Arutz Sheva: Joining us now is Dr. Shmuel Katz, one of the leading activists in the United States for Israel advocacy. Dr. Katz was one of the founders of the organization StandWithUs, and he helps guide the powerful pro-Israel messaging there. He’s robustly involved in Jewish and pro-Israel organizations all over the United States. Dr. Shmuel Katz, we’re happy to have you here on Arutz Sheva, shalom.
Dr. Shmuel Katz: It’s a pleasure being here.
Arutz Sheva: So 2020 USA presidential elections are in a few days and many Jews and also non-Jews are looking at the question: “Is the candidate pro-Israel?” What are your thoughts on this as the election is really close?
Dr. Shmuel Katz: Thank you for the question. It’s very important, and it’s important especially these days, even though it’s also important throughout the year. Israel and the Jewish people have to be careful not to make the Israeli and Jewish issue a partisan problem. We have to make sure that both sides of the aisle will support the legal, valuable, and honorable position of the Jews and the State of Israel. And therefore it’s sometimes difficult to state a clear opinion in one direction or the other. However, these days we have to make a real distinction between the policies expressed by the various candidates, and we should look into the details of their presentation, but not only their presentation today. We have to look at their track records.
And if you analyze both leading candidates for the position of the president of the United States, we see that President Trump was openly and consistently pro-Israel. He was giving Israel all the support Israel needed, and he was brave enough to implement the decision of the American Congress to move the embassy of the United States to Jerusalem, and to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel. And he did the same with the Golan Heights. At the same time, he gave Israel all the support that it needed in the international arena. He gave them a support from a military point of view, and he supported Israel’s needs in the United Nations Security Council.
When you compare this performance to the record of the Obama and Biden administration, it’s very difficult to make a comparison. The most egregious point over which many Israelis felt very upset with President Obama and Vice President Biden at the time was the Iran deal. And the worst move they made was just before the termination of their presidency, when Obama made sure that Resolution 2334 passed at the Security Council against Israel, which removes any Israeli connection from its holiest site, from the city of Jerusalem, and from the cradle of Jewish civilization in Judea and Samaria. This decision was anti-Israel under any terms, even though there are many groups who support the idea of a Two-state Solution, but without thinking about the details and the consequences of those decisions, and without considering any defensible borders for the State of Israel. These two points by themselves gives one a certain understanding that we don’t have a friend in leaders who are following these directives.
When we look at the people who are working with them in order to implement the policies, we have to make sure that we know what they stand for and how they relate to Israeli and Jewish interests across the globe. When you look at the team that worked with President Trump, you see people who really tried to make sure that both sides – the Arabs and the Israelis – are gaining a positive outcome through negotiation in order to create a better future for all. It included Ambassador Friedman, Ambassador Greenblatt, Kushner, and many others. Mike Pompeo was also very instrumental in moving that positive agenda forward.
When I look at the interaction of the team that works with the candidate Biden, it concerns me, for example, that they would not have a presence at AIPAC, yet at the same time they interact with J Street. And we all know the agenda of J Street, which is not very friendly to Israel. They would not support Israeli interests, and they have ulterior motives in the way they are implementing their agenda. At the same time, when we look at their interaction with other groups, who are anti-Israel, you see many members of the team who are supporting radical groups – you even have people who are supporting the Marxist ideology, supporting radical Islam, and they have very close relationship with CAIR, which was an unindicted co-conspirator some years ago of supporting Hamas financially. And there were many indications in the trial that linked their activities, and they are also connected to the radical Muslim Brotherhood.
So when I look at the big picture, it gives me a little bit of pause to see if I can depend on a smooth transition towards supporting Israeli and Jewish interests if I vote for the Biden administration. At the same time, many Congresspeople who are supporting the Biden administration are openly anti-Semitic. And nobody was condemning them in the Democratic Party. It’s difficult to pinpoint a single radical group in the United States because the three major groups who take radical positions are the radical Right, the radical Left, and radical Islam. So though you have these three groups working against one another, for some reason they share the common motive of being anti-Israel and anti-Jewish. And I did not see this clear condemnation of these radical groups by the Biden administration. They accused Trump of associating with the radical Right, but if you look at his record, he condemned them multiple times on television and on radio. But the international media for some reason forgot his statements, which were made several times repeatedly.
And therefore the bottom line is, when you look at the upcoming elections in the United States, I would be very concerned about the future of the American-Israeli relationship if we would have a Biden-Harris administration, in comparison to a stable and pro-Israel and pro-Jewish Trump and Pence administration, who are also more pro-American, pro -constitution, pro-legal, pro-freedom, and pro-liberty. So I hope that whoever goes to vote, he should ponder and think carefully about what decision he’s going to make at the ballot box.
Arutz Sheva: Now when we look at the advisors to President Trump and to former Vice President Biden, in terms of the Middle East, can we learn from that about their true attitude towards Israel and towards the situation in the Middle East?
Dr. Shmuel Katz: When you look at the team that surrounds Biden, you have people like Sanders, who expressed open hostility towards Israel and who supports J Street and their ideology. He would not support policies and programs of the Israeli government and the Jewish People. You’ll have Ocasio-Cortez who will not even address a women’s gathering that was put together by Shalom Achshav’s women’s group because she thought they were too pro-Israel. They would not address AIPAC or any serious Jewish organization, because they don’t consider them to be of value. They are raising up people like Farrakhan and the radical Muslims who do not like the State of Israel nor the United States of America. We have a lot of advisors who work with them, like Kerry, who was never a friend of Israel. And then you also have people who are left over from the Obama administration who are still a part of the proposed administration.
