Naftali Bennett hints at possible return to politics
Intro
“We did it then, and we can do it again. We will establish a state here that is worthy of this people,” declared the former premier.
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Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett hinted at a possible return to politics in a long tweet on Thursday.
“Three years ago today, I took the oath of allegiance as the 13th Prime Minister of the State of Israel,” he wrote. “We did it then, and we can do it again. We will establish a state here that is worthy of this people,” he continued.
Bennett highlighted the challenges facing the country in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, saying he has been speaking to many citizens who are in “real despair” and feel an “existential anxiety for the State of Israel.”
He continued: “For a little over a year, I served you, the citizens of Israel, when I was at the head of a government that up until that moment would have seemed impossible.”
Bennett recalled the turmoil that surrounded his ascent to Israel’s highest office, including non-stop elections, the COVID-19 pandemic and an economic crisis.
“Ministers from the left and the right decided to put aside all the differences and gather together for the sake of saving the State of Israel,” he said.
“The establishment of this emergency government, of which I am so proud, was at the time as necessary as breathing air," he wrote. “It proved that Israel can be taken out of the mud, and even quickly—if only we are together and work together.”
Requests for comment from Bennett's office by JNS were not immediately forthcoming.
Minister Chikli
Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli responded harshly to the news.
“Three years ago today, you broke your oath to hundreds of thousands of voters not to form a government with those who support the lawsuit against IDF officers in The Hague, not to be a partner in the boycott of the largest right-wing party [Likud], not to form a government with a dangerous Islamist party [the United Arab List, aka Ra'am],” wrote Chikli on X.
He listed a number of grievances he had with Bennett’s performance as prime minster, including his decision to form a government while leading a party with fewer than 10 mandates (his Yamina Party garnered seven Knesset seats in the March 2021 election), the controversial natural gas deal with Lebanon, giving in to American pressure, and his actions vis-à-vis Hamas and Gaza.
The gas deal drew a border between the two countries’ exclusive economic zones (EEZs) based on a boundary known as Line 23, and awards a disputed area of around 840 square kilometers (324 square miles) to Lebanon, while recognizing Israel’s claim to the Karish gas field and to royalties from the section of the Qana field that extends into the Jewish state’s EEZ.
The diaspora affairs minister agreed that “there is a lot to fix and improve,” but said with someone like Yesh Atid Party head Yair Lapid in power, “there would not have been an intensive ground operation in Gaza, certainly there would have been no operation in Rafah, and you would probably be marching together with [U.S. Secretary of State Antony] Blinken in the light of sunset to the corrals of a surrender deal.”
“Spare us the pose of the knight on the white horse, you have benefited from hundreds of thousands of lies and only sat in the prime minister's chair by force of extortion and deception”, Chikli said.
Bennett announced a break from politics in the leadup to the November 2022 elections following his handover of the premiership to Yesh Atid Party head Yair Lapid as part of a rotation agreement.
Since then, he has been fairly active in the public sphere, including speaking on international television on the country’s behalf since the outbreak of the current war.
Following the establishment of the current government, Bennett criticized its plan for judicial reform.
“The full current proposal is dangerous,” he posted on Twitter in January 2023. “It will harm the foundations of the State of Israel, its economy and its citizens, and it may tear the rope that connects us all. That’s why it needs to be fixed. There is only one solution: Sit together, talk, and reach the right change.”
Bennett had previously vowed to return to politics, comparing himself to Yitzhak Rabin and Benjamin Netanyahu, both of whom recaptured the premiership after lengthy periods out of office.
“In Israel, we can be recycled. It never ends. Rabin was prime minister from ’74 to ’77 and came back. Bibi [Netanyahu] was prime minister from ’96 to ’99 and he’s back. So, I’ll be back,” said Bennett.
In June 2021, he defected from the right to lead a coalition as part of a power-sharing agreement with Lapid. Bennett described his decision to abandon his right-wing base and join forces with center-left, far-left and Islamist parties as the “best and most Zionist decision in my life.”
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) remains operational in eastern Jerusalem despite its outlawing there and throughout Israel last month, an Israeli radio station reported on Sunday.
Senior UNRWA staff have left Israel and Judea and Samaria because the outlawing of the agency risked compromising their freedom of movement, Kan 11 reported. The organization’s two headquarters in Jerusalem have also closed down.
