To Obama, Fool Me Once, Shame on You; Fool Me Twice, Shame on Me
By Matthew M. Hausman
Eighty percent of American Jews voted for Barack Obama four years ago despite his associations with antisemites and anti-Israel hatemongers. Mainstream leaders knew of his ?friendships with Jeremiah Wright, Rashid Khalidi and Edward Said, but proclaimed him good for Israel nonetheless. From the “Rabbis for Obama,” to Congressional Jewish Democrats, to the usual assortment of Hollywood activists, the fawning chorus sang about his affinity for Israel despite troubling evidence to the contrary. They were unbothered by his 20-year affiliation with an antisemitic church, his political alliance with the Nation of Islam in Chicago, his doublespeak to AIPAC about his commitment to an indivisible Jerusalem, and his cagey silence regarding Israel during his brief tenure in the U.S. Senate. And now, after several years of policies that have facilitated the rise of Islamist regimes, enabled Iran’s nuclear ambitions, excused doctrinal Jew-hatred, and compromised Israel’s security and national integrity, polls suggest that nearly 60% are likely to vote for him again.
When Mr. Obama’s Jewish supporters discuss his treatment of Israel, they offer platitudes that are short on facts; and when they mention his relationships with characters like Wright and Khalidi, it’s to assure us that they were fully vetted in 2008 and, thus, should be of no concern to voters today. In truth, though, his dubious associations were never investigated, but instead were ignored by a partisan media that shielded its chosen candidate from any unpleasant controversy. Although a Republican’s involvement in a white supremacist church would certainly be front-page news, the press glossed over Mr. Obama’s longstanding membership in Wright’s congregation and refused to question his relationships with demagogues and bigots. To this day, the LA Times refuses to release video of Mr. Obama at an event sponsored by anti-Israel Palestinians, where he reportedly toasted Mr. Khalidi, a friend from his Chicago days, whose negative views and writings on Israel are well-known.
These relationships should have provided insight into the man’s character and beliefs, but they were consistently ignored – as has been his contemptuous treatment of the Jewish State since his first days in office. Despite Mr. Obama’s adversarial relationship with Israel, Jewish Democrats continue to parrot his unfounded claims of support, which he compulsively spouts ?before any Jewish audience.
At AIPAC’s annual convention last October, the President said: “I try not to pat myself too much on the back, but this administration has done more in terms of the security of the state of Israel than any previous administration.” This address was part of a calculated attempt to ?shore up Jewish support for his campaign, so some hyperbole was certainly expected. But what he failed to mention is that American strategic support for Israel during his administration is part of an ongoing, ten-year commitment made by President Bush in 2007 and is supported by Congress; it is not the fruit of his own policies, which have been overtly hostile. His actual record consists of bullying Israel over so-called settlements, obsequiously courting an Arab-Muslim world that rejects western values, and delegitimizing Israel by persistently using the propaganda-laden term “occupation” to describe her dominion over much of her territory, including Jerusalem, and refusing to acknowledge the Jews’ historical connection to their ancient homeland.
Vice President Biden continued this revisionist public relations farce when he proclaimed in May that: “No President since Harry Truman has done more for Israel’s physical security than Barack Obama.” In stating thus, Mr. Biden displayed selective amnesia concerning his own role in the Ramat Shlomo crisis, which the administration created by labeling Jewish North Jerusalem a “settlement” and calling for a construction freeze that was not even contemplated under the Oslo Accords. Biden and Secretary of State Clinton knowingly misrepresented the status of ?Ramat Shlomo even though this residential neighborhood was specifically excluded from the temporary freeze to which Netanyahu had agreed. This manufactured crisis was emblematic of Mr. Obama’s pattern of characterizing residential areas as settlements, demanding that Israel cease construction, and then chastising her for supposedly impeding peace by continuing to build on Jewish soil. Interestingly, Mr. Obama has never criticized illegal Arab construction in Jerusalem or elsewhere – which is widespread – or condemned the Arab-Muslim rejectionism and doctrinal antisemitism that long preceded the existence of any “settlements.”
Unfortunately, the President has many enablers in the mainstream media and among Congressional Jewish Democrats, including the party’s National Committee Chairwoman, Debbie Wasserman-Schultz (D. Florida), who stated that, “[t]he president has a rock-solid record on Israel.” If Rep. Wasserman-Schultz and liberal establishment organizations really believed this, they would not have pleaded publicly with pro-Israel groups and rival Republicans to refrain from making Israel a “wedge issue” during this election cycle. It would have been unnecessary to attempt to quell critical discussion of Mr. Obama’s policies regarding Israel and the Mideast if they believed he could stand on his record.
