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JD Vance’s Foreign Policy Is a Glass Half-Full
Former President Donald Trump has selected Ohio Senator J.D. Vance as his vice-presidential running mate for the 2024 election. Much has been written about Senator Vance’s foreign policy positions — the “good” and the “bad;” however, as Hamlet said, “there is no good or bad, but thinking makes it so.”
To reduce the complexity inherent in foreign policy decisions to a binary choice between good or bad tends to be intellectually lazy and politically expedient. Further, it is almost always more reflective of the judge rather than the judged.
For instance, Senator Vance has been highly critical of US support for Ukraine’s war against Russia. In fact, he said, “I don’t care what happens to Ukraine one way or the other.” Whether that was said with shock value in mind, or he really doesn’t care that Ukraine could fall to Putin is up for debate. But, are we to believe that such a statement accurately or fairly encapsulates what he thinks about Ukraine’s war with Russia?
Rhetoric aside, his foreign policy positions are likely to propel expanding Israel-Europe relations in a steeper direction.
Vance is a notably proud supporter of Israel, and his public statements about Israel are the antithesis of those he makes about Ukraine. He called Israel, “one of the most dynamic and technologically advanced countries in the world” and “[t]he idea that there is ever going to be an American foreign policy that doesn’t care a lot about that slice of the world is preposterous because of who Americans are.” Vance is also on record fully supporting Israel’s prosecution of the war in Gaza until Hamas is dismantled and no longer presents a military threat.
So, what are we to make of Vance? He does not seem to fit squarely in the isolationist camp. His positions have been informed by his military experience fighting in Iraq, and he understands foreign policy to the extent that he lived the consequences of previous US foreign policy decisions. Even on Ukraine, he’s not completely isolationist.
Vance falls in an ascending category of foreign policy thinkers, called conservative realists, a term coined by Elbridge Colby, himself a highly regarded “conservative realist.” In fact, conservative realism helps explain the essential nature of the developing triad between Israel, Europe, and the US, and Vance articulates this quite well.
At the February Munich Conference, Vance said, “[w]e need Europe to play a bigger share of the security role, and that’s not because we don’t care about Europe … it’s because we have to recognize that we live in a world of scarcity,” insinuating that Europe can no longer hold onto “the idea of the American superpower that can do everything all at once.”
In other words, his position on Ukraine could be a function of his belief that Europe must take more responsibility for protecting itself from external threats, because the United States no longer possesses the financial, military, operational, or political resources to allocate towards Europe’s security.
On the other hand, Vance views Israel differently than Ukraine, and considers the US-Israel alliance as the model for a US-Europe alliance. He sums it up by saying, “[w]e have to sort of ask ourselves, what do we want out of our Israeli allies? And more importantly, what do we want out of all of our allies writ large? Do we want clients who depend on us, who can’t do anything without us? Or do we want real allies who can actually advance their interests on their own with America playing a leadership role?”
According to Vance, Israel is relatively self-sufficient, unlike present Europe, where most countries have failed to meet their obligatory 2% of GDP threshold for defense spending. While Europe, writ large, is barely spending enough on its defensive capabilities, Israel is advancing new technologies like the Iron Beam, a laser defensive system that, according to Vance, is “a very important national security objective, and of the United States of America.”
He hasn’t commented on whether he believes that Israel should keep receiving the same level of funding it does from the United States, or if he believes Israel should spend more of its own money on its defenses. However, past may be prologue: Vance criticized the Biden administration for withholding precision munitions to Israel, and Israel already spends more than 7% of GDP on defense spending.
Moreover, the annual $3.8B in military funding the US provides Israel is a pittance compared to the $175B in funding provided to Ukraine in just two years (although this aid includes more than military aid). Additionally, the US did approve another $8.7 billion to Israel from a supplemental act in April 2024.
If we are to read between the lines, Vance considers the Return on Investment from Israel to be significantly more than from Ukraine and would seem inclined to support continued aid to Israel.
Vance is a glass half-full. In other words, while there are aspects of conservative realism that may be concerning, those concerns must be weighed against the potential benefits. Long-term, the benefits to Europe and Israel are likely to be significant.
Europe will be forced to pursue opportunities to enhance their defense, security, and technological capabilities if these countries hope to withstand threats coming from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea — the “Quartet of Death,” as the British refer to them. This pivot clearly augurs for increased Israel-Europe alignment.