But schools and other UNRWA facilities in eastern Jerusalem and beyond remain open and operational, according to the report.
Laws that ban UNRWA in Israel went into effect on Jan. 30, making it illegal for UNRWA to maintain a presence or activities in Israel and prohibiting Israeli officials from engaging in contact with the agency.
On Oct. 28, the Knesset passed, by large majorities, two laws banning UNRWA following the exposure of UNRWA staff complicity in Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 massacre, and despite pressure from the United States under former president Joe Biden.
The language of the ban was by far the most robust ever used by Israel against the agency, whose largest donors have been the United States and the European Union. UNRWA has for decades been accused of providing cover and income to Palestinian terrorists while undermining peace efforts, including via its schools’ curriculum.
According to Israel, hundreds of UNRWA workers have engaged in terrorism in recent years, including the killers of Yonatan Samerano, an Israeli soldier slain on Oct. 7, 2023, whose body was taken to Gaza. Israel identified one of his kidnappers as UNRWA social worker Faisal Ali Mussalem al Naami.
On Jan. 20, President Donald Trump temporarily suspended U.S. foreign aid to UNRWA, pending reviews of existing development programs.
UNRWA caters to several millions of people it defines as refugees in Judea and Samaria, Gaza, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
Through UNRWA, the United Nations employs a unique refugee definition for Palestinians. UNRWA defines as refugees not only those who fled the war in 1948 but their descendants in perpetuity until a “just solution” emerges for their status. The United Nations has a different definition for all other refugees, who cannot give the title to their descendants and often lose it when they are naturalized elsewhere.
Critics of the UNRWA definition argue that it’s designed to perpetuate the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
Israel's Cabinet voted on Sunday to confirm Maj. Gen. (res.) Eyal Zamir as the 24th chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed high expectations for his tenure and anticipated significant achievements.
“Even when he served as my military secretary, I was impressed by Eyal Zamir’s dedication to the country and the IDF, as well as his offensive strategic approach,” Netanyahu stated, according to his office. He emphasized his full support for Zamir's appointment, alongside Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz.
The prime minister thanked outgoing IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi for his service. Halevi said that he is resigning over his “responsibility for the IDF’s failure” during the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre, in which Gazan terrorists killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages.
Halevi departed on Sunday night for his final official visit to the United States, where he is scheduled to meet with high-ranking military officials.
Netanyahu further highlighted his belief that Zamir's leadership could lead to transformative achievements across the region.
"I coined two words: 'Total victory.' We received a lot of criticism for this, and much mockery, but it is clear to everyone that we stand before an opportunity to achieve victories that we did not dream of. I expect from Eyal Zamir, during his service, and perhaps very soon, that we will see these major achievements, which will change not only the status of Israel but the face of the entire Middle East," said Netanyahu.
Katz echoed this sentiment, stressing the need for “a strong and victorious army” and expressing confidence in Zamir's capability to lead the IDF to victory on all fronts. Katz added, “I am certain he will guide the IDF wisely, implement lessons from Oct. 7, and strengthen the military. His success is our success.”
Zamir, 59, the current director general of the Defense Ministry, will be the first IDF chief to come out of the Armored Corps since David (“Dado”) Elazar in the 1970s.
He previously served as deputy chief of staff (2018 to 2021), and before that led the Southern Command (2015 to 2018). During that time, he helped formulate war plans focused on Hamas and contemplated scenarios in which the terrorist faction might be replaced in Gaza, though these plans were not updated by subsequent Southern Command leaders.
While at the helm of the Defense Ministry, Zamir has spearheaded efforts over the past year to greatly ramp up domestic weapons production to reduce reliance on imports, working with local defense companies.
The handover from Halevi to Zamir is scheduled for March 5.
Katz tapped former Ground Forces chief Maj. Gen. Tamir Yadai to be Zamir's deputy.
A judge in The Hague last week dismissed the legal defense of an asylum seeker from Gaza who had claimed that his destruction of a wreath for Holocaust survivors last year was not motivated by antisemitism.
The defendant, Muayad A., and another man destroyed the wreath in November at Rabbi Maarsen Square in The Hague on Nov. 9, 2024, the anniversary of the Kristallnacht pogroms against Jews in Germany, Austria and parts of France in 1938.
