“Arab Spring has now become Islamic Winter,” said Bret Stephens, the foreign affairs columnist of the Wall Street Journal, who will present the closing plenary at the AIPAC Kansas City Israel Action Forum on Oct. 21 at the Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah.
Stephens is an accomplished writer and commentator on Middle East affairs. In 2002, at age 28, he became the youngest editor in chief of the Jerusalem Post. After spending almost three years at the Post, he returned to the United States as a columnist for the Journal.
“I got to know Israel quite well, and my oldest daughter was born there,” Stephens said. “So my ties to Israel are permanent. But home for me is the United States. The Journal is a magnificent paper, which gives my issues broader airing.”
Raised in Mexico City, Stephens attended the University of Chicago and the London School of Economics. He was honored as the Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2004 and in 2008 received the Evie Breindel Award for Excellence in Opinion Journalism.
Speaking about “In the Eye of the Storm: Israel and the New Middle East,” Stephens has strong views about what is happening in the Middle East and the role of the United States, as well as the recent issues surrounding the “movie trailer” that has caused an uproar in many Muslim nations. His thoughts regarding a variety of subjects follow.
Current uprisings in the Muslim world over the movie trailer:
Stephens: “In this issue of the Mohammed movie trailer … you have an administration that has publically apologized for a video that is not really the cause of the violence. The video was an excuse. The U.S. should explain what free speech is about, not apologize when a vulgar piece attracts attention. … This is NOT ‘yelling fire in a theater,’ this is an inevitable happening in a free society where you have 314 Americans expressing their views in a non-stop cacophony. That a little movie, which might not even be a movie, is the real cause of this uprising is not right. This was a pretense for people actively seeking a reason to murder Americans and denounce the U.S. Free speech often has to be defended precisely at that moment when it is the most indefensible.”
Syria uprisings:
“What is happening there is both an abdication of American principle and is at variance with our best interests in the regions. Thousands of people are being massacred, while we refuse to do there what we did in Libya. Syria has become the proving ground between the West and its allies, and Iran. Iran invests itself in Syria. If it loses Assad (Bashar al-Assad), it (Iran) will lose touch with Hezbollah. So they are doing what they can to protect their interests through Assad. They do not want him to fail.
“The US has the ability to create a no-fly zone and prevent acts like the aerial bombing of a gas station and of Lebanon. Obama is not doing this, and it would take little to create a no-fly zone.”
Iran:
“The fundamental challenge that Israel faces is Iran and its bid to be a nuclear weapon state. A case for stopping Iran is a moral case. A country that can put a stone in its right hand and stone a woman to death cannot have a weapon in its left hand that it can use against its victims. The case for acting against Iran is a hawkish, conservative view. But it should be a liberal view because you don’t want the most homophobic, anti-Semitic, misogynistic regime in the world to have access to these weapons.”
Israel security:
“Israel’s security situation has become much worse. The southern front is now a problem. There are loose chemical weapons in Syria. Iran might be able to tip toe across the finish line of nuclear weapons. The formal peace agreement with Egypt is almost a dead letter. Turkey is not an ally anymore. Israel is in a very perilous state.
“But it is also a very powerful, resourceful and intelligent country. Am I worried about Israel’s security prospects, yes. But, I am confident Israel can take care of itself.”
U. S. relationship with Israel/Egypt:
“I do not think on balance that the policies of this administration have been helpful to Israel.
“I think the Obama administration thinks of themselves as friends of Israel and are sincere about it. But I wish I could persuade them that they could be better friends with their policies.
“I think in the long run, the United States and Egypt will not have a productive relationship. The attitudes of the Muslim Brotherhood are deeply hostile to the United States.”
Efforts to delegitimize Israel:
“This delegitimize bit, which is its own form of anti-Semitism because it singles out the Jewish nation, has become tragically a popular cause among those who call themselves progressive and liberal. And no real progressive and liberal can be anything but a supporter of the only country in the Middle East that supports progressive values like democracy, free speech, women’s rights, judicial fairness and accountability for rulers.
“Israel makes an effort to combat issues. It is not a utopia. But it is a country where people have a reasonable chance to make a difference for their country. Liberal democracies are not perfect, but can fight for a more perfect union.”
AIPAC:
“I think it (AIPAC) is an organization that does extremely important work. The people involved are exemplary citizens for promoting, on a bipartisan basis, to ensure a bond between the United States and Israel. I appreciate the caliber of my audience and the intelligence of the questions. The real satisfaction is that the people who come really get what is going on. They give me more than I am able to give them in terms of feedback and insight.”
About AIPAC Forum
Noted Wall Street Journal columnist Bret Stephens and Baptist minister the Rev. Dee Dee Coleman will headline the AIPAC Israel Action Forum from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 21, at The Temple, Congregation B’nai Jehudah. Advanced registration is preferred. For more information or to register, call Tali Jubelirer in AIPAC’s Chicago office at 312-253-8984 or email . To register online, visit: www.aipac.org/KCForum2012.