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| Ilan Goldenberg (Jewish Press) |
Her support for Israel as an ally will be genuine. But she will not spare any criticism which might be accompanied with a high cost - if they dare to disagree with her Mid East policies.
My guess is that her support will be along the lines of former President Obama near the end of his term when he allowed the UN to pass a resolution condemning Israel. We might be seeing a lot more of that.
The ‘nail’ I am talking about here is the person she chose to be her Director of Jewish Outreach and Policy Advisor. She may as well have gone to J-Street, to find a Jew such as Ilan Goldenberg.
That he was born in Israel doesn’t impress me. Nor am I impressed by his so-called Jewish education in a Jewish day school. If it was an Orthodox Jewish day school, he has obviously abandoned most of what he learned there. And if as I suspect, it was a community Jewish day school, they tend to be left wing and progressive.
What matters now are his views about Israel. Which seems to be the basis for Harris choosing him. And have little to do about wanting to get input from the Jewish community. The Jewish Press quoted David Milstein, an employee of former US Ambassador to Israel, David Friedman. Milstein did a good job researching Goldenberg’s resume. . Here are a few of his observations. Read them and weep:
Goldenberg supported Obama’s abstention of the anti-Israel Security Council Resolution 2334, together with Secretary of State Kerry’s shameful speech at the end of the Obama Administration.
Goldenberg opposed the Trump Admin’s recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and moving the Embassy to Jerusalem as per US law.
Goldenberg opposed merging the US consulate serving PA Arab citizens into the US Embassy in Jerusalem.
Goldenberg opposed President Trump’s recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights.
Goldenberg supported the calamitous Iran deal which immediately thawed billions in Iran’s frozen accounts, getting the Islamic Republic on its way to becoming the hub for terrorism across the Middle East.
Goldenberg supported restoring funding to UNRWA after it had been proven that many of its employees in Gaza moonlight as Hamas fighters, and some were documented participating in the October 7 atrocities…
This is not a man who is interested in finding out and presenting the views of America’s Jewish community to his president. Which one would think would be the focus of his job as a liaison. Harris chose Goldenberg to tell American Jews exactly what her policy will be regardless of what they think. When you chooses someone like Goldenberg who might as well be an echo chamber for J-Street, you can hardly expect him to value the views of any pro Israel group like AIPAC. He will surely dismiss them as right wing extremists..
Those who might challenge my focusing on what’s best for Israel instead of what’s best for the US have got it all wrong. I do not believe for a moment that left wing progressive policies like favoring LGBTQ rights over religious rights are good for America. Nor do I think that Biden’s economic polices - which she has been a part of and supports - are good for the country. The Biden policy of reversing Trump era illegal immigration policy – which she whole-heartedly supported - has proven to be a disaster for this country. It is only since some of Trump’s policies were reestablished that the number of illegal aliens crossing the border have been reduced.
That being said, as Jew living in America that, I care deeply about what our policy towards Israel will be. And if Harris gets elected, I’m not feeling to good about that right about now. And it seems that everyday, the news on that subject gets worse.
There are many people that say Trump is so bad that anyone beside him would be an infinitely better choice for president. I used to think that too. But as I continue to see how Vice President Harris responds to issues that concern me the most, She may actually be a worse choice than Trump.
The two choices are terrible. No question. But there is terrible and less terrible. That is the kind of choice we will have to make.
And yet, I am still reserving judgment about Harris. Because even with her new choice of Jewish liaison, there is not much known about what her actual policy towards Israel will be, exactly. Even as I suspect she will be doubling down on her contempt for Israel’s prime minister, her anti-settlement policies and her insistence on a 2 state solution. I don’t think there can be any real doubt about that. Whether that will come with sanction against Israel if she doesn’t get her way remains to be seen. But it would not surprise me if it will.
The DNC convention may shed a little more light on the subject. I will be watching it with great interest to see how things roll out. Will they have any families who still have hostages addressing the convention – as did the RNC? Will they have anyone condemning the antisemitism on university campuses the way the RNC did?
Will they be supportive of Israel with conditions attached?
Will they have speakers like Bernie Sanders, Ilan Omar and Rashida Tlaib addressing the convention? Or maybe even a Palestinian protester. Or maybe they will even have a Palestinian victim of the Gaza war addressing the convention - blaming Israel instead of Hamas for their suffering.
I think already I know the answer to most of these questions, but we’ll see.
The way things are shaping up now, Harris has the momentum. Even if Trump has the issues. But Trump being Trump has decided to ignore the issues, act lie a 12 year old and complain about irrelevancies like Harris’s crowd size, and her IQ. If he keeps doing that – as I suspect he will – he will lose the election.
It is his to lose because voters vote for candidates based on the issues care about. (It’s the economy, stupid! Remember?)
Harris was smart to prolong her decision about choosing a running mate, that kept her in the headlines for weeks. That momentum will carry over to the DNC convention next week. That will surely give her a bump in the polls where she has already gained a lot of ground. She will gain more after the convention.
Will that momentum continue? A lot depends on wehther Trump can grow up; stop talking about irrelevancies; and start talking about the issues instead.
The debate on September 10th should tell us what direction the campaign will take. But knowing Trump - if I had to predict now, I would predict a Harris victory in November. And that will not be good for the country nor for Israel.