Nas Daily: The Identity Crisis October 7 Forced Me to Face

Wondering Jews with Mijal and Noam - Unpacked

Nas Daily shares his identity journey as an Arab Israeli, reflecting on post-October 7th self-reflection, the malleability of human nature, and the power of media in shaping morality. The conversation explores authentici

Key takeaways

• Identity is fluid and shaped by experience

Transcript preview

Hey friends I want to ask you for a quick favor. We are always looking to understand our audience who listen to unpacked even better, who watch it, who engage with us even more. So to do that we want to hear from you directly what you're loving, what you're curious about, what you want to see more of, what you'd want to see covered, whatever it is. It's a super short survey, just two minutes, but your answers help us shape where this show goes next. So really appreciate, really appreciate it. So, really appreciate it. The link is in the link is in the show notes, or you can go to slash pod survey. Thanks for listening. Thanks for watching. Thanks for being part of this community. Now go fill out that survey please. Pretty please. Hey everyone welcome to wondering Jews with Michal and Noam. Today we have something very special for you to enjoy. Recently I recorded an episode of unpacking Israeli history with Nusire Yassin known to tens of millions of people around the world as Nas Daily. This talk was so philosophical, so enthrall and throw off. that we really felt like you our wondering Jews audience would really really enjoy it so today right here on wondering Jews we're airing a special crossover episode of unpacking Israeli history for you with our special guest Nusaira Scene. Are you ready? Are you ready? You know? Um... You know, um... it is what it is. Do you like being in conversation with people? I love your content. Thank you. No but not in a weird way. It's hard to make. I love your content. Thank you. It's excellent and it's the type of thing that my children and I could watch together. And you know I make a lot less of it these days. Okay, why? Yeah, I have other priorities. I want to go to your other priorities. I want to talk about you as a person, you as a content creator. I do want to hear about your priorities and things that you're working on. But I think what you're working on, I think what you're working on, I think what you're working on, I think what you're working on, I don't, I don't, I don't your first podcast that you've ever released. It was part of Nas Talks. Nas Talks. Yeah. An experiment during COVID. Yes, okay. And then I just continued the podcast. Why did you do that? Breadth versus depth. I was in my breadth era. Okay. Well, one of the things that you spoke about was the authenticity of the podcast experience. Yeah. But you, I loved listening to how you think about content creation. I love listening to the process. I love listening to the process. I love everything to the process. I love everything to the process. I love everything to the process. I love everything about that. But you one of the things that you did is you went to so many different communities across the world. Yes. So I had this like basic question for you. It's a philosophical question. Let's go. And to the viewer we're gonna disagree in this conversation so please pay attention. We'll see. We can't predict disagreement. We have to do so. Okay. Just sharpen each other's thoughts. Exactly. Okay. Are people inherently good or bad? Oh, that's a very easy question. You think that's a hard question. I think that's a hard question. I think that's a hard question. No, I think it's ridiculous for anybody to think somebody is inherently bad. I think it is the most cocky thing to believe that somebody is inherently bad. Why? In my mind I translate that to you know you are born out of the womb of your mother as a bad person. You really think that's a possibility? Well the great philosophers would say either you know, you know, people are born with a original sin, right? That's one way to view life. And I assume the philosophers were not part of those people, right? And then there's another group of people who would say, no, there's inherently good. And then there are other people who say, no, the world is neutral, and humans are, you know, neutral and whatever you choose to do that you choose to do with it. But you've met so many different people. Yeah. So, are you, when you look at you look at first glance, when you first meet people from all different communities, of universal morality. Yeah, right? Like someone in Papua New Guinea. Yeah, yeah. Love Papua New Guinea. What do you say? I love Papua. You love it. Yeah. You mentioned it on the first podcast. Yeah. That's why I say it. Yeah, exactly. And I don't know. And in Ukraine and in China and in North Korea, you did not have a most popular YouTube videos that you've done. That's correct. You did not have a great experience there. But the people are good, bad. But how do you think, good, how do you think about it. My general view on life today is that people are a lot more malleable than we think they are. They're almost as malleable as like rubber band. You know, you can really shape, shift humans and it all boils down to how you grew up. So I think everybody comes out of their mother's womb, probably like neutral, just a bunch of cells put together. And I think your experiences you to become a selfish person or into a generous person. Your in securities shape you to be a successful person or a non-successful person. But I think everybody inherently either good or neutral, but no such thing as born bad. And I think that belief almost leads you towards another holocaust, you know, almost leads you towards another holocaust. You know, almost leads you towards another holocaust, you know, almost leads you towards another holocaust, you know, humanization of humans. To believe that someone is inherently bad. Yeah, because you could easily extend that to Somalians. You know, Somalians are born inherently bad and