Don’t apologize

Golda Meir famously cautioned, “You cannot negotiate peace with someone who has come to kill you.” Her ironclad, hard earned reasoning reflected a lifetime of battling the intransigent enemies arrayed along Israel’s borders.

Her wisdom should encourage all American Jews who will vote in the upcoming election to take very serious today’s tsunami of hatred aimed at Jews and Israel. Simply put, when in the election booth, Jews should have the courage to avoid the candidate that is most likely to disadvantage and jeopardize Israel. Choose carefully and do not apologize for self-defense.

This advice is especially relevant for Jews and pro-Israel Christians who live in the swing states of Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arizona and Nevada. Battleground state Jews need to approach the upcoming election accepting the bitter realities of selection and self-preservation. Their votes and influence are critical. If you do not live in one of these crucial states then at least support with voice and dollars the candidate who best cares about Israel, Jews and Western values.

Jews need to appreciate that past President Donald Trump offers both a proven history and a platform that is far better for Israel than Vice President Kamala Harris. They do not have to atone for their choice, and they are not obligated to reconcile the miasma of weaponized lawfare charges, disproved bogus claims, and his style of communications, with reality. They need to grasp how alone Israel is and by extension how American Jews have been isolated and adversely affected by the rise in antisemitism and anti-Zionism. They don’t have to negotiate with friends, neighbors or even family members who are blinded by the media’s propagation of the Trump Derangement Syndrome. They do not need to apologize.

No doubt many of the Jews in these critical election states care deeply about other issues. They will have to decide if the antisemitic and anti-Israel dangers are that “first row of alligators” that must be faced. There is an urgency that calls for difficult trade-offs, the wisdom to parse concerns, and to prioritize what threat is the most existential and immediate.

The contrast of Trump versus Harris is stark, and any kind of fair analysis will reveal the facts. Trump has been a very successful American entrepreneur creating jobs, building skyscrapers and businesses, and does not need the paltry salary of a president. He came to the presidency as a successful capitalist and someone who has lived a complex and admittedly fractious, imperfect life.

Harris’s career by contrast does not include any non-governmental positions and stems from progressive California, launched by virtue of a relationship with San Francisco Mayor and California State Assembly Speaker Willie Brown, she was identified as the country’s most liberal, progressive Senator. She now stands on the threshold of the presidency without receiving one primary vote. Her early exit from the 2020 Democratic Primary contest says volumes. And her avoiding interviews and lack of extemporaneous communications increases the mystery of just how she would lead. Yes, she has a Jewish husband.

Trump’s four years as president advanced support for Israel with the Abraham Accords, recognition of the Golan as Israeli territory and relocation of the American Embassy. He withdrew from the flawed JCPOA, nearly bankrupted Iran with crushing sanctions that crippled their ability to fund, arm, and train the terrorist proxies threatening Israel’s continued existence. Those four years were relatively peaceful and offered a pathway forward from the Palestinian-centric morass to a regional alliance aligned against Iran.

The Obama/Biden/Harris administrations are replete with anti-Israel operatives including Amr, Bitar, Malley, Dodin and even Blinken. We have witnessed the rise of the Squad, Iranian sanctions relief that ultimately led to October 7, and Houthis attacking the oil shipping lanes. History shows that Obama worshipped with antisemite Reverend Wright, placated Iran and stabbed Israel in the back with UN Resolution 2334. Biden threatened Menachem Begin as far back as 1982 and interfered during the war in Gaza. Harris created false moral equivalency between the Hamas terrorists and the aggrieved Israelis. The region is on fire and American campuses are the scene of riots and hate.

Edwin Markham, American poet and humanitarian stated, “Choices are the hinges of destiny.” Each one of us, and for sure the battle ground state Jews, need to think hard about the decaying world around us. The choice between Trump and Harris offers a stark contrast, and one that needs clear-minded thinking. Do not allow sound bites, “fuzzy feelings” and unfounded defamations to steal your important vote.

Don’t apologize for casting a vote against someone who is not your friend.