Israel's war is America's, too
'Death to America' and 'Death to Israel' are just different slogans for the same hatred
God is the greatest / Death to America / Death to Israel / A curse upon the Jews / Victory to Islam. If you are ever at a loss to find the motivations of America's enemies on the world political stage, it's helpful to think back on the slogan that Yemen's Ansar Allah — the Houthis — put on their flag. In the Gaza war, the Houthis, who have bombed shipping in the Persian Gulf ostensibly in sympathy with the plight of Palestinians, are bit players. But their slogan nicely crystallizes the issue. Death to America / Death to Israel: The two are intertwined. After our foes are done with Israel, they can move on to the main event. In Ukraine, things are little different. After Russia invaded Ukraine, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the Russian billionaire turned exiled dissident, wrote that "Putin, in his head, has long been at war not with Ukraine, but with America."
Putin's strategy of poisoning American debate to separate the U.S. from Ukraine is transparent. The designs of Hamas, Iran, and their fellow travelers are similar. Nicaragua, led by the repressive Daniel Ortega, last month led a bizarre genocide case against Germany at the International Court of Justice for supplying weapons to Israel. Is Ortega's target Germany, or Israel? Or is it really the United States — the country Ortega has fought with for four decades? When crowds wave signs deploring settler colonialism and the U.N. Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian territories takes to X to deplore the "unlawful endeavor" of "settler colonialism," the ultimate settler-colonialist state they have in mind is not Israel. Gaza has been a terrible war, and there are legitimate questions about the Israeli military's conduct. But if the U.S. fails to back its allies, and Israel in particular, that will not win us any friends. It will be seen for what it is: a defeat for the United States. And it will be an invitation to America's enemies to bring their wars ever closer to us.
This is the editor's letter in the current issue of The Week magazine.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Mark Gimein is a managing editor at the print edition of The Week. His work on business and culture has appeared in Bloomberg, The New Yorker, The New York Times and other outlets. A Russian immigrant, and has lived in the United States since the age of five, and now lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 28, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - airline safety, teleprompter gaffs, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 doom 'n' gloom cartoons about the mess we're in
Cartoons Artists take on long-term pessimism, dystopian fears, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The Church of England's legacy of slavery
The Explainer Should the CofE offer financial redress for its involvement in the transatlantic slave trade?
By The Week UK Published
-
Sudan's year of civil war: 'the world has turned its back'
Talking Point
By The Week UK Published
-
Sitting in judgment on Trump
Opinion Who'd want to be on this jury?
By Susan Caskie Published
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrike
Speed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is there a peaceful way forward for Israel and Iran?
Today's Big Question Tehran has initially sought to downplay the latest Israeli missile strike on its territory
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
'A direct, protracted war with Israel is not something Iran is equipped to fight'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Is the next cold war a drone-swarm race between US and China?
Today's Big Question Both global superpowers are building up their capacity for surging robotic warfare. What happens next is anyone's guess.
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
How powerful is Iran?
Today's big question Islamic republic is facing domestic dissent and 'economic peril' but has a vast military, dangerous allies and a nuclear threat
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published