Elizabeth Barcohana: Why Kids Can’t Read. The Education Battle Nobody Wants to Talk About |DSH #1825

Summary

Digital Social Hour – Episode Summary Episode: Elizabeth Barcohana: Why Kids Can’t Read. The Education Battle Nobody Wants to Talk About | DSH #1825
Host: Sean Kelly
Guest: Elizabeth Barcohana
Date: February 12, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this impactful episode, Sean Kelly sits down with Elizabeth Barcohana, a political activist and education advocate, to dissect the twin crises of education and community decline in California—focusing on why kids aren't learning fundamental skills like reading, the fallout from entrenched teachers unions, and rising anti-Semitism. Elizabeth provides a candid perspective on the systemic problems plaguing California’s public schools, the dangers of misinformation, and her personal journey from anonymous activism to public leadership. The conversation doesn't shy away from controversy, delving into partisan divides, the politicization of curriculum, and infighting on the political right.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Community Decline & Personal Safety in LA

• Crime and Standard of Living

  • Elizabeth describes an LA transformed by rising crime and a declining sense of community, directly impacting daily routines and parental fears.
  • Quote [00:56]:

    "Me as a mom, like I’ve learned how to put my kids in a car seat without getting mugged behind me. That is a new skill...a direct result of the crime, the decriminalization of some violent crimes, not addressing our homelessness issue...and just the demoralization and defunding of our police."

• Jail Overcrowding & Criminal Justice System

  • She highlights California’s lack of cash bail and “revolving door” justice system, exacerbated by COVID policies.
  • Quote [02:17]:

    "Even if you commit a crime in the morning, you’re out by the afternoon committing another crime."

2. Anti-Semitism: A Dangerous Resurgence

• Personal and Historical Perspective
  • Elizabeth recounts her family’s history of anti-Semitic attacks, noting how social media platforms like Instagram are now hotbeds of hate speech.
  • Quote [03:52]:

    “The most heated, hateful, worst, ugliest comments are always when I talk about Israel or anti-Semitism.”

• Post-2023 War Escalation
  • Host and guest agree that anti-Semitic rhetoric has markedly increased since recent Middle East conflicts.

3. The Core Battle: Education System “Takeover”

• Textbook Content and Knowledge Void
  • Elizabeth argues the education crisis is rooted in "institutional takeover by the Marxists," particularly in California, leading to widespread ignorance and susceptibility to dangerous narratives.
  • Quote [06:02]:

    “There is a void in knowledge...when there is a lack of education, knowledge, truth, historically accurate foundation, you become more susceptible to these narratives and the lies that are being peddled out there.”

• Charter Schools vs. Teachers Union
  • The decline of charter schools, due to union-backed political maneuvering, has left parents and students without quality alternatives.
  • Quote [07:13]:

    “The biggest one is the teachers union, and they have become even more powerful in California under Gavin Newsom.”

4. Education Outcomes: By the Numbers

• California’s Rankings & Literacy Crisis

  • Despite vast resources, California ranks at or near the bottom nationally. The majority of students cannot read or do math at grade level, with minority students faring worse.
  • Quote [08:16]:

    “A majority of kids in California cannot read at grade level or do math at grade level… In some cases, it’s two-thirds.”

• Curriculum Changes:

  • Hard academics are being displaced by “social emotional learning” and “Marxist critical theory,” crowding out traditional subjects.
  • Quote [08:55]:

    “It’s touchy-feely subjects, rather than the hard academics. It used to be a fight over STEM education...now it’s a complete takeover of, you know, the Marxist critical theory.”

5. Personal Activism: From Anonymous Account to Political Leader

• Genesis of Activism
  • During COVID-19, Elizabeth started engaging mothers online, breaking down complex policies and challenging progressive orthodoxy—even under the threat of social media backlash.
• Taking on the Party Machine
  • Sensing the limit of grassroots efforts, she ran for LA County Republican Party, choosing to go public with her identity after the assassination of a friend, symbolizing the need for courage in activism.
  • Quote [14:40]:

    “At a certain point, I understood that grassroots wasn't going to be sufficient. You needed the power of the Republican Party…”

6. Challenging Beliefs: Shifting Minds on Hot-Button Issues

• Abortion Debate
  • Elizabeth describes her personal journey from pro-choice to pro-life, changing minds among her followers by presenting facts and direct challenges.
  • Quote [15:40]:

    “My most proud accomplishment is not flipping Democrats to Republicans. It was flipping pro choice voters to pro life ones.”

