by Justine Hemmestad
3-28-24
In light of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s call for Israel to hold new elections, stating his belief that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has “lost his way” and is an obstacle to peace in the region, IDF Reserve Captain Itamar Ben David expresses his thoughts from Jerusalem. Ben David relates the point of view of the people of Israel when he says that Schumer’s words were, “outrageous.” Even though Ben David and others in Israel want Ne- tanyahu removed from office and rest the blame for October 7 squarely on his shoulders, “this type of intervention is imperialistic in nature.” He says, “It was outrageous to say something like that - vulgar.” Of course Biden is in an election year, Ben David notes, which affects his policy. “He’s busy appeasing the radicals [in his party] on one hand by making sure that the Gaza Strip gets as much humanitarian aid as humanly possible[though Ben David is not against sending humanitarian aid, but that’s not the issue],and by limiting the steps of Israel which makes it difficult for Israel to operate, while on the other hand he’s trying to appeal to the Jewish democrats by bashing Netanyahu. “But this is unacceptable.” Ben David stresses. “It’s important to know that when it comes to national security - when it comes to the actual interests of countries - the individuals matter, but they don’t matter as much [as the country as a whole]. “Of course I have zero trust in him [Netanyahu], neither do the Americans. No problem, but still, it’s Israel that you’re dealing with, not just Netanyahu, and the fate of Israelis, their security, and their national security. “We have a real despicable person as our prime minister, we get that,” Ben David says, “yet we have actual national security interests here on the line. If America disrespects that, and if Biden cares more about winning his election and appealing to both Jewish democrats and Muslims in Michigan at the same time as [he conducts] his strategy - this is unacceptable to intervene in such a vulgar way in a sovereign country. “It’s like saying, ‘we want to promote democracy but we don’t respect the democracy that doesn’t fit our narrative/ ideology.’ It’s just not something that should be done by American officials. “[Israel and America’s] relationship is supposed to be based on ideology and values. “At the moment Israel is go- ing through a political crisis that is coming from an identity crisis/conundrum. We are figuring out how we want to run the country and therefore who is going to run it. “Biden simply didn’t re- spect the choice of the people of Israel. He is trying to im- pose his imaginary solutions for Gaza onto us and now his people are smearing an elect- ed government in Israel because it doesn’t fit them. It’s unacceptable. Did he ever call for new elections for the Palestinians? No. Why?” Ben David puts Israeli views into perspective by adding, “People who don’t live here and don’t deal with 100 years of open Jihad [like Biden and Schumer] think they have a moral high ground. “The simple fact is that Israel is [still] a democracy and a home for two million Arabs after all these years of Jihad shows that the people of Israel are indeed a light for nations. No country on earth would face these levels of threats and still be an open democratic society.” Ben David has said before that many of Israel’s neighbors are openly hostile against the country, and yet Israelis retain their democratic values. “The actual war hasn’t started,” he says, “the actual war is in Lebanon.” The threat is on Israel’s northern border, with “almost 100,000 people evacuated from their homes.” He asserts, “We can’t move onto the northern border because we’re held back by the American administration. To further illustrate this point, Ben David adds, “Al-Jazeera is still operating from Jerusalem!!! The most hostile channel network to Israel that doesn’t do anything but [air] propaganda against Israel.” Editor’s Note: My friend Itamar Ben David will be pro- moted this week from Captain in the IDF to Major.
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