CPAC 2021- Katie Pavlich and Ambassador David Friedman

Well, it is my pleasure now to introduce to CPAC 2021, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman. Ambassador, thank you so much for joining us. Of course, CPAC is being held in Orlando this year. You are still in Jerusalem, and we are very grateful for your time today. Well, thank you, Katie. It's great to be here in regards to all my friends at CPAC from the holy city of Jerusalem. Let's start with a basic question. Why is the relationship between the United States and Israel so important for this country and for the world? Look, Israel is, I would argue, America's most important ally anywhere in the world, certainly in the region. One of our prior colleagues was the head of intelligence at the Department of Homeland Security, and he said something very profound, said it many times. He said that Israel literally keeps Americans safe at home. Our cooperation with Israel on intelligence matters, on matters of national security, is enormous. And it really is something that protects every single American, because a lot of the threats that America faces are threats that come from the Middle East. And Israel really is the vanguard and an incredible friend of America that keeps America safe. So on a very fundamental level, Israel is a critical ally. Apart from that, the values that make America great, the Judeo-Christian values that informed our founding fathers, they all came right behind me, right behind where I'm standing. That's where the prophets walked, that's where the prophets preached, and that's where the Bible was written. And those values are, I think, really at the core of American values. So that's why the relationship between America and Israel is so important, so profound, and so enduring. Well, I don't have to tell you that the Middle East and Israel have changed significantly over the past four years due to the positive policies the Trump administration put into place, one of those being early on in President Trump's administration in 2017, he moved the U.S. Embassy officially to Jerusalem, something that lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle here in America have been talking about for years. He finally did it. Tell us about the significance of that. Well, I think the move of the embassy really was the signature event of the Trump administration in foreign policy because it really resonated throughout our foreign policy. What it said in a nutshell was that America stands for the truth, it stands with its allies, and it does not flinch from its enemies or from threats of rogue nations or rogue actors. And when the But it also, I think, was something that people took notice of in Iran, in Russia, in China, in North Korea, all around the world, because they saw the president was not just a politician who made promises and then abandoned them. At the first sign of pressure, the president followed through on promises, and he stood with an ally and he stood for the truth. And I think that was enormously important, again, not just for Israel, but for the entire world. And then, of course, after the embassy moved two years later, President Trump officially recognized the Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory. Tell us about the significance of that move. Well, look, we need a strong Israel. It's in our absolute national security interest to have a strong Israel. Now, anyone who's been to the Golan Heights and anybody who's seen any of the battlefields that you can see from the Golan Heights and understands the topography and the threats knows that there's no way for Israel to have secure borders except through its sovereignty over the Golan Heights. So the president recognized something which was, again, consistent with the truth, consistent with Israel's national security interests and ours as well. And ultimately, I think, again, as you consider that a building block along the way, it showed the world that we were going to cut through the fog of esoteric and meaningless theories of international law that have never been well-defined and never been accepted, and rather look at the region and look at the area in terms of who are our friends, who are our enemies, what are the threats, what are the strategic interests, and ultimately, what's best for the United States. And this decision certainly fell within all of those parameters. And finally, let's talk about the Abraham Accords. We always hear about peace in the Middle East. The Trump administration made that happen. What I think is so interesting about the Abraham Accords, Ambassador, is that it's not just a piece of paper signed by people in government hoping that something works out. We've seen a warm welcoming between Israelis and those in the UAE. We've seen lots of travel. And so it's a partnership between people, not just between governments on the level of the economy, on national security, on trade, on technology. The list goes on and on. So talk about how the Abraham Accords are significant in terms of lasting peace in the Middle East and what it means for the countries involved. Well, look, I hate to overuse the term, but it's a game changer. I think it has the potential to move the Middle East from a place of threats, a place of suffering, a place of violence, to a place not just of peace, but a place where the Middle East can really join the community of nations and collectively contribute so much to the world. When we stood with Israel, whether it was with Jerusalem, whether it was on the Golan Heights, whether it was on the communities in Judea and Samaria, everyone predicted that there would be an explosion. And they were right in part. There was an explosion, but it was an explosion of peace, not an explosion of violence, because nations recognized that ultimately they wanted to be part of this circle of trust where the United States had alliances with countries that were really rock solid, based upon common values, based upon common threats. And it wasn't much of a leap for other nations to say, well, we want some of that too. We want to be part