Pompeo: The US will always support Israel’s right to defend itself

Secretary of State speaks at 2020 AJC Global Forum, condemns anti-Semitism and PA incitement.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Sunday addressed the opening plenary of the 2020 AJC Global Forum, where he reaffirmed the strong US-Israel relationship, condemned rising worldwide anti-Semitism, and cautioned Iran against threatening Israel and pursing a nuclear weapons program.

AJC’s signature annual event, which was originally scheduled to take place this week in Berlin, Germany, was changed to an online meeting due to the coronavirus pandemic. As a result, Pompeo’s remarks reached an audience of many thousands in the US and around the world.

“Since 1948, Israel has proven time and again that it’s up to any challenge to the Jewish people’s right to govern themselves in their ancestral homeland,” he said. “The United States will always support Israel’s right to defend itself.”

Pompeo noted that he has visited Israel four times as Secretary of State, adding, “As a Christian, being in Israel deeply is moving, a very moving experience for me.”

“The United States and Israel are blessed nations, and we share a very special bond,” said Pompeo. “Our bilateral partnership is all the more vital given the rise in anti-Semitism around the world.”

On the prospect for advancing the stalled peace process, Pompeo said that “the president’s Vision for Peace is the most realistic path to end the conflict for the good of both the Israeli and Palestinian people.”

Pompeo praised AJC for its leadership in combating anti-Semitism around the world.

“I truly admire the crucial work AJC is doing to fight back,” said the Secretary of State. “With special envoy Elan Carr, you pushed for the adoption and implementation of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of anti-Semitism. You are confronting the vile BDS movement and textbooks that teach innocent Palestinian children to hate Jews, making peace that much harder.”

Pompeo also stressed that “anti-Zionism is indeed anti-Semitism.”

US support for Israel is clearest, he said, when looking at how the Administration has “handled the number one supporter of anti-Semitism, the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

“We will continue to squeeze the regime until Iran starts behaving as a normal nation, stops threatening its own people and its neighbors. The mullahs must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon,” stressed Pompeo.

Declaring that “standing against bad actors is at the core of American values,” the Secretary announced that the State Department Commission on Unalienable Rights, which focuses on human rights, will issue next month a report showing how “shared principles bring us closer to friends like Israel.”

In conclusion, Secretary Pompeo declared that “with the AJC’s help, the US and Israel will proudly honor our shared foundation of freedom and democracy, and confront the challenges of the day.”