When the Biden administration took office, I think many Americans would have been both confident and comfortable saying Israel was one of, if not the United States’ greatest ally.
As an American citizen who is fascinated with Israel and closely follows Israeli politics, I want to believe this is still true today. America needs to have a strong, healthy relationship with Israel, especially considering all of the questions concerning a future “deal” with Iran.
I don’t think enough people in the United States pay as much attention to Israel and the Middle East as we should. This is evident to me with the number of Americans who fail to realize how low the rest of the world’s opinion is of us right now. It’s difficult to expect someone to fear you as a “world leader” when they don’t even respect you as a threat.
This has really bothered me the last week or so. As a result, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what it means to be “pro-Israel.”
Then on 12 December 2021, the Biden administration affirmed that it is committed to a two-state solution. The Biden administration stressed the importance of “joint action” from all parties to achieve peace and stability throughout the region moving forward.
According to WAFA, the PA’s official news agency, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, relayed the commitment to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas last Wednesday during a meeting in Ramallah. This was the third such meeting between a senior Biden administration official and President Abbas in the previous 10 days.
Wednesday’s meeting was described as “positive and constructive” by a PA official. However, further details were not provided other than the official stating the PA continues to grow stronger ties with the Biden administration.
As long as Hamas is ruling the Gaza Strip, there is no such thing as a “two-state solution” that is pro-Israel. That would be like sitting here and trying to convince me of how dry water is. It’s not going to happen. Water is wet, and Hamas will never be involved with anything that is pro-Israel.
I have spent a lot of time talking about this with other Americans this week. I have asked everyone the same question. “Are you pro-Israel? Why or why not?” I also spent some time mentioning other trending topics in Israeli politics. It didn’t take me long to realize plenty of other Americans would like to know more about what is happening in Israel and throughout the Middle East. Unfortunately, they simply don’t know where to look.
With incidents such as the President of Turkey recently saying he favored stronger relationships with Iran and Russia right now over the United States, I can see why many media sources would rather not talk about what’s happening in the Middle East and other parts of the world. Since the nightmare that was the US withdrawal from Afghanistan happened, not as many places consider the United States the serious threat it once was. Currently, Russia has a buildup of troops ready to invade Ukraine at a moment’s notice. In addition, we are nowhere closer to some kind of a “deal” that would keep Iran nuke-free, and new stories/threats come out of China on almost a weekly basis.
This is a time when you would think America would be growing as close to Israel as we could. Instead, we’re backing the idea of a two-state solution that involves Hamas, deemed a terrorist group by Israel, the US, and the European Union. We are saying we want to hand over more power to a terrorist organization, threatening our ally as a result.
What does it mean to be pro-Israel? I’ve talked with too many evangelical men in the United States this week who believe going to church every Sunday makes them pro-Israel. That being said, when asked what they remember of May 10 through May 21 of this year, I doubt they can tell you very much from the latest rounds of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
I can’t say much myself. My love for the Old Testament as a Christian has more to do with my fascination with Israel than any political party or policy. It has only been around a year that I have given serious time or effort in learning about the History of Israel since the 1950s. Obviously, there’s still a ton I need to learn. Nevertheless, I am an American citizen who has fallen in love with Israel. Being able to say I cover Israel and the Middle East as a journalist means a lot to me. It’s something I want to spend the rest of my life doing.
I am pro-Israel. That means I want to make sure that Israel is just as important to my great-grandchildren 50 years from now as it is for my six-year-old daughter and me today. No, if you split Jerusalem and create a “two-state” solution, I don’t think that happens.
I don’t believe every Palestinean agrees with Hamas and their terrorist ideologies. Nor do I think every Jewish citizen living in Israel agrees with everything Israel does in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
However, I believe it’s impossible to be a Palestinean ok with Hamas soldiers and operatives living in your neighborhood carrying out attacks and thinking you’re interested in peace with Israel. There is no “halfway” being pro-Israel. You either believe they have the right to defend their country by any means necessary, or you don’t.
As I said earlier, I have a six-year-old daughter. She sees me reading or watching a video and starts asking me questions. I’ll be honest. I’ve watched some gut-wrenching videos from what happened last May. There’s some stuff that Israel has done that I’m not sure how to explain things to my daughter. Because she lives here in the US, she doesn’t understand what it means to live in Israel under the constant threat of terrorist attacks launched by groups such as Hamas.
While the mainstream media hasn’t discussed it as much the last 10 months, there is currently a lot going on in Israel and the Middle East that Americans need to be paying attention to. Whether it’s failed discussions for a deal with Iran, Turkey growing closer and closer to Iran and Russia, or the growing tensions between Israel and the Palestinians, America’s relationship with Israel is always hanging in the balance.
I wanted to believe that the Biden administration would do everything they could to keep things as healthy as possible between the US and Israel. Unfortunately, that simply hasn’t been the case, especially when a senior Biden administration official has met with the President of the PA three times within 10 days. Meanwhile, the IDF has recently announced they would be resuming sniper assassinations in Gaza Strip.
It just seems like if we were so “pro-Israel,” we wouldn’t be spending so much time with one of their enemies and pushing for a two-state solution.
When will the Biden administration finally show who they are committed to?
There has been an Israeli-Palestine conflict my entire life. While I will never believe a two-state solution will be the correct answer, I do think everyone involved would say it would be nice just to finally have peace. Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen with someone like Hamas. As long as they rule the Gaza Strip, there will always be a threat to Israeli and Palestinian civilians.
Does the Biden administration not see the serious danger that comes supporting a government being influenced by Hamas? Or do they just want to wash their hands with the Middle East so bad that they no longer care?
Jeffrey Stevens is a published author and is currently earning his second degree in theology from Aidan University. His writing career has focussed on living the Christian faith, mixed with some sports writing from time to time.
Jeffrey regularly writes on his personal website and blog, “The Catholic Wordsmith.” In addition, he’s written articles about his faith on websites such as Big Pulpit, Catholic 365, Catholic Stand, and Joshua’s Outpost. As a sports writer, Jeffrey has written articles that have been published on Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and Bleacher Report.
Jeffrey can be heard hosting “The Catholic Wordsmith Show” available on Google Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, and RadioPublic.