An examination of Mr. Obama’s statements and policies suggests that, contrary to the claims of his apologists, he has been the most hostile president towards Israel since Jimmy Carter. From the beginning of his administration, he has advocated a revisionist Palestinian narrative based on myth and a denial Jewish history. Rather than acknowledge the incongruity of Palestinian claims to a country that never existed in a land with an undeniably Jewish ?provenance, he used his Cairo speech in 2009 to reinforce the canard that Israel exists only because of European guilt over the Holocaust, which he then compared to the Palestinian situation. In this speech he negated Jewish history, delegitimized ancestral Jewish claims, and reinforced the fantasy that Palestinian “suffering” is equivalent to genocide. Since then, he has ?continued to target “settlements” as the source of conflict – all the while ignoring that Arab-Muslim rejectionism long preceded their existence and that nobody sought a Palestinian state during the 19 years when Judea, Samaria and Gaza were illegally controlled by Jordan and Egypt. Despite constantly haranguing Israel, he has never chastised the Arabs for engaging in antisemitic incitement, maintaining charters that advocate genocide and the destruction of Israel, or publicly proclaiming that they will never recognize a Jewish State.
Mr. Obama sounded similar themes when he spoke in Turkey earlier in 2009, where his policies have reinforced an Islamist regime, and at the United Nations in 2010, where he refused ?to condemn Arab-Muslim antisemitism before the body most responsible for facilitating its spread. Most egregious was his May 2011 State Department speech, which advanced the discredited theory of “linkage” (which holds that the Arab-Israeli conflict is the root of all geopolitical problems in the Mideast), and in which he called on Israel to retreat to indefensible 1949 armistice lines and negotiate an Arab “right of return.” In this speech the President demanded nothing of the Palestinians, and even equivocated on whether Hamas is a terrorist organization. His defenders claimed that these positions were no different than those of prior administrations, but in fact no other President ever made such outrageous demands of Israel.?
The President has set a most unfriendly tone in his speeches and public pronouncements, and his attempts to intimidate Israel by word, deed and omission leave little doubt that he has no respect or empathy for the Jewish State, and no regard for her historical integrity. It is ?astounding that so many Jews who claim to hold Israel dear can continue to support a president whose record is marked by slight after gaffe after snub, and which includes the following lowlights, among many others.
Since his inauguration, Mr. Obama has travelled to Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, where he has made revisionist speeches and bowed to a foreign king; yet he has never visited Israel, America’s only stable, reliable ally in the region.
He has compared the Palestinians’ circumstances to the Holocaust, though they are not the victims of genocide and although Arabs in Israel and the territories enjoy the highest standard of living of any Arab population in the Mideast as measured by income, literacy, longevity and low infant mortality. (The same could not be said of Jews who perished during the Holocaust or, for that matter, who lived as dhimmis under Sharia law in the Arab-Muslim world.)
He has demanded unprecedented concessions from Israel but none from the Palestinians, and has publicly lectured Jewish leaders that “Israelis must engage in self-reflection,” as if to imply that they are not committed to the search for peace. Glaringly, he has never commented on the need for Palestinian “self-reflection.”
He does not criticize the Palestinians for the antisemitic and anti-western materials included in their school curricula, or the Palestinian Authority for failing to amend its charter calling for Israel’s destruction.
He has made Israeli construction freezes preconditions for peace talks, though they were never required under any negotiating framework, not even Oslo, or by U.N. Resolution 242.
He repudiated a letter sent by President Bush to Ariel Sharon on April 14, 2004, which underscored America’s commitment to “final status” negotiations that would take into account “new realities on the ground, including already existing major Israeli populations centers, [and that] it is unrealistic to expect that the outcome of final status negotiations will be a full and complete return to the armistice lines of 1949.” This letter was endorsed by nearly unanimous resolutions in both Houses of Congress, and Sharon relied on its assurances in deciding to disengage from Gaza in 2005. Nevertheless, in his State Department speech last year Mr. Obama demanded indefensible borders based on the armistice lines, which Abba Eban famously described as “Auschwitz” borders.
In the name of restraint he discourages Israel from responding to any provocations or acts of terror – no matter how deadly – but has never demanded restraint of the Palestinians. Neither has he publicly rebuked them for continuing to engage in terrorism.