The trial of Muayad A. is taking place amid heightened awareness of antisemitic violence in the Netherlands following the events of Nov. 7, 2024. On that day, hundreds of Arabs and Muslims were implicated in the coordinated assaults of dozens of Israeli soccer fans in Amsterdam.
Two days after those events, Muayad A. kicked the freshly-laid flower arrangement in The Hague and screamed in Arabic about Jews and Israel before hurling the object in the air, according to the prosecution. The defendant is also standing trial for a violent incident and two acts of theft.
The prosecution requested a prison sentence of 120 days for the incident, but the defendant’s lawyer said this was excessive for what he argued was a minor act of vandalism that the defendant perpetrated without realizing the Jewish and historical connotations of the wreath.
“It must have been absolutely clear that this is a Jewish monument,” the judge said last week of the site, which features a large Star of David monument. “Given your own background, you come from Gaza, I assume an antisemitic motive and I will take that into account as an aggravating factor,” broadcaster Omroep West quoted the judge as telling the defendant in court on Thursday.
The Center for Information and Documentation on Israel, Dutch Jewry’s watchdog on antisemitism, recorded 379 antisemitic incidents in 2023, more than double the tally for the previous year and an all-time record high. The CIDI report for 2024 has not yet been published.
The increase in antisemitic incidents in the Netherlands corresponded to similar increases across Western Europe in connection with the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Thousands of Hamas terrorists murdered some 1,200 people in Israel on that day and abducted another 251, triggering a military campaign by Israel in Gaza.
Despite rising antisemitism and diminishing tolerance, Iran’s Jewish community maintains a strong sense of cultural pride and national identity, according to David Nissan, an Iran expert and former Israeli intelligence officer who was born and raised in Tehran.
"Jews in Iran face increased suspicion, yet they remain deeply proud of their heritage. It's crucial to understand that Iranian Jews' national identity is tied to Iran, not to any other country, including Israel," Nissan explained, reflecting on the developments in his homeland's Jewish community over the past 16 months.
When asked to shed light on Iran's Jewish community, once the flagship of Middle Eastern Jewish communities, Nissan noted that despite significant emigration from the 1979 Islamic Revolution to the present day, the community still maintains a complete Jewish way of life.
"There are 30 active synagogues, Jewish schools, kosher butcheries and restaurants, and even a matzah factory. Jews don't suffer from persecution or harm and are permitted to maintain their Jewish lifestyle without interference. Their rights as an official religious minority in Iran are protected by law and constitution, and they even have a representative in parliament," he said.
What are the challenges facing Iran's Jewish community in 2025?
"As is known, Iranian law follows Islamic (Sharia) law, which inherently discriminates against non-Muslims. The main challenge for the Jewish community today is separating Zionism from Judaism," said Nissan.
“They must prominently demonstrate this separation and prove their loyalty to Iran, which views Zionism as illegitimate and reprehensible. The difficult economic situation in Iran also affects the Jewish community, most of which already belongs to a lower socioeconomic status," he explained.
The Iranian Jewish community has experienced challenging periods in the past, first after the Muslim conquest in the 7th century, and again during the 16th century when Shi'ites became the dominant force in Iran. During both periods, Jews suffered from pogroms and discrimination.
However, after Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran's last shah, rose to power, Jews experienced a golden age, including integration into key positions in Iranian society and economy.
Following the revolution, the Jewish community, which at its peak included almost 100,000 Jews, shrunk to just 9,000 Jews currently residing in Tehran, Shiraz and Isfahan.
An Iranian Jewish man reads from a Torah scroll as a part of daily prayers in a synagogue in Tehran. Photo by Hossein Beris/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images.
According to Nissan, many community members have no intention of leaving: "Those who want to leave Iran can, but despite past attempts to incentivize Jews to immigrate to Israel, few accepted the offer. Most Jews living in Iran don't see Israel as a better alternative worth leaving everything behind for, mainly due to cultural and economic reasons, but also security concerns," he said.
Starting on Monday at the ANU – Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv, a series of meetings titled "Perspectives on Iranian Jews" will be held focusing on this community.
According to Rivka Aderet, head of content at ANU, "In recent years, the whole world has been watching Iran due to its isolation, problematic regime to say the least, nuclear threat and lifestyle completely different from the West.
“The remaining Jewish community in this intriguing place isn't very small, and I found it interesting to learn about the community's character, how it's organized, who its leaders are and how it integrates into Muslim society."
