Ron Paul and Israel
By Doug Wead
I am a “born again Christian” and like most from my culture I support Israel’s right to live at peace behind secure borders.
I am also a strong supporter of Ron Paul because he, more than any other public figure, fights for personal liberty. Christians don’t need to take power. They had power in England and France and Spain and it didn’t work. All power, even Christian power, corrupts. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty. And the idea of liberty is what gave birth to the American experiment. This country has seen many of the greatest spiritual awakenings in modern history not because we seized government and used it to promote our agenda but because government stayed out of the way.
So I am deeply disappointed at my good friend, Gary Bauer, for a misleading fundraising letter smearing Congressman Ron Paul and suggesting that he wants to cut off aid to Israel. The letter was sent out last month but I am still having it forwarded onto me by well intentioned, but misled, evangelical friends.
Here is the opening paragraph of the Gary Bauer letter, sent out to “Friends and Supporters.”
“Representative Ron Paul (R-TX) has just introduced an amendment to end all U.S. aid to Israel. The amendment could be voted on before the day is over. I need your help right now to stop this ill-conceived proposal! ”
Now, here is the truth:
Congressman Ron Paul never introduced legislation calling for an end to U.S. aid to Israel. What he did introduce was legislation that would have ended foreign aid to ALL countries.
Ron Paul sees foreign aid as taking money from poor people in rich countries and giving it to rich people in poor countries. It was this foreign aid that made Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and his family wealthy.
The United States is in the middle of a desperate financial crisis and we are still acting like we are the world’s rich uncle, picking up the restaurant tab for every meal.
But Bauer’s letter discounts this idea:
“Don’t be deceived. This Ron Paul proposal would not lower our budget deficit. By abandoning Israel while its enemies are gaining strength, the risk of a major war in the Middle East would increase. A major war would cost the U.S. billions and billions of dollars as we have already seen in Iraq and Afghanistan.”
Now for the dirty little secret that Evangelical Christian Washington lobbyists don’t want you to know. While America’s foreign aid package gives Israel $ 3 billion in loans, it also gives Israel’s collective Arab enemies four times as much, more than $ 12 billion in direct aid.
Far from abandoning Israel, Ron Paul’s legislation would have given Israel a net $ 8 billion advantage over the status quo. One could have just as easily sent out a fundraising letter saying that Gary Bauer is promoting a policy that will give the enemies of Israel four times the aid we give her.
Such demagoguery is not just ridiculous, it is wrong.
Ron Paul’s principled stands have been consistent and logical and unchanging.
In the 1980’s, when Republicans and Washington power elites were pushing for a deal that would sell AWACS to Saudi Arabia, Ron Paul was a defiant, lonely voice trying to block the sale. The pressure was on and most evangelical leaders abandoned Israel, rationalizing their position. Not Ron Paul.
In recent years he has urged congress to end all corporate subsidies to companies that do business with Iran and other nations bellicose to Israel. Few if any evangelicals recognize the importance to Israel of this ongoing struggle involving billions of dollars and corporate corruption and powerful Washington lobbyists. And he continues to fight the growing protectionist sentiment in our country to ensure we maintain the freest possible exchange of trade and commerce with Israel.
Most of all, Ron Paul believes that American should mind its own business and let Israel make her own decisions without interference and control from Washington. He recognizes that Israel has one of the best trained, most elite armed forces in the world and he believes that we should NEVER try to use our influence to stop Israel from defending herself. Ron Paul refused to vote to condemn Israel during the 2006 war with Lebanon. And he will never try to pressure Israel into accepting a “land for peace” compromise before the Israelis themselves decide.
I have spoken with Dr. Ron Paul about Israel, He recognizes the special relationship between Israel and the United States based on our shared values and Judeo-Christian history. As the former vice president of Christian and Jews United for Israel, I would strongly argue that Ron’s position of friendship, free trade, ending support for Israel’s enemies and a cessation of meddling in Israel’s internal affairs would provide for a stronger U.S.- Israeli relationship and a net advantage for the Israelis.
