TRANSCRIPT
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The Rabbi Daniel Lapin Podcast
Episode: Should Jews Leave America? | Are We Bugging Out?
Date: 11/09/2026 Length: 00:44:08
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (00:00)
Greetings, Happy Warriors, and welcome to a further conversation in our ongoing series, Should Jews Leave America? And we want to thank you very much for being part of the show and we hope that you've been enjoying it so far. This is a
Susan Lapin (00:26)
Sure, enjoy is the right word. Yeah. Because we we've the we've we have I don't it must be a word. We have enjoyed speaking to the people we've been speaking to, but it's not an enjoyable
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (00:38)
meaningful experience, but it hasn't been fun.
Susan Lapin (00:41)
Yeah. Okay. So we hope you have been finding it a meaningful experience.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (00:47)
Yes, okay. And so what are we doing today, Susan?
Susan Lapin (00:50)
Well, we're doing a little bit of a roundup. We still have people that we are very eager to speak to and we hope we will be presenting them to you. But we thought, particularly after the election, this week this is we're taping this on Thursday after the election in the United States on Tuesday, that we should just kind of say what this meaningful experience of speaking to all these people, where what are we feeling right now along with the results of the election? What are you - how are you feeling?
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (01:21)
uh Well, on the one hand I say that, you know, this just validates the entire 5F approach, this idea that uh regardless of what malstroms might swirl around the foundations of our beings, whatever is happening geopolitically or whatever is happening on a scale larger than we can control, each and every one of us can still advance the interests of our families and our finances, our friendships, our faith, and our fitness. But it doesn't take away the fact that the circumstances in which we structure our lives could change very dramatically. And I always go back, you know, when people say, you know, everything is fine, God's in charge, nothing to worry about. I always say that's exactly what people said in Warsaw, Poland in August of 1939.
Susan Lapin (02:22)
God was in charge. Sometimes God allows punishments and we do have punishments. God does allow bad things to happen.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (02:34)
So leaving the theology part aside for the moment.
Susan Lapin (02:37)
You want right. So
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (02:40)
Let's run through quickly where we're up to and what the two sides seem to break down.
Susan Lapin (02:44)
We were going to break our guests down. At the moment we've spoken, I believe, to it's eight or nine people. Uh so let's put them into categories each
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (02:54)
Experts in their field
Susan Lapin (02:55)
one coming from a slightly different perspective, which we appreciated and we learned something from each one. I would say we have s those who are more optimistic about the future of America, those that are more pessimistic about the future of America. And the real question is - Who is being more of a realist? Are the pessimists or the optimists more being real?
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (03:21)
It also depends, I think, to some extent, on the circumstances in which one finds ourselves. So we're providing, through this series, think, what I'm finding to be very helpful uh spectrum of approaches. But each and every one listening, each everyone participating is looking at their own lives. And whether a person is Jewish or Christian makes a difference, whether a person... is early on in their lives or later on. All of these things are factors. So all we can do is provide, and I think we are doing that, uh a picture of the reality. Here's how it is. And how you interpret this for your own lives, well that's up to each and every one of us to do, don't you think?
Susan Lapin (04:09)
yes and no because
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (04:10)
tell me about the no. I'm always more interested when you disagree with me. Don't like it, but I
Susan Lapin (04:14)
Yes, everyone can interpret through their own life, but when everyone only interprets through their own life in a very narrow way, you'll remember we have a good
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (04:21)
I didn't say interpret, it applies. In other words, what you do with this information in your own life.
Susan Lapin (04:27)
For sure. But there are going to be patterns. In others, that's what how human beings work, right? We can predict large numbers of people in general. And the polls this time actually turned out to be correct, even though a lot of people were saying, they're fake, and they were there was actually two fake polling companies. There were reasons to say it. This time they turned out to be accurate. Other times they've turned out to be extremely inaccurate. Yeah. So we spoke and I would say among the optimists we spoke to uh as a historian, David Barton, who says and I we do appreciate hearing from him, he gave a wonderful explanation and pulling us back to the founding of the country and what was real here. And he is a fighter and he's he basically says, look, we have to go out and we have to get elected to school boards and we have to get elected to local offices.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (05:24)
the way from David largely in terms of perspective and encouragement was things happen slowly.