What makes Iran's Jewish community so special?
"It's one of the world's oldest Jewish communities. The most prominent example is the Book of Esther, which shows how the Jewish community in Iran influenced our history as a people,” noted Aderet.
“It was also interesting to learn about the hardships, restrictions and difficulties of Iranian Jews, and of course the big question: why they still remain there and don't immigrate to Israel, Los Angeles, or London, despite all the difficulties. All these add a deep layer of mystery and curiosity regarding this community."
Oded Ravivi, CEO of ANU, added: "The story of Iran's Jewish community is more relevant than ever and sheds light on fascinating and deep aspects—not just about this community, but about the story of the entire Jewish people.
"Through the story of Iran's Jewish community, we are exposed to the power of historical and cultural roots, national versus religious identity, which influence the shaping of all our historical and contemporary narratives.
“It's important to remember that strengthening the sense of belonging among Diaspora Jews and our commitment as a state to serve as a safe anchor for all Jews who wish to immigrate to Israel is a national mission, which is undoubtedly more important today than ever."
The head of Germany’s largest police union has delivered an unequivocal message about protecting his country’s Jewish community in the wake of rising antisemitism in the country, calling for expanded powers to combat antisemitism and extremism across the country.
In an exclusive interview with Israel Hayom, Jochen Kopelke detailed his organization's commitment to ensuring Jewish security and outlined necessary reforms to prevent the spread of hate on German streets.
Kopelke, 41, leads the German Police Union, the world's largest organization of its kind. The union represents more than 210,000 police officers, police employees and security forces personnel, both past and present. Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, 2023, these officers have been standing on the front lines confronting violent anti-Israel demonstrations.
"We serve as the last line of defense in the streets against Hamas supporters. If we fail to stop them—they will overflow the streets and bring back dangers we've already witnessed in German history," said Kopelke.
"Our mission is to prevent this. We show no tolerance for antisemitic expressions and calls for Israel's destruction. I believe even Hamas supporters are beginning to grasp this reality," he added.
Drawing from more than two decades of experience in the German police force, and as one of the system's most influential figures, he delivered a clear message to German Jews and Israelis residing in the country.
"We recognize there's a concerning trend causing Jews to fear walking in the streets. There are areas where Jews and LGBTQ+ community members face genuine threats. As a police officer, I find this situation absolutely unacceptable. It demands fundamental change, which we are actively pursuing," he said.
Kopelke's vision for this transformation "includes expanding police authority to confront those who act against our state's values," he explained. In a message to Jews and Israelis, he said: "We want you visible in our streets, speaking Hebrew without fear, feeling secure in your daily lives."
He faced the complex historical context head-on. "We acknowledge the German police's past, but we've transformed. Our present mission is protecting Jews, and our union communicates this message without ambiguity," he said.
“If you feel threatened—contact the police, identify yourself as Jewish, and express your concerns, and we will respond, protect and safeguard you. We maintain zero tolerance for antisemitism. That chapter of history is firmly closed."
Kopelke advanced through various field and staff positions before assuming leadership of the police union. His role encompasses overseeing the professional and general interests of all police employees, past and present. One of his earliest assignments involved securing Jewish communities in Bremen.
This experience, combined with his background in demonstration management, provides him with unique insight into the new challenges Germany faces in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas onslaught on Israel.
"We witness our officers facing attacks during these demonstrations, but they maintain professionalism, understanding this work is challenging yet essential. Those breaking laws should expect no leniency," he said.
“Despite numerous officers sustaining injuries during pro-Hamas demonstrations, we remain undeterred. We'll continue providing enhanced security at synagogues and Jewish institutions, maintaining our resolve against protesters. As I mentioned: they're learning where we draw the line and the futility of testing our resolve," he continued.
Kopelke demonstrates clear awareness of the complex situation, highlighting the combined threat to Jewish communities from both the extreme left and right.
"The statistics are stark—antisemitic attacks doubled within a year after Oct. 7. This widespread phenomenon emerges from multiple sources: antisemitism from both extreme left and right,” he explained.
“At pro-Hamas demonstrations, we observe Middle Eastern immigrants alongside extreme left and right elements. This coalition generates legitimate fear within Jewish communities. We require enhanced tools to counter this wave of hatred," he said.