As a “born again Christian” I have been amused at the willingness of our power brokers to conveniently embrace presidential candidates who have had four marriages or have been bitter opponents to our own people facing nomination in the Senate or who flip flop on the issues just in time for Iowa, all because the candidate will do a radio show or appear at a university or a political briefing – fund raiser.
Well, Ron Paul is the real deal. Raised as a Lutheran, (now attending a Baptist church in Lake Jackson) he puts his Christian faith into practice. He has always been pro life, always been married to the same wife and always been the nation’s premier advocate for liberty.
As we see our liberties being stripped away by the courts and by government agencies and by presidential fiat, we need to speak carefully and truthfully about those few men and women in Washington who have the integrity to defy the temptations of power. Ron Paul is just such a man. We should cherish his independence from the corruption and partisanship of Washington, D. C.. and instead of distorting his positions on the issues we should celebrate his courage to speak the truth.
Doug Wead 
Amen!
This is an important thing to watch out for when getting notices to strike down a bill. Read what it really is first. Of course this one with Ron Paul should have been a give-away for many.
Why do you still consider Gary Bauer your “good friend?” Shouldn’t he be a “former good friend” for essentially lying about Ron’s position?
Thanks Doug. Most news tells both sides of the same story. It is good to read the other side of the story for a change.
Wow! Once again – well thought & well presented. Thank you for the wake up call Doug Wead.
“Aid” to Israel really means the forced taxation and redistribution of wealth to a country with largely socialist programs (government health care with taxpayer funded abortions for example). Let Israel cut the socialism and use its revenue on one of the few legitimate functions of government: defense. Besides, socialism doesn’t work. We’d be doing Israel a favor by cutting off aid
As the great personal growth teacher Bob Conklin once said, “Opinions are what people have an abundance of. (sic) In fact, people tend to have opinions of things they know little or nothing about.” (from: Adventures In Attitudes)
How many of my acquaintances consider themselves self-taught experts on nuclear energy, international balance of power & trade issues and solving the global warming crisis.
The fact is that it takes years of research and learning,from an interdisciplinary perspective to even begin to define these complex Gordian problems. Each is within itself a moving target,a s life is dynamic and so are the factors that affect it.
We must observe long-term trends, historical patterns and have a global psychology perspective to even begin to create effective “solutions.”
Also, people seem quick to condemn that with which they disagree; however, are slow to praise the goodness of others. Ron Paul’s reputation is subject to these influences, just as much as anyone else.
To me, humanity is the problem and God is the Solution. However, that’s just a humble point of view from another student of life.
What do I know, anyway?
I always find it amusing, appalling and atrocious how information often gets irreverantly twisted to present certain points of view of truth with subversion to fit an untruth. Rand Paul deserves to be heard in the full essence of his opinion, not pieces extrapalated for critisism to support a cause. Listen to the whole of his opinion, not just a snippit or fear mongered sound byte. I am not necessarily a Rand Paul fan politically, but I do enjoy hearing what he has to say. I like making my own decision after listening to what a man says. To those who seek to sway my opinion, I say, ‘Let me hear the whole of the message, not just what you want me to hear.’
As for the cutting foreign funding, America has stood for the support of Isreal ever since its becoming a nation. I seriously doubt the government would ever abandon that support.
Thanks for another good blog, Doug!
Rita
Rita,
I would have agreed with you about our Country always supporting Israel until President Obama took office. As a Democrat, he enjoyed the benefit of the Jewish vote, but his behavior towards Israel leaves a lot to be desired.
His treatment of Bibi was outrageous and insulting to any head of State, never mind the fact that Israel is one of our strongest allies. In some ways, I am hoping for a Jewish voting backlash ahainst the Anointed One, but, at the same time, I tremble at the thouight of what Obama has to do to achieve that backlash.
