This editorial was written before Tuesday’s elections in Israel in which its populace chose their next prime minister and ruling party in this parliamentary style of government. If Benjamin Netanyahu retains his position as Israel’s leader, pundits may very well point to the assistance President Trump gave his friend Bibi with the announcement this Saturday, just after their private phone conversation, of the very real possibility that their nations most probably will enter into a “mutual defense” treaty with one another.
“I look forward to continuing those discussions after the Israeli elections when we meet at the United Nations. later this month” Trump said. It’s obvious that this was a tacit, last minute endorsement to Netanyahu’s re-election bid. And sounding like close friends, which they are, Bibi responded with words of thanks: “The Jewish State has never had a greater friend in the White House.” This announcement continues the Trumpian moves to support the Jewish State in its fight for survival against Palestinian and Hamas terrorism and the threats from Iran to annihilate Israel as soon as it fabricates a nuclear weapon. Our nation, under Trump, has already backed Israel’s annexation of the Golan, moved our Embassy to Jerusalem, cut off major funding to UNWRA, kicked out the PLO offices from DC and stopped paying pensions to the families of terrorists killed during their attacks. on Israel civilians. We, at the JV support such a treaty that reinforces the strength of our two democracies to fight Islamic terror in the Middle East.
But there are voices (of course) cautioning against such a treaty. Would a subsequent president demand Israeli troop support wherever we are involved in a military conflict such as possibly Korea? Would American sentiment turn against Jews and Israel if American troops were killed fighting on Israel’s borders? But the key question to be considered is that the binding treaty, if proposed to the Senate for ratification, might become a political football once the progressive wing of the Democrat Party is put up against the wall and faced with voting for or against it.
We have watched and listened very carefully to the candidates as they have not been asked about their stances on Israel/Palestinian issues in their debates so far. But we must take note that not one of them attended the AIPAC meeting earlier this year. They avoided speaking to this major pro-Israel group. And we must take into consideration that the eventual Democrat candidate will not want to mess with the likes of Congresswomen Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, all of whom have expressed openly their hostility to Israel. They carry loads of weight among their Democrat voters and it is very obvious, their Congressional colleagues fear them. But we have no such qualms about the American public as a whole. They are big-time Israel supporters and understand that the enemies of Israel and the United States are enemies of democracy, which both of these countries have lived and died for. Let’s wait and see and pray for the best.
