Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
I'm like, yeah, I'm asking everyone.
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
So books really became an amazing guide for me.
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
And Ivanka, she's an incredible researcher.
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
She's just voracious.
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
And so she gave me some of my best books and some incredible advice as well.
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
But that was really the process.
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
And then I think that was kind of the first stage.
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
And then the second stage was just constant iteration and readjusting plan as you continue to get more learning.
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
And one story I tell in the book as well is that on my first trip to the Middle East, where I met with Mohammed bin Zayed, who I spoke about earlier, the ruler of UAE, he
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
I spent two hours with him asking him questions and really going through the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the Israeli-Arab issue.
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
And he said to me at the end of the meeting, he says, Jared, I think you're going to make peace here in the Middle East.
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
And I was shocked because, I mean, first of all, he was, you know, at the time, I think one of the most respected leaders in the region.
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
Somebody who I found to be very wise and super thoughtful and experienced.
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
And I said to him, why do you say that?
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
I was flattered, obviously, but not certain why he was saying that based on the fact that I didn't know what my plan was.
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
I didn't know what I was going to do and I had no pathway to make peace.
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
And he said, well, the U.S.
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
usually sends one of three different kinds of people to come see me.
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
He says the first are people who come and they fall asleep in meetings.
Lex Fridman Podcast
#399 β Jared Kushner: Israel, Palestine, Hamas, Gaza, Iran, and the Middle East
He said the second are people who come and they basically read me notes but have no ability to interact on the message they're there to convey.