Right Wing Jews Are Endangering Israel By Trying To Make It A Partisan Wedge

I have contended in the past that right wing Jews who claim to be motivated by love of Israel to support Republicans are actually trying to do the inverse.  They are motivated by love of Republicans and are to use Israel as a wedge to benefit Republicans.  It is like the tail wagging the dog.  I think this has been completely laid bare in the most recent election.

For people of all political stripes who care about Israel, this presents a huge potential problem.  Like any wedge issue, this one may have its intended effect and divide the electorate.  Given that we have had and currently have an electorate that has been largely supportive of Israel and Americas ties to Israel, this is a very bad thing for people who support Israel.

Support for Israel in American political discourse has long been bi-partisan, and it still largely is.  It is one of the rare issues that is so in our hyper-polarized age, and that has been an amazing gift for American supporters of Israel, allowing us to maintain America's crucial support for Israel through different administrations and Congressional changes.  However, if right wing Jews succeed in making it a wedge, then support for Israel will no longer be bi-partisan.  Support for Israel will be identified with one political party, and then by definition be shut out of power half the time.

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I read such intense vitriol directed at liberal Jews from right wing Jews.  They think that liberal Jews are all communist agitators who want to bomb Israel off the face of the Earth.  This post from PJ media is a typical example.  It makes me wonder if those kinds of authors and the commenters have ever actually met any liberal American Jews or have ever been to the places where they live. Or if they have ever been to Israel and seen the tremendous political diversity among Zionist Jews there.

It is clear that right wing Jews are trying to drive the message that if you support Israel, you have to be on the right wing.  They've even demonized Alan Dershowitz, who is one of the most important pro-Israel voices in America, because he is a Democrat.  And the amount of vitriol that they've directed at President Obama is astounding, brazenly calling him an antisemite.  Whether one loves or hates his policies, it is clear that the President is not an antisemite, given that people closest to him in his inner circle have included, for example, Chiefs of Staff Rahm Emmanuel (served in the Israeli Army) and Jack Lew (Orthodox Jew).

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Liberal American Jews won't, en masse, turn on Israel if a wedge is driven by these right wing Jews, but liberal non-Jews will.  There is creeping anti-Israelism and anti-Semitism on the left, as evidenced by the antics at places such as Daily Kos and Huffington Post that have been documented here and elsewhere.  If support for Israel becomes identified in the public discourse as a "right wing" or "Republican" thing, then it will push much of the left to be against that, and into the opposite camp.  That's how polarized American politics works, because most Americans, left and right, buy their politics wholesale and don't follow individual issues carefully.

By trying to force a wedge to boost Republicans, right wing Jews are endangering Israel.

It would be slightly less ridiculous if right wing Jews were at least succeeding in boosting Republicans with these shenanigans, but even that doesn't seem to be the case.  In spite of the last several years of constant shrill vitriol against the President, Democrats, and liberal and centrist Jews, and the hundreds of millions of dollars thrown in by the likes of Sheldon Adelson, the President was reelected this week, Democrats had a substantial nationwide victory, and studies indicate that the Jewish vote hardly moved from being solidly Democratic. 

Support for Israel has been amazingly bi-partisan and enduring in American politics in recent decades, and that has been one of the greatest benefits to Israel as it faces constant challenges from its hostile neighbors.  But now, right wing Jews, by dishonestly presenting support for Israel as exclusively a right wing trait and demonizing famous liberal supporters of Israel, are trying to force American discourse on Israel away from a somewhat broad bi-partisan consensus and toward partisan polarization.  They may very well succeed, and this will profoundly harm Israel.

If right wing Jews really care about Israel, they should cease trying to use it as a wedge, and accept that support for Israel should be bi-partisan to the largest extent possible.  If instead, what they really care about is advancing Repubicans and Israel is simply a means to that end, then it is obvious that they will continue to do as they are doing, and Israel will suffer for it.

