Republicans should condemn Bezalel Smotrich’s incitement
Tom Rogan
When Palestinians and others chant “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” they are essentially calling for a genocide against the Israeli population. After all, the area between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea constitutes most of the state of Israel.
Republicans in the U.S. often and rightly condemn this and similar hatred against Israelis. They rightly scrutinize aid that promotes the incitement of Palestinian children against Jews, for example. Still, Republicans must also be willing to condemn ethnic hatred from Israeli officials when it occurs.
It occurred on Wednesday, when Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich stated that “the village of Huwara needs to be wiped out. I think the State of Israel should do it.”
A Palestinian village in the West Bank, Huwara was the scene of Israeli settler rioting on Sunday following the murder of three Israelis by Palestinian terrorists. The Israeli Defense Forces failed to respond efficiently to the rioting, and all the arrested rioters have since been released. But Smotrich’s latest diatribe follows similar comments he and other far-right members of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s coalition government have made in recent days. This cacophony of hatred has put significant pressure on Netanyahu. Rightly so, it flies against everything that Israel’s secular democracy stands for — everything that separates Israel from so many of its neighbors.
In turn, Republicans must not hesitate to join with Biden administration officials and Democrats in expressing outrage over Smotrich’s words. As the strong statements offered by Jewish groups such as the Board of Deputies of British Jews attest, this isn’t a complicated matter. State Department spokesman Ned Price nailed it when he condemned Smotrich’s rhetoric as “irresponsible, repugnant and disgusting.”
As Israel’s closest ally, the U.S. has a heavy influence on Israeli politics. If a bipartisan majority shows its disgust for Smotrich’s genocidal rhetoric, its voice will carry significant weight.