it's like inherently not, you know, as successful as us Westerners and you see that in the news lately. I just think that's just a dangerous way to think and I think you have to put effort not to think that because the, you know how like a, um, we all regressed to the mean. We all like you have to like really wait like the default state of the brain is not to think and the default state of the body is not to move. So you end up getting fat and dumber as you get older. So you really got a fight against the default state and the default state of the brain is to be lazy and therefore think I'm good they're all bad and evil. So I think you got to work out to your brain. It's really wild. I was really wild I was really wild and genocide. And you're like, wait, what is, if the general person, if you were to ask them the Hutus versus the Tutsis, why? Why do you? There is no clear difference between them. There's no difference. No, I made like 10 Naus daily videos about them. There's no clear difference. There's no difference, right? No. You should go to the museum of reconciliation or something in Rwanda, or the museum of genocide or something. And it tells you the story of how men killed their wife. You killed their wife. They killed their wife. She was a tosy. I forgot who killed who? The tosy were killed, yeah, now the tutsis are in power. Yeah. And it's like the radio and the media affected that over one night. You know, you hear the radio saying, all right, just kill your neighbor, kill your wife, your colleague, and they just did it. Right, and that gets to the original question of our people inherently good or bad. And if you start seeing people around you, you're spouse, you could start dehumanizing that right away right away. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that. And that. And that. And that. And that. And that. And that. And that. And that. And that's why. And that's why. And that's why. And that's why. And that's why. And that's why. And that's why. And that's why. And that's why. And that's why. And that's why. And that's why. And that's why. And If there wasn't that radio show in Rwanda, if there wasn't that propaganda machine from the government, you wouldn't have shape shifted humans. And they wouldn't kill each other. The power, the power of media, the power of propaganda is huge. The power you do. So let's talk about how you were shaped. Damn, my brain is thinking now. Okay, let's talk about how you were shaped. Let's go. Yes,yer. I want to know who you were before Nas Daily. I want to know a little bit about your identity. you got to where you got to before you went to Harvard so made your parents very proud I presume a little bit a little bit yeah and then you started making content but I want to understand and well you got a job you did some you did the you know you did the standard post-harvard things I want to understand your upbringing I want to understand one of the things that you said is that when you were 13 years old you went to a bar mitzvah now you didn't understand anything I couldn't even communicate with them. You couldn't communicate with them. Why? I spoke Hebrew and I only learned Hebrew. I never spoke it. And so where are you from? So where are you from? Let's go there. Where are you from? So I'm from Northern Israel in a small town called Arabi. When I grew up there was a village, not a town. It's next to Zakin. It's next to Nazareth. It's next to Nazareth. And Haifa. How would I say it? You wouldn't. Okay. They don't try. Okay, fair enough. Okay, okay. So I could I can't pronounce it but okay so you grew up in near Tel Aviv not really but and you met Jewish kids when you were 13 or you knew Jewish kids but you went to a bar mitzil you don't know much about Judaism or nothing even though you grew up in the Jewish state yeah absolutely zero I knew the language I knew the language I understood the language I watched the news every day a lot of let's say if I get this right Arab citizens of Israel is really Arabs Palestinian Israelis yeah etceter 48 whatever the hell you want to call whatever you want to do don't I don't I don't I don't don't I don't I don't know what I don't don't know what I'm don't. I don't. I don't. I don't. I don't. I don't. I don't. I don't. I mean my parents speak it's super super fluently and my parents speak. is extremely fluent in Hebrew, right? He's like really good at it. I just, you know, the younger generation that doesn't really work in a Hebrew environment, I, it was me, I just, when you don't practice something, but, I'm sorry, I'm so excited to tell you, by the end of the year I made a personal commitment to become super fluent in Hebrew. The end of what year? This year? I understand everything in Hebrew. I just never spoke it. But, he give me a sentence? Can, I mean the bed of rhevrit everyrit everyrit. Gamai. Yeah, okay, so you do this... Okay, that you cannot... What can I do about that? You have a label. Yeah. Sorry. But I really believe in learning the language. Okay, so we're getting into your story. We're getting into Naus daily. You were someone that grew up with a specific identity of what? Palestinian, Israeli, what are you? You were... You were someone that grew up with a specific identity of what? Palestinian, Israeli, what are you? know my girlfriend tries to define me and she had a really good explanation of what I am. She said, you're nothing. You are an orb. I'm an orb. That primarily what I am is I want to fly above religion. I want to fly above organized religion. I want to fly above political labels, country labels. I want you to view me as no sire my name, right? That's my primary interest. Now, if you're me what am I in the context of this podcast I'm I'm an Israeli citizen I'm a person who was born and raised in Israel and who no matter how much Israel didn't love him back he loves the idea of Israel and he wants to build on that idea with fellow Israelis the idea of of surviving under pressure. I love these ideas and that is actually what an Arab