Elie Wiesel to Mitt Romney - Stand up for what is right! Who are really our friends?

This year the Republicans and fellow their fellow ODS (Obama Derangement Syndrome) sufferers are trying to make a huge push for Jewish voters to turn from their traditional role as strong supporters of the Democratic Party to becoming Republican voters (particularly in "swing" states like Florida and Pennsylvania) and donors. In addition to continually ignoring or worse yet, lying about the Presidents record regarding Israel and Jewish people, these hapless Republicans continue to make tactical mistake after tactical mistake regarding our constituency.

The latest is in GOP Front Runner (and party establishment favorite) Mitt Romney. For all of his "lip service" to the Israeli Right, Mr. Romney is proving himself to be far from a friend to the Jewish people. How is this? Well, Mr. Romney is a member of the Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints - LDS) Church. Part of the practices of this church are to conduct posthumous conversions of people to Mormonism in an effort to gain them access to heaven.

So, what is the issue here? Well it seems that the family of the late (and great Nazi Hunter) Simon Wiesenthal is upset that a Mormon official performed a baptism on the parents of Mr. Wiesenthal after they died. To be fair to the Mormon Church in this instance they immediately apologized - HOWEVER, they did not say that they would cease this practice.

In today's Haaretz the great Elie Wiesel calls out Mitt Romney for not addressing this issue:

Republican presidential hopeful and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney should have spoken up against Mormon posthumous baptism of Jews, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Eli Wiesel said in an interview on Wednesday....

.......Speaking to MSNBC's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell's on Wednesday, Wiesel mentioned the name of Republican presidential hopeful and Mormon Mitt Romney in relation to the affair, saying the former governor should have communicated his position on the matter.

"Mitt Romney is a Mormon, and I respect all religions, including the Mormon religion," Wiesel said, asking: "How come he hasn't spoken up after all?"

"It's not, I'm sure he's not involved in that. But nevertheless, the moment he heard about this, he should have spoken up, because he is running for the presidency of the United States, which means it's too serious of an issue for him not to speak up," he added.

The Wiesenthal Center also expressed it's condemnation:

Following news of the posthumous baptism of Wiesenthal's parents, the Los Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center denounced the baptismal rites.

"We are outraged that such insensitive actions continue in the Mormon temples," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean at the center.

Indeed, how would we feel if our parents were posthumously converted to another religion. Would we consider the church that carried out these practices to be friends of the Jewish people? While I appreciate that the LDS church did apologize - rather than apologizing they should simply cease this odious practice. moreover, Mitt Romney as a Presidential candidate and self described devout Mormon needs to address this issue.

But this is not the only case of Republican insensitivity towards the Jewish people and religion. We all know about Ron Paul (who polls between 15-20% of Republican base) and his Neo-Nazi connections. How Republicans and the ODS sufferers think we can ignore that is simply beyond me. But, they do. They keep saying "Don't vote for the Democrats, we will support you" but they simply refuse to address the problem that one in five or six Republican voters supports this bigot. It is like they want us to simply look the other way while a sizable part of their voting base flirts with people that want to actually end the State of Israel and hangs out with people found at hate sites like StormFront or Mondoweiss.

Or how about Rick Santorum (the new, not Mitt). Mr Santorum is a true religious Christian who makes all kinds of noise about supporting the Israeli Right and their quest to annex the West Bank. Nevermind that this act would end the existence of the State of Israel as a Jewish AND Democratic State (something Republicans and ODS'ers care very little about particularly the Democracy part), in a typical act of arrogance Mr. Santorum sent a Chanukah card to his Jewish friends with the following quote on it:

"I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

Ummmm, someone needs to tell Mr. Santorum that having quotes from the NEW TESTAMENT on a holiday card does not express respect for those of us who are Jewish. YET, we are are told to ignore all of this and vote against a man who has gone out of his way to provide friendship for the Jewish people (and Israel) and:

1. Held the first ever Seder in the White House

2. Named a month of the Year - Jewish History Month (May 2011)

3. Has had, not one but TWO Jewish Chiefs of Staff

4. Has been termed an "exceptional" friend of Israel by Israeli leaders across the Political Spectrum from President Shimon Peres (Kadima), to Defense Minister Ehud Barak (Atz'maout) to Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon (Yisrael Betainu).