This conversation follows a special conference organized by the German Justice Ministry and the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
"The Oct. 7 Hamas massacre of Jews and Israelis has had direct repercussions in Germany. Lifelong Jewish residents suddenly fear walking our streets. While we've strengthened security at Jewish institutions, we're simultaneously pursuing legislation to better protect our society from those who make it unsafe for others,” said Kopelke.
“We're explicitly asking politicians to equip police with additional tools for protecting vulnerable populations. We need unified standards for German police forces, enabling firm action against lawbreakers, preventing situations where we witness demonstrations without authority to address criminal behavior," he said.
His stance is resolute: "Antisemitic crime must receive no legitimacy, whether through symbols or disguised rhetoric. Munich police possess tools for swift criminal apprehension through artificial intelligence. We advocate extending these capabilities to all German police forces."
Kopelke expressed optimism about potential changes following next week’s Feb. 23 German elections. "Progress seems likely as the Bundestag advances new legislation addressing terrorism from Islamist groups, Hamas and supporters undermining German democracy," he said.
“We need police capability to address all forms of hate speech, antisemitism and cybercrime. Denmark's model of police presence on social media offers a template—German police need similar tools, as online activity frequently manifests in street demonstrations," he continued.
"Expressions like 'from the river to the sea' must be prohibited throughout Germany, including social media, with consequences for violations. Our challenge has been politicians discussing these issues without creating a sufficient legal framework for combating these phenomena.
“We anticipate post-election changes. German police officers reject passive observation—they seek active engagement against these threats to ensure a better society and sustained Jewish life in Germany," concluded Kopelke.
Israel's Interior Ministry instructed local authorities throughout the Jewish state on Sunday to prepare for an "extreme" cold front.
Weather forecasts by the Israel Meteorological Service project that the front will peak Friday through Saturday, with the possibility of snow not only in the north, but also in the Jerusalem and Samaria areas.
"The expectations of low temperatures seem to be at a high level of certainty," the Interior Ministry noted in the official warning published on Sunday afternoon. "Regarding the expected amounts of precipitation that will affect the accumulation of snow, a lot of uncertainty remains."
However, "we must prepare for widespread snowfall in the north and center toward Shabbat morning and during Shabbat, including the possibility of blockages and disruptions," the ministry emphasized.
The Israel Meteorological Service has stressed that accurate forecasts regarding the expected amount of snow can be expected on Tuesday.
Following the report of possible snowfall in Jerusalem, Israel Hayom reported an increased demand for hotel rooms in the nation's capital. Two hotels cited by the newspaper reported an increase of 20% in reservations.
Israel saw its first snow of the season in the country's north earlier this month. While it didn’t amount to more than a few inches, it made for picture-perfect scenes in the area, which for 16 months saw Hezbollah rockets and missiles fall from the sky.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to convene the Security Cabinet on Monday to discuss Jerusalem's stance toward the Phase 2 talks with the Hamas terrorist group in the Gaza Strip, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement on Sunday night.
Following a phone call with U.S. Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff on Sunday evening, Netanyahu "instructed the negotiations team to leave for Cairo tomorrow to discuss the continued implementation of the first stage of the deal," the statement said.
The Jewish state's negotiators in Egypt and Qatar are currently only focused on the implementation of the first phase of the Gaza truce.
According to the announcement, after Monday's Cabinet meeting, "the team will receive instructions for the continuation of the negotiations regarding the second stage."
Netanyahu is working in "full cooperation and coordination" with the U.T. administration on the next phase of the ceasefire, the Israeli prime minister emphasized during a joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Jerusalem on Sunday afternoon.
"We have a shared strategy, which cannot always be detailed to the public—including when the gates of hell will open. And they will open if all our hostages are not returned, every last one of them," he stressed.
Israel will demand the expulsion of Hamas’s leadership from Gaza, the dismantling of its terrorist army and the release of all hostages. Officials in Jerusalem believe that the terror group is likely to reject the demands.
Witkoff told FoxNews on Sunday that the talks on Phase 2 were already taking place this week "at a location to be determined."
Witkoff noted that he had "very productive and constructive" calls on Sunday with Netanyahu, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani and the head of Egypt's General Intelligence Major General Hassan Mahmoud Rashad.