He was silent when Mahmoud Abbas announced that the PA will never recognize Israel as a Jewish State. This declaration of non-recognition was stated at the fifth convention of Fatah’s Revolutionary Council, which “affirm[ed] its rejection of the so-called Jewish state, or any other formula that could achieve this goal.” Abbas has repeated this rejectionist vow numerous times since, and the Obama White House has never challenged him.
The President has lauded the PA as moderate, both directly and through his proxies Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, despite its commitment to non-recognition, its glorification of terrorists who kill Jews, and its unity pact with Hamas.
He failed to comment when Abbas and the PA publicly honored Amin al-Hindi, the mastermind behind the 1972 Munich Massacre. (Abbas, who was known as Abu Mazen at the time, reportedly was the PLO operative who helped secure funding for the terrorist attack that killed 11 Israeli Olympic athletes.) Despite such clear and provocative antisemitic displays, Mr. Obama continues to promote Abbas and the PA as negotiating partners, and to condemn Israeli “settlements” and “hardliners” as the barriers to peace.
Mr. Obama was silent when the PA renamed a public square in honor of Dalal Mughrabi, the Fatah terrorist who killed 37 Israeli civilians in 1978. The PA honored this murderer one day after five members of an Israeli family, the Fogels, were killed by Palestinian terrorists. The only time any administration official condemned the apotheosis of Mughrabi was when Hillary Clinton appeared before AIPAC in 2010 and falsely claimed that it was Hamas, not the PA, which had publicly honored this terrorist.
During a state visit by Israeli officials, Mr. Obama attempted to humiliate Prime Minister Netanyahu by forcing him to enter the White House through a service entrance, deliberately serving non-kosher food to his retinue and refusing to dine with him. The President later implied that if Mr. Netanyahu could not resolve the conflict, a “peace plan” would be imposed on Israel.
After insulting Mr. Netanyahu, the President hosted Abbas at the White House and, despite the latter’s continuing antisemitic incitement and unity government ?with Hamas, increased American assistance to the PA by $70 million.
During the Gaza Flotilla fiasco, Turkey sponsored U.N. resolutions condemning Israel and calling for an international inquiry, which Mr. Obama refused to veto. Instead, he attempted to pressure Israel to apologize to Turkey for casualties on board the flotilla, though it was shown that Israeli commandos acted in self-defense after being attacked first, and that many of the “activists” on board were actually armed terrorists. The President never criticized the Turkish IHH for its links to Hamas, but imperiously demanded that Israel take responsibility for mending fences with the Turks, Egyptians and Palestinians.
Mr. Obama refused to criticize Abbas when he gave a U.N. speech denying the Jews’ historical connection to the Land of Israel, and during which he stood before a regional map from which Israel had been erased. According to many observers, Obama’s disparagement of Jewish claims and embrace of the Palestinian narrative encouraged Abbas’s quest for U.N. recognition.
He has consistently minimized Israeli concerns about Iran, and has employed a policy of “engagement” that has only enabled Iran in advancing its nuclear ambitions. The failure to employ real containment measures has provided Iran with time and cover to bring more centrifuges online and enrich copious reserves of uranium.
He has legitimized the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist groups after facilitating their political fortunes by: mishandling the so-called Arab Spring; ignoring their genocidal goals; and calling on Israel to negotiate with them despite their charters calling for her destruction.
As it did four years ago, the media has continued to protect Mr. Obama, going so far as to dub him “the first Jewish president” to imply a false affinity with Jewish values. This observation is absurd given his record of belittling Jewish historical claims, and considering that the only Jews he embraces politically are those on the left who themselves denigrate Israeli sovereignty and traditional values. Mr. Obama’s true feelings were exposed in his inopportune, open-microphone remarks disparaging Mr. Netanyahu to former French President Sarkozy. Those Jews who continue to support the President despite such displays of malice and hostility ?are only deluding themselves.
Or maybe they’re not. Perhaps, despite all their claims of devotion to Israel, they really don’t care about her safety, integrity and continuity as a Jewish state. That certainly seemed to be the case in Florida on May 15th during a debate involving the Palm Beach County Democratic Chairman and Tom Trento, a Christian Zionist. In justifying his continuing support for the President, the Democratic spokesman implied that Mr. Obama’s policies are consistent with Jewish values, which he equated with social justice as defined by liberal ideology. In the final analysis, commitment to Israel for him seemed beside the point, as he stated to the crowd: “There is more to this election than merely Israel.” (Debate highlights can be accessed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ds-pSs6JA8g.)
