בס״ד pulled out of the עש"ק פרשת חיי שרה 26 Cheshvan 5781 NEWS agreement and  November 13, 2020 A collection of the week’s news from Israel instituted a strong and effective Issue number 1320 set of economic sanctions against From the Bet El Twinning / Israel Action Committee of Jerusalem 4:01 Iran, the IAEA reported that Iran Toronto 4:36 Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto Congregation was in violation of its commitments. Iran’s leaders broadcast open and unabashed Commentary… threats against the State of Israel and speak of her elimination. Israel relates to these threats in earnest. The Parting: Why this Election is Different for Israel Ignore that Donald Trump recognizes Jerusalem as Israel’s By Ardie Geldman capital to which he relocated the US Embassy; that American citizens It is only natural; an inevitable socio-historical process is finally born in Jerusalem now have “Jerusalem, Israel” printed on their birth coming into focus. Many have seen it approaching for years. Others, certificates and passports; that the Trump administration recognizes when told of it, have denied it. Some still do. But what greater the legitimacy of the Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and evidence do we need of the growing divide between the Jews of Israel’s annexation of the Golan Heights, and ignore the key US role America and Israel than the 2020 presidential election? in brokering normalization agreements between Israel and the United According to available reports, it appears that some 70% of Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan. Just the current US American Jewish voters chose Joseph Biden over Donald Trump. This administration’s approach to the two security matters, the proportion is consonant with the 2016 presidential election when 71% Palestinians and Iran, was reason enough for some 70% of to voted for Hillary Clinton and only 24% for Donald Trump. American favor Donald Trump over Joe Biden in an Israel Democracy Institute Jews also supported Barack Obama in similar figures in 2008 and survey taken during the first week of November. These results are the 2012. precise mirror image of the Jewish voters in America for whom these It is not news that American Jews continue to overwhelmingly issues played no role in their choice for president. choose the Democratic candidate for president as well as Democratic And the explanation is simple. As in real estate it comes down to candidates for the US Senate and the House of Representatives. What “location, location, location.” America’s Jews don’t live in Israel. makes this election’s show of disproportionate Jewish support for the They live in America and unlike their grandparents and great- Democratic Party different than in previous elections is how its grandparents, first they are Americans. Their significant issues are outcome is likely to affect the State of Israel in terms of its security, its American issues. They don’t know much about Israeli society and continuous striving for peace with its neighbors and its image in the culture. They don’t speak Hebrew. The Judaism of most American world. In this election the ante for Israel has been upped, but largely to Jews would be unrecognizable to many Israelis. Most American Jews the indifference of America’s Jews. have never visited Israel, have no plans to visit, and would prefer During the election campaign, Joe Biden’s team already visiting other countries first. And their numbers are dwindling. announced its intention of rebuilding relations with Mahmoud Abbas Israelis must recognize that the current generation of America’s and the Palestinian Authority. This includes allowing a de facto Jews, unlike previous generations, for the most part are not Palestinian embassy, the PLO Mission, to reopen in Washington, DC particularly interested in Israel, at least not in any practical way. The and maintaining a separate US consulate to serve the Palestinian present rift is likely to widen with time for the simple reason that the population in the eastern part of Jerusalem. At present, the Palestinian process is a natural one. It is not reversible through educational Affairs Unit (PAU) operates quietly out of the Agron Road branch of programs, as decades and millions of wasted dollars have the US Embassy in the western section of Jerusalem. It also means the demonstrated. Even Birthright is not going to change the direction of resumption of millions of dollars of donations to the Palestinian this tide. There should be no hard feelings, no enmity. Israelis should Authority through USAID as well as renewing significant American be thankful for the significant financial, political and moral support financial support for the notorious United Nations Relief Works of previous generations of American Jews. But they must modify