OPINION:
Please don’t jump to conclusions.
Hear me out.
Over the past few weeks, everyone seems to have made up their minds about conservative powerhouse The Daily Wire (DW) — and, for the most part, it hasn’t been positive. Listening to right-wing Twitter, Ben Shapiro, the erstwhile patron saint of edgy conservatism, has lost his cool, selling out “America First” values in exchange for Israeli values. He’s been called a traitor. His media company, DW, has been branded as “Israel first,” “an arm of the Israeli… media.” Popular commentator Patrick Bet-David even suggested that the media brand should rename itself the “Daily Jewish Wire.”
Israeli? Jewish? Isn’t The Daily Wire an American company? Yes, it is. The controversy here is that Mr. Shapiro, an Orthodox Jew, like generations of conservatives before him, believes that the U.S. should back her only democratic ally in the Middle East, Israel.
Of course, those who understand historical conservatism won’t be surprised by this take in the slightest. Support for Israel is a long-time tenet in the conservative moment, one that preexists today’s often philosophically unmoored party. But gradually, “America First” morphed into “America Only,” and now, the movement cannot even bear to stomach Mr. Shapiro’s pro-Israel but always, ultimately, pro-America commentary.
But before we turn our backs on Mr. Shapiro and his company, we ought to consider whether these critiques are valid.
I lay out three counter-arguments for your consideration.
First, The Daily Wire’s record speaks for itself. Since its founding in 2015, DW has grown into one of the biggest names in right-wing media, advancing a conservative worldview and agenda… in America. In a media landscape dominated by voices, the folks over at DW have actually made a real-world difference.
For instance, they sued the Biden administration over its draconian vaccine mandate. They exposed abhorrent gender “affirming” practices at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and helped ban child mutilation. They created “woke-free” alternatives to Hollywood entertainment, Disney, Harry’s Razors, and Hershey’s chocolates. Moreover, the vast majority of the company’s commentary centers around the United States and American issues.
Mr. Shapiro’s fellow hosts, including Michael Knowles and Matt Walsh, have varying perspectives on Israel — and that’s O.K. Even Mr. Shapiro, despite all the accusations against him, continues to produce series about the American border crisis and fentanyl epidemic and host fundraisers for Donald Trump.
In other words, to knock the site for being “Israel first” is simply and unequivocally dishonest. As Mr. Shapiro himself likes to say, two things can be true at once: The Daily Wire can be radically and unquestionably dedicated to advancing American principles and values and also talk about Israel. That’s 100% allowed — not to mention perfectly in line with historical conservatism.
Secondly, support for Israel is still broadly popular among most Americans. While radicals on both sides of the aisle dilute this fact, polling confirms that a staggering 80% of Americans support Israel over Hamas. Additionally, nearly 70% believe that Israel is actively working to minimize civilian casualties in its war on Gaza. By catering to the deafening but reality-estranged fringe on X — those branding Mr. Shapiro as an anti-American traitor — conservatives risk falling out of touch with the sane core of the party, which still approves of Israel’s role in the war.
Thirdly, and perhaps most importantly, support for Israel is in our best interest. As I previously wrote:
“Those who hate Israel also hate us…. Israel is the canary in the coal mine for the Western world. If the intersectional interpretation of Israel as the ‘little oppressor’ is allowed to prevail, so, too, will the interpretation of America as the ‘great oppressor.’ If Israel is a ‘colonizer’ nation that must be destroyed, then so, too, is the United States and virtually all of the West.”
I implore the America First crowd to understand this crucial fact: Iran, to whom Hamas is one of many foul proxies, fully intends to destroy the United States. Just last week, in fact, Islamic extremists in Michigan chanted “Death to America.” “The entire system… has to go,” they said. We’re simply deceiving ourselves if we believe burying our heads in the sand will fix that problem.
Of course, this does not mean that everyone has to talk about Israel as much as Ben Shapiro does. But maybe, just maybe, we should reconsider whether scuppering The Daily Wire is such a good idea after all.
In the fight for America, they have proven themselves to be a great ally, and the anti-Semitic attacks against them are disingenuous and they must end immediately!
- Mark Meckler is the President and Co-Founder of Convention of States
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