If one accepts the premise that liberalism is synonymous with Jewish values, then Jews historically should have always supported the parties that: (a) promoted universal suffrage, government regulation of industry, eight-hour workdays, minimum wages, and compulsory social ?insurance; or (b) endorsed government work programs, legislation to reduce unemployment, and federal spending to stimulate economic growth. If these were the only criteria influencing Jews’ political choices, however, they would have supported Mussolini’s Fascist party in the first instance and the Hitler’s National Socialists in the second. Clearly, eliminating Jewish priorities from the equation would lead to untenable results.
It took Mr. Trento, a Gentile supporter of Israel, to drive this point home. In a world clouded by Iranian nuclear threats, encroaching jihadism, intractable Muslim rejectionism, and an American President who seeks rapprochement with antisemitic and anti-American regimes, this election truly is about Israel. Sadly, some Jews do not agree, while others simply don’t understand. But those who choose to support the President by ignoring statements and policies that have imperiled Israeli sovereignty and security would do well to remember the old adage: “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.”
100 years ago, the communist were killing fewer Jews than the conservatives. Since then Jews have decided to support the communists. The times have changed, now tho commies are the most intense Jew-haters.
The commie Fidel Castro not that long back spoke to Jeff Goldberg of The Atlantic and was very sympathetic to what the the Jews have been through. Netanyahu praised him the next day. Secondly, Communist China is frienfly with Israel. Many of the original Commies WERE jews. Real Commies are supporti e of Israel and the Jews.
Can Jews who don’t care about the state of Israel really be considered Jews? Perhaps these Christian Zionists are more “children of Abraham” than so-called Jews who value the democrat party in America more than the well-being of Israel.
@ Viiit:
“Stalled peace negotiations in the Obama years cannot be blamed on Netanyahu’s policies of accelerating settlement construction. He has in fact slowed it down. What has undermined peace negotiations, rather, is Obama’s policy on the settlements – and the unrealistic expectations that policy has nourished.”
http://jcpa.org/article/israeli-settlements-american-pressure-and-peace/ to read more
Steven J. Rosen is Director of the Washington Project of the Middle East Forum. He served as Associate Director of the National Security Strategies Program at the RAND Corporation, followed by 23 years with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) where he was Director of Foreign Policy Issues.
@ Michele:
Jews who don’t care about Israel, are definitely Jews. They are VERY sick, but still Jews.
Their sickness is a response to the all-pervading antisemitism disguising as anti-Zionism. They think that they can avoid being targeted by joining the enemies.
They are wrong, of course. They will be targeted perhaps they will be among the last ones on the train to Auschwitz.
My point is that at least some of these Jews can be awakened. Don’t give up on them.
@ Viiit:
Nonsense.
@ TheJerusalemCenter:
The peace negotiations are against Israel.
They are negating the fact that Israel has won the war. No other country in the history has begged their enemies to take back the land they won in a defensive war.
Israel must not take part in such nonsense. Instead, Israel must stand firm on the 1922 resolution of the League of Nations recognizing the historical, religious and legal rights of the Jewish people to closely settle all land between the river and the sea.
@ scotty:
Ah sir, your point is so well argued.
@ Viiit:
There is no such thing as historical rights.
Israel has already surrendered her 1922 legal rights.
That leaves religious rights and how can non religious Jews claim and defend religious rights?
0 for 3 isn’t bad.
@Scotty; Israel which in case you were not aware, didn’t exist in 1922. So you sound delusional when you post comments such as “Israel already surrendered its’ rights”. What actually happened was the evil Empire aka British Empire committed robbery by stealing part of the Jewish National homeland and giving it to the king of the Hashemites after they lost their civil war with the House of Saud.
Of course you are right, they are Jews. I just don’t understand how after 2000 years in the diaspora they can believe they will somehow be spared. I will never give up on them but continue to pray for their eyes to be opened to the truth of the situation.@ Viiit:
@ scotty:
We cannot surrender our rights.
And nobody can surrender my rights for me.
Never has Israel surrendered the right to all of Land of Israel.
@ scotty:
You say there is no such thing as “historical rights” however this is part of the language of the Leauge of Nations resolution. So this is what I am referring to.
When you become the highest legal authority in the world, I will be happy to refer to you.
@ Eddie:
I don’t know what world you are living in, but commies are antisemites and oppose the very existence of Israel. The Soviet Union backed Israel’s enemies and virtually created the PLO.
@ Michele:
I think that our best approach is to understand this condition rather than just condemn it. It is a mental that is often curable. I’d say chances are 50/50. Many “liberal” Jews have come to their senses. Many more would come if strong pro-Israel stance would not be dominated by the religious right. It is most important that the conflict between religious and nonreligious Jews is cleared out of the way. Both sides must recognize the others as fellow Jews and as allies or potential in defense against world-wide antisemitism.
