This story was originally published in the Forward. Click here to get the Forward’s free email newsletters delivered to your inbox.
Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, avowed that he is a Christian who “robustly supports” Israel and its war against Hamas in Gaza.
Hegseth, 44, a former Fox News host, provided favorable coverage of Israel on the network and said that his time in the U.S. Army turned him into a supporter of the Jewish state.
Trump’s nominee for the top Pentagon job was introduced by Norman Coleman, a former senator from Minnesota and national chair of the Republican Jewish Coalition. “Please don’t give in to the cynical notion that people can’t change,” Coleman urged members of the committee. “We need the ones who can change to lead us — to be beacons of hope and to remind us that grace can lead us home.”
In his confirmation hearing at the Senate Committee on Armed Services Tuesday, Hegseth’s opening remarks were interrupted by protestors, one of whom called him a misogynist and a “Christian Zionist” before being escorted out of the gallery by Capitol police.
During his questioning, Sen. Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, remarked on the interruption and gave Hegseth the chance to respond.
“I’m not really sure why that is a bad thing,” said Cotton. “I’m a Christian, I’m a Zionist. Zionism is that the Jewish people deserve a homeland in the ancient Holy Land where they lived since the dawn of history. Do you consider yourself a Christian Zionist?”
Hegseth replied, “I am a Christian and I robustly support the state of Israel and its existential defense and the way America comes alongside them as their great ally.”
Cotton then mentioned another heckler, who he identified as a member of the women-led anti-war organization Code Pink, who alleged that Hegseth supported Israel’s war in Gaza.
“I support Israel in destroying and killing every last member of Hamas,” Hegseth confirmed. It echoed Trump’s call for Israel to finish the job and eliminate Hamas.
Hegseth, who was grilled about his statements on women in combat roles and allegations of sexual misconduct against him, has stated in the past that he objects to a two-state solution in Israel.
In a 2018 speech as part of a conference for Israel National News, Hegseth expressed a desire to see the rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem and called out “fake news” about the Arab-Israeli conflict.
“If you walk the ground today, you understand there is no such thing as the outcome of a two-state solution,” Hegseth said. “There is one state.”
Hegseth interviewed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last March and said, “Israel needs our support.” He also ran a three-part series on Fox Nation, “Battle in the Holy Land: Israel at War,” that focused on the war in Gaza and the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. “There’s no doubt this is a fight that Israel needs to finish,” Hegseth said.
This story was originally published on the Forward.
