בס״ד there was a link עש״ק פרשת תולדות II Rosh Chodesh Kislev 5779 ISRAEL NEWS between the November 9, 2018 president’s rhetoric Issue number 1219 A collection of the week’s news from Israel and Pittsburgh. He also dismissed From the Bet El Twinning / Israel Action Committee of analogies between Trump’s America Jerusalem 4:04 and Weimar Republic Germany. Toronto 4:41 Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto Congregation Sommer quoted with approval the response from Edward Bleier, an 86- year-old American Jewish philanthropist who claimed Trump’s Events… behavior and his use of the “America First” slogan to describe his foreign policy did remind him of Nazis. Henry Siegman, a bitter critic of Israel, Wednesday, November 21, 8pm told Bennett to his face that he had no right to tell American Jews what to An Evening with Hillel Fuld – Sharing the Story of Ari Fuld HY”D, think about Trump. at Chabad @Flamingo. The gap between Israeli opinion and that of American Jews on Trump was highlighted by an American Jewish Committee survey published in June. Israelis view the president solely through the prism of his support for them. American Jews who are not single-issue voters on Israel regard other issues as more important. Commentary… There is an argument to be made for Israelis who resent Diaspora Jews telling them what to do to be as reticent about giving advice to Americans. Did Israelis Err in Backing Trump after Pittsburgh? Yet those who criticized Netanyahu for his willingness to quarrel with By Jonathan S. Tobin President Barack Obama are in no position to declare his support for a For those who have spent recent years lamenting the growing friendlier president to be foolish. For the Israelis to dump Trump at a disconnect between Israel and the Diaspora, the days after the Pittsburgh moment when he was trying to stand together with both an afflicted shooting provided more proof of what they have been claiming. Some American Jewish community and the Jewish state makes no sense. Americans believe that Israelis and their leaders—particularly, Prime Israeli attitudes towards American Jews on issues like pluralism are Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—don’t understand the feelings, concerns or often tone-deaf and self-defeating. But in this case, distance gives them the fears of American Jews. the luxury of perspective that those immersed in our hyper-partisan battles Until now, that dispute has for the most part rested on disagreements have lost. Any act of anti-Semitic violence, especially one as horrific as about the peace process and the ongoing argument about religious pluralism Pittsburgh, is one too many. But claims of a Trump-fueled surge in anti- in Israel. But in the wake of the horrific 11 deaths of Jewish worshippers in Semitism are simply false. Whatever you may think of Trump, he is not a Pittsburgh, a separate argument may have become the biggest bone of harbinger of a new Third Reich, and America remains a place where Jews contention between the two communities: how they regard U.S. President are accepted as they have never been anywhere else in the history of the Donald Trump. Diaspora. The vast majority of American Jews are loyal Democrats and political Anyone who witnessed, as I did, so many non-Jewish Americans liberals, and would oppose any Republican. But Trump’s populism and showing up in synagogues this past Shabbat to show their solidarity can’t incendiary rhetoric, in which he flouts both political correctness and the really believe that Jews are isolated, or that the overwhelming majority of normal conventions of leadership, put him beyond the pale for liberals. their fellow citizens aren’t as appalled by Pittsburgh as they were. Most importantly, they think his focus on illegal immigration and his Israelis may not know much about American Jews, but they aren’t willingness to brand it as a threat fans the flames of hatred. They also wrong to regard hysteria, as opposed to reasoned opposition, about Trump believe that his inconsistent stands about the far-right—principally, his with dismay. In this case, it may take an outsider to understand that equivocal reaction to last year’s neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville, Va.— analogies to the Nazis or the Muslim Brotherhood—let alone talk about has emboldened extremists, and directly or indirectly led to the slaughter at him having blood on his hands—is a function of political disagreements a Pittsburgh synagogue. that shouldn’t be allowed to intrude into the discussion about anti- As former Anti-Defamation League executive director Abe Foxman Semitism. (JNS Nov 5) said last week, Trump is “not an anti-Semite,” but he is “a part of the problem.” That led New York Times columnist Bret Stephens to conclude that the throngs of GOP voters who cheer for the president at his rallies may Who Speaks for the Democrats on Israel? By Jonathan S. Tobin be different from the alt-right extremists who plot and carry out violence, Have radicals taken over the Democratic Party? The victories of some but “not altogether different.” Stephens sees the relationship between the self-described “socialists” and other left-wing individual candidates in Trump-led Republican Party and lunatic murderers like Robert Bowers as some highly publicized races this year might lead you to think the answer analogous to that between the political activists of the Muslim Brotherhood is “yes.” and the terrorists of Al Qaeda. In his words, “the former generally The growing number of critics and outright opponents of Israel among committed to working within the political system, the latter to destroying it, party activists has been a concern for several years. Their increasing yet both profoundly hostile to the values animating open societies.” prominence has added to the worries of those who worry the Democrats If that’s how you see Trump and his supporters, then it’s no wonder that could be going the way of Britain’s Labor Party, which has fallen under Stephens concluded by writing, “The blood that flowed in Pittsburgh is on the control of radical anti-Zionists, as well as an open anti-Semite like his [Trump’s] hands also.” their leader Jeremy Corbyn. Trump may be guilty of helping coarsen the tone of American But instead of panicking at the prospect of a House of Representatives discourse, and extremists may applaud his open hostility to illegal controlled by the Democrats in 2019, those fearing for the future of the immigration and worries about foreign threats. But the willingness of a U.S.-Israel alliance should calm down. While the next two years promises usually sober writer like Stephens to characterize so many law-abiding to be one of escalating conflict between the Democrats and U.S. President Americans who—whatever your political differences with them or distaste Donald Trump, Israel won’t be part of the argument. Just as important, the for their flyover country mores—don’t deserve to be peremptorily election results gave far more comfort to those who wish to keep the dismissed as racists, let alone foes of American liberty, says a lot about the Democrats as part of a bipartisan pro-Israel coalition than those who want level of polarization in our society. to break it up. Yet as outrageous as those assertions might be, a significant number of Rashida Tlaib will become the first Palestinian-American to serve in American Jews probably agree with them. Congress. Tlaib, who will represent a suburban district outside of Detroit So when Israel’s government indicated that their attitude towards with a large Arab-American population, is an avowed opponent of Israel’s Trump was unchanged, the reaction was predictable. The sight of Israeli existence and a supporter of the BDS movement. She will find a kindred Ambassador Ron Dermer at Trump’s side when he made a condolence call spirit in fellow freshman Democrat Ilhan Omar, who will be first Somali- at the site of the massacre outraged many of the president’s detractors. American in Congress when she takes the oath to represent Minneapolis. Dermer’s decision to lend Trump cover during the visit led Haaretz Omar is a fierce critic of Israel, who has called it an “evil” country that has correspondent Alison Kaplan Sommer to claim it was something “hypnotized the world”—a standard anti-Semitic meme—and an “American Jews may never forgive.” “apartheid regime.” Israel’s Minister of Education and Diaspora Affairs Naftali Bennett, Both are allied with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a socialist who will who went to Pittsburgh to attend some of the funerals of the shooting represent Queens, N.Y. Ocasio-Cortez said she wanted to end the victims, later told the Council on Foreign Relations that he disagreed that “occupation of Palestine,” though she didn’t seem able to say whether that Readers are requested to please mail contributions to: BAYT - re: Israel News, 613 Clark Avenue West, Thornhill, Ontario. L4J 5V3 Annual Rates: Friend - $36, Supporter - $50, Benefactor - $180. Dedications are welcome at $120/week. 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