Trump’s Support for Israel Matters
September 25, 2018
It has been many years since a president as sympathetic to Israel as Donald Trump has inhabited the White House. Trump is not held hostage by political correctness and is able to tell the difference between good and evil. Unlike his predecessor, Barack Obama, Trump does not adhere to the belief that Israel is the source of the Middle East conflict.
The U.S. Embassy’s relocation to Jerusalem, the support for Israel at the United Nations and the firm stance against the Iranian threat are just a sampling of the support and concern the Trump administration has shown for the State of Israel. This support and assistance will be even more necessary at a time when Russia and Iran are entrenching themselves in Syria, right on our northern border.
Trump’s support for Israel is not about getting the Jewish vote. Most secular, Reform and Conservative Jews in the U.S. are loyal Democrats. In the 2016 election, they supported Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, who was expected to continue the policies of Obama, a man hostile to Israel for its supposed victimization of the Palestinians. You can no longer accuse these Jews of dual loyalty: They have relinquished their allegiance to Israel. In contrast, Orthodox Jews did vote for Trump, clearly understanding that his election was in the interests of the Jewish state.
One can safely assume Trump is very disappointed by the hostile treatment he has received from many U.S. Jews over his pro-Israel actions. The Jewish Left in the U.S. as well as in Israel is unable to recognize the good in someone who thinks differently from them. The petty politics of left-wing liberal Jews are serving to unravel historic Jewish solidarity.
Sukkot is a holiday centered on brotherhood and unity. Jews, rich and poor alike, leave their regular homes for a temporary hut, the sukkah, bringing together the four species, which represent diverse entities of human existence. During Simchat Torah, Israeli Jews celebrate the Second Hakafot in a show of solidarity with Diaspora Jews, who celebrate the holiday for two days.
These holidays serve to intensify collective Jewish memory from that long journey through the Sinai Desert in ancient times to the present.
Seventy years ago, a new layer of Jewish existence was added with the establishment of the Jewish nation-state. Throughout the Diaspora, Jews felt exhilaration, pride, a sense of history and a reconnection to our homeland after thousands of years of exile. These wonderful feelings increased after the 1967 Six-Day War, which brought us back our capital and biblical heartlands. For a while, the tumultuous arguments between the religious and the secular, Zionists and anti-Zionists, Israelis and Diaspora Jews were forgotten.
But now it seems the sense of solidarity between Israel and the large Jewish Diaspora in the United States is tearing at the seams and perhaps on the path to disappearing altogether.
At a time when we celebrate brotherhood, it is important that American Jews understand that the good of Israel should be a priority for them too. If Trump is good for Israel, he is good for American Jews. It is important that this insight be clearly expressed.
By: Dr. Haim Shine
Similar posts
-
A Video Walk Through Tel Aviv
January 22, 2021https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lNQjiGQDay0 We can't wait to host you in person in Tel Aviv, but ...
-
Israel: Working Toward a COVID19-Free Future
January 14, 2021With two million Israelis having already received the first dose of COVID19 vaccine, Israel continue...
-
The UN's Eternal Hypocrisy on Israel
December 15, 2020Opinion: United Nations General Assembly last week passed 7 anti-Israel resolutions on the ver...
-
New Israeli Method to Predict Who is at Risk for Suicide
December 14, 2020Researchers at Technion and the Hebrew University have developed tools to recognize early warning ...
-
AOC ‘Dream Cabinet’ Would Be A Nightmare For Israel
December 14, 2020The New York congresswoman’s supporters want to see Israel-haters like Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar ...
-
Trump Announces Israel, Sudan To Normalize Ties
December 14, 2020US President Donald Trump announced third peace deal between the Jewish state and an Arab country ...
-
Trump, Israel, UAE Announce Historic Peace Deal
December 11, 2020Agreement is the product of lengthy negotiations between Washington, Jerusalem and Abu Dhabi. As par...
-
Israelis Send Their Support To The People Of Lebanon
December 11, 2020Israelis send their best wishes to their neighbors to the north, the Lebanese people after the tragi...