If there is anything that routinely makes my stomach turn, it is political speeches. I typically attempt to avoid them at all costs. But a request for some response to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s remarks during this year’s Christians United for Israel conference has come up and I am nothing if not eager to serve. So here are some comments and observations from said speech, for the people.

[00:11] – Hahah. Token Bible joke. Good one.

[00:51] – “Israel is a partner, an ally, a friend.”

Why, exactly? It’s an important question. What makes Israel special from a political/military standpoint above and beyond other states that it deserves a special status?

[00:58] – “Can I get an amen?”

Are we typically supposed to ‘amen’ purely political statements?

[1:20] – “Christian support for a Jewish homeland dates back to Puritan settlers and has endured ever since.”

This quote gives a very false impression. Even if the Puritans, en masse, held a roughly Zionist hope for the Jewish people, the Puritans hardly represent the majority of orthodox Christians at the time, a vast number of which did not and have not held to Zionism. This belief certainly did not come from John Calvin or their Calvinism.

[1:30] – John Adams quote “I really wish the Jews again in Judea, an independent nation.”

Are we supposed to hold John Adams as a standard-bearer for Christianity and orthodox belief? A man who apparently in his later years rejected the miracles of the Bible and Christ’s divine nature, and dabbled with Unitarianism?

[1:40] – 1916, William Blackstone Convinced Wilson to support the Balfour Declaration

Wilson did eventually support the Declaration. But is this a badge of honor or a goodly act? Wilson sent his own King-Crane Commission to Palestine to deliver a verdict on whether such a prospect might be a positive thing. Their conclusion? That such a Jewish state could only be accomplished via “the gravest trespass upon the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine.” However, through the influence of Zionists and then confidant Louis Brandeis, that commission was suppressed until it was too late.

And the Balfour Declaration was also quite intertwined with the issue of American entry into WW1. Samuel Landman, once secretary of the World Zionist Organization, later revealed that: “The Balfour Declaration, in the words of Professor H. M. V. Temperley, was ‘a definite contract between the British Government and Jewry.’ The main consideration given by the Jewish people (represented at the time by the leaders of the Zionist Organisation) was their help in bringing President Wilson to the aid of the Allies.”

Lastly, there was plenty of Christian opposition to Zionism at the time, such as many stationed in Palestine at the time and prominent pastors like Harry Emerson Fosdick and Henry Sloane Coffin.

[2:35] – Truman support for declaration of independence

That couldn’t possibly have anything to do with Zionist influence in his bid for reelection? For example, “after Feinberg financed Truman‘s famous whistle-stop campaign tour, Truman credited him with his presidential win. (When the CIA later discovered that Feinberg also helped to finance illegal gun-running to Zionist groups, the Truman administration looked the other way.”

[2:50] – Nearly all of Truman’s advisors counceled against the decision

They did, indeed, because of national security interests. Which is what State advisors are supposed to make decisions based on? Kermit Roosevelt related at the time, that “the process by which Zionist Jews have been able to promote American support for the partition of Palestine demonstrates the vital need of a foreign policy based on national rather than partisan interests….”

[2:59] – Truman knew it was the “right thing to do”

That’s a nice story but the reality is far less idealistic and far more practical. As Alison Weir documents in “Against Our Better Judgment,”, a panoply of external influences made it difficult for Truman to refuse. As he admitted himself in his memoirs, “I do not think I ever had as much pressure and propaganda aimed at the White House as I had in this instance.”

[3:13] – “What would Jesus Christ have preached if He had taken a poll in Israel?”

Isn’t that kind of an illustrative point? The nation of Israel rejected their very Messiah and were thus dispersed, their temple utterly destroyed, only a faithful remnant remaining. And, since there does not seem to be any such national repentance to presage it, what reason do we have to understand that this Israel is any different?https://www.nokingbutchrist.org/biblical-prophecy-and-israel-part-1-a-closer-look-at-the-covenant/

[3:30] – “You have a President like that today, too.”

Like Truman? A President who dropped atomic bombs on innocents? A President that created the Cold War via peer pressure in passing NSC-68 and creating the modern military and intelligence state? A President that invented the unilateral declaration of war by waging the Korean War without Congressional authority? Is that really the kind of President we want today?

[3:40] – “No one was more grateful for Truman’s brave decision than the Jewish people themselves.”

I’m sure many were, and I’m thankful for their safety. But it’s interesting to note that this broad statement does not at all match with the realities of actual Jewish migration on the ground.Alfred Lilienthal, himself a Jewish critic of Zionism, as summarized by Weir, “report[ed] that Zionists working in the refugee camps employed numerous means to compel residents to agree to go to Palestine, including confiscation of food rations, dismissal from work, expulsion from the camps, taking away legal protection and visa rights, and, in one case, ‘even the public flogging of a recalcitrant recruit for the Israel Army.’” Those in power in Zionist organizations went to all sorts of nasty ends to misinform the public and smuggle and “encourage” unwanted immigration into Israel.”

[4:00] – “God put you in your mother’s womb to bring about the rebirth of Israel”

That’s interesting. I recall that Christ, Himself, had a certain response when His disciples confronted Him regarding the restoration of Israel: “‘Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?’ 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when they did not leave, Jerusalem was destroyed. It seems to me that the message of “My kingdom is not of this world,” should have cleared that up.

