[speaker001:] So, uh, what do you think about our involvement in the Middle East?
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] Well, actually, I think it's good. I, I, I hope that we, uh, uh, get a chance to, uh, promote peace out there, uh, because I think without peace we're not going to get stable oil prices, and, and, uh, I'd, I'd really like to see stability in that area, because I'm always afraid that's where another big war is going to start. Not that Desert Storm was a small one.
[speaker001:] Yeah [LAUGHTER]. Well, yeah that's probably true. I, I suspect that if any world war is coming at this point in time, they're going to come from there, uh, I would think, anyway. Just seems to be that that's the most unstable part of the world, as far as I can tell.
[speaker002:] I saw, um, just recently, where, uh, uh, the U S is supposedly going to be, uh, putting pressure on all the, you know, the Israelis, supposedly, to come to a bargaining table to, actually I heard that the Israelis were even talk-, at least mentioned about giving up some of the Golan Heights.
[speaker001:] Really.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] That would be interesting because I am, actually, um, um, I'm, I'm I'm Jewish and I'm actually sort of not, not, not really a Zionist per se, you know.
[speaker002:] Okay.
[speaker001:] But I have a, um, I have a lot of friends, you know, who are sort of adamant, you know, Israel, it's his right, and do whatever they want. And I think they've been sort of hard nosed about the entire thing. And, you know, in some sense, m-, the moderates may be right. They may, you know, may be better if they give up just a little bit to settle things down.
[speaker002:] Well, uh, I guess it's one of those things that, uh, if it's going to really promote a lasting peace, if there is not going to be a peace,
[speaker001:] Right, then, then, then, then is it worth it at all.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] I mean, I could the way, I mean, the only way to think about it is Well, they won, you know, they sort of took over the, um, they're one of the only countries in history that has been told that they have to give back what they took in a war, which they didn't start, basically, so.
[speaker002:] Oh. Yeah [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] So, I don't, I don't know how to, I don't, I don't know what to do about it [NOISE]. But I think that, that you know, in general the region is really in bad shape [NOISE].
[speaker002:] Do you think the U S is going to wind up keeping, uh, military bases over there?
[speaker001:] Um, probably, oh, isn't, isn't there a plan now to make a command center there or something?
[speaker002:] I, I haven't heard that. I watch C N N every once in a while, but, I, I haven't specifically heard anything about that.
[speaker001:] I just heard something about moving, recently, about moving, um there, there, there's some central command post in Tampa [foreign location], I think that they now want to move to somewhere in the Middle East. Actually, there was, um, a small country or small city, I think, or even, not actually in Saudi Arabia or anything, but a little bit off to the, um, east of it, I think. And I, they want to keep something over there, so that they don't have to, um, I guess it's, I guess it's sort of so they don't have to move troops out so quickly or something. I'm not quite sure exactly why they want to do it. But they want to keep some sort of central command post there.
[speaker002:] What I thought was interesting is that, uh, apparently the formal cease fire has not actually been signed yet.
[speaker001:] That's true.
[speaker002:] And, uh, [LAUGHTER] then I guess there's still the possibility that, uh, hostilities with, uh, U S troops could still break out.
[speaker001:] Yeah, that's, [NOISE] they claim that's why we're still there. I mean, you know, why only, you note it's only, only a small number of people have actually come back yet.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] But I think that's actually the scariest part, because when, in the way, what, what's happening in Iraq right now, you know, in itself, it being so crazy there. I have no idea, I mean, what do you know, just to imagine that one day they're just going to turn around and someone is going to say, We don't like you, and start attacking again, and it's going to be worse. I don't know. Um.
[speaker002:] Do you have relatives over in Israel?
[speaker001:] No, I don't. I ha-, I, I, I have some friends in Israel, and coincidently actually my wife is Syrian. Um.
[speaker002:] Oh, really.
[speaker001:] Yeah, so I am, we are sort of, we are the Middle East peace talks at home. Um.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] And, uh, [NOISE] [water sound] pardon me, I'm just sort of putting away some things from dinner now
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] in the background. But we, um, we, she has sort of friends and family in Saudi Arabia, who are some friends in Saudi Arabia. And, um, I have some friends in Israel. And we, we talk a bit about it, but we try and keep it out of the home life.
[speaker002:] Do you, uh, does she ever want to go back to Syria?
[speaker001:] No, she was, she is actually, um, I think it's, um, for her not really relevant, because she is second generation American, actually.
[speaker002:] Oh, okay.
[speaker001:] Her parents who were born here would like to go see it, though, I think. They would like to go to Syria, but they recognize that Syria's not the place that one wants to visit
[speaker002:] No.
[speaker001:] right about now.
[speaker002:] No [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] You know, something about the place makes it not, not quite enjoyable.
[speaker002:] Do you ever want to go over to Israel?
[speaker001:] Yeah, I, I've actually been there.
[speaker002:] Oh, okay.
[speaker001:] I was there a couple of years ago, when it wasn't, you know, sort of dangerous to be out there, I guess.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] And, I do, I d-, do like it actually. I would never live there. I think I'm too Americanized and, um [NOISE] sort of have too much, you know, too much invested in sort of, the easy life.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] But I do like the food.
[speaker002:] Yeah [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] If that, so, if that, if that amounts for anything.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER] Okay, well who-, you know, do you have a lot of Kosher foods there at your house?
