Over the years I have become more interested in vocally supporting Israel. Unfortunately, I have not seen many atheist individuals, or atheist organizations, speak out in support of Israel. I have actually observed a number of outspoken atheists support Palestine, and others have questioned why take interest in Israel since atheists should not care about religious conflict? These observations led me to launch the organization Atheists United for Israel, with the goal of showcasing to the public that there are, in fact, atheists who support Israel.
While people have their own reasons of supporting Israel, here are mine:
First, Israel is the only country in the Middle East that I feel safe traveling to, and actually would like to travel to some day.
Second, I am not fond of pro-Palestine groups or individuals I have observed in the west. I have seen pro-Palestine groups in the United States (such as Students for Justice in Palestine) and other western countries, and I do not find these groups to embrace western values of freedom, or have a reasonable approach to the public. They tend to be vulgar and support socialistic policies. I also am not fond of pro-Palestine activists such as Linda Sarsour, Rashida Tlaib, Ilhan Omar or Jeremy Corbyn. I consider them to be a threat to democracy.
Third, Israel is an advanced country that appears to make use of aid it is given, whereas terrorist groups in Palestine are more likely to squander aid given to the people of Palestine. Therefore Israel has shown it has a more ideal humanitarian system that can provide for people in that region.
Fourth, I have found pro-Israel activists to be much more supportive of western values than pro-Palestine activists. Brigitte Gabriel and Ayaan Hirsi Ali are two of my all time favorite activists, both of which speak in support of Israel. Ayaan Hirsi Ali also identifies as atheist.
I hope to see more atheists speak in support of Israel and western values over time, and that the organization Atheists United for Israel receives increasing support.
Questions or comments? Email info[at]atheistsunitedforisrael.org.
Lauren Ell is president and founder of Atheists United for Israel. She is also the founder of the organizations Republican Atheists, Nordic Republicans and Americans Sweden. Her education background is in Marketing and Geology. Connect with Lauren on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.