The Daily Signal - 'This Is the Time to Visit Israel': Diplomat Urges Americans to Support the Jewish State

Episode Date: February 29, 2024

Anat Sultan-Dadon, Israel's consul general to the Southeastern United States, says that now is the time to visit the Jewish state, to show solidarity amid the war against Hamas. She also condemned South Africa's accusation of genocide against Israel. "By all means, this is the time to visit Israel," Sultan-Dadon tells "The Daily Signal Podcast" in an interview at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention. Enjoy the show! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This is the Daily Signal podcast for Thursday, February 29th. I'm Tyler O'Neill. Before this day, which of course only comes around once every four years. So remember, you know, this is a great leap day podcast. I sat down with a woman who represents the state of Israel to the Southeast United States. Her name is Anat Sultan Dadoon, and she was on fire. I mean, we talked about the situation that the Jewish state faces right now in the middle of this war against Hamas after the horrific terrorist attacks on October 7th. And she really just laid into South Africa for, in her words, representing a terror organization against the Jewish state.

South Africa has filed claims at the International Court of Justice saying that Israel is guilty of genocide. in Gaza, even though Israel is responding to that horrific terrorist attack on October 7th. And she talked about defending the Jewish state from genocide charges, even as Hamas aims to wipe Israel off the face of the earth. And I asked whether this would be a good time to visit the Jewish state, even though there is a war going on. And she said to me, she looked me straight in the face and said, this is the time to visit Israel right now that Americans and those across the world who want to show their support for Israel amid this existential war should come, you know, book your tickets tomorrow to go see Jerusalem. And in all seriousness, you know, she was saying that we should go.

And I've seen, you know, I've seen news reports of some people who've gone to Israel recently. I think of Barry Weiss, who started the free press. She's a former New York Times editor. And she was recently in Israel. And she experienced an air raid there. There's nothing like showing support for a country that is in the middle of a fight for its life. And I believe it is fairly safe in most of the places that tourists would go. And that's one of the reasons why the consul told me this.

She said, you know, look, now is the... the time, make your voices known that you support the state of Israel and, you know, that you support life and health against terror, against the threat of a genocidal terror organization that wants to wipe Israel off the face of the map. And of course, backrolled by the state of Iran. Anyway, we had a really great conversation, and she emphasized to me that Americans need to raise their voices in the state of Iran. this pivotal time to say that we support the state of Israel in its efforts to defend itself. So listen

to my interview with Anat Sultan Dadoon right after this. Hi, I'm John Carlo Canaparo. And I'm Zach Smith. And we host SCOTUS 101. It's a podcast where you'll get a breakdown of top cases in the highest court in the land. Hear from some of the greatest legal minds. And of course, get a healthy dose of Supreme Court trivia. Want to listen? Find us wherever you get your podcasts or just head to heritage.org slash podcasts. This is Tyler O'Neill. I'm managing editor at The Daily Signal. I'm honored to be joined by Anat Sultan Dodon, Consul General of Israel to the southeastern United States. It's a pleasure having you, Anna.

Thank you. A pleasure being here. So I want to just jump right in. Your role is to represent Israel to this person. Pacific region in the United States. What have you, you know, what are the pitfalls and strengths that you've seen in this relationship after the horrific attacks of October 7th? I would say in the United States on whole, we are incredibly fortunate to see our strong friendship, the robust relations being expressed also in the aftermath of October 7th. Certainly in the Southeast in this region, we have so much support. We have so many friends who are standing with Israel at this difficult time.

We are, however, well aware of other voices as well globally in the United States and even here in the southeast. On October 8th, when we had not yet finished counting our dead, we already had a demonstration outside of our consulate in Atlanta praising the so-called resistance fighters. We have seen since then, not just in Georgia, but in the southeast in Tennessee included, we have seen multiple demonstrations of hate. They call themselves pro-Palestinian.

There is nothing pro about them. If anything, they are pro-masacre, pro-rape, pro-genocide. And that needs to be exposed because if one is truly genuinely caring about the Palestinians, if one truly has a concern about the welfare of the Palestinians, then it is in their best interest to be rid of Hamas. It is in Gaza's best interest to be free of Hamas, because Hamas is not only a threat to Israel. It is also oppressing their own people.

While fighting Israel, they are intentionally using their own people as human shields, intentionally placing them in harm's way. And really, we all should be on the same side. If one stands for life, for freedom, for humanity, one should be standing together with us as we are fighting to defeat this evil, to defeat a genocidal terror organization that glorifies. death and destruction. Yeah, so we've seen a lot of polls coming from Gaza, showing that a lot of the civilians there

support Hamas. I understand and agree with you that, you know, this evil organization is oppressing its own people. They're taking the relief money that's been sent to them and using it to build these bombs, using it to build these tunnels with which they're, you know, now attacking and fighting Israel. But, you know, it seems like they're popular on the ground, according to these polls. Right. So Israel fully withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2007. In 2005, Hamas took over in 2007. Hamas has been indoctrinating their people. And that is true for Hamas in Gaza. It is sadly true

for the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank as well. The teaching of hate, the textbooks that teach to hate rather than preach for peace, those are detrimental not only to the state of Israel into any possibility of peace, those are detrimental to any sort of peaceful future for the Palestinian people. That indoctrination must stop in the international community that has been to a large extent funding this indoctrination. that needs to stop as well. The Palestinian leadership needs to be held accountable for what it is teaching its people

and for what it is telling its people because the lie that they have been selling their people that there will be Palestinian determination at the cost of the existence of the state of Israel, that needs to stop. The truth needs to be said. It needs to be said loud and clear. there will be no Palestinian determination at the cost of the existence of the state of Israel.

