Understanding the Mind of a Hamas Jihadist | Sam Harris on Call Me Back With Dan Senor

An excerpt from Sam's appearance on Call Me Back with Dan Senor. You can watch the full podcast here: • Sam Harris - One Year ...

[@Shawner556]

"Tolerating other's religious intolerance" This will be our downfall if we don't do something about it.

[@BigRedBugs]

But it's a declaration of human rights of the United Nations....next thing is how to enlighten humans to realise some religions' teaching is so bad and is not for humans.

[@JamesBarry-j7m]

There are so many still being held We mustn't forget them.

[@50-50_Grind]

And many still buried under rubble.

[@fuzzybunnyluv]

Yes, held in Israel too

[@elanbair4571]

"you have to tolerate my religious intolerance" - poetically summarized

[@memoryhero]

_"If liberals won't police borders, fascists will."_ You wanted realpolitik; you got it.

[@50-50_Grind]

Republicans killed the border bill.

[@nHautamaki]

The endless refrain that 'war cannot solve Israel's problems' is correct, but skates right by the important truth. War is not sufficient to solve Israel's problems, but it is necessary for Israel to survive to even begin to solve its problems. Israel cannot survive without winning the wars that are thrust upon it. Israel would already be gone if it had lost any of the many wars that have already been thrust upon it. Admonishing Israel that they cannot defeat jihadism with bombs and tanks is a completely unserious point, and one that nobody knows better than Israelis themselves. Nevertheless, without deploying bombs and tanks against their enemies when their enemies attack them, Israel would already be gone, and it would be gone within weeks if it ever stopped resorting to bombs and tanks when necessary. If Israel ever did as its harshest critics wanted and simply declined to respond to violence with violence, and instead responded only with moral condemnation and throwing itself upon the mercy of its enemies, and the international community to join them in condemning its enemies, well its enemies would gleefully proceed with the genocidal massacre they have wanted since at least 1947, and Israel would be wiped out forthwith. The international community has not shown it is particularly serious about protecting Israel's right to exist, or the rights of Israeli Jews to continue to be alive, and I suspect that apart from the US and maybe a handful of others, nobody would lift a finger to save Israel even as it was invaded and destroyed.

[@ActionAlligator]

Yeah, I never understood people who are so naive to think that everyone in the world operates on the golden rule. Unfortunately, no... they don't... I don't doubt that even the most horrid situations aren't always entirely one-sided, but there are sadly some people or organizations of people out there who absolutely view the world in terms of strength and weakness, and consequently what they can get away with taking and what they can't. The golden rule doesn't even work on some of our own family members, why on earth would someone assume it works across all cultures or nation states!?

[@bredlify3079]

But the fact that Israel has the right to protect itself doesn't legitimize their bombs on the palestine public. The way Israel fights the war is immoral too.

[@davejlh4988]

“Any negotiations with Hamas are just them buying time for the genocide they are going to commit” Do you remember when we used to say that you cannot negotiate with jihadi terrorists? What happened to that?! Remember when ISIS were live streaming their be heading of US and UK citizens and we realised that acts of terrorism could never be considered as a bargaining tool for negotiation? A lot of people seem to have either forgotten that or are just incapable of applying the same logic for Israel. Rewarding Hamas for their most barbaric devastating terrorist attack on Israel is completely illogical and anyone who cannot see that is either blinded by stupidity or hatred.

[@mareezy]

ABOUT TIME SAM! Just listening is not the same as *watching* you guys. This is much better🎉

[@englishiguana4304]

Sam please more video interviews. You have such an important voice on issues such as this and politics. With people like Tucker Carlson as the second most listened to podcast, it drives me crazy that yours and other more thoughtful content isn’t more broadly known. You should be crushing these guys (i know numbers aren’t your primary objective, but still). Video content is more consumable in my opinion. Anyways, great work as always.

[@UncleBuZ]

I completely agree that we need more thoughtful content out there, especially in this landscape where platforms like Tucker Carlson's are reaching massive audiences with oversimplified or sometimes misleading narratives. Sam’s work, rooted in reason, logic, and a genuine attempt to explore complex issues, deserves to be more widely seen, especially in contrast to the more sensationalist voices dominating the conversation.

[@fredrikmeyer2233]

Sam is brilliant as always!

[@FrankOdonnell-ej3hd]

Harris summed up pretty succinctly why the Israeli/Palestinian conflict seems almost impossible to resolve⚛️

[@jmc5335]

Did he blame Jews again?

[@CP-nl2zb]

Fake Jews living on stolen land using stolen sympathy to commit genocide. Zionism is Nazism!

