
will always
be war
in the
world
always be
suffering
yes
yeah
but here's
the thing
I don't
think for
long
I don't
think that
will happen
for them
wait a
minute
yeah
yeah
because here's
the thing
humanity
is destined
to have
war
especially
it will
have war
but that
something
happened
in the
last 50
years
we have
had
now we
have much
more
lethal
weapons
the problem
is
the beginning
it's like
swords against
swords
horses
cavalry
like cannons
catapults
mini missiles
but now
you're like
like a press
of a button
you can annihilate
the whole
planet
and this
is the
problem
wars
will all
continue
the problem
is
when is
going to be
the tipping
point
where we
are actually
going to
destroy
ourselves
and it
is so
easy now
to destroy
ourselves
the amount
of weapons
and the
quality of
weapons
that we
have
it is
designed
to kill
more
effectively
more
more
it's just
it is
crazy
it's like
we can
create our
own destruction
on ourselves
and I think
we're not
that far
away from
it
just looking
at nuclear
weapons
the fascinating
thing about
nuclear weapons
I've gotten
to learn
recently
just
how few
people are
involved
in a
full-on
nuclear war
that kills
basically
kills
everybody
well
three
plus
billion
people
right away
and the
consequences
of the
nuclear
winter
it's
unlivable
but all
it takes
is
I mean
one president
can do
it
so it
could be
even a
false
alarm
misunderstanding
like what
happened
in the
Cuba
missile
crisis
but
again
and now
there's
more
nations
are prepared
and ready
to launch
yeah
and you
have a
media
and a
24 hours
kind of
like thing
that makes
you like
at edge
the whole
time
that's
crazy
there's
a dark
perspective
on this
where
there's
certain
members
of the
media
that
would
kind
of
enjoy
the
prospect
of nuclear
war
like a
little
bit
just
just
let's
get as
close
to it
as
possible
you
have
another
factor
that
will
contribute
to that
religion
and
remember
how
like
the
radical
Islam is
talk about
like the
end of
time
and whatever
but like
most of
the
Islamica
don't have
that much
power
problem
is
with
Christian
Zionists
now being
on the
top of
the
world
with
America
they
have
been
pushing
for
that
kind
of
conflict
to
kind
of
escalate
listen
to
Sarah
Palin
it's
like
God
wants
us
here
like
Karl
Rove
all
of
the
new
gods
the
dispensationalist
Reagan
there's
an
incredible
book
called
like
Forcing
the
Hands
of
God
beautiful
book
I read
it's
like
it's
published
1998
but it
still
matters
today
the
whole
idea
about
like
especially
the
Zionist
Christians
who
love
Israel
but
they
hate
the
Jews
they're
anti-Semite
but
they
love
Israel
because
of
the
Bible
of
Schofield
and
how
they
talk
about
the
end
of
time
and
then
the
late
great
planet
earth
and
then
left
behind
Sirius
and
all
of
that
it's
all
about
like
we're
heading
to
Armageddon
the
problem
is
Islam
has
people
that
believe
at
the
end
of
time
and
then
we
have
the
Christians
that
believe
in
the
end
of
time
and
then
you
have
Israel
happy
that
those
people
are
using
it
for
the
end
of
time
and
then
the
whole
idea
about
them
pushing
as
many
weapons
and
troops
and
people
in
the
Middle
East
to be
there
for
the
nuclear
holocaust
and
John
Hagee
one
of
the
of
the
pastors
talk
about
that
about
the
brimstones
and
it's
not
going
to
be
a
nuclear
holocaust
all
that
people
it's
crazy
how
people
are
so
despising
life
it
happen
and
this
is
the
crazy
thing
and
I'm
worried
that
the
end
is
going
to
be
by
someone
that
wants
to
meet
God
a
little
bit
earlier
somebody
who's
really
in a
hurry
well
I have
good news
for you
maybe
we'll
become
a
multi
planetary
species
maybe
Elon
Musk
will
lead
the way
to get
out
in
space
maybe
he's
one
of
the
