In their first joint public appearance since leaving office, former Secretaries of State Mike Pompeo and Antony J. Blinken held an in-depth discussion on the future of the Middle East, touching on aid to Israel, the war with Iran, the future of the Abraham Accords, and the rise in antisemitism across the globe.

 

The conversation took place at the Opening Plenary of Jewish Federations of North America's General Assembly, the premier gathering of 2,500 of the most influential voices in Jewish leadership, philanthropy, and policy. This year's conference focused on three themes: Rebuilding Israel, Securing Our Communities, and Inspiring Jewish Engagement.

 

On Iran, Pompeo argued that the United States must maintain the pressure on the regime, "broadly speaking, on the regime across every front, whether that's Hezbollah in Lebanon, or...Hamas is not going to give up their weapons. So, continue to apply pressure there. The economic blockade makes sense. I would advocate going after further assets inside of Iran. [T]hey still have the capability to muck up the Gulf region and to threaten Israel, [and] we have the capacity to if not eliminate it, mitigate that materially."

 

Blinken, meanwhile, emphasized the importance of diplomacy. "We have a problem that didn't exist before, and that's the Strait of Hormuz. And the hard reality is, I think any resolution, if it's a diplomatic one, which I believe in at this point, unfortunately, is probably going to have to give the Iranians something, sanctions relief, something from the Strait itself. All of that is possible; it's doable, and I actually think preferable to escalating.... I really don't see, absent a fairly massive escalation, how you're going to deal with this militarily. And I think that'd be a terrible idea."

 

In the conversation, which was moderated by ABC News journalist and co-anchor of Nightline Juju Chang, the secretaries also weighed in on the level of criticism leveled at Israel over its war in Gaza.

 

"When you are so fundamentally in the right, and evil is so one-sided and so clear… you tell the story over and over, and you rinse and repeat about the fundamental decency of the Israeli military and how they fought this war," Pompeo said.

Blinken added: "The target was Hamas, and horrifically, too many people were caught in the middle of that and suffered terribly as a consequence...But that is vastly different, vastly different, from an intent to do them harm, from an intent to eliminate them."

Following the secretaries' conversation, Jewish Federations of North America Chair Gary Torgow called for unity in the aftermath of contentious elections in both the United States and Israel.

 

"Notwithstanding how one voted or where one’s political leanings lie, it is critical for us to remember that our strength as a Jewish community has always been rooted in our unwavering commitment to one another, our shared values, and our determination to stand together through. Elections come and go. Political leaders change. But our values, our commitments, and our responsibility to one another remain constant," he said.

"In America, we have blue states and red states. Democrats, Republicans, Independents. We have racial divisions, political controversy, and unique challenges that confront our entire nation. But now more than ever, the goal of the Jewish people is to break down any divisions amongst ourselves, and be one with each other. Standing tall and firm and generous for every Jew on the planet today," he added.

 

For the full Opening Plenary, please watch the recording of the livestream.

 

Photos from the Opening Plenary can be found here. Photo Credit: Jewish Federations of North America.