@ Eddie:
These “Jews” had no connection to Judaism. They were commies first and only.
@ Laura:
Are you not forgetting that the Soviet Union was an original backer and arms supplier of Israel. And are you not forgetting that the original pioneers and primary builders were Jewish commies and socialists. And the current haters of Israel and Zionism are the ultra orthodox.They don’t recognize Israel as a Jewish state-they are waiting for the Messiah.
We call that a very selective memory.
@ Viiit:
When you say “religious right” are you referring to Christians or religious Jews? I understand that liberal Jews want to distance themselves from any religious group, but my hope is that they come to realize that Judeo-Christian religion is not the enemy. In time they will realize who their true friends are, and may it not be too late.
@ Michele:
I am referring to the language of the 1922 League of Nations unanimous resolution.
I assume it refers to Jewish religion. Just like it would make sense to say that Muhammadans have religious rights to Mecca.
But it is a good question what the League meant by that language.
@ Viiit:
Unless you are a citizen resident of the State of Israel, you have no rights. The only Jews with rights are those who put themselves at risk and those who are willing to fight for the State. Those Jews are the only Jews whose opinions matter.
You are right Israel has not surrendered all of the lands of Israel, just it’s heartland and it’s 2nd most holy city Hebron. Jerusalem was also offered by Olmert and Barak.
@ Viiit:
Your vision and that of those whom your refer to as the religious right are not the same vision. There is no reason why a religious nationalist Jews should accept armchair generals, or militant (Jewish nationals?) from across the sea as equals or even relevant, either in our nation building or it’s defense. Even our leftists here in Israel whose views are abhorrent to many of us, have more rights than foreign nationals, however than militant, who have not paid their Jewish and nationalist dues.
@ Viiit:
Did not refer or mention the Jewish religion.
@ scotty:
Not necessarily true. Patriotic Jews outside Israel can be doing necessary work and support Israel. Without the support of Jews from outside, Israel could not have come to be.
There are battles to be fought both places.
@ scotty:
Pretty stupid to alienate all Jews living outside Israel.
Scotty: Those “meaningless” Jews living in America can be a great help in voting for
the right President this coming election in November. The difference between an American
President who truly believes in Israel, and the present White House incumbent muslim
is pretty damned important to the future of Israel. Without the Jewish vote Muslim Obama
loses. If he wins, knowing that he has only four years and doesn’t have to kiss anyone’s
butt….Wait till you see the kind of pressure he puts on Israel. American Jews are Jews
and good Jews at that. Without us, Israel would be really hard pressed. There are more
American Jews who truly love Israel and what it stands for than you think.
@ jomit:
That is encouraging. I hope and pray you are right.
Michele: I know that I am right. I am one of them that worries daily about
that brave country. I know countless others. I am sorry that I can’t
say the same of all of them, and I cannot for the life of me understand
a Jew who has any idea of history that doesn’t feel as I do.
@ jomit:
You are proof that there is hope. I pray many more will come to share your perspective, and conviction.
@ jomit:
Sorry American Jews make up today less than 2% of the population and decreasing yearly. There are not enough Jews to make a difference in any national election. Jewish money is another story but the Jews who give the most to political parties and candidates are those assimilated Jews that have almost no connection with either the Jewish community, Judaism and especially Israel. Many if not most tend to support politicians and positions inimical to Jews, Judaism and Israel
According to the American Jewish Identity Survey 2001, out of approximately 5.5 million American adults who are either Jewish by religion or of Jewish parentage and/or upbringing, nearly 1.4 million say they are members of a non-Jewish religion.
We are not talking here about secularism, not about Jews who opt out of going to synagogue in favor of a baseball game or the movies, but rather in favor of church. Since the vast majority of American Jews are of Ashkenazic descent, this means that 25% of the descendants of European Jews who resisted the blandishments and threats of Christianity for some sixty generations, often at the cost of their lives, are now voluntary apostates.
No matter how engaging, no one is ready to sacrifice one’s life — nor the love of one’s life, for a culture of Sholem Aleichem and dreidels and lithographs of the Western Wall.. Against Christianity we have pitted not Judaism, but Judaica.
History shows that substitutes for halachic Judaism have a shelf life of four generations or less. Reform Judaism’s founder Moses Mendelssohn had nine grandchildren; eight of them were baptized as Christians. Zionist founder Theodore Herzl’s children were not only not Zionists, they were not Jews. How many of the grandchildren of the great Yiddish writer I.L. Peretz married under a chupah? How many of his great-grandchildren know what a chupah is?