And the international community who has been funding this illusion and to a large extent who has been funding this terror infrastructure, the terror tunnels, the weapons, and the schoolbooks that teach this terror, the international community needs to do better in holding Palestinian leadership accountable and in having more strings attached to the funds that are going in to actually ensuring that they're going towards the benefit of the Palestinian people and not towards the destruction of the state of Israel. Yeah, and I mean we're seeing right now when Israel encourages Gazans to flee and to get out of the region, Egypt is preventing them from entering.

And partially one of the reasons why Egypt and Jordan don't want to accept these Palestinian and, you know, these people is because they are a destabilizing force. I believe, you know, they had gone into some of these countries before and undermined them. Is there, you know, Israel's military response, which seems, you know, very natural after the attacks of October 7th, you know, I almost despair and I don't know, like eradicating Hamas, ability to attack Israel, which is the stated goal of the campaign. It seems as though it's going to be hard to guarantee that with the Ghazan people the way that they have been indoctrinated. When you reference destabilizing force, I think that we need to look at the broader picture because the larger destabilizing force that is behind the,

The terror that we are seeing is the Ayatollah's regime of Iran. Hamas would not have been able to carry out the attack that they carried out on October 7th without the funding, equipment, training, and logistical support that it receives from Iran. In Iran, is funding, training, and equipping not just Hamas. They have many terror proxies in the region, including Hezbollah. in Lebanon, including the Houthis in Yemen, terror elements in Iraq, terror elements in Syria. They are not only proceeding with their nuclear plan, but they are proceeding with the fomenting of terror in the region.

And this has to stop. And the international community needs to address this threat better. It is not just a threat to Israel. It is not just a threat to the region. It is a threat to the world because what they support and what they stand for is in stark contradiction to everything that we believe in and that we stand for in the free world. We sanctify life. We stand for life, freedom while they glorify death and terror. They should not have the means to do so.

and that threat needs to be better addressed. Israel is working to eliminate the terror threat from the Gaza Strip, from Hamas and from any other terror elements. But the root of this evil needs to be addressed as well. And so what do you see? I mean, I'm watching the attacks that the Houthis are conducting on global trade. I'm watching the attacks that these Iran-backed militias have done against, U.S. forces like in Tower 22 in Jordan. And it seems the potential of a broader regional war

is very high. I mean, right now, HESBOLA is refusing to honor the 2005 or 2007 agreement when they said they would move north of that river. And it seems like the U.N. forces that are there, supposedly to enforce this, are not willing to do so. We see a lot of escalation or potential for escalation. How should the United States and how can Israel deter escalation? I think that the United States has taken a very strong stand and has sent a very clear message because the United States, Israel and anyone who wants stability in the region does not want to see a northern front, does not want to see a war between Israel and Chisbalin in Lebanon. You mentioned the Houthis attacking, shipping, and harming global trade.

We have seen the United States lead a coalition of countries in order to address this threat. I think that we need to see more in the international community take a stand on this as well. It is not just about Israel. It is about the entire free world. We are on the front line of fighting an radical Islamist ideology that sees Israel as a threat, that sees America as a threat, that sees the entire free world as a threat. and we need to work together in order to address this. Israel is due, we'll do whatever we have to do

in order to ensure the safety and security of our country and citizens. But we should not be standing alone in this fight. Yet right now, I believe it's the International Criminal Court is looking at charges of genocide against Israel. And forgive me, I believe, Jordan is a Palestinian state, and it seems odd to have this claim of genocide leveled against the people who suffered the October 7th attacks. Would you address where you think this is coming from and what your response to these allegations is?

It is shameful that South Africa chooses to represent a terror organization, a terror organization, a time. terror organization Hamas that has no political goal. Its goal is genocidal. The attack that they carried out on October 7th, Hamas leadership, state that they will carry out October 7th again and again and again. And so while we are facing an attack by a genocidal terror organization, an organization whose charter includes the goal of wiping Israel off the map, off the face of the earth, we are the ones that have to defend ourselves from an accusation of genocide. We are the ones who are doing more than any other army has done in order to protect the lives of uninvolved civilians.

We are doing so while Hamas is doing the exact opposite. using their civilians as human shields, putting them intentionally in harm's way, because in their thwarted minds, the more Palestinians who are killed, the better it serves, their twisted agenda in harming Israel. It is time that the international community, the United Nations, the international organs, do what they should be doing, standing on the right side of history. Sadly, this is not what we are seeing. And you talk about the ways that Israel is going out of its way to save Palestinian lives to offer warnings.

