“Israel and the United States are arguably the only two nations on Earth that have clear birthdays – clear independence days – because they are the only two nations that were born out of good ideas and by an act of will,” Michael Medved said in a speech delivered at Hillsdale College in Phillips Auditorium on Oct. 30.
Medved, a nationally-syndicated conservative talk show host and movie critic, was brought to campus by the Young Americans for Freedom and Hillsdale Chavarah. He broadcast his radio show, which has been on air for 16 years, from campus.
Medved spoke to an audience of approximately 200 students, faculty, and locals on the topics of Jewish voters in America, the relationship of Israel and the United States, and how President Barack Obama’s policies with Israel are a microcosm of his policies across the board.
Sophomore Maran McLeod, who attended the speech, said her family has listened to Medved for years, which has heavily influenced her conservative thought.
“Particularly potent for me tonight was Medved’s description of Israelis’ conviction,” McLeod said. “They know what they believe and are willing to die for it. They live in a state of war… but they thrive. It’s similar to that old concept, the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. Growth amid persecution.”
In an interview before the speech, Medved said he intended to clear away myths and misunderstandings about Israel and Jewish voters propagated by both friends and foes of Israel. He said any untruth, good or bad, is “dangerous.”
At the beginning of his speech, Medved said “Obama’s reign of error” has been detrimental to Israel as it has weakened America.
“What Israel needs from America more than anything is not military force… [but] a strong America,” Medved said.
Approximately 200,000 Israelis have dual citizenship with the United States, 75,000 of which will most likely vote in the American election, Medved said, and he predicted a majority of those votes will go to Romney.
“I appreciated deeply his thoughts on the best policy for America, a strong military, and the connections that bring our peoples together,” junior Ian Swanson said.
Medved noted three areas in which the Obama and Romney’s views differ when it comes to Israel and beyond: respecting individual choice, America’s role in the world and history, and moral relativism.
His discussion of individual choice examined the difference between central planning and freedom of the individual. He stressed that bureaucrats and elites in the Obama administration are under the belief that they know better than any individual, an idea Medved sees spilling into the administration’s policies with Israel.
“If you support the state of Israel, you cannot respect the leadership of the Obama administration because the whole essence of that leadership has been to tell Israel what to do,” Medved said. “It is the notion that people cannot decide for themselves the most important decisions in life.
Medved loosely defined America as churches, businesses, and military. He believes these are “the three institutions the left hates more than anything.”
Israel, too, is based on these institutions. The country has 40 percent of citizens that count themselves as Orthodox or religiously observant, a “high-tech powerhouse” that allows the “profit motive to operate,” and has mandatory army service for all citizens.
“Anti-Zionism and anti-Americanism spring from the same poison root which is a hatred for success and fundamentally a hatred for liberty. There is absolutely no one in the world who is anti-American who isn’t also anti-Israeli.,” Medved said. “Our right to exist is our founders built this country, they based it on good ideas, and they died for it. Same is true for Israel.”
