Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. is an American patriot, dear friend of Israel

This past February, Robert Francis Kennedy Jr. was sworn in by the Trump administration as the 26th United States secretary of health and human services. Many people know RFK Jr. as an American politician, environmental lawyer, and author who is a son of senator and former US attorney general Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of president John F. Kennedy.

But over the past two years, I have been honored to see him in a different light. I have met RFK Jr. on multiple occasions, be it marching for Israel, at a town hall (when he was running for president as an independent candidate), or a Torah scroll dedication in memory of Shani Louk and those we lost on October 7. No matter what the occasion was that we were celebrating or commemorating, what left an indelible impression on me was the fact that he is an American patriot and a dear friend of Israel.

When I last saw RFK Jr., he signed a copy for me of his memoir titled American Values: Lessons I learned from my family. In this influential and impactful book, which combines the best elements of a memoir and political history, RFK Jr. takes the reader on a unique journey through his life, which includes defining moments in the history of the United States.

The brink of nuclear war

He shares stories of nine Kennedy siblings, among them three US senators (Teddy, Bobby, and Jack), one of whom went on to become attorney general, and another would become the president of the United States. We live through the Cuban missile crisis, which brought the world to the brink of nuclear war with Russia. Through his father’s role as attorney general, we get an insider’s look as growing tensions over civil rights led to pitched battles in the streets, and 16,000 federal troops were called in to enforce desegregation at the race riot at Ole Miss (the University of Mississippi).

Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. waves to the audience after delivering a foreign policy speech at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, U.S., June 20, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/BRIAN SNYDER)

We see growing pressure to fight wars in Southeast Asia to thwart Communism. We relive the assassination of John F. Kennedy; Robert Kennedy’s run for the presidency that was cut short by his assassination; and the aftermath of those murders on the Kennedy family.

RFK Jr. also shares his own experiences, not just with historical events and the movers who shaped them, but also with his mother and father; his struggles with addiction; and the ways he eventually made peace with his Kennedy legacy and his own personal battle.

During my most recent meeting with RFK Jr., in which he took the stage to speak at the Torah scroll dedication, he said that he will always stand with the nation of Israel.

He stated that on the day after October 7, the UN Security Council should have condemned Hamas and demanded that Qatar and Turkey turn over the leadership of Hamas right away so that Hamas could stand trial for war crimes. He added that if the rest of the Arab world and the European countries would have expressed solidarity for that as well, then we would have been living in a different world today.

No choice, eradicate Hamas

He went on to say that he wants peace in the Middle East but that Israel has no other choice but to eradicate Hamas; and he wants the children of Palestinians to be raised in a peaceful way, not to aspire to wear a suicide vest from a young age and to kill a Jew – that’s child abuse. There is a whole generation of children that are being raised and indoctrinated, and there are governments that are paying bounties to any Palestinian who kills a Jew, and this must end.

In a March 2025 HHS (Health and Human Services) news release, he referred to student protests against Israel’s actions in Gaza as “antisemitism” and the product of “woke cancel culture.”

They say that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Having read RFK Jr.’s memoir and knowing where he comes from, I was not surprised by his steadfast commitment to Israel and the Jewish people. To quote Robert F. Kennedy, “The Jews point with pride to the fact that over 500,000 Arabs, in the 12 years between 1932 and 1944, came into Palestine to take advantage of living conditions existing in no other Arab state.”

Having had the honor to meet RFK Jr. and having read his highly acclaimed book, I can attest to the fact that it provides insight, hope, and wisdom for Americans as they wrestle with questions about America’s role in history and the world and what it means to be an American. RFK Jr. has shown time and again that he has a love for America and Israel, the greatest outpost of democracy in the Middle East.

The writer received his undergraduate degree in business (cum laude) from Yeshiva University and his MBA from Long Island University. A financial adviser who resides in New York City, he is involved in Israel-based and Jewish advocacy organizations.