Wednesday, January 28, 2026
Disclaimer: the views expressed here are the sole responsibility of the author, weekly Judean Rose columnist Varda Meyers Epstein.
I used to read antisemitic comments online with a sort of grim detachment. The ugliness was real, but it felt like something I could observe from a distance—how people swallow stupid lies, how hatred hardens into certainty, how mobs form without ever meeting the people they condemn.
Since October 7, that distance has narrowed. Sometimes the hatred is no longer “interesting.” It hurts.
It hurts because Jews were butchered and raped—and the global reaction was not what any reasonable person would expect in relation to such atrocities. Victims became villains. Murderers and rapists were recast as “resistance.” And when the Jews defended themselves, they called it “genocide.” We were even told we were “occupiers,” as if an indigenous people can be said to “occupy” its own land. The moral inversion is sickening to anyone in command of the facts of October 7, and what has since transpired.
But it’s not all bad. When the haters peddle awful lies about the Jews, the rare thing that steadies you is a friend who speaks plainly—someone willing to describe reality without euphemism, and to risk doing so, even at a high cost.
Sometimes that friendship
shows itself in a single gesture. Senator John Kennedy posted a brief message acknowledging
the suffering of the Israeli hostages and their families, and congratulating
Israel on the return of the last hostage from Gaza, Ran Gvili. While acknowledging
the suffering of Israeli hostages and their families. The replies were a
familiar torrent of moral inversion and cruelty. The contrast said more than
the post itself ever could about the overwhelming hatred toward a people that were
tortured, murdered, abused, and held captive—a people whose babies were burned
alive.
The truth is, aside from
my favorite senator, Israel has too few true friends today. One of them is
Michele Bachmann. Bachmann served
in the U.S. House of Representatives for Minnesota’s 6th District from 2007 to
2015 and was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.
She previously served in the Minnesota Senate and is currently dean of the Robertson
School of Government at Regent University.
When I heard an excerpt of Michele Bachmann’s remarks at the Pray Vote Stand
Summit, I was touched, filled with gratitude for her honest, plain talk. Bachmann
got it when so many do not. She saw everything that was bad about putting
terrorists and businessmen with regional interests in charge of negotiations,
and she was unafraid to say so.
Dean Bachmann asked the
right questions. There was no sign that she cared about the risks of speaking
the truth. Just a forthright laying out of the facts—trying, and at times
failing—to restrain her passion for the subject of how the negotiations were
going.
Keep in mind that the
summit was held in October. So much has happened since then. Though some things
remain unchanged. We still have two non-cabinet figures—Steve
Witkoff and Jared Kushner—selling an imaginary peace that threatens Israel’s
survival (she didn’t say it in those words—that was all me).
“We have a Secretary of
State named Marco Rubio,” Bachmann said. “Why wasn’t he involved in these
negotiations?”
She turned to Qatar, explaining something that everyone should know, but too
many do not:
NEW @nytimes investigation: Trump’s Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff was the target of a Qatari influence campaign in which Qatar would invest in Witkoff real estate projects in order to gain entree to Trump’s inner circle. https://t.co/ZecRXuvICy
— David Enrich (@davidenrich) September 26, 2025
“Qatar is the number-one
funder of terrorism in the world,” Bachmann said, painting a picture of a wealthy
engine of political Islam and a patron of Hamas. She warned about the way money
and access can shape foreign policy decisions, especially when those decisions
concern Israel. That having Qatar
shape the atmosphere around the talks could not be a good thing.
Trump’s chosen interlocuters, Witkoff and Kushner, do business with Qatar and Saudi
Arabia. Yet they had been put in charge of negotiations that come with direct
consequences for Israel’s security and the safety of its people.
After watching an excerpt of her remarks, I reached
out with some questions. I was
honored when Michele Bachmann, graciously consented to answer my questions. It’s obvious that Michele Bachmann is a busy lady—someone with a full plate—yet always
ready to take on more. It’s the reason I reached out to her.
Varda Epstein: In your remarks at the Pray Vote Stand Summit, you expressed
concern about President Trump’s decision to involve Steve Witkoff and Jared
Kushner in negotiations with Qatar, despite their business ties and Qatar’s
role as a major sponsor of Hamas. More recently, Israel’s security cabinet has reportedly blamed Jared
Kushner for the composition of the Executive Board for
the proposed Board of Peace, which includes (rabidly anti-Israel) Turkish and
Qatari representation and was, according to Prime Minister Netanyahu, "not
coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy."
