Theo Von is the avatar of a generation that wants to know nothing.
Theo Von seems like a nice person. He kind of looks and acts like a teddy bear that escaped from a maximum security prison. Vice President JD Vance described Von as his “go-to” podcaster. May God have mercy. I recently saw an interview by Von of Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana. Like many, I like Senator Kennedy. He still has the courage and humor to say what he wants, and some of his descriptions of Senate witnesses or events can leave a person gasping for air.
Theo Von asked why the U.S. should be friends with Israel, a country that he accuses of committing “genocide.” If one were to bother to go to a dictionary website, he would learn that genocide does not mean simply killing over a certain number of people but intentionally attempting to wipe out a group based on its religion, race or the like. Hamas definitely can be accused of genocide, though its opening attack had “only” 1,200 murdered Israelis. They killed children and elderly, soldiers and civilians. Their stated goal before and after the pogrom was to kill all Jews. That is genocide in a similar vein to the Nazis’ actions to exterminate the Jewish people of Europe. One can see a very convenient map prepared by a Nazi officer for Heydrich listing how many Jews his unit killed in different regions. Genocide means attempting to wipe a people off the face of the Earth. Israel obviously did no such thing. If the accepted numbers of 50,000 Hamas terrorists out of 70,000 total killed holds, then Israel has performed the most accurate war-fighting in an urban environment in modern history. The U.S. in Fallujah or the British in Basra killed far more civilians by ratio than the Israelis did. And let’s be honest for five seconds: an army that sends SMS and other warning messages to move out of harm’s way is not trying to kill everybody. Secretary Robert Kennedy, Jr. accurately said recently that if Israel really wanted to do a genocide, it could have done so in a matter of minutes.
I was disappointed that Senator Kennedy did not push back more. He said that many people died in Gaza, but Hamas was at fault. That is true, but he and Vance and others must kill the Genocide Monster because it is a lie and it is a lie that keeps on giving. Von went on to call Israel “a bully” as it attacks everyone around it. If Von knew which end of a book to open, he could learn that Israel has not exchanged fire with Jordan or Egypt in five decades. Those countries don’t fire at Israel and Israel does not start wars. Wherever Israel is firing, it is firmly in response. Just as the U.S. has a “Second Strike” nuclear posture, Israel does not attack unless attacked. My recent article about Zara discussed the area of land between Jordan and Israel during the years 1948-1967. Israel explicitly told King Hussein of Jordan: if you don’t attack us, we will not attack you. Israel was busy in June 1967 with the Egyptians and Syrians and did not want another front for an overextended army. Nasser of Egypt pushed the king, and when Jordan entered the fray, it lost the old city of Jerusalem and everything up to the Jordan River.
Hezbollah and the Houthis did not have to enter the war after Hamas committed mass murder. It was their choice, no doubt with Iranian pressure, to make Israel’s war more difficult. I remember when the Gaza war really got going, Israel had to commit 100,000 soldiers to the northern border, should Hezbollah decide to cross into the Galilee. Israel responded to all of those who attacked her, including Iran and Syria. We are unfortunately treated to too many videos of some poor European fellow who gets beaten by a bunch of African illegal aliens. At times, the white European pummels the guys around him. Is he the bully? He was attacked and responds to save his life. That he is stronger or better trained in the martial arts does not make him the bad guy. Von starts every story in the middle: Israel is firing on everybody! They’re bullies! Why are we their friends? He can go back and check to see that the Houthis and Hezbollah fired first. One is allowed self-defense, unless of course you’re a Jew. I still remember Von in his Arab garb during a visit to Qatar. His anti-Israel positions are no surprise. Vance’s liking him is a massive flashing red light. Even the opportunist Obama knew when to eject Revered Wright when the latter’s hatred of America started to make the Illinois senator look bad.
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The ultimate problem with Von isn’t just that he’s a moron, but a moron with millions who listen to what he has to say. If he somehow were fined or punished for lying, then he would not get very far in his anti-Israel lies. But the truth is that he can say whatever he wants, and his young viewership can imbibe his distortions to their heart’s content. This is the problem that Israel—and the Jews—face. Israel loves to prove to the world that the other side started it or that Israel fought with incredible morality. If a couple thousand Hezbollah fighters were damaged by the exploding pagers and two children were killed (as per Tucker Carlson), then the attack is one of the most accurate in the history of warfare. I remember many times when Israel called off aerial bombings at the last second when some child showed up next to a Hamas leader. Carlson claimed that the pager attack was abominable and murder due to the dead children. When one hates Israel and Jews, then everything they do is bad. If the Syrians had pulled off the same action against Israel, Carlson would have called it brilliant and written off the dead kids as wartime collateral damage.
A friend recently sent me an article of the gist that I have seen much of recently: Israel has to do some kind of kiss and make up tour. Israel has a black eye and needs to do things to make others like her more. The problem is that those who hate Jews and Israel will not be impressed with anything that the country might do. Look at that clown Weiner in San Francisco who bowed to every lefty piety. The fact that he was a Jew—a very much anti-Israel Jew—was enough to lead to his being harassed. Wikipedia is erasing Jews from its website; the AI models will soon follow.
Theo Von seems like a nice guy who knows nothing. He sells his numerous listeners slop that he passes off as truth. In one exchange with Joe Rogan, he asked how long Israel would let them stay alive. Well, I am not involved with the Israeli government beyond paying my taxes here (and in the U.S.), but I really doubt that the Israelis plan to off Rogan, Von, or anyone else who is not a direct threat to the safety of Jews and Israelis. Vance’s political downfall will be his reluctance to distance himself from people like Carlson and Von. Maybe he will consider it some type of loyalty, but in my book, truth comes first—even if it goes against one’s beliefs, feelings or friendships. Von claimed that Israel killed numerous “journalists” in Gaza; the IDF has painstakingly shown that each was a card-carrying terrorist. Israel could have reduced Gaza to rubble in a week but chose to do careful fighting—at the cost of hundreds of IDF soldiers. Theo: stop your lying.
