Transcription
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Now, let's begin with the topic of Israel. While the Middle East is always filled with the sounds of bombing, this time a new bombing, a new war, is unfolding. Let's take a look together at what this is about.
Just a short while ago, last week, there was a video that became a huge topic. It was a Syrian news anchor who, while reporting the news, suddenly screamed and appeared live on air. What was happening? The building behind her was said to be the Syrian Ministry of Defense. It's a place where the presidential palace or defense ministry buildings are located, and a live missile struck and exploded with a bang, causing the anchor to react with fear. I'll show you the scene now. This is the scene. You can see it next to me, right? Oh, oh. Don't laugh. It's exploding right now. This scene was actually broadcast live on Syrian television, and the citizens watching were suddenly surprised when they saw a missile hit and explode behind the anchor. If I show you a picture, this is what it looked like behind. The building behind is the Ministry of Defense building, as I mentioned earlier, which was devastated by the missile strike. This happened on July 16th, and it was an incident where the Ministry of Defense headquarters and the presidential palace in Damascus, the capital of Syria, were attacked by airstrikes.
If I show you a little more of the video, the scene that surprised the anchor earlier doesn't seem to be fully captured, but it's something like this. As you can see, a missile fell. Wow, there was tremendous shelling. In the end, it was covered in dust. It's terrifying to think of watching that live. For example, if you were watching KBS in Korea and suddenly a missile, whether from North Korea or elsewhere, fell on Yeouido and exploded, wouldn't you be incredibly surprised? As I just showed you, the Ministry of Defense building in the heart of the capital was completely destroyed in an instant.
So, who attacked the Syrian capital? Since it's the Middle East, the perpetrator of the airstrike was naturally Israel. Israel carried out the attack, but actually, just before the airstrike, Israel had announced that it would attack military targets near the Syrian army command and the presidential palace. In other words, Israel's position is that they had already given prior warning. They warned them to evacuate, and they struck a few hours later. However, because they gave a warning that was somewhat ambiguous, making it unclear whether it was a warning or a threat, many people in Syria were surprised. Israel, however, maintains that they gave prior warning.
And the Israeli Minister of Defense shared the scene that surprised the Syrian anchor on his social media. He shared the scene of the anchor being startled and reacting, and the Syrian people being surprised, with the comment, "Painful strikes have begun." It's written there: "Painful strikes have begun." But anyone who sees it would feel that the attacker seemed to be smiling slightly while watching the photos and videos of the victims, which led to a lot of criticism.
So, while the Middle East is a place where bombs are constantly flying, why did Israel suddenly carry out an airstrike this time? And why Syria? Syria recently had a change in government, with the overthrow of the previous regime and the establishment of a new government. Why would Israel suddenly attack there? Israel's explanation this time was that they intervened to protect the Druze, a minority sect in southern Syria. However, the justification is unclear. We don't even know who the Druze are, and why would they suddenly launch missiles to protect religious people in the southern part of another country? This position received a lot of questioning.
However, it's always confusing when it comes to the Middle East, but this time it's even more confusing. What are the Druze? Druze, or Druze people, or the Druze tribe, or the Druze group. I've never heard of them before. Many people haven't. What are the Druze? They are said to be a sect of Arabs originating from Egypt in the 11th century. It's a religious group that emerged from a prophet, who is considered an ancestor of Islam, Isma'il. Their roots are similar to Christianity or Islam, so you can see them as a religious sect that emerged from there. People who believe in this are said to live across Syria and Israel.
So, by word of mouth, they are close to Islam. Although they don't consider themselves Muslims, they also don't consider themselves Jewish. Of course, they are not Jewish. But if they are not Jewish, why did Israel attack Syria, claiming the Druze were being persecuted? Let's look at the Druze a bit. I found it interesting, so I looked into it. They are said to be an extremely reclusive religious community. Looking at their beliefs, they consider Jesus and Muhammad as prophets. There are many prophets. Christianity considers Jesus Christ the Son of God, and Islam considers Muhammad the final prophet. But for the Druze, they are just one of the prophets. And what's surprising is that they believe in reincarnation and transmigration of souls. This seems to be influenced by Buddhism. They believe in reincarnation and transmigration of souls, and therefore, they do not allow conversion to Druze for outsiders. What does this mean? If an outsider comes and says, "The Druze faith seems truly right. I want to convert to the Druze faith," they do not allow it. "No, you cannot believe that. You are not a Druze." Because they believe in reincarnation and transmigration of souls, they believe they are people born through the reincarnation and transmigration of someone chosen from above, and you are not. You are not. Therefore, you cannot become a Druze, or a believer in the Druze faith. In other words, you cannot go to heaven. That's what it's like. So, they do not allow conversion to Druze for outsiders. Marriage between different religions is also forbidden. There are the chosen and the unchosen, and if someone is unchosen, they cannot even marry. Although it happens occasionally, if they do, they are severely persecuted.