I would ask individual Jewish voters given this... Which party is it or which candidate is it that seems to have our best interests in mind? I think the choice is pretty obvious.

American Voters and term "Israel Firsters"

During my morning reading I had a chance to read what might be one of the most ridiculous exercises in political sophistry that I have ever read. Simply put, even I as a very Pro-Israel Jew read this and was struck by the simplicity and foolishness of this piece. How this got picked up and carried and by any news outlet is staggering in that this might be one of the most poorly reasoned opinion pieces I have ever read. What piece is this? Take a look for yourselves: U.S. Jews who put Israel First are merely expressing their democratic rights.

Well, from the title... Yes Joel, you are right. They are merely expressing their democratic rights. They get to do that. Is voting for Israeli interests over the U.S.' interests their right? Sure, we are a democracy. So yes that simple statement is absolutely true. You know what else is true Joel, the Sun is yellow, the sky is blue and guess what Joel... you have a keen grasp of the obvious.

So where does Joel Braunold go wrong in this piece? Well right away by having as a byline: There is nothing neither wrong or un-American with being a single issue voter. Actually Mr. Braunold, I would say in this case there is something both "wrong" (which I admit is a subjective judgement) and "un-American" (which is also a subjective judgement).

Braunold starts off his failed article by saying that voting for Israel is just as much a single issue for the American voter as is say a vote based on the environment (using Keystone XL as an example). This immediately fails on the grounds that voting based on opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline is a domestic American concern. The pipeline which would run from the Canadian border to the Gulf of Mexico represents a potential environmental hazard for the United States (our own country). The pipeline would run directly over an important aquifer that supplies much of the central U.S. states water supply. The environmental impact of a disaster involving said aquifer would be monumental to the U.S. It is thus an American issue and thus makes far more sense for a single issue voter in an American domestic election than say voting based on the fact that President Obama doesn't call Prime Minister Netanyahu each night and tell him what a great guy he is.

So Braunold sensing the following criticism presents TWO explanations the first of which is completely ridiculous that even Braunold himself does not subscribe to it (he claims it is a Right wing meme and for the most part he is right). The second one though bears looking at. The article claims that Jewish voters might consider the existence of Israel so important and so key to their very being that they would vote based on that premise. To back that up he cites Jewish American voters in the '30's and '40's. Well, in that case I understand this. I, for instance, would never vote for a candidate that talked about not being friendly or supporting the existence of Israel as I see that as both fundamentally against American interests AS WELL AS being fundamentally against Jewish interests. In his example he uses British MP Ken Livingstone.

Were Mr. Livingstone running for President of the U.S. I wouldn't disagree with Mr. Braunold in that vote since from what I know about MP Livingstone I don't think he is a reasonable choice for that position and YES, my vote would be affected by his anti-Israeli, anti-Jewish advocacy. BUT... Mr. Livingstone is not running for President of the United States (well, foreign policy wise his clone -  Ron Paul is, but, that is not someone I would consider voting for).

The person running and being cited by the ODS'ers (Obama Derangement Sufferers) is President Barak Obama and unless one is a Republican and sympathetic to Republican arguments regarding the U.S. Political system then voting for a Republican rather than President Obama purely on the grounds of Israel rather than domestic priorities (those being American priorities both foreign and domestic) is by Bruanold's definition both "wrong" AND "un-American".