7. Teachers Unions: Funding and Power

• How It Works
  • Teachers pay mandatory dues; unions tie themselves closely to the Democratic Party, influencing elections far beyond education.
  • Quote [19:24]:

    “They’re involved at every level of government...over 95% of their money goes to Democrat candidates.”

8. Infighting on the Right & Use of Jews as a Political Lever

• Conference Observations
  • Elizabeth warns against prominent conservative influencers (e.g., Tucker, Bannon, Candace Owens) for sowing division and using Jews as a wedge issue.
  • Quote [20:53]:

    “What Tucker, Megan, Bannon, Candace, all of those people in that ecosystem are doing is dangerous and divisive...they're using the Jews as a lever to create that division because Jews are an easy target.”

• Historical Repetition
  • Anti-Semitic scapegoating reemerges during times of crisis, recurring across centuries and geographies.

9. Education as the Solution

• Combating Misinformation
  • The episode ends with a rallying call to restore accurate history and critical thinking to K–12 education, empowering kids and adults to withstand propaganda.

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Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• [00:56] Elizabeth: “Me as a mom, like, I’ve learned how to put my kids in a car seat without getting mugged behind me. That is a new skill that moms, my generation had to learn.”
• [03:52] Elizabeth: “The most heated, hateful, worst, ugliest comments are always when I talk about Israel or anti-Semitism.”
• [06:02] Elizabeth: “There is a void in knowledge...when there is a lack of education...you become more susceptible to these narratives and the lies.”
• [08:16] Elizabeth: “A majority of kids in California cannot read at grade level...in some cases, it's two thirds.”
• [15:40] Elizabeth: “My most proud accomplishment is not flipping Democrats to Republicans. It was flipping pro choice voters to pro life ones.”
• [19:24] Elizabeth: “They’re involved at every level of government...over 95% of their money goes to Democrat candidates.”
• [20:53] Elizabeth: “What Tucker, Megan, Bannon, Candace, all of those people in that ecosystem are doing is dangerous and divisive...using the Jews as a lever to create that division.”

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:55 – 02:39: LA crime and public safety breakdown
• 03:29 – 05:09: Resurgence of anti-Semitism, especially online
• 05:09 – 08:16: School curriculum, knowledge gaps, and the teachers union’s influence
• 08:42 – 09:52: Kids’ declining academic skills and curriculum changes
• 12:01 – 15:11: Barcohana’s activism journey & going from anonymity to political candidacy
• 15:33 – 17:11: Changing minds on pro-life/pro-choice through truth and dialogue
• 17:22 – 20:04: Teachers union funding, structure, and political power
• 20:04 – 24:53: Conservative infighting and the use of Jews as scapegoats
• 24:53 – 26:35: Dangers of misinformation and the need for historical education

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Where to Find Elizabeth

• Instagram: @ElizabethfromCalifornia
• X (Twitter): @E_Barcohana

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This episode is essential listening for anyone concerned about the direction of American education, growing social fractures, and the political dynamics at play—from the classroom to the ballot box.

Transcript

[A]

In all areas of public life. I think it's important that you identify what the threat and the danger is to you and your movement and your family. Tucker, Megan Bannon, Candace, all of those people in that ecosystem are doing is dangerous and divisive. And not only it's wrong, like the things that they say are inaccurate. That is the source of fomenting division among the conservatives, in my opinion. And they're using the Jews as a lever to create that division because Jews are an easy target.

[B]

Okay, guys. Am Fest Day three, First one of the day. Elizabeth Bar Ohana from la, right?

[A]

Yes. Good morning, Sean.

[B]

Good morning. Trying to fix the. The issues going on in la, right? Yeah, A lot of. Lot of stuff going on these days.

