12 | DECEMBER 5 • 2019
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Netanyahu’
s legal troubles and
his unwillingness to step aside
rather than a democracy deficit.
Israel is also fortunate in
that the national security com-
munity remains a reliable and
staunch bulwark of democratic
life. It’
s no surprise that securi-
ty figures make up a dispropor-
tionate number of Netanyahu’
s
rivals outside of Likud or that
so many national security fig-
ures have opposed proposals to
limit judicial oversight.
In many respects, the
long-expected indictment itself
reflects an inner strength wor-
thy of admiration by outsiders,
especially Diaspora commu-
nities, who see themselves as
non-voting shareholders in the
Zionist enterprise — and who
view the preservation of Israel’
s
Jewish and democratic charac-
ter as inseparable.
At the same time, American
Jewry should be on guard
against opportunism. Take,
for example, the immediate
reaction of Sen. Elizabeth
Warren, a Democratic pres-
idential candidate who con-
flates Netanyahu’
s case with
America’
s own strained poli-
tics, charging that the prime
minister of Israel would “stop
at nothing to enrich himself
and stay in power.” Warren
pledged to fight “this blatant
corruption … at home and
abroad,” thereby weaponizing
Israel’
s political travails.
The interests of American
Jewry, now facing resurgent
right-wing white nationalism
and feeling deeply exposed fol-
lowing Pittsburgh and Poway,
are not served when politicians
here use political troubles in
Israel to score points. Just the
same, Jewish community inter-
ests are not served by repeated
interventions by Israeli rep-
resentatives into our domes-
tic politics, as Israeli U.N.
Ambassador Danny Danon
did recently with his harsh
criticisms of another American
presidential candidate.
In the uncertain days ahead,
Jewish community leaders
should be on guard to fend
off any counter actions and
statements that further expose
American Jewry to the dangers
stemming from increasing
polarization and partisanship,
which is slowly chipping away
at the bedrock of bipartisanship
that American Jewry has long
nurtured and is fundamental to
the U.S.-Israel alliance.
Netanyahu’
s indictment and
the broader political challenges
Israelis face should also lead
Jewish community leaders to
ask what more can be done
collectively to insulate and pro-
tect Israeli democracy over the
long haul.
Advocacy at home, togeth-
er with a strong tradition of
philanthropy, may not be
enough to address the myr-
iad challenges Israel and the
Jewish people face in the 21st
century. Given the recent
consolidation of world Jewry
within the strongest democra-
cies, most notably the United
States, there should be less
hesitation about confronting
threats — including internal
ones — that challenge the
state’
s Jewish and democratic
character. Whether it be the
specter of West Bank annex-
ation or American Jewry’
s
failed attempt last year to
oppose the “nation-state” law,
we have the capacity to do
more.
Diaspora interventions were
largely taboo in earlier eras,
when the Jewish world was
caught between East and West,
and when Jewish insecurity —
in Israel or in the USSR — was
the paramount concern.
But Netanyahu’
s indictment,
as painful as it is to watch,
could also be a wake-up call for
American Jewry to place con-
fronting illiberalism and bol-
stering democratic institutions
at the top of our agenda.
Scott Lasensky teaches courses on Israel
and Jewish affairs at the University of
Maryland.
AMERICAN’
S SHOULDN’
T continued from page 8
letters
Anti-Semitism
on the Left
I just returned from a com-
munity meeting at the Jewish
Community Center with Abe
Foxman, the former director
of ADL, attended by about 550
people. There is deep anxiety
within the Jewish community,
as reflected by the number of
people attending. A discussion
among some attendees follow-
ing the meeting resulted in the
following observations:
• Emergence of anti-Semi-
tism in the Democratic party,
which has waning support for
Israel and where anti-Semi-
tism is propagated by Reps.
Omar, Tlaib and Cortez;
• The commitment by a
number of Democratic pres-
idential candidates to cut
support of U.S. aid to Israel
and reverse President Trump’
s
decision to move the U.S.
embassy to Jerusalem and rec-
ognize that city as the capital
of Israel; and
• The Democrat’
s overem-
phasis on the role of American
right wingers in creating
anti-Semitism. Right wing
extremists, while violent and
virulent, are a dire minority
and not organized while most
anti-Semitism is shared by
well-organized and financed
left wing extremists, who use
anti-Israel/Zionism as a com-
mon cause for Jew hatred.
The biggest threat to
American Jews are American
Jews who trash a U.S. presi-
dent who did and is doing so
much for Israel and the Jewish
community.
— Isaac Barr
West Bloomfield
Question for Black &
Jewish Relations Caucus
Regarding your article on
the kickoff reception for the
Congressional Caucus for
Black and Jewish Relations
(“Blacks and Jews Unite,” page
6, Nov. 14): The co-chair is my
representative, Brenda Law-
rence. Perhaps the first agenda
item for the group might be to
give Rep. Lawrence and fellow
Congressional Black Caucus
members in attendance an op-
portunity to explain laudatory
letters they wrote to the Coun-
cil on American-Islamic Re-
lations (CAIR) — an organi-
zation the U.S. government in
2007 named as a conspirator
in the Holy Land Foundation’
s
financing of Hamas. CAIR
was also designated in 2014 by
the United Arab Emirates as
a terrorist organization and is
a member of Muslim Broth-
erhood’
s Palestine Committee
for advancing the Hamas
agenda in the U.S.
I am interested in learn-
ing how the sentiments they
expressed in their letters to
continued on page 15