Most of the Jewish community has feverishly and piously supported last week’s Democrat-sponsored Resolution condemning President Trump’s remarks against Ilhan Omar. Omar, of course, is a notorious, unrepentant anti-Semite and daily demonizer of Israel. But she has become, for many Jews, a heroine, a civil rights star, a noble cause. Enjoying such support, Omar rewarded the Jewish community by immediately announcing, after the Resolution’s passage, a piece of legislation demanding that Congress vote in favor of BDS against Israel and her Jewish inhabitants.

Seeing that Jonathan Greenblatt of the ADL (formerly Special Assistant to Barak Obama) chose to define President Trump’s accurate criticism of Omar’s anti-Semitism and anti-Israelism as simply “playing politics,” Omar understands that the establishment Jewish community seems willing to live with her anti-Jewish prejudices if in service to damaging Donald Trump. She sees the weakness among American Jewry, and it has now emboldened her to introduce BDS legislation. She knows the Jews in Congress and the Jews in the cities will not stand in her way. Indeed, many are choosing her.

The criticism against the President was not limited to secular types such as Greenblatt, but also came from some rabbis, like Reform Rabbi Rick Jacobs. One Orthodox rabbi, Yaakov Menken, sadly, published a piece in the Daily Wire where he referred to the President’s words as “obnoxious,” “damaging”, “half-baked”, and “offensive”.

Such statements are emboldening Omar. She smells the self-righteousness, the virtue-signaling, and the political correctness emanating from Jews and some rabbis. The day after the Resolution, she responded to the criticisms of the President that were so widespread in the Jewish community. What did she do? She compared the State of Israel to the Nazis of the 1930s and categorized a need to boycott Israel as an American value and reminiscent of how America boycotted Nazi Germany.

Greenblatt and others attacked the one man who has, more than anyone else, stood up for Israel and against anti-Semitism. Their focus was more on parsing Trump’s words instead of focusing on the real and dangerous goals of Omar and her allies. They interpreted the President’s words in the most extreme and critical fashion, thereby providing Omar with succor.

Beyond everything else, President Trump is valiantly fighting for the dignity of America while others are seizing an opportunity for scoring “virtue” points. Omar, not Trump, is the threat. Her appetite, her aggressiveness, grows in proportion to those choosing to pounce on the President and provide her with victim-status.

Like many of us, the President was irked by remarks where Omar lauded the foreign country of her birth, Somalia, a notoriously brutal and cruel regime, while incessantly indicting America’s founding as primarily based on genocide, slavery, and racism. She sees no difference between Al Qaeda in Somalia and our society here in America that provided her asylum. Any self-respecting American should, like the President, be insulted and disgusted by her negative view of America.

Omar is not simply someone with a gripe or two; rather, she is intent on demoralizing Americans and making them despise their country, referring to it as almost no better than some of the worst places on earth. Only people who themselves loathe America can find nothing wrong with someone who spurns the very country that gave her safe haven.

The President did not call for her exile, rather that she first fix the problems in the country, Somalia, that she lauds and afterwards return here to fix the problems she associates with America. The truth is, as many have suggested, if she so dislikes America, wouldn’t it be best for her to live in a place that she favors?

People that come to such a wonderful and generous country such as America should not spend most of their energy trying to make citizens dislike their own country. In contrast, my great grandfather, Samuel, came to America and continued thinking it was the luckiest thing that ever happened to him.

There is much more to Omar than meets the eye. She is not some tender compassion-crusader. She is not so innocent, nor a Rosa Parks. She is brazen, impudent, unrelentingly aggressive, and seems to enjoy punching Americans in the face while mocking our love of this country. I suspect she fits into a more dangerous category, representing forces intent on upending America as we know it.

In one of history’s most confounding moments, too many in the American Jewish community are championing the very person who wants to destroy Israel and, no doubt, those Jews supportive of Israel. Too many Jews see their protection, identification and fraternity with the intersectional groups, even those hostile and those calling Israel and Jews Nazis. It is a grave mistake. They are blind to the particulars staring them in the face and view life through the generalizations they made decades ago. For example, they still fear American nationalism and conservative Christians, despite the positive sentiments and numerous acts of kindness from them toward the Jewish community throughout the last century.

Omar and BDS are co-joined with Hamas, the very Hamas that this week called for the killing of Jews worldwide. We shouldn’t be searching for ways to champion her as a kindred victim. However, most American Jews are more concerned with intersectional feelings and goals than Jewish safety, and are willing to have the State of Israel, and its Jewish inhabitants, called Nazis if that’s what their racist intersectional heroines insist.

Too many live in an ersatz cocoon, according to a newly defined Jewishness, far removed from Judaism. Sadly, much of American Jewishness, as opposed to authentic Judaism, has made Israel and the safety and survival of the Jewish people secondary, or insignificant, when weighed against their preferred identity as “progressive” members of a global society. This is the curse of universalism, which has afflicted the Jewish people since the early 19th century.