Susan Lapin (05:31)
Yes. That's what he was saying. And I he knows a lot more than I do. I do think that time is speeding up. In other words, if you look at the time it takes something it used to take something to become widespread, simply a technology.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (05:49)
It difference. Things happen because people interact with one another like atoms banging to each other in atoms of air in a balloon, atoms of oxygen, molecules of air bouncing off each other. Once upon a time when it took several days to get information from, shall we say, New York to Philadelphia, so things happen much more slowly, but today indeed through technology.
Susan Lapin (06:14)
Not only that, we certainly understand in the natural world, you can be living a wonderful life and if a tsunami hits your village, that is overnight. That's not a slow development. There were it's a w I always find it very eerie when I hear about people who are picnicking and having they're just finishing up their summers in Poland and the Nazis invade. Things changed overnight. So I agree with David that that things I don't think the new members of Congress or s or the Senate are going to come in and overnight the country's going to be overturned. But I also have a hesitation whether it will be kept at a at abeyance and there will be a refusal to do something. The same way, you know, FDR tried to pack the Supreme Court and it got people said no, including Democrats and his own party. That is one of the biggest questions I have actually. I don't believe that everyone who was elected in the Democrat Party is a bad person. I don't think everybody who's elected who's a Democrat hates America. I think there are true patriots who got elected and people who love this country and the founding ideals of this country. One of the things that concerns me, and I remember being very this struck me when Richard Nixon and Watergate happened. What made Nixon resign? It was a visit by Republicans to
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (07:42)
Yeah, his own party.
Susan Lapin (07:43)
him. His own party came to him.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (07:45)
We can't support you any longer.
Susan Lapin (07:48)
I remember when, you know, uh when Monica the Monica Lewinsky thing, well, this was a period where w there was a very strong message men in power should not be allowed to abuse women, young women. President of the United States and an intern, a young intern. That was clear-cut. Not w I was waiting. I was waiting for one person in the administration to say, I'm terribly sorry, I have to resign, I can no longer serve. And I remember being shocked. That not one, not one person unless my history's wrong and I don't rem I'm not remembering
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (08:22)
You remember, even Joe Lieberman, who made a whole, his whole position was always the conscience of the Democratic Party. When push came to shove, he was a politician just like everybody else.
Susan Lapin (08:34)
And so I was very um I remember being very perturbed by that. And I do think, which is really funny because I think in the sixties the Democrats it would have been, we're individualists. They've not, they're much more lockstep. I do believe Democrats as a party are much more lockstep where Republicans are independent to the point that it's sometimes frustrating. You want to say, can't you guys just work together? You know, and it's no, because I think this and the next person thinks over here and over here's where Democrats I I do think go more lockstep. So my hope, my plea to the newly elected is it's look, you're coming in, if you're coming into office as a congressman, let's say, you're coming from maybe the small, maybe you've not even been elected to an office before, maybe you've been in a small local office. It's very easy to come in and you should have the humility to say, I need to learn.
But at the same time, you have to have I want to know what is your line in the sand. In other words, right now, there is no free speech amendment in in the United Kingdom in England. But there is no free speech in in England. I want to know if you are told, look, we want to start putting people in jail because they say something against Mohammed. Well, are you - what is your line in the sands? Is that a line in the sand for you? If there's a move t to t end the second amendment, is that your line in the sands? I just wanna hear from people. This is my line in the sand.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (10:02)
Look, are there people who are coming into Congress, will the new Congress have people in it whose desire is to do away with the Electoral College? Yeah. Yeah. Are there people coming into the new Congress who have a desire to expand the number of people on the Supreme Court? Yes. Yes. They're not listening to us.
Susan Lapin (10:25)
Right, but there are people who will vote on those things. And that's why I want to know the new people I would I would love to hear, and there were, there were people who did run for office and refused to buy into anti-Israel hatred, anti-Jewish hatred, anti- even anti-Trump hatred, or anti-white male hatred. Yeah. So I would like I my hope and prayer is that there are enough good people who voted for these people and people coming into office who will say to here.
And no further and one of the positive things that you know there were four states that had bills that to keep men who think they're female out of female sports.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (11:06)
Think claim.
Susan Lapin (11:07)
Men who claim they're female out of female sports. And they passed each one of those
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (11:11)
In other words, the good guys won.
Susan Lapin (11:13)
in the in the most leftist of states, in Washington State and Colorado. So there is a point at which people say Can't go past this determinement, you know.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (11:25)
always been fascinated that so devoted to the ideological purity and doctrinal conformity of left-wing politics that you would have thought knowing as everybody knows that that men competing with women on the sports field it's a losing proposition Americans to the extent that there is such a thing any longer as a man
It's not a winning, and yet they cannot help but push this because they are so committed to doctrinal purity. That's a good thing.