This then runs us to a term that has lately come up:  "Israel Firsters". Now this is a term personally I don't like. I think that while it may be sometimes accurate, it is too broadly used by anti-Semites to make claims of dual loyalty. So where do I see this issue as "Wrong" or "Un-American" in our election. Well first of all, I think the Republican agenda of:

1. Overturning Roe v. Wade
2. Stripping the EPA of regulatory power Or dismantling it completely
3. Putting the tax burden on the Middle Class and Poor while exempting the Rich from paying their fair share
4. Underfunding Education
5. Supporting the destruction of the Social Safety Net
6. Supporting the repeal of credible Health Care Reform

and so much more stands against America. But, voting for those things (while professing to be against ALL of them) because one thinks that President Obama, a President who has:

1. Increased Aid to Israel up and above previous administrations
2. Been termed an "Exceptional Friend of Israel" by both the Defense Minister of Israel, it's Deputy Foreign Minister, and it's President
3. Supported Israel in the U.N. countless times
4. Personally intervened to save Israeli Diplomats in Egypt
5. Continually worked to find a peaceful solution to the Israel/Palestine conflict
6. Constantly stated that Israel must remain the National Homeland and State of the Jewish People
7. The First President to hold a Seder in the White House
8. The First President to designate a Month of the Year, Jewish History Month
9. Has had not one BUT TWO Jewish Chefs of Staff

But even if President Obama wore an Israeli Flag while singing "Hatikva", all while hugging a Binyamin Netanyahu Plush toy it would STILL not be enough for the ODS crowd. Why? Who knows...... .

In the Meantime they would support a party which supports:

1. One State solution to the conflict in the Middle East (without thinking about the ramifications of that)
2. A front-running candidate who supported the Post Death conversions to Mormonism of Jewish Victims of the Holocaust
3. has a candidate that thinks Israel shouldn't exist and would de-fund it entirely.

Ok but I digress....

Now here is where I get controversial. I would say that if this is one's point of view, that the voter who feels this way is living in the wrong country. While one would certainly have the right to vote any way they want, why would this voter bother living here instead of in Israel? I would challenge anyone who feels this way to answer that question. If a narrow P.O.V. as determined by Im Tirtzu or the Israeli Right is what you vote for in American elections then you live in the wrong place.

Now, if one is a Republican to begin with... Dynamite vote for your party. But make your vote based on American priorities. After all, you are an American. If you want to vote for Israeli determined priorities, Kol HaKavod, move to Israel. They need more Olim.

Jewish voters and Republicans - Hype at it's Worst

Lately, those of us that follow these things have been hearing non-stop about how Republicans are posting huge gains with Jewish American voters. We keep hearing Obama Derangement Syndrome (ODS) Sufferers telling us how the Democratic Party is "Bleeding" Jewish voters and how the Republicans are surging in our polity. Now, personally, while I have seen some uptick in disappointment with President Obama in parts of the Jewish Polity, I have certainly NOT seen a groundswell of reversal of Jewish Political support for the President.

However, that has not stopped the Right Wing, and their ODS drones, from trying to hype their narrative of Jewish Support for the Republican Party. In fact, this hype has even been picked up by Israeli Papers and spread... BUT is this true? Let's look at the facts.

First of all the Pew voters poll in 2011 (a poll with at 6.5% margin of error) indicated a +9% rise in Republican or Leaning Republican tendency in American Jewish voters. In 2008 the Pew Poll, showed that 72% of Jewish Voters leaned Democratic while only 20% leaned Republican. In 2012 the Poll shows that 65% of Jewish Voters lean Democratic while 29% lean Republican. NOW, in the election it turned out that 78% of Jewish Americans voted Democratic. Now in the 2011 poll the representative sample size was only 330 people - about HALF of the number asked in 2008 (645 people), so there is that. In the AJC poll of 2011 (a better indicator) there was a 9% decrease in identified Democratic Jewish voters BUT also a 1% DECREASE in Republican voters with the 10% gain of voters then saying they were Independents.