Why do you think
the president continues to rely on Witkoff and Kushner? Who stands to gain
from this approach, and what risks does it pose for Israel?
Michele Bachmann:
The President has full confidence in his envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve
Witkoff. Their diplomatic portfolios have enlarged in the last year since they
were dispatched at the President’s direction during his second term.
Neither envoy
appears to be employees of the federal government. They are volunteers,
according to press accounts.
Concerns have
been raised over past and ongoing business relationships between Mr. Witkoff
and Qatar, and Mr. Kushner and Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Mr. Witkoff was a former
business partner with Qatar. Mr. Kushner’s investment company was in business,
and remains in business, with Saudi Arabia and other Arab investors, all while
Witkoff and Kushner are currently conducting U.S. foreign policy with these
business partners.
The questions of
conflicts of interest are obvious and concerning.
One question
concerning these relationships, regards the level of Qatari and Saudi influence
on American foreign policy decision making, in particular regarding Israel’s
security.
Varda Epstein: In
recent months, a number of prominent conservatives—including Heritage
Foundation president Kevin Roberts and commentator Megyn Kelly—have publicly
defended Tucker Carlson, even after his interview with white nationalist Nick
Fuentes. Why do you think this shift is happening, and what does it signal
about the direction of the Republican Party?
Michele Bachmann:
Tucker Carlson and other high-profile commentators have made controversial
statements this year. These statements are vocal, intentional, and are dividing
the pro-Israel Republican base. Grounded by pro-Israel evangelicals, the
Republican Party historically supported strong support for Israel.
Tragically, the
Democratic Party moved from an often pro-Israel party to holding a decidedly
anti-Israel posture.
The anti-Israel
embrace of the Democratic Party is now attempting to similarly turn, or at
least divide pro-Israel support from within the Republican Party.
The Republican
Party is pro-Israel and will remain that way unless it is taken over by an
anti-Israel Presidential candidate. An event like that would certainly
terminate a Republican candidate’s chances for electoral victory.
Varda Epstein: Given
J.D. Vance’s isolationist worldview and his close relationship with Tucker
Carlson—including employing Carlson’s son as a senior aide—what do you believe
a Vance presidency would mean for Israel?
Michele Bachmann:
A Republican Presidential candidate who does not value the importance of the
U.S.-Israel relationship to vital national security interests, will likely lose
a general Presidential election. Pro-Israel support is a foundational value of
the Republican Party.
If Israel is not
America’s greatest ally, then which nation is? Which nation has served as
America’s greatest partner advancing peace in the Middle East?
What other nation
has offered more to America by way of intelligence assets? Weapons development?
Innovation and technology development?
What other nation
demonstrates similar moral clarity and commitment to advancing civilization and
human rights than Israel? No other nation on earth compares to a demonstration
of moral clarity more than Israel.
People need to
consider where the United States would be without our partnership with Israel.
As Prime Minister Netanyahu said, “Israel is what is right with the world.”
Varda Epstein: After
watching your Summit address, many of my colleagues and readers remarked how
much they miss your voice in government and your staunch support for Israel.
How do you see your own role in public or political life going forward?
Michele Bachmann:
I use my mind to learn all I can about our world and how humankind benefits
from following the truths and precepts of the Bible.
History, Sociology,
Economics, Astronomy, Anthropology, Archeology, Biology, Physics, etc., all
reflect and demonstrate the truths given to us from the pen of Moses, David,
Solomon, and the Prophets.
We, finite
humankind, live in a world created by the infinite God. My job is to know Him
more, obey Him more, and communicate His love and truth to others.
***
In her Summit remarks,
Bachmann had argued that Israel was nearing decisive victory against Hamas when
diplomacy intervened and stopped it cold. Israelis well recognize this pattern.
A war Israel did not choose became a war Israel was not allowed to win. The
hostages were leverage. And a terror organization was encouraged to negotiate.
When Israelis speak about
friendship, they are not being sentimental. Friendship means clarity under
pressure. It means refusing to sanitize those who finance terror because they
also broker lucrative deals. It means understanding that Israel cannot
outsource its security to assurances offered far from its borders.
That is why Bachmann’s
voice is important. She speaks as someone who understands that Israel is an
ally. Not a problem to be managed, but an ally whose survival is nonnegotiable.
Israel has too few
friends right now. And Michele Bachmann is indeed a friend--one who understands
the wider implications of negotiating with terrorists, not just for Israel, but
for the entire world.
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"He's an Anti-Zionist Too!" cartoon book (December 2024) PROTOCOLS: Exposing Modern Antisemitism (February 2022) |
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