A Tale of Two Countries – And Related Frustrations with Antisemitism, and Gaza

As a proud Jewish American who loves our nation and who has a strong bond with Israel, I am quite frustrated constantly by actions and facts on the ground both here in the US and in Israel and the related consequences. Those frustrations arise primarily from the actions at home by President Trump and his MAGA acolytes and spineless go along republican legislators in Washington, and in Israel by Prime Minister Netanyahu and members of his coalition from the Extremist parties who he needs to stay in power. It is clearly not the best of times; and is among the worst of times I have witnessed during my lifetime. .It is the tale of two countries where we can and must do better. My support for our country and the American people and for working to improve things on our home front remains strong as  ever as is my support and hopes for Israel as a Jewish State and homeland and for the Jewish people. That is notwithstanding  some of my serious concerns and misgivings about the current leaders in Washington and Jerusalem.

As an Attorney and someone who has been involved in government and who believes strongly in our Democracy and Israel as a Democracy, the challenges to Checks and balances and due process is a great concern and frustration.   Here we have seen the Trump Administration virtually ignore actions passed by Congress and proceed with Executive orders to dismantle agencies and departments and fire civil servants who work to address a wide range of arenas and take actions against people and institutions without due process. In Israel the Netanyahu government have proposed Judicial reforms that would chip away at the power of Israel Supreme court to challenge government action and has likewise fired individuals who might check actions of the current government. I am happy to see that people have taken to the streets in large numbers to speak out strongly against these challenges to Democratic Checks and balances and due process in both our own nation and in Israel. I hope these challenges remain sustained and that the energy on the streets gets transferred to political action and elections to challenge leaders who abandon democratic principals. In addition, those leaders currently in power in the legislatures need to stand up to and fight back against actions that are inconsistent with the Democratic norms in our respective nations.

As a Jewish American I have been particularly concerned with the increasing antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment which we have seen here in the US and in other nations  post Oct 7^th . Yes, we all know that sadly there has always been antisemitism and also anti-Israel actions since it became a nation in 1948, but I have never seen it manifested so outwardly and pronounced in my lifetime. I am distressed that that this has become more normalized and emboldened by actions and words and associations with antisemites by our President Trump , who has gone on to wrongfully politically weaponize Antisemitism as a subterfuge for attacking Universities in the US without due process. Of course, where anti-Semitic acts have been substantiated through due process those institutions should be held accountable, but to impound funds using antisemitism as a purported excuse without following a due process approach is just wrong and demeans the significance of documented and substantiated acts of antisemitism.

Much of the actions of antisemitism and anti-Israel actions arise from distortions or lack of understanding of historical facts or facts on the ground and manipulation of mainstream media by Hamas and their sympathizers. Hamas as a terrorist organization has no regard for the lives of their Palestinian brethren and used them as human shields and imbedded their combatants among the civilian population making the ongoing war quite complex. The figures they have posted in deaths in the war do not distinguish between combatants and sympathizers.  The Israeli attacks on Gaza have been an attempt to destroy Hamas and its leaders and remove the ongoing threats to security of Israel and its citizens. As in any war there is destruction of infrastructure and loss of lives and collateral damage to some innocent victims. Hamas and its supporters have tried to use the collateral damage as a vehicle for winning the public relations war. With their no real regard for the lives of Palestinians they used their tunnels and their embedding in hospitals and schools and mosques not to protect civilians but as launching pads for further violence and attacks against Israel and have pilfered aid and food to fund their war against Israel and their desire to wipe it off the map.

The Netanyahu government ,though clearly justified in trying to destroy  the terrorists of Hamas and its control over Gaza, need to balance their desire to accomplish this goal with tactics that can’t hurt and endanger real innocent people including children, and the humanitarian impact of not expeditiously allowing maximization of humanitarian aid even if some of that aid might be wrongfully appropriated by Hamas. I know that Israel, as best it can in dealing with Hamas, has tried to minimize actions that hurt those others than Hamas, but in this complex war when trying to defeat an enemy that uses human shields it has been unlike most any other war we have seen in the world.  None the less.  Israeli  leaders must look at the big picture as they move forward in terms of accepted humane and Jewish values and hopefully the Israeli citizens will look at that big picture as they move forward and conceivably decide on new leadership for their nation just as we must do likewise here in the US. They must maximize their efforts to secure the release of hostages who have been held by Hamas. They must give more serious thought to an end game on how to bring the war to an end knowing that there comes a time when there is likely a limit to how much more can be accomplished by continuing with a war that has an impact on the Israel economy and the Israeli people especially after Israeli military leaders have concluded that Hamas has been substantially diminished with regard to their ability to pose a threat.

