By Justine Hemmestad
On February 13, a resolution was passed by Iowa lawmakers which confirms Iowa’s support for Israel, a resolution that reiterated the strong Iowa-Israeli connection as a long-standing partnership.
Representative Austin Harris said, "Iowa remains committed to supporting the state of Israel's sovereignty and absolute right to exist and defend itself against terrorism and threats to its people. And whereas the people of Iowa stand in solidarity with the Jewish community in Iowa and across the world denouncing all forms of antisemitism."
Yinam Cohen, Consul General of Israel to the Midwest, is making a tangible effort toward connection. He has noted, “Israel is a very small market, but also a very innovative market. There is a lot of technology and innovation going on, including in the fields of agriculture and water technology. And we know that this is something that is very relevant for Iowans. So, what we're trying to do is to connect Israeli business people and Iowa business people to create more synergy and more partnerships on agriculture, water technologies, just for example.”
Which, in a connected world, brings us to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who while coming to the White House in a bid for desperately needed help from an ally - Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, marking the biggest conflict in Europe since WWII - was unceremoniously rebuked and sent away from the White House like an enemy.
However, this hostility may have been brewing since 2019, when President Trump was facing his first impeachment.
Trump said to Zelenskyy on a “perfect” phone call then, “There’s a lot of talk about Biden’s son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great. Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it … it sounds horrible to me.”
In fact, Trump had been withholding $400 million in aid to Ukraine for days before the call, though he did release the money later.
Zelenskyy was forced into an impossible spot, since controversy would be stirred up on either side (later though, Zelenskyy forged close ties with Biden).
The quid pro quo led to Trump’s bruising impeachment trial at the hands of a Democratic-led House, though a Republican-led Senate later acquitted him.
Fast-forward to Trump’s second term and the deepening mistrust between Trump and Zelenskyy. Trump reached out directly to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin to find an end to the war, Zelenskyy accused Trump of living in a world of disinformation (Zelenskyy had been burned several times before when Putin went back on his word), and Trump called Zelenskyy a dictator.
But after being kicked out of the White House, European leaders such as France’s President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer came to Zelenskyy’s side.
“I hope you know that we are all with you and the people of Ukraine for as long as it takes, everyone around this table,” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in opening remarks at a London summit where European leaders gathered in a show of support for Ukrainian President Zelensky.
However, the Nameless One sees the connection with Israel in Zelenskyy’s plight and begins by stressing, “Europeans are playing a nasty game - they want to keep pretending they are strong and wealthy but when they need to actually support Ukraine financially and militarily they are completely exposed to be a paper tiger.
“They enjoyed the American power projection (military capacity that threatened the USSR/now Russia) for 3-4 generations - pretending Europe passed the age of war.”
To understand the Nameless One’s perspective, as well as why an article about Zelenskyy is in “Israel at War,” we must consider the fact that America has provided more than $65 billion in military assistance to Ukraine since the war started.
The Nameless One has an objective viewpoint. He says, “Trump views a nuclear Iran as the main threat, while Biden thought it was Russia, which explains the difference in their approaches to Israel and Ukraine.
“Although I am with Ukraine and against Russia, you can't not see the logic behind Trump's action: He wants Europe all in militarily and financially, while he is busy supporting Israel, which stands alone against a much more significant threat - Iran.”
He says, “It's a different analysis of who is the dangerous enemy and who the combination of US allies that can stop that enemy are. With Russia - I dont think Trump views it as a more dangerous threat than Iran. A nuclear Iran is far more dangerous for America and American interests and allies. Who can stop Iran compared to who can stop Russia - with Iran it's just Israel. With Russia - it’s the wealthiest countries on earth - namely Europe. Trump doesn’t think Europe is doing as much as it should).”
But aren’t Russia and Iran on the same side? “Yes,” the Nameless One says, “Russia and Iran are aligned, however, it's not a Catholic marriage.”
In Israel, the ceasefire and exchange of terrorists for Israeli hostages is over, and the Nameless One says, “Ramadan started (Fri, Feb 28, 2025 – Sat, Mar 29, 2025), and we aren't sure where this is going. Even if there is some kind of agreement to release more hostages, it will end at some point, maybe within a month or two. At the moment, the question isn't whether the war will start again but when.”
He explains, “Most Israelis are interested in bringing back the hostages now and returning to the fight later. When exactly later is, you will get many different answers, ranging from a few weeks from now to a few years.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that under the present agreement Israel could return to fighting after the first phase if it believes no other agreement is reached. A ceasefire, he said, would only continue if hostages continue to be released.
“There will be no free lunches” he told his Cabinet when reiterating how vital the importance of the return of the hostages is. He also says that Israel is “fully coordinated” with President Trump’s administration.
This, aligned with Iowa’s reaffirmation of its support for Israel.
Comments