Agency (UNWRA), the latter a recognized training ground for their expectations according to the current reality. Thus, Israelis need terrorists. This resumption of ties and aid will empower the same to relate to the Jews living in America as most today prefer to see useless kleptocracy that has for decades stood in the way of peace and themselves… they are Americans. (Jerusalem Post Nov 9) prevented the normalization of Palestinian lives and at whose head sits The writer is the founding director of iTalkIsrael. He lives in Efrat. the 85-year-old implacable Mahmoud Abbas. Under Biden, the onus for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will now fall back on Israel. Even one brick added to an existing Now is the Time to Establish Facts on the Ground in Israel’s Jewish home in Judea or Samaria or even parts of Jerusalem will bring Eternal Capital City By Yair Gabbay condemnation upon the Jewish state as being “unhelpful” and an Jerusalem has endured many difficult times under Democratic “obstacle to peace.” American presidents. Former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack The Obama redux policy to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is likely Obama never made life easy for Israeli governments where building to embolden terrorist factions within the Palestinian Authority and in in the capital city was concerned. the . This will take its toll in human lives and injury. Experience has shown that Democratic administrations in The Biden administration, under pressure from the Left “progressive” Washington prefer to preserve the idea of a Palestinian capital in wing of the Democratic Party, could even recognize a “State of eastern Jerusalem, rather than support and promote full Israeli Palestine” without any concessions made by Palestinian leaders. sovereignty over all of a united Jerusalem. As retrogressive as is the above, what constitutes a greater, even In 1997, plans for the construction of new Jewish homes on the an existential, threat to the State of Israel and to the Middle-East is the Mount of Olives—on what would become the neighborhood of Biden team’s announcement of its intention to have America rejoin, in Ma’aleh Hazeitim—were approved, but the Clinton administration the words of Prime Minister , the “bad” nuclear pressured the Israeli government to halt building in the area. deal with Iran. In 2009, when Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu For those who may have forgotten, the Joint Comprehensive Plan decided, most courageously, to approve the building of the Shepherd of Action was signed on July 14, 2015, between Iran and the P5+1, the Hotel area in Sheikh Jarrah–located close to the home of the Nazi- five permanent members of the United Nations – China, France, supporting Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin El Husseini—the Russia, the United Kingdom and the , plus Germany and Obama White House denounced the move. the European Union. The JCPOA was designed only to postpone and Democratic administrations imposed building freezes in strategic make more difficult, but not stop the Shi’ite regime’s progress towards areas—such as Givat Hamatos, E-1, Atarot and Gilo—which would acquiring a nuclear arsenal. Yet even before the Trump administration ensure a contiguous Jewish presence in Jerusalem. Every plan placed before the District Committee was shelved; every stone moved in “strategic places” was an excuse for condemnation by a Democratic- nuclear file, not lift sanctions on Iran and not allow Tehran to run White House. interfere in the affairs of other countries. This coalition may or may This is why Israel must establish facts on the ground in Jerusalem not eventually give Israel tacit approval to apply sovereignty to parts before January 20, when a new Democratic president is inaugurated. of the West Bank, but Jerusalem should not proceed with any such This involves completing two construction plans, one in Givat plan without prior coordination with these countries. Indeed, Hamatos and the other in Atarot, which together could generate more coordination with Israel’s new friends in the Arab and Muslim world than 12,000 new housing units in Jerusalem. The plans for Givat is more important than coordination with the incoming Biden Hamatos have already been approved, and it is now up to the administration, vital though that is. government authorities to issue tenders to contractors. Over the next two months, Israel can encourage the search for a The second project needs to be approved by the building and solution to the problem of what became of the Palestinian Authority planning committees in accordance with the Housing Ministry’s plan after Hamas tore it into pieces 13 years ago—before the P.A., during to establish a residential neighborhood on the grounds of the old the