Go ahead: Make Israel a wedge issue
Caroline Glick argues that making Israel a wedge issue is a great idea for Republicans and for Israel. In the face of Obama's unprecedentedly harsh treatment of Israel, Cong. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the chairman of the Democratic National Committee used the opportunity of a joint meeting with Netanyahu for leaders of the National Democratic Jewish Council and the Republican Jewish Coalition to make the case for silence on her party's weak support for Israel.The more that support for Israel becomes an issue that concerns non-Jewish Americans, the more likely that Republicans will be able to take advantage of it. And that's a good thing.
Her statement reportedly made Netanyahu so uncomfortable that he asked, "Do you guys want me to leave the room and give you guys some privacy?"
While requests to block debate on Israel were respected in the past, the current divide between Democrats and Republicans on Israel is so wide that avoidance of the issue no longer makes sense for Republicans. And so, days after the meeting with Netanyahu, RJC Executive Director Matt Brooks wrote a letter to Wasserman Schultz officially rejecting her request.
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Congressional Republicans have also stopped giving the Democrats a free ride for their tepid support for Israel. In the past Republicans avoided introducing major legislation on Israel without Democratic co-sponsors and willingly watered down their initiatives to attract Democratic support. This is no longer the case.
In August Cong. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee introduced a bill that will end US financial support for the Palestinian Authority and steeply curtail US funding for the UN if the UN upgrades the PLO's diplomatic mission. All 57 of the bill's co-sponsors are Republicans.
Cong. Joe Walsh introduced a resolution in September calling for Israel to annex Judea and Samaria. His resolution's 40-odd co-sponsors are also all Republicans.
Israel's enemies in the US peddle the anti-Semitic fiction that Israel's supporters are nothing more than a cabal of activists who band together to defend Israel at America's expense. Extensive polling data shows that the pro-Israel "cabal" includes the vast majority of Americans.
It is due to the public's overwhelming support for Israel that pro-Israel activists have no reason to fear injecting support for Israel into the political debate. The more politicians are called to account for their positions on Israel, the most pro-Israel their positions will be.
Labels: American Jewish indifference to Israel, American support for Israel, Barack Hussein Obama
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:22 PM
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