Conservatives From Around the World Convene in Jerusalem, Express Hope for ‘New Day of Truth vs. Political Correctness’ Under Trump Administration
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by Deborah Danan / JNS.org
Becky Norton Dunlop, a member of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team and a distinguished fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Heritage Foundation, speaks at the Dec. 19 Jerusalem Leaders Summit. Photo: Yossi Zamir.
JNS.org — Conservative leaders from across the globe convened for a policy conference in Israel, where they expressed hope for a “new day” of “truth versus political correctness” under the Trump administration.
At this week’s Jerusalem Leaders Summit at the Waldorf Astoria, where politicians from the Knesset, US Congress and the Indian and European parliaments discussed the state of conservatism, many speakers blamed “the Left” for using false rhetoric and stifling free speech.
Joel Anand Samy — co-founder of the International Summit Leaders think tank, which co-hosted the program — said the fight against this attitude would be the new battlefront for the 21st century.
US Rep. Dave Brat (R-Va.) blamed President Barack Obama and other American liberal leaders for failing to “define what the truth is,” and said the administration’s attitude has led to an increase in acceptable animosity toward Israel.
Mischaël Modrikamen, the leader of Belgium’s People’s Party, said similar problems plague Europe, where matters of national security must include honest conversation about Islam and immigration, but “leaders don’t say things as they are.”
Modrikamen also criticized his fellow Belgian politicians for routinely condemning Israel for a litany of perceived crimes — including Jewish settlement activity and a “disproportionate response” to Palestinian terrorism — before quickly turning to Israeli intelligence for advice on how to improve transportation security, following the deadly March 2016 Islamist bombings at a Brussels airport and metro station.
“This is pure hypocrisy,” he said.
Talk of a “revolution” — which began with the United Kingdom’s Brexit vote to leave the European Union, and continued with Trump’s surprise US presidential election win and the rise of right-wing political parties in Europe — was echoed by various speakers at the Jerusalem summit.