A grateful and self-respecting people would give the benefit of the doubt to Mr. Trump, the man who has befriended them so much and who fights for the country, America, that has provided Jews with so much blessing. Indeed, Jews who have prospered in this golden land should be in the forefront defeating a person like Omar who has, as her primary purpose, the besmirching of America and Israel. The purpose of her treacherous, stealth campaign is to make Americans feel so negative about their country that they want to replace our historic ethos and system with an amalgamation of Marxism and Shariah.

(Originally published on the American Thinker web site, www.americanthinker.com)

Ever since Turkey officially selected the Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system for its long-range air-aircraft and anti-missile architecture at the end of 2017, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has not changed his rhetoric that the purchase was “a done deal;” and that “it is Turkey’s sovereign choice to deploy which air defense system is on its soil.” In response, the U.S. administration threatened to suspend Turkey’s membership in the multinational Joint Strike Fighter program, which is building the F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation fighter jet. The U.S. has also threatened Turkey with more sanctions within the Countering American Adversaries Through Sanctions Act. Industry officials say the CAATSA sanctions may cost Turkish companies more than $10 billion in lost (sub-) contracts. Turkey has committed to buy at least 100 F-35s and has already paid $1.4 billion.

Erdoğan just shrugs it off. He says that Turkey would consider co-production of the S-400 and the more advanced S-500 system with Russia; that the S-400 was Turkey’s sovereign decision and that Turkey would also open negotiations for the acquisition or co-production of the Russian-made Su-57 fighter jet in place of the F-35s.

The S-400 can engage targets at a range of up to 400km (250 miles). It has been designed to shoot down NATO’s aerial assets — including the F-35s in the making.

The first parts of the S-400 systems arrived in Ankara on July 13.

U.S. Representative John Sarbanes (D-Md.) released the following statement on July 12:

“Turkey’s decision to proceed with the acquisition of the Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile system presents a serious national security threat to the United States and to our NATO allies. By purchasing and integrating a sophisticated Russian missile defense system into NATO hardware, Turkey not only stands to jeopardize NATO security in the region but also presents Russia with a victory in its ongoing effort to sow division and distrust among NATO member states. Under President Erdogan, Turkey has spiraled – perilously – into an anti-democratic, authoritarian regime whose actions have repeatedly undermined NATO defenses. In order to demonstrate that it can operate as a trusted and reliable partner in the region, Turkey must take immediate steps to completely dismantle and return the S-400 system to Russia.”

Meanwhile, the Turkish lira fell and so far this year the country’s economy has contracted again.

The relationship between Ankara and Washington could drift into a storm if the U.S. retaliates in the way it promised: Suspend Turkey’s membership in the JSF program, stop Turkish pilots’ training; fail to deliver other critical military gear, especially the smart munitions Turkey uses against Kurdish militants in its own southeast and/or in northern Syria and northern Iraq; sanction senior Turkish officials and defense companies involved in the S-400 program; and a new wave of economic sanctions may push the country’s already fragile financial posture into a free fall.

One might use a bit of political acrobatics here: Squeeze Erdoğan further (economically) but without burning bridges: Erdogan will not be in charge by, say, 2074.

In Washington there are three options to deal with an ally-turned-menace:

1. Since there are several other transactional issues for which the U.S. and Turkey remain dependent on each other, go soft on the sanctions.
2. Recall the case of Pastor Andrew Brunson, when Turkey’s economic downturn helped to secure the American pastor’s release by squeezing Turkey economically. What Erdogan fears most are the U.S. CAATSA sanctions. According to the latest official statistics, the unemployment rate in Turkey is 13%, with 4.2 million people looking for work. The economy is in recession and the lira rate unstable.
3. Devise a pragmatic blend of both plans to try to avoid permanently explosive damage to the country.

By becoming the first NATO ally to deploy the Russian-made S-400 air defense system on its soil and ignoring interoperability, NATO members will have to figure out how to deal with a new “frenemy.”

             (Gatestone Institute)

Burak Bekdil, one of Turkey’s leading journalists, was recently fired from the country’s most noted newspaper after 29 years, for writing in Gatestone what is taking place in Turkey. He is a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

What’s common to both the anti-Trump and anti-Netanyahu media-supported campaigns orchestrated by the Leftist-progressive political parties in the United States and in Israel, is the goal of making the coming elections an either us or them choice

By: Ron Jager

The juvenile “Mod Squad” of four freshmen congresswomen deceptively accuse anyone critical of their clearly anti-American, anti-Semitic, and anti-Western rantings of being racists and fundamentally opposed to people of color.

Ehud Barak and Benny Gantz, both vocal opponents of the Likud party and Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dishonestly accuse the current leader of Israel of being a danger to Israel’s Democratic system demonizing the legitimacy of his re-election over the years.

