You’re wrong, John Kirby: Something very big has changed
It can only be compared to a cheating husband who comes home to his wife, after being with another woman, and yet, assuring her that he still feels the same way about her.
That was, more or less, the absurd situation that took place on Monday morning as White House spokesperson, John Kirby addressed a crowd of reporters concerning the resolution by the UN Security Council, calling for an immediate ceasefire of the Gaza war, a move further aggravated by the failure of the U.S. to veto the measure.
Employing his usual style of trying to downplay serious events, Kirby must know that this act is viewed by many – certainly by Israel – as a major departure from the unconditional support we were told we’d always have. Nonetheless, he, unashamedly stated, “Nothing, nothing has changed about our policy. Nothing, a word repeated seven times throughout the gaggle.”
Kirby, referring to the U.S. as still being Israel’s ally, did his best to convince everyone that there continues to be a “call for releasing the hostages…the same principles that the U.S. has been arguing for over the course of many months,” explaining that the lack of condemnation for Hamas, within the resolution, was the reason why the U.S. could not exercise a vote.
But that’s exactly the crux of the matter! The fact that a ceasefire could be demanded without attaching the condition of freeing the 100 hostages, who are still languishing in a hell that none of us can even imagine, is an unconscionable and immoral transgression that has no defense.
At a time when loud cries are being heard on behalf of hungry Gazans, add to that charge: rape, abuse, taunting, darkness, torture, beatings, constant fear, cold, being unbathed for months, grieving the loss of loved ones while also being held hostage, not having seen daylight for months, feeling sick and weak from being fed less than one meal a day, being deprived of vital life-saving medications and sleep deprivation. This is only a short list of the horrors being suffered by Israeli hostages who have been forgotten and dismissed by the UN Security Council members.
For them, it’s easy to consider the discomfort of one side while conveniently forgetting that the other side is experiencing the worst nightmare of their lives, unsure if it will ever end, short of death. But given the cast of individuals who comprise the Security Council – countries such as China, France, Russia, Korea, Malta and other dubious members who have no particular sympathies towards Israel, it should come as no surprise that their indifference towards these 100 souls wasn’t even the slightest factor in their vote.
However, for the United States, a country which has taken great pains, throughout more than seven decades, to declare their devotion, allegiance and unbreakable friendship towards the Jewish homeland, to suddenly display the same kind of apathetic disregard and callousness for the future and well-being of these men, women and children, is both cruel and points to a new policy which prefers the optics of political prudence in exchange for a caring heart and a working conscience.
This constitutes the massive change – one which is devoid of values, human feeling and all compassion for precious lives. American leadership, which is capable of brushing off such an evil, the type which took place on October 7, is no longer able to claim any high ground or moral superiority before the other nations of the world, because its ability to forego a crucial veto says it all.
It didn’t take long for the sympathy-laden voices and lightning-speed visits, by the top brass of America’s leaders, to peter off, resulting in ambivalence, hesitation, skepticism and, finally, disapproval of being able to continue a necessary fight to hermetically remove the enemy who plotted a savage terror attack, to which no other country would respond differently, except when it comes to Jews.
It boggles the mind that Kirby thinks that his reassuring words are sufficient in maintaining the once fervent relationship between Israel and the U.S. Those words not only ring hollow, but have no substance to them. Instead, they only serve to mock our intelligence, because no one, with half a brain, would take anything, he has to say, seriously from this point on.
The decision to abstain from the vote has, regrettably, propelled America into a dangerous trajectory, joining other nations who had the power to bless Israel, by standing with them during their darkest hour, but, instead, chose to desert them and throw caution to the wind. For such actions, there are often irreversible consequences, because the choice, itself, is one which was made with full knowledge and deliberation of the existing deplorable circumstances.
It didn’t take 24 hours before a bizarre tragedy hit very close to the nation’s capital as we witnessed the catastrophic collapse of the Baltimore Bridge in the dead of night as a cargo ship unexpectedly struck its base. Ironically named after Francis Scott Key, best known for authoring the country’s national anthem, “The Star-Spangled Banner,” it’s almost the perfect metaphor for representing the end of an era – one which has severed its precious ties with God’s chosen people.
The decision to abstain is an act of betrayal to the Jewish nation as well as one to the Jewish population within its borders, and for what – to make a public showing of wanton disregard for the people who are hated and despised by a needed electorate as the 2024 presidential elections quickly approach. There is no other way to interpret what took place in this unprecedented departure from a 75-year policy, which was our most dependable asset.
Now that’s gone, and Israel has had to digest the heartbreaking revelation that she can no longer count upon the red, white and blue to back her up when called upon.
But it’s not all over for Israel. We will manage, because God is in our midst, watching over us and acting as the protectorate and defender, who we tragically substituted with a fair-weather friend that we erroneously thought would be there to the end. It’s a lesson well-learned and one which we will never forget!
Sadly, America may also learn a lesson from this, but given their decision to throw in with our enemies, it likely will not go well for the bright future that the current administration believes awaits them, because the land of the free and the home of the brave has now become a collaborating force, along with others, who have not blessed Israel, and most of us knows what follows for those who make that choice.
Yes, John Kirby – something very big has changed – perhaps, even greater than any of us will be able to imagine!
A former Jerusalem elementary and middle-school principal who made Aliyah in 1993 and became a member of Kibbutz Reim but now lives in the center of the country with her husband. She is the author of Mistake-Proof Parenting, based on the principles from the book of Proverbs - available on Amazon.