[@urgadurga]

@@jmc5335 When did Harris blame the Jews for anything?

[@Juli6SS]

A lot of people are suffering and not turning into death obsessed terrorists. This "but" in people's rhetorics is extremely hypocritical.

[@johnnyb2442]

Sam's last point is so unbelievably true! Well all of his points are. We in Skandinavien are overrun by religious people that don't give a flying flip about our culture and values.

[@cristianflorin5970]

Standing with Israel means standing with civilization against barbarism.

[@50-50_Grind]

while doing barbarism.

[@JM.5387]

@@50-50_Grind no.

[@jmc5335]

​@@JM.5387Raping prisoners is quite barbaric

[@TennesseeJed]

😂​@@50-50_Grind

[@uschurch]

@@jmc5335 it isn't Israeli ideology, unlike killing jews, which is islamic ideology (Hadith of the rock and the tree).

[@shayeldad]

I'm Israeli. Although this piece is pleasant to my Israeli ears, I'm skeptical of the assumption that "if only the palestinian would've played down their weapons, there would be peace". In the past few years, there has been a growing frustration in the Palestinians' side because the Palestinian issue is of the world's agenda, despite the relative low violence. In this aspect alone, there was logic in Oct 7. A twisted, satanic logic, but a foreseeing strategic one. The West should have taken a higher price of Israel over its actions in the west bank and the refusal to negotiate a palestinian state. The message that only diplomacy could bring results, and violence has consequences would've echoed better on both sides. Same goes with Hammas's Gaza and Iran.

[@SinclairPoppins]

Sam, in response to your first answer, isn’t the counter-argument that most Palestinians don’t share as radical views as Hamas, or, even to the extent that they do, it’s in sentiment only, and not something they would ever act out the way Hamas does?

[@AtSkiy1987]

What if most of them do support terrorism?

[@rglaz0311]

Don't think you're going to get Sam to answer here, so i'll chime in. Sam would say that yes, most people in Gaza are not as radical as Hamas, but they still hold views that the secular people would find barbaric. Take being gay for example, most people in Gaza would not have a problem with gay people being stoned or put to death, so it's not just sentimental.

[@gnlout]

only a small percentage act upon these violent ideas. but they support those who do. now do the math on one percent of 1.6 billion, if we use one percent as a possible number. do you feel safe?

[@TheHighlanderprime]

After October 7th 3/4 of Palestinian Arabs polled by Reuters backed October 7th’s massacre. So your angle is incorrect. After all, they voted in Hamas in Gaza in 2005-2006.

[@NathanNostaw]

We in the west may not be able to easily understand or identify the gradients between extremist support and violent action, as we just don't see examples in our society and haven't done for a long time. There seems to be a huge majority of general support towards the destruction of Israel and any and all Jews regardless of what or how it is actioned.

[@James-ip7zk]

I would like to hear Sam to discuss in more detail the recent history, the geopolitics and the morality of situation in the west bank.

[@sweetloveoftheair]

If only there were a presidential candidate who openly supports israel and has a track record of pro israel policy💔

[@ADot-fi1ny]

How about every American president since 1970?

[@sweetloveoftheair]

Rele cuz the current 1 seems pretty into placating arabs

[@TheHighlanderprime]

America have always been pro Israel. Some administrations might not like the far right leadership there. But in principle, America have always backed Israel’s right to exist no matter what party runs the show. We are their main source of military supplier. We know that Israel is more so reasonable as the only democracy in the region. So they’re our friends.

[@NathanNostaw]

I don't think we need leaders that support Israel as much as we need leaders that won't compromise on supporting all genuine democratic nations over those rules by terrorism and dictator. The UN and other international bodies are being manipulated by players that shouldn't even have the right to an equal voice based on their own lack of human rights and horrendous actions.

[@Bentzi_Ganot]

Very well said

[@ryanmccarville8975]

Absolutely brilliant sam

[@Johnwilkinsonofficial]

helpful clip, i hear this argument A LOT.

[@bikerd12]

Lebanon’s health minister has said that 2,023 people have been killed “since the start of Israeli aggression on Lebanon”.

[@freethinker902]

Greeting from an ex muslim from Afghanistan

[@philforrence]

WOAH, Sam’s gettin a studio. Sam’s goin into video WOOOOAH

[@ckq]

Nah it's the other guys studio

[@AkihabaraWasteland]

This is the first time I doubled Sam. Way too simplistic. When you are a militant atheist, you tend to over emphasise the power that religion has on a person's thought process.

[@justins.5222]

A video on this channel wow

[@shuifier5243]

Whoa.. Daniel tosh uses the same studio

[@GabrieleCorato]

Thank you Sam Harris

[@TennesseeJed]

They don't love their own children?