[A]

Horrible stuff going on.

[B]

What's the biggest thing you're fighting out there?

[A]

Crime. Crime Right now, it's completely out of control. We have a decrease in our just standard of living in California while we have an increase in our costs of living. And that dichotomy is causing people to leave, first of all. And second of all, it is dangerous to walk out your door. It's not the same like it was even 10 years ago. Definitely not the same as when I grew up when we would just play outside in the street. Like now nobody lets their kids go play out in the street. That has a breakdown in community building as well. It has secondary effects. But like me as a mom, like I've learned how to put my kids in a car seat without getting mugged behind me. That is a new skill that moms, my generation had to learn. And that is a direct result of the crime, the decriminalization of some violent crimes, not addressing our homelessness issue, which is really a mental illness and drug addiction problem, and just the demoralization and defunding of our police. You know, the LAPD is not staffed at 100%. And even if it were, it's still a very bad ratio to residents. Like cop to resident ratio.

[B]

And jails are overcrowded.

[A]

Jails are overcrowded. They're not building more jails. They're figuring out ways to let people out of the jails. And Covid accelerate accelerated that, which is what they wanted to do anyways. They just used covet as an excuse, basically, like, nobody stays in jail. We have no cash bail in California. So even if you commit a crime in the morning, you're out by the afternoon committing another crime. You know, it's like a revolving door.

[B]

It's crazy that this is a reality, because even in Phoenix, for example, I was walking last night. I mean. Yeah, I almost got mugged.

[A]

Yeah. I. I was here at amfest last year and I noticed that there were some homeless on the streets. But actually, I notice it more this year.

[B]

I was walking to James O Kees party last night, and this guy had a knife and was, like, eyeing me up.

[A]

You're a big guy.

[B]

I had a watch on.

[A]

Yeah, you're right.

[B]

I think if I was alone, he was thinking about it. I could see his thoughts for sure. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. I don't wear a watch in LA anymore. Unless I go to my private house. No, everything's in the bank.

[B]

Even if you're driving in a nice car, you got to look around like someone's following you out there. Right. Yeah, that's the reality. I've had a bunch of friends get followed home out there. Yeah. So crazy.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You're also fighting anti Semitism out there, right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's another big fight.

[A]

Yes, it is. It's not something that we were really expecting. My generation, I think the things that we're confronting are things that my grandparents dealt with when they were kids. I have. One of my grandfathers grew up in Chicago and he would get beaten up on the way walking to Hebrew school.

[B]

Just for being Jewish.

[A]

Yeah. And my other grandfather grew up in Iran, and they had to make their matzah in the middle of the night for Passover because of the blood libel that Jews made matzah out of children's blood, which is of course not true. So they experienced that. My parents generation, it got better, me growing up in LA0 but now especially being like a big influencer voice online. It's daily.

[B]

Yeah. Even I get hit with it. I'm not even Jewish.

[A]

I bet.

[B]

Just having Jewish people on the show. Yeah, it's crazy.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. I don't get that with any other, like.

[A]

No, it's actually. It's the.

[B]

The.

[A]

The most pushback. And I talk about very controversial subjects. I talk about abortion. I talk about a host of things. But the most heated, hateful, worst, ugliest comments are always when I talk about Israel or anti Semitism.

[B]

Did that pick up during the war? When the war started?

[A]

Yes. Yes.

[B]

Yeah, that's what I noticed, too, because I started the podcast, I didn't really see it as much.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But now it's like every post. It's crazy. Yeah. Where is it the worst for you? Twitter?

[A]

No, actually it's Instagram.

[B]

Okay. Yeah, Instagram. I get a lot, too. A lot. Yeah. Nuts. What are you doing to fight Back against that, I guess.

[A]

Well, it depends. Sometimes I ignore it, sometimes I push back. But I think that the. The systemic thing that I'm working on is focusing on K through 12 education, because I think that we have allowed the institutional takeover by the Marxists of ins of education, including higher education too. But definitely, like your high school education is where you're supposed to get accurate histor history of the Middle East, Europe, America. And I think that since 9 11, I don't think. I know since 911 there has been a whitewashing of all of these things in our textbooks that we're using in the schools, especially in California. And because California and Texas are the biggest market for textbooks, like, usually that's what everybody else gets, even in the red states.

