MEF Dispatch: Turning West: Israel and Civilization; The 'Woke Right'; The Red-Green Alliance

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Three recent MEF Podcasts (click here for past episodes) analyze threats to Western culture. Josh Ha ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

View on web  |  Read what you missed Turning West: Israel and Civilization; The 'Woke Right'; The Red-Green Alliance By Winfield Myers ● Aug 01, 2025 Smart Brevity® count: 7.5 mins...1937 words Three recent MEF Podcasts (click here for past episodes) analyze threats to Western culture. Josh Hammer reminds us that America's Christian founders were inspired by the Hebrew Bible to become "who we are and frankly, what we are" as a country. Karys Rhea analyzes the "woke right's" use of the progressive left's playbook and argues that "if you get far enough to the right or to the left, you end up looping back around" so that opposing ideologies almost mirror one another. Yuval David warns the alliance between segments of the LGBTQ community and Islamists "isn't only paradoxical, but it's perilous, especially given these groups documented persecutions of LGBTQIA+ individuals." Joe Adam George and Casey Babb report on the Muslim Brotherhood in Canada, Benjamin Weinthal urges pro-Israel groups in Germany to step up to the challenges facing them, and Jules Gomes says Islamist broadcasters in the U.K. are emboldened by the government's lack of meaningful oversight. Josh Hammer on Israel and Civilization: The Fate of the Jewish Nation and the Destiny of the West By: Marilyn Stern In a recent MEF Podcast, Josh Hammer, senior editor at Newsweek, spoke about how America's Christian founders, deeply rooted in Old Testament biblical texts, were inspired by the Hebrew Bible to become "who we are and frankly, what we are" as a country. Why it matters: The moral clarity that America's founding fathers communicated through their writings has dimmed when considering the world's "morally confused reaction" to the October 7 atrocities committed against the Jewish nation. Unless a "civilization that is adrift" recovers its sense of purpose of "what it is and what it can and ought to be," it risks being subjugated by the caustic effects of wokeism, global neoliberalism, and Islamism. "Israel is the canary in the coal mine when it comes to literally all of those subjugationist forces." Consider the "homogenizing force" rooted in the ultimate aim of the United Nations and the World Economic Forum, which is to eradicate the nation state itself. The stakes: The founding fathers wrote their words in the milieu of the Judeo-Christian biblical heritage that bound the nation as one. The West is a combination of revelation and reason, but "reason unmoored from revelation can go off the rails really, really quickly." America must rediscover its purpose to maintain its greatness. Between the lines: Israel is the battleground in a civilizational clash between the West and Islamist barbarism. Supporting Israel is synonymous with supporting Western civilization and its biblical origins. To read the full summary and watch the podcast, click here. Karys Rhea on Israel and the Woke Right By: Marilyn Stern Karys Rhea discussed how the progressive woke left playbook of postmodernism, identity politics, cancel culture, conspiratorial antisemitism, and "historical revisionism [and] moral relativism" has spawned similar tactics with the rise of an inverse trend—the woke right, which falsely cloaks itself in conservative values. Why it matters: Contrary to popular belief, the political spectrum does not run in a straight line with the extremes on opposite ends. The "horseshoe theory" posits that "if you get further enough to the right or to the left, you end up looping back around" where the opposing ideologies "get close to mirroring one another." The "red-green alliance" that illustrates common cause between Marxists, socialists and communists of the progressive left with Islamists has found a new red with Republicans who are part of the woke right. The stakes: The woke right's embrace of conspiracy theories and medieval antisemitic tropes threatens to reshape normative politics. Influencers like Tucker Carlson play a pivotal role in disseminating these ideas. Countering the woke right requires legacy media to call out the likes of Carlson and his fellow influencers. Between the lines: The woke right's neo-isolationist stance diverges from the MAGA vision, risking global stability. Isolationist policy is "no different from an appeasement