Pompeo has proven, during his 28 months in office, to be a true, consistent, articulate and unapologetic friend of the Jewish state.
By JPOST EDITORIALUS Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks by video feed from Jerusalem during the largely virtual 2020 Republican National Convention. August 25, 2020.(photo credit: 2020 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s four-minute video clip addressed to the Republican National Convention from Jerusalem on Tuesday has triggered an avalanche of criticism.Some have criticized him for literally using Jerusalem as a prop in US President Donald Trump’s campaign; others, for politicizing his office and being the first secretary of state in memory to address a national political convention.Both criticisms ring somewhat disingenuous.It is quite understandable that the Trump campaign wants to highlight its move of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. It views this as one of the president’s crowning achievements, and something of great importance to millions of Evangelicals who form a core component of Trump’s constituency. What better way to highlight that than for Pompeo to mention the embassy move to the convention with the domes and steeples of Jerusalem’s Old City glittering in the background?And regarding politicizing the secretary of state’s office, c’mon! The secretary of state is a political appointment. Did anyone really fall off their chair watching that clip and discovering that Pompeo supports Trump’s foreign policies?Nevertheless, it is possible that Pompeo did overstep the bounds of what traditionally has been deemed proper for a secretary of state, by addressing the RNC from the rooftop of the King David Hotel.But Israel’s supporters might want to think twice before jumping on the slam-Pompeo bandwagon over this issue, if for no other reason than that he has proven, during his 28 months in office, to be a true, consistent, articulate and unapologetic friend of the Jewish state. In fact, he is one of best friends Israel has ever had as secretary of state.And this type of friendship from a former congressman from Kansas, a state with only a tiny Jewish population, should not be taken for granted. It is no given that a politician like Pompeo would come to his job so positively predisposed toward Israel.Pompeo’s positive attitude comes from seeing Israel as an important strategic ally for the US, and one that helps America stay safe. It comes from an appreciation that the US and Israel are sister democracies which share common values and interests. And it comes as a result of the secretary of state’s deeply felt religious beliefs.Pompeo’s most recent Democratic successor, John Kerry, also considered himself a strong friend of Israel. His problem, however, was that he was supremely confident that he knew what was good for Israel and its security better than did the democratically elected government of Israel itself. As a result, he constantly lectured and hectored Israel, publicly expressed concern about the Jewish state’s soul, all the while trying to ram through his vision of what was good for the country – a vision rejected, election after election, by most Israelis.
Not so Pompeo. When Pompeo looks at the Middle East, he clearly sees who the forces wreaking havoc are, and who the forces ensuring stability are. And he unabashedly sides with the forces of stability, such as Israel, while wanting to punish those hell-bent on havoc, such as Iran.Moreover, Pompeo wants those working for stability to work together, which is why the US labored so hard to broker the Israel-United Arab Emirates normalization deal. It is also why Pompeo this week flew to Israel, Sudan, Bahrain and the UAE.Whatever one may feel about Trump or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, this is a historic deal that has the potential to reshape the region, and for which Netanyahu, Trump and Pompeo deserve credit.It’s ironic that people like Kerry and longtime Mideast “experts” who have been trying their hand at forging Mideast peace since the Oslo Accords – and who have consistently come up empty – have been so dismissive of people like Pompeo, Jared Kushner, David Friedman and Avi Berkowitz.And yet it is precisely those neophytes – who dared try a route that diverted from the one the “experts” were convinced was the only road map to peace – who have brought a peace deal between Israel and a key Arab state, with others possibly around the corner.Pompeo deserves thanks from the pro-Israel community for his role in this and for his unstinting friendship, not derision for the way he highlighted both.
