Trump and Netanyahu Are Breaking the Bond Between American Jews and Israel

Israeli Elections & The public's demand:

Even though Israel gained as many seats as its biggest significant adversary, the results of the April 9 election have been seen as a win for the status quo. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is best positioned to form a new administration alongside the Likud party that he leads. Most certainly, Netanyahu will be able to maintain his position of authority. The public's demand for familiarity and regularity is the reason behind this.

Despite the fact that he is personally despised after four consecutive terms and may not be able to serve out his entire term due to an indictment on corruption allegations. Israeli Jews think that only he can provide their safety, strength, and prosperity.

So, the founding editor of the centrist Times of Israel, remarked,

The people want to live in Benjamin Netanyahu's Israel.

(David Horvitz)

The Elections & The young Israelis:

This election demonstrated the growing political distance between the two populations. Only 34% of the votes went to centrist and left-wing Zionist parties in Israel, while right-wing and Orthodox parties received almost 57% of the vote, the largest percentage in Israeli history. This is unlikely to change because young Israelis, who grew up during the prime minister's rule, find it difficult to imagine a different leader and style of government.

In contrast, only two of the 34 Jews in the current U.S. Congress are Republicans, and they are both in the House. It has been over ten years since a Republican Jew was appointed to the Senate.

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The American Jewish experience:

However, the status quo is not a success for many American Jews. It causes anxiety, annoyance, estrangement, and even disintegration. The characteristics of the American Jewish experience, such as social assimilation and acceptance as a minority in a society founded on religious tolerance, are increasingly at odds with Israel's growing religious nationalism.

If, as anticipated, Netanyahu is successful in building a majority governing coalition in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, the already tense relationship between the two largest Jewish communities in the world would undoubtedly worsen.

Democrats Anti-Israel or Anti-Semitic?

Under President Trump, who has publicly attempted to paint Democrats as anti-Israel and even anti-Semitic and has sided so strongly with Netanyahu that he appeared to be trying to sway the election in his favor, this issue has only become worse. White evangelical Christians and the few right-wing Jews in Trump's cabinet have influenced his Middle East strategy just as much as Trump himself, which has the hilarious effect of making the American president seem to favor Israeli Jews over American Jews.

Two significant victories for Netanyahu came when the President unilaterally relocated the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and canceled the country's involvement in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. In violation of international law and reversing fifty years of American foreign policy.

However, the United States will recognize Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights. This proclamation sung on March 25. But according to President Trump's proclamation that he made, Israel seized a thinly inhabited area. It annexed it in 1981, as this area was near the Syrian border during the Six-Day War.

Oslo Accords & Two-State Solution:

The White House then only shrugged when Netanyahu suggested in the last days of the campaign that he would think about annexing portions of the West Bank, which would violate the Oslo Accords and appear to kill the prospect of a two-state solution. It was just another sign that Trump and Netanyahu have grown to be inseparable, endangering decades of bipartisan support for Israel by making it challenging to back one party alone.

According to a Pew Research Center poll conducted late last year, 82% of Israeli Jews said they have faith in Trump's leadership, thus that is not an issue for them. The majority of American Jews vote against him and his party, with 71% supporting Hillary Clinton in 2016 and 79% supporting Democratic candidates in the 2018 midterm elections.

52-year Occupation of Palestine:

The growing cloud over Netanyahu is just another reason for liberal American Jews to exercise caution. Others include Netanyahu's refusal to engage in negotiations with Palestinians to end the 52-year occupation of their lands; his rejection of a deal to establish an egalitarian prayer area at the Western Wall of Jerusalem's Kotel; his use of fear mongering and anti-Arab rhetoric; his attacks on Israel's fiercely independent judiciary and media; and his decision to include a racist political party in his coalition if he were elected again.

Even establishment groups who are reluctant to criticize the Israeli government out of allegiance did so because that final step infuriated American Jews.

Tensions have already increased as a result of Netanyahu's approval of annexation, even if it turns out to be only a last-minute political gimmick. In a joint statement last week, four Jewish House Democrats who are closely associated with the mainstream American Israel Public Affairs Committee cautioned against applying Israeli law to all Jewish communities in the West Bank.

A letter to the US President Trump:

In a letter to President Trump, nine religious and advocacy leaders, including members of the Reform and Conservative movements, urged him to restrain Netanyahu, stating that annexation:

Will create intense divisions in the United States and make unwavering support for Israel and its security far more difficult to maintain.

There is discomfort at the increasingly close embrace of these two divisive individuals, even among Orthodox Jews, where Trump enjoys a much higher level of support. One Orthodox leader asked me to remain anonymous and asked,

"Why does Netanyahu have to defend every action of the President?" Notably, he brought out how the Netanyahu administration regularly downplays anti-Semitic violence in the United States. Therefore, white supremacists who seem empowered by Trump's administration are primarily responsible for this.

Seven Decades of Israel:

In the seven decades since its establishment, the contemporary state of Israel has emerged as a living example of Jewish community responsibility as well as a man-made miracle that rose from the ashes of the Holocaust. As an extension of their shared American principles and Jewish identity, American Jews are expected to provide financial, political, and other forms of support to Israel. However, liberal American Jews become uneasy and uncertain about their allegiances when such principles differ.

Final Thoughts:

These days, a lot of American Jews believe that neither leader adequately represents them. Not by their president or the head of the country they have been trained to call home.

Following his win, Netanyahu's fans have dubbed him the King of Israel. However, it is becoming more and more clear that he is not the Jewish King.