Obama administration’s eight years in power, descended into a Atarot Airport. failed and corrupt terrorist state based entirely on hatred of Israel. Such an abundance of new apartments could lead to a reduction of Jerusalem should endorse a plan for Palestinian emirates in which housing costs in Jerusalem, thus allowing young people to remain in seven separate and independent emirates are built, in the West Bank the city. Moreover, if these building plans are approved and cities of , , , , , and implemented, it will constitute an act of true Zionism and a just end to Arab . Once the Palestinian emirates are established, Israel the Palestinian dream of dividing Jerusalem. will be able to apply sovereignty to rural areas. Biden, Harris and Regardless of shifting American attitudes towards construction in Obama will not be able to revive the sclerotic and self-defeating P.A., Jerusalem, Israel must continue to build in its eternal capital city. and the coalition countries won’t shed many tears over its end. The writer, an attorney, is a former Jerusalem city councilman and a By approaching the Biden administration as a united front, Israel Likud candidate for . (JNS Nov 10) and its five friends in the Arab world will all be in a greatly enhanced position. As Aesop put it in the sixth-century BCE: United we stand, divided we fall. Israel Between Two Presidents By Mordechai Kedar Their alliance can be useful not only on the Iranian issue but on One of the realities to which Israel will have to adjust during a another key issue as well: the waters of the Nile. Tensions have Biden administration is that Barack Obama will probably play a role, arisen between Egypt and Ethiopia over a dam Ethiopia built on the officially or otherwise, as an adviser on national security or political river that threatens to cut water flow to Egypt to dangerous levels. affairs. This means Israel needs to start having conversations with If this alliance is based on the Middle East stage as an active members of the emerging Biden administration rather than moving group, other Arab and Islamic nations will probably join it. Countries forward, in the waning days of Trump’s term in office, towards goals a that could be interested are , Morocco, Oman, Kuwait, Biden administration will not accept. Mauritania, Chad and Niger. As the alliance grows, its political It has been suggested that Israel should exploit the remaining months weight is likely to increase in the eyes of the Biden administration, of the Trump presidency to extend sovereignty over parts of the West and all the member states will be beneficiaries—both from their Bank. Doing so would echo the approach of Obama, who, during his internal cooperation and from their ability to present a unified bloc to own transition out of the Oval Office in December 2016, supported the the American administration. thoroughly anti-Israel U.N. Security Council Resolution 2334, Is this utopia? Absolutely not. A year ago we wouldn’t have even spurning President-elect Trump’s request that he not do so. dreamed of normalization with the UAE, Bahrain and Sudan. And if Applying Israeli sovereignty to parts of the West Bank over the Trump departs office on Jan. 20 following a collapse of the Iranian next two months without coordination with the incoming Biden regime, it will be a diamond in the crown of the Trump legacy. administration might so greatly disturb that administration that (JNS Nov 10) pressure could be brought to bear to declare all Israeli sovereignty in the West Bank illegitimate. Implementation of sovereignty could even result in the imposition of U.S. sanctions on Israel (in relation to Can Biden See What’s at Stake in the Middle East? settlement, sovereignty, or both), a move that would be heartily By Vivian Bercovici endorsed by members of Congress such as Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan As America’s nerves frayed in the immediate post-election Omar, as well as by Sen. Bernie Sanders. period, Israeli leaders were immediately preoccupied with whether, Israel must absorb the fact that the Democratic Party of today is when, and exactly how to acknowledge the awkward standoff. not the same party it was eight years ago. It has become extremist in A rush to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden risked offending some ways, a process that intensified sharply in response to Trump’s President Donald Trump, a high-risk likelihood even at the best of entry into the White House and accelerated throughout his four-year times. To do so now, as he alleged electoral fraud, could well have term in response to his policies, both domestic and foreign. Pro- been seen as the ultimate betrayal and humiliation, with frightening Palestinian, anti-Israel positions have multiplied and increased their consequences. grip on Democratic