Last Friday, the Washington Post published a column by Ishaan Tharoor—a dedicated Israel hater—titled “The Trump Administration’s Obsession with an Ancient Persian Emperor.” The column took as its prime example a tweet sent by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo marking the day in 539 BCE when “Cyrus the Great entered Babylon and freed the Jewish people from captivity” and declaring that the U.S. “stands with the Iranian people who are blocked by the [current] regime from celebrating [Cyrus’s] legacy.” While admitting that this “famous event in history” is documented by “sources including biblical Scripture,” Tharoor made sure to point out that Cyrus “presided over massacres and pillage.” He then went on connect the Trump administration’s invocations of the Persian monarch to its affection for lawless despots as well as the eschatology of a radical fringe of evangelical Christianity.

Rivkah Fishman-Duker responds:

Pompeo’s tweet was [in part] aimed at the tremendous popular response that the ancient king of Persia still evokes among Iranians, which stands diametrically opposed to the ideology of the Islamic Republic of Iran. [Tharoor’s] reference to excesses in battle is an attempt to discredit his standing as “proto-national hero.”

Evangelicals, [for their part], have their own ways of interpreting the Bible. They are not “obsessed” with anyone except for Jesus of Nazareth. All leaders like to compare themselves to previous significant figures whom they admire. There are countless examples. Didn’t Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey declare at the anti-Brett Kavanaugh hearings last year, “I am Spartacus!”?

If Harry Truman, [of whom Tharoor makes no mention], and Donald Trump choose to think of themselves as Cyrus, the comparison is historically flawed but well-intentioned, and I would not pay too much attention to it.

For those who wish to vilify Israel, anything that can be invoked against Israel is useful for the cause. . . . Oddly enough, [though, Tharoor’s column] reminds the world that the Temple was in Jerusalem, the capital of Judah, and acknowledges the Jewish presence there long before Islam and the Palestinians. This runs counter to the mendacious Palestinian narrative that claims that the Jews are not the indigenous people but usurpers who lack a historical claim to the land.

On Tuesday, representatives of Hamas met with their counterparts from Fatah—the faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) once led by Yasir Arafat that now governs parts of the West Bank—in Beijing to discuss possible reconciliation. While it is unlikely that these talks will yield any more progress than the many previous rounds, they constitute a significant step in China’s increasing attempts to involve itself in the Middle East on the side of Israel’s enemies.

By contrast, writes Tuvia Gering, Taiwan has been quick and consistent in its condemnations of Hamas and Iran and its expressions of sympathy with Israel:

Support from Taipei goes beyond words. Taiwan’s appointee in Tel Aviv and de-facto ambassador, Abby Lee, has been busy aiding hostage families, adopting the most affected kibbutzim in southern Israel, and volunteering with farmers. Taiwan recently pledged more than half a million dollars to Israel for critical initiatives, including medical and communications supplies for local municipalities. This follows earlier aid from Taiwan to an organization helping Israeli soldiers and families immediately after the October 7 attack.

The reasons why are not hard to fathom:

In many ways, Taiwan sees a reflection of itself in Israel—two vibrant democracies facing threats from hostile neighbors. Both nations wield substantial economic and technological prowess, and both heavily depend on U.S. military exports and diplomacy. Taipei also sees Israel as a “role model” for what Taiwan should aspire to be, citing its unwavering determination and capabilities to defend itself.

On a deeper level, Taiwanese leaders seem to view Israel’s war with Hamas and Iran as an extension of a greater struggle between democracy and autocracy.

Gering urges Israel to reciprocate these expressions of friendship and to take into account that “China has been going above and beyond to demonize the Jewish state in international forums.” Above all, he writes, Jerusalem should “take a firmer stance against China’s support for Hamas and Iran-backed terrorism, exposing the hypocrisy and repression that underpin its vision for a new global order.”