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| Senate Majority leader, Chuck Schummer - an ungrateful Jewish Democrat |
Thankfully, Homeland Security anticipated this type of
response from a regime with the moral scruples of Hitler, and has upgraded
security at many such institutions. But nothing is foolproof, and we must
remain vigilant.
What I am not so ecstatic about - to put it mildly - is how
the Democrats in Congress have responded. Even those considered ‘pro-Israel’ seem to be more loyal to their
politics than to the Jewish state.
As noted by Josh Kraushaar in Jewish Insider:
In my years of covering politics, it’s pretty rare for mainstream Jewish organizations to be wildly out of step with the predominant views of the Democratic Party. But in the aftermath of President Donald Trump’s decision to order bunker-busting strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites over the weekend, the views of the institutional Jewish community and many rank-and-file Democrats couldn’t have been more divergent…
By contrast, it was tough to find many Democratic lawmakers — even among those who are typical allies of Israel — who praised the strikes that severely degraded Iran’s nuclear program.
Among those disappointingly silent or critical were Chuck Schumer, Jacky Rosen, Adam Schiff, and Haley Stevens. There were a few Democrats who were on the right side of the issue, such as John Fetterman, Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Greg Landsman, and Steny Hoyer. But it appears that the majority were critical of it one way or the other.
Kraushaar further noted:
As one pro-Israel Democrat put it to JI: There were notably more Democrats putting out statements cheering anti-Israel activist Mahmoud Khalil being released from immigration detention than those expressing solidarity with Israel in its time of great need.
To be fair, there are also two Republican lawmakers who
joined the chorus of critics: Marjorie Taylor Greene and Thomas Massie - both
of whom are, or perhaps I should say were, huge MAGA supporters. Regarding Massie,
Trump said the following:
MAGA should drop this pathetic LOSER, Tom Massie, like the plague!... MAGA is not about lazy, grandstanding, nonproductive politicians, of which Thomas Massie is definitely one.
I couldn’t agree more. This is the same man who just
yesterday implied in a CBS interview that Congress is controlled by AIPAC — a
classic antisemitic trope.
To those Jews still clinging to the Democratic Party: you
may want to reconsider your loyalties.
The Democratic Party has long enjoyed the broad support of
American Jewry, going all the way back to FDR. There was good reason for that.
For decades, they were our advocates. Jews, as a religious minority, faced
bigotry and exclusion from neighborhoods, universities, and social clubs. It
was the Democrats who helped us break those barriers. It was they who lobbied
hardest against the Nazi menace. Even before the U.S. entered the war. And
yes, it was a Democrat, FDR, who tried to enter the war against the Nazis but was restrained by an
isolationist Congress and antisemitic members of his own administration. Until
Pearl Harbor changed everything.
But times have changed. And so should our loyalties.
Gone are the days when the left championed the causes of the
Jewish people. Today, we are no longer seen as part of the oppressed minority.
Instead, many progressives see Jews - and especially Israel - as part of the power
structure they seek to dismantle.
When Israel was perceived as a small, vulnerable nation
surrounded by enemies, she had their support. But now that Israel is
strong, the narrative has shifted. And the left is no longer in our corner.
Let’s be honest: bipartisan support may have always been
more myth than reality. Even when Democrats supported Israel, it often came
with conditions. Today, the majority of the Democrats in congress - which includes
many secular Jews - are taking positions that are not only harmful to Israel
but contrary to America’s own best interests.
In America today, politics is king. Not Trump - politics
itself. And politics often trumps (no pun intended) common sense, morality, and
justice.
So yes, I am happy to see mainstream Jewish organizations
breaking away from the Democratic Party. It’s long overdue.
The Jewish people - at least those of us who understand what it
means to be Jewish - should be thanking the president for what he did. This is
one of those rare moments where Agudath Israel and Yeshiva University agree.
Agudah has called on all American Jews to express their gratitude by contacting the White House. Instructions on how to do that can be found here.
And YU President and Rosh Hayeshiva, Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman, sent
a profound letter of thanks, that included these powerful words:
“What if someone had stopped Germany before the Holocaust ever began? How many lives would have been saved? How might the world look today? These haunting questions were long consigned to the realm of historical reflection. But now, we are no longer asking ‘what if’ — we are in the story…
While there are those who in hindsight pose the question of why President Roosevelt didn’t bomb the tracks to Auschwitz, we are grateful to live in a time when the United States president acts before the missiles are launched.”
To the Jewish lawmakers in Congress, I issue the following challenge:
If you are truly Jewish, this is how you should feel. If you
don’t, I question – not only your Jewish identity, but your Jewish lineage!
Please understand. This is not about Jews being more loyal to Israel than they are to their own country. Not unless you think that of Republicans are more loyal to Israel than they are to their own country. This is about right versus wrong.