Susan Lapin (12:02)
But a lot of people who voted for a Democrat or for many Democrats also voted that to say no, that's a step too far. And that's where I think we need to to say what is a step too far. And you know, one of the interesting things we the vote used to be from 20 H 21. H twenty one was the voting age on in federal elections. I don't know about local. But we it moved to eighteen during the Vietnam War. At the same time, so you had the age going down, at the same time you had this growing up, slowing down. So there used to be eighteen year olds who are out there and working and getting married and now the attitude is, come on, your prefrontal cortex doesn't develop till you're twenty five and don't rush to get married and go and have fun or go to school, but don't go get into the workforce yet. Just be just take with the go we'll give you money to go to school, we'll give you Yeah. And be a taker. Continue being a child and at and we so we've
Lowered the voting age, and we've raised the age of people having to actually live in the real world and face the things that adults face. And that's a very bad thing. The possibly um silver lining in that is I don't think a lot of people, you know, I just read a piece by a woman who was very active in the pro-Palestinian camp on her campus. She was an activist, and she was active, and she was out there and she was shouting and she was.
And then she was invited to a Nova memorial. Nova was the festival, the music, the peace music festival that the Israelis were attending when they were jumped on by Hamas and massacred and heard him and kidnapped. Well, she had not heard of that. She did not know about that. She went and she came back and started asking questions, and people, well, we don't talk about that. I don't want to hear about that.
That the you're evil if you if you listen to that. She's now a huge pro-Israel activist because she actually started looking for herself and these are two things. One, she was living in such a bubble, and that is a terrible thing. So young people, many of them, many people in America, I mean, partially it's technology, we're also living a little bit in a bubble because we the feed, the technology puts you where you are. It reinforces where you are. But that means that there are people who are extremely extraordinarily ignorant. And if we it means there's an opportunity, and I'm afraid that's why the murder of Charlie Kirk was such a blow to America, because he got people to be willing to listen and just open their ears a little bit. And people are so ignorant that if we can just find that that key to opening, I do think there are a lot of people who are good people. Look, if I believed the lies being told about Israel, I would also be anti Israel.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (14:57)
People should say, try this experiment with young people. Go to somebody and say, look, play a little game here. You've got to say the first thing that comes into your mind. First word you think of. I'm going to say table. Your response, chair. Knife? Fork. Fork, okay. Genocide? Yeah.
But really, genocide, I think the word came into use, if I'm not mistaken, in connection, if not this one, then very close, to the Armenian genocide.
Susan Lapin (15:28)
But there are real genocides in the world that
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (15:32)
effectively.
Susan Lapin (15:36)
have been
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (15:36)
That was really an attempt to wipe out everybody and the notion that uh What you'd have to say is Israel Since there are more people in Gaza now than they were Israel is either very inept at conducting a genocide or you're being lied to
Susan Lapin (15:54)
And the whole Iran war and we for many, many, many years got very upset when people would speak to us and you're a rabbi, so you'd be introduced as rabbi and right away they would start telling us how they feel about Israel, American politicians. And we would get very upset and say, Hello, we're Americans. Can you please talk
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (16:11)
More than that, once, in my general quest to win friends and be loved by everybody, I actually said to three politicians on separate occasions, and I remember exactly who they were because each one said, Rabbi, I will always stand with Israel. No, it's much more than that. I will always stand with Israel. And my response to each one of them was, in that case, I know I want to see you tried for treason because how can you possibly say that? Maybe there'll be a time when Israel's interests and America's interests don't coincide, how can you patronize me to the extent of telling me you'll always, says who, what are you talking?
Susan Lapin (16:50)
I know. So but okay, but we will admit that we are in the minority. And we got very irritated with the Jewish community. Yes. But and not that they didn't love America, but that was almost a de facto assumption. And so Israel is where they're
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (17:04)
Also Jews voting, they've got to vote for Joe Lieberman in 2000 because how tribal.
Susan Lapin (17:08)
Yeah, we objected to that as well. However, the fact is that the we're not the majority.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (17:16)
I liked your idea of a pledge. Where is the point you won't go beyond? I always wanted to get from politics, and I still do. What is the figure above which you will never support Americans being taxed? What is the absolute max? Just tell me the maximum figure that Americans should be taxed, and nobody will tell you.