He said they spoke about "the sequencing of Phase 2, setting forth positions on both sides, so we can understand … where we are today, and then continuing talks this week at a location to be determined so that we can figure out how we get to the end of Phase 2 successfully."
The three latest returnees from Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip were reunited on Saturday with their families—American-Israeli Sagui Dekel-Chen, 36; Alexander ("Sasha") Troufanov, 29, who has dual Russian-Israeli citizenship; and Argentine-Israeli national Iair Horn, 46.
Saturday’s release of hostages by Hamas was the sixth such round under Phase 1 of the truce that took effect on Jan. 19 and is to end on March 1.
Netanyahu has said that his government will "soon" meet to discuss Israel's response to U.S. President Trump’s call for Hamas to release all the captives.
Netanyahu praised Trump's leadership and Israel's coordination with the U.S. in a statement on Saturday, highlighting that the reinforcement of IDF troops around Gaza and the U.S. president’s firm stance led to the release of three hostages despite Hamas’s prior threats to delay the exchange.
For his part, Trump on Saturday congratulated the freed hostages, but made clear that their release fell short of his call to free all the captives.
"Hamas has just released three Hostages from GAZA, including an American Citizen. They seem to be in good shape! This differs from their [Hamas's] statement last week that they would not release any Hostages," he wrote on his social media platform Truth Social.
"Israel will now have to decide what they will do about the 12:00 O’CLOCK, TODAY, DEADLINE imposed on the release of ALL HOSTAGES. The United States will back the decision they make!" he added, apparently referring to U.S. Eastern Time, or 7 p.m. in Israel.
Trump's deadline was a reference to his previous warning that the "gates of hell" could be unleashed if Hamas did not release all of the hostages.
According to official estimates, 73 hostages remain in Hamas captivity in Gaza after 500 days, including 70 abducted during the terror group's Oct. 7, 2023, cross-border massacre in southern Israel.
During the past decade, Europe’s political, intellectual and cultural establishment has shown little restraint when it came to venting its disdain for President Donald Trump and Americans who support him and his policies.
Like Trump’s American political opponents, European leaders and pundits did so in a manner that made their disdain quite clear, not merely for him personally. It was also rooted in an elitist contempt for his populist approach to politics. It was his stances on immigration and culture-war issues, however, that particularly appalled them. Moreover, their critiques were rooted in a sense of their own moral superiority.
Indeed, it was typical during Trump’s first term for many in Europe and America to refer to German Chancellor Angela Merkel as the true leader of the Western world and not the president of the United States. Trump was routinely depicted as not merely unworthy of the title but disinterested in defending Western values.
And so, the audience that gathered at the annual Munich Security Conference this past week was not merely unprepared to listen to a speech in which an American leader turned the tables on them. They are so stuck in their own preconceptions about what constitutes the threats that the conference is supposed to be assessing that they were not only astonished but actually insulted by U.S. Vice President JD Vance’s decision to talk about the most fundamental threats to democracy in the 21st century.
Speaking to a stunned and largely hostile audience, Vance made it clear that the United States remained committed to Europe’s security. But he was primarily interested in sending a message to America’s partners that it was time for everyone to stop obsessing solely about external threats, be they from China or Russia. It was more important at this moment, he said, to ask what it was they believed they were defending.
Vance defends democracy
What followed was a seminal statement in defense of democracy and opposition to censorship of free speech. It also demanded that Europe’s leaders consider whether their open borders policies, which have let into their nations millions of unvetted migrants from Muslim and Arab nations that oppose Western values, were undermining their societies and harming their citizenry.
As such Vance’s speech was, as First Amendment scholar Jonathan Turley observed, analogous to Winston Churchill’s 1945 “Iron Curtain” speech that rallied the West to defend democracy against Soviet tyranny in the aftermath of the Second World War. Nearly 80 years later, Vance articulated a similar obvious truth.
It is often forgotten that Churchill was roundly criticized by American and European elites at the time for his willingness to tell the truth about the Communist threat rather than appeasing it. So, too, Vance is also being widely denounced for his temerity in calling attention to how European democracies have discarded the basic values of democracy in order to silence views they oppose, as well as to how their policies threaten the survival of Western values.
https://youtu.be/j8D3e_nCNa4
The AfD problem
He is accused of interfering in German elections by questioning the “firewall” placed around the far-right AfD party, which is likely to have a good showing in that country’s parliamentary elections scheduled to be held next month. In doing so, he has been attacked as somehow supportive of authoritarian forces and antisemitism.