secret
lizard
I
asked
you
offline
to
not
mention
the
lizard
people
they
are
there's
like a
whole
people
that
believe
in
the
lizard
people
it's
crazy
I
actually
have
to be
honest
I
haven't
fully
looked
into
the
lizard
people
I
probably
should
you
should
yeah
well
maybe
I'm
afraid
of the
truth
removing
my
face
so let's
say
let's
say
you're
wrong
about
the
end
of
the
world
and
we
it
all
turns
out
great
and
humanity
flourishes
why would
that
happen
what
gives
you
hope
for
that
trajectory
for
humanity
younger
people
the
people
of
tiktok
that
you
don't
like
I
yeah
there
is
a lot
of
like
bullshit
there
you
know
after
you
saying
this
people
just
keep
sending
you
tiktok
videos
these
younger
people
this
woman
showing
her
boobs
that
woman
that's
gonna
save
us
all
right
awesome
thank
you
no
there's
like
I
think
there
is
a
wealth
of
it
you
know
remember
like
the
joke
that
said
like
we
thought
that
like
when
we
have
internet
we
gonna
have
like
be
more
you
know
more
informed
and now
we're
watching
twerking
videos
and that
is
true
but
on the
other
side
the
fact
that
you
have
the
availability
of
information
I'm
learning a lot
and
there's
people
who
are
using
that
platform
it's
not
the
majority
because
you
know
it's
not
very
interesting
and
exciting
but
I
think
there
might
be
a
tipping
point
where
there's
enough
people
that
would
be
aware
and
maybe
they
would
collectively
do
something
in order
to bring
back the
power to
the
small
man
and
maybe
it
sounds
very
naive
maybe
but
we
don't
know
we
don't
know
because
we
you
have
already
seen
the
legacy
media
and
the
legacy
politicians
shaking
in the
past
few
months
they're
getting
nervous
because
people
are
calling
them
out
and
those
people
were
hiding
behind
their
desk
behind
in
their
offices
but
people
now
are
calling
them
out
and
it
is
not
going
to
happen
this
year
or
next
year
but
I
think
it's
something
what
advice
would
you
give
to
those
young
folks
I
will
never
give
advice
but
there's
one
thing
I
learned
when
people
told
me
did
the
revolution
fail
in
Egypt
did
people
that
the
revolution
is not
an event
it's not
like
hey we
go in
we topple
the
government
it's not
a revolution
a revolution
is a process
it's a very
long process
and maybe
that process
I mean
as much as
we don't like
what happened
in the Arab
world
but the
people
there
the awareness
that happened
and the
discussions
that have
been
opened
that
you didn't
even
imagine
what happened
in the
Middle East
is happening
and maybe
the beginning
of any
any
hope of
change
is that
people
start talking
speaking out
talking about
stuff they were
not allowed
to speak
about
like for
example
Israel
the revolution
continues
ah yes
Basim
you're a
beautiful human
being
it's truly
a pleasure
and honor
to meet
you
I can just
feel the
love
radiating
from you
I hope
I get to
see you
perform
live
I hope
to get
to see
you many
more times
thank you
for being
who you
are
thank you
so much
and I
would love
to invite
you for
my new
special
the
Islamunazi
Basim
that should
be the title
of your
autobiography
thank you
so much
thank you
brother
thanks for
listening to
this conversation
with Basim
Youssef
to support
this podcast
please check
out our
sponsors
in the
description
and now
let me
leave you
some words
from
John Stewart
the press
can hold
this magnifying
glass up to
our problems
bringing them
into focus
illuminating
issues
heretofore
unseen
or
they can
use that
magnifying
glass
to light
ants on
fire
and then
perhaps
host a
week of
shows
on the
sudden
unexpected
dangerous
flaming
ant
epidemic
if we
amplify
everything
we hear
nothing
thank you
for listening
and hope
to see you
next time
you