Susan Lapin (17:38)
So when I when the Iran war and I think we would both agree one of the mistakes that America has done now in Korea and Vietnam over and over and over the Gulf Wars, you don't go into a war unless you're willing to fight to win. That there has to be a winner and a loser. You don't go into just to
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (17:56)
Winners have to be defined which is why nonsensical terms like the war on poverty is complete nonsense because there's no defined victory
Susan Lapin (18:04)
No, I think that Iran is an enemy of the United States. I think that Israel is a step on the weight
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (18:10)
You don't have to think Iran has stated that quite explicitly.
Susan Lapin (18:14)
So Israel is a step on the way. So I think there are very valid reasons that for Israel for America to fight Iran, not to protect Israel, but to protect America. However, I think it was you don't go into something like this unless you are committed to it. You have to be willing to be committed. You not that you're gonna, you know, do a little bit and then come back. So I think I do think that Donald Trump did bungle this. And certainly he bungled because he didn't speak to the American people, which means he let everybody else just be.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (18:42)
To people that it's not, to have a hostile nation in possession of an atomic device is not a good idea.
Susan Lapin (18:51)
But I think what did happen, I saw a meme. I really do understand being upset at Republicans. We've been most of our life being upset at Republicans. Being upset at President Trump, who I think has done some really wonderful things for this country, but they get over they got overshadowed. First of all, the press doesn't want to give him credit. But he also just this is who he is. You know, he's gonna talk about the ballroom or do the ballroom or talk about how his children should be allowed to make money using his name or instead of Talking about the things that he's actually done that are good. He's cut out. There has been a lot of ways cut out of the government. There have been a lot of criminals deported. There have been good things that have happened that people care about. And for some reason he hasn't wanted to talk about it. And um but I was going wait, I was saying I was heading somewhere and then saw your look that you want to say something, and it went straight out of my head.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (19:41)
All right, well, we'll come back. I want to take us back to episodes that in case people haven't seen. And I'm thinking particularly of two episodes, which I think in many ways, well, they were all dramatic, but two really dramatic episodes were one. One was conducted by a former Muslim who is now Christian.
Susan Lapin (20:00)
Danny Burmawi.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (20:02)
And the other one was a guest who was married not once, but I think twice to.
Susan Lapin (20:08)
She was married to a communist and then she was divorced and married to a Muslim.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (20:11)
This is a woman who should not be giving marriage advice.
Susan Lapin (20:14)
Well, but she is giving advice to America. She's saying, I know exactly what the end game is here. Please trust me. I I made mistakes. They're saying you Americans have no idea what you're facing. And it's interesting because certain s sometimes things collide with each other as well in life. In life they do. In America they do, and we have a very strong belief in freedom of religion.
And yet what certainly the people who are the two people we spoke to who are most knowledgeable about Islam were saying, no, no, no, no, no. Islam is a political movement. More than it's a religion. Most people do not separate. They go together or the politics is even more
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (21:04)
Look, 400 years ago, Christianity was also uh somewhat like that. When the Muslims uh camped at the gates of Vienna in 1683 to besiege the city and essentially invade Europe from the east, because through a few hundred years earlier, the attempted Muslim invasion from the west through the Iberian Peninsula was stopped by Roland of famous song.
at the Pyrenees, so now the Muslims are coming from the east. And what stops them? A Christian army race, not a national army, it was a Christian army made up of uh soldiers from many different countries, including the Vatican. So it's not that crazy an idea that religion translates into politics, because I've always said what
Susan Lapin (21:58)
Yeah.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (21:58)
I've always said is that politics is nothing more than the practical application of your most deeply held values. But today, that is not the case. Christianity is not a political force.
Susan Lapin (22:14)
Wait, wait, wait. I would still say it is. I would still say when I vote, I do bring my religious ideas. That is telling me who to vote. That isn't and that's But it's not a military. Not a mil no, but not a military force. All right. That's
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (22:25)
I think that's an interesting.
Susan Lapin (22:26)
what I was trying to say. There's an army versus yes, I of course my ideas and I and my Christian friend's ideas are that's who we vote for is affected by those ideas. But it's not a military force, and Islam is a military force. And so what the two people we spoke to who know most about Islam, one because he was brought up.
as a Muslim, the other because she married a Muslim and lived in Egypt for a few years, are saying you guys are being terribly, terribly not even if you remember, there was a quote way back when they took the what is Madeline Murray O'Hare? Was it prayer out of school or the Pledge of Allegiance with one nation unto God out of school?