[@gnlout]

they believe that the kids being martyred is the best way of loving them. hence the human shields

[@verfed]

Their hate for Jews is greater than their love for their children.

[@MrBrockHeinz]

Sam Harris with the patented *_Philosopher's Eyebrow_* in the thumbnail.

[@KrwiomoczBogurodzicy]

[05:53] The settling

[@haroldcheeseburger]

Sammy!

[@Nightfall2077]

Sam's seething hatred for Islam blinds him to the reality of what is happening in this conflict and it's very unfortunate to see as someone who used to frequently listen to him.

[@IngveZetterstrøm]

Sam, I respect the depth of your work on the dangers of jihadism, but I can’t help feeling that your focus seems out of sync with the current reality. Right now, much of the world is grappling with the horrific bombings by Israel, which have killed countless civilians in Gaza. While religious extremism is undeniably dangerous, many feel that we need to talk about the equally troubling actions of the IDF, whose military strikes and dehumanizing culture around Palestinians have been well-documented. It’s vital that we condemn all acts of violence, and focusing solely on jihadism risks ignoring the very real suffering inflicted by Israel on innocent civilians. I’m not saying that jihadism doesn’t need to be addressed, but when the conversation is so heavily weighted in one direction, it can feel like the tragedies on the Palestinian side are being minimized or even excused. In this moment, we need a balanced discussion that holds all actors accountable, especially when innocent lives are being lost on both sides. The way Israel is doing war, is undeniably contributing to a higher number of terrorists being made.

[@juliancwilkins]

the edit is allll over the place. distracting for sure

[@oldelhorbo]

Are we not masking?

[@LeahKeen]

Human flourishing ❤️

[@gamerfinn3634]

Explorer 2?

[@mrdavemo]

"The Israelis want peace!" Sam says, while standing on the pile of 40,000 Palestinian bodies killed by the Israelis.

[@vratyasvakyas6022]

@@mrdavemo he's either incredibly dishonest or wilfully ignorant on this issue

[@verfed]

Nearly half of those are Hamas terrorists and the rest are their human shields. They have a human sacrifice strategy for useful idiots in the West. They don't just want to kill as many Jews as possible but to cause the Jews to kill as many Gazans as possible. All this to get sympathy to help them in their ultimate war effort of destroying Israel. Why are you playing into their hands? Are you that much of a gullible useful idiot?

[@SoyDuckHot]

tens of thousands of innocents killed “defending theselves”

[@verfed]

Half of them are terrorists, the rest are human shields. What's your point? The allies killed 6 million Germans in WWII. 5 million of them were soldiers and 1 million of them were killed during the bombing campaigns trying to destroy the German war machine. Such is war.

[@guddumony]

More time needs to be spent on the flip side of the argument. Are there specific conditions that favor the creation of Jihadists than others? And has such a condition been created in Palestine? What has been the impact of oppression of the Palestinian people. I agree with mostly everything said in this discussion, but the deliberate act of not touching on Israel's side of the picture, I think does an intentional disservice to the full picture. I can agree with the fact that Israel cannot be blamed for the Jihadist mindset. But the conditions that they have created in Palestine have contributed to the accelerated growth of Jihadisam in the region.

[@gnlout]

disagree. whether israel placates these zealots or fights them, the result is the same. you dont like the blockade of gaza? what would you do if you turned that land over to these people while forcing 9000 of your own people out, only to be rewarded by them launching 6000 rockets indiscriminately into your country? and how did that work out for israel?

[@ActionAlligator]

I'm genuinely ignorant; have those 'conditions' been introduced over time as a reaction? Has the 'jihadist' mindset existed since the dawn of Israel's establishment? My instinct and limited knowledge tells me yes, but I don't know. I don't doubt that there are too many Israelis and Israeli policies that certainly add fuel to the fire, and it's a horrible mess. But I'm convinced most of the problems between Israel and its enemies are more one-sided against Israel than other conflicts between peoples/nation-states that we might see more frequently. I mean, Islam is dripping with antisemitic paranoid hatred, it's hard to see that resulting in anything but what we see today in many fundamentalist societies. It's all such a damn shame, we could have so much better if it weren't for indoctrinated hatred and grievances.