His seeming support for AfD—whose leader, Alice Weidel, Vance met with on this trip—may be unwise. But that doesn’t detract from the truth of his assertions. Rather than merely dismissing his speech, as liberal elites on both sides of the Atlantic routinely do to Trump administration policies and positions, it is incumbent on those who claim to be defenders of democracy to heed his warnings.
Moreover, it ill-behooves those who claim to worry about the spread of antisemitism around the world to attack Vance or the administration he serves on this issue. Israel is still fighting for its life against the real-life 21st-century Nazis of our time—the Hamas terrorist organization, and its supporters and enablers—and American and European Jews are reeling from the surge in Jew-hatred caused by the Oct. 7, 2023 massacres of Jews in southern Israel. Yet the Europeans who reject Vance’s speech either stand ineffectively on the sidelines on this issue or are actively cheering on the bizarre red-green alliance of leftists and Islamists who are behind this war on the Jews; it is the Trump administration that is firmly opposing both these forces.
During his first administration, from time to time Trump broke with the postwar tradition of treating America’s European allies with kid gloves. He urged them to spend more on their own defense rather than relying almost completely on the generosity of U.S. taxpayers to fulfill that vital task. He did occasionally question whether the NATO alliance had long ago reached obsolescence in the aftermath of the end of the Cold War, coupled with the collapse of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan in which Europeans had made some token contributions.
That was labeled as isolationist, if not a heretical abandonment of American allies, though Trump’s prodding about defense spending did more to bolster the alliance than anything that his recent predecessors had done. And so, the security conference was a ripe moment for the Trump 2.0 administration to call the world’s attention to the way the West and the alliance are just as much threatened by internal forces as they are by external foes.
Free speech in decline
Vance’s position on free speech seems right to anyone who believes in democracy. As he discussed at some length, the problem goes beyond German laws that specifically target those who seek to resurrect the language or symbolism of the Nazis. Nor is it limited to efforts to isolate the AfD Party, which, as I’ve written previously, is distinct from other right-wing nationalist European parties because of its difficulties in distancing itself from Germany’s horrific past and recruitment of parliamentary candidates that refuse, unlike Weidel herself, to do so.
In contemporary Europe, support for freedom of expression is not only a priority; it is under attack specifically from those forces that talk the most about democracy. As Vance noted, “Everything from our Ukraine policy to digital censorship is billed as a defense of democracy.”
He recalled that during NATO’s heyday during the Cold War, there was no doubt about which side was guilty of oppression. It was the Soviets that “censored dissidents, “closed churches” and “canceled elections.” They lost the Cold War “because they neither valued nor respected all of the extraordinary blessings of liberty.”
These days, the winners of the Cold War—or at least America’s European allies—are doing those things. They do so to silence those who dissent against woke ideology or the unfettered immigration of Muslim and Islamist populations that is more than just a security threat (as the latest instance of terrorism in Munich itself demonstrated).
Vance listed examples of this contempt for democratic norms and free speech in the European Union, Sweden, Romania, and especially, in the United Kingdom, where posting dissent against leftist woke orthodoxies on social media are sometimes considered criminal offenses. The crackdown on heretical conservative thoughts about abortion, immigration or gender ideology there is bad enough. But it is especially egregious when the same authorities turn a blind eye to the open support for the genocidal Islamists of Hamas and the massive incitement against Jews in that country, especially since Oct. 7.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz treated Vance’s speech as somehow indifferent to the threat from Nazism today in a subsequent address to the same conference, which was widely applauded by the attending elites. This isn’t so much wrongheaded as it is a form of gaslighting.
I understand that many other democratic countries do not have the same respect for free speech that America does, with its First Amendment rights that are so deeply embedded in our political culture. And German laws about the Nazis are based on that nation’s efforts to transcend the legacy of its Hitlerian past and rejoin the community of nations as they regained independence following the Allied occupation. Vance and key Trump advisor Elon Musk are wrong to embrace AfD without first requiring it to completely clean up their act as other right-wing European parties have done.
As I’ve also previously written, Vance and Trump are also wrong to continue to associate with former Fox News TV host Tucker Carlson, whose platforming and cheerleading for antisemitism and anti-Zionism have become habitual on the show that he airs on Musk’s X social-media platform.