Therefore, it seems strange to anyone who looks at it. Muslims and traditional Jews consider them heretics, and they have been persecuted for a long time. Some Druze people have their own identity, like Korean ethnicity. But here, because they believe based on religion, they are primarily Arabs, a religious community of Arabs. So, there are about a million Druze people scattered around, but their identities are divided. There are about 700,000 Druze people who consider themselves Syrian. And there are Druze people in Israel, about 150,000 people who believe in the Druze faith, and they consider themselves Israeli. They have Israeli citizenship and even serve in the Israeli military. In other words, they believe in the same faith, but their lives, thoughts, and identities are very divided.
So, as I've asked repeatedly, why does Israel help the Druze? They are not Jewish, and they are a sect that emerged from Islam. The Druze living in Syria consider themselves Syrian, so it's like Israel attacking Syria to help Syrians. Why is Israel doing this?
This is where we can delve into some history. As I mentioned, the Druze are considered heretics by strict Sunni Muslims. Naturally, from a Muslim perspective, even if an ancestor came from above, they would say, "What is this? This is nonsense. These people don't believe in the Quran." They don't believe in the Quran. Therefore, as heretics, they are naturally persecuted and ostracized by extremist Sunni groups like Al-Qaeda or ISIS. However, looking at the details, they have lived in Syria. In Syria, there was the Assad regime, the person on the left. He was a former dictator of Syria. When he was a dictator, they lived very peacefully. This is a bit complicated, but Assad was not Sunni; he was Shia. However, Syria has a large Sunni population. You need to understand the religion here. So, Assad, being Shia, fought only with the Sunnis to suppress the Sunni population, just like in Iran. He didn't have much conflict with the Druze. He thought, "Let them be. They believe what they believe." He let them live their lives, and they enjoyed autonomy. This is because the Druze didn't get along well with the Sunnis, so he left them alone, saying, "Our enemy's enemy is our friend."
But the problem is that after the Assad regime collapsed, the new president who emerged in Syria, as shown a few times, is from Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda is a representative of hardline Islam, hardline Muslims, and hardline Sunnis. This means that from the current Syrian perspective, their view of the Druze is bound to be different from the past. They are heretics. People from Al-Qaeda have taken power in our country. And these heretics are within our country. Therefore, during the Syrian civil war, the Druze formed militias to protect themselves. They were afraid that the Syrian anti-government forces, who had taken power at that time, would attack them. After the Assad regime completely collapsed and they took power, their conflict with the government intensified, and soon there were clashes with the new government forces, meaning the current government. There were casualties and clashes.
As a result, the Druze asked for help from Israel, and Israel intervened. However, if you think about it, in May, the person on the right is the new president of Syria, who is said to be from Al-Qaeda. This president shook hands with Trump when Trump visited the Middle East. You might remember, at that time, when Trump visited, the Syrian president, who was from Al-Qaeda, shook hands with Trump, and Trump said, "I will lift sanctions for you, so try to improve relations with Israel." He said something like, "You've had a tough life as a young man, but try to do well in the future. Do well with your Israeli brother and with Syria, and make it a pro-American country." Trump said this when he visited Saudi Arabia.
However, the problem is that this was Trump's stance, and Israel's stance is that the Israeli right-wing thinks this way. They believe the new Syrian government is attacking the Druze. They are cruel and extremist Islamists. So, after the Syrian government changed and people who were formerly with Al-Qaeda took over the government, the Israeli right-wing couldn't stand it. They believe the new Syrian government is cruel and extremist Islamists. And the Israeli minister said this: "The West should not be fooled by the fact that former Al-Qaeda members are now wearing suits. Their fundamental nature has not changed. Do not be deceived by their suits and their camaraderie." Think about it, the current Syrian president is wearing a suit, but he was previously detained for trying to fight the United States and failed, and the United States had placed a $10 million bounty on the Syrian president. From Israel's perspective, they must bring down the new Syrian government. He even said this: "Once a terrorist, always a terrorist. We cannot negotiate with those who murder, insult, and rape people of other religions. We must assassinate or kill them." In other words, Netanyahu is currently forming a coalition, and the right-wing parties in that coalition are demanding the assassination of the Syrian president, another country's president.