No, don’t count on America’s support of Israel for the future…
When was there a vote condemning Israel concerning the 2006 conflict with Lebanon? I tried finding one and all I found were resolutions condemning Hezbollah, Hamas, Iran, Syria, and defending Israel’s right to exist and defend itself.
Congratulations to Doug Wead on an illuminating essay. I knew there was some reason I didn’t like Gary Bauer (whom I have never met). I agree with Paul’s ideals, but think we must be gradual in changing national policy.
Elsewhere, the futurist, George Friedman, has written in his new book, The Next Decade (Doubleday), that the United States SHOULD discontinue foreign aid specifically to Israel. He writes that Israel is already a prosperous country who acquires more than $3 billion year in US stock market hedge funds each year, and that the foreign aid alienates the Arabs more than it helps the Israelis. We need to restore the trust of the Arabs and this would be a way to do it without harming Israel. Made sense to me.
David,
I like the idea of cancelling all foreign aid worldwide. We are no longer able to sustain the burden that has become a form of bribery over the years.
Besides, while we give aid to almost everyone, many of those same countries actually celebrated when the World Trade Center was destroyed. It is time to let them grow up and fend for themselves.
In the event of a catastrophe, we can still offer aid, but not money.
By cutting off everyone, we are helping our own Country, while not showing favoritism to any particular part of the world.
Yes, Israel is a wealthy country, compared to many, but they still spend twice as much, per capita, on defense, compared to our own country. Much of their wealth stems from private contributions from Jews all over the world. There are as many people of Jewish descent in New York City as there are in Telaviv.
Besides that, they have a much greater work ethic than most of their neighbors, especially those on the Gaza strip.
Thanks for an outstanding, erudite, and well written article in defense of one of the very few true champions of freedom in this country. With regard to comment above about not assisting socialist nations, who are we to be throwing labels around? As if we are not a socialist nation ourselves? The fact that Ron Paul often finds himself as an island of dissent in a sea of redistribution and government run amok tells the story. At the moment we are outsocialisting the socialists.
Thanks Doug I really like this article
Great post Doug. Things are not always as they seem (or seem without some deeper level thinking and searching). Thanks!
This is one of the most dishonest spin jobs I’ve ever read. how much is all that leftover 08 campaign cash paying you for this stuff?
Not a dime. I write what I believe.
Congressmen with NARAL ratings as high as 75% like Ron Paul are anything but Pro-Life. His slams against Israel and out right lies and spin for its enemies(see Iran in particular), good grief just last summer he was taking the Islamist side in the Flotilla raid.
Any actual Christian who wants to know where Paul is coming from look no further than Lew Rockwell’s blog, and its extensive archives.
Anarcho-Capitalist are not conservatives and do not hold a Christian worldview. It is very much a solidly Humanistic worldview.
NOT PRO-LIFE:
http://chip91.wordpress.com/pro-life/
and he can put the State, ahead of limiting abortions if he’d like to somehow argue “States Rights” on votes listed above and his high NARAL ratings, but then he runs into all the similar votes where that was not the case
Some foreign Aide is actually defense spending in the diplomatic realm, and the real world, long standing reality of basically bribes being paid.
With Israel and Egypt in particular it bought Peace for the last 3 decades which is in American interest and well as the interest of Liberty. The Middle East in all out war, which would happen absent US involvment, which has been constant since George Washington, would cost the United States and the world economy tremendously Fiscally at first and then infringe on our Civil Liberties in the end.
Ron Paul’s rabid support for the Ground Zero Mosque, along with his long winded moral relativist rant aimed at smearing Conservatives as “Islamophobes”….
….his taking the side of the Islamist Flotilla and propaganda machine against Israel last summer….
….the racist and anti-semitic comments in the decade long “Ron Paul Newsletters, which both his wife and daughter received a paycheck from….to being THE candidate for Neo-Nazi’s to this day, Paul refusing to disavow and return their campaign donations cementing it….