In fact, 21 European countries have joined the European Sky Shield Initiative, a coalition to create a pan European air defense system, all of which is dependent on the inclusion of Israeli technology. Germany has the Arrow 3. Finland acquired David’s Sling, and the Baltic States want to acquire Iron Dome, and these steps are in addition to the robust defense cooperation, intelligence sharing, and other forms of technological advancements taking place between Israel and Europe.
What’s more, as a proponent of the Abraham Accords, Vance’s promotion of them would strengthen the relationships between Europe and Abraham Accords’ countries, thereby offering Europe potential friend-shoring advantages it presently does not possess.
There are still almost four months to go before the US presidential elections, so how this plays out no one knows. However, current trends indicate we will likely see European leaders maneuvering their countries into positions that benefit Israel and the Israel-Europe relationship sooner than later.
David F. Siegel is the President of ELNET-US. With offices across Europe and Israel, ELNET has emerged as the most influential and impactful pro-Israel advocacy organization in Europe.
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Freed Israeli Hostages, Families of Captives React to Collapse of Gaza Ceasefire
Families and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas gather to demand a deal that will bring back all the hostages held in Gaza, outside a meeting between hostage representatives and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem, Jan. 14, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
Freed Israeli hostages and families of those in captivity in Gaza reacted to news of Israel resuming military operations against Hamas as the ceasefire and hostage-release deal between them collapsed on Monday night.
“We heard from survivors who returned from hell, and the message was clear: We must immediately return to a ceasefire,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the largest organization dedicated to the release of the hostages, wrote on X. “The lives of our loved ones hang by a thread and cannot endure much longer. After surviving months in captivity against all odds, they are now in critical danger. Only a deal can bring back all the hostages.”
Since Hamas’s attack on Oct. 7, 2023 — in which the Palestinian terrorist group led the massacre of 1,200 people and kidnapping of 251 hostages during their invasion of southern Israel — well over 100 hostages have been released through negotiated ceasefire deals, and the Israeli military has rescued a smaller number in special operations.
There are currently 59 hostages still in Hamas’s captivity in Gaza, and over half of them are believed to be dead.
In another post, the forum wrote that, at a news conference, the families of some hostages “warned that continued fighting would lead to more hostage deaths and urged an immediate ceasefire and return to negotiations to secure the release of all remaining hostages.”
Noa Argamani, who became famous on Oct. 7, 2023, after an image of her being kidnapped from the Nova Music Festival — where Hamas murdered hundreds of young people — and separated from her boyfriend, Avinatan Or, was seen widely. Argamani, who has been speaking across the United States to advocate for the release of the rest of the hostages since her rescue from Hapas captivity last year, shared a message this week about the end of the ceasefire.
“Fighting Resumes. Two words, and so many emotions inside. Suddenly, out of the silence, all hopes explode in an instant,” Argamani wrote. “Two words, but for the hostages inside, they mean explosions and noises that bring back the fear of dying.”
Argamani explained the hope she felt in captivity when she heard of the first ceasefire and hostage-release deal in November 2023. “Every day, I held on to that hope. I told myself there was no way I wouldn’t make it out alive.”
“But then, in a single moment,” she continued, “we started hearing the explosions again. Suddenly, all the dreams of going home, of hugging family and friends — shattered in an instant. The thought of seeing the light again felt so far away. One moment, the ceasefire was gone, and with it, the hope that I would get out of there alive.”
Argamani concluded: “I’m sorry, Avinatan. I’m sorry that for 529 days, you haven’t seen daylight. I’m sorry that you were left behind. We must save them! Too many hostages who were taken alive — were murdered in captivity. We must save every living soul! This is our mission. We cannot leave them behind.”
Similarly, Yarden Bibas, who was held hostage for over a year and whose wife and children — Shiri, Kfir, and Ariel — were all murdered by Hamas, posted on Facebook against the decision to renew the war.
“Israel’s decision to return to fighting brings me back to Gaza, to the moments where I heard the sounds of explosions around me and where I feared for my life as I was afraid the tunnel where I was being held would collapse,” Bibas wrote. “My wife and children were kidnapped alive and brutally murdered in captivity. The military pressure endangers the hostages while an agreement brings them home.”
“We must stop the fighting and bring everyone home first of all,” he concluded.
However, not all hostages and hostage families oppose revamping the war effort.