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (23:05)
She wanted and praying school as well.
Susan Lapin (23:07)
She her son t quotes her as saying, I will use their own laws to destroy them. And that's what both Karen Hunt and Danny Burmawi was saying that you Americans, you are being fools because that you're letting people use your own laws to destroy them. And one of the things that we've now seen is we've seen people wrap themselves in a Palestinian kafia in while taking the oath of office or while getting their flags.
while they're giving their concession their not
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (23:38)
seen it really. They wrapped themselves in a Palestinian flag. Not in English. Yes.
Susan Lapin (23:42)
Their speech in Somali.
Yes, people have been w rapping in plenty. Had a Jewish politician ever wrapped himself in an Israeli flag, the Jewish community scream bloody murder.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (23:52)
would have been outraged. Yeah, for sure.
Susan Lapin (23:56)
And so what these people are saying is you don't understand. You are being invaded. And so it's not a freedom of religion. You are because it calls itself a religion, you are and because there is, there's a religious component certainly.
You are and not every Muslim does this, but you are being invaded because this is a peoplehood whose goal is world domination and so you're being invaded. So those were I would say the most pessimistic people we spoke to.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (24:26)
Where did someone like Josh Hammer, great interview with Josh Hammer, where do you think he fell?
Susan Lapin (24:32)
I think we spoke to an a few we spoke to Batya Ungar-Sargon and Josh Hammer.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (24:40)
She was saying, we're going to stick this out.
Susan Lapin (24:43)
Think
they are and both of their messages because the title of our piece is Should Jews Leave America, is a time Jews to leave America. Both of them said, Heck no, we have to stay and fight. This is my country. And that is I agree with that. I also have a certain hesitation that that and this is our question to our Christian friends, to non Christian friends, not Jewish friends, which is well, is the United States going to survive as we know it? This is that is really the question. And there are nations do fall. And sometimes they fall
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (25:18)
How times have I spoken on my 250 year?
Susan Lapin (25:21)
Sometimes they fall noticeably and they get another name and a new people taking over, like a dynasty change. And other times they have the same name but they're not you know, they uh I hear from people in England you can put up a Palestinian flag and be by your municipality will smile on that more. What you mustn't do is put up a Saint George flag. Yeah. You know, a traditional English flag. So
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (25:44)
It might make people uncomfortable.
Susan Lapin (25:46)
Yeah, will we still be the United States of America? That is recognizable.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (25:49)
I think that's true in many American public schools as well, where an American flag is viewed with anathema. Kids can bring flags of other countries.
Susan Lapin (25:57)
Yes, certain places where kids
So that's the question. Is it going to be recognizable and in the America that we that has been so blessed and has been such a blessing to so many people? So and then we had we spoke to two people, I think, in academia, Professor Robbie George at Princeton, Professor Craig Considine at Rice
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (26:18)
Rice Units.
Susan Lapin (26:18)
University. Yeah. And they had they were coming from different places. And again, um Professor George, who is a
Wonderful person and has been teaching for he's, I think he said over 40 years. He was seeing optimistic signs. That was a very nice thing to hear. He was seeing optimistic signs among his students. He said that the students from four years ago were more closed-minded than the students today. That students today are beginning to have a little more humility and a little more ability, not a little more, have an ability to listen to another point of view where students a few years ago didn't.
Which again is an opening if people if you can get people to listen. Professor Considine
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (26:59)
Very, very courageous man. I'm
Susan Lapin (27:01)
Both. I don't know who you're saying.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (27:04)
speaking about Professor Considine at Rice University. I really think he's got a
Susan Lapin (27:09)
He just so he now has a book, Islam Meets Marks and that is what this election was about because socialism and Islam are not bosom buddies naturally. So the only thing is the enemy of my enemy is my enemy. So is my friends.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (27:23)
Enemy man, my friend. You're not a really good revolutionary, Susan. We've really got to work on you.
Susan Lapin (27:28)
I need to write inside. So the enemy of my enemy is my friend. So if your goal is to destroy America, and that is the goal of socialism, because America's not a socialist country. That's an alien political philosophy to us. And Islam as a political movement is not is cannot exist with America, with the United States of America. So the two of them cannot exist together, but they can join up to defeat America. And that is what sadly has happened with certainly a number of politicians who were elected.