of it. So of course, the United Arab Emirates jumped in first. And after they jumped in and people saw the water was fine, we got to Bahrain, we got to Sudan, we got to Morocco, we even made a deal with a Muslim country in Europe in Kosovo. And what this ultimately says to the world is that Israel is not the problem. Israel is the solution. Israel has an enormous amount to offer. Israel is a country which has been historically surrounded by enemies, but maintains a democracy, maintains an outstanding record on human rights. And it has this capacity to improvise and to develop and to come up with solutions to problems. As you see, obviously, the most recent being the more than half of Israelis are now vaccinated against the COVID. And so I think as countries have looked at Israel from a distance, some with curiosity, some with intrigue, now they're saying, you know what, what a great partnership. And the beauty of it is, once the ice broke, you know, you go to Dubai or Abu Dhabi, and you see, you know, Jewish people walking around, you see Orthodox Jews walking around, you see Israelis. Wow, is that a love fest? I mean, this has been waiting to happen for years. And all it took was a little bit of courage, and a little bit of strength. And ultimately, it took the United States standing with its friends. Well, we certainly think that you're important enough to be talking about this, especially since you're still in Israel. Yeah, that's, look, that's what makes peace. It's a warm peace. It's a peace between people. People make peace, governments don't make peace. But the peace agreement with Jordan is important, but it's not an agreement between people. To some extent, that's true of Egypt as well. This really is something which people have embraced. And I think, you know, people are kind of scratching their heads and asking themselves, why haven't we done this sooner? This is so obvious. It's so advantageous. It's so enjoyable. And I think ultimately, this is the paradigm for the future. Now, having said all that, it's brand new. You know, you have love affairs that begin with great romance. And then ultimately, they can crash on the rocks of reality. And we've got to make sure that doesn't happen. So as much as there's every reason to be encouraged, this requires nurturing. It requires, you know, some fertilizer, some help by the United States. The United States has to be involved. And we're not going to do justice to these agreements if we start retreating from some of the positions that we've taken over the last four years. We have to continue to strongly support our allies, and to be rock solid in our opposition to our enemies. If we start sliding back in this environment, you know, I don't want to take chances, because all of this came together because of the policies that we had in the past. And you know, it's just too soon to leave this to chance. Should we take what you just said as a warning to the Biden administration as they now try to change some of the policies and try to court Iran get back into the nuclear agreement? Look, I'm not, I'm not. I wish I mattered enough to be able to warn the Biden administration. Well, the reality is that Iran is a threat to the entire region. And while the Abraham Accords was very much a product of the opportunities and the optimism that the nation felt by joining together, it was also to a certain extent, a function of a common threat and common enemy. And to the extent that the United States loses its ability to really maintain control over sanctions over, you know, over the strength that we have shown in opposition to Iran, what it does is it starts causing all these countries to start kind of, you know, going back into their shells and thinking, well, we have to start thinking more about protecting ourselves. It drives a wedge in the openness, in the warmth, and people start thinking about self-defense. Now, that's not a good message to send to all these countries, that they need to start thinking more about self-defense than they need to think about joining together and building a new Middle East. We're on the right track with Iran. I mean, we are absolutely gaining in that battle. And frankly, what we learned over the past four years is that they can't be trusted. We caught them, you know, red-handed, you know, violating the agreement. And how in the world are you going to make a deal when they don't let you have access to their military installations? I mean, we were so far off the pace there. And thank God, you know, with a strong foreign policy, we're back on track. Now, to give all that up, the ramifications are enormous for all the accomplishments and all the advances that we made. Well, as we wrap up our time with you here at CPAC 2021, Mr. Ambassador, if you just have some final thoughts about the U.S.-Israeli relationship, the Middle East as a whole, we'd love to hear them. Look, the U.S.-Israel relationship is a blessing for Americans and for Israel. It's not something, you know, Americans have had, you know, forever. It's new. It's new for Americans. It's new for Israelis. It's, you know, 70 years old. It's grown dramatically over the last four years. The opportunities that it's presented for Americans at home and abroad, for commerce, for security, for safety are enormous. We are heading in a great direction. And we're doing it while being truthful to the Judeo-Christian values that really informed and founded our movement. So, look, we're proud of that. We believe in it. But most importantly, we want to continue to advance. And I hope everybody in the room will join with me and others in continuing to support this relationship. I think not only is it important for our national security and our safety, but I think it will do wonders for our sense of meaning and purpose as human beings. So, to all those in attendance, sorry I couldn't be here, but blessings from Jerusalem. And I hope to be there next year. Former U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, thank you so much for your time today. We really appreciate it. Thanks, David. Always a pleasure.