constituencies. Voices are already being heard Trump had been a steadfast supporter of Israeli Prime Minister suggesting the reopening of Palestine Liberation Organization offices Benjamin Netanyahu. Trump took major flak internationally and in Washington and moving U.S. Embassy activities back to domestically for that, but goodness gracious, he had delivered: from Jerusalem. moving the Embassy to Jerusalem; pulling out of the JCPOA; and But the most complicated problem with applying sovereignty right negotiating multiple normalization treaties with Gulf nations that now concerns the , Bahrain and Sudan, and also were—publicly, at least–foresworn enemies of Israel just a few years (implicitly) Saudi Arabia. These countries will view an Israeli ago. implementation of sovereignty without prior coordination with them as Once Biden declared victory, it took Bibi another 12 or so hours evidence of Israeli fraud because the excuse to normalize relations to offer his plaudits, though notably not referring to him as president- with Jerusalem was Israel’s agreement to indefinitely postpone the elect. Just Joe Biden. All this made for much-anguished parsing application of sovereignty in the West Bank. If Israel responds to among the Israeli media, who seemed to compete with one another to Trump’s loss by immediately withdrawing from its commitment not to predict the dire outcome of it all. But that’s where it began and enforce sovereignty, Jerusalem’s new friends will feel it has deceived ended. No doubt the messaging was well co-ordinated, likely them. That feeling will surely work against Israeli interests. accounting for the prudent delay. During the interim period before Biden takes office, Israel must The real issues in the immediate future are how the Biden contact the leaders of the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, Saudi Arabia and Administration positions American interests vis a vis Iran and, in Egypt with a view to establishing a joint bloc to appear together before particular, the JCPOA. Trump’s Iran adviser, Elliott Abrams, was the new administration. That bloc would present a united front on dispatched over the weekend to Israel to engage in a series of these issues: that the United States not bow before Iran regarding the meetings and briefings with top Israeli officials, including, of course, Prime Minister Netanyahu. Media reports indicate that, in its final two United Arab Emirates nor Bahrain would have signed the Abraham months, the Trump Administration will issue a barrage of sanctions Accords with Israel. And if that wasn’t a strong enough message by against Iran in coordination with Saudi Arabia and, likely, other Gulf itself, the Saudi decision to grant Israeli airplanes the right to fly over states. The focus of such sanctions will be to impact the development its airspace was a body blow to the BDS movement and any residual of the Iranian ballistic missile system and, generally, to frustrate the support for Arab boycotts of Israel. Whether or not the Saudis follow incoming administration’s instinct to pander to the Iranian regime, a la up these moves with their own normalization agreement with Israel, Obama. it’s clear that they have embraced the Jewish state as an ally and The Iranian economy is on the finest knife-edge, more imperiled economic partner. The only question is how far they are willing to go than at any time during Obama’s tenure. Perhaps the hope of the to defy radical Islamist opinion and openly embrace the Jewish state? Trump Administration is that sharpening the blade a touch more could The Saudi decision isn’t a function of a sentimental attachment to be lethal and tip the balance, forcing Iranian capitulation on certain Zionism or a radical change in heart about the justice of Israel’s civil liberties and human rights issues, and further pressuring the cause. As Prince Bandar bin Sultan, a former ambassador to the increasingly besieged tyrannical regime in Tehran. United States and member of the royal family said last month, his Biden and his team have been very clear regarding their intentions government still considers Israel’s cause to be unjust and, in to “reopen” the JCPOA for renewed American leadership and principle, supports the Palestinians. But he also described Palestinian participation pending Iranian compliance with its terms. The incoming leaders as “despicable” and “failures” who have spent the last century administration has also telegraphed a desire to support the realization “betting on the losing side, and that comes at a price.” of a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. The Saudis have been moving gradually towards Israel and away Each of those sweeping positions is code for a radical re-alignment from the Palestinians for the last 20 years as they sought an exit