I had the pleasure this morning of speaking on Capitol Hill to the inaugural meeting of the Congressional Israel Victory Caucus (CIVC). The meeting was sponsored by Dr. Daniel Pipes of the Middle East Forum, who played a significant role in encouraging the formation of the caucus.
CIVC was started by Rep. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Rep. Bill Johnson (R-OH) and it is based on a simple concept: Decades of diplomacy based on moral equivalency have failed. As Rep. DeSantis put it, “American policy must ensure that Israel emerges victorious against those who deny or threaten her existence.”
The reality is that one side of this dispute is never going to be satisfied with any concession because it refuses to concede that the other side has a right to exist. Rep. DeSantis and Rep. Johnson understand that building activity in East Jerusalem or so-called “settlements” in Judea and Samaria can’t possibly be the impediment to peace because the Palestinians see all of Israel as an illegitimate settlement. That is the impediment to peace.
CIVC is built on the truism that if you see a conflict between barbarism and civilization, you should do everything you can to ensure that civilization wins. That means you should support Israel and hope for its victory instead of lecturing Israel on what it must give up.
Alas, the progressive ladies of Code Pink showed up today taking the side of the barbarians. Thankfully, they were quickly removed by the professional officers of the Capitol Hill Police Department.
