Any student of history will remember the basics of World War II. Some of the key players like Winston Churchill, Neville Chamberlain, Adolf Hitler, and other European leaders have become engraved in the chronicles of world history, for better or for worse. Hitler will always be remembered as one of the most evil people in the history of humanity. Nothing can change that. Others have come close, but Hitler will remain in a league of his own.
World War Two had its fair share of heroes and villains. Most people will also remember Sir Winston Churchill, who became Prime Minister (PM) of Great Britain on May 10, 1940 (PM 1940-45 and 1951-55) and led his country through the difficult war years and beyond. Churchill fought Hitler and the Nazi ideology any chance he had. He resisted the evil dictator. Even before WWII, Churchill warned Britain and many European countries against appeasement with Germany. He saw no good coming out of appeasement. His famous quote still resonates with us today:ย “An appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile, hoping it will eat him last.”
He came to take over after Neville Chamberlain’s (PM from 1937-40) appeasement failure. Chamberlain chose to negotiate with Hitler. He preferred compromise to peace through force and ended up signing theย 1938 Munich Agreement. “Peace for our times,” he declared after signing the agreement with Hitler and French Prime Minister Edouard Daladier on September 10, 1938. Chamberlain was very worried about the starting of another war after a devastating WWI (1914-18). Within six months, Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia (March 1939). So much for appeasement! By May 1940, Chamberlain had resigned and was replaced by Churchill.
Fast forward to the USA/Iran current Memorandum of Understanding. While President Trump is not present in Switzerland, the talks are taking place under the leadership of Vice-President Vance. It appears to be some sort of geo-political rollercoaster, focusing on Hezbollah and Israel and yet, not including Israel in the talks. The US is pushing for a maintained ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah amidst other demands. It is incorrect to say that it is between Israel and Lebanon. Israel has no beef with Lebanese people and has no desire to increase their territory by grabbing any Lebanese ground. It just wants to protect its own people against the deadly Iranian proxy
President Trump started this war acting like a 21st-century American Winston Churchill, leading the West into what we all thought would result in a regime change for Iran. It looked like the end of 47 years of Islamic terror, abuse, and death at the hands of the Ayatollahs was finally on the horizon. So, why all of a sudden, are we appeasing the Iranian crocodile? Who in their right mind would even believe that the Iranian fox has rehabilitated itself to the point of being allowed to roam freely within the Western civilization coop? Who are we fooling here?
Nobody can predict what President Trump is thinking and what the next move will be. With all due respect, hearing him say thatย Israel wouldn’t exist without himย is arrogant and incorrect (I can’t find that statement anywhere in Genesis 12). Israel was created by God and will survive because of His eternal, unconditional, and unilateral covenants (Jeremiah 31:35-37). It is also very unsettling to hear him say that he believes thatย Syria is better suited than Israel to fight Hezbollah.
As to Vice-President Vance stating:ย โYouโre a country of nine million people. You canโt just kill your way out of solving every single national security problem that you have,”ย that too is completely out of line and so disconnected with reality. Israel is responding to Hezbollah’s attacks and killings. This is an existential dilemma. How would President Trump respond to Mexico and Canada shooting missiles at our US citizens multiple times a day?
The double standard is unbearable. This will only further ostracize Israel as a “genocidal” nation. As the appeasement continues taking place in Switzerland and Iran quietly rejoices as their lies are being believed by the world, Israel loses more IDF soldiers almost daily and continues to be blamed. Oil is being thrown at the already raging antisemitism blaze.
While I don’t care for it, I can stomach President Trump’s oversized ego as long as he delivers on his promises to make America and the world a better placeโand he has in so many ways and places over the last few years. What I cannot fathom is why all of a sudden the politics of appeasement would appear like the best option for the West. This will not end well, and as always, Israel and diaspora Jews will pay dearly for that mistake that we did not make. Please, Mr. President, do not feed Israel to the Iranian crocodile!