To perpetuate Jewish culture, outside of museums and university courses, at the very least you need Jews. But Jews, as all the population surveys prove, are rapidly disappearing.
Today American Jews need Israel and Israel does not need such (Jews) as in America who are American first and last and being Jewish becoming more and more a historical footnote. Israel should have learned by now than when it really counted we were abandoned as much by American Jews as a collective as we were by the gentiles. In a poll a few years ago American Jews were asked to list their main concerns from 10 being the highest concern and Israel barey made it in the top ten at about 15% in relative concern for American Jewry. American Jewry’s concerns mirror non American Jewish concerns.
American Jewry have a single survival choice as Jews. That’s immigration to Israel.
Scotty: The difference is that ALL of the American Jews vote while a much smaller percentage of the Black and Latinos do. Our vote and donations is much larger in proportion to our 2%. We are Americans first, and our Religion is Jewish. We are not Israelis, but certainly consider ourselves as totally involved in the betterment and safety of that country. I personally can’t stand that we have a President who has humiliated Israel, and who personally is a muslim at heart. You can give me all the statistics you wish, but I know how I feel, and the love of Israel will guide my vote and my donations for the rest of my life. I know I am not alone.
I wish that those who say that Jews living outside of Israel Should butt out of commenting on Israeli affairs, out to realize that if we are asked to donate to Israeli causes , that donation gives us the right and duty to voice our opinions. That is elementary (Watson).
What I can’t understand is, Why does Israel, with a booming economy, must constantly request a hand out? What gives?
My Father (who was a great sales person) used to have a saying: “You can’t give an old maid too much loving”.
I feel that way about Israel. Whatever we can give, whatever we can say on her behalf in speech and written,
whatever we can do to better their ability to protect themselves we should gladly do. I wouldn’t move there
because I am an American first and a Jew second, and America is the country that I fought for, just as the
Sabras and those displaced who found a home fought for Israel. IT IS NO CRIME TO BE AN AMERICAN JEW AND
CHOOSE AMERICA AS YOUR HOME. It is a crime to turn your back on Israel and not give a damn what happens to it.
@ andrew morris:
You can comment but your opinions have no weight or even value here. You are not one of us.
Unless you are A- an Israeli citizen living in Israel. B- A foreigner who has kids living in Israel and or serving in the IDF.: With regards to Israel you have no rights and no say in anything relating to Israel. You may support us or not but you have no rights and money can’t buy rights. This is not an American Jewish organization where money and an individuals wealth are determinant.
Israel learned many years ago that financial donations to Israel are pretty much the only connection most American Jews have with the Jewish State. less than 30% of American Jews have ever been to Israel and less than 10% donate in any form to Israel and Israeli causes. That’s not to say that we don’t have a need but what country today has no need for some financial assistance. Israel still has many poor and our debt financing eats up almost half of our budget. Our need to maintain a strong military eats up 16% of our GDP, the highest in the world. That said, we would not as a country feel it if American Jews stopped giving money to Israel. It’s no longer that much in relative terms and we are not that poor. Psychologically American Jews need the outlet because they have nothing else to connect to Israel with.
You might even say that Israel does American Jews a favor by allowing and accepting their financial donations and contributions. I would rather see Jews investing in Israel but that was almost never the case only smart gentiles did that.
Yamit: I’ve read your posts for a long time and agree with most. You are a loyal Israeli
and have a brilliant mind and a great ability to put your thoughts on paper. But you are
not in my head, and do not know how I, and a great multitude of Americans feel about Israel.
I have given in six figure amounts to Israel, not today when (as you say) Israel doesn’t need
our dollars….but in those dark days in the ’50s and ’60s when they damn well needed it
like oxygen to buy the weapons and equipment that helped save them through their really bad times. I have
the right to feel pride and joy and exhaltation at what Jews have accomplished and Israel’s victories.
I have no right or desire to expect anything that I say or think to have any impact on Israel itself,
its politics, defence, laws, or how it treats its citizens or enemies. But I do have every right to
disagree verbally and in writing to bloggers, congressmen, commentators who decry your nation. I have
a right to feel deeply your trials and tribulations. A right to hate your enemies with venom, and lastly
a right to worry and fret as much about Israel’s future as I do about America’s.
@ jomit:
Until some 250 years ago Jews living in almost every country on the globe put their first and primary loyalties to other Jews. They viewed themselves at best temporary residents in the countries that they settled in. They were also within certain historical contexts also thankful and loyal to their host countries.