[B]

Got it.

[A]

And so what happened is, and you can see it both on the left and on the right, there is a void in knowledge. And when, when there is a lack of education, knowledge, truth, historically accurate, you know, foundation, you become more susceptible to these narratives and the lies that are being peddled out there both on the left and the right, because you're not armed with the information to know that what they're saying doesn't make any sense. It doesn't make any sense that.02% of the population is controlling 8 billion people when there are billions of Chinese Communists or billions of Islamists out there in the world who have funding that are subverting, you know, the west with mass immigration, with funding, you know, American education institutions, which goes back to what we said in the beginning. And so that's really where I am focused, is giving kids a good education. And that arms them in so many areas, including this one.

[B]

Yeah. Do you think it's possible on a public school level to pull that off?

[A]

Well, there's a lot of forces working against us, a lot of hoops you.

[B]

Got to jump through.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. The biggest one is the teachers union, and they have become even more powerful in California under Gavin Newsome.

[B]

How come?

[A]

Because there used to be a big charter school lobby, and Jerry Brown, who was the governor before Gavin Newsom, was a champion of charter schools. And I personally think the way I describe it is like the charter schools gave the public schools competition, and when you have competition for. When you have to compete over the students, you're going to get better performance. And the teachers union doesn't like having competition. So they backed Gavin Newsom in his election for governor after Jerry Brown was termed out, and the charter schools backed his opponent, who was a former mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villarrosa. And Gavin Newsom won. And ever since then, the union has been on a mission to just completely destroy the charter schools in California, which they have been successful at. And so they have no competition. So the kids are trapped in these failing schools. A majority of kids in California cannot read at grade level or do math at grade level. A majority. In some cases it's two thirds. And for minority students, it's even worse. So they're not educating the students. What are they doing? They're indoctrination factories. They're teaching them about, you know, they're fluent in lgbtq, but not math.

[B]

There's a bunch of. Yeah, that's crazy. There's a bunch of viral videos right now on social media of kids not being able to read a clock.

[A]

Not being able to read a clock. Yeah.

[B]

Crazy.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

That's like a first grade thing you learn.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

And there's high schoolers. Yeah.

[A]

They can't read an analog clock.

[B]

I can't believe that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I wonder what they're teaching in school these days. I really do.

[A]

There's a lot of social, emotional learning going on instead of like, it's like touchy feely subjects rather than the hard academics. It's displaced. There's only so many hours in a day. Right. So if you're gonna add things, you have to take away. And it used to be a fight over STEM education, like science, you know, music. What is it? Engineering, like the, you know, computer science, like that kind of stuff. Robotics, we used to be fighting over that, like, getting that in the budget. Now it's like a complete takeover of like the, you know, the Marxist critical theory. Like all of that kind of stuff is just completely. It's all throughout the curriculum, even. Even in the hard academic subjects. They bring those topics.

[B]

Yeah. They'll find a way. I had Pastor John on yesterday. He was showing me the books that these kids are reading. Yeah, it was crazy.

[A]

It's like now it's like fantasy. They're not reading. They're not reading truth.

[B]

They're teaching gender theory in elementary school. Yeah, like boy, girl.

[A]

That's part of. That's part of what I'm fighting too, is crazy.

[B]

Where does Cali rank do you know, in the country in terms of education?

[A]

I think among the.

[C]

There's this new technology floating around that people cannot stop talking about. It's called the light system. Before you roll your eyes, it's not some gadget you strap on or supplement that promises the world. Every once in a while I come across something that Actually stops me in my tracks. And the light system is one of those things. This isn't a supplement, it's not a biohack. It's a full on energy environment built to help your mind and body synchronize, recharge and operate at a higher level. It uses light patterns, color frequencies and coherent energy fields. All the stuff that your body naturally responds to to create a coherent, energetic field around you. People are saying they feel more clear, more centered, more aligned in their environment. And honestly, the science behind it is fascinating as I've seen a lot of wellness tech. But the numbers coming out on this new study of the light system are actually insane. Researchers measured human sheik cells before and after sitting in front of a system. And get this, a 30 minute session boosted cellular conductivity by 61%. The study even showed increased conductivity and isolated DNA which is associated with stronger structure and better repair pathways. The result? More clarity, more balance and more alignment. You could save $500 now if you go to thelightsystems.com and use discount code.

