A combination of recent events has influenced the mood and outlook of both Americans and Israelis. Donald Trump won the election for President of the United States, and Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu and his government adopted a new strategy, using pre-emptive war as a form of national self-defense against regional aggressors and naming victory as a strategic goal. These developments are directly and indirectly related. The basic facts are known, but the environment of politics and ideas has changed. Factors such as public morale and self-image cannot be quantified but must be taken into account. How a country sees its place in the world determines a nation’s purpose and what it is capable of accomplishing. When a mood of national pride and purpose prevails over a mood of demoralization and defeatism, one may speak of a different reality.
This degradation of national purpose took place in the United States when former President Barak Obama rejected the traditional ideal of American exceptionalism and its long-standing roots in religious values. In contrast, President-elect Donald Trump adopted the slogan, “Make America Great Again,” which embodies the idea of greatness and renewal. The idea is should be familiar to us. It comes from the Hebrew Bible, Lamentations (Lamentations 5: 21: “Renew our days as of old.”
When President Trump announced his choices for cabinet members, we heard a new melody which indicated that greatness and renewal had again become national goals. By presenting this prospect in credible terms, the Trump administration changed the mood of the present for the majority of Americans. While some of the administration’s nominations were the subject of public controversy, they indicated the presence of a coherent program and the intention of implementing it. It is noteworthy that some of the nominees for cabinet positions, without being prompted, publicly declared their support for Israel and condemned the use of political antisemitism in American life. This shift in the consensus reflects a positive development.
Several months earlier, a significant event contributed to this shift in the national consensus. At the invitation of Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress on July 24, 2024. The Prime Minister used this extraordinary opportunity to speak directly to the American people (and the world) and vigorously defend Israel’s case. In fact, his audience enthusiastically embraced his message.
The world has changed and, more than ever, American legislators understand the dangers of terrorism. A substantial number of Congressmen (and women) have served in the in the American armed services and know firsthand the ways of the Middle East.
After the Hamas attack on Israel of October 7, 2023, a global intifada broke out in which “pro-Palestinian” sympathizers aggressively dominated public spaces, especially university campuses. These purportedly “spontaneous” demonstrators resulted in the open expression of anti-Israel hostility and antisemitism, intimidating and bullying Jewish students. Part of the problem was the intentional passivity and permissiveness of several university administrators.
Congressmen and women have the authority to consult their own sources of information and draw their own conclusions. In December 2023, the House Education Committee held hearings on antisemitism on the campus. The Chair of the Committee was Virgina Foxx of North Carolina, and Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, a member of this committee, conducted a devastating interrogation.
In his address, Netanyahu boldly called this war “a clash between barbarism and civilization,” and declared that the United States and Israel must stand together, because we have the same enemy. He defiantly proclaimed, “We will win!”
According to Caroline Glick, the meeting with President Biden, the following day [July 25] ended in a bust–up. The President warned the Prime Minister that “the time has come to end this war,” to which he replied, “Mr. President, we will end this war when we win it!” Glick noted that the Prime Minister represents the majority of the Israeli public which support his position.
When speaking about greatness and renewal, we should remember another event which took place on the evening of the very same day. House Speaker Mike Johnson led a delegation of Congressmen to Union Station in Washington, D.C., in a symbolic act of rededication and renewal. In the quotation from his Xpost, Johnson reported that “Earlier today, pro-Hamas protesters took down the American flags at Union Station, burned them and raised Palestinian flags. Tonight, we righted their wrong. American flags are once again flying over Union Station. We will not let the terrorist mob win.”
The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the movement