In the 1st WW, we found that loyal Jews to their host nations fought on opposite sides where Jews were killing other Jews in the name of national loyalty. That circumstance went against the basic fundamental principles of Judaism. There is a remote potential for it happening again between America and Israel. In 1967 America had operational contingency plans to invade Sinai and the West Bank in order to block Israels military advance into Egypt and Jordan. We moved too quickly for them to implement those plans.
What you seem not to have recognized is that your and American Jews elevation of the primacy of loyalty to America over being Jewish and other jews resulted in the very attitudes of your fellow American Jews which you decry. That attitude is only the logical consequence of the very thing American Jews are most fearul of and that is the accusation of dual national loyalties.
When the final test comes for American Jews to choose between America and other Jews and Israel, do you have any doubts what the choice will be?
You have already stated yours.
Dan 5:25 And this is the inscription that was written:
MENE, MENE, TEKEL,
MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished
it;
TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and
found wanting;
From time to time (not unlike Obama) we will have a President who has not the feelings for
Israel that we have. But while I feel that there may be good or bad Presidents,
that America will NEVER go to war with Israel. Just as America will never again go to war
with the Brits, or ever with the Canadians, the Aussies or many other countries unless they should fall
into the hands of a Hitler or Stalin. There will never be a need for that choice. I believe that
Germans’ prior to and during WWI felt their loyalty to Germany 1st and formost and that they were
German (1) and Jews (2). That all changed in 1933. The only people who put religion (1) and country
(2) are muslims. Most Israelis I would bet think of themselves as Israelis (1). I’ll bet you can’t
prove me wrong.
I wish I could share your optimism about America never coming against Israel. I can very easily picture it happening. Many administrations since 1948 have been hostile to Israel, but none so much as this current one. You are naive to think you will never have to make that choice. Although I am not a Jew, I believe your first loyalty as a Jew should be to Israel, and if it is not, you misunderstand your sacred identity.
Michele: You say you are not Jewish, what is your religion? If it were Catholic, would your allegiance be to Vatican City?
It is truly hard for me to think in terms of my religion over my country. I spent two years watching people die and doing my
best to kill others….not for my religion…for my country. I am an American first. I always will be.
An official survey in Israel has shown that 44 per cent of Jews in the country over the age of 20 define themselves as “secular”. Twenty-seven per cent said they were “traditional”, 12 per cent as “traditionally observant”, 9 per cent as “orthodox” and 8 per cent as ultra-orthodox covering 2002–2004. Well…If 44% of Israeli’s consider themselves Israeli’s first and then secular Jews, why is it a bad thing for and American
Jew to be an American first? And lastly Michele…American and israel will never go to war against each other.
I do not see being Jewish as simply a matter of religion, altho it seems Jewishness cannot ultimately be separated from its religious aspect. I am not catholic, but if I was would feel no supreme loyalty to vatican city. However I believe the Jews are unique in their connection to the physical place of Israel/Jerusalem. This conclusion is based both on ancient history (your Scriptures) and prophecy–both events in the past and events yet to come. You may live in America, but you are first and foremost a descendant of Abraham and as such have certain responsibilities that supersede all others, i.e. Israel and Jerusalem. I hope I am not offending you; that is not my intention.
@ jomit:
By the way, I would bet Joseph never would have thought Egypt would eventually enslave or war against his people Israel. Just a thought.
@ jomit:
I don’t disagree that you have freedom of choice and expression. I never thought otherwise.
I have two sisters one living in NYC and the other Dallas. They don’t give a damn about Israel and one has never been here and wouldn’t have come but that she thought I might be dying. I wasn’t but that’s why one came. If I were not living here they would not entertain Israel as a primary thought. I consider them typical Jewish Americans and their kids are as removed from Israel and Judaism as can be, One even converted to Christianity.
You should understand that your loyalty to America came at a price and that is the historic chain link to the Jewish people. Most Americans have been willing to pay the price and that will result in the eventual self liquidation of the American Jewish community. It won’t-happen overnight but it is all but the inevitable outcome. Without the Israel connection most Jews fall back on the holocaust for their religious and ethic identity.
Jomit watch this: Jewish Documentary
.
@ Michele:
Know your Bible, at least the Jewish one.
Joseph must have known!!
Gen 15:12 And it came to pass, that, when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, lo, a dread, even a great darkness, fell upon him.
15:13 And He said unto Abram: ‘Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs, and shall serve them; and they shall afflict them four hundred years;
15:14 and also that nation, whom they shall serve, will I judge; and afterward shall they come out with great substance.
