We can criticize Israel, but you can’t
If you’re among the many Israeli-American dual citizens, who live here and still follow US politics, you’ve probably noticed the trend of what appears to be waning support for Israel among conservative public figures.
These individuals are not considered fringe or controversial characters, like Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, whose bizarre claims, back in 2018, ignited an antisemitic conspiracy when she suggested that “California wildfires were started by space solar generators funded by powerful mysterious backers,” an assertion which led back to Jews (see the 2023 book Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories by Mike Rothschild – no relation).
Media parrots
That kind of laughable characterization is easily rebuffed and ignored. Yet when it is parroted by respected presenters and influencers, such as former Fox anchors Megyn Kelly and Tucker Carlson or British broadcast journalist Piers Morgan, people listen.
Using their platforms and heard by millions, each of them has lamented the accusation of being antisemitic for simply asking questions or expressing concerns pertaining to Israel. However, are they really questions or well-intentioned apprehensions?
On a recent podcast, Piers Morgan made no secret of how he feels. Referring to himself as a “former” supporter of the Jewish state, he now is of the belief that Israel has deliberately starved innocent Gazan children, while opening fire at hungry people rushing toward humanitarian food trucks.
Photo op accusations
He further accuses Israel of not allowing journalists into Gaza, for fear of their exposing what is really going on. Sadly, his criticisms are not based on personal knowledge but rather on carefully crafted Hamas photo ops and press releases, meant to smear and libel Israel.
Megyn Kelly admits that she has refused countless invitations to accompany pro-Israel groups on their fact-finding missions. Her response is that she’s too busy; but she feels “the pressure being ratcheted up” as some notice that her support for Israel is lessening. She, too, lacks first-hand knowledge, but speaks with certainty on how this war needs to wrap up now!
In the case of Tucker Carlson, whose America First agenda more resembles an America-only position, he’s strongly against financially investing in any foreign wars, seeing Israel as nothing more than a political liability for America.
Casting doubt
Casting doubt that today’s Israel is an extension of the biblical territory and people who once inhabited this area, he hotly debated Sen. Ted Cruz, whose personal beliefs align with the scriptural injunction of blessing Israel – regardless of the specific timeframe.
Carlson’s disregard of Jewish history and persecution and the revival of their homeland is apparent and evidenced in his inability to see Israel as a worthwhile investment, being of any benefit to the US.
It isn’t just Tucker’s apathetic and disinterested stand on Israel that has Israel supporters scratching their heads. It was also a very one-sided interview he aired of Rev. Munther Isaac, a Bethlehem pastor, in April 2024. Isaac’s angry anti-Israel rant got no pushback, either from Carlson or from another guest with the ability to counter the accusations that were being tossed around and unchallenged because there was no other guest.
Suddenly, it became obvious that Carlson is no friend of Israel, despite his contention that he is in no way an antisemite, because true friends don’t just idly sit by and allow the worst representations to be made, especially when no one is there to defend that friend.
So, are these popular media figures getting a bad rap for just asking questions and expressing doubts on how Israel is executing the war, or are they just preferring to opt out of supporting the Jewish homeland?
The old adage
The best way this can be explained is the old adage that someone can say the worst and cruelest things about their own family, but should they catch an outsider uttering a bad word about those same family members, watch out.
Most foreigners already know that Israel is not only fighting a deadly battle with its avowed enemies set on its destruction.
We are also embroiled in an enormous civil divide, brought on by the rejection of what is viewed as an extremist religious government aspiring to dramatically change the character of the state. Many Israelis are desperate to elect different leaders who are more pluralistic and less likely to enact new laws resulting in fewer freedoms.
The majority of Israelis are also fed up with the ultra-Orthodox young men who evade military service while continuing to receive government stipends from the taxes of those who do serve.
Because we live here and are fully invested in what happens, we have earned the right to criticize our government, our leaders, their policies and just about everything.
Too busy to visit?
Contrarily, we do not afford that same right to those who have neither lived here, sacrificed their lives for this country, or barely understand the politics, the history, or the inner workings of our nation.
Someone too busy to come and get a more in-depth look at why we do what we do has not earned the right to opine in what may sound like a fact-based position but is often influenced by propagandized images and inauthentic anecdotal accounts, which later turn out to be completely false.
Douglas Murray
Few can claim to have the level of factual knowledge of British journalist Douglas Murray, who traveled to Israel requesting to be embedded with the IDF.
In his quest to obtain a comprehensive look at how the fight was being waged, he spent six months in Gaza during the worst of the war. How many other journalists have put in that kind of serious dedication into their reporting?
Perhaps the answer is that they don’t want to be forced to reveal an account that counters the vicious media claims against Israel, painted as oppressors committing a genocide.
Until those who report the news are able to speak with Murray’s level of personal investment, they might consider that their so-called questions, often in an accusatory form, are perceived by us as talking badly about our family. That translates into a very anti-Israel slant, because so much vital context and nuance are missing from their incomplete assessments.
So, the next time, popular public figures complain about how unfairly they’re being judged, they may consider coming on that fact-finding mission, seeing things up close and talking to our soldiers to get a proper perspective.
Until then, we can criticize Israel, but they can’t.
This article originally appeared on the Jerusalem Post and is reposted with permission.
A former Jerusalem elementary and middle-school principal who made Aliyah in 1993 and became a member of Kibbutz Reim but now lives in the center of the country with her husband. She is the author of Mistake-Proof Parenting, based on the principles from the book of Proverbs - available on Amazon.
