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