On the other side, when you look at the team that surrounds President Trump, you have people that are trying to make sure the United States is stable, that the United States is looking after its own interests, but at the same time looking to their friends in the Middle East, including Israel, like David Friedman, or Kushner, and many others. And as a matter of fact, everyone already heard about it, but three peace agreements where Israel managed to build bridges with the United Arab Emirates, with Bahrain, and with Sudan, under the support and interaction of Mike Pompeo, President Trump, and the entire team that is trying to bring peace to the Middle East, to the benefit of everybody – to the benefit of the people in the Middle East, be they Jewish or Arab, to the people in the United States, who won’t need to address problems with terror and deception. And hopefully they’ll be able to further these peace programs even more.
And on top of that, the Biden administration promised to renew the Iran deal, which is a horrible outcome for any freedom-loving person across the globe, because their agenda is very clear. They consider Israel to be little Satan, and the United States to be big Satan, and I didn’t hear about any reversal of their policy. I just see that they’re entrenched in their position and they’re just waiting for the Biden administration to come and free them to develop this ideology again which will be to the detriment of the Middle East and to the detriment of the free world as we know it.
Arutz Sheva: So you have friends from all different walks of life. When you sit down with someone who has officially been Democratic, what are the concerns that you’d share with them in terms of the Democratic Party’s attitudes towards Israel, and maybe even towards Judaism?
Dr. Shmuel Katz: Today we have a very serious problem on our hands. We have something that is called a culture-cancelling ideology, and many people will not even listen to you. You can bring them facts, but they will not listen to you, and if they do listen to you, they will not hear what you’re saying. What I would encourage them to do is to look at the big picture, to look at the raw information, because today we know for sure, they don’t get all the information. What they are getting is whatever the media, which is linked to them, is delivering to them, and they were taught not to listen to anybody else. Therefore, they are missing a lot of good information from the other side. So the first thing that they’ll have to do is listen to somebody else’s opinion as well. Make sure that you are comfortable with whatever you hear. Don’t assume that if somebody else is saying something it has to be a lie or Russian propaganda. It’s not. A lot of facts are very importantly real facts.
I’ve had many interesting interactions with people who have told me “Don’t confuse me with the facts.” So what do I tell them? What I try to explain to them is, “You know what, you’re entitled to your opinion, but you’re not entitled to your facts. You better look at the facts and judge them wisely, because whatever decision you’re going to make, your personal welfare and the welfare of your family will have serious consequences based on your decision. If you think that this is the correct decision, that’s fine with me, but it should be fine with you. At the same time, if you want to commit suicide, I am not willing to go down because of your decisions. But I’m sure that if you pay attention to all details, you’ll understand that there is more than what you know today. Figure out the truth, identify the facts, and make sure you understand that whatever decision you make, you personally will have to bear the consequences.”
Arutz Sheva: Now when we see the more radical Left, maybe even anti-Israel parts of the Democratic Party, should Israel be doing something – can Israel be doing something – to counter these types of voices, these types of agendas?
Dr. Shmuel Katz: This is a serious problem that we have to face, and we didn’t face it for quite some time. We know that many leadership positions in many universities are being taken over by radicals. People who have more moderate minds try not to get involved because they don’t want to shake the barrel, because they don’t want the hornets to fly. And therefore we have to make sure that the university itself understands that there are consequences to their decisions. In the United States there is something called freedom of speech, freedom of expression, which is honored by many people. And it is the law. Universities are getting big amounts of financial support from the federal government and from many donors. They should understand that if they continue with a trend that has marginalized free communication and free speech on their campuses, there are consequences to their decision.
Communicate with the people who are financing the universities, and make [the universities] understand that if they don’t respect freedom of speech and freedom of expression, funds will be withheld from them, which will undermine their ability to function. Universities will understand very fast that they have to comply with the very basic rule, which is grounded in the Constitution – to give freedom of speech to people who have different opinions. In fact, university is a place where you have to exchange ideas – to learn, develop, create your own opinion, and listen to others. If you always listen to one person, or people who speak the same way, you will not learn much. You will be indoctrinated. University has to be a place where you can develop your knowledge and make sure that you do something for the betterment of society at large.
Arutz Sheva: A lot of things have changed throughout the last 10 years, even the last year. What is your message to Jewish millennials?
Dr. Shmuel Katz: In the time of Mashiach, the holiness of Jerusalem will expand to the entire Land of Israel, and the holiness of the Land of Israel will expand to the rest of the world. Therefore, I think that if people can implement holiness, and influence their neighbors in order to bring in peace, tranquility, and understanding, they can do it wherever they are. They should be entrenched solidly wherever they are, and try to build up their knowledge and ability to communicate. And if they do it correctly, they’ll be able to be very influential no matter where they are. And today especially – maybe not during the Corona era, but in normal times, which will hopefully be very soon – even if you live in any city, in any place, in Israel or abroad, communication is relatively easy. A couple of hours and you’ll be wherever you want to be. So you should do whatever you feel you can do best, wherever you feel it’s going to be most successful, because the limitations are not there anymore. You can influence and participate and travel and communicate across the globe freely.
Arutz Sheva: Dr. Shmuel Katz, thank you very much for being with us
Dr. Shmuel Katz: It’s a pleasure.