[@urgadurga]

Well Jihadism is certainly not specific to the Palestinians, or the Levant as a whole. There's Jihadists in Somalia, in Nigeria, all over West Africa frankly, there's been a Jihadist insurgency in southern Thailand for nearly 20 years now, Jihadists in Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. Jihadists in Western Europe, in Chechnya and Dagestan. So I don't know if I'd say that the conditions the Israelis have created have necessarily contributed to the accelerated growth of Jihadism in the region since Jihadism has grown all over the world for the past 20-30 years. I could see an argument that Israel has created conditions that have spawned constant Palestinian terror groups. I think we forget but prior to Hamas and PIJ, Palestinian terror or as they call it "resistance" were secular Marxist organizations like Fatah, PFLP and the DFLP. It has only been in the 90s and 2000s that Jihadism really began to take hold all over the world, Palestine being just one of the many locations where that was the case with Hamas and PIJ picking up where the PLO left off, offering a new ideology to enraged Palestinians. There is an argument to be made that stateless people do seem to form groups that partake in violence, the Kurds have their groups, the Uyghurs have theirs, the Jews in fact even had theirs like Irgun. So I certainly can see an argument that Destiny for instance makes, that by not engaging in a 2-state solution, you are continuing the conditions that will constantly motivate people to continue engaging in these disgusting acts. Simultaneously I certainly see the Israeli's argument that you cannot give people who are behaving that way a state, as it will only be seen as a reward for those disgusting actions. It's definitely a tricky issue to try to work out solutions for.

[@omar.baddar]

Will you ever have a conversation with someone who disagrees with you on this analysis, or are you committed to an echo-chamber of Israeli cultural superiority?

[@shallowaffect]

Was that a trick question?

[@MrPatcher86]

So much confused logic, i love sam but hes on the wrong side of this one

[@gnlout]

how so?

[@benjyyy]

Netanyahu has been clear since the 70s that he never wanted a 2 state solution. Why does Sam suggest it would be done if the Palestinians wanted it?

[@WachiraNderitu]

In some of his previous podcasts where he gets into details he has clarified such points that Netanyahu isn't legit and should go

[@seanpennhauer9133]

The Palestinians refused liberal israeli offers around 2000, instead increased terror and out of frustration Israelis elected Netanyahu. That's the chain of events. 20 years ago I was for the two state solution, but now that idea is more dead than Muhammad

[@Lord_Nordan]

Yes, Netenyahu is a radical, but there is a reason his radicalism exists. Netanyahu represents the fears of Israelis. The idea that there should be no two state solution would not exist if it were not for the seeming endless hostility towards Israel. Many believe that giving Palestinians, who are wedded to Israel's destruction, their own state would just be 'giving them a bigger gun'.

[@verfed]

It's not just Netanyahu. After October 7th the vast majority of Israelis don't want the Palestinians to have a state. We gave them one in 2005 and look what they did with it. Not till their culture is fully dejihadified and denazified will they ever have a state now.

[@JQ0110]

Luckily, we have Sam Harris who knows nothing to explain everything. He stands for everything Harry Frankfurt meant in his book "On Bullshit".

[@jayanderson66]

Thanks for the very definition of an Ad hominem attack which contributes nothing. You do not like Sam Harris, that changes my mind about him. Thanks, I changed my mind about all the supposed wisdom I have learned from him. I will quit living my improved life and cancel all subscription except somehow you found the time to troll him.

[@dandybufo9664]

You haven’t even attempted to refute a single proposition yet attempt to discredit him . That is bullshit .

[@DavidBrown-ts2us]

Second

[@Sandra_D.9]

❤

[@Sandra_D.9]

This isn’t about the topic alright if I have to explain it

[@Sandra_D.9]

Now coming to topic: it’s human nature, it’s horrible when in groups, it doesn’t matter how many partakes in it, it’s a group and they don’t have a brain a stupid story is all it takes

[@Sandra_D.9]

Human nature: it doesn’t matter how many, it’s a group it’s 99% of the time no good. Brainless, nothing to gain but see you down and share their misery; or something to gain materialistic speaking and that’s the story 100% of the fucking time

[@nopejustevil]

Kinda tough for the culture to be the “Singapore of the region” when Israel has cut off all electricity, water, food and medicine.

[@JM.5387]

When Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, they left behind significant infrastructure, which the Gazans destroyed out of spite. Hamas took millions of dollars in international development assistance and turned it into terror infrastructure with which to wage Jihad on Israel and to murder Jews. Only after Gaza became a satellite terror state did Israel respond with a blockade in an attempt to slow the flow of weapons into the strip.