And are now part of the Senate or the Congress as of Tuesday night. Will Americans push back? Well, the you see pushback on certain things like the gender, transgender nuttiness. Um, you know, uh that a man someone with testosterone and who developed as a man can wrestle with a woman? I mean, that's absurd. That was absurd. And people said, nah, that's absurd.
But where will that happen enough? Will Americans say, you know what, I voted for you, but now I'm going out, I'm gonna let people know that I'm going to, you know, be as active in opposing you as the people who were supporting you were active. And who else? We spoke to Pastor Larry Huck, of course, who's now in Texas. We I'd love to speak to him because Texas was a big big yes. And then
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (28:42)
I'd love to have a follow up with him. It's scary what happened in Texas. scary. But he spoke a little bit about it.
Susan Lapin (28:50)
He knew they were coming, but and there that certain laws, Governor Abbott, who now is not going to be Governor Abbott, had passed, had they were they were making progress. Well, does that progress stop right now? In which case that's very, very bad for the United States of America. And we spoke, of course, to Sarah Sassoon, who gave a piece of Jewish history that again is lost in the whole free Palestine. The hundreds of thousands of Jews who lived in Arab countries who were forced out. Either they were expelled or they were forced out because if they stayed they were being
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (29:23)
who's literal ethnic cleansing, which is the...
Susan Lapin (29:25)
Her four grandparents were forced out of Iraq basically after having been there for almost or two thousand years, f thousands of years. We're not talking decades or hundreds of years, we're talking thousands of years. And the country Iraq is not a g let's just say don't go visit Iraq. It's not a great country now. It hasn't benefited from the change changes that it went through. And I think again Americans are a little naive. You know, Lebanon was a beautiful, beautiful country.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (29:53)
Until Islam took it over. used to be a heavily Christian country.
Susan Lapin (29:58)
So there is unfortunately a great deal of ignorance and naivete among Americans. Americans.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (30:05)
video.
Susan Lapin (30:06)
Many Americans. But I would say I was more pessimistic yesterday. And again, I do accept that it's in God's hands and I do think God creates rulers. I just also think that God does give us what we deserve a lot of the times, and that's very scary.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (30:21)
That's very hard.
Susan Lapin (30:23)
Very, very scary. Yeah.
So where do you stand on that question if you have to say now? Um uh
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (30:31)
Should Jews leave America?
Susan Lapin (30:32)
Is it time for Jews to say we had a good run here? You know what? We gave we gave a lot to this country. We blessed the country. We also caused harm. Jews tend to punch above their weight in both directions, for the good and for the bad. Uh we tend
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (30:45)
Yeah, what's that terrible Hungarian Jew? George Soros. George Soros.
Susan Lapin (30:48)
We tend to punch above and you know, we were activists.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (30:53)
Schumer, Adam Schiff, many Jewish
Susan Lapin (30:56)
We're activists for good and for bad. Good question. So is it so have we had
Susan Lapin (31:01)
Good run. We've done wonderful this and David Barton, of course, went through the history a little bit, as did Batya Ungar-Sargon. The Jews have been here since the 1600s, before the revolution. Yeah. The revolution might have had a different result had there not been Jews involved in it, because they were the ones who basically helped finance it. And guess what? War does take money. But
w d has that run now gone and they're a thing you know, d I always think, you know, when I you say I sometimes I feel, my goodness, I cannot believe how many Jews have harmed this country. Like well, many of the politicians right now today. But at the same time I say, you know what, at how many women have harmed? Do I have to feel bad that because I'm a female and there have been some terrible, terrible, terrible female politicians? Do w you know, if you are
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (31:49)
Do remember Patricia Schroeder talking of terrible female politicians? How the damage she did to the United States
Susan Lapin (31:56)
So do but I don't and that's partially I think what the left does is they say, you were saying this, you were saying they'd say, I can decide who I am. Am I a man? Am I a woman? Am I whatever I want to do? But we they look at other people in a group. So I don't necessarily have to I don't have to apologize for women. I shouldn't have to apologize for Jews, except theologically, as a Jew, we have an a an idea that internally that if I I'm not doing enough, if there are Jews who are really
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (32:25)
Then somewhat out of
Susan Lapin (32:25)
Doing terrible, terrible things. Somewhat
my responsibility. But not as an American, just like I wouldn't ask um you know, Catholics don't have to apologize for Biden or for P Nancy Pelosi. Well, not
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (32:36)
Well, Biden needs a lot of apology.
