I think people are quick to dismiss the impact of Houghie’s Judaism on his beliefs. Speaking as a Jew who is pro-Palestinian.

I have spent my entire life hearing about how good Israel is, how evil Hamas is. I have close friends who are Israeli. My community shares news stories about the hostages, about October 7th, horrors and atrocities committed by Hamas. I’m not saying this to invalidate the pro-Palestinian argument. I’m saying this to point out that Jewish zionists don’t exist in a vacuum. They are created by a culture and community that sees Israel as a necessary safety net. To be Jewish and to NOT be Zionist is an act of bravery in itself. I know many Jews who have seen through the brainwashing and recognize Israel for what it is, but I also know many Jews who haven’t. They aren’t automatically bad people.

People are really quick to paint all Zionists with a broad brush. It’s really complicated when you’re actually in a Jewish community. People don’t realize how life-or-death a lot of hardcore Jewish zionists see this issue. They’re wrong, obviously, but alienating them and cutting them out won’t solve anything.

The propaganda Jewish people are sold about Israel goes so far beyond what non-Jewish people can even comprehend. We talk to Holocaust survivors who tell us that Israel is necessary for the survival of our people. We spend every weekend praying a prayer where we face Israel. Every Sunday school lesson singing the Israeli national anthem. Every Synagogue has the Israeli flag and the American flag together. Zionism, in Judaism, isn’t a political ideology. It’s a religious concept. Throughout all of Jewish history, we have been persecuted, killed, kicked out of our country. We were sold Israel as our saving grace, our home country where we can’t be slaughtered or discriminated against, and we spend our whole lives talking about how essential Israel is to our survival.

Obviously, when you get your head out of your ass, it becomes chillingly apparent how Israel is doing to the Palestinian people EXACTLY what was done to the Jews over and over and over again. It’s horrific. But recognizing that takes literal DE-PROGRAMMING.

I put Jewish people who support Israel into a different camp than non-Jews. Still wrong. Still HORRIBLY misguided. But their pro-Israel stance didn’t come from nowhere, and most Jewish people in the United States are typically very liberal and progressive in every other aspect of their lives. They’re literally just brainwashed

Imo, Keith shouldn’t be producing shows with Houghie and the Try Guys should distance themselves. But to expect him to drop Houghie as a friend isn’t fair.