Israel is one of America’s most significant allies in the world. Although the country itself is small, its presence and importance are immeasurable.
The United States has enjoyed a unique relationship with Israel since the country formed in the aftermath of World War II and the Holocaust. And while Israel is by no means perfect, there’s no question with all the “wars and rumors of war” throughout the Middle East at the moment, now is the time to shore up our relationship with friends in the region and focus on protecting our interests and the interests of our allies.
Surely that would be the focus of the U.S. Ambassador to State of Israel, right? But you might not know it looking at the ambassador’s official Facebook page.
Based on the photos on his and the embassy’s official Facebook pages, it appears Ambassador Dan Shapiro is leveraging the embassy to promote a pro-homosexual agenda in Israel.
Ambassador Shapiro posted a photo on June 10 of the gay “Pride” flag flying immediately beneath the U.S. flag in front of the embassy. The photo was “shared” by the embassy on its official Facebook page. The caption read
“Proudly flying the colors…For the first time in history, the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv has raised the Pride flag together with our American flag. We are proud to join with the municipality of Tel Aviv-Yafo and its residents in celebrating LGBT Pride Week.”
This was no accident. Our embassy deliberately raised both flags together to send a very specific message.
Three days later, on June 13, Ambassador Shapiro posted a photo of himself and what appear to be embassy personnel taking part in Tel Aviv’s gay pride parade with the caption,
“A strong delegation from the U.S. Embassy was out for the Tel Aviv Pride March today, demonstrating our support for the LGBT community!. Happy Pride Day”
The post was time-stamped 8:29AM, but it’s difficult to say whether or not embassy personnel were participating during office hours or on their own time. The fact the photo was posted on Ambassador Shapiro’s official page, however, gives the impression that participation was sanctioned by him or the embassy. Regardless, employees of the United States’ diplomatic mission in Tel Aviv appear to be participating in gay pride events, and our ambassador is posting photos of the events online.
Incidentally, the Embassy itself also posted a photo of the same group of personnel (which includes Ambassador Shapiro) marching in the parade. One member of the delegation carried an American flag whose red and white stripes had been replaced with rainbow-colored stripes.
I realize photos posted on Facebook may seem innocuous. They might not carry the same weight in the minds of some as, say, an official memo issued by the ambassador, but the truth is the embassy and the ambassador are meant to represent the United States of America to a foreign nation. And regardless of how seriously you take Facebook photos, in the minds of many today they are as credible (if not more so) as a press release or set of policy talking points.
When the embassy building flies a flag representing a political agenda with which many Americans disagree; when embassy personnel participate in local events–like a gay pride parade–in which most Americans would never, themselves, participate; and when the ambassador promotes an agenda over which the American people are still deeply divided, it sends an inaccurate message to the rest of the world about America. It fails to accurately reflect the government and people these diplomats purportedly represent.
Of course an even bigger question is this: With some of Israel’s neighbor’s in all-out civil war; Iran perpetually rattling its sabers; and Egypt seemingly in a constant tug-of-war with the forces of radical Islam; why are our ambassador and the embassy in Israel taking part in “gay pride” events and posting photos of rainbow flags? Do they really have nothing more important to do?