So, this is the Israeli perspective. If we look at Israeli politics, Netanyahu cannot ignore the demands of Israeli religious leaders and the right-wing. He is currently in a coalition with them, forming a political force. Looking at the composition of the Israeli parliament, there are a total of 120 seats, and you need more than 60 seats to have a majority. Netanyahu's Likud party has 32 seats, the largest number. However, it's not a majority. So, he needs to form a coalition. Who is he currently allied with? The Zionist Union, Shas Party, and Torah Judaism. The Zionist Union, as the name suggests, is a right-wing party. It's the strongest right-wing party in Israel. These are the people who talk about assassination or not being fooled. They are mainly in the Zionist Union. In other words, they are the true right-wing party of Israel. And the Shas Party and Torah Judaism next to them, what are they? They are ultra-conservative religious parties. So, 14 seats are right-wing, and 18 seats are religious parties. And with a few small parties joining in, the coalition has a total of 68 seats, allowing Netanyahu to be prime minister.
So, if things continue like this, wouldn't it be fine? There's a problem. This is the main issue. There's an issue that swept through Israel a short while ago. Because of that, Israel is currently taking a very strong stance. What is it?
You can see the coalition being formed. As shown before, there is a group in Israel called the Haredi, ultra-Orthodox Jews. Do you remember? They are Jews, but they are people who only study their scripture, the Torah. They are waiting for the Messiah to return. They read the Torah for more than 10 hours a day. They study the Torah for 10, 12 hours. They do not engage in economic activity. Some do, but very few, and they live on government subsidies. They only pray. In reality, in Israel, when criticizing the Haredi, people say, "Hey, you don't work and just receive subsidies and pray?" Then the Haredi say, "The world, I am praying for you. Is it important to earn money and engage in economic activity in this secular world? Is praying for the return of the Messiah more important? I am more important. I am doing this difficult thing for you, so you should naturally support me." This is the Haredi stance. And they do not serve in the military.
But nowadays, when you look at Israel, it's at war on all sides. So, how do Israelis view the Haredi? Do they think, "Oh, it's so grateful that they pray for us"? Or do they think, "Everyone else is going to the military, but what about those guys who are just reading the Torah with government subsidies and not going to the military?" Moreover, as we all know, in Israel, women are also subject to conscription. So, many Israeli citizens have their sons and daughters going to war. But the Haredi do not. Therefore, when there were fewer wars in Israel in the past, it was fine, but now that there are wars on all sides, public opinion towards the Haredi has worsened significantly. If you conduct a poll, over 80% of Israelis say, "Send the Haredi to the military. Is it acceptable to be exempt from military service?" This is the public opinion. Furthermore, it's not a problem if the Haredi are a small group, but their birth rate exceeds 6. It used to be 7. Reading the Torah and having children is their entire job. Their entire job, or rather, it's what they consider important. So, their entire job is praying, having children, and raising them. And these children also do not receive secular education because they are Haredi. They only read the Torah, waiting for the Messiah to return. And how many people are there? Over 1.3 million. With a birth rate of over 6, it is projected that soon a significant portion of the Israeli population, 20% or 30%, will be Haredi. Israel's population is less than 10 million. Excluding the Haredi, Israel's birth rate is not very high. But the Haredi have six children each. So, while they are currently 13% of the total population, soon they will be 20% or 30%. Such a large community that doesn't work, doesn't go to the military, and doesn't pay taxes, of course, lives on subsidies.
So, there is a lot of public opinion questioning whether this is acceptable. Especially in our country, the sensitive issue of not going to the military, or avoiding military service, is a big deal. Everyone contributes to national defense, but you don't. Similarly, in Israel, people are very angry. Therefore, there have been lawsuits regarding the Haredi's military service for several years, and in 2025, the Israeli Supreme Court made a final ruling, essentially stating that Haredi men must also be conscripted and serve in the military. I believe, although I'm not very familiar with Israeli law, that they have made a final ruling. The Israeli Supreme Court has ordered the conscription of ultra-Orthodox Jews, who have long been exempt from military service, into the military. They cited the grounds that exemption for religious reasons violates the right to equality.