[A]

Shawn Last I. If not 50th. It's like pretty.

[B]

I know. Nevada, where I'm at is 49th.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I'm your neighbor. It's not much better over there.

[A]

No.

[B]

Wow. That's crazy though, because Cali is one of the richest states, if not the richest.

[A]

Yes, we have, we. Well, we are a big state, so we have a big economy. We have very diverse economy. And yes, we are one of the wealthiest states. It's. The issue is not money. The issue is how it is spent and the policies behind how it is spent.

[B]

Yeah, that's been a. I've noticed that's a common theme in California with how the money spent. Homelessness as well.

[A]

Yes. Seems like there's corruption. They're. They're giving out the money to their friends and.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. So if money doesn't work, it has to be action then, right? Yeah, that's the only way.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Sense to me.

[A]

Yeah. New leadership.

[B]

Is there other people with you on this fight?

[A]

Absolutely, absolutely. So I kind of got activated during 2020 when Gavin Newsom closed the schools. But then the streets were open for rioting and looting and burning down our streets while the kids had to stay locked in their homes and not go to school. And there was a week in June after George Floyd, when LA was under curfew. And that was it. I had had enough. I had a conversation with my husband because I had already been like talking on Instagram, but it was just in my private account, and people were asking me to make my account public. And at that time, it was like, very scary. Wasn't yet there was a lot of retribution, not only for Covid stuff, but for the. The racism stuff. Like people that said this was like the black square time where everybody was like, if you don't. What was it like? You have to. You can't be not racist. You have to be anti racist. You have to actively be fighting against racism. And I was saying quite the opposite, you know, and I was saying, actually it was the Republicans that passed the Civil Rights Act. You know, it was the Republicans that freed the slaves. It was the Republicans who have been on the side of the civil rights fight all along, and the Democrats had been against it. And you can see that even today where they're kind of, you know, they're fighting for immigration and cheap labor and, you know, they appear to be fighting for the little guy, but really what they're doing is keeping them oppressed. And so I was talking about that on my private Instagram and people were asking me to make it public. And so the deal I made with my husband was that I would started an anonymous Instagram account. And that account became pretty influential in the political space as well, but also in just like educating moms who were upset and connecting the dots for them about what the policies are behind it with the teachers, why, how. How the teachers union was keeping the schools closed even in the following fall, after we knew kids were not, you know, so at risk for Covid, after we knew that, like, mass didn't work. And then I was recruited to run for the LA County Republican Party. At a certain point, I understood that grassroots wasn't going to be sufficient. You needed the power of the Republican Party, which is, you know, very powerful in California, despite what it appears. And so I started getting involved there. I was recruited to run, and I had to run for office and actually campaign, which is why I started my public Instagram accounts using my face and name. It was part of my campaign. And then after Charlie got killed, after he was assassinated, I decided to come out as lady with a Brain, which was my anonymous account, and merge the two identities and brands because I felt like, you know, there's no more hiding anymore. We cannot show that we are afraid. And there was an element to a fear about, you know, the anonymity that I was using as a shield. Um, and so I needed. I felt like I needed to lead by example that. That we cannot show fear, respect.

[B]

What a journey.

[A]

Thank you.

[B]

Wow. Yeah, that was probably smart, though, to start off anonymous, see if it could work, and then. Yeah, from there.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. It. It. Despite being anonymous, it became. It was small, like I had, you know, 25,000 followers or something like that. But it was very influential in terms of, you know, helping people to vote and understand. And my most proud accomplishment is not flipping Democrats to Republicans. It was flipping pro choice voters to pro life ones.

[B]

I got to hear how you pulled that off.

