PRESS RELEASE: Statement by JINSA President & CEO Dr. Michael Makovsky on the Recognition of a Palestinian State by U.S. Allies

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 21, 2025
Contact: Blake Johnson
bjohnson@jinsa.org

Washington, DC – Following reports that Britain, Canada, and Australia announced their recognition of a Palestinian state, Michael Makovsky, President and CEO of the Jewish Institute for National Security of America issued the following statement:

“JINSA recognizes the state of Freedonia—long live Freedonia!

“This statement, referring to the Marx Brothers’ famous fictitious state, bears as much relevance to reality as does the recognition today of a state of Palestine by some of America’s closest allies. Like Freedonia, there currently exists no Palestinian state to recognize—but unlike Freedonia, no family of Jewish comedians will ever be prominent there.

“Except that the recognition of a Palestinian state is no laughing matter, and it carries very dangerous consequences, which is why Israel and the United States oppose it. Most immediately, it has emboldened Hamas, a terrorist group, to harden its stance in negotiations for the release of hostages who have languished emaciated in Gaza’s tunnels for almost two years.

“The step also grotesquely rewards Hamas for perpetrating the October 7 massacres. America’s friends can deny this reality all they want, but they can’t deny the triumphant words of Hamas’s leadership that ‘The initiative by several countries to recognize a Palestinian state is one of the fruits of October 7.’ The message received by all Palestinians is clear: The path to getting the international community to abandon Israel and support Palestinian demands is to start a war by killing and taking hostage as many Jews as possible.

“Instead of using the leverage of recognition to demand that Hamas release the hostages and surrender power in Gaza, and that the corrupt Palestinian Authority first transform itself through far-reaching reforms aimed at building effective governance, fighting terrorism, and educating its population to live in peace alongside a secure Jewish state, America’s friends have sadly opted for a cynical game of moral preening and feckless virtue-signaling that will only push peace further away.

“The United States should demand more from its close allies.

“Meanwhile, JINSA will put more faith in Freedonia.”

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