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May 14, 2023
Key Takeaways:
- Israel must protect its citizens from rocket attacks. Nothing about the judicial overhaul or continued settlement expansion relieves the government of this duty, nor should we allow our disagreements with Israel's current government to prevent us from affirming Israel's right to self-defense.
- According to Israeli security experts, only separating Israelis from Palestinians--which remains possible--can end this cycle. There is no military solution for either side of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
- The entire Democratic House leadership celebrated Jewish American Heritage Month. Unlike their GOP counterparts, Democratic leadership does not include anyone with a history of antisemitic rhetoric.
- We should be focused on the threat posed by a Republican Party poised to nominate Donald Trump for president for the third time but look! One Democrat out of 435 not in leadership said something nearly all Democrats in Congress disagree with. Don't take the bait.
Read to the end for corrections, what you may have missed last week, fun stuff, and upcoming events.
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Hi Steve,
Last week, in response to rocket fire from Gaza, Israel launched Operation Shield and Arrow against Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ). Alison Kaplan Somner reports that PIJ's "declared goal is the destruction of Israel and the establishment of a fully Islamic Palestinian state in its place. It believes this goal can be attained only through the use of force and military means, not political negotiation."
As of Friday, Israel had assassinated several key PIJ commanders and PIJ had fired over 900 rockets at Israeli civilian communities, putting 1.5 million Israelis within rocket range. No country would tolerate this. A government's first obligation is to protect its citizens. Any government that ignores this obligation will not long remain in power.
As of Friday, Israeli strikes had killed at least 30 and wounded at least 100 in Gaza, including civilians and children who were not targets (some Palestinians were killed by PIJ rockets). One Israeli was killed by rocket fire. The Biden administration reiterated on May 11 "Israel's right to defend itself" and blocked the UN Security Council from issuing a statement condemning Operation Shield and Arrow.
The casualty statistics explain why some people who understand the security rationale for Israel's actions and support Israel's safety might sympathize more with the Palestinians, who always suffer far more civilian casualties in these conflicts than Israel.
The sympathy polls are flawed because they present a binary choice and don't include a "sympathize with both"option. Most people will instinctively sympathize with the weaker party regardless of fault, and one can sympathize with one side without supporting that side--hence overwhelming support from Democrats for security assistance to Israel. If you are having trouble with this concept, read this from Michael Koplow, who writes that "it would be a step forward to hear some measure of empathy—and even self-doubt—from each of the two camps."
Does this Gaza operation sound like the same song with a different name? Alon Pinkas describes the pattern: "An event in the West Bank or an Israeli action in Gaza is followed by bellicose rhetoric from the Palestinian Islamic Jihad and/or Hamas. Israel threatens back, and shortly thereafter rockets are fired on southern Israel. Israel rightly claims self-defense, the Palestinians rightly say they are under a stifling, passive siege."
This pattern will repeat itself until Israel achieves a two-state solution. Several former Israeli security chiefs wrote on May 11 that the threat to Israeli democracy is "the culmination of a militant process driven, inter alia, by Jewish extremists dedicated to the annexation of the West Bank. For the first time ever, their messianic leaders serve in our government. This development is a struggle over the soul of Israel."
These Israeli experts believe that protecting Israel's democracy and protecting Israel's security "necessitates a separation between Israelis and Palestinians. Moreover, it is our professional judgment that the robust security arrangements needed for our defense can be negotiated and put in place in the context of the desired separation between the two peoples."
If you are pro-Israel, if you care about Israel's democracy and Israel's security, then you should be outraged that the Republican Party refused to reference the necessity of a two-state solution in the resolution supporting Israel that passed the House on April 25. Are you a single-issue pro-Israel voter (the vast majority of Jewish voters are not)? If you are then you should not support any candidate who does not support a two-state solution. Then again, you shouldn't be supporting insurrectionists/election deniers either. Democracy in the U.S. matters too.
We all deserve more than "tolerance." On May 10, House Democrats hosted a congressional reception in celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month (JAHM). The entire House Democratic leadership team not only attended but spoke in support and solidarity with our community: Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, Vice Chair Ted Lieu, and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark all delivered inspiring remarks. Unlike all of their Republican counterparts, none of these leaders have ever engaged in antisemitic or racist rhetoric.
The event was organized by Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), the driving force behind the creation of JAHM in 2007. Rep. Wasserman Schultz urged us not to use the word "tolerance" because "no one wants to be tolerated. We want harmony, understanding, and unity." She is right, and that is what we should want for our entire country.
On May 9, Rep. Wasserman Schultz introduced the first-ever bipartisan, bicameral Jewish American Heritage Month Resolution. If you want to understand the history, successes, and challenges of the Jewish American community, reading this resolution is a good place to start.
Don't take the bait. Republicans want us to ignore the rot at the head of their party and the cancer of hate and antisemitism that has metastasized throughout the GOP at the federal and state levels. They would prefer that we not focus on the leaders of each party or on the mainstream of each party. Instead, they try to distract and deflect to a handful of Democrats who don't run the party and who take positions on Israel that nearly all Democrats in Congress disagree with. Don't take the bait. But if you are tempted, if you feel compelled to respond to your Republican friends before returning to the real world, I wrote a post just for you (and them).
Today is Mother's Day. It can be a day to celebrate, it can be a hard day, and it can be both, depending on your situation. Wherever you are, try to be with the people you want to be with today, in person or by other means.
Corrections. I'm entitled to my own opinions but not to my own facts, so I appreciate it when readers bring errors to my attention. No one brought any mistakes to my attention last week, so it looks like last week's newsletter was perfect.
In Case You Missed It:
Tweets of the Week. Nimrod Novik, the Embassy of Israel, and Jacob Kornbluh's response to federal indictments of Rep. George Santos (R-NY).
Video Clips of the Week. Two classics from Don Rickles (May 8 was the anniversary of his birth): With Frank Sinatra and with Lou Brock.
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