But even more telling that this is pure hype is the fact that according to this years Pew Poll and last years Pew Poll the Republicans have actually LOST GROUND amongst Jewish voters. In 2010 the poll said 33% of Jewish voters leaned Republican while 60% leaned Democrat. SO in effect the Democratic party has regained 5% points of it's support and the Republicans lost 4% points of their support in just the last year.

SO, in the polls... is the Republican party really picking up a "groundswell" of Jewish support. Maybe not so much.

But now even more bad news for the ODS'ers and their Right Wing support group. In Florida, a key state with a large Jewish voting bloc - Jewish voters were only 1% of the Republican Primary vote. In 2008, they were 3%. THEN in the Nevada Caucuses, where Jewish voters were only 2% of the Republican Primary vote in 2008, guess what % they were in 2012... Wait for it.... Wait for it..... 2% - whoa, now there is a "groundswell".

Really all this is, typical Rovian re-definition of reality. Has the Democratic Party lost some of it's influence with Jewish voters? To date, yes it has, some. Will 78% of the Jewish voting population vote for President Obama again, I doubt it. But I would be willing to bet that the number of Jewish Democratic voters will still be higher than 70% (personally I see around 72-73% as a number).

Given the facts, that the President and the Democratic Party have been stalwart friends to the Jewish people and the Jewish State of Israel it seems to me that the only reason for this drop off is that the Party has not done a great job in outreach to Jewish voters and has not touted their strong, strong record of friendship and advocacy for both the Jewish community as well as support for Israel. This they need to do, and if they do it I have no doubt they will pick up more Jewish votes.

Republicans Betray Israel and Jewish People, Seek One State Solution to Conflict in the Middle East

The RNC has continued to show how the Republican Party is no friend to either the Jewish People or the State of Israel. In their latest move the RNC has done the unthinkable and endorsed the One State Solution as a plan for Peace in the Middle East.

Here is the text, plain as day:

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the members of this body support Israel in their natural and God-given right of self-governance and self-defense upon their own lands, recognizing that Israel is neither an attacking force nor an occupier of the lands of others; and that peace can be afforded the region only through a united Israel governed under one law for all people.

AND when questioned by blogger Mitchell Plitkin about it had this to say:

Me: Dear Ms. Costa,[...] I just wanted to check with you that this was in fact an officially adopted RNC resolution. Can you please let me know? Thanks.
Costa: Yes it was adopted unanimously by the RNC last Friday at our winter meeting in New Orleans. Cindy

The text of the resolution is as follows:

AN RNC RESOLUTION TO COMMEND THE NATION OF ISRAEL FOR ITS RELATIONS WITH THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

WHEREAS, Israel has been granted her lands under and through the oldest recorded deed as reported in the Old Testament, a tome of scripture held sacred and reverenced by Jew and Christian, alike, as the acts and words of God; and

WHEREAS, as the Grantor of said lands, God stated to the Jewish people in the Old Testament; in Leviticus, Chapter 20, Verse 24:  “Ye shall inherit their land, and I will give it unto you to possess it, a land that floweth with milk and honey”; and

WHEREAS, God has never rescinded his grant of said lands; and

WHEREAS, along with the grant of said lands to the Jewish people, God provided for the non-Jewish residents of the land in commanding that governance must be in one law for all without drawing distinction between Jewish and non-Jewish citizens, as contained in Leviticus 24:22, and

WHEREAS, the Nation of Israel declared its independent control and governance of said lands on May 14, 1948, with the goal of re-establishing their God-given lands as a homeland for the Jewish people; and

WHEREAS, the United States of America, having been the first country to recognize Israel as an independent nation and as Israel’s principal Mideast ally, has enjoyed a close and mutually beneficial relationship with Israel and her people; and

WHEREAS, indeed, Israel is the United States of America’s greatest friend in the Mideast; and

WHEREAS, the roots of Israel and the roots of the United States of America are so intertwined that it is difficult to separate one from the other under the word and protection of almighty God; and

