Have you ever been to Auschwitz? Look no further than Hamas’ actions in Israel

OPINION:

In September 2019, I visited Auschwitz in Poland with the vice president. The camps that make up this complex were a major site of the Nazis’ “Final Solution” in the extermination of Jews. More than 1 million men, women and children were murdered. The visit was emotionally devastating, a visit that ripped the heart.

After boarding Air Force Two, I told the vice president, “For the first time in my life, I doubt the existence of God.” He responded: “It was not God that caused this. It was man.”

Today, images of families slaughtered in their homes and young men, women and children bloodied and taken away by Hamas terrorists are chilling. With a death toll exceeding 800 and with more than 2,500 injured, today marks Israel’s deadliest day since the Yom Kippur War 50 years ago.

If the world does not stand in outrage, then it has forgotten the moral imperative of “never again.” If you do not believe there are parallels in behavior, you are wrong.

Iran, the main patron of Hamas, is inching closer to a nuclear breakout and has made its ambitions clear to the world. Most recently, at the annual U.N. General Assembly, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi openly called for the destruction of Israel, saying, “Has the time not come to bring an end to seven and a half decades to the occupation of Palestinian lands?”

As Hamas launched its attacks, videos surfaced on X of Iranian members of parliament chanting, “Death to Israel! Death to America!”

The Abraham Accords were designed to change the Middle East through a shared vision of peace grounded in prosperity — better trade, better communications between governments and people, and opportunities for the Palestinian people to benefit as well. The Palestinian so-called leaders squandered the opportunity. The Palestinian Authority’s leader, Mahmoud Abbas, continues to traffic in antisemitic rhetoric and praised Hamas’ actions.

The Trump administration cut off funds to the Palestinian Authority for its “pay to slay” fund, giving monetary rewards to families of suicide bombers. Hamas, Hezbollah and their backer, Iran, have opted for the use of force and for pushing the Israelis into today’s existential crisis. Their goal is the elimination of Israel.

America First is a proposition based not on isolationism but on the premise that America can do best for the world when it and the American people are strong. It is not designed to cower or to run and hide. It is based on strength.

The Trump administration proved that when we put Tomahawk land attack missiles into Syria after Bashar Assad used nerve gas against civilians. We did it when Iranian proxy forces killed an American and attacked our embassy in Baghdad. We responded by eliminating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force commander, Qasim Soleimani.

As president, Donald Trump determined to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, following a law that every U.S. president since 1995 — Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama — declined to implement, citing vague national security interests. It was the right thing to do despite pressures from many quarters not to do so.

America First has a moral imperative to it as well. It emanates from senior leaders who are confident in their leadership and values and understand the moral fiber of this nation — a fiber that has frayed over several years.

Without the strength that comes from serious American responses, moral authority means nothing. Mr. Obama postured when it came to Syria’s use of sarin on civilians. Mr. Trump did not.

Mr. Obama allowed the ISIS terrorist caliphate to grow to the geographical size of Britain. Mr. Trump eliminated it.

Mr. Trump moved the U.S. Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Mr. Obama declined to do so.

All of these actions by the last administration were taken to ensure American primacy in the world — America First.

With the events of the last few days, it must be made clear that the United States will support Israel unequivocally and made clear to Iran and its proxies that any escalation will be viewed as a threat to American and allied interests. We will act accordingly.

As we saw this week with Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate covered with the flag of Israel, leadership by the world’s leaders will matter. America needs to lead. The consequences of not doing so are too significant.

• Retired Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg is a former national security adviser in the Trump administration and the current co-chairman of the America First Policy Institute’s Center for American Security. He is the author of “War by Other Means” and a Fox News contributor.