Susan Lapin (32:38)
by, not automatically because someone is Catholic, they have to feel bad. Um, you know, that w that's been a feature of America. So however, the fact is that for many, many, many years we try to support Christianity in America. Not again, not as a political dogma that you have to be Christian to be American or that you need to be in office, but that the ethos was a Judeo Christian ethos of this country.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (33:04)
Also the cultural hostility to Christianity.
Susan Lapin (33:06)
We fought against that and we s tried to encourage the Jewish community to recognize the danger of a weakening of Christianity in America. And of course, if you say the number of people who would have identified themselves as Christians 30 years ago to now has gone down by a tremendous amount. And it's a more dangerous country. The truth is now today the danger is coming at Jewish people. And it's coming sorry, and if you have any doubts as to Zion when you say you're anti-Zionist, it's anti-Jewish. There is no such thing right now in Philadelphia, right? There's a
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (33:42)
We're getting off topic.
Susan Lapin (33:43)
well I know what I want to come to the question. Um to move don't eat in a Jewish owned restaurant. That's not Israeli owned, it's not because it's a Zion it is hatred of Jews. That's where, sorry, that's where El Sayed and he tested it and he still got elected, and that's very troubling. So considering that
It is very likely this country is going to become more dangerous to be a Jewish person. You know, I went to tr I went to Trader Joe's yesterday and because of the wonderful concern for the environment that people are so concerned about. These places have stopped giving you bags for free. And it irks me to pay that nickel or dime or whatever they want to charge. So I the don't use bags at all. But some this time I actually had. I had in the car bags and I took them. But I picked up one that was from a Jewish store and it said Judaica.
And I actually hesitated and said, Well, do I wanna be so identified? As if I'm not identifiable, I probably am. But I decide, yeah, I'm gonna be identified. And of course, no one said anything and it was perfectly courteous and it was no problem. But the fact that hesitation and the world is getting more dangerous, you know, the incidence of violence against Jews has gone is going through the roof. So is it
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (34:51)
We've got daughters who worry about whether they should take off their Star of David necklace when they ride the subway in New York. So
Susan Lapin (34:58)
So is it time for Jews to leave America? Yeah. I'm asking you.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (35:01)
You're asking me the answer is no. Uh but that doesn't mean that there is not a deterioration. I'll give you an example. Um air travel in America was quite wonderful at a certain point. I don't know, I'm gonna say um maybe uh the early seventies.
Susan Lapin (35:25)
Okay.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (35:26)
What I mean by that was, you know, you traveled your meals were served on China trays and it was really quite lovely. You came to the gate, you go okay. Travel is much worse today. Okay. It's never gonna go - don't think it's gonna go back. It's certainly better than it was in some of the years directly after nine eleven. Some of the things have been relaxed, they've started a fast lane. But is it going back to that not? And I think the same thing is true. The fact is that up until the sixties, a middle class American family could live an enviable lifestyle on the income of one person. And women could walk safely at any time of the day on out almost anywhere in any city. That's true. Um and children were educated at school. None of that's coming back to that level. It may not be as bad as it is now, it may improve from where it is now, but it's not going back to that. So there is an overall decline which we have to recognize. However, even with that decline in place, America is still a wonderful country and still is the place that people are going to struggle to uh to come to if they possibly can. So yeah, I wouldn't say it's time. At the same point, For reasons that don't necessarily have to do with safety or the if there's a young person now who says to me, uh I have the option of starting my life. I'm just getting married. We can either settle in the United States of America or we can settle in uh Estonia or in I'm trying to think of Iceland. I mean there are countries where interesting things are hap Poland, Hungary. I think
Susan Lapin (37:27)
Well they just went the wrong thing.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (37:29)
Yes, I don't think also. I do think that that's a different question from somebody uh saying to me, you know, I'm I'm I've lived my life in America, do I have to run now? No, you don't have to run now, not at all, nowhere. Um I don't think that's true. It's quite separate from the fact that there may well be Jews who have a strong emotional pull to live in the land of Abraham and Isaac and
Susan Lapin (37:53)
We said our series was not that's not about should Jews move to Israel that's
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (37:57)
That's not what we're talking about. So the short answer is Should Jews leave America? absolutely not.
Susan Lapin (38:05)
I would like to say so from my perspective I would like to say I stay and fight. Absolutely. So Jews who sh some Jews should leave America. The ones who vote badly and stupidly they should leave.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (38:16)
That's an interesting idea.
