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| Trump, DeSantis, and Haley (The Hill) |
I have been a fan of Haley ever since her tenure as the US representative to the UN. I will never forget her full throated, unconditional support for Israel while she was there. And her justifiable condemnation of all the anti Israel resolutions issued by that ‘august’ body.
Her pro Israel attitude there mirrored that of Israel itself. This is the kind of commitment to Israel I would love to see in the president. Which was not the case with the current President until reality struck him in the face.
Please do not misunderstand. I am extremely grateful to the president for expressing his strong unwavering support for Israel both in word and in deed. I believe that he was sincere in expressing empathy for the victims, survivors, concern for all the hostages, as well as understanding what their families have gone - and are still gong through.
But until October 7th, that support was not warm. It was expressed as a matter of American policy which was at the time highly critical of Israel’s right wing government. His cool approach to Israel’s newly re-elected prime minister was reflected by his refusal to invite him to the White House upon his election – which has been a tradition of American presidents for decades.
This is not the case with Haley. She stood firm with Israel without reservation. While I’m happy to see that both Haley and Biden are on the same page with respect to Israel’s right to defend itself by way of eradicating Hamas, it is worth noting those differences .
This is also not to say that Haley’s support for Israel is stronger than her closest rival, DeSantis. I believe either one of them would be a major improvement with respect to supporting Israel. I prefer non judgmental warm relationships over judgmental cold ones.
Nor is our relationship with Israel the only issue by which I assess political candidates. But as things stand now, it is my number one concern.
But all that may be irrelevant considering the 300 pound gorilla in the room. Donald Trump not only leads the Republican pack by a wide margin, in a race between Trump and Biden, Trump seems to have a slight edge. Although it may not a statistically significant lead, at the very least it's a dead heat.
That is astonishing considering the multitude of federal and state indictments Trump is now facing. The latter of which involves the RICO (organized crime) statute. If convicted, the law mandates prison time. And yet it seems that about half the country (or more) could not care less. They would still prefer him to Biden.
I honestly don’t get it. The former president has time and again proven himself to be a narcissist of major proportion. Every issue, including Israel’s existential war with Hamas is about him. His immediate reaction to the most horrific brutal attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust was not empathy for the victims and their families. Nor was it about Israel’s right to retaliate. His reaction was that if he were president, this would not have happened. And then he blamed Israel’s leadership for the attack. I don’t think he even mentioned Hamas.
Now it’s also true that he has since given his unequivocal support to Israel and condemned all those protesting in support of Hamas. Adding that if he were president those pro Hamas protestors would be deported.
That might sound nice for the Jewish people to hear now that we face a dramatic rise in Muslim antisemitism. Antisemitism not seen since the Holocaust. But to the best of my knowledge he has no constitutional right to do that. (Not that he cares about the constitution.)
How bad is Muslim antisemitism? From The Guardian:
A mob in Russia’s mostly Muslim region of Dagestan has stormed the airport in Makhachkala in search of Jewish passengers arriving from Israel.
In the past day, local people have besieged a hotel in search of Jewish guests and stormed the airport after reports emerged that a flight from Tel Aviv was arriving in the city. Passengers were forced to take refuge in planes or hide in the airport for fear of being attacked.
Local health authorities said that 20 people had been injured, including two who were critical.
My guess is that Palestinians in Gaza feel the same way about us. As Jonathan Rosenblum put it in his latest Mishpacha column:
...it is worth noting that while the civilians of Gaza may be entitled to certain protections under the rules of warfare, they are hardly innocent. Not only did they elect Hamas to govern them, at least once, but anyone watching the scenes of from Gaza City on October 7 — the passing out of candies to celebrate the slaughter of Jews, the parading of hostages before jeering crowds — could certainly be forgiven for thinking that the residents of Gaza were at least as “exhilarated” by dead Jews
So I wouldn't feel all that sorry for people who believe we should all be killed. Even if they aren't doing it themselves
Back to Trump. For me it makes a lot more sense to vote for people like Haley or DeSantis – both of whom are unprecedented supporters of Israel and the Jewish people. Both of whom would have domestic policies that politically conservative leaning voters could agree with. Policies like those of the former president, which I mostly approved of. Do we really need a narcissist like Trump over true patriots and friends of the Jewish people like Haley or DeSantis?
And yet as things stand now, it looks like, by the will of the American people, the former president is about to get a second term.
One might ask why Haley suddenly got such a bump in her numbers. I think it’s because suddenly foreign policy has risen to the top of the American agenda. That is Haley’s strong suit - having gained some foreign policy cred dealing with foreign countries during her time in the UN
While pocket book issues usually determine how a vote will go, national attention has turned eastward. It appears that Haley’s strong pro Israel credential has served her well at this historical moment.
What this tells me is that the American people are not being fooled by the nightly news focus on Gaza suffering. The American people understand who Hamas is and what they stand for. They know who the good guys are and who the bad guys are. And they are delighted to see Israel do something about it.
The American people understand that Israel did not start this war and never wanted it.They also understand why civilian suffering in Gaza is not the fault of the good guys. That Israel is doing what's necessary to stay alive and to destroy the greatest danger to civilization since Nazi Germany. Despite the best efforts of the media to paint Israel as uncaring about civilian casualtues, They know who to blame instead for that.
I firmly believe that the vast majority of the American people know what’s going on. They know who is the aggressor and who is the victim. Unlike Europeans, they see the Jewish people as equals and often look up to us with admiration for all we have accomplished as a people despite centuries of persecution culminating in the Holocaust. And they do not want to see that happen again.
God bless the United States of America.
The following is the prayer for the protection of the Israeli Defense forces (IDF):
May the Holy One, Blessed is He, preserve and rescue our fighters from every trouble and distress and from every plague and illness, and may He send blessing and success in their every endeavor. May He lead our enemies under our soldiers' sway and may He grant them salvation and crown them with victory.