But the problem is that they haven't served in the military for decades. And for them, going to the military is a sin. Going to the military is a sin. As I mentioned before, some Haredi even deny the existence of Israel itself. Why? Because they believe the Messiah will come and give them the land flowing with milk and honey and save them. But you are not the Messiah, so why did you create a country? Israel was not created by the Messiah. So, this country is problematic. We should give it to Palestine, and we should leave for exile. We should wait until the Messiah comes. Why are you fighting with the military and demanding land? Shouldn't you wait for the Messiah to give it to you? Some people think this way, so they are extremely religious, and they consider military service a sin. They cannot imagine shooting someone. And they perceive this as a threat to ultra-Orthodox Judaism. So, naturally, when they are told to go to the military, they strongly oppose it, and protests by the Haredi are erupting all over Israel. There are frequent clashes between those trying to take them and those refusing to go.
Moreover, if this were just a social issue, it would be one thing. But as I showed you earlier, what did I show you? I showed you Netanyahu's coalition. I said Netanyahu's party has 32 seats, but they formed a coalition to exceed the majority. The ultra-conservative religious parties in Netanyahu's coalition, Shas and Torah Judaism, combined have as many as 18 seats. Netanyahu's current coalition has 68 seats. But these two parties combined have 18 seats. If they leave, it's 51 seats. 50 seats. Then the majority collapses immediately. If the coalition collapses, he might have to resign as prime minister.
Furthermore, the religious parties say, "We are religious parties, but since the Supreme Court has ordered us to go to the military, we respect the judicial ruling. So, Haredi people, you have diligently studied the Torah, but now go to the military and study the Torah there." Will the people in those ultra-conservative religious parties say this? The leader of the Shas Party, the largest religious party, said this: "There is no force in the world that can separate the people of Israel from studying the Torah. Those who have tried in the past have all failed miserably. If the current government does not immediately reverse this terrible persecution of the Haredi by ordering them to the military, we will pursue the dissolution of the government." He even declared his withdrawal from the coalition if Netanyahu's government does not actively prevent this. And he gave them a deadline: "Reverse the terrible persecution, or we will move beyond withdrawing from the coalition to a vote to dissolve the government." He is essentially threatening Netanyahu, saying that if the persecution is not reversed, they will vote to dissolve the government.
So, what should Netanyahu do? From Prime Minister Netanyahu's perspective, the Supreme Court has ruled that they must go to the military. But if he doesn't send them to the military for the sake of his political coalition, and if 80% of the Israeli public supports sending them to the military, and if Netanyahu blocks this, his political career will also be at risk. He is in a situation where he can neither move forward nor backward.
Moreover, in this situation, since his allies, the Shas Party and Torah Judaism, are leaving, the right-wing party, the Zionist Union, will inevitably gain more influence. If Shas and Torah leave, and even if the Zionist Union leaves, the coalition will collapse. So, the right-wing's voice will inevitably grow louder. But what do the right-wing parties say? As I showed you earlier, they say, "We must continue the war. No concessions are possible. We should not negotiate a ceasefire with Hamas. The war in Gaza should not end." If they say this, they will immediately withdraw from Netanyahu's cabinet. Moreover, as I mentioned earlier, the right-wing party said, "We must eliminate the Syrian president." The government has changed in Syria. They say, "We must assassinate the president of another country. We must attack Syria. We must go to war with Syria." This is the current situation.
So, politically, it's not easy for Netanyahu. Furthermore, in this situation, Netanyahu himself is facing a corruption scandal in Israel and must appear in court. The trial is ongoing. If things go wrong, he could go to prison. If this coalition collapses and he steps down as prime minister, he could go directly to jail. While he is prime minister, he might not be subject to judicial rulings as much, but if he steps down as prime minister, he could go to jail immediately. So, he cannot afford to step down. The religious parties are saying, "Don't send the Haredi to the military," and the right-wing parties are saying, "Assassinate the Syrian president, push them back, and there can be no peace negotiations." If he doesn't listen to anyone, he could go to jail. This is the situation.
So, the only way to cover up all these issues and maintain the coalition is to engage in external wars, isn't it? This is a common perspective. Therefore, many people believe that Netanyahu's best course of action is this war, another war. But the problem is that he wanted to strike Iran and deal with Iran, but Iran is acting as if nothing happened, and there's no significant counterattack. Gaza seems to be over, and Hezbollah in the north is also not a major issue. He wanted to strike, but the war is dragging on, and it's like the Ukraine war, which should last for three or four years. But Iran is also saying, "Sorry, let's stop," and there's no counterattack. So, perhaps Syria was targeted for this reason. Many people think so.