ramp of Mideast geopolitical policy from the Trump years; basically, from a conflict they regarded as having no upside for them. That shift reverting to the so-called “Obama doctrine”, which was far from a accelerated in the last decade as the United States under President raging success in its eight-year lifespan. Barack Obama sought a rapprochement with the Saudis’ deadly rival, Biden enters the White House at a time when the strategic and Iran. Rightly feeling abandoned by their former staunch U.S. ally and commercial alliances in the Middle East have been utterly transformed threatened by Tehran, the Saudis looked to Israel as the only strategic from what they were four years ago. Among his earliest tests will be force in the region that could help them defend their independence. whether he understands the gravity and irreversibility of this change. Faced with a choice between sticking with the Palestinians and Obama turned his back on traditional U.S. allies in the region, causing their inability to make peace under any circumstances and embracing a deep mistrust to set in and harden. Biden cannot just walk back into a Jewish state that could serve as a reliable and powerful regional the room and flick the switch. The centrality of Palestinian statehood partner, Riyadh determined that it was no choice at all. The only to Middle Eastern reality was the foundation of Obama’s approach to sensible move to enhance their security was to embrace Israel and the region. That “reality” no longer exists. The Gulf states have made make it clear to the Palestinians that they were on their own—and clear that they recognize a permanent Israeli presence in the region and that is exactly what they did. urge the Palestinians to do so, too. The tacit alliance between Israel and the Saudis has already paid Without fresh eyes and policies, Biden risks the humiliation of a dividends to both countries. Israel got the Saudis’ blessing for more very downgraded relevancy in the region. The same old same old just normalization deals while having a regional superpower as an ally won’t cut it. (CommentaryMagazine.com Nov 9) against an increasingly aggressive Iran bolstered the Saudis’ defense posture. At this point, any effort to isolate Saudi Arabia is not only Should we Care if Biden Cools Off Relations with Saudis? unhelpful to further efforts to expand the Abraham Accords to other By Jonathan S. Tobin Arab nations. It’s also a gift to Iran, which is as committed to It’s the greatest of ironies. It wasn’t that long ago that Saudi overthrowing the Saudi royal family as it is to destroying the Jewish Arabia was thought of as an implacable enemy of Israel and the Jewish state. An Iranian nuclear weapon, which Obama virtually guaranteed people. The Saudis were not merely a foe of the Jewish state, using with a pact that enriched and empowered Tehran, and that will expire their oil wealth to fund Palestinian groups; Riyadh was also the within a few years, is aimed at the Saudis every bit as much as it is at principal funder of fundamentalist Islamic madrassas around the Jerusalem. world, institutions that were fueling a new surge in global anti- Why then would Biden seek to undermine a traditional U.S. ally, Semitism. A generation ago, U.S. plans to sell the Saudis early- albeit a deeply imperfect government that doesn’t pass the human- warning and combat-control planes (AWACS) that were not offensive rights smell test? The answer is clear. In the mindset of former in nature set off one of the biggest and nastiest political fights in Obama administration officials who were obsessed with becoming memory in which the AIPAC lobby engaged in a bruising battle with friends with Iran, and establishing more “daylight” between the the Reagan administration. United States and Israel, the Saudis now represent, like Netanyahu’s But a lot has changed since the Saudis were viewed as a threat to Israel, an obstacle to diplomatic efforts to pressure the Jewish state Israel. Today, the prospect that a new Democratic government would and to appease Iran. cool off relations with the Saudis or—as former Vice President and The squeamishness about Saudi brutality, such as the murder of prospective President-elect Joe Biden put it, treat them like a journalist Jamal Khashoggi, a critic of the regime working for The ”pariah”—is worrying the pro-Israel community and will likely to lead Washington Post, is something of a smokescreen. The Saudis aren’t a them to back a push to head off such efforts. Indeed, a hard line problem for America because they throw their weight around in the against the Saudis, which would have once been welcomed by Jews, is region or aren’t a democracy. The Saudis aren’t any more vicious or now seen as hurting Israel and undermining the chance for more less willing to engage in democracy