What’s common to both the anti-Trump and anti-Netanyahu media-supported campaigns orchestrated by the Leftist-progressive political parties in the United States and in Israel, is the goal of making the coming elections in both countries a binary choice, an either us or them choice, an issue of black or white, vote for reality or vote for the illusion.

Netanyahu’s supporters credit him with keeping Israel relatively safe and prosperous, maintaining its Jewish character and Israel as the Nation State of the Jewish People, and boosting Israel’s standing internationally. In contrast to many of his political predecessors, Netanyahu hasn’t left his mark by “winning” a war or signing a “peace accord” such as the disastrous Oslo Accords. His major achievements have been a booming economy with prosperity trickling down benefitting all sectors of the population, combating Iran’s nuclear program which is considered an existential threat on Israel–responding by covertly striking weapons shipments to Israel’s enemies – and by building a massive border fence to stop the flow of illegal African migrants. Netanyahu is perceived as being a politician who speaks the language of the people, is on their side, and they watch his back. His imperfections are the people’s imperfections.

Trump’s supporters credit him with singlehandedly bringing American pride back into the mainstream. Trump’s political message of “Making America Great Again” has been wholly adopted by a majority of Americans as their message too. Since the Trump election, America has experienced an economic boom unseen for decades, unemployment has reached low levels unseen for half a century including the lowest level of unemployment among Black Americans. The opioid epidemic has seen, for a first time in 30 years, a 5% drop in overdose deaths.

Executive directives and a demand for accountability by the Pharmaceutical industry has resulted in lower drug prices of medication. The “Wall” and Trump’s efforts to restrict the chaos of unrestricted flow of illegal immigrants on the Southern border have proven effective and are serving the interests of the American public. Trump is perceived as a blunt leader who cuts through to the people, who speaks their language, and the public listen to him. Trump is not associated with the liberal elite that tell the American public what to say and what to think and how to vote.

Both support sustainable equality. Both promote economic policies that reinvigorate the key elements of a healthy public-private partnership, empowering the private sector to create more real jobs, supporting a more responsible capitalism that is necessary for growth.

Both President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu build excitement and passion in their respective general public, dominating the public arena and the public discourse.

The electronic and printed media in the United States and in Israel have hyped up their reporting of both Trump and Netanyahu to levels of a hysterical frenzy, creating a loss of credibility and a general public that has tuned them out. The public associate the hyped up media as an extension of the liberal/progressive left that has always patronized and treated the general public as unable to decide for themselves as they are perceived by the left as lacking any true intellectual depth.

Both use the non-stop ridicule of the media in collusion with opposing political opponents to expose the hypocrisy of the left/progressive agenda who have nothing real to offer the voting public except a childish and unconvincing vision of what American or Israel should be in the future. Both President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu focus on national unity and the betterment of their respective people.

The media and the liberal progressive left will warn the public, as we approach the election period, against what philosopher Max Weber has claimed,that the West–meaning the “uninformed” general public–has always been vulnerable to: Demagoguery, Charisma and Celebrity, which have often mattered more than ideas.

They will claim that the liberty-loving public, intrinsically fearful of an unrestrained radical socialistic system, has always been liable to exploitation by charismatic conservative leaders. They will remind us all of Machiavelli’s The Prince, and the amoral charlatans desirous only for power and why in politics, oratory always mattered. They will bring up Cicero’s warning, that eloquence divorced from wisdom can destroy a country. They will warn us that we should be wary of George Orwell’s warning of totalitarianism. They will quote Hanna Arendt who has said, that between anarchic arbitrariness and the “fantastically fictitious consistency of an ideology,” people will often choose the latter. That’s “not because they are stupid or wicked,” she said, but because it gives the holder of an ideology intellectual security and sometimes escape, providing an illusion of meaning and a sense of self.

Both in the United States and in Israel; the silent majority, the middle class, and all those that reject the condescending attitude of the liberal/progressive elite will reject their warnings and their political message of why only they can prevent the destruction of “our country” as we know it. The liberal/progressive left will find itself, whether in the coming Israeli elections or in the 2020 elections in the United States, to be overwhelmingly rejected by the public and sent back to all their respective constituencies as false political prophets having nothing to show for their efforts and losing any semblance of credibility in their eyes of those that believed their deceitful promises to bring about change and their illusions.

(INN)

(This article was originally published on the Arutz Sheva web site: www.israelnationalnews.com)

The writer, a 25-year veteran of the I.D.F Medical Corp., served as a field mental health officer. Prior to retiring in 2005, served as the Commander of the Central Psychiatric Military Clinic for Reserve Soldiers at Tel-Hashomer. Since retiring from active duty, he provides consultancy services to NGO’s implementing Psycho trauma and Community Resilience programs to communities in the North and South of Israel. Is a former strategic advisor on Public Diplomacy for the Office of the Chief Foreign Envoy of Judea and Samaria.