Dermer, remember the young oleh you were, and fix the damage you and Bibi cause

Of the 66,221 olim (new immigrants) who settled in Israel in 1997, most from the former Soviet Union, 2,057, came from the United States. This small group was younger and more educated than the average and more ideological than others, whose motivation was frequently personal security or economic betterment.

Among them was Florida-born Ron Dermer. His absorption was exceptional; he soon found himself working in Jerusalem for very senior Israelis, and later represented his adopted country in his native land. He served three years as Minister for Economic Affairs at the Embassy of Israel in Washington DC and eight years as ambassador. Two and a half years ago, the prime minister’s confidant was promoted to Minister of Strategic Affairs, and now Dermer travels between the two capitals in his cabinet capacity.

There are unending reports about the harm caused during the Netanyahu-Dermer years to relations between the two countries, among them in the preference of Republicans over Democrats, undermining the formerly hallowed principle of ensuring bi-partisan support.

Presumably, the main architect of the policy, who is ageing, unpopular in the polls and in the midst of a criminal trial, will soon leave the stage one way or another, his heritage blackened. And his collaborator Dermer, what will he will leave behind, except loyal service to the initiator of these harmful policies? Does he remember the ideals of the talented young man who left America, determined to make a personal contribution to the Zionist enterprise?

Of the injury the pair caused to the relationship, perhaps the most painful is the schism with the majority of American Jews, those are not automatic supporters of Israel’s current coalition. Notable among them is the suspension Western Wall compromise (negotiated by Natan Sharansky, Dermer’s first boss in Israel) which would allow non-Orthodox worship, and Dermer’s hurtful sincerity in a rare 2021 public appearance in Israel, when he said that Israel should prioritize support of evangelicals over US Jews, who are fewer and more critical of its policies.

Never mind that support for Israel among evangelicals is changing, and not for the better. Never mind the designated role of Jews and their state in the messianic vision of many evangelicals. Never mind ungratefully shrugging away the generous community on whose support we have relied these many years. But it is inconceivable that he expressed such utilitarian contempt towards a longstanding ethos of identity, fraternity and mutual responsibility, in fact mirroring the attitude to the hostages held in Gaza and to their families, another of Dermer’s responsibilities.

Asked about aliya in a 2014 interview, Dermer told Hadassah Magazine that he is optimistic, and that in order “to attract Jews from all over the world, Israel must be a place that provides a standard of living and quality of life that’s second to none”. However, the standard of living is dropping, and as happens in times of crisis, emigration increases. He knows this personally – during Israel’s challenging early years, the family of his late mother left Israel for America.

I have not heard Dermer accused of misrepresentation. He will therefore answer honestly when asked: If you were now 26, as you were in 1997, would you choose to make your life here? Did your years as Netanyahu’s loyal servant further the vision which brought you to Israel, or did they undermine it? If you are decent, you should examine your actions, review their outcomes, admit the truth, and invest your many skills in undoing the damage.