[A]

Truth. The truth. Telling them the truth.

[B]

Coming with statistics like, walk me through that.

[A]

Yeah. So in California especially, I used to be pro choice myself, and it wasn't until I actually became pregnant and even before, because I think the psychology of a woman and the biology starts changing when you start to want to become pregnant and start trying.

[B]

That's a fact.

[A]

And that happened to me. I went through that experience and I realized that everything I was taught since my, you know, since I was a teenager about abortion and. And all of that, that subject was a lie. And so I started looking into it, and actually it was being exposed to the other side of the argument on social media that I. That everything started to break down for me. And so I started to challenge my followers on the same issues. And like I said, these were voters who weren't necessarily politically active or even partisan in a way, but always considered themselves good people. And in California, you associate that with the Democrat Party. And so abortion. Abortion, Second Amendment, and racism, I'd say, are the biggest, like, walls that. To break down for people to be more accepting of identifying as a Republican or voting for one.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. Well, a lot's being exposed with Planned Parenthood right now.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So that's been a big one.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I feel like that's hurt the abortion movement. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Going back to the teachers union real quick. So who funds them? Do you know how they get their money?

[A]

They. Okay, so teachers are required to pay dues to the union. And there was a Supreme Court case that said, like, you don't have to. That's a violation of your First Amendment right of freedom of association. You don't have to pay dues into the union, but the union operates like a mafia, so. So that if you kind of opt out, they come after you.

[B]

Got it.

[A]

And so there is, like, this coercive environment where people are paying into the system. And not only that, they have to hide if they don't agree with the agenda that the teachers union is pushing. So the teachers union is one of the largest. There's two big ones. There's like the east coast one, that's Randy Weingarten. And then there's like the west coast one, which is Becky Pringle, I think is her name. Don't quote me. And LA USD is part of that one and it's the biggest in the country.

[B]

Wow. So there's one on the east coast too.

[A]

Yeah, there's two.

[B]

Interesting. Yeah. I wonder if the school I went to in New Jersey was part of a teacher's unit.

[A]

For sure. Like every public school. Oh, every public school, all the teachers. And the points of a teacher is, you know, they say like, oh, we're educators and we're teachers and we care about the kids. No, a union, a workers union is. The purpose of it is to protect the workers and the working conditions and working environment for them. But they have gone completely out of control. You can't fire a bad teacher, for example. And so you have to keep or like, you know, they've taken over the content of curriculum and so that's why the kids are not learning, you know, accurate information. That two plus two doesn't equal four, two plus but equal five. Have you heard that one before?

[B]

Yeah, that's a meme. Right, so they control, they control the curriculum too. Is that how.

[A]

Yeah. So they have these conferences where they get together and they're like, you know, this is what, this is what we're going to be teaching. This.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So they have a lot of power.

[A]

Yes, they have a lot of power. And they don't only, you know, there's like a misconception that teachers unions are going to be involved in only school board races. And that's not the case. They're involved at every level of government. They endorse, they fund campaigns of every far left radical. You know, I think over 95%, it may be even higher of their money goes to Democrat candidates. And so what I tell people is that when you go to vote, you vote for the opposite candidate of who the teachers union endorsed. And that's, that's like my rule of thumb in almost every race.

[B]

That's smart. Last but not least, let's talk about this infighting on the right because I've been hearing, I've been filming here all conference, but I keep hearing that speakers are just calling each other out on the stage.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Have you seen that? Is it pretty bad?

[A]

Yeah. So I, I was listening to the speakers the first night. I didn't hear everything. I didn't hear all the responses back. So I heard Ben Shapiro speak. Even when Erica spoke, she took jobs at Candace Owens. Rightfully so. And then I heard Ben Shapiro speak, and somebody said last night it was like medicine. And for some people, the medicine was sweet, and for some people, the medicine was bitter, but it was necessary. I'm one of the people that, for me, it was sweets. Because I think it's important that you, in all areas of public life, I think it's important that you identify what the threat and the danger is to you and your movement and your family. And I think what the. Tucker, Megan Bannon. Candace, all of those people in that ecosystem are doing is dangerous and divisive. And not only it's wrong, like, the things that they say are inaccurate. And it is. That is the source of fomenting division among the conservatives, in my opinion. Not identifying that, not calling them out for it, but what they are doing is the thing that is fomenting division. And they're using the Jews as a lever to create that division. Because Jews are an easy target.