policy," which leaves a vacuum to be filled by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the Islamic Republic of Iran, or expansionist Russia. To read the full summary and watch the podcast, click here. MEF Action Alert: Stop Turkey's F-35 Purchase Turkey is pushing to rejoin the F-35 program despite owning Russia's S-400 missile system, which threatens U.S. aircraft and risks exposing sensitive F-35 technology to Russian intelligence. In response, member of Congress are circulating a Dear Colleague letter that calls on Secretary of State Marco Rubio to deny an F-35 arms deal with Turkey under the 2017 Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), which formally removed Turkey from the F-35 program in 2019. This is a critical moment. Allowing Turkey back without removing its S-400s endangers U.S. national security, undermines our defense industry, and compromises Israel's Qualitative Military Edge. We must not reward Turkey, which continues to host Hamas leadership, attack U.S. allies in Syria, and threaten the territorial integrity of Greece and Armenia. The F-35 is vital for U.S. aerial superiority and global defense partnerships. Act Now! Urge your House Representative to sign the letter to Secretary Rubio demanding the White House reject Turkey's F-35 bid and uphold CAATSA sanctions. Time is short—Turkey's actions threaten U.S. interests and must not be rewarded. Sign up now to protect our military secrets and defense leadership! Click here to sign up for our letter-writing campaign to demand Congress reject Turkey's F-35 bid and uphold CAATSA sanctions. Yuval David on Dangerous Liaisons: The LGBTQ Movement's Dance with Jihad By: Marilyn Stern Yuval David, an Emmy award-winning journalist, filmmaker, and actor and an outspoken advocate, spoke to a recent MEF Podcast to warn of a dangerous alliance between segments of the LGBTQ community and Islamists. Why it matters: This relationship is fraught with peril as it allies with groups known for persecuting LGBTQ individuals. The majority of Jews in attendance at the recent World Pride Parade in Washington, D.C. expressed less pride in advocating for their Jewish identities out of fear for their safety "due to the ever-increasing antisemitism masked as anti-Zionism and anti-Israel sentiments." The stakes: The only way to understand such confounding cognitive dissonance is to realize the onslaught of "mind-twisting propaganda, misinformation, and purposeful disinformation" imbibed by the progressive movement over many years, and particularly within the LGBTQ community. By marching in tandem with Islamists and yelling "Free Palestine," LGBT activists and their followers are defending terror organizations and demonizing Zionists and Israel, but do practically nothing to aid the LGBT in Muslim societies internationally who are persecuted by Islamist governments. Between the lines: Click or comment on the counter-Islamist sites because "that makes you part of the algorithm that is sharing information that needs to be shared." Engage in the effort to "help educate the world and maybe just give them some emotions connected to it if that's all they want to receive." To read the full summary and watch the podcast, click here. ICYMI: July 30, 2025 | Israel Insider with Ashley Perry Hamas has rejected the latest Gaza ceasefire proposal. What can Israel now do to defeat Hamas and release the hostages? Ashley Perry is an advisor to the Middle East Forum's Israel office. He served as adviser to Israel's minister of foreign affairs and deputy prime minister in 2009-15, and has also worked with Israel's Ministers of Intelligence, Agriculture and Rural Development, Energy, Water and Infrastructure, Defense, Tourism, Internal Security, and Immigrant Absorption and as an advisor to The Negev Forum. Originally from the U.K., he moved to Israel in 2001. He holds a B.A. from University College London and an M.A. from Reichman University (IDC Herzliya). To watch the full podcast episode, click here. Muslim Brotherhood's 'Grand Jihad' Is Growing—Just Over the U.S. Border By: Joe Adam George and Casey Babb In a chilling 1991 memo, the Muslim Brotherhood outlined a "civilization-jihadist process" to undermine Western civilization from within. Why it matters: More than three decades later, the Brotherhood's strategy is no longer theoretical. It is materializing just north of the US border in Canada. Canada's lax immigration policies and multiculturalist ethos provide fertile ground for the Brotherhood's ambitions. The stakes: Brotherhood-affiliated groups are