An excellent column by Rabbi Shmuley, who is usually always right. Unfortunately, the antisemites and the Israel-haters won't bother to read this.
I can remember Netanyahu warning America about Iran's nuclear threat in an address to Congress in 2015 -- when Obama was President -- and nobody heeded his words then, either.
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This war isn’t about Israel-it’s about America. The United States does not need Israel to tell it that Iran is a threat. The evidence is written in blood-American blood-spilled over decades of unprovoked aggression.
Opinion, by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, 3-24-26
"One of the most persistent and dangerous lies circulating in today’s
political discourse is the claim that any American confrontation with
Iran-especially under President Donald Trump-is somehow a war “for
Israel." It is a falsehood repeated so often that it has begun to
calcify into conventional wisdom, echoed by media figures and political
commentators who should know better, and some who simply don’t care
whether it is true.
"Let’s say it plainly: this is not
Israel’s war. It never was. It is America’s war-forced upon it by
nearly half a century of Iranian aggression, bloodshed, hostage-taking,
and ideological hatred directed first and foremost at the United States.
"The
Islamic Republic of Iran did not begin its hostility toward America
because of Israel. It began in 1979, the very moment the Ayatollahs
seized power, long before any modern American president could be accused
of acting at Israel’s behest. From day one, the regime defined itself
through hatred of the United States, branding it “the Great Satan" and
making confrontation with America a central pillar of its revolutionary
identity.
"The first act of this new regime was not against Israel. It was against America.
"In November 1979, Iranian revolutionaries stormed the U.S. Embassy in
Tehran and took 52 American diplomats and citizens hostage for 444
days. This was not a minor incident. It was a declaration of war in all
but name. American citizens were paraded blindfolded before cameras,
humiliated, threatened, and used as bargaining chips by a regime that
had barely come into existence.
"That single act should have permanently dispelled any illusion about Iran’s intentions. But it was only the beginning.
"Throughout the 1980s, Iran orchestrated and supported attacks that
directly targeted American lives. The 1983 bombing of the U.S. Marine
barracks in Beirut, carried out by Iranian-backed Hezbollah, killed 241
American servicemen. That same year, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut was
bombed, killing dozens more. These were not isolated events. They were
part of a deliberate strategy by Tehran to drive America out of the
Middle East through terror.
"Iranian fingerprints are found on decades of bloodshed.
"During the Iraq War, Iranian-backed militias supplied sophisticated
roadside bombs-explosively formed penetrators-that killed and maimed
hundreds of American soldiers. These weapons were not improvised in
caves; they were engineered, funded, and distributed by Iran’s Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps. American families buried their sons and
daughters because Tehran made a calculated decision to wage proxy war
against the United States.
"Even outside conventional battlefields,
Iran has pursued Americans relentlessly. It has plotted assassinations
on U.S. soil, including a brazen attempt to kill the Saudi ambassador in
Washington, D.C., using a cartel hitman-an operation traced directly
back to Iranian operatives. It has kidnapped Americans abroad, including
journalists, academics, and tourists, holding them as leverage in
geopolitical negotiations.
"This is not ancient history. This is a continuous pattern of behavior spanning more than four decades.
"And
yet, despite this overwhelming record, a chorus of voices insists on
reframing any American response to Iran as somehow being done “for
Israel."
"Among the loudest of these voices are media personalities
like Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Nick Fuentes, and even Megyn Kelly,
who have either directly or indirectly advanced the narrative that
American policy toward Iran is driven by Israeli interests rather than
American ones.
"This is not just wrong. It is dangerously misleading.
"It suggests that the United States lacks agency, that its leaders are
somehow manipulated into conflict by a foreign ally. It erases decades
of Iranian aggression against Americans. And perhaps most insidiously,
it echoes a deeply troubling historical trope-that Jews or Israel are
secretly controlling global events for their own benefit.
"But the facts are stubborn.
'Iran
does not chant “Death to Israel" alone. It chants “Death to America"
with equal fervor, often placing America first. Its leaders have
repeatedly declared their intention to bring about the collapse of the
United States as a global power. This is not rhetorical flourish. It is
ideological doctrine.
