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| Bernie Sanders -1 of 10 Jewish US Senators |
It should come as no surprise that Christian Zionist
supporters (who are mostly Evangelical) were pleased with this outcome.
Huckabee is a devout Evangelical Christian, and support for Israel among
Evangelicals is often stronger than it is among many American Jews. That is a
sad commentary on where most of the American Jewish public stands on one of the
most vital aspects of our identity. Which is that the land of Israel (all of
it) was deeded to us by God, as recorded in His Torah.
Evangelical Christians take the Torah (which they refer to
as the Old Testament) seriously and believe it is the word of God. Just as
Orthodox Jews do. That Christians also have a New Testament, which adds
incompatible theological differences between our belief systems, is irrelevant
in this context. The fact remains that both devout Jews and devout Evangelical
Christians believe that the land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people and
that no other claims to it are legitimate.
(Whether Israel should act on that belief to restore full
sovereignty over Judea and Samaria is beyond the scope of this post. However,
there should be no question about who the land of Israel rightfully belongs to if
one believes the Hebrew Bible is the word of God. Huckabee, in fact, is one of
those people. It's also worth noting that accusations about Christian ‘end-times’
theology such as whether there will be an actual Armageddon for non-believers at
that time is debated among Christian scholars. Some, like Huckabee, believe there
will not be… that ‘end-times’ will be fulfilled
without it once all the Jews return to their homeland. But I digress.)
It is also worth noting that every single Jewish Democrat
voted against Huckabee. Why? Because he rejects what they believe is the final
solution to the conflict: the so-called two-state solution, in which the State
of Palestine would coexist peacefully alongside Israel.
That anyone still believes this now after October 7 is
mind-boggling. It has been proven, time and again, that most Palestinians do
not accept that any part of Israel belongs to the Jewish people. Their
theology asserts it all belongs to them.
Unlike the Jewish population, where 90% are not fully
observant, if at all. most Muslims are devout. They will never abandon their
religious goal of reclaiming all the land. This is evident in their words,
their media, their schools, and most of all, in the lavish praise they heaped
on Hamas for their ‘victory’ towards that end on October 7.
To the extent that any of them would accept a two-state
solution,
it
would be temporary. A tactical step, until they believed they could defeat
Israel militarily and drive us into the sea. This belief has been expressed so
overtly that it has become common knowledge by now,
But the Jewish Democrats in Congress remain oblivious to
this truth. They couldn’t care less
about what the Torah says. To them, the moral high ground lies in giving the
Palestinians their own state. God’s promise to the Jewish people is irrelevant
to them—just like any commandment in the Torah that doesn’t align with their liberal
or progressive worldview, which they see as more moral than the Torah itself.
The fact that Jewish Democrats voted against Huckabee is
meaningless to anyone who believes in the Torah. They no longer represent the
Jewish point of view on this issue any more than the Palestinians do.
What about the increasing loss of bipartisan support for the
Jewish state? Should that bother me? Yes—it does. But I cannot sacrifice my
belief in the Torah’s directives for the sake of winning over Democratic
support for Israel, especially if that support could one day lead to Israel’s
demise. Not if their views do not comport with the Torah’s values.
To the extent that they will fiercely object to this
characterization—that their values don’t align with the Torah—they’ll likely
claim Judaism is all about Tikkun Olam. Sorry, but Bernie Sanders is not
my rabbi. Or anyone’s rabbi. Judaism is a lot more than Tikkun Olam. The fact
that they’ve been misled to think otherwise doesn’t make it a kosher belief.
If that ever changes—if they stop defining Judaism as
progressive activism and start learning what the Torah actually says about
Israel… if they finally come to their senses and recognize that a two-state
solution might very well be the final solution (just not the way they
think)—then we can reconsider their views as authentically Jewish.
And if the Christians in the Democratic Party come to the
same realization and stop worshipping at the altar of progressivism, maybe - just
maybe Israel will once again enjoy bipartisan support. And someone like
Huckabee would receive unanimous confirmation from the Senate.
You never know. If something like that were to happen, it
could change the trajectory of Middle East politics forever—perhaps even usher
in the advent of Moshiach.
Will that ever happen? I think Moshiach will come first.