as any other nation in the region normalization agreements between the Jewish state and the Arab not named Israel. Moreover, under the leadership of Crown Prince world. Mohammed bin Sultan, they have largely abandoned the funding of The Saudi government is still a family-run authoritarian regime. It Islamist fundamentalism around the globe—something that is now has a dismal human-rights record and, as the guardians of the holiest largely done by the government of Qatar, an Iranian ally. shrines of Islam in Mecca and Medina, the royal family is loath to do As is the case with Egypt, another Arab government that anything that would undermine its stance as the center of the Muslim represses their own people which Americans would like to reform, world. creating a liberal democracy in Saudi Arabia is not an achievable Although its relations with Israel are still under rather than over goal. Rather than trashing the Saudis, Biden should be following up the table, there’s no question that the Saudis are the lynchpin of the on what Trump achieved and helping Riyadh promote peace. recent successful effort by the Trump administration and the Treating it like a “pariah” will do the opposite, which is exactly why Netanyahu government in Israel to break down the last vestiges of the pro-Israel groups need to persuade Biden to refrain from committing Arab war against the Jewish state’s existence. the same errors that Obama made. (JNS Nov 10) Simply put, without the acquiescence of the Saudis, neither the Israel, the Sunnis and the Return of a Pro-Iran White House plan, while reopening the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem that By Caroline Glick specifically served the Palestinians independent of the U.S. Embassy Donald Trump is the most pro-Israel president in history. Barack to Israel. U.S. aid to the PLO-run Palestinian Authority in Judea and Obama was the most anti-Israel president in history. Samaria and to Hamas-run Gaza will also be forthcoming, she And now, the likeliest outcome of last week’s presidential election promised. is that Obama’s vice president, Joe Biden, will be inaugurated on Jan. In anticipation of these hostile moves, over the next two months, 20 and Trump will depart the White House. Israel should take concerted and meaningful action to dismantle Trump is rightly exercising his right to cause a vote recount in illegal, strategically located Palestinian settlements in Area C. Wisconsin and Georgia and suing to fight alleged voter fraud in If the Republicans are able to maintain their control over the Michigan and Pennsylvania. But to win the race at this point, Trump Senate, and with a diminished Democrat majority in the House of will need to win in Arizona and Georgia and either reverse the vote Representatives, Biden will have difficulty passing the progressive count in Wisconsin or Michigan or win the election in Pennsylvania. domestic policy agenda he ran on. With the Israel-Sunni alliance Trump owes it to his 71 million voters to ensure that the election system that Trump has strengthened and expanded, he will also face results reflect the will of the voters, and so, he will exhaust all legal obstacles on his way to reinstating Obama’s Middle East policies. avenues. But the probability his efforts will win him the election is ( Nov 9) low. The Israeli media grotesquely cheers the apparent defeat of Israel’s best friend ever in the Oval Office and his replacement by the vice Israel Needs to Watch Out for Joe Biden's UN Ambassador Pick president of the most hostile U.S. leader in history. While doing so the By Michael Fenenbock commentators soothingly insist Biden is a great friend to Israel. US President-elect Joe Biden reflects the orthodoxy of the “two- While comforting, this claim is untrue, particularly in relation to state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. He is a committed, Iran. enthusiastic proponent of this idea as a way forward in the Middle Biden is not known for his strong principles. Long a weathervane East. for popular opinion, Biden has changed his positions on everything There is a competing political paradigm – “racial-justice politics” from the politics of race to international trade to criminal justice to – that has gained, if not dominance, at the very least great influence social security and Medicare. But while he has been quick to align his with liberal and left-wing thinkers in America. This new politics, position on nearly all issues with the prevailing political winds, Biden with its ideological base anchored in postmodernism and neo- has maintained allegiance to one, deeply controversial position Marxism, is powered by intersectionality and identity politics. throughout the years. That position is sympathy and support for the Inside the Democratic Party, it has garnered considerable