"The Iranian regime’s ambitions extend far beyond Israel. It seeks
regional dominance and, ultimately, global influence. It funds and arms
terrorist organizations across the Middle East-Hezbollah in Lebanon,
Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad in Gaza, the Houthis in Yemen-all of
which have targeted American interests directly or indirectly.
"When
American ships are attacked in the Persian Gulf, when U.S. bases in
Iraq and Syria come under rocket fire, when American personnel are
wounded or killed, these are not Israeli concerns. They are American
ones.
"And then there is the nuclear question.
"A
nuclear-armed Iran is not merely an Israeli problem. It is a global
catastrophe waiting to happen-but first and foremost, it is an
existential threat to the United States.
"The idea that Iran would reserve its most devastating weapon for
Israel while sparing America defies both logic and history. The regime
has consistently demonstrated that its hatred of America is
foundational, not incidental. If given the capability, there is every
reason to believe that Iran would view an attack on a major American
city-New York, Washington, or Los Angeles-as the ultimate act of
revolutionary triumph.
'This is not alarmism. It is a sober assessment of a regime that has spent decades declaring its intentions openly.
"The Ayatollahs are not rational actors in the Western sense. They are
driven by a messianic ideology that glorifies martyrdom and envisions a
world reordered under their interpretation of Islamic governance. Their
pursuit of nuclear weapons is not simply about deterrence. It is about
power, prestige, and the ability to reshape the global order.
'To pretend otherwise is to ignore everything they have said and done since 1979.
"Critics who claim that confronting Iran is about protecting Israel miss the central point: America is protecting itself.
"No sovereign nation can tolerate a regime that has repeatedly killed
its citizens, attacked its interests, taken its people hostage, and
openly calls for its destruction-while simultaneously racing toward
nuclear capability.
"If anything, the real question is not why America confronts Iran, but why it has taken so long to do so decisively.
"The
narrative that this is “Israel’s war" serves only one purpose: to
delegitimize American action and to shift blame away from the true
aggressor. It allows commentators to posture as anti-war while ignoring
the war that Iran has already been waging against the United States for
decades.
"It also has a corrosive domestic effect. By framing U.S.
policy as being driven by Israel, it feeds suspicion, division, and,
ultimately, antisemitism. It suggests that American Jews or the State of
Israel are dragging the United States into conflicts that are not its
own.
"Nothing could be further from the truth.
"The United
States does not need Israel to tell it that Iran is a threat. The
evidence is written in blood-American blood-spilled over decades of
unprovoked aggression.
"This is not about foreign entanglements or misplaced loyalties. It is about national security in its most fundamental sense.
"Iran
has been at war with America since 1979. It has simply been a war
fought in shadows-through proxies, terror attacks, cyber operations, and
ideological warfare. The question now is whether America is willing to
recognize that reality and respond accordingly.
"History teaches a clear lesson: regimes that declare their intentions
and act on them should be taken at their word. The cost of ignoring
them is measured not in abstract policy debates, but in human lives.
"The biggest lie, then, is not just that this is Israel’s war. It is that America has a choice about whether to be involved.
"Iran made that choice for us nearly half a century ago. It’s time for America to finally neutralize the threat."
Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, widely known
as “America’s Rabbi", is one of the world’s most recognized and
influential Jewish voices. A bestselling author, award-winning
columnist, global human rights advocate, and dynamic public speaker, he
has dedicated his life to spreading Jewish values, defending the Jewish
people, and championing universal human dignity. The international
bestselling author of 36 books that have been translated into multiple
languages and sold millions of copies worldwide, his writings are known
for their boldness, accessibility, and unapologetic defense of morality
in the modern age. In 2000, Rabbi Shmuley became the only rabbi to win
The Times of London’s prestigious “Preacher of the Year" competition,
and remains the record-holder to this day. He has also been honored with
the American Jewish Press Association’s highest award for excellence in
commentary, cementing his reputation as one of the foremost Jewish communicators in the world. Follow him on Instagram and X @RabbiShmuley.
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