Susan Lapin (38:18)
They're not asking me quite frankly.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (38:20)
Should we try and start a fund to help and encourage the emigration of Chuck Schumer and
Susan Lapin (38:27)
I think they I think they're gonna get kicked out. I mean I think Shirinch are
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (38:31)
Their time is limited.
Okay, so you differ from me on this?
Susan Lapin (38:40)
I think you know, there's you're one of the books that you really dislike greatly and movies you dislike greatly is Gone with the Wind. And there's this
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (38:50)
I don't I don't mind going with the wind. I'm saddened. I think that it I think it portrayed a lot
Susan Lapin (38:57)
Leave it. No, quick leave it. It's well, it should lose. It was slavery. That that was a good but putting it in perspective, there's a there was a point where Rhett Butler, who is the hero and scoundrel of the book, made a lot of money off the war, profiteering. And when the law the he's southern and when the South is obviously losing, he marches off and joins the army. That's because so I
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (39:23)
noble and honorable.
Susan Lapin (39:24)
So I think there is something to be said of you know what, I'm American. America's been very good to me, good to my family. I I owe it to stay and fight, even if and this is assuming there is a wonderful place to move to, which is questionable. That's its own question. Where to is a question is a separate question. But I want to stay and fight. At the same time, history ha I know Jewish history.
And I don't know that I'm willing to risk my grandchildren's life. In other words, would I say to them, um, settle here and buy property and get married here? Exactly it's a little bit what you
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (40:02)
That the day will come when the wise advice is for Jews to leave. I think it may come.
Susan Lapin (40:09)
it comes, that's the end of America. We
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (40:13)
It means the constitution is
Susan Lapin (40:15)
we came closer to it on Tuesday night, and I would say that there are going to be very important marks. And as if the Supreme Court does get expanded, if gun rights get affected nationally, those would be danger signals that I would be very, very wary of. And I would and that's why I say I really am saying we all had better get to work being both absolutely adamant in what our lines are that cannot be crossed and also in becoming more able to explain our perspective and what why America is a wonderful country to people and more welcoming because there's a generation of kids out there, you know, there's a lot, a lot of kids out there who are young and stupid and ignorant. They think they they're educated. They've been in school forever. They're incredibly, incredibly ignorant, and who are also very lonely and unhappy. And I think that there is an opportunity to embrace and And let them see that there's another side of the world that doesn't need angry and full of hatred that that's not really a great way to live your life. Please let's thank the people. This was made possible. Well hopefully we may not we may end up missing a week or so. It may not be every single week, but we do have people with invitations out, people who've said that they would like to talk to us and we just haven't been able to find the right time. So we're not ending this series, but at the moment, we're not sure that it's going to be every week. And we do this was made possible because it was an expensive t both in time and money series to promote. I mean to produce and to promote. And we want to thank a number of couples. There were nine couples actually who stepped forward and underwrote this. Some of them, four of them want to stay anonymous. Thank you.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (42:10)
Perfect people. Thank you, Peter
and Marsha Brockney, dear friends, and we greatly appreciate you participating. Renat & Vaida Buga in
Susan Lapin (42:25)
who live in Germany now.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (42:27)
Germany.
longtime friends Cindy and Bob Vick in the state of Washington. We miss you guys and we very much appreciate you helping to make this possible. Andrea and Christopher Wilhelm of HW Design. And we see you regularly and we're
Susan Lapin (42:46)
On our Happy Warriors live chat.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (42:48)
And dear friends Jeff & Margo Lestz, the creators of GeniStar, which is a large financial services company in the United
Susan Lapin (42:57)
Kingdom
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (42:58)
Kingdom. I spoke in Switzerland, Jeff flew over the channel to join me there for that time, which was wonderful. Um Scott Beall, thank you very much indeed. Jerry and Sue Horst, our lovely friends from Pennsylvania, and
Susan Lapin (43:16)
Four anonymous couples, which who we very much appreciate.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (43:20)
So
Susan Lapin (43:21)
And we appreciate all of you who've been watching. If I hope we hope you've learned as much as we did by listening and it's to can spark conversations. You may there are things people said we disagreed with, there are things we strongly agreed with, there were things that were new to us, and we hope it did the same for you. And so we hope and that is something that is being lost in this country is the ability to sit and have disagreements and have conversations without basically saying it's my way or the highway.
Rabbi Daniel Lapin (43:50)
But no what no matter what is going on, we can still all remain aware, focused and intent on our families and finances, our friendships and our faith and our fitness. Thanks for being with us. God bless.
