The Republican Party, by contrast, wasn’t always that
supportive of Israel. But in recent years, that has changed dramatically.
Republican support has become both consistent and deep. When the media questions
most GOP leaders about their support for Israel, their responses leave little
doubt about their commitment. Much of this comes from the party’s conservative
base. Particularly Evangelical Christians - whose support for Israel often
exceeds that of many (even pro-Israel) Jews.
As a Jew, I long took comfort in the bipartisan nature of
that support. It gave me a sense of security, even pride, in knowing that my
ancestral homeland was admired by both major parties. Antisemitism certainly
existed, but it was relegated to the fringes of society. Rarely seen and never
accepted in the mainstream.
That feeling has begun to change.
Let me be clear: I still believe in the vision expressed by
President George Washington in his 1790 letter to the Hebrew Congregation in
Newport, Rhode Island:
“May the Children of the Stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants… For happily the Government of the United States gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance.”
But Israel’s defensive war in Gaza, following the Hamas
massacre of October 7th, has unleashed a reaction among many
Americans that challenges that ethos.
A bit of history for purposes of context.
Ever since the Six-Day War, when Israel recaptured Judea and
Samaria (the West Bank), it has been accused of oppressing Arab refugees - people
who had lived in squalid conditions under Jordanian rule after the 1948 War of
Independence until 1967. The world was silent about their suffering then, but
once Israel assumed control, the blame shifted instantly to the Jewish state.
Around that time, those Arab refugees began calling
themselves ‘Palestinians’. A few years later, in 1970, the Palestine Liberation
Organization (PLO) hijacked a commercial flight and held its passengers hostage.
An act that led to modern airport security. The PLO’s goal was explicit: the
destruction of Israel and its replacement by a Palestinian state.
That was the beginning of a decades-long propaganda campaign
that has successfully vilified Israel. Over time, the narrative evolved: Israel
was labeled an ‘apartheid state’, and the BDS movement—Boycott, Divestment, and
Sanctions—emerged, advocating policies that would, in effect, dismantle Israel.
This narrative found fertile ground in academia, where
diversity initiatives brought in faculty - some Palestinian, many from the far
left - who embraced and promoted the Palestinian cause. The far-left worldview
tends to divide the world into ‘oppressors’ and ‘oppressed’.” In that
framework, Israel could only be the oppressor, and the Palestinians the
victims. Who, after all, wants to side with an oppressor?
That mindset has deeply influenced university culture, where
student governments across the country have passed resolutions supporting BDS.
As the Gaza war progressed, those voices grew louder. The
relentless images of devastation (women weeping, children bloodied, cities
reduced to rubble) have had a profound emotional effect. Unless one knows the
history and context of the conflict, it is easy, even natural, to feel sympathy
for Palestinians and anger at Israel.
And so we return to America’s two political parties. Many
Democrats have now fully internalized the anti-Israel narrative and have become
far more sympathetic to Palestinians. Which ends up giving tacit legitimacy to
figures like Representatives Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, who openly question
Israel’s right to exist.
With Zohran Mandami, an avowedly anti-Israel Democratic
socialist now elected mayor of America’s largest city, this shift poses serious
long-term consequences for Israel’s bipartisan support. The Democratic Party
faces a defining choice: follow the progressive path that appeals to younger
voters, or hold to the centrist tradition that has long characterized its
mainstream.
Republicans, meanwhile, remain overwhelmingly pro-Israel.
But the antisemitism that once festered only on the far right has begun to
reappear in more mainstream conservative circles. Encouraged by popular media
figures and, disturbingly, by a few members of Congress such as Marjorie Taylor
Greene and Thomas Massie.
When extremists in America on both the far left and far
right converge in hostility toward Israel, there can be only one conclusion: we
are witnessing antisemitism, plain and simple, whatever denials are offered.
So where do we go from here? Will Democrats continue their
leftward drift? Will Americans embrace socialism as New Yorkers just did? And
will some conservatives continue to mask antisemitism as mere ‘anti-Zionism’? Or
will pro-Israel leaders like Speaker Mike Johnson and Secretary of State Marco
Rubio define the future of their movement?
My instinct tells me that moderation will ultimately prevail
in the Democratic party. And that the pro-Israel factions will continue to dominate
the thinking of fair minded conservatives. The Mamdanis and Carlsons of
American politics will fade from influence. Sooner rather than later.
Hopefully. And now that the war is over, Israel’s positive reputation - earned
over decades of good works - will be restored.
For despite the turmoil of the moment, I still believe in
the blessing of America that George Washington described so beautifully:
“May the Children of the Stock of Abraham who dwell in this land continue to merit and enjoy the good will of the other inhabitants, while every one shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid.”
Emes Ve-Emunah is now available at substack. To receive posts and comment you must subscribe. It's free.