The Tikva Forum — a right-wing alternative to the main hostage family organizations — wrote in a statement that it fully supports resuming fighting against Hamas, arguing it is only intense pressure on the terrorist group that will result in the hostages being freed.
“The past few weeks have proven what we have been saying all along – Hamas will never return all the abductees voluntarily,” the Tikva Forum wrote. “Only massive military pressure, a complete blockade that includes a power and water cut, and the occupation of territories that will lead to Hamas’s collapse, will lead it to beg for a ceasefire and a deal that will return all the abductees together, in one fell swoop.”
It concluded, “If the attack that began [Monday] continues with force and without interruption, we will be able to bring all our loved ones home in one fell swoop, on one bus.”
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Far-Left US Lawmakers Blast Israel for Resuming Military Campaign in Gaza, Accuse Jewish State of ‘Genocide’
US Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), left, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) listen during a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, July 18, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/Joshua Roberts
Progressive US lawmakers largely condemned Israel on Tuesday after it resumed military operations in Gaza following the collapse of the ceasefire deal with Hamas, falsely accusing the Jewish state of committing “genocide” against Palestinian civilians and demanding the immediate implementation of an “arms embargo.”
On Monday night, Israel resumed airstrikes targeting Hamas in Gaza under the directive of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose office said in a statement that the military action followed “Hamas’s repeated refusal to release our hostages, as well as its rejection of all of the proposals it has received from US presidential envoy Steve Witkoff and from the mediators.”
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the sole Palestinian American in Congress and a strident critic of the Jewish state, repudiated Israel’s decision to restart the military campaign against Hamas. Tlaib demanded the White House pause weapons transfers to Israel in response to what she described as a “genocide” unfolding in Gaza.
“The Israeli apartheid regime has resumed its genocide, carrying out airstrikes all across Gaza and killing hundreds of Palestinians. This comes after a complete blockade of food, electricity, and aid. They will never stop until there are sanctions and an arms embargo,” Tlaib wrote on X/Twitter.
Tlaib appeared to be referring to Israel’s decision earlier this month to block humanitarian aid transfers into Gaza as a way to pressure Hamas to agree to an extension of a ceasefire agreement that went into effect in January. Hamas refused to do so.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), another vocal critic of Israel, blasted the Jewish state for launching airstrikes against Hamas. Sanders accused Israel of violating the ceasefire deal and reiterated his demand for the end of US aid to the Jewish state.
“Netanyahu has not allowed any food, water, or fuel into Gaza in two weeks. Now he has resumed bombing, killing hundreds of people and breaking the ceasefire that had given Gaza a chance to live again. NO MORE MILITARY AID TO ISRAEL,” Sanders posted on social media.
In November, Sanders spearheaded a failed effort to impose a partial arms embargo on Israel.
Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), a left-wing lawmaker and consistent critic of Israel, condemned the “horrific images” emerging from Gaza after the relaunching of the war effort. The progressive firebrand denounced Israel’s military operations as a “genocide” and called for an arms embargo to be placed on the Jewish state.
“Once again our timelines are flooded with horrific images of Palestinian babies massacred by the Israeli government. Israel has consistently violated the ceasefire and in the past two weeks, cut off all aid to Gaza. Just last night, they killed 400+ people. This US-backed genocide must end,” Lee wrote.
In the 17 months following the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacres across southern Israel, progressives have grown increasingly critical of the Jewish state. Left-wing lawmakers have accused Israel of using “indiscriminate bombing” and “starvation” as a method of punishment against Palestinian civilians. They have also spearheaded multiple efforts to impose a unilateral “ceasefire” or “arms embargo” upon Israel, arguing that the Jewish state has embarked on a “genocidal” revenge campaign against the people of Gaza.
In addition, many progressives often refuse to mention or condemn Hamas when making public statements regarding Israel’s war efforts, and they rarely note Hamas’s widely recognized military strategy of embedding its terrorists within Gaza’s civilian population and commandeering civilian facilities like hospitals, schools, and mosques to run operations and direct attacks.
However, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), one of the most vocal defenders of Israel in the federal government, issued support for the Jewish state amid a barrage of backlash.
“I unapologetically, 100% stand with Israel, and demand the release of all remaining hostages,” Fetterman wrote on X/Twitter.
Israel says it has gone to unprecedented lengths to try and avoid civilian casualties, noting its efforts to evacuate areas before it targets them and to warn residents of impending military operations with leaflets, text messages, and other forms of communication.