And indeed, after the airstrike in Syria, his trial was scheduled. He said this: "For the sake of national security, please suspend my trial." He said, "I am the prime minister. We are at war. I am fighting for national security, but do you have to try me for corruption? The country is in danger." The court approved this request. He actually said this: "The extremist Israeli government is oppressing our brethren in Israel, the Druze, as I mentioned earlier, there are 150,000 of them in Israel. If I lose this war because of my corruption trial, what will happen?" He is currently navigating his own crisis by saying this.
However, the Syrian government has issued a statement condemning the Israeli airstrike. They called it a blatant violation of their sovereignty and international law. They issued a strong and angry statement, but do they have the physical means to shoot down Israeli fighter jets flying over the Syrian capital? They issued a strong statement, but can they physically retaliate? The Syrian government has no means to respond. Why? Because it wasn't like this before. As I mentioned earlier, the Syrian regime changed. The Assad regime collapsed. This gentleman, who was part of the anti-government forces, became president by overthrowing the government. But the problem is that during the overthrow of the Assad regime, it was the Syrian civil war. Israel and they joined forces and destroyed Syria's air defense system. At that time, Syria's air defense system was attacking them, so they destroyed it. Israel, seizing the opportunity, carried out over 600 airstrikes in Syria, destroying Syria's air defense systems and missiles.
As a result, Israeli fighter jets can fly over Syrian airspace without any problem. They can't do anything about it, even if they open their eyes. Moreover, as I showed you earlier, even the Syrian Ministry of Defense is being bombed live on air while the entire Syrian population is watching.
So, on July 16th, Syria finally announced its withdrawal from Druze areas where the Druze reside. "Okay. You say you are protecting the Druze. Hey, we'll withdraw. Okay? We lost. We'll move back. And the area where the Druze are now. Well, let the Druze handle it. Let them maintain security. We'll even hand over power to the residents. Let them govern themselves. Okay. Deal." So, since we lost, "Let's have a ceasefire." Syria immediately declared a ceasefire. "No, we lost. Okay. We'll give them autonomy. We'll withdraw our troops. It's over. We lost." But Israel declared a ceasefire. Of course, they got everything they wanted. They got to protect the Druze, their brethren. But then they said, "Hey, you can't stop the war now. Hey, wait a minute. You said you'd withdraw. No, that's not allowed. Airstrikes on Syria will continue as deemed necessary." What is deemed necessary? Wait a minute, what about the Druze? They said they'd give autonomy to the Druze. But then Prime Minister Netanyahu said, "Well, we have taken measures, and we will continue to take measures if necessary." "But they are giving autonomy? You say you are going to protect the Druze. They are giving autonomy to the Druze. Well, I understand that, but whether to stop or not is my decision." He is saying, "I'll see how it goes. If it's not good, I'll attack. If it's not good, I won't attack."
So, why is Netanyahu taking such a stance? If we look at the domestic political situation, if Syria surrenders and withdraws like Iran, then what will happen? Many people are saying that the attacks on Syria are just another way to find a target and divert attention. Gaza is finished. Iran is also finished. Nothing much is happening. "Hey, what's going on? Syria is withdrawing. Oh, you're withdrawing. Oh, no, no, we'll hit you gently. We'll hit you gently. Just stay there. Just stay there. If you go in, you'll be assassinated. Stay there. Stay there. If you go in, you'll be assassinated. Stay there." There's nothing like that. "We're just hitting you gently." It's like this.
And anyway, the United States, which used to be the global police, Trump is on Netanyahu's side. Trump said, "The trial of Netanyahu by the Israeli judiciary is a baseless witch hunt. How can the Israeli judiciary try such a great leader like Netanyahu? Did the Israeli judiciary get elected by the people? How can a judiciary not elected by the people try a leader elected by the people?" He actually said that. He said that true sovereignty comes from the people, so a leader elected by the people is superior. How can the judiciary try them? This is Trump's stance, so he is talking about a witch hunt. Therefore, the fact that the war is being maintained is a political victory for Netanyahu, isn't it? This is the current peculiar situation in Israel and the Middle East. [Music]