The recent clash between Douglas Murray and Dave Smith on Joe Rogan’s podcast exposed deep fractures on the Right over Israel’s fight for survival. Murray, a fierce defender of Western values, slammed Smith’s anti-Israel rhetoric as dangerous ignorance masquerading as “free speech.” Smith, a self-described libertarian comic, accused Israel of “genocide” while downplaying Hamas’ barbaric October 7 attacks. This isn’t just a debate — it’s a battle for the soul of conservatism.
Murray called out Rogan’s platforming of armchair analysts who spread lies about Israel under the guise of comedy. He rightly asked why unqualified voices like Smith get equal billing with those who’ve actually studied history and terror networks. Smith fired back that “credentials don’t matter,” proving Murray’s point about the Left’s war on expertise. When truth becomes optional, tyranny follows.
Rogan later mocked Murray’s elite background, claiming “degrees don’t make you right.” But this both-sides-ism helps Hamas apologists. Smith — who’s Jewish — parroted terrorist talking points about Israel’s “oppression” while ignoring Hamas’ child-burning jihadism. True conservatives don’t abandon allies under fire.
The spectacle revealed how anti-war posturing often masks anti-Americanism. Smith’s “libertarian” stance on Gaza would leave Israel defenseless against Iran’s proxies. Murray warned that Western weakness emboldens enemies. History shows he’s right — appeasement always fails.
This split matters because Rogan’s audience of millions hears lies equating Israel with Hamas. Young voters soak up this moral relativism, forgetting that only one side here beheads babies. Conservatism can’t survive if it tolerates woke-adjacent hatred of the only democracy in the Middle East.
Smith’s “free speech” argument is a Trojan horse. Letting comedians shape foreign policy is how we got Biden’s disastrous Afghanistan withdrawal. Murray fought to preserve truth in an age of TikTok foreign policy. Real men don’t punch right — they punch terrorists.
The Left celebrates this debate as proof conservatives are divided. They’re wrong. This is about cleansing our ranks of Useful Idiots who’d sacrifice Israel for clout. Murray isn’t elitist — he’s one of the last warriors for reality in a party of podcast panhandlers.
America’s silent majority knows the score. You don’t need an Oxford degree to see Hamas must be destroyed. But you do need courage to say it. Murray stood tall while others cowered. That’s why the Right’s future belongs to warriors, not comedians.
