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Friends,

It sounds like a bad joke, but between now and November, the small but vocal minority within our community who supports Donald Trump will try to flood the zone with malarkey, and you're going to hear some of it.

The hard part about writing my newsletter is not deciding what to put in, but what to leave out. The challenge is not wasting your time and mine refuting claims you've never heard of or over-the-top claims that refute themselves. The risk is omitting something you are wondering about or that isn't as self-evidently absurd as I thought. So if you have anything you want me to cover in my newsletter, let me know. After all, I write the newsletter for you, my friend.

Kamala Harris is strong on Israel. National Security Action details her foreign policy views. Harris believes that “Israel is a critical ally and friend and its security is a top priority."

Harris met with constituents at the 2019 AIPAC conference. AIPAC did not invite presidential candidates to speak in 2019. The vast majority of members of Congress who attend are those given speaking roles. There would be little point in busy candidates showing up to sit in the audience. Members who don't attend the Conference typically meet with constituents in their office on the Tuesday of the Conference, as Harris did.

Trump didn't speak at AIPAC in 2019--did Trump boycott AIPAC too?

Former U.S. ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro said “There was no boycott. It was fiction...Notwithstanding Vice President Pence repeating falsehoods in a partisan speech."

Joe Biden repudiated Linda Sarsour's views. Within hours of her speaking not at the convention, but at an event during the day organized by an affinity group, the Biden campaign issued this statement: "Joe Biden has been a strong supporter of Israel and a vehement opponent of anti-Semitism his entire life, and he obviously condemns her views and opposes BDS, as does the Democratic platform. She has no role in the Biden campaign whatsoever." Many Democrats, including Biden, spoke out against anti-Semitism during the convention.

The president engages in anti-Semitic rhetoric, he appoints white nationalists and neo-Nazi sympathizers to key posts, and we're worried because someone with no position in the Democratic Party who's not running for anything spoke at a side-event during convention? Get a grip.

Maybe it's time to ask ourselves, as David Schraub asked in 2017, "what’s really driving our obsession - and it’s fair to call it an obsession - with one Palestinian-American feminist activist?" And to consider Hadar Susskind's point about who spoke at the convention itself with no objection.

This is what we should worry about: Donald Trump congratulated Laura Loomer and Marjorie Taylor Greene. Loomer, who won her Florida Republican primary on Tuesday, has been banned by Facebook, Twitter, CPAC, GoFundMe, Venmo, MGM Resorts, PayPal, Lyft, Uber and Instagram for spreading hate speech. But Trump congratulated her. Loomer is one of 19 Republican QAnon conspiracy theorists who have secured a spot on the November ballot. Trump has retweeted QAnon followers at least 201 times.

Trump also congratulated conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who has made racist, anti-Semitic, and Islamophobic statements, after she won her primary earlier in August. She will win in November.

Only the GOP is permeated with anti-Semitism from the top down. Linda Sarsour does not speak for the Democratic Party, but Donald Trump speaks for the Republican Party. Trump’s presidential campaign trafficked in anti-Semitic tropes, including Jewish money in politics and other anti-Jewish stereotypes. In October 2018, Trump promoted an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory on Twitter. Trump accused Jews of dual loyalty at the 2018 White House Hanukkah Party and in April 2019 in Las Vegas. Trump said in August 2019 that American Jews who vote Democratic--that's about 80% of us--are either ignorant or "disloyal." When asked to clarify, he said he meant "disloyal to Israel." In December 2019 Trump again invoked anti-Semitic tropes about dual loyalty and Jewish avarice that Jewish groups denounced.

After Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) posted an anti-Semitic tweet about Jewish money buying the 2018 election, Republicans didn't condemn him. They elected him House Minority Leader. They elected Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA), who described himself as "David Duke without the baggage," as the #2 House Republican. The #3 House Republican, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), was one of 23 votes against a resolution condemning anti-Semitism.

Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN), the Chairman of the National Republican Campaign Committee, invoked the same anti-Semitic stereotypes used by McCarthy. It's no coincidence that McCarthy and Emmer mentioned George Soros. The ADL explains the anti-Semitism behind the Soros conspiracy theories. This week, Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, said Soros wants to destroy government.

But what about the Israel-UAE agreement? Dalia Dassa Kaye explains that "the hyperbole surrounding this agreement is not warranted, as it is unlikely to be the strategic game-changer its boosters promise." But it may yield one substantive change: We learned this week that the deal may lead to an erosion of Israel's qualitative military edge. Jared Kusher is pushing the UAE arms deal. Maybe he's read some books about it.

But what about Jerusalem? Have you noticed countries lining up to get building permits for embassies in Jerusalem? Neither have I. Our embassy belongs in Jerusalem, but moving signage from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem was hardly the most pressing issue facing Israel or the United States, and the move did not make Israel safer or more secure. Moving the embassy became a big deal only when Republicans decided it would bolster the presidential candidacy of Sen. Robert Dole (R-KA). If you think I'm ungrateful, you're falling for Trump's anti-Semitic dog-whistle to right-wing Evangelicals.

But what about the Golan Heights? Israel was under no pressure to return the Golan Heights. Anshel Pfeffer wrote that "Trump’s gesture is empty. Just as his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital was. It won’t change the status of the Golan in international law and with the exception of a few client-states in Latin America, no other country is going to follow suit." Spoiler Alert: None have.

But what about Iran? Iran is closer to nuclear weapons than it was when Trump took office. Who could have predicted that exiting a deal that was working with no Plan B would not turn out well? If you don't understand why Trump's attempt to snap back sanctions is a mistake, read this thread from Halie Soifer and Jarrett Blanc.

Joe Biden and the Democrats are better than Donald Trump and the Republicans on Israel. Trump’s dismal record on Israel and Iran and symbolic moves on Jerusalem and the Golan Heights that made little difference for Israel’s safety or security can’t match the Obama-Biden administration’s strong record on Israel and Iran.

The votes in Congress prove that Democratic support for Israel remains strong, and Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), who will likely replace Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) as Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said on Thursday that he rejects calls to condition U.S. aid to Israel (as does Biden).

For more facts about where the presidential candidates and their parties stand on Israel and anti-Semitism, read the JDCA fact sheet. If you want details on where Joe Biden stands on Israel, read where Joe Biden stands on Israel.

If you want a direct comparison of Obama/Biden on Israel/Iran v. Trump, read this.

Last week's newsletter.

ICYMI. The Dangerous Consequences of Trump’s Plan to Snapback UN Sanctions on Iran.

Tweet of the Week. Richard Johnson.

Twitter Thread of the Week. Preview of the GOP Roll Call.

Video Clip of the Week. Dr. Zaius - It's Not Too Late.

Upcoming Events. Dana Gordon and I are hosting are hosting two great congressional candidates:

I guess this is a good problem to have: This list is now so large that while many people are local, even more live outside the Chicago area and have no interest in local news. If you want to be on a list that will receive infrequent newsletters about local issues and events, reply to this email and I'll add you.

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The Fine Print: This newsletter usually runs on Sunday mornings. Unless stated otherwise, my views do not necessarily reflect the views of any candidates or organizations that I support or am associated with. I reserve the right to change my mind as I learn more. Intelligent, well-informed people may disagree with me; read opposing views and decide for yourself. A link to an article doesn't mean that I agree with everything its author has ever said or that I even agree with everything in the article; it means that the article supports or elaborates on the point I was making. I take pride in accurately reporting the facts on which I base my opinions. Tell me if you spot any inaccuracies, typos, or other mistakes so that I can correct them in the next newsletter (and give you credit if you want it). Advertisements reflect the views of the advertisers, not necessarily of me, and advertisers are solely responsible for the content of their advertisements. I read, value, and encourage replies to my newsletters, but I don't always have time to acknowledge replies or to engage in one-on-one discussion. Don't expect a reply if your message is uncivil or if it's clear from your message that you haven't read the newsletter or clicked on the relevant links. © 2020 Steve Sheffey. All rights reserved.