Israel can't rely on anyone. If Jews have learned anything it's that we must rely only on ourselves. That doesn't mean that we should refuse help from others or make strategic alliances with other states, organizations or people even for short periods of time. Had Israel existed at the time of World War II, perhaps the Holocaust could have been averted. It probably would have because the Nazis at first wanted to deport all the Jews out of Germany (and then the rest of Europe) rather than murder them. But as we now know all too well, no other country wanted to take these pour souls in and protect them from slaughter.
During Israel's short modern day history, she has been betrayed repeatedly by virtually all of her allies. Britain wouldn't let ships loaded with Jews who tried to escape from the inferno aka Europe to Palestine during the big war. France reneged on a huge air force deal. MIGs that Israel had paid for and was in dire need to defend herself against massive Arab armies were held up. The US on various occasions had either done nothing to help Israel when she most needed their help in existential wars or worse, co-operated with Israel's enemies (eg: Iran deal). I could write an entire essay on just this topic alone.
Now Trump arguably Israel's best American President friend ever, is hosting the terrorist and self declared PA leader in the hopes of yet again making a peace deal between the Palestinians and the Israelis. In so doing he once again falls into the US trap of legitimizing Israel's enemies. The irony is that Abbas, the PA, Hamas and most of the Arabs who call themselves Palestinians are surely enemies of the Jewish state but are no less friendly to the States. They do not want to make peace with Israel any more today than they did 10 years ago. They want Israel and Jews everywhere to be destroyed forever. If American leaders can't figure this out yet then they are clearly insane.
I did support Trump in his presidency and I support him still today. I knew when he was running as a candidate that he is far from the best Republican in his support for Israel. It was obvious to me that he would be a game changer as far as US-Israel relations compared to his predecessor. While Obama was constantly stabbing Israel in the back, despite saying otherwise, Trump is truly Israel's friend. I've said this before and I'll say it again. Sometimes friends can get you killed with the best intentions.
I knew then that Trump won't necessarily do what's best for Israel. But I also knew that as long as the US elected a president that was even handed with Israel, she would do well. Israel did pretty dam well economically and in other ways even when Obama was trying to screw her. As always I considered the choices. I realized quickly that the biggest challenge facing the world and America in particular was political correctness. Americans were craving to stop it. So was I (I still am). Ted Cruz was a far better friend to Israel than Trump ever was or will be. But Ted couldn't beat Hillary so wishing him in was a waste of time.
As long as Trump helps the job market in the US he'll be a great president. As long as he protects his citizens from the dangers of radical Islam, he'll be a great president. In short, as long as the US does well, Israel will too. Despite Trump not really getting the Middle East or understanding the mindset of the Arab on the street or learning about the history of the true indigenous people of Palestine - The Jews and despite this huge mistake of inviting an antisemitic, Islamic terrorist leader to the White House in order to make the deal of the century at Israel's existential cost, he's still miles ahead of either lying Hillary or the self hater Bernie. It would be a much more dangerous world with either of them as leader.
As for Israelis, they know that they can not rely on any US president. Some are better for the Jews and some are worse but Israelis have learned that they must continue to be self sufficient. They can't put their trust all in one basket. They need to continue to reach out to the world. It's not a matter of sound economic policy, it's a matter of life and death.
No comments:
Post a Comment