Should we voice it or be quiet?

The Era of Bipartisan Support for Israel is Over
Adam Hasner - Jun 13, 2009
Newstin

The best days of Democrat support for Israel have now passed. The evidence is abundant and clear that the importance of Israel’s existence and well-being has become secondary to the political idolatry of many Jewish-American Democrats. Furthermore, many Jewish voters who do have Israel’s best interests among their priorities are too often duped by the maze of activists and institutions that use Jewish concepts and credentials to manipulate support for their liberal agenda. Despite all of the lofty pronouncements regarding respect for the America-Israel relationship, all species of partisan support are not equal.

After successfully wooing nearly 80% of the Jewish vote with his siren song, it has taken little more than one hundred days for the true motives of Barack Hussein Obama -- who now desires that his Muslim origins be noted -- to be revealed and put into action. For years prior to his election, Obama comfortably operated within the realm of the anti-Israel perspective. His record of sharing personal, intellectual and political relationships with anti-Semites, purveyors of Palestinian victimology, and characters who seek to demonize Israel at every opportunity had been well documented, albeit intentionally ignored and ruled as “off-limits” during the campaign by his many supporters and the mainstream media. With the power of the Presidency and a Democratic-controlled Congress now in hand, this rhetorical pied piper is now positioned to enforce his will upon an increasingly threatened and isolated Israel, all under the watch of those who are tragically misguided and disoriented in the Jewish-American community. Indeed, President Obama may yet prove to have become the subtle leader of the Anti-Israel Lobby.

Obama’s recent Muslim outreach speech delivered in Cairo has proven to be a watershed moment of clarity, as the morally bankrupt equivalence and relativism that he continually employs climaxed before the eyes of the world. The volume of ominous forecasts to be drawn from Obama’s treatment of Israel is now beginning to dawn upon many previously reluctant-to-believe Jewish Democrats. Even Abraham Foxman of the Anti-Defamation League, the self-styled sheriff of the Jewish community -- who tacitly approved of Obama during the campaign -- was moved to publicly weigh in on the dangerous direction that Obama is leading American policy.

All Americans and Jews should have been outraged to hear Obama equate the Nazi Holocaust to the largely self-imposed suffering of the Palestinian “occupation”; to hear him adopt the revisionist history of Israel’s birth and thereby question Israel’s legitimacy; to hear him draw the Hamas terrorist organization closer toward international acceptance by lending credence to their propaganda of “resistance” rather than confronting them with the truth about their rejectionism; to hear him hypocritically suggest that the U.S. has no right to impose its will on other nations only to then dictate to Israel regarding the natural growth of tens of thousands of suburban Jerusalem settlement families; and most dangerously, to ultimately appease Iran by legitimizing their pursuit of nuclear technology that they are likely to militarize without delay.

The truth about President Obama’s developing policies toward Israel can no longer be denied.

Jewish-Americans are now left to figure out how generations of unyielding support for the Democrat Party could prove so worthless in the new marketplace of liberal ideals. Unfortunately, they continue to unwittingly lend legitimacy, and more importantly generous financial support, to a party usurped by cynical “human rights activists” who seek to make Israel the featured sideshow of their “international law” circus. Perhaps they should begin by discovering exactly with whom they politically co-exist under the Democrat Party tent. By soliciting their cohorts’ views on Israel, they can observe how anti-Israelism has become a vehicle for delivering latent anti-Semitism.

Undoubtedly, the many Jewish-American surrogates who bear specific loyalty to Obama will continue to shield his Administration by distracting with their Jewish credentials and manipulating the Jewish community’s compact of ethnic trust. Ironically, they make frequent use of pro-Israel terminology to deceptively peddle Obama’s corrupted approach toward Israel, although it would seem only natural considering Obama’s gift for wordcraft. Many of these political figures have been systematically deployed to stymie discussion by exploiting their Jewish heritage while numerous other Jewish leaders and organizations sit in irresponsible silence out of political expedience and fear. At the same time, the Administration has also cultivated and promoted a host of treacherous new “Jewish” agencies, whose vision for Israel more readily identifies with that of her enemies, and whose purpose is to counter the good work of other constructive groups. Obama and company know that under his spell these groups will serve as a useful tool in distorting the voice of the Jewish mainstream, and will lend bona fides to the harsh coercion they are beginning to exert upon Israel in the false name of her best interests.

In moving forward, the Jewish-American community must conduct an accounting of its collective soul, and resolve to be more objective and independent in analyzing the issues faced at home and in Israel. There is still plenty that can be done to articulate, protect and reinforce the natural and supportive relationship that America and Israel share. To begin, there are more Jews currently in Congress than ever before, and each must be urged to stand against anti-Israel measures regardless of party loyalty, or else face a withdrawal of support.

Jewish-Americans must become more vocal on every level – government, media, and socially – and demand that President Obama remain true to his “Pro-Israel” campaign promises. Jews must also firmly embrace their non-Jewish allies, Evangelical Christians and other friends of Israel, whose valuable support has for too long been misrepresented and undermined for the sake of political pettiness. And those who support Israel must publicly and forcefully articulate historical truths to counter the Administration’s anti-Israel distortions, revisionism and moral relativism and express the dangers of basing U.S. policy on an anti-Israel platform. There must be strong pressure for his staff members and surrogates with anti-Semitic and anti-Israel views to be dismissed, as was thankfully witnessed in his attempted appointment of Chas Freeman. It is also important that pro-Israel initiatives be taken up at the state level, through the promotion of economic and intellectual trade, and statements of solidarity. Finally, Jewish-Americans must invest in the future and awaken the next generation by funding continuity and identity programs that focus on Israel experience, so that with God’s help they may find their share of America and Israel to be worth fighting for as well.