The Relativist thinking in this clip above by Ron Paul should frighten any Christian, one of many of his views. You do not have to be a Pre-millenialist to realize how wrong he is on Israel also.
In the above clip, aside from Relativistic thinking:
“he gets along with Dems more than Repubs”
“AIPAC Israel greatest obstacle”
Here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RQfltVF0Rs
non-binding resolution supporting Israel against the Jihadist in the Gaza Strip, providing moral support to israel and distinguishing right/wrong……yet similar resolutions related to Romania or sports teams he votes in favor of……
Ron Paul’s anti-israel, progapandist positions are well documented. His idol thought Ronald Reagan was an evil Warmonger and should be impeached(Murray Rothbard that is)….Ron Paul has the same, Humanistic, relativistic, fearmongering stance today about the USA and realities of the world.
Ron Paul DENOUNCES Israels Self-Defense and sides with the Jihadist propagandist
http://hotair.com/archives/2010/06/03/video-ron-paul-denounces-israels-flotilla-raid-of-course/
Why he’d want to maintain a posture of neutrality between Israel and an eliminationist outfit like Hamas, I have no idea, but lay that aside. Amoral neutrality doesn’t excuse his use of propaganda — as impartial news sources have noted, Gaza isn’t “starving” — nor does it explain his relentless attempts over the past several years to minimize the threat from Iranian nuclear weapons. It’s one thing to say our Iran policy is making things worse, it’s quite another to pretend that regional war, possibly with a nuclear component, in the Middle East wouldn’t much matter to America if we just hurried up and got our troops out. I can’t tell if this guy doesn’t realize or simply doesn’t care that opening up Gaza’s port will mean more arms in the hands of more fanatics, which means more of a chance of war and thus a more precarious position for U.S. interests. But let this serve as yet another reminder that, for all the grief we give The One on foreign policy, we can do much, much worse. And not just on the left either.
Wow, jp, you sure can spin things. You make Dr. Paul out to be something that I never knew in all my years following his campaign and reading his writings.
Ron Paul is a Christian and is against abortion, yet his detractors would like to keep the status quo where federal laws and judicial rulings would keep the practice entrenched forever.
As for the rest of the screed by jp, foreign policy is rife with death and destruction by America’s hand. I take it that all of it is fine, according to jp’s “christian views”, because it’s happening to the right people? Dr. Paul has the far better Christian view because, as Christ exemplified, he is concerned for all people. You can’t save people who have been bombed, but the bombers can lose their salvation. A win/win for team satan.
Our imperial lot in life makes it very easy to believe that we have it all figured out with regards to how to run other’s lives. The opinions and the possibilities are endless. Truth is, we don’t decide. A small handful at the top make the decisions and they are backed by special interests, including AIPAC. It is clear from the laws they’ve passed and the intentions they’ve conveyed that they do not wish for me to remain free. Rather, they wish me enslaved and indentured forever so that other countries can have puppets ruling them (for the moment), until they become our enemies and we have to pay, via blood and taxes, to remove them. All the while, they shout “terror!” at me and frisk my children at the airport or soak them with radiation in order to make pornographs.
Ron Paul is a true conservative. Those that boast the same label but have supported growing government both at home and abroad are nothing but power junkies who latched onto the government tit to get their fix while the republicans had power. Go back to the democrat-socialist side of the aisle from whence you came.
The upcoming 2012 election will be a religious battle. The State and the Church have subtly rejoined in the religious Right regarding Israel. Israel has taken FULL and COMPLETE advantage of American Christians and their support of Israel.
We need to remember that there is a mile of difference between Judaism and Zionism, and the Zionist faction in USA and Israel have positioned America for a fall. If Christians do not become extremely sober about the Zionist reality and warn Israel to straighten up and fly right WITH the rest of the world, then none of us will enjoy the results suffered in America after 2012. Blind faith only goes so far before it runs smack dab into ignorance of the truth. NO, not THAT “truth”, the other ugly truth that comes with stupidity.