theocratic regime in Iran. authority and leverage. It has also made its way into mainstream In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Biden advocated American culture: From Hollywood to Twitter and Facebook, it is giving $200 million to Iran to show America’s good intentions to the simply swimming in the American social and cultural mainstream. Islamic world. During the , Biden was one of the most Racial-justice politics has a particular Israel problem, and its powerful voices calling for the United States to cut a deal with Iran Israel problem is expressed openly. It presents Israel through an which would essentially transform post-Saddam Iraq into an Iranian ideological prism, arguing that it is a colonial enterprise, an outpost satrapy. of Western imperialism in an overwhelmingly Muslim Middle East. Biden was one of the chief advocates of nuclear appeasement The prominence of the new political paradigm presents a difficult towards Iran, both in the years preceding his ascendance to the vice problem for President-elect Biden. Historically, he has rejected this presidency under Obama and throughout Obama’s nuclear talks with reference system. But as president, he will feel intense pressure to Iran. Those talks, of course, led to the conclusion of the 2015 Iran please his left wing and gratify its convictions about Israel. nuclear deal that gave Iran an open path to a nuclear arsenal within a The question for Israel and today’s Israeli leaders is how well a decade. President Biden manages the pressure coming from adherents of the Since announcing his run for office, Biden—who was viciously new politics. critical of Trump’s decision to abandon the nuclear deal—has pledged As the Democratic Party’s nominee, he was successful in repeatedly that he will reinstate the United States’ commitment to the rebuffing the new-politics radicals who wanted an anti-Israel deal if elected, ensuring Iran acquires a nuclear arsenal. statement in the 2020 Democratic Party Platform. His two-state views In response to this anticipated policy change in Washington, Israel prevailed, and the platform calls for the creation of a “viable” and its allies in the Persian Gulf have a keen interest in taking action Palestinian state and explicitly opposes “unilateral action” from either during the next two months to minimize Iran’s prospects for achieving side. military nuclear capability. The UN will be a significant test as to how well he continues to Those allies, in particular Saudi Arabia, are undoubtedly juggle the demands of the new politics, for the person Biden appoints concerned at the prospect of a Biden administration. And their concern as ambassador will give us a clue. is well-placed. If he were to appoint say, former two-term mayor of Los Angeles In an election-eve interview with the Dearborn, Michigan-based Antonio Villaraigosa, a popular, highly regarded and nationally American Arab News, Biden’s running mate Sen. Kamala Harris prominent Latino leader, the news would be extremely well-received pledged to upend U.S.-Saudi ties. in Israel. Villaraigosa knows Israel and is an outspoken friend. In her words, “Instead of standing by as the government of Saudi A good choice for Biden. Works for Israel. Arabia pursues disastrous, dangerous policies, including the ongoing But what if Biden were to choose Pete Buttigieg? The first gay war in , we will reassess the U.S. relationship with Saudi UN ambassador checks some boxes. Arabia and end support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen.” Israeli leaders might find Mayor Pete credible. Buttigieg has been In other words, the United States will support Iran’s Houthi proxy to Israel a number of times. In the past, he spoke favorably about the in its war against Saudi Arabia. Jewish state. During the campaign, he became wobbly, striking out at There is an upside for Israel in Biden’s anticipated turn towards Bibi. Iran. Saudi Arabia, which was diffident about joining the United Arab But still, he’d likely be satisfactory. Good for Biden. Okay for Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan in normalizing its ties with Israel, may Israel. choose to do so in the coming weeks. Such a move, which would Or, Biden could choose Susan Rice or, say, Stacey Abrams. That vastly widen the Arab-Israel peace forged by President Trump through would send a negative signal. the Abraham Accords, would present the Biden administration with a How well will a President Biden stand up to the radical pressure? major alliance opposed to a nuclear-armed Iran. Keep an eye on what happens with the UN appointment. In the same interview, Harris pledged to work against Israeli (Jerusalem Post Nov 9) communities in Judea and Samaria and block all Israeli moves to implement its sovereignty there in accordance with the Trump peace