But they are right when they say that the issues of free speech and immigration are of sufficient importance to transcend those concerns at this moment in history.
Some defend censorship policies because of the supposed threat to democracy posed by Russian meddling, which has come in the form of social-media ads. But as Vance says, though he and Trump disapprove of such conduct, “If your democracy can be destroyed with a few hundred thousand dollars of digital advertising from a foreign country, then it wasn’t very strong to begin with.”
The real threat to Jews
The primary contemporary threat to the West or the Jews isn’t, for all of their manifest flaws, AfD, Carlson or Europeans who don’t wish their countries to be transformed for the worst by a flood of immigrants who oppose their core values. Nor is it Vladimir Putin’s Russia, whose despotism and illegal invasion of Ukraine are awful, though that war should be ended as soon as possible.
The most pressing problem facing defenders of Western democracy comes from the censorious and anti-democratic forces that exist within the West. That includes the United States, where the Biden administration colluded with social-media companies to censor and shut down free speech and even reporting about subjects they wished to silence.
Whatever you may think of the Trump administration, its clarion call in defense of freedom uttered by Vance is exactly what is needed right now. Along those lines, the issue of immigration is not disconnected from that of antisemitism.
On the contrary, the shift of many European nations against Israel, its defense against genocidal terrorists, and their toleration and mainstreaming of antisemitism is directly and tragically connected to the growing constituency for Jew-hatred among the many millions of Muslim migrants to those countries in the last decade. The fateful decisions of E.U. nations, especially Germany when Merkel was chancellor, to open the floodgates to these immigrants is why AfD and other nationalist parties throughout Europe have gone mainstream, and are either in government or potentially on the cusp of doing so.
Vance’s exhortation to the Munich Conference to listen to their citizens, rather than dismiss or silence them, should be heeded. Rather than attacking the Trump administration for allegedly insulting them, they should be joining with it to defend free speech and Western civilization against those on the left or among Islamists who wish to tear it down.
Tolerance for opposing views within democratic societies is hard for the European and American liberal elites who look down their noses at Trump, Vance and Musk. While claiming to champion liberalism, their behavior and policies are fundamentally illiberal. But as Vance joked, “If American democracy can survive ten years of Greta Thunberg’s [anti-democratic global warming extremism) scolding, you guys can survive a few months of Elon Musk.”
Both defenders of democracy and those who purport to speak for the Jews need to pivot away from leftist groupthink or the assumptions about the world that dominated the period from the 1940s to the 1980s. They should now be focused on defeating the forces on the left and from the Muslim world that provide the most disturbing potent to our safety and freedom. And we should be grateful for an American administration that—whether you back it or not—is not afraid to say as much.
We don’t know whether, as Turley clearly hopes, opinion about Vance’s Munich speech will shift as it did about Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” address. Too much of the journalistic and foreign-policy establishment is invested in shutting down conservative speech and advocating for open borders, as well as demonizing Trump, Vance and Musk, to acknowledge their mistakes.
Vance is correct to say that European and American elites alike should listen to the people rather than high-handedly reject their concerns as racist or xenophobic.
The election results in the United States and some European countries illustrate that more and more people are waking up to the threat that woke and Islamist attacks on the West pose to civilization, freedoms and security. Rather than refuse to listen to Vance because of disagreement with him and the administration on some points, that threat and the way it fuels antisemitism must be our primary focus.
Jonathan S. Tobin is editor-in-chief of JNS (Jewish News Syndicate). Follow him: @jonathans_tobin.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has come under fire from both sides of Israel’s political spectrum for not following through on U.S. President Donald Trump’s ultimatum to Hamas last week, warning that if all hostages were not free by noon on Saturday, there would be “hell to pay.” While three men were freed, including an Israeli-American, that deadline has come and gone.
Join JNS CEO and Jerusalem bureau chief Alex Traiman and JNS Middle East correspondent Josh Hasten for an analysis of the possible reasoning behind Netanyahu’s decision not to move in with full force. Trump did later say that it was up to Israel to decide how to respond.
They will also discuss the latest chaos in Lebanon; the White House meeting between Trump and Jordan’s King Abdullah; U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Israel for talks; reactions throughout the Arab world to Trump’s Gaza plan; and more.
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