Ron Paul is suggesting a new foreign policy with no loopholes or exclusions. The 3 Billion we send Israel is a shadow of what is transferred by Jewish people to the homeland every year. God knows whose corrupt pocket our aid dollars fall into in Tel Aviv. No different than any of our foreign aid. It keeps yacht sales hopping and off shore bank accounts humming. Great scam on America..
It is absurb that honorable and principled Christians have been so propagandized since the formation of the new Israeli state in 1948 to equate it with the Biblical land of the ancient Hebrew tribes that they are blinded by the reality of the Zionist criminals. I wonder how many even know the facts of the USS Liberty, Lavon Affair, the so-called defensive Six-Day War, the facts of the attack of 911, the genocide in Gaza and the problems faced by Christians and others struggling on the humanitarian aid flotillas. Two basic books are available for those that can read. Those who have ears, let them hear and those who can read, let them peruse Arthur Koestler’s, The Thirteenth Tribe and Jeff Gates’ great recent book, Guilt by Association. We should welcome a return today of Old Testament prophets to expose the leaders of that state for what they are. Certainly Americans can join the persecuted citizens of that country in demanding a halt to international criminality, the Zionists’ wars and their bogus “War on Terror” that threaten our own financial security and our Constitution.
I think Christians don’t understand the biblical teaching of Israel and Christianity. Jesus is the “True Israel”. What we see is some kind of recently made up unbiblical theory that God is concerned with the piece of land over there. Here is a site that has some great information. This is just one little gliimpse of what is out there on this false worship of Israel doctrine. http://kimriddlebarger.squarespace.com/the-latest-post/2008/4/1/amillennialism-101-jesus-christ-the-true-israel.html
thank you so much for clearing this all up. i’ve been reaserching the candidates and ron paul is the only one i feel comes right out and tells the truth. as a born again christian i was admittedly worried though about his stand on israel. supporting israel is at the top of my issues along with abortion. i wasn’t sure how he really felt and i trust in CUFI so thank you again.
One response: Gaza. The Palestinians deserved their kicking there, and Ron Paul supported them.
The man did not vote for a House resolution congratulating Israel on its 62nd anniversary, and votes with Kucinich on foreign issues.
Sorry, I’m a Conservative Jew who like Bachmann and Cain and I can tell an antisemite by his stench. Not you, but Paul smells like a “mackerel by moonlight.”
You’re a whining little emotional tampon is what YOU are, Hoss. What you can’t be friends with Americans unless we BRIBE you?
Anti Semite? You are saying he hates all Semites. I have been all over the Middle East and ya know who Jews put before EVERYONE ELSE? Cain? HA HA HA Hey Jack ASS, Hermy caved in on that so quick it was pathetic. NO ONE on THAT STAGE has had a better vision for Israel and US support THAN THE MAN YOU SO STUPIDLY MALIGN while you support the same foreign policy of hypocrisy that has Israeli supporters thinking it is something we OWE THEM.
Christians –followers of the Gospel –do NOT support “Israel” at all. And for obvious reasons. The people who taught you that are not Christians so why do you think you are?
Go back and read the Christian(the ONLY Bible for Christians)Bible(NT)…, maybe you can tell us Christians where it says that criminals calling themselves “Jews” are entitled to lie, murder and steal in the name of God – and then claim the right to live in freedom with “secured borders”?
Pray to our Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness – you have erred in a most horrific way. Understand that those who call themselves “Jews” have been heavily involved in activism designed to lead Christians away from God – and their most successful work has been done in the Church( dispensationalist Evangelicalism – a ‘Jewish’ led heresay against God of the WORST kind; yes, you know the one – to that you can add JWs, Mormons all designed to divide and destroy the teachings of Jesus Christ).
You do not serve Jesus or God when you support “Israel”; instead you are with what Jesus warned all mankind about – ” the synagogue of Satan”…
I’ll pray that God shows you the Truth.