President Trump has boldly moved towards Senator Rand Paul's non-interventionist foreign policy with his decision to pull troops out of Syria. As expected, the DC establishment is upended with pundits decrying the move and in this case calling it 'reckless'. I strongly agree with the President's decision to pull troops out of Syria (and Afghanistan). There was no Congressional approval for any military action in Syria and the U.S. presence there is arguably unconstitutional.
One of the President's critics foolishly declared that he is bad for Israel. Prior administrations have had a mixed relationship with Israel (military aid that comes with strings attached does not automatically make the U.S. a great friend of Israel). Conversely, President Trump has aligned the U.S. with Israel more so than any prior administration.
So, does this decision sell out Israel? Not at all.
According to U.S. News & World Report, Israel currently ranks as the 8th most powerful country in the world. In the past, U.S. officials (specifically the State Department) would constantly ask that Israel use 'restraint' in conflicts. Israel is more than capable of meeting its security needs and does not need a supervisor providing 'guidance'.
Most importantly, Israel's security is ultimately decided on from the highest power. As written in Devarim (Deuteronomy) 11:26-28:
'See! I give you today (a choice of) a blessing and a curse. The blessing, when you listen to the commandments of G-d your Lord, which I command you today. The curse, if you do not listen to the commandments of G-d your Lord, and you deviate from the path which I command you today, in order to follow other gods which you did not know.'
So, we learn that if Jews follow the commandments, they will be blessed and if they do not follow the commandments, they will be cursed. Israel's existence has been a testament of countless miracles. If more Jews understood the true source of their power (not the IDF, Mossad, etc.), there wouldn't need to be any concern over U.S. foreign policy.
This post originally appeared on News with Chai blog.