"Beware of the Israel Firsters"

	The hallmark of Donald Trump’s candidacy and presidency is his fervent nationalism, a departure—and a breath of fresh air—from previous officeholders, both Democrats and Republicans. Reagan, that conservative icon, mistakenly granted amnesty to all illegal immigrants who had entered the country, and Clinton entered the United States into NAFTA, a disastrous trade agreement that led to the downfall of whole American industries and the loss of millions of American jobs. Donald Trump’s sharp rebuke of illegal immigration, unfair trade agreements, and embrace of policies that put “America First” truly put him in a league of his own.
	Despite that, his fellow Republicans and conservatives often seem to have an interest in protecting a foreign nation ahead of their own—no, Democrats, not Russia.
	Israel’s involvement in our government’s policy decisions is undeniable. Their secular and democratic government make them one of our greatest allies. However, the assertion that Israel is the only democracy in the Middle East seems to disintegrate under any scrutiny; this is the same country that approves of razing West Bank villages to make way for illegal settlements, authorizes shooting at unarmed civilians at the border, and proposes bills to criminalize the recording and photographing of Israeli soldiers. The conservative toleration and even endorsement of Israeli occupation of Palestine is illogical, especially because the illegal settlements, village razing, and complete rejection of Palestinian sovereignty fuel Palestinian hostility towards Israel, and rightfully so. Imagine if Mexico was building illegal homes within the United States, razing towns and cities in the process. Our anger and retaliation would be reasonably justified. But for some reason, many conservatives view international criticism of Israel as groundless bullying.
	Our foreign policy is awfully Israel focused. President Bush defended the invasion of Iraq on the grounds of their supposed capacity to “put a weapon of mass destruction on Israel.” Bush met with Tony Blair and had secret conversations with Israelis in the runup to the war (Blair attests to this). Israel’s entanglement in our government’s foreign policy decisions should alarm anyone who believes in America first, as the failure of the Iraq War should elucidate: over two trillion dollars (with another four trillion in interest yet to come), 4,400 soldier deaths, and 32,000 soldier injuries to fight a war for Israel. Despite Republican claims of Obama’s anti-Israel bias, he still spoke at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference, as did President Trump, Hillary Clinton, George Bush, and Bill Clinton. Israel’s deeply-ingrained influence within our government has been the status quo for the last half century.
	Israel’s entrenchment in our government goes beyond foreign policy. The erroneously titled “Anti-Semitism Awareness Act” would define anti-Semitism “for the enforcement of Federal antidiscrimination laws” as equivalent to anti-Zionism or anti-Israel sentiment. Similarly, crackdowns on movements to boycott, divest, and sanction Israel are being met with legislation targeting companies and individuals that wish not to conduct business with Israel, such as the Israel Anti-Boycott Act.
	Israel’s status as an ally is head-scratching, considering their unreliability as an ally. In 1954, Israeli military intelligence recruited Egyptian Jews to plant bombs inside Egyptian, American, and British targets, in order to blame the Muslim Brotherhood for the attacks. In 2013, it was discovered that Israel sold advanced military technology secrets to China, one of our most bitter rivals. Are these the actions of an ally? While Israel warns the United States of Iraq and Iran’s potential nuclear capabilities and solicits our involvement, they have actually been stealing nuclear secrets and covertly making nuclear weapons since the 1950s, even lying to our government, purporting that a nuclear reactor was just a textile factory. Israel continues with its secret nuclear program today, having never made any details of its arsenal public.
It has to be asked. Are these the actions of an ally? Are these the actions of a nation that we should support? When Israel’s national interests are at odds with ours, it is impossible to simultaneously support the US and Israel—either you are America first or Israel first.