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by NJJN Editorial
11 July 2018
Jewish leaders sound the alarm over the decline of support for Israel in the ranks of the Democratic Party, and with good reason: Once a stronghold of support for the The Jewish state, a party that is moving to the left as a result of its 2016 electoral disaster includes more politicians ready to criticize Israeli politics and some who are downright hostile. A recent Pew poll found that the blue-red divide has never been so big: 27% of Democrats sympathize with Israel at the expense of Palestinians, and 25% favor Palestinians. For the Republicans, 79% sympathize more with Israel and 6% with the Palestinians.
But equally troubling is the ongoing Republican effort to aggressively exploit Israel's support as a partisan issue and define "support" in an increasingly narrow fashion. further jeopardize the bipartisanship that remains a bulwark of the relationship between the United States and Israel. The Mideast policies of the last administration were, to say the least, troubled. But accuse former President Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry of being "ruthless enemies of Israel", as did Senator Ted Cruz (R- Texas) in 2016, is the kind of political hyperbole that can only jeopardize critical bipartisan support. The Jewish state.
From its inception, the pro-Israel lobby has understood the importance of creating a support wall in Washington, transcending ideological and ideological lines. Administrations come and go, and control congressional changes from one election to the next; building and sustaining support across the political spectrum was rightly considered a critical imperative to maintain relations between Israel and the United States on an equal footing. The goal was to broaden the pro-Israel political universe, not to reduce it by increasingly restrictive decisive tests and a partisan trench warfare.
Using Israel as a brutal political instrument is not new in American politics. What is new and particularly dangerous, is the spirit of bitter and bitter partisanship of today who sees no purpose beyond a narrow political gain, of a tactic beyond the limit. And what's new, it's an Israeli prime minister who's so closely linked to an American political party and a president that many see as hard work to deepen the partisan divide.
It is perfectly appropriate to challenge the Democrats. and to aggressively fight those who are hostile. However, to the extent possible, the goal should be to stem the tide of support through education and persuasion, and not to build a growing list of enemies long. To give unconditional support to any Israeli policy, the reference of what it means to be "pro-Israel" and to use CELA in partisan wars, can only hurt a Jewish state that needs the widest possible support for Washington.
Question that a great battle is brewing for the control of the Democratic Party while it is seeking an effective response to a government party now fully engaged in the Trump agenda.
But Jewish leaders must be careful to avoid buying Republican efforts to castigate the entire Democratic Party as "anti-Israel," and all Democratic politicians who express any criticism as symptomatic of 39, an angry anti-Israel virus. Just as critical, they can not afford to dismiss a progressive electorate that could include a majority of American Jews. In doing so, many Jews would be forced to choose between their values on fundamental issues, such as civil rights and economic justice, and an increasingly remote and troubling Israel for some.
Israel's ties need the active participation of Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives. When support collapses, the first goal should be to revive it, not to close and punish those who do not fully agree. The success of a lobby does not only depend on who it fights successfully, but who it wins.
This is a message that the current leaders of Jerusalem must also take to heart.
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