Though I would hope that Hamas would simply withdraw from Gaza and release all the hostages , being realistic , we are not dealing with a group that would conclude what would be the rational thing to do in light of the destruction  and loss of life and in the best interest of Palestinians ,but are dealing with terrorists who want to destroy Israel , don’t really care about the Palestinians ,and who can likely continue to recruit others to join them based on the destruction and lost lives during this protracted war. Israel must realize that as a Jewish state they should be concerned about the impact of a continuing war and their tactics especially any limits on humanitarian aid which create a climate that contributes to antisemitism and anti-Israel conduct that affects not only Israel but Jews throughout the world and likewise Israel and concerns with allies who have been supporters of Israel  and could limit some of that  long term support  or take misguided action.

A case in point are the proposed recognition of a Palestinian State by France, Canada and the UK – which in effect rewards Hamas, and ignores the fact that without negotiation there is no clear understanding of what the boundaries are nor of how security can be insured for Israel which has since its inception faced ongoing threats and hostile actions that affects the daily lives of Israeli families. Similarly, those who seek to halt arms sales ignore reality and the need for Israel to be able to defend itself.  In that regard one cannot clearly distinguish between defensive and offensive weapons since in order to provide defense, Israel must  be able to not only have defensive shields like the iron Dome , but must be able to launch preemptive strikes to stave off potential lethal attacks.

Notwithstanding any concerns I have about Bibi and extreme members of his coalition, my greatest frustration is that with regard to the Gaza war that people seem to forget that this war would not have started and Palestinians would not have been placed in harms ways but for the brutal actions of Hamas on October 7, 2023. The world needs to remember this as they hold Israel to a double standard not applied to other nations involved in wars after they have been attacked. Similarly, the tactics of Hamas as terrorists using human shields is unlike other wars we have witnessed in our history. The media have been complicit in too often forgetting to remind all of these important facts.

My frustration includes the spill over to US domestic politics where we see Antisemitic and  Anti-Israel candidates emerge like Mandami in New York and in Congressional races around the country. I am hopeful such candidates do not prevail and can be defeated at the ballot box. We already see small cracks in the bipartisan support for Israel where some feel compelled to cast targeted votes to try to send a message to Prime Minister Netanyahu to disengage from some of the extremist members of his coalition who might walk away from his coalition if he moved toward ending the war and focused on the return of the hostages. I personally believe that those actions ignore the importance of support for Isreal as our long-term Democratic ally and the impact on the Israeli people .  Bibi may be the prime minister and be surrounded by some extreme actors to prop himself up, but taking steps to  merely send a message to him ignores the potential impact on the entire country of Israel and all its people.

In the near future ,hopefully we can see some stability where Israel  has security , and hope some Arab states step up to the plate to insure same and that Hamas does not have control over Gaza . That hope will be diminished if some of the Extremist  members of the coalition have the ability maintain control over the Government and take antagonistic steps whether in Gaza or the West Bank. The Israeli people will hopefully realize that when they speak out and when they eventually have an opportunity to vote for leaders who might be able to turn things around. Elections do have consequences.

I am hopeful that that we see actions at home and in Israel that keep in place our Democracies with checks and balances and due process, and that actions at home in the US and in Israel will be cognizant of how they impact festering antisemitism and anti-Israel actions.   Most importantly, this long war in Gaza will hopefully be concluded as soon as possible eliminating significant threats from Hamas and getting all remaining hostages released with recognition of the importance of maximum flow of humanitarian aid. People in Israel must demand no less from their leaders by continuing to speak out and voting toward such goals in any future elections. Here in the US whether Candidates for office or protestors ,all need to remember that the Gaza war and the suffering that has ensued had its genesis with the brutal  horrific attack by  Hamas  terrorists . No one should ever forget that critical fact.