Perhaps unintentionally, this is the message Udi Segal conveys to his viewers in his interview with Tucker Carlson.
One can criticize Segal for shifting throughout the interview between the role of journalist and that of an Israeli speaking in the name of his people, but that is not the main point.
What stayed with me most was the argument that Israel needs the United States in order not to be destroyed, as we almost were on October 7.
Yet the real conversation taking place beneath the surface is about distrust.
Distrust between Carlson and his own government. Distrust between Udi Segal and Tucker Carlson, and perhaps distrust that the world would once again stand by while Jews are threatened with destruction, as has happened before in Jewish history.
The crisis of trust in government that frustrates Carlson is not only an American or Israeli story.
According to the OECD report “Levels of Trust in Public Institutions” (2025), this phenomenon extends across much of the democratic world.
According to the report, only 37% on average of respondents across OECD countries expressed high or moderately high trust in their national parliament.
But the most interesting finding in the report, in my view, is something else entirely.
The strongest factor influencing trust is not necessarily ideology or whether one identifies with the political right or left, but whether people feel they truly have a voice and influence over the reality around them.
Toward the end of the interview, the two discuss interests. Segal notes, and Carlson agrees, that American interests in the region are tied less to morality and more to energy, resources, and the accumulation of power.
The elephant in the room is suddenly exposed.
Carlson says he hates wars and despises hatred. Segal, too, does not seem to take pleasure in them. Carlson wants Israel to stop acting cynically and immorally so that his own government will not become cynical and immoral as well. Segal, meanwhile, simply wants to feel safe in his country.
At that moment, Segal, representing the voice of many Israelis, and Carlson, speaking as an American citizen and perhaps even as a citizen of the world, seem to agree.
At least on the surface, what matters to them is no longer energy, economics, or geopolitical interests, but morality.
And yet I wonder: is that really true?
Can politics truly become more moral?
What would that even look like?
Would we, as citizens, experience fewer wars, but perhaps also less wealth, less comfort, and less power?
And if so, are we actually willing to accept that tradeoff?
These are not questions only for leaders. They are also questions for us as citizens.
They begin within ourselves, in our workplaces, communities, organizations, and daily lives, in the balance, or imbalance, between morality and power in the way decisions are made.
Public trust is essential to democracy, but trust alone is not a guarantee of morality.
Even enlightened individuals sometimes make forceful decisions in the name of interests, fear, or a sense of justice.
Eilon Kotler is a content creator, filmmaker, and public engagement activist, as well as a third-generation member of Kibbutz Kfar Aza and father of two. After the October 7 attack on his community, he shifted toward public and civic engagement, focusing on questions of trust, conflict, identity, and social cohesion. He holds an M.A. in Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution from Reichman University.