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Steven Richard Sheffey's

Chicagoland Pro-Israel Political Update

Calling balls and strikes for the pro-Israel community since 2006

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May 24, 2020

163 days till Election Day

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Friends,

When they've got nothing left, our Republican friends fall back on "but what about Israel?" Millions of Americans are unemployed, the stock market has tumbled, and we are approaching 100,000 American dead as a result of Trump's incompetence and corruption. And that's on top of the anti-Semitism, bigotry, lying, and ignorance he's displayed since he announced his candidacy. So let's talk about Israel.

Joe Biden's nomination proves that the Democratic Party remains traditionally pro-Israel. Dan Shapiro writes that even though "some voices more critical of Israel have been heard in the Democratic party, Biden won the nomination while expressing his deep personal bonds with Israel and pledging to keep backing its security and defend it from any form of delegitimization, including the BDS movement. Democratic primary voters chose the candidate who called placing conditions on US assistance to Israel 'outrageous' and 'a gigantic mistake'.”

Even last week, while reiterating his opposition to unilateral Israeli annexation of the West Bank--a move opposed by every president until Trump and by many in Israel's security and intelligence establishment--Biden called the idea of conditioning aid to Israel "irresponsible" and said that the Palestinians must acknowledge Israel’s right to exist, “flat out,” and that while Israel should stop settlement activity, “we also shouldn’t let the Palestinians off the hook” for issues like incitement and support for terrorism.

Biden understands that Trump's draconian cuts in aid to the Palestinian Authority are in neither Israel's nor the Palestinian's best interests, but he would restore that funding only "consistent with the requirements of the Taylor Force Act to withhold certain assistance to the PA unless it is taking measures to end acts of violence against Israeli and U.S. citizens, including terminating payments to individuals engaged in acts of terrorism."

When he was Vice President, Biden not only condemned the terrorists who murdered Taylor Force, but the failure of the Palestinians to condemn his murder. Dan Shapiro explained in his 2017 testimony that the Obama-Biden administration reduced economic assistance to the Palestinians by an amount "equivalent to the amount expended by the Palestinian Authority as payments for acts of terrorism."

In addition to opposing the global Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, Biden would "sustain our unbreakable commitment to Israel’s security – including the unprecedented military and intelligence cooperation pioneered during the Obama-Biden administration, and the guarantee that Israel will always maintain its qualitative military edge."

But what about Democrats in Congress? If members of Congress cast weighted votes based on how many followers they have on Twitter or on how many media hits they get, it would make sense to extrapolate from two media savvy freshmen the views of the party as a whole. But no matter how much attention they get, those two only add up to two votes. A review of key legislation brought to the floor by Democratic leadership proves that Democrats remain overwhelmingly pro-Israel.

But what about the Obama years? The Obama-Biden administration was one of the most pro-Israel in history. From record aid to unprecedented security cooperation to successfully constraining Iran's nuclear program to a record at the UN better than its predecessors, the Obama-Biden administration proved in word and deed to be a strong friend of Israel.

The GOP is the party of anti-Semitism and white nationalism. 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.”

On May 21, Trump praised notorious anti-Semite Henry Ford's "good bloodlines." The ADL called on Trump to apologize. The Jewish Democratic Council of America (JDCA) condemned Trump's statement, noting that Ford was awarded the Nazi Party’s Grand Cross of the German Eagle and that Trump used Nazi terminology to describe Ford and his descendants.

And that's just Trump. The rest of Republican leadership has also engaged in anti-Semitism, and Republicans have yet to condemn any of Trump's anti-Semitic statements, including his recent praise for Henry Ford.

But what about Trump's record on Israel? That's the question Republicans don't want us to ask. They'll bluff and bluster about his symbolic gestures, none of which have made Israel safer and none of which have brought Israel closer to the two-state solution that Israel needs to remain Jewish and democratic.

The facts show that Trump’s record at the U.N. is one of abdication and defeat, Trump’s withdrawal from the Iran Deal did not stop Iran’s nefarious activities but encouraged Iran to resume prohibited nuclear activities, and Trump’s symbolic moves on Jerusalem and the Golan Heights did nothing to make Israel more secure.

Trump is enabling unilateral annexation. As Michael Koplow demonstrates, unilateral annexation would lead to terrible results for Israel and could weaken the U.S.-Israel relationship, which is based primarily on shared values.

Arguing that Palestinian leadership bears much responsibility for the plight of the Palestinians is both true and a non-sequitur in the context of unilateral annexation; it's like arguing that because someone else started a fire that could burn down your house, it's not in your interests to put out the fire--it's certainly not in your interests to fan the flames.

Alan Solow writes that "American Jews have an obligation to speak out against imposing a solution on the Palestinians as a matter not only of intellectual consistency, but also because to do so protects Israel’s long-term interests as well as the critical US-Israel relationship."

The coalition agreement  explicitly requires American approval, and by acquiescing to annexation, Trump is doing neither the U.S. nor Israel any favors.

Last week's newsletter .

ICYMI. How to think about Joe Biden's gaffes .

Tweet of the Week. Jesse Case .

Video Clip of the Week. Helping Mom start a Zoom meeting .

Political Ad of the Week. We Can't Risk Four More Years of Donald Trump.

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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.