Daniel Cohen is a three-time Emmy winner and current correspondent for Real Life Network.
Federal Newswire: What do you see about the relationship between Israel and America that perhaps other people don't see?
Cohen: If you're talking about support for Israel, I believe right now is a critical moment. I'll tell you the pragmatic reason first and the practical one. Israel is this tiny nation that makes up 4/10 of one-percent of the Middle East, and is being attacked on seven different fronts, and is being accused of genociding colonizers. But Israel is fighting fundamental Islamic terrorists who don't believe in Israel's right to exist. They don't even recognize or acknowledge Israel. They won't even say ‘Israel.’ Israel is fighting the war against Iran, who is the number one state sponsor of terror and the puppet master of Hezbollah, Hamas, the lion's den, the Houthis, all these. When Iran calls Israel the little Satan, guess who the big Satan is? It's the United States. The pragmatic reason is, Israel is the tip of the spear fighting the war. Now, the biblical reason for supporting Israel. In the first Genesis 12, the first book in the Tanakh, says, “I will bless those who bless you. I will curse those who curse you.” All the nations of the earth will be blessed through you as God was speaking to Abraham. From that verse alone, we know we want to grab a hold of the blessing. It's God's promise. He will bless those who bless Israel. Why would you want to be adversarial? On the other side of that. Psalm 122:6 is one that everybody we champion here; pray for the peace of Jerusalem. The fight that's going on is not a fight over Gaza. It's a spiritual war. It's not just a land battle. This is a war literally between good and evil.
Federal Newswire: What specific good and evil acts have you witnessed?
Cohen: I was in the first group of international journalists that were invited to see the unedited Hamas massacre from October 7th. I was invited to an IDF base, where another terror attack just happened. I watched that entire 43 minute footage, unedited. A lot of it's on Telegram. But there are things that have not been seen by the public. In fact, my friends told me, ‘we didn't even show you the worst of it.’ The people who live there are peaceniks in every sense of the word. They're not capitalists. These are people who literally say, I want to live this quiet, peaceful life. Many of them would drive people from Gaza into hospitals in Israel to get checkups and have doctors appointments.
Federal Newswire: What do you think Americans misunderstand most about Israel?
Cohen: Well, number one, I think that the young people who have never been to Israel are the ones who are the vocal minority. Who are on college campuses, who are stopping Jewish kids from going to the library at UCLA. I don't know how that changes anything. So young people say, “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” What river? They don't know. What sea? They don't know the sea. By the way, that's the Jordan River and that's the Mediterranean Sea. If you're looking at a map, what exists between those two things is the nation of Israel. So 20-something year olds that have no clue and have never set foot in this land and don't understand the complicated dynamic here at all. When they chant that, what you're talking about is the eradication of me, my family, and where I live.
Federal Newswire: Are there examples where you reported on something, and other news outlets reported the same story differently?
Cohen: I've walked around the Gaza border communities with former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. I've walked around Kfar Kfar AZA with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee. He was here the month after the October 7th terror attack, which I thought was powerful. Just feet on the ground in Israel sends a message of, “We support you. I'm here. My physical presence here says I support you, Israel.” I was here and walked around those same border communities with Nikki Haley when she was here, the week after she endorsed Donald Trump to become president. I won't point to one specific thing to call anyone out. I could tell you the Associated Press describes Israel as occupied. I have other friends who are correspondents for other media outlets, and they're not allowed to call Hamas terrorists. They have to call them freedom fighters or militants. For me, I just make sure I choose my language very carefully. I call it Judea and Samaria–I don't call it the West Bank. I don't call them freedom fighters. I call them what they are, terrorists. My social media has been banned. My Facebook has been banned.
Federal Newswire: When Israel says ‘Never Again’ what do they mean?
Cohen: Israel is doing the work, is the tip of the spear, is not committing genocide. If Israel was committing genocide, then why has the Arab population here tripled in the last 20 years? That's not a very good genocide if you're population is growing. And it's not apartheid. There are Arabs that serve in the Knesset. There are Arabs on the Supreme Court. Have you ever seen an apartheid state that allows the people that are oppressed or suppressed to be serving in the highest court in the land and representing the people in the judicial and in the government? No, of course not. I am hopeful that people are listening–maybe somebody whose mind is open just enough to say, ‘what if that is really true?’ Look into it. If I'm wrong, tell me. But we're not wrong.
