Who are Israel's Real Friends?

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*Back in 2016 during the heat of the race for the Republican nomination for president, I had expressed my strong preference for Florida Senator Marco Rubio. A conservative Republican whose support for Israel was at the time unmatched. As we all know he lost to the man who would eventually become the 45^th president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.

Rubio was of course not alone in supporting Israel then. Most republicans expressed unequivocal support for Israel. Unlike Democrats whose support for Israel was tempered  by their dislike of its prime minister, Republicans had no such reservations. They actually embraced Prime Minister Netanyahu as they would anyone else elected Israel’s leader. But Rubio was a cut above the rest. Right up there with Nikky Haley

Democrats never forgave Netanyahu for lecturing President Obama about Israel in his first White House meetings with him. And later accepting an invitation from then House Speaker John Bohener to address congress without being invited by the president. And that at that address he stridently rejected Obama's nuclear deal with Iran.  A deal he believed to be disastrous for Israel, the US and the civilized world. Republicans listened to Netanyahu and agreed with him. Democrats to this day think the Iran deal was just great.

Turns out Netanyahu was right. That deal allowed Iran to arm terrorist groups throughout the Middle East with impunity. We are now suffering the result of that policy. Had sanctions been increased instead of loosened, its unlikely that Hamas would have hade the means and capability to massacre 1200 Jews and kidnap over 200 hostages on October 7^th.  

What was true in 2016 is even truer today. Democrats are far more critical of Israel than are Republicans. Republicans fully support Israel’s right to defend itself without any reservation - in ways it sees fit. They hold that if Israel's military intelligence experts believe the only way they protect their people is by finishing off the remaining Hamas battalions on Rafah, they should not hesitate. Who are we to tell Israel how to defend themselves?! 

On the other hand Democrats (including many - but not all - Jewish Democrats) - starting with the president - believe the casualty levels that would be sustained by Palestinians in such an operation is too high. And have not so subtly hinted that if Israel tries attack Hamas in Rafah, there may be consequences. They also reject Israel’s plan to re-locate Palestinians civilians believing it to be untenable.  

Republicans lay the blame for all Palestinians casualties at the feet of Hamas. No one expressed that better then Senator Rubio yesterday on ABC’s This Week. No matter how much he was pressured to blame Israel for all the Palestinian casualties, he doubled down on blaming the people that are really responsible for that - Hamas. 

Rubio is not the only Republican that supports Israel’s war against Hamas so strongly and blaming Hamas for the casualties, Many other Republicans have said the same thing. 

Democrats? Not so much. They just love blaming the hated Netanyahu - accusing his every decision to be a calculated ploy to remain in power. Even if it means killing 32,000 innocent civilians.

Rubio is unafraid to speak the truth.to the liberal/left mainstream media. A truth that I and many Republicans  have stated. A truth that cannot be denied. If Hamas truly wanted to stop Palestinian casualties, all they have to do is release the hostages and surrender. That would end the war instantly. There would not be a single additional Palestinians casualty. And everyone could go home. 

But instead they are doing this: 

“Right now, Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists are barricading themselves inside Shifa hospital wards. Hamas is destroying Shifa Hospital,” IDF Spokesman Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said in an English-language video statement. “Hamas is firing from inside the Shifa emergency room and maternity ward and throwing explosive devices from the Shifa burn ward. Terrorists hiding around the hospital fired mortars at our forces, causing extensive damage to the hospital buildings.” 

As if the Democrats have the moral high ground here. The moral high ground is to support  Israel’s right to defend itself. and to trust that they have no interest in killing Palestinians. Republicans seem to instinctively know that. Democrats don’t seem to care. They prefer to blame Israel entirely. They could care less about the hostages (although they play a good game pretending they do as an afterthought.

The era of bi-partisan support for Israel seems to be over. They seem to by listening to all the Hamas supporting protestors in Michigan and Minnesota  who are calling for the genocide of the Jews and the restoration of Palestine from the river to the sea. Democrats may say they are our friends; that they support Israel; and that they only disagree with Netanyahu.

What they choose to ignore is they are not just disagreeing with Netanyahu. They are disagreeing the Israel military-intelligence establishment and the vast majority of the Israeli people. (Both on the right and the left.)

Democrats are our friends??? Well, with friends like these…

*This may seem like a  highly partisan post. But I’m just calling it as I see it. And this is what I see now.