[@skidelrymar]

sources, please. the Gazans were very talented and had all resources to build hundreds of kilometers of tunnels and buy mountains of armaments from Qatar, Iran and Egypt during the last 20 years and that's a fact, so i'm a little sceptic that they had a concerning shortage of electricity, water and medicine

[@jerejarvinen625]

Having a terrorist organization lead your country doesnt help either

[@kadourimdou43]

That’s ignoring Hamas and Palestine has turned down four peace deals, they used aid to wage war, they committed act of medieval barbarity with the money, they don’t want peace they want to destroy Israel, they align with Iran and the other proxy’s to further that end. Blaming Israel is absolving Hamas and Palestine for their own choices.

[@Lord_Nordan]

They could have built their own infrastructure. That's the point.

[@prescriptivereasoning]

History is irrelevant. Amirite?

[@lawrenceclyons]

Doesn't sound like you have a functioning definition of culture but you will talk for hours about how you didn't read Robert Trivers and Austin Burt's ground breaking book while I spend another three months getting approximately three hours of sleep a night and not showering, waiting for someone in my family to send me cash.

[@urgadurga]

Are you alright dude? That last part doesn't sound very good

[@lawrenceclyons]

And then the black guys with militant beards and new cellphones just started appearing at the library.

[@billd7120]

Why does Sam continue to conflate Hamas with Palestinians? Sure, some Palestinians are part of Hamas, but let's not minimize the murder of the innocent(non-Hamas) Palestinian people. I love you Sam and agree with you on pretty much everything else.

[@richardmetzler7909]

Hamas runs Gaza, and they had the support of the majority of the population. Also, "murder" is what the Hamas terrorists did to the Israelis a year ago. What the IDF does is conduct a war. That causes civilian casualties - always has, always will - and the IDF is doing an admirable job at minimizing their number.

[@gnlout]

a huge percentage of them agree with hamas.

[@OhManTFE]

Dr Harris you have to learn to stop smiling when talking about topics like massacres of Jews lol...

[@CP-nl2zb]

Sam is a World Champion Pseudo intellectual. Sammy The Pseudo Harris.

[@Lord_Nordan]

silly

[@J.R.Y.]

I don't agree with Sam on everything. That doesn't invalidate him as an intellectual or an important thinker. In fact, if you ever find yourself perfect agreement on all topics with anybody, it's a red flag and should give you a moment of pause.

[@50-50_Grind]

Sam 2024: _"Antisemitism bad, Islamophobia good"_ What happened to _"all religions bad"_ Sam?

[@kadourimdou43]

Apart from that’s a false equivalency. Islamophobia doesn’t exist. Calling out Islamic extremist views and actions, is being against extremism. Exactly like being against antisemitism is being against extremism.

[@WhyMe432532]

How about all religions are incorrect and unnecessary. But the one that encourages and actually implements the death of anyone who doesn't follow it is worse than the one that doesn't. Now which one is that in our society? Islam or Judiasm?

[@50-50_Grind]

@@WhyMe432532 "The one that doesn't" is currently implementing mass death through Zionism. I never expected Sam to favor one religion and it's baggage over another. I almost feel like I'm defending Islam which I'm not and I never will.

[@fialeks]

Sam is deluded as always when speaking about Israel. Or maybe he knows perfectly well he is lying. Two questions: When did the first intifada started? When did the illegal settlements started.

[@SeaLion8488]

There is no right of return. There must be an independent, peaceful Gaza, an independent, peaceful West Bank with contiguous borders, the end of UNRWA and implementation of UNHCR rules.

[@JM.5387]

PLO was founded in 1964, which was when Jordan still controlled the West Bank and Egypt still controlled Gaza.

[@JM.5387]

@@SeaLion8488 oh hell no.

[@JM.5387]

Arabs were attacking Jews long before there were "illegal settlements".

[@jidrit999]

Who didnot accept two state solution ?

[@Normal-u5w]

Poverty isn't hard to understand at all.. We are wealthy and disconnected and they are not

[@KrwiomoczBogurodzicy]

That's not the reason. Specific beliefs are. Specific kind of theism with its divine-command theory of morality, Jew-hatred, and martyrdom.

[@Normal-u5w]

@@KrwiomoczBogurodzicy Why is martyrdom jew hatred?.. Is the willingness to live in misery Jew love then? Stupid

[@JM.5387]

Most people living in poverty don't behave as they did and continue to do. Most people living in poverty don't use mass rape as a weapon or machine gun infants in their cribs or kidnap elders and disabled people. Thank goodness for that. No leftist rationalization can excuse or make sense of their behavior, which was motivated by the evil ideologies of Islamism and Antisemitism.

[@gaebren9021]

Explaining away the violence of October 7 to me was like excusing a domestic violence abuser. "She must have pushed him for him to beat her so badly."

[@PaulineMcGuinness]

It’s the writer, his cousin, the thief, and poor little rich girl Pauline.