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Joel Rubin
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Democratic Strategist, and Jewish Political Activist

Don’t Trust Donald Trump with Israel’s Security

When Hamas launched its horrific attacks against Israel last October 7th, Vice President Kamala Harris strongly proclaimed her “unwavering” support for Israeli security and its fight against the terrorists. She has lived up to her word.

Since that time, the Biden-Harris Administration has provided nearly $18 billion in arms to Israel to defend itself, has backed Israel at the United Nations, and has directly defended Israeli security by shooting down Iranian ballistic missiles not once, but twice.

Under her leadership, support for Israeli security has been unflinching and will continue if she becomes president. The same cannot be said for Israeli security under a second Trump term.

Just remember, when former President Trump was Commander in Chief, Iran’s regional aggression expanded, with Trump turning a blind eye to Iranian attacks against American troops, including an Iranian missile attack that harmed nearly 40 American soldiers on Iraqi territory. Trump also unleashed Iran’s nuclear program, which had been verifiably limited, isolating us from our allies and enabling Iran to enrich uranium without constraint and with no backup plan to stop it.

And this doesn’t even mention the risks to Israeli security that a Vice President J.D. Vance would pose. Vance voted against supplemental military aid to Israel during the past year. He did so in a package that included military aid for Ukraine, demonstrating strong isolationist tendencies. And just the other day, he argued that American Jews were “more militaristic” than Israelis, while simultaneously arguing that the interests of Israel and America might not be aligned in the future, implying that American support for Israeli security might not be rock solid to him. One must wonder if it’s more like quicksand.

These gaps between the two presidential candidates are significant. On the one hand, there’s a candidate for President – Harris – with a demonstrated track record of strong support for Israeli military aid and a willingness to deploy American power against physical threats coming from Iran. On the other hand, there’s a candidate for President – Trump – who’s turned his back on attacks against Americans committed by Iran and whose pick for Vice President questions whether Israel should be getting security assistance at all.

What Israeli security leaders need from the United States is a reliable ally, one whose word is our nation’s bond. But can anyone truly say that Donald Trump is trustworthy on issues of national security, especially towards Israel? Frankly, is he trustworthy at all?

Remember, this is a man who spent his four years in office cozying up to Russia and undermining NATO. He still to this day pushes the same anti-American line about our allies that he did while in office, undermining our diplomacy and national power. And this is also a man who failed to rein in Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran when he was president, leaving the Biden-Harris Administration to pick up the pieces. His word is anything but his bond.

But there’s also one more, darker component to the question of trust that we must now, unfortunately, confront.

This is the issue of Donald Trump’s apparent fascination with Hitler.

It was recently reported that Trump shared his feelings of admiration for Hitler’s generals with his former Chief of Staff John Kelly, a trusted retired Marine four-star general. We all must know, deep in our bones, that anyone who is a fan of anything related to Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime that committed genocide against the Jewish people can never be trusted with the security of the Jewish people.

It’s therefore simply impossible to reconcile the idea of Donald Trump admiring Adolf Hitler’s generals with the notion that he would support the Jewish state’s security. These two positions just don’t align.

However, the good news is that on the other side, Vice President Harris not only has a strong track record of direct support for Israeli security, but that she also personally cares deeply about the Jewish people.

Remember, while Donald Trump was dining with antisemitic white nationalists like Nick Fuentes and holding hate rallies infused with antisemitism at Madison Square Garden, Kamala Harris was empowering her Jewish husband to lead her administration’s effort to write the first ever U.S. National Strategy to Counter Antisemitism and to put up a mezuzah on her official residence.

This is the kind of track record that lets us know exactly how she’ll support Israel. Because for her, it’s personal.

So if you’re a strong supporter of Israel and think that Donald Trump will be there for Israeli security, you’re falling for a another of his tall tales, just like the lies he continues to tell about the 2020 election.

Israeli security depends upon having an American ally it can trust. And only one candidate in this election fits the bill. Her name is Kamala Harris.

About the Author
Joel Rubin is a National Security Expert, Democratic Strategist, and Jewish Political Activist. The President of Washington Strategy Group and a Partner at Democracy Partners, he's a former Obama Administration Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative Affairs, was the Executive Director of the American Jewish Congress, and was a Democratic Candidate for Congress in Maryland.
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