OPINION:
The FBI is leading an investigation into leaked U.S. intel that reportedly stopped Israel from launching its planned counterattack against Iran.
Holy cow. An America that’s seen as favoring terror-sponsoring Iran over longtime friend and ally Israel — not a good look.
“Israel said to have delayed Iran strike after US intel leak of attack plans,” The Times of Israel wrote.
Oh, for the days of Donald Trump when Israel was still treated as America’s friend and ally. This White House has been a longtime coddler of terror-groups and sponsor-of-terror Iran, with a narrative that has constantly watered down attacks against Jews and drawn moral equivalencies where moral equivalencies simply do not exist. How, for instance, to fault Israel for wishing to defend itself against terrorists who committed the October 7, 2023, atrocities?
“President Joe Biden had terse words for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,” The Associated Press reported earlier this month, “and said he didn’t know whether the Israeli leader was holding up a Mideast peace deal in order to influence the outcome of the 2024 U.S. presidential election.”
No, Joe. Actually, the terrorists are holding up the peace deal. They’re the ones who refuse to release all the hostages and lay down arms. They’re the ones who want Israel to take the giant leap of faith by committing to stop all military actions — in return for promises of peace from the very ones who want to erase Israel from the face of the map and obliterate the Jewish people. Trust me, we’re from Hamas and we’re here to help!
To suggest that Israel is to blame for striking Gaza is to deny the history of October 7. To suggest that Israel is at fault for the ongoing aggressions between the IDF and Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran is to completely shut eyes to the truth of how this past year of violence and war began: that is to say, the terror groups attacked; Israel defended. Israel, to this day, continues to defend itself.
Narrative that suggests otherwise and leaves out the all-important context of the reasons Israel is waging a military operation against its enemies is to embolden Israel’s enemies and weaken Israel’s regard among the governments of the world. And ‘lest we forget: Israel’s enemies are one and the same as America’s enemies.
That used to be clear.
That used to be the given.
That used to be the default position of America’s executive branch — until Barack Obama days and the infamous Iran nuclear deal; until Team Biden days and the ongoing wishy-washy part-time friendship of this White House with the Jewish nation.
“No administration has helped Israel more than I have,” Biden said, AP reported on October 4. “None. None. None. And I think Bibi should remember that.”
That’s quite the lie.
Can you say Abraham Accords? If not, then how about ‘relocating U.S. embassy to Israel to Jerusalem?’ If so, then say Donald Trump, ’cause it sure wasn’t Joe Biden who accomplished these pro-Israel feats.
Conversely, Biden’s White House has sought consistently to calm terrorists by softening America’s anti-terror group language.
“Kamala Harris calls out Israel over ‘catastrophe’ in Gaza,” Reuters reported in March.
“Blinken Urges Netanyahu to Seek Truces in Gaza and Lebanon,” The New York Times reported this week, of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Saudi Arabia in the wake of America’s intel leak. Around the time of his visit, Hezbollah was firing missiles into Tel Aviv. What about the calls to terrorists to seek peace?
“Hamas blame[s] the failure of [peace] talks on Israel’s demand for a lasting military presence in parts of Gaza,” Business Standard wrote.
That’s a smokescreen complaint aimed at giving the terror groups the thin veneer their members need to continue to aggress Israel but pretend to world audiences they’re not — that they’re the peace-seeking victims and Israel the uncompromising savage force. It’s common sense; if Israelis can’t maintain a presence in Gaza, Israelis can’t ensure and confirm another terror group won’t assemble to attack Israel. It’s historical truth, too; in 1994, as part of the deal from the Oslo Accords, Israel withdrew from Gaza to allow the Palestinians to govern themselves. And here we are. And here is what happens when Palestinians govern themselves.
America’s next president must recognize — publicly, for all the world to hear and see — the contextual and historical truths about this current military engagement pitting Israel against a slew of hostile players. It won’t do to have the incoming White House perceived as more pro-Iran than pro-Israel. That’s like being pro-terror and anti-peace.
“In recent days, [FBI] investigators have worked to authenticate the [leaked] files and determine who could have had access to them,” JNS.org wrote. “This is ‘one Indication that, for now, the FBI and other investigators are working off the theory that the breach most likely came from a government insider and not from a cyber intrusion,’ [a] CNN report noted.”
Call it a clue. It’s this White House under Biden and Harris that have brought forth headlines such as this, from Tablet Magazine, on October 1, 2023: “High-Level Iranian Spy Ring Busted in Washington” — or this, from The New York Post, on October 23, 2023, that stated, “Ted Cruz warns of alleged ‘Iranian spies’ in Biden admin.”
Politically, an America that fails to fully support and defend Israel is cutting its own throat by strengthening enemies that vow to destroy the Jewish nation, and then the United States, and then all of western civilization.
But biblically speaking, the consequence of an America that turns its back on Israel is even worse.
“Whoever blesses Israel will be blessed,” as Numbers states. “And whoever curses Israel will be cursed.”
And from Genesis, this blunt vow from God: “I will bless those who bless you, but I will curse those who curse you.”
Whether nation or individual, whether politically or spiritually, the price for turning a back on Israel is dire.
On that, America this November must decide: Do we want a candidate with a proven record of favoring Israel — of blessing Israel? Or do we want a candidate who’s worked hand-in-hand with an administration that’s watered its favor of Israel, and in so doing, cursed Israel?
“I believe Donald Trump is dangerous,” Harris said at a recent rally, when asked if she were more pro-Israel than Trump.
So does Iran.
For American voters, that should make the choice all the more clear.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley. Listen to her podcast “Bold and Blunt” by clicking HERE. And never miss her column; subscribe to her newsletter and podcast by clicking HERE. Her latest book, “Lockdown: The Socialist Plan To Take Away Your Freedom,” is available by clicking HERE or clicking HERE or CLICKING HERE.
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