Not that there is anything wrong with that. One could argue that every nominating convention since the days of JFK was like that. But without hoopla and controlled chaos – along with reporters randomly picking up interviews with prominent Democratic attendees, the spontaneity is gone. Any possible surprises are practically eliminated. This leaves the viewer with little more that a series of long boring speakers with the predictable dual message of their candidate being the next Messiah while describing his opponent is the reigning devil who will destroy the country - if not the entire planet - if given 4 more years.
I’m pretty sure that the Republican convention will be pretty much along these same lines. – in reverse. Given that the Democrats are ‘up to bat’ right now, I thought I would express a few thoughts about the presumptive Democratic nominees for President and Vice President. For purposes of this post I will focus mostly on his support for Israel.
Let me dispense with Senator Kamala Harris first. She has an excellent record of support for the Jewish state that actually includes the following. From VIN:
(Harris) was one of the sponsors of a resolution in the Senate to oppose former President Barack Obama’s initiative to get the U.N. Security Council to pass Resolution 2334 that claimed Israeli settlements were illegal.
In June 2017, Harris also signed a call to U.S. President Donald Trump to implement the Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
In her address to AIPAC in 2016, Harris spoke about donating to the Jewish National Fund as a child and seeing the “fruits” of those efforts when she later visited as an adult. Harris also visited Israel as a senator in 2017 and met with Netanyahu. And in 2019, she said that “support for Israel is central to who she is.”
However, it is troubling that her new Chief of staff is on record being far more critical of the Jewish state.
And now - Joe Biden. Let me first say that there is not a question in my mind that he is a decent and honorable man (as far as politicians go) who will restore the dignity to the Oval Office that has been absent for the last 4 years. He is not the wide eyed liberal that the President and some on the far right of the Republican Party have painted him.
His record on Israel is pretty good albeit typical of the kind of support the Democratic Party has always given the Jewish State. Which was highly supportive of Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish country and protect itself. In that regard Israel has been assured to have a qualitative military edge over other states in the region.
Biden will almost certainly continue all the military, intelligence, and financial aid it has always received under all administrations – which actually increased under Obama. Obama always made clear that US support of Israel is unshakable… and that the US will always ‘have their back!’ I’m sure that will be as true with Biden as it was with Obama.
But that support is not the same as the current US policy. It comes with a lot of criticism and demands that if not honored may have negative consequences. Demands that have always been honored by Israel in the past. And will likley be honored under a Biden Presidency as well.
Criticism sgainst some of Israel’s defensive actions. Demands that included an unreasonable version of anti settlement activity that - forbidding construction of even a room addition in cities that will probably become part of Israel proper in any kind of future peace agreement (in exchange for land swaps).
There is also a possibility that Biden will continue Obama’s policy of abstaining from UN Security Council condemnations of Israel, allowing them to pass. (Blaming Netanyahu for this is both naive and overly simplistic in my view.)
Then there is Iran. Biden has already promised that he will rejoin that horrible nuclear peace deal and remove all the sanctions imposed by the current President. I don’t see how that serves the cause of peace in the Middle East at all. Nor do Saudi Arabia and any of the Arab Gulf states. But that discussion is beyond the scope of this post.
Although Biden is what I would call a centrist democrat whose values include support for Israel, the same cannot be said for the so called progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Which includes Sanders, Omar and Tlaib. They would be much harder on the Jewish state The latter two are actually BDS supporters! They are clearly influential well beyond their small numbers. The media has seen to that – giving them much more coverage than they deserve.
It’s true that they are not in charge. But if Biden wants their constituency to vote for him – he has to throw them a pretty big bone. It is not that far-fetched to believe that one or more of them they will be given high positions in the cabinet. One of which might be UN Ambassador. or maybe eve Secretry of State1 Can anyone imagine Tlaib or Omar in either of those positions?! Let us just say that neither of them are a ‘Nikky Haley’!
Of course they cannot make their own policies. But they can surely do a lot of PR damage to the state. And that concerns me.
These are clearly things to consider when voting for the next President On the one hand, Israel will still enjoy US support. But it will surely not be as robust as it is now. Just some of my quick thoughts on what the future holds if ( or more likely when) Biden wins the election.
