Dave Smith DUMBSTRUCK As Konstantin Kisin Uses His Own Words Against Him!

Overview

The video presents a debate between Dave Smith and Trigonometry hosts Konstantin Kisin and Francis Foster about how Israel should have responded to the October 7 attacks.

Debate

Smith argues that Benjamin Netanyahu should have resigned and that Israel should have pursued targeted assassinations and special operations instead of a large-scale campaign in Gaza. He emphasizes the history of occupation and blockade, the severe suffering of civilians, and the moral distinction between deliberately attacking civilians and causing civilian deaths during military operations.

Kisin and Foster challenge Smith to explain how targeted or “police-style” operations could dismantle Hamas, which they describe as a large, heavily armed, entrenched force. They argue that Israel had a duty to protect its citizens and that a major military response was, in their view, unavoidable. They also distinguish between Hamas’s deliberate attacks on civilians and what they characterize as collateral harm to Palestinian civilians.

The debaters disagree about responsibility for the suffering in Gaza. Smith points to the longer history of the conflict and Israeli policies, while Kisin argues that Hamas provoked the war and put civilians at risk. The discussion also compares the conflict with other wars and considers whether civilian aid should continue during wartime.

Post-debate commentary

In his post-debate commentary, Olly Anisfeld declares Kisin and Foster the winners. He argues that Smith offered no practical plan for removing Hamas, shifted among historical, moral, and emotional arguments, and blurred the distinction between intentional killings of civilians and unintended casualties. These are Anisfeld’s judgments, not neutral findings.

Anisfeld also argues that anti-Israel narratives reverse the cause and effect of the conflict. He asserts that hostility toward Jews in the region predates the establishment of Israel, citing violence in Safed in 1834 and Hebron in the 1920s, and promotes a J-TV documentary about that history. The video also includes a fundraising appeal for Leket Israel, which it describes as providing food to Israelis in need.

Presenters and contributors

• Olly Anisfeld — presenter and commentator
• Konstantin Kisin
• Francis Foster
• Dave Smith