8 September 5 • 2019
jn
views
S
tatements from President
Donald Trump about American
Jews “being disloyal” set off a
firestorm of criticism from Jewish
groups. It was clear that the president
was criticizing liberal Jews for not
prioritizing support
for Israel rather than
promoting anti-Sem-
itism, as some on the
left tried to assert.
This latest rehashing
of the debate about
Trump — in which
the majority of liberal
Jews were given yet
another opportunity to vent their
distaste and rage about his presiden-
cy — shed little light about either
Middle East policy or the realities
of American Jewish politics. But it
should have reminded us of some-
thing that ought to be of enormous
interest to American Jews: the dis-
connect between American Jewish
ideas about Israel and the views
of the overwhelming majority of
Israelis.
To the extent that the kerfuffle
about Trump’
s remarks was tethered
to political reality, it should have
generated an acknowledgement from
both sides of the aisle that the major-
ity of American Jews have never
considered Israel to be a litmus-test
issue determining their votes. The
majority of Jews who consider
themselves liberals and Democrats
see it as one among many issues,
of which those related to what they
term social justice are the priority.
That’
s why Trump’
s status as the most
pro-Israel president yet — or, if you
will, the American “king of Israel”—
hasn’
t done a thing to counteract
his epic unpopularity among Jewish
voters, who continue to reject him
in numbers that dwarf those of other
segments of the electorate.
But once we discard the foolish
talk about this being a matter of loy-
alty, the fact remains that Trump’
s
approach to the Middle East remains
far more in touch with the views
of most Israelis — not to mention
the political realities of the region
— than his American Jewish critics
seem willing to acknowledge.
The proof of that startling yet inar-
guable conclusion is to be found in
the tenor of the current Israeli elec-
tion campaign.
Trump is wrong to say that all
American Jews who won’
t vote for
him don’
t care about Israel. Whether
you agree with them or not, many
of his liberal critics, including main-
stream Democrats who remain stal-
wart supporters of the U.S.-Israel
alliance, really do worry about and
support the Jewish state. But they
also remain stuck in the same debate
about the peace process and the
need for a two-state solution that
has dominated the conversation in
this country with respect to Israel
for four decades (Camp David
Accords). Within this group, the
debate about Israel remains focused
not just on criticism of Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and
his close friendship with Trump, but
also centered on the idea that the
Israeli government’
s policies are the
primary obstacle to peace with the
Palestinians.
The core reason for disaffection
with Israel is a product of demo-
graphic change in which assimilation
has undermined a sense of Jewish
peoplehood among many young-
er Jews. It’
s also true that many
American Jews have bought into the
false notion that Israel is betraying
Jewish values by not surrendering
territory and creating a Palestinian
state in the West Bank, Gaza and
Jerusalem in the vain hope that this
will magically produce peace as
opposed to more bloodshed.
But what few in the United States
have noticed is that while American
Jews continue to talk as if it is 1993
or 2000, the Israeli public has moved
on from the peace process as an elec-
tion issue.
It’
s true that Netanyahu’
s ability
to hold onto the office he’
s held for
more than a decade is very much in
doubt when Israelis vote on Sept. 17.
Yet what most American Jews also
don’
t seem to understand about the
election is that his main competition
isn’
t offering an alternative policy on
the peace process.
To the contrary, the Blue and
White Party — led by former Israel
Defense Forces’
Chief of Staff Benny
Gantz — is doing its best to run
to the right of Netanyahu on the
Palestinians. Gantz and the other
leaders of his party went to the bor-
der with Gaza earlier this month,
pledging to be even tougher on
Hamas than Netanyahu has been.
They also promised never to relin-
quish the Jordan Valley in the West
Bank and to maintain settlements
there forever. Nor have they showed
any appetite for trying to revive
negotiations with the Palestinian
Authority, which most Americans
assume is exactly what Netanyahu’
s
opponents would do if he were
defeated.
Indeed, how could Gantz or any
possible alternative to the prime
minister act differently if he or she
were at all serious about trying to
win? P.A. leader Mahmoud Abbas
hasn’
t even condemned the latest
terrorist attack that resulted in the
murder of an Israeli teenager and
the wounding of other members of
her family. When the murderers are
caught, they can still depend on sal-
aries and pensions from the P.A. as a
reward for their crimes.
A consensus that there is no
partner for peace exists across a
broad spectrum of Israeli society
stretching from the center-left to the
center-right. Even the remnants of
the Labor Party that once champi-
oned peace are talking about other
issues. While Netanyahu is trying
to label all of his opponents as
“leftists” who wish to sabotage the
country’
s security with concessions
to the Palestinians, the voters may
now be more interested about the
religious-secular divide, political cor-
ruption and the economy than peace
offers that the Palestinians have con-
sistently rejected.
While Trump may not know much
about American Jews, he does know
that most Israeli Jews have drawn
the only possible conclusion they
can from almost 26 years centered
around a “peace process” (Oslo
Accords) that many in this country
who claim to love Israel have stead-
fastly ignored: There is no partner
who wants to talk peace. Those who
took such great umbrage at Trump’
s
comments would do better to think
about why they are so out of touch
with Israeli public opinion, rather
than continuing the pretense that
they know what’
s best for the Jewish
state. ■
Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNS—
Jewish News Syndicate. Follow him on
Twitter at: @jonathans_tobin.
What’s Missing from Israel’s Election Campaign?
guest column
Jonathan Tobin
To the extent that the kerfuffl
e about
Trump’
s remarks was tethered to political
reality, it should have generated an ac-
knowledgement from both sides of the
aisle that the majority of American Jews
have never considered Israel to be a lit-
mus-test issue determining their votes.