[5:00] – “But who we are as Americans”

Yes, nothing like approving of a country that expels native populations off of land it had no business possessing with US approval.

[5:10] – “We stand for human dignity. We stand for justice.”

What is dignified about collective punishment, indefinite imprisonment without trial? What is just about rubber-stamping unwanted occupations of land indefinitely without granting them rights and citizenship?

[5:15] – “That we stand for independence.”

Except for the Palestinians. And the Kurds. And Catalonia. And Iran. And the list goes on…

[5:57] – “Israel is the only truly free nation in the Middle East.”

Well, this is a particularly interesting statement. For one, when the US policy for the past several decades in the region has been one of instability and acquiescence to obedience leading to the devastation, subversion, and overthrow of democratic leaders, it should be a surprise that there are any nations at all other than Israel and those who have held on so far.As to the actual veracity of the claim, you will notice that it is couched in quite vague language that allows an easily shifting scale of standard to be judged by. Ilan Pappe has a great chapter in his book “Ten Myths About Israel.” Suffice to say, it may be free-ER than other nations, whatever merit that earns, but it certainly isn’t very free or fair for Palestinians.

[6:20] – “Israel is a majority Jewish nation.”

Well, let’s be clear here. Israel is absolutely majority ethnic Jewish, and this is, of course, by design. Ben-Gurion long held back the expansionist and aggressive wings of Israeli politics that sought to conquer additional areas of Palestine after 1948 because of the very demographic havoc incorporating non-Jewish populations would wreakon the state. Suffice to say that it is only majority Jewish because it fails to assimilate and recognize the occupied populations of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

But even in religious terms, the majority of Israeli adults are actually non-Jewish or secular Jews.

[7:15] – “The last remnants of ancient Christian communities are at near extinction because of persecution by ISIS and other malign actors.”

And the causation line for the rise of ISIS and those malign actors runs straight through the US invasion and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as its backing of those same actors in Syria. Is Pompeo trying to draw attention to past foreign policy failures?

[7:25] – “Before 2003, there were an estimated 1.5 million Christians living in Iraq. Today, at least a quarter of a million.”

Hmm. If only there were a rather startling series of events that began in 2003? It’s on the tip of my tongue…

[7:05] – Muslim apostasy punishable by death

[8:10] – “Persecution of the faithful is especially intense within the Islamic Republic of Iran”

[8:30] – “Iran does not recognize converts to Christianity.”

[8:35] – “Punishment for Christian worship outside of government dictates.”

[8:50] – Upheld sentence against Iranian Christians planting house churches.

[9:18] – Pray for people of all faiths who are persecuted in Iran.

I don’t have time to research and address each of these. I’m sure some of them are pretty accurate and some are overblown. Trita Parsi does some good work on Iran. As I have detailed here and here, there are quite a few misunderstandings about the Iranian people and regime. I have no intention of covering for or excusing away their many sins, but we have to wonder, why criticize Iran almost exclusively here and not, say, Saudi Arabia, whose religious freedom, civil liberties, and brutality are far worse? Could it be because Saudi Arabia is an ally and we excuse their misdoings? And, more interestingly, do we also cover for other ally’s misdeeds? At any rate, Iran’s second largest Jewish population in the region has not been interested in leaving, despite encouragement.

[12:45] – Cut off billions in funds and blood money to Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad from Iran to pursue their terrorism than ever in recent history.

To my knowledge, Hezbollah has not pursued terrorist actions since the ’80s; they currently function as a defense militia for Southern Lebanon. And many of those acts by Hamas and IJ within Israel would look far less like terrorism if the media would cover precipitating events that triggered attacksas from Hamas.

[13:00] – We’ve honored the decision to claim the Golan Heights as its own.

Why, exactly? And I suppose we will be changing opinion on the annexation of Crimea? Because, on its face, that annexation is quite a bit more plausible and justified than the Golan.

[14:30] – We put the UN on notice too, that it’s anti-Israel bias will no longer be tolerated.

1) An anti-Israel bias criticism is pointless without showing why it is wrong or unwarranted.2) Exactly how would you accomplish such a thing? Does the US define how other nations view foreign policy?

[14:54] – Honored to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, now and forever.

Not according to the Bible. See Hebrews [12:22]–24, Galatians [4:26]-27, Isaiah 54:1.

[15:15] – “Anti-Zionism is anti-Semitism. Period. Full Stop.”

Nice statement. Except it’s not an argument and it’s not true. Criticism of an ideology on its own merits should never be construed as criticism of a race or religion. Especially when that ideology is not exclusive to any race, as CUFI itself demonstrates.

At the end of his address, Pompeo quotes Truman again, saying, “our country is intended to do all it can, in cooperating with other nations to help create peace and preserve peace in the world. It is given to defend the spiritual values-the moral code-against the vast forces of evil that seek to destroy them.” This quote absolutely describes the Truman Doctrine, used to intervene militarily and covertly across the globe during the Cold War. It is, however, absolutely false if contrasted with the perspective and intentions of the founders. Nor is it all that wise, prudent, effective, or just. Pompeo’s remarks do not represent anything new or impressive in US-Israeli politics. And Christian Zionism does not represent anything noble within Christendom.