By Bill Wells, Ph.D
EL CAJON, California — On the morning of October 7th my wife woke me up before dawn to tell me about what was happening on the Gaza border. We watched in horror, through the weekend, as the details of unspeakable brutality began to solidify from wild rumor to devastating fact. Over the next few months, I was mystified by the fomenting of antisemitism around the world and here in the U.S. In a world that has embraced moral equivalence and subjective truth I immediately knew who the perpetrators and who the victims were in this conflict. I would stand with the Jewish people and Israel like I had since I was a teenager.
Now, you might be saying to yourself “Why should I believe him. He’s running for Congress against Sara Jacobs. Is he really committed, or is this just a ploy to win election”? That is why I’m writing this piece; I want to explain my thoughts on Israel and the Jewish people so that questions can be answered and so that you might be more informed as you prepare to engage in this pivotal campaign.
My interest in Israel and subsequently the Jewish people began when I was 13 years old and read the book Exodus. I could not understand why any nation would discourage the Jewish people from returning to their ancestral home, especially considering what they had just endured in Europe. I began reading everything I could about the Holocaust and World War II. I became acutely aware that the Jewish people had been persecuted in a way that had no equivalence. Later in life I became a Christian and attended evangelical churches that were always staunchly pro-Israel. I was now inclined to study the prophets and what they had written about the reconstitution of Israel and God’s love for, and His covenant with the Jewish people.
After high school I became first an RN and then a Doctor of Psychology. Later I founded a mental health, healthcare company. Along the way I entered local politics and for over a decade, I’ve served the City of El Cajon as Mayor. This afforded me the opportunity to develop meaningful friendships with local leaders within the Jewish community. This eventually led to a partnership with the Shield of David organization. Together we organized the “We Are Israel” rally with our keynote speaker Secretary Mike Pompeo in 2021.
My Israel Policy
In the center of the Middle East is the nation of Israel. Israel, which simultaneously is one of the most ancient of nations and one of the newest of nations is our sole democratic ally in the region. Israel is a modern sovereign nation and the Jewish people have maintained a continuous existence in Jerusalem for over 4,000 years. It is of vital importance that the United States of America honor the covenantal relationship that exists between itself and Israel. Surrounded by enemies who embrace genocidal rhetoric and actions, the small state of Israel bravely stands and maintains a commitment to freedom and the rule of law.
Reminiscent of 1930’s Germany, we see, on college campuses, in the media, and even now in the chambers of Congress and the United Nations, antisemitic rhetoric and violence emerging out of the shadows and becoming an acceptable form of expression. As has been the case in most of recorded history, the Jew is the favorite scapegoat for the world. This dangerous drift will surely end poorly, as has every other worldwide movement towards the dehumanizing of the Jewish people.
It is of vital importance that the United States of America fight against this trend and demand justice and fairness for both the state of Israel and all Jews. America must resist the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. It must resist any attempt to define Israel as an apartheid state. These concepts are part and parcel of the systematic attempt to normalize antisemitism and racism regarding Israel.
The United States of America must remain steadfast in its commitment to support Israel economically by continuing to embrace full funding of the annual $3.8 billion of aid expressed in the current memorandum of understanding (MOU), and through increased trade, foreign aid and maintaining a relationship that encourages partnership and collaboration. This aid should include the sharing of military intelligence, funding for the Iron Dome and other defense projects. We must also remain faithful to the covenant to protect Israel through its military might. It is vital to the interests of the United States of America to protect the one reliable democratic ally it has in the Middle East. We should also demand fair treatment for Israel at the U.N.
Our commitment to Israel is of course strategic, but it is also based upon friendship and commonality of values. An Israel that can protect, for its people, the right to exist in peace and pursue happiness and prosperity, is an ally that shares the values and ideals of America. A strong alliance with Israel is both a strategic and moral imperative.
It is important to be unequivocal in asserting my belief that Israel has a right and an obligation to defend itself against all aggressors, and that the U.S. has a moral and practical imperative to assist in the achievement of that goal. We are allies. We share a common understanding of standing against oppression and the devaluation of human life as well as the concepts of justice and equity. If we were to turn our backs on Israel, we would not only show ourselves to be untrustworthy and weak on the world stage, but we would be emboldening not only Israel’s enemies but our own.
Antisemitism and Anti-Zionism
Antisemitism is wrong on every level. Not only is it morally repugnant but it is our own self interest as a nation to resist it vigorously. Nations that embrace antisemitism do so at their own peril, as history shows us that each nation that does this quickly ends up in the dustbin of history. America is not immune to this fundamental truth. When I see what is happening on our college campuses I believe that it is our national obligation to do whatever it takes to eradicate it. Students of course have their First Amendment rights, but the country does not have the obligation to prop up universities who allow this age-old hate. Foreign nationals who call for genocide should be deported and any student, at a state or nationally funded colleges who calls for genocide or discrimination be expelled. Just like racism, misogyny, and drunk driving it is incumbent upon all of us to say that there will be no toleration of antisemitism.
I believe that anti-Zionism is a sanitized way of embracing antisemitism. My opponent for Congress, Sara Jacobs, the youngest Jewish member, recently said in the Tehran Times “I do not believe that anti-Zionism is inherently antisemitism.” This is consistent with her steadfast refusal to stand with Israel or to condemn Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah, or antisemitism. To embrace anti-Zionism is to have no understanding of the precarious position the Jews have been in for millennia, and to pave the way for another holocaust. With no safe place, the Jews will continue to be subject to the possibility of genocide. No, Israel is the antidote to the world’s obsession with Jew hatred and it must always be defended.
Congress
I am running for congress because I believe that it is my duty to work in conjunction with others to protect the Judeo/Christian values our nation was founded on, and most of us grew up with. I believe that there is a cancerous movement that seeks to tear down every structure of America until it is unrecognizable. That accomplished, to be built back up in a communist/socialist utopia. These are the same forces that put the lives of Jews around the world at risk. I hope that you will join me in this fight. If you would like to contact me, please go to my web site at www.WellsForCongress2024.com or call me at 619-504-8292.
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Bill Wells is the mayor of El Cajon and a Republican candidate for Congress in the 51st District. San Diego Jewish World has invited Democratic incumbent Congresswoman Sara Jacobs to send us an OpEd stating her views about Israel.
Don’t hold your breath waiting for Sara Jacobs. I wouldn’t expect anything from someone that after October 7 was more worried about no Internet in Gaza than the 1200 Israelis that were slaughtered. She is a self hating Jew who despises Judaism and the Jewish state Yet uses her being Jewish as the minority ticket into the progressive clubhouse
Mayor Bill Wells is the most compassionate man I have had the pleasure of knowing. He is not afraid to stand up against hate and extremism. He is always there for the Jewish community!