Hard-hitting Conservative political commentator, media host and columnist Ben Shapiro on Wednesday evening addressed the first CPAC Israel International Conservative Conference at Hanger 11 in Tel Aviv.
During his address, Shapiro commented with some irony that President Joe Biden managed to offend two of America’s strongest allies in the region during his recent visit to the Middle East.
“He arrived, shook hands, made some noises that sounded vaguely pro-Israel and then weird sounds started to emerge, like comparing the plight of the Palestinians to the Irish under British rule. It’s quite a feat to offend two key American allies and botch the history in the process,” he quipped.
“Traveling to east Jerusalem and removing the Israel flag from the Beast [the US official armored presidential limousine] was him catering to his left-wing base, and he made a fool of himself in Saudi Arabia.”
Shapiro also advised Israelis not to freeze construction in Judea and Samaria, saying it does not pay to placate the US with gestures.
“Don’t freeze settlements interminably with hopes that [President Joe] Biden will like you,” he said. “It’s good to be cordial to Biden and honor him. He’s the president of the United States: you should do those things,” he said. [Even] “Netanyahu attempted to maintain cordiality with a president who hated his guts — [Barack] Obama.”
Shapiro told the audience that he hoped to share what he believes “America can teach Israel, and what Israel can teach America.”
Regarding the former, Shapiro strongly criticized Israeli governmental structure and policy, particularly in the economic and judicial sector. “Lower taxes and regulation and stop letting the judiciary control all government,” he said. “De-unionize the public sector.”
Shapiro noted that Israel has “incredibly high intellectual capital” and said that should take precedence in reforming the economy, which he said would lead to Israel becoming a “global economic power.”
On the other hand, he said, Israel can teach the US that “you need a nation to be a nation-state…There are groups of people that believe America is not exceptional, it is bad, not rooted in liberty and instead rooted in racism and evil. America should learn from Israel that we need common sense of destiny, of what we are fighting on behalf of.”
The event was co-sponsored by the Tel Aviv International Salon and publisher Shibboleth, and also featured talks with Ric Grenell, Jason Greenblatt, Matt Schlapp, Mercedes Schlapp, Matt Whitaker, and others, including popular Israeli journalist Amit Segal.
Ben Shapiro’s views are seen as very controversial in leftist circles and his blunt style has led to him being targeted numerous times by hate-filled racists who threaten to kill him.
This past weekend, a Colorado man named Aidan Duncan pasted a video on Instagram, showing him pointing a gun at a firing range in Nevada, looking straight into a camera, and saying, “Alright Ben Shapiro, you’ve spun your last dreidel.” He then fired three shots.
CW: Antisemitism
On Saturday, racist Aidan Duncan (aka "Smiley the Fren") of Colorado posted this video on Instagram showing him at a gun range in Nevada. In it, he speaks to the camera and says: "Alright, Ben Shapiro, you've spun your last dreidel." He then fires three shots. pic.twitter.com/GKJSuyMt0Q
— Nick Martin (@nickmartin) July 18, 2022
The video has since been deleted from Instagram.
