Israel and the Americans

When it comes to US support for Israel, thank G-d for the Republicans. A new Pew Research poll reports on whether people sympathize more with Israel or the Palestinians. Not surprisingly, Republicans come in at 79% sympathetic with Israel. Democrats were at what I believe is their all time low for support for Israel - only 27% sympathize more with Israel. As most American Jews are Democrats, this does not speak well of American Jews support for Israel.

Several Israeli papers reported that former US Secretary of State John Kerry recently met with a top confidante of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Kerry was to have asked that this message be passed on to Abbas: "hold on and be strong." Kerry is also alleged to have expressed that Abbas should "play for time" and "not yield to President Trump's demands." Finally, Kerry is also reported to have said that "Trump won't be in office for long." (According to the Jerusalem Post.)

Kerry's behavior is outrageous, arguably treasonous in the sense of giving aid and comfort to the enemy. But it is telling just how far the Democrats have moved away from support for Israel towards supporting the Palestinians. Nor did it matter to Kerry that Abbas still claims the Jews have no right to Israel. This is what Abbas recently said about the Jews' historic and biblical claim to the land of Israel: "Colonialism created Israel to perform a certain function. It is a colonial project that has nothing to do with Judaism, but rather used the Jews as a tool under the slogan of the 'Promised Land.'"

Of course, the Bible tells us that over 3000 years ago G-d told Abraham to leave his home in Mesopotamia to travel to "a land that I will show you," the land of Canaan. On his recent trip to Israel, Vice President Mike Pence spoke to the Israeli Parliament, the Knesset. Said Pence: "The Jewish people's unbreakable bond to this sacred city (Jerusalem) reaches back more than 3000 years. It was here, in Jerusalem, on Mount Moriah, that Abraham offered his son, Issac, and was credited with righteousness for his faith in G-d. It was here, in Jerusalem, that King David consecrated the capital of the Kingdom of Israel. And since its rebirth, the modern State of Israel has called this city the seat of its government."

I challenge all my Jewish friends and readers who are Democrats to tell me what Democrat could be counted on to give similar words of support to Israel. Kerry? Clinton? We know Obama did not. What future Democratic President or Vice President would say to the Knesset these words that Mike Pence said: "...I am here to convey a simple message from the heart of the American people: America stands with Israel. We stand with Israel because your cause is our cause, your values are our values, and your fight is our fight." The Vice President also quoted our first two Presidents, including this quote from John Adams, that the Jews "have done more to civilize man than any other nation."

Different Jewish holidays have different prayers that are said. But they also have one prayer in common - the shehecheyanu. It is a short and simple prayer with which Jews thank G-d for giving us life, sustaining us, and bringing us to this day. Acknowledging that Israel is about to celebrate the 70th anniversary of its rebirth, Pence declared: "I say, along with the good people of Israel, here and around the world: shehecheyanu, v'kiy'manu, v'higiyana la'z'man ha'zeh."

But Jews who vote Democrat vote for the same candidates that Muslim Americans support. After all, both religious groups vote in large numbers for Democrats. According to "The Israel Group," the NY Post recently reported that Imams across the US spoke to their congregants in their mosques with these, or similar, words: "Oh Allah, count them (the Jews) one by one and annihilate them down to the very last one." (For more on these distressing comments, see the 8/10/17 post, "Guess the Countries.") It is projected that sometime in the 2040's, the number of Muslims will exceed the number of Jews in the USA. When that happens, and if life in America becomes as difficult for Jews as life in many European countries has already become, and when American support for Israel ends under possible successive Democratic Administrations, I wonder what my fellow Jews who vote Democrat will think then.