Can you just briefly talk about the specific ways that Israel is conducting this war with an eye to saving the Palestinians? Of course. Hundreds of thousands of phone calls have been made. in order to ask Palestinians to evacuate if they are in an area that will be targeted because it is being used for terror activity. Leaflets being dropped from the sky. We are taking every measure to create humanitarian corridors, securing these humanitarian corridors to allow for civilians to evacuate to a safe zone, while Hamas, is trying to attack these civilians,

trying to keep them from evacuating, trying doing everything that they can in order to keep them in harm's way. We have done and we will continue to do everything that we can in order to minimize harm to civilians. But the fact that Hamas chooses to embed itself among their civilians

to cynically use civilian infrastructures, to use hospitals, to use schools, to use private homes, that cannot be a safe escape for them. It cannot be that terrorists and terror can find safety because they choose to hide behind their civilians. We cannot allow for terror to win, and we must continue this war in order to ensure that terror does not win and that Hamas never again have the capabilities that they have

that they had when they carried out the attack of October 7th. So this may sound like a very lower level good, but I think I want to ask it anyway. Many Americans and, you know, people around the world rightly see Israel as a cradle of civilization as, you know, the holy sites of Judaism, of Christianity of Islam, want to go to Israel to see this. And some, perhaps, to see what it is like on the ground there in the middle of this war. Yet at the same time, you know, those northern enclaves in Israel have been evacuated because Hezbollah is sending rockets.

And I understand, you know, it's the middle of a war zone. would you encourage Americans to try to make any pilgrimages to Israel during this time? Like, does Israel need the support of people coming, or would that be a detriment in the middle of a war? By all means, this is the time to visit Israel. Yes, we have a war that we are conducting in Gaza in order to ensure that our southern border is safe. We are working to ensure that our northern border is safe. And this is the time to come and support Israel and Israelis on the ground. And I will say one more thing.

Aside from supporting Israel and aside from visiting Israel, I would call on everyone to use their voices. We are hearing so much talk about calls for a ceasefire. Use your voice to call on Hamas to cease their fire, to call on Hamas to surrender, to lay down their weapons, and to release all of the remaining hostages. They have now been spending 138 days in brutal captivities. That is 138 days too many. We still have 134 hostages. men, women, children, a one-year-old baby. The international community, not just Israel, should be demanding their immediate and unconditional release.

Thank you. Is there, oh, I did also want to ask, there have been concerns about Israel's political stability before this attack, and perhaps because of the instability over there with the, with, Netanyahu's judicial reforms, which we, I mean, I don't want you to weigh in on that. But is there concern that, you know, I've heard Israelis are standing together like they never have before?

Is that what you've seen, and do you think that they will have the intestinal fortitude to continue to carry out this, you know, this operation to the end? because it is an existential threat. Israelis differ on opinions on almost everything. We have a vibrant, robust democracy. We have freedom of speech. And while we may have many, many disagreements on almost every issue, Israelis are united in the fact that we need to ensure,

that we have safety, that we can ensure the safety of Israel for our children, for our children's children, and we are also united in the fact that we need to see all of our hostages, all of our brothers and sisters return home. We are united in that. Israel's vibrant political scene that is part of our democracy that we take great pride in. I do not know of a robust that has no political disagreements. This is part of our political system, and we are proud of our democracy. And on this, on our survival, on our continued survival, on matters of safety in our future, the Israeli public is united on that.

Well, thank you so much, Anad. Is there anything else you'd like to add that you don't think we got to? I would like to thank all of our friends in the United States, in the Southeast, who are standing with Israel at this time. We have been fortunate to have the friendship and the support and the robust relations between Israel and the United States for the 75 years of the existence of the modern state of Israel. We look forward to many more years of friendship. and now in our time of need, this is when we need for all of our friends to be vocal, to be vocally proud in taking a stand and standing with Israel and for humanity because the voices of hate, they are not the majority.

And we cannot allow for them to take center stage. And so I would urge all of our friends who support, greatly appreciate to use their voices and ensure that their voices are louder than the voices of hate. Well said. Where can the people follow you, the work you do here in the southeast of the U.S. and Israel more broadly? Well, they can follow me and our consulate Israel and a plenton on social media. We also send out a daily newsletter with updates about the war and about the situation on the ground because it is important, it is vital that we all stay informed and educated so that we can educate others. They can also email us at info at atlanta.mFA.g.org

and we'd be happy to add them to our mailing list. Wonderful. Thank you so much. Thank you. And that was Anat Sultan Dadoon. Speaking with me again, Tyler O'Neill here at the Daily Signal podcast. If you liked what you heard here, please feel free to leave us a five-star rating and review. We read all of your feedback. And don't forget to tune back into this very podcast at 5 p.m. this evening when we'll bring you the top news of the day, the headlines that you need to keep you in the loop as you go on your evening commute. So again, thank you for listening and we look forward to being with you again this evening for our top news edition. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation.

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