In a wine cellar at the Psagot Winery, a new edition of one-year-old wines can be found. "Pompeo wine" came about as a tribute to the former US Secretary of State's important declaration that the settlement enterprise in Judea and Samaria do not violate international law. One year after making that statement, Pompeo became the first secretary of state to visit Judea and Samaria." In the winery's guestbook, he wrote: "May I not be the last secretary of state to visit this beautiful land." There was such honesty, simplicity, and love in the man who changed so much in just two and a half years.
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In his final weeks as secretary of state, Pompeo took to Twitter to express the worldview behind America's foreign policy under former US President Donald Trump. Numbering in the hundreds, these tweets shed light on the policy for which the guiding principle was "America first." Not "America first" because America is all that matters. America first because a strong and thriving US is a necessary condition for a better world.
Pompeo separated himself from the current chaos and discord and summarized the legacy he was leaving behind in a logical, methodical, and clear manner. He placed the world's largest superpower on the side of good, fighting against the bad guys. That may sound simplistic, but it is a reflection of the simple line that refuses to be politically correct and refuses to play that all-too-familiar game of polite smiles, meaningless Nobel Peace Prizes, and a submission to the bullies around the world the likes of which the world witnessed with the late British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain's talk of "peace in our time" at a time when everyone knows war is knocking at the door. Or as Pompeo succinctly put it, "Wishful thinking won't restrain authoritarians in Caracas, or in Beijing, or in Tehran."
And so, beyond our little slice of heaven, the US has been revealed in all its glory as a supporter of Hong Kong, Taiwan, and a nation that stands up to the Chinese communist party and with the Uighurs, adopts a maximist policy of pressure on Iran, fights Al Qaeda, stands with the Iranian people and breaks through fossilized conceptual norms on the Middle East that saw the world hang its hopes for peace on the capricious tendencies of the Palestinians.
Nor did Pompeo hesitate to speak matter-of-factly about international bodies. "The U.S. is stronger when we acknowledge the failings of international institutions like @UN and try to fix them," he tweeted, noting the US had not wasted taxpayer money on failed and corrupt institutions like the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the World Health Organization, and others.
He was one of the most important figures in the administration and left behind an impressive legacy. He also declared that "America has no greater friend than Israel and the people of Israel."
In an honest and genuine world, he would have received the Nobel Peace Prize. Pompeo, however, isn't waiting for recognition. He was excited about the Golan Heights and about Judea and Samaria. On the occasion of the end of his tenure, we should raise a glass of fine Pompeo from the Binyamin vineyards in his honor.
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