Is Vance Good for the Jews?

J.D. Vance and Donald Trump (NPR)

Is Donald Trump a ‘moral disaster’ that should be considered the ‘American Hitler’?  I think there may be more than a few ‘Never Trumpers’ that feel that way – or very close to it.  One may find it hard to believe that Trump’s choice of a running mate is someone who has actually called Trump a ‘moral disaster’ and an ‘American Hitler’. And considered himself to be a ‘Never Trumper’ – Ohio Senator J.D. Vance.

 One may ask, ‘How is that possible?’ Doesn’t Trump’s penchant for revenge against his critics suggest he would choose someone else? And carry out some sort of vengeful policy toward the Ohio senator?

The answer of course is that Vance has done ‘Teshuva’. Those early anti Trump statements were made in 2016 before he experienced the Trump presidency. He has come to see Trump as a man whose policies are virtually identical to his.  Since then he has become Trump’s biggest supporter  and loyal to a fault. Which is why Trump picked him.

Vance would not have been my first choice as Trump’s running mate. I was hoping for Rubio, whose views about Israel are virtually identical to those of Haley. And most of his views on other subjects are more in line with my own.

I can’t say the same about Vance. Except when it comes to his views about Israel. On that subject his views seem to be the same as Haley and Rubio. Considering Trump’s own strong pro Israel policies during his first term, I see Vance as a very positive influence in that direction. 

The following is an excerpt from Al-Monitor describing some of Vance’s views on this subject:  

Vance critiqued US foreign policy decisions throughout (a) Quincy Institute speech, saying the US "created a proxy of Iran in the Middle East" via the 2003 invasion of Iraq, among other examples.

Vance’s criticism of US policy does not include questioning US support for Israel. At the Quincy Institute speech, he made the case that Israel differs from Ukraine in terms of US aid.

“It’s sort of weird that this town assumes that Israel and Ukraine are exactly the same. They’re not, of course, and I think it’s important to analyze them in separate buckets,” he said at the institute, adding that politicians need to better articulate how support for Israel is in America's "best interest."

Vance said Israel is “one of the most dynamic and technologically advanced countries in the world." He praised Israel's development of the Iron Beam air defense system, saying, "The Israelis are doing the most important work to give us missile-defense parity."

Vance cited religion as a reason many Americans are pro-Israel, saying the United States is "still the largest Christian-majority country in the world" and referencing the Christian belief that Jesus Christ lived, died and was resurrected in modern day Israel and the West Bank.

"The idea that there is ever going to be an American foreign policy that doesn't care a lot about that slice of the world is preposterous because of who Americans are," he said.

In an interview with CNN the same month, Vance voiced support for Israel continuing the Gaza war, rejected US pressure on the country and blamed Hamas for Palestinian casualties.

“Hamas started the war, and now they hide behind Palestinian civilians. So if you want to learn the lessons of the last 40 years, the most important thing is we have to defeat Hamas as a viable military organization,” he said. “You’re never going to defeat the ideology of Hamas, but you can root out those commanders, those final military-trained battalions, and I think you should empower the Israelis to do it.”

The Biden administration has grown increasingly critical of Israel’s conduct in the war but has thus far kept up US military support to the country.

According to Vance, the United States has not done well at “micromanaging” wars in the region and should let Israel decide how to conduct the war itself.

“I think that our attitude vis-a-vis the Israelis should be look, we’re not good at micromanaging Middle Eastern wars, the Israelis are our allies, let them prosecute this war the way they see fit,” he said. 

I does not bother me at all that he references his own Christian religious beliefs as part of the reason for supporting Israel. On the contrary. I wish more Americans supported Israel for religious reasons. Even though some of those beliefs are anathema to us, they do not contradict our own religious reasons for being there. That we see a different ‘end-times’ outcome makes no difference now. On the contrary. Religious reasons would make their support much stronger.

Vance is the epitome of what America is all about. America is the land of opportunity where hard work, determination, and a bit of  luck, will allow one to realize the American dream of great success. That is his story. Which he described in his 2016 memoir, ‘Hillbilly Elegy’ (Which was made into a movie.) He came from modest beginnings in his native Appalachia region; served in the US Marine Corps for four years; got a law degree from Yale; and ended up getting elected to the Senate in 2022.

This does not mean I will be voting for Trump. What it means, though, is that if he is elected (which at this point has a better than even chance), his foreign policy with respect to Israel and Iran during his first term has a good chance of being carried over to his next. A policy which I prefer head and shoulders over Biden’s policy. Returning to Trump’s policy on Israel and Iran is not all that bad an outcome for those of us that care deeply about the Jewish state.

Is it possible that I could vote for Trump. Anything is possible. Including Trump doing Teshuva. He has allegedly torn up the vitriolic, inflammatory acceptance speech he was going to give and replaced it with a speech emphasizing unity. I don’t know what unity means in Trump’s world. But I guess we’ll find out on Thursday. 

For the record, I’m not expecting much. But like I said, anything is possible.