Israeli is. It's surviving under pressure, you know, trying, I mean I don't think we have as much innovation as a Jewish Israelis, but we should. So that's who I am. I'm Israeli first, but I'm also Arab. I don't share the same Jewish experiences of a Shabbat. So that's who I am. I'm Israeli first, but I'm also Arab. I don't share the same Jewish. Thank you. Thank you. I will. I'm serious. Yeah. We love Shabbat. I mean me I'm a girlfriend. We host Shabbat all the time. Yeah, yeah, we host Shabbat's a special thing. It's a special thing. It is a special thing. It's a beautiful thing. I love it. I think you should take that and commercialize it. I think a lot of people are doing the digital detox thing. The 25 hour. Yeah, he may be commercializing. Maybe. Maybe. You said a lot of things there. You said a lot of things. One of the things that you said is that Israel didn't love you back. Absolutely not. What does that mean? And what is it? In the broader context of someone who teaches Israeli history, I want to really understand what that means for someone who is, and you didn't describe yourself by the way as Palestinian either. You said Arab. You haven't saying Arab. And I just want to give statistics for you that I have that my producer gave me. The Mosha Day-Tayan Center survey of Arab citizens of the Israel asked important component of your personal identity. 33% said Arab identity. 28% said Israeli citizenship, 24% said religious identity, and 13% said Palestinian. You didn't say Palestinian there. So I had two questions within that. One is, why did you not say Palestinian? Yeah. And number two is, what do you mean Israel didn't love you back? So let me answer the first question first. Palestinian and Israeli are the two most newsmaking headlines. So there is this insane global pressure to force every Palestinian to remain Palestinian and to feel Palestinian until the end of days. You, your kids, your grand kids, your grand-grandkids, must feel Palestinian. And there's this pressure is immense, especially immense if you're a public figure. Immense, D. J. Kalid, right? Nast Daly. You know, whoever has a 10% Palestinian route. You must continue the struggle. And I think after October 7th, I really had a self-inter I really had a self-intersection and I really had a self-intersection, I really had a self-intersection. said to myself, this extremism does not represent me. I have nothing in common with a person from Gaza. I have nothing in common with the person from the West Bank, no matter how much I love them, I want to support them, but I have nothing in common with them. You know, 77 years or whatever it is, living under a democracy in Israel with a powerful passport, traveling the world, exposed to Hebrew media, shapes you into a different human. Culturally, I became from a West Bank Palestinian and a refugee in America. And so I just ask myself, do I embrace this Palestinian identity because I want it? Or is it forced on me by the world? These are really important questions. Every Arab Israeli should first. And I know for a Jewish Israeli, nothing pleases them more than somebody asking themselves as questions because you should enforce Israeli identity on all your citizens. That's the only way to build a country. You should enforce it on the Arab Israelis. We should all go serve in the military or do some- The Arab should be serving the military or community service. You absolutely must forcefully integrate your citizens into one country because Israel allows too much freedom in a way. Hard to believe. What I'm saying is crazy. You know, if you want to be an Orthodox Jew and just study for the rest of your life. When you say Orthodox, you mean the ultra- If you want to be an ultra-orthodox view and study for the rest of your life as a form of you know fighting for the state of Israel and not even go to the army and just like literally live in a yeshiva you can if you want to be an Arab Israeli Palestinian citizen and advocate for Palestine from your basement inside Israel and travel the world with your Israeli passport and say I am Palestinian and I support Palestine you can and if you want to be a gay person in Tel Aviv and march on the pride and have zero respect for religion you can it's amazing isn't it it is amazing right it's beautiful so that's why I say it's on the extreme of freedom but you don't get one Israel you get five Israel's and then and then the then here's what happens as a result of all this then the shapers the tastemakers of Israeli society becomes a very small percentage of the country itself people who ultimately shape the culture, meaning if the Khairidim are not part of the Israeli army. Absolutely. And the Arab citizens are not part of the Israeli army. And the Ethiopians are not part of Israel either. No, but what do you mean? They go to their, they participate. They participate seriously in the Israeli army. How truthful should we be in this podcast. Whatever you need. Whatever I need? Yeah. Let's keep the people listening. If you're going to say there's discrimination, of the nation. If you're going to say they're not as they're not as they're not as they're not as they're not as they're not as they're not as they're not as they and should be and should be and should be. We are okay with them doing frontline army working with them the the the not so glamorous jobs I think I think we allow them to that no we should force them to what to you know participate in the economy as much as the Tel Aviv Ashkenazi guy I think the number one on top of the pyramid in Israel is you not me the version of you in Israel How do you know Ashkenazi? I have eyes It's the biggest insult yet. I mean, that's not true. Ashkenazzy, my love my people, sorry. My girlfriend is Ashkenazzy. No, I'm in love with that. My best friends are Ashkenazi, right? Yeah, yeah, even her. I wanted to be a lawyer, sorry for the third. Yeah, you wanted that until you apply for a job. Okay. You know? Really? Still? Come on. It's really? That's it. So what I'm saying is