15:15 But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace; thou shalt be buried in a good old age.
15:16 And in the fourth generation they shall come back hither; for the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet full.’
15:17 And it came to pass, that, when the sun went down, and there was thick darkness, behold a smoking furnace, and a flaming torch that passed between these pieces.
15:18 In that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying: ‘Unto thy seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the river Euphrates;
see map
Yes, Joseph had been told ahead of time, but at the time he was living there I doubt he could conceive of it. It also says in the Scriptures that in the end “all the nations” will turn against Israel (Joel 3 and especially Zech.12), and I think that would include America, unfortunately. I wish it were not so.
@ jomit:
You say that you are a Jew by religion and American by nationality. This is a big misunderstanding. Jews are a nation, not a religion. A Jew’s religion can be Buddhist, or Zen, or Hindu, or Taoist, or she/he can be atheist and he/she will still remain a Jew.
When the Jews escaped from the Russian empire other parts of Europe to America, they knew damn well that they were a nation. Their passports said so. They were not Russians/Hungarians etc. They spoke different language, and looked distinctly different. They could hide their Jewishness even if they changed religion.
When they came to America, they tried to escape from the past persecution by denying their Jewish nationality and declaring themselves as Americans of Jewish faith.
This has worked OK for them for a while, but it is a lie. Your ancestors were Judean== Jewish. Different race, different nationality, different culture. You cannot escape from that. And a time will come in America too, when Jews will be persecuted just as they have been persecuted in all other countries.
Remember, Germany was once the most tolerant country in the world. Even in the beginning of the 20th century Germany was very tolerant, and Jews there were assimilated. They intermarried with Germans, spoke German, and thought of themselves as Germans. None of that helped them.
Viiit: I have had this understanding that was passed down from my Mother who emigrated from Russia in 1910. What you say has
merit, and I will have to do some studying and come to some conclusions on my own. I appreciate your pointing this out to me
and will follow it up. Thanks.
Yamit: I started the video. It is VERY interesting and while I don’t have the time to finish it today, I absolutely will.
I thank you for leading me to this.
@ jomit:
Just for your information. In 1910, Jews were not even Russian citizens. The citizenship came with the revolution in 1917. Jews thought “great, now we are equal”, then in 1918 – 1920 came genocide — 200,000 Jews murdered, million beaten, raped, houses burned. Most of that was in Ukraine, but also some in Russia, Belarus, Poland.
By the way there is 95% chance that you mother was not from Russia proper but from the Western provinces. Jews were generally not allowed to live in Russia proper. The were allowed to live in the areas that used to be Polish in the 18th Century.
Your ancestors came in 1910, before the genocide, but after the big wave of pogroms in 1905. Interestingly 1905 was the time when Jews were for the first time given partially equal rights in Russia.
Your mother’s first language was most likely Yidish, not Russian.
Michele Said:
I’m going to have to say right on Michele, and shake my head at Jomit’s naivite.
Jomit, if Israel threatens American security, the ‘support’ you mention which was always strings attached support will vanish. The American/Israeli relation will wane over time, it already is, and the Arabs can’t go any lower than they already are, where Israel is already at her zenith. If Iran and the Arab states become nuclear powers, the US will have to reevaluate it’s priorities in the Middle East.
Sadly, as days go by, I don’t think Israel or America will deal with Iran, so it’s downhill from there. This will impact how America views Israel as an ally.
Call if Naivite or call it anything you wish, but our attitude toward Israel seems always primarily based on who happens to
be President at the time and what his feelings are toward the mid east. Carter was one of the worst, until this current
muslim became the POTUS. I do not think he will be re-elected (if so it will be very bad for Israel), and if not, the next
guy is Romney, and I would bet that you will see a huge difference in attitude and warmth between these two countries.
Viiit, My Mother came from a small village near Minsk. Belarus.
@ jomit:
In Minsk 54 Jews were killed in 1905, a much larger number wounded, beaten, property burned.
I wonder how old your mother was when she left.
She was 9 and it was a little town (I’ll try to get as close to the name phonetically) called
Minskrugabernia. She remembered the Cossacks coming to town and the town burning.
People dead on the street including her aunt. They left shortly thereafter. They were lucky to have relatives who had emigrated earlier living in Chicago and that’s where she ended up.
A very beautiful woman who always wore her hair in braids crossing over the top of her head Russian style. I always thought of her as Russian, but never knew whether or not she spoke it. She did speak Yiddish very fluently, so maybe you are right. I wish I knew for sure. Never had an accent of any sort.