[B]

Easy. The easiest.

[A]

And this is something that. This is a pattern that we've seen repeat over and over again for hundreds of years in every country that Jews have lived. This is not new.

[B]

Yeah. Anytime I have a positive video about Jewish people, it just gets the most engagement I've ever seen. Because the comments.

[A]

Negative.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Some of that, I think, online is not real. So, like, here, I'm here at the conference, I have my necklaces on. I never take them off. I don't feel that even. Like yesterday, just over the next row, you know, there was like a bunch of grapers, like, standing around, and we asked them, like, are you guys gripers? And they're like, yeah, you know, they're. They. It's not a pejorative. Like, they call themselves that. So. But they didn't have direct hostility to me personally standing there. And, like, we had a conversation with them and, you know, I think, like, one of the things that we were talking about is the Israel's reliance on US Aid and that, you know, we give them too much. And my friend standing next to me was trying to explain, well, actually, you know, we get back, America gets back much more than we give. And so they were having an argument about that. And I was like, you know, most Jews on the right in America and in Israel believe that we don't want Israel to be taking so much aid from the United States. The reasons differ. Like, they think it's because, you know, we don't want to be Israel first and we don't want to be involved in foreign wars and stuff. Like that they're not making the connection between being pro Israel is America first, because Israel is on the front lines of the same exact battles that America is fighting. And we also have strategic, economic, military interests that are aligned. Okay, so they don't accept that. Fine. But what I said is, like, you know, we believe that the amount of aid that Israel is taking from the United States compromises its sovereignty because it allows the United States to have a lot of leverage over it. And we just saw that this week with the Egypt deal, where what's being reported is that Trump had to coerce and pressure Bibi to accept that deal. And we've seen that throughout the last two years, where even when Trump came into, you know, came into office, he was putting pressure on Netanyahu. And a lot of that, some of its personal relationship, of course, but a lot of that also has to do with how reliant Israel is on the United States. And it sometimes has to make compromises in order to keep that. And so those of us on the hard right, even in Israel, think that that's wrong, that, that you should, the country shouldn't be compromising a sovereignty like that. And so I think when I, I'm sure that that was the first time he'd ever heard someone say that, because, like, his eyes flashed when I said that.

[B]

His life flashed. Yeah. I think there's a lot of information on social media these days. And you. You do kind of don't know what to believe, right?

[A]

You. It's hard to know. And again, going back to, like, a foundation of your education about what's the true accurate history of the Middle east, of the founding of the state of Israel, of anti Semitism against the Jewish people, that it's typically used that Jews are used as a scapegoat, especially when times are, like, fractious and bad or bad or economically unstable. Exactly. Those have been the most dangerous times for Jews. And so when you have this foundation of information, even I, like, who have an education in this history, if I hear something, I have to go back and look it up to remind myself of the facts because they're so vast and this history is thousands of years long. This conflict didn't start in 1948. It's been going on for thousands of years. And so I have to even refresh my recollection of the history and facts. But because I have the foundation, I know if what I'm hearing isn't right. And so most people without that foundation, you don't have that ability to discern and so you just fall susceptible to what you hear.

[B]

You'll see a viral video. A viral video. And my generation doesn't know the history, like you said.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

So they started from the war. That's like their whole collection of the war, so.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Yeah. That's just the age we're in now, though, unfortunately.

[A]

You know, it's. It's a repetition of. We've seen it before. We've seen it before many times.

[B]

Where can people support you? Keep up with you.

[A]

Thank you. Yeah. So on Instagram, I'm at Elizabeth from California, and on X, I am at E underscore Barcohana because my name is too long for an X handle. But if you put in Elizabeth Barcohana, you'll find me. Awesome. That's where I am. Yeah.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

Thank you, Sean.

[B]

See you guys.