proliferating in Canada, supported by state actors like Qatar and Turkey. Antisemitic incidents and terrorism-related charges are surging, highlighting the growing extremism. Between the lines: The U.S. must urge Canada to act against these groups and scrutinize related cross-border activities. A coordinated North American response is essential to counter this rising threat. To read the full article, click here. To Outlaw Iran's IRGC, Germany's Pro-Israel Voices Must Step Up By: Benjamin Weinthal The institutional structures in Germany with pro-Israel supporters are disorganized and stuck in a pre-October 7 mindset. Why it matters: The stakes are high: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is plotting within Germany, targeting Jewish and pro-Israel figures, raising national security stakes. Yet, organizations like the Central Council of Jews in Germany and the German-Israel Friendship Association (DIG) face conflicts of interest due to government dependency. The stakes: The Central Council and DIG must break free from governmental control to effectively combat antisemitism and IRGC threats. The main obstacle stopping the leadership of the Central Council and DIG from advancing the interests of their members is that they are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the German government. Both the Jewish community and DIG are dependent on the federal government for subsidies. This obvious conflict of interest means the organizations, wittingly and unwittingly, support at times Berlin's anti-Israel and pro-Iran regime policies as custodians of the perilous status quo. Between the lines: German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul's obvious lack of support for Israel exacerbates the issue, further endangering the Jewish community. The IRGC poses a threat to all of German society, necessitating immediate action and solidarity with Israel. To read the full article, click here. U.K. Media Regulator Fines Islamist Broadcaster for Hate Speech By: Jules Gomes An Islamist radio station, penalized by U.K. media regulator Ofcom for broadcasting hate speech, lashes back, accusing the government watchdog of "Islamophobia." Why it matters: Ofcom announced on July 14 that it had fined Markaz Al-Huda Limited, a private company which runs the radio station Salaam BCR, £3,500 for a "highly offensive" 38-minute speech which "contained antisemitic hate speech and abusive and derogatory statements." Ofcom's fine is casting the spotlight on a growing network of radio stations that broadcast radical Islamist programs in Urdu and Arabic and have previously been punished by Ofcom but continue to function in the U.K. with little regulatory oversight. The stakes: With links to Pakistani pro-caliphate Islamism, this station represents a broader network of extremist influence in the U.K. Repeated breaches by Islamist broadcasters suggest systemic gaps in oversight, demanding urgent action. Between the lines: Campaigners urge a halt to an official "Islamophobia" definition that could embolden extremist narratives. Calls for the U.K. Charity Commission to act against Markaz Al-Huda stress the need for decisive measures to combat hate speech. To read the full article, click here. Further Reading: Israel-Based Nonprofit Sows Seeds of Peace Between Peoples Divided by Centuries of Conflict By: Joe Adam George Founded in the wake of the historic Abraham Accords, Sharaka's aim is to transform the Middle East from the ground up, promoting what it calls "people to people diplomacy." You're a Nobody in Western Literary High Society If You Don't Wear a Keffiyeh By: Giulio Meotti They consider themselves humanitarian, democratic, compassionate, liberal, and peace-loving, but they are just plain Jew-haters. Disgraced Ex-U.N. Envoy Resurfaces in Iran, Misusing Oberlin Credentials By: Benjamin Weinthal Disgraced former Iranian U.N. envoy Mohammad Jafar Mahallati has resurfaced in Iran, presenting himself as an Oberlin College professor. We hope you enjoyed this issue of the Dispatch as we examined developments in the West. If you enjoyed it, please pass it along to a friend, and please share your thoughts in the comments. Thank you, Winfield Myers Managing Editor, Middle East Forum Director, Campus Watch Was this edition useful? Your email will be recorded and shared with the sender MEF, an activist think tank, deals with the Middle East, Islamism, U.S. foreign policy, and related topics, urging bold measures to protect Americans and their allies. 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