Dear Friend of Israel, Friend of FLAME:

In light of President Trump’s decision to attack Iran, enemies on the right, left and in mainstream media accuse him of breaking his promise to put “American first”—with the slanderous footnote that the U.S. started the Iran War solely at Israel’s behest. In fact, quite the contrary: Today’s Iran War is very much an “America first” war—launched to neutralize one of the longest-standing, most dangerous threats to the U.S., its allies and the Western world.

Notable critics on the right have slammed Trump’s attack on Iran, including, most recently, former head of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, who said Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”

Hard-leftists have similarly condemned the President for attacking Iran on Israel’s behalf. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, for example, accused Trump of “acting on the violent fantasies of the American political elite and the Israeli apartheid government.”

Legacy media, which spare no excuse to bash Trump or the Jewish state, have also accused the President of reneging on his “America first” promise and launching a war for Israel’s sake. An article in the New York Times, for instance, asserted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “determined to keep the American president on the path to war.”

While such opposition is broad, it’s also thin: Some 85% of Republicans heartily believe Trump’s decision to attack Iran truly puts “America first.” Above all, Iran’s decades-long cries of “Death to America” have made dramatically palpable its desire to destroy the U.S.. Indeed, Iran has been threatening and attacking America since the mullahs seized power in 1979, and the country’s nuclear and missile programs have since only increased its clear and present danger.

Yet, against all evidence, Israel’s enemies have managed to convince many that the Iran War is Israel’s war, not America’s. Notably, this “blame Israel” movement corresponds with another major spike in antisemitism. In just the first week of this conflict, global antisemitism surged 34%, rekindling the age-old practice of blaming the world’s tiny (0.2%) Jewish population for its gargantuan troubles.

Why rightists claim Trump broke his “America first” promise. Isolationists and America-firsters, including Tucker Carlson, have denounced Trump for fighting “Israel’s war.” Carlson even claimed that Israel “demanded” the U.S. attack Iran, saying, “This happened because Israel wanted it to happen.” In fact, Trump denied this, asserting that “If anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand.”

Former Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene also remarked on The Megyn Kelly Show that “‘Make America Great Again’ was supposed to be America first, not Israel first.” Similarly, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) wrote on X, “This is not ‘America First.’”

Why leftists claim Trump is doing Israel’s bidding. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) accused Prime Minister Netanyahu of driving U.S. policy, asserting, “Netanyahu wanted war with Iran. Trump just gave it to him.” Likewise, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) said the Iran War was the culmination of “Netanyahu and Trump teaming up” for an “unconscionable war,” suggesting the U.S. acted on Israel’s behalf, rather than on American priorities—as if American priorities don’t include protecting the U.S. from an enemy avowedly bent on its destruction.

Mainstream media: Trump betrayed his “America first” principles. PBS News Hour featured an analyst who described the Iran War as “transparently a betrayal” of Trump’s pledges against endless wars. An opinion piece in the Washington Post stated that “For Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, the war is clearly about destroying the Islamic Republic,” while arguing regime collapse and chaos would harm U.S. interests.

For decades Iran has attacked Americans and U.S. interests. Iran has continuously assaulted the U.S. since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Notable attacks include the 1983 Beirut Marine Barracks bombing, which killed 241 American forces, and the 1996 Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia, which killed 19 U.S. airmen and wounded about 500 more. In total, more than 1,000 Americans have been murdered in Iranian-backed attacks.

Iran has also consistently lied about its nuclear program, claiming it was peaceful, but steadily enriched uranium to approach weapons-grade levels and refused IAEA access to its nuclear sites. In 2018, Israel’s Mossad secretly seized documents inside Iran exposing the existence of the mullahs’ nuclear weapons program.

No wonder that before his death Ayatollah Khamenei repeatedly declared, “Death to America is not just a slogan — it is our policy.” Thus, no surprise that over the last 47 years, all nine successive U.S. administrations, including Trump’s, have made Iran a foreign-policy centerpiece.

After decades of diplomacy and appeasement, one President said “no.” The administrations of Obama, Biden and Trump (twice) attempted painstaking diplomacy to convince Iran to abandon its nuclear weapons program—to no avail. In fact, diplomacy only strengthened Iran and its terrorist network. The 2015 nuclear deal, for example, gave Iran billions of dollars in sanctions relief, which the mullahs used to expand their nuclear and ballistic missile programs, and fund terrorist proxies, leading to such terrorism as Hamas’s October 7 massacre, in which 1,200 people were killed, including 46 Americans, as well as Houthis’ attacks on international shipping.

In short, after 47 years of lies, diplomatic failures, terrorism, and the threats of an Islamist regime sworn to America’s destruction, Iran’s determination to obtain nuclear weapons left the U.S. no choice but military force.

Nonetheless, the lie that the Iran War is being fought because of Jewish conniving, primarily for Israel’s sake, continues to spread—unfairly slandering Jews and the Jewish state.

Antisemitism surges thanks to Iran War lie. In just the first five days after the start of the conflict, 8,200 violent online threats erupted against Jews—the highest ever in such a short period. Violent antisemitic incidents include an attack on a synagogue in suburban Detroit, where a Lebanese-born suspect rammed a truck laden with explosives into the building during preschool hours.

The Combat Antisemitism Movement noted a 34% rise in worldwide antisemitic incidents in the first week of the war, with 73 of 154 cases tied to praise for Iran’s regime or conspiracies blaming Jews/Israel.

Please make the point when speaking with family, friends, colleagues—or in letters to the editor—that the result of enemies telling lies maligning Israel or Jews will inevitably be spikes in antisemitism. In response, so long as speech is free, our strongest weapon remains the truth.

If you agree we need to spread this truth, please use your email browser to forward this Hotline issue to fellow lovers of Israel—and encourage them to join us by subscribing to the Hotline at no charge.

Best regards,
Jason Shvili, Contributing Editor
Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME)

P.S.      Surely, you’ve recently read of some celebrity, politician, radical student, foreign head of state or media pundit slander Israel with the “Gaza genocide” lie. Many who spread this lie are ignorant, but most are anti-Israel haters. They care nothing for the truth. The tragedy is, when they utter the Gaza genocide falsehood, too few knowledgeable people—and virtually no media—stand up to refute it. Indeed, when you share the simple facts, the genocide lie crumbles. Upon learning that Israel conducts its war against Hamas terrorists with the highest ethical standards—and that nothing Israel does in Gaza fits the definition of genocide—fair-minded people quickly see through the lie. I hope you’ll agree that we supporters of the Israel-U.S. relationship need to speak out. FLAME’s new hasbarah—explanatory message—“Facts Shatter Gaza Genocide Lies”—describes what genocide is and is not and proves factually that Israel’s tactics in the war are ethical and righteous. It also reveals demographic data showing that the Palestinian population in Gaza is actually increasing. Finally, it notes that those who spread the Gaza genocide lie fit the classic definition of antisemites. Please review this convincing, fact-based editorial, which FLAME is about to publish to millions—in leading social media, as well as in the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, New York Post, Chicago Tribune, Tampa Bay Times, Denver Post and Los Angeles Times. This piece will also be sent to all members of Congress, the President and Vice President. If you agree that this kind of public relations effort on Israel’s behalf is critical, I urge you to support us with a donation.