I write this not only as an Israeli and an American, but as a Black African/Ethiopian Jew and an American-trained public servant who has lived between Africa, the United States, and Israel. I care deeply about all three worlds and about the democratic values they share. That is why I find the growing argument in parts of American politics that the US should distance itself from Israel’s confrontation with Iran both troubling and dangerously misguided.
In recent months, some voices in American politics and media, most notably commentator Tucker Carlson, have argued that the US should distance itself from Israel and avoid being drawn into conflicts involving Iran and its regional proxies.
The argument is simple: Israel’s enemies are Israel’s problem.
But that argument misunderstands the nature of the threat. Iran’s nuclear ambitions are not primarily about Israel.
They are about power, ideology, and confrontation with the entire Western world. For decades, leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran have publicly called for the destruction of Israel and regularly chant “Death to America.”
These are not stray remarks or rhetorical exaggerations; they are a consistent part of the regime’s ideological framework. Iran also finances and arms militant groups across the Middle East, from Hamas to Hezbollah to the Houthis in Yemen, organizations that openly target civilians and destabilize international trade routes and regional security.
Iran's intent to eliminate other nations
No other country suspected of pursuing nuclear capabilities has so openly and repeatedly declared that it intends to eliminate another nation.
That distinction matters.
A nuclear weapon in the hands of such a regime would not simply alter the balance of power in the Middle East; it would fundamentally threaten global stability.
Iran’s network of armed proxies already targets American forces and allies in the region. Its leaders openly frame their struggle not only as opposition to Israel but as resistance to Western influence and democratic societies. In this context, the question is not whether America should fight Israel’s war.
The question is whether America recognizes that the challenge posed by the Iranian regime is ultimately directed at the broader Western world. As someone who has served in public service in the US and who has voted in American elections, I understand the instinct that the US must avoid foreign entanglements. But ignoring clear threats has rarely produced peace.
History teaches a harder lesson: when leaders openly announce destructive intentions, the world should listen carefully. Israel listens carefully because it must.
The Jewish people carry the centuries of memories when threats against them were dismissed as rhetoric until it was too late.
Today, Israelis hear those threats again. And they take them seriously. When Iranian leaders speak about eliminating Israel, Israelis take them at their word because history has taught the Jewish people that threats of annihilation must never be ignored. This is why Israel has taken a firm stance against Iran’s nuclear program. It is not only an act of self-defense; it is also a warning to the world.
Critics sometimes portray Israel as dragging the US into conflict. In truth, Israel has often acted as a strategic partner that helps contain threats before they escalate into wider global crises. The debate in Washington should not be framed as “Should America fight for Israel?”
The more honest question is: “What happens to global security if the world ignores a regime that openly calls for the destruction of its enemies while pursuing nuclear weapons?”
Deterrence has worked in many parts of the world because nuclear states generally understand the catastrophic consequences of using such weapons. When a government’s ideology includes the elimination of other nations, the stakes become far higher.
Israel, like every sovereign nation, has the right to defend its people. But the broader challenge posed by Iran’s nuclear ambitions is not Israel’s burden alone. It is a challenge to the US, to Europe, and to the stability of the international system itself.
In Israel, the threat from Iran is not viewed as a partisan issue but as a national one. Across the political spectrum from left to right, Israelis largely agree that a nuclear-armed Iran would pose an existential danger and must be prevented.
In the US, by contrast, the public debate has been far more divided, and many Americans feel their leaders have not fully prepared them for the seriousness of the Iranian threat. As someone whose life connects America, Africa, and Israel, I believe deeply in the possibility of a world guided by moral responsibility rather than intimidation. That vision depends on confronting dangerous threats before they become irreversible.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks often warned that the greatest dangers arise when violent ideologies combine with modern weapons. Speaking about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, he argued that a militant regime armed with nuclear weapons would threaten not only Israel but global stability, potentially triggering a nuclear arms race and empowering extremist movements.
For Sacks, the lesson of history was clear: when leaders openly declare destructive intentions, the free world must respond with moral clarity and firm resolve before those threats become irreversible. He repeatedly warned that history shows the danger of dismissing threats against Jews or the Jewish state as exaggeration.
If addressing critics of Israel, such as Tucker Carlson, the far Right, or the far Left, Sacks would likely emphasize that Israel is not merely another country in a distant conflict; it is a democracy defending itself against forces that openly call for its elimination. In Sacks’ view, the free world should approach such threats with moral seriousness.
Peace, he argued, cannot be built by ignoring those who preach hatred or by asking a nation to accept the risk of annihilation. Supporting Israel’s right to security is therefore not only about Israel, but it is also about defending the principle that no people should have to live under the shadow of those who openly call for their destruction.
The writer is an international educator, community activist, and diplomacy expert. He has served in New York City as an Investigation Officer for the Supreme and Family Court and the Israel Police, and represented the Israeli Knesset in international public affairs. He holds a doctorate in International Educational Leadership from Yeshiva University, New York.