Opinion

GUILFOYLE: President Trump’s Commitment To Israel A Refreshing Change From The Obama Era

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President Trump will join the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) in Las Vegas this weekend, where he is expected to deliver a rousing speech on the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship. But while President Trump’s vocal support for the Jewish state has been unmatched by previous presidents, we can’t forget that his pro-Israel agenda has also been nothing short of impressive.

America is once again defending Israel at the United Nations, confronting Iran head-on, and helping to promote Israel’s sovereignty rights as an independent nation. The American people can rest assured that President Trump will continue to take every step necessary to further the U.S.-Israel friendship.

The United States and Israel have shared a special bond since the Jewish State was born. President Truman took the historic move of breaking with his own State Department to cast a decisive vote in favor of Israel at the UN. The Israeli people have never forgotten this noble deed and ever since our two countries have grown continually closer. Not to mention that both of our great nations have a strong history of defending human rights and promoting liberal democracy.

But even this unbreakable kinship has had its low points.

Indeed, the U.S.-Israel relationship was tested during the Obama administration. President Obama broke protocol by refusing to visit Israel during his first trip to the Middle East. He failed to move the embassy and declare Jerusalem Israel’s capital despite promising to do so. Before departing, Obama’s team gave one final snub to the Jewish state at the UN by refusing to veto the vehemently anti-Israel Resolution 2334.

Worse, the Obama administration penned the disastrous Iranian Nuclear Deal which sent over $100 billion back to the radical Islamist regime in Tehran, Israel’s primary rival. Since the deal, Iran has been able to effectively to set up shop in Syria and threaten Israel in its own backyard. Notably, Iran has poured funding into Hezbollah, a radical Islamist group that currently has over 150,000 rockets pointed directly at the Jewish State.

Thankfully with President Trump in office, America has initiated a 180-degree course correction and put the US-Israel alliance back on strong footing. Appeasing Iran and letting Israel be bullied by its foes at the UN has come to a swift end. The results this president has been able to deliver in such a short period are beyond impressive.

To start, President Trump boldly declared Jerusalem the capital of Israel and moved the U.S. embassy to the holy city. “While previous presidents have made this a major campaign promise, they failed to deliver. Today, I am delivering,” noted the president during his announcement.

Every sovereign nation has the right to declare and recognize their own capital. But since its founding, Israel had been denied that right despite thousands of years of Jewish religious and historical significance to Jerusalem. In a powerful declaration that many other countries have since followed, President Trump cemented that right on the world stage.

Speaking of declarations, President Trump recently made formal what many in Washington, D.C., have known for decades: the Golan Heights belongs to Israel. Israel lost countless lives in the Six-Day War to secure the Golan Heights and has since controlled it for more than 50 years. And with President Trump’s statement that America would recognize the Golan as belonging to Israel, delivered another serious win for the Jewish State.

President Trump has also worked diligently to defend Israel at the UN. The Trump administration withdrew America from the UN Human Rights Council in June 2018 due to anti-Israel bias. Better yet, he pulled back American funding from UNRWA, a so-called relief agency that has been exposed promoting
anti-Semitic propaganda.

The radical Islamists in Tehran have also been put in check. President Trump nixed the disastrous Iranian Nuclear Deal and slapped biting sanctions back on the regime. Feeling confident with having a strong friend in the White House, Israel has taken the gloves off against Iran. As a result, Israel ordered hundreds of air strikes against Iran’s Syria-based military fortifications and terrorist proxies like Hezbollah.

President Trump has continually delivered for the Jewish state by advancing both American and Israeli interests. Trust me, this is just the start. While Donald Trump is in the White House, you can expect the U.S.-Israel friendship to grow to even greater heights.

Kimberly Guilfoyle (@KimGuilfoyle) is vice chairwoman of America First Policies, a nonprofit organization supporting key policy initiatives that will work for all citizens in our country and put America first.


The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of The Daily Caller.