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Hamas Must Be Destroyed
Kfir Bibas. Photo: Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
In the wake of the cold-blooded murders of Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas by the literal hands of Hamas terrorists, I have been haunted by the similarities between Kfir and my own two-year-old son.
My son was born exactly a month before Kfir. Like Kfir, my son had red hair when he was little. My son laughed like Kfir when he was a baby. Like Kfir, my son is a Jew. But unlike Kfir, my son is a Jew, who by privilege and fortune to be born an American and live in the United States, does not need — I pray — to fear being stolen and murdered by Hamas terrorists simply for being Jewish.
In the well over 500 days since October 7, 2023, the kidnapping and murder of Kfir Bibas symbolizes Israel’s just and necessary response to Hamas’ massacre in Israel. Kfir is and was innocence and goodness personified. Hamas is Amalek, the Biblical enemy of the Israelites, and a symbolization for the epitome of evil. There can be no tolerance for such evil, and I strongly believe that Israel has every right to continue fighting Hamas until the terrorist organization has been destroyed.
Hamas is not only an enemy of Israel, but also of the United States. Since 1997, the US State Department has designated Hamas a foreign terrorist organization. As of March 2025, Hamas still holds 21-year-old New Jersey native Edan Alexander hostage, along with the remains of four other murdered Americans. On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered more than 40 Americans.
Although it is true that Hamas has been weakened since October 7, 2023, and has suffered the loss of many of its key leaders, including Yahya Sinwar and Ismail Haniyeh, due to the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) valiant and justified campaign, Hamas still remains in a position of strength.
The fact that Hamas has been able to continue to negotiate with Israel to ensure the release of hundreds of terrorists, many of them serving life sentences for the murder of Israelis, in exchange for the release of innocent hostages, and the bodies of deceased hostages, is sickening. The ongoing sadistic exchanges where Hamas terrorists paraded the hostages, or murdered bodies of hostages, in front of cheering crowds of their supporters calls into question how such negotiations have been even permitted to progress.
The unbalanced negotiations are not the fault of the IDF, but that of politicians — both Israeli and American. To be clear, in bringing the fight to Hamas, the IDF has endeavored to minimize civilian casualties despite operating in an extremely dense, urban, environment in which Hamas terrorists actively hide among hospitals, mosques, and kindergartens.
In fact, the IDF has gone to greater lengths than any other military in the history of modern warfare to minimize civilian casualties. I firmly believe that the soldiers of the IDF should be commended by all freedom loving nations for their adherence to the highest standards of moral and ethical war fighting.
In looking ahead to the coming months, Israel must continue to ratchet up all available military and political pressure on Hamas in order to crush the terrorist organization once and for all. I do not think that Israel should continue to follow the outlined steps of the phased hostage deal — as terrible as that may be for the plight of the remaining hostages — because to do so only encourages Hamas to plan future October 7th style attacks to kidnap more hostages to use as bargaining chips down the road.
I think it is excellent, and necessary, that Israel has once again resumed offensive operations against Hamas. Initial reports indicate that serious damage has been done to Hamas’ leadership and combat units. Israel should continue to maximize the good will of the Trump administration, and the current Republican-held US Congress, to unleash hell on every aspect of the Hamas terrorist organization. Israel must remain focused on dismantling Hamas’ organizational and tactical capabilities in order to ensure that Hamas can never again threaten Israel.
I would also like to see increased US military support for destroying Hamas. Although I would not support “regular” US military service members on the ground in Gaza due to the possibility of another Middle East quagmire, I would recommend that US Special Operations Command be given broad leeway by the Trump administration to employ the necessary assets to rescue Edan Alexander and avenge the deaths of the Americans killed on October 7, 2023. I would further recommend that the Trump administration sanction any states that provide safe harbor to Hamas terrorists, including Qatar and Egypt. This could involve cutting off foreign aid, imposing economic penalties, or barring diplomatic travel. Hamas, and its enablers, must understand that they will never be safe, whether in Deir al-Balah or Doha.
Only when Hamas feels the full military and political weight of Israel and America, and begs for the fighting to stop, will the memory of Kfir Bibas, his family, the 241 hostages, and the 1,200 murdered Israelis be avenged — and prevented from happening again in the future.
Micah Q. Jones is a publishing Adjunct at The MirYam Institute, a US Army veteran, and recipient of the Bronze Star Medal for Meritorious Service. He is a litigation associate in the Boston office of an international law firm.
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