[speaker001:] Yeah, actually my house is Kosher, but it turns out that one of the strangest things about, about Israel is that no-, um, most folks don't realize that for all the food people think of as sort of, you know, Jewish food and so forth. Um, and, you know, um, in general it really isn't the food that is eaten in Israel. So you typically think of it, like bagels, right, you know, bagels and lox.
[speaker002:] Yeah [NOISE].
[speaker001:] Turns out, you don't, you don't, you don't really find bagels in Israel. What you find is sort of Middle Eastern foods. The same foods that you find in, um, Syria and Egypt and everything else. [Middle Eastern Food] Have you ever had those?
[speaker002:] No, Kish ki's, or knishes [Jewish foods].
[speaker001:] Oh, knishes, no you don't, you don't see a lot of, that's basically Eastern European Jewish food.
[speaker002:] Oh.
[speaker001:] It's, it's very different. I was actually very amazed when I sort of figured out for myself. That everything I grew up with really wasn't Israeli. It was more Jewish, you know.
[speaker002:] I got you.
[speaker001:] It, it, it is very strange.
[speaker002:] Still get your Passover Matzi and all that, right.
[speaker001:] That, that starts tomorrow night.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] That's what I'm making, that's what I'm doing now. I'm making dinner.
[speaker002:] Oh really. I dated, uh, I dated a nice Jewish girl for many years up in Chicago, and I was the only Goyim at, at all the Seder dinners and everything, and I used to have to go with rolls of, not, pocketful of change to buy all this bread the kids would see me [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Bought up all the bread from [LAUGHTER].
[speaker002:] [inserted by J J G, transcriber left a blank turn].
[speaker001:] That's good. Well, you've, you've, you've really got a handle on this stuff I've noticed.
[speaker002:] Not, not,
[speaker001:] Got the vocabulary down and everything.
[speaker002:] Not, uh, just, just enough to get by [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] That, that, that makes you real good. Yeah, we, um, we actually, we have the reverse situation. Turned out that, um, um, most of my friends aren't Jewish, and, and my wife's not.
[speaker002:] Okay.
[speaker001:] But I, um, I sort of, you know, do a lot of these things, so, so that, um, Seder, our first Seder is tomorrow night. And this is a rare exception. There are going to be sixteen people at my house tomorrow night, which, and five of them will be Jewish.
[speaker002:] Oh.
[speaker001:] Two, two years ago we had a Seder, we had sixteen people each night. Sixteen is the magic number for us.
[speaker002:] Wow [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] And I was the only Jew both nights.
[speaker002:] Oh really [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] So, which to me is wonderful, because it means that people who never would get to see this, um, so get to see it. And my view is, Passover is, should sort of be, in, in, in, in my mind Passover is sort of a generic holiday anyway, because it, it sort of predates Christ.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] So.
[speaker002:] Well, they had the, matter of fact I just watched Charles Heston this, uh, this weekend in the TEN COMMANDMENTS.
[speaker001:] Yeah, I caught the end of that.
[speaker002:] Did you?
[speaker001:] Yeah, every year, I try and catch that. But yeah. That's what always amazes me, actually, is that, um, is that, you know, my wife and I always sort of bring this up about sh-, her being Syrian, you know, and my being Jewish, you know. We look alike, we act alike, we sound alike, well, not totally alike but you know. Um, um, it's amazing to think that people in the Middle East sort of all hate each other.
[speaker002:] Well, that's, to me it's really, um, I guess, I guess I can intellectually kind of come to grips with all of that. But, you know, emotionally I have a real difficult time believing that, uh that, that people that believe in God and love, not war and to forgive can't get together.
[speaker001:] Right.
[speaker002:] You know, I mea-, I know that the problems are so deep. But I mean, even within the Muslim, uh, religions, different sects, they can't get together.
[speaker001:] Right. That's, that's actually the part that, that, that I find really strange. I mean, I, I, I sort of understand somewhat. I mean, I, I, knowing the history I understand that, the hatred of the Muslims for, you know, the Israelis or whatever, and I can sort of handle that and, but I sort of think about the Muslims sort of running around have jihad against themselves.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] You know, I mean, and, and that seems really weird.
[speaker002:] Or, the, uh, you know, the Catholics and the Protestants up in Ireland.
[speaker001:] Right, exactly.
[speaker002:] You know, I mean,
[speaker001:] Same, same thing.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] I don't, I'll, I'll never understand it. My view is look, what did you ever do to me.
[speaker002:] Yeah, yeah.
[speaker001:] Didn't hurt me, at, at, at the moment. So, um, and, and, and I, I don't know. There's a, there's something about, there's a poem somewhere. I don't know if you've ever seen it or not, but Everything I Ever Wanted to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.
[speaker002:] Yeah.
[speaker001:] In this, and it talks about how, you know, if we could just all get toge-, you know, when we were young everything was great because we all went to class together, and in the mi-, you know, we all had snack time together, and then we all took naps and we all held hands and hugged, you know, and, and, and that's what kindergarten was like, and wouldn't it be nice if, if we could solve all our problems by just sort of getting together and everyone in the world sat down and took a nap together.
[speaker002:] [LAUGHTER].
[speaker001:] Woke up and had snack time, you know, and then hugged each other as we left.
[speaker002:] It sounds like a, it sounds like a John Lennon, uh, type.
[speaker001:] Yeah [LAUGHTER]. I wonder if he secretly did that...