WHEREAS, there are those in the Middle East who have sought to destroy Israel from its inception as anation; and

WHEREAS, those same enemies of Israel also seek to destroy the United States of America; and

WHEREAS, the United States of America and the nation of Israel have enjoyed cordial and mutually beneficial relations since 1948, a friendship that should continues to strengthen with each passing year.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, by the Republican Nation Committee that the committee by this resolution commends the nation of Israel for its relations with the United States of America.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the members of this body support Israel in their natural and God-given right of self-governance and self-defense upon their own lands, recognizing that Israel is neither an attacking force nor an occupier of the lands of others; and that peace can be afforded the region only through a united Israel governed under one law for all people.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and Senate Leadership and each of the legislatures of the states within the United States of America with the request and recommendation of this body that a similar resolution to that stated herein be proposed within their respective bodies.

And there you have it ladies and gentlemen... the One State Solution. Now, one can safely assume that the Republican version of the One State Solution and the Palestinian version of the One State Solution are very different takes on the same thing.

The Republican version calls for something similar to what Israeli Rightists, in the YESHA and National Union envisage for a One State Solution. I assumes that Israel will annex all of the territory that is the West Bank of Jordan and incorporate the Palestinian population there into it's own. Strangely enough this is also something called for by the hard left of the Palestinian polity though for very different reasons. BUT, the idea behind the Republican Resolution is to say in short: "G-d gave all the land to Israel, we like Israel, so all the land is theirs to do as they see fit".

So how is this a "betrayal" of Israel? Only in that it would destroy Israel in almost every way. Let's look at some scenario's:

Scenario One: Israel annexes all of the West Bank and Gaza Formally.

Assuming that Israel then absorbs the Palestinian population the demographics of Israel change radically. Currently Israel as a nation is 75.2% Jewish and 20.5% Arab. Israel's Jewish Population stands at  about 5,865,300 individuals and Israel's Arab Population stands at about 1,597,300 individuals. If one includes the West Bank, and Gaza, the demographic mixture changes to: 5,749,000 Arabs/Palestinians and 5,865,300 Jews. Now current birthrates favor a quick transition from Israel being a Jewish State to becoming a Palestinian State with a large Jewish minority. Given that Israel was created to be the State and National Homeland of the Jewish People this makes the future of Israel problematic.

Remember the RNC Resolution calls one law for all people without distinction. So Israel, as a democracy would then become a Palestinian Majority State. Just how long does anyone think that a Palestinian Majority State would be run as the National Homeland and State of the Jewish People? Five minutes... Ten minutes...

ALSO, Hoq' ha shvut - IF, the Jewish Law of Return (a cornerstone law regarding Israel) would still be in effect then Palestinian Right of Return would also have to be in effect. That would reduce the Jewish % of the population even further.

FURTHERMORE... No has asked the Palestinians if they even want this situation though secular, leftist Palestinians and their supporters have this as their agenda for the obvious end result.

Scenario Two: Israel annexes only the West Bank and leaves Gaza on it's own.

This would mean that he total population shifts to about 5,865,000 Jews and 4,149,000 Palestinians then living in Israel with 1.6 million Palestinians STILL living in Gaza.

First, off while this would maintain a Jewish majority, that figure would go from a 75% - 21% split to 58% - 42% split. Given Birthrates and immigration, that demographic would be shifting rapidly.

All of this of course does not even take into account that the Palestinians are not being asked if they agree with this. In all honesty, I can't really see that in the case of this scenario. Though Palestinians are not (as a polity) currently favorable to Hamas, they do favor unification for their polity and do consider Gazans as Palestinians. A population split like this almost guarantees civil war. And the fact that majorities in either polities reject this notion, this is a recipe for disaster.

Scenario Three: Meir Kahane's Dream Come True

NOW... let's say the Republicans don't really mean this and they mean to say... This land is all Jewish, then what happens to the people of the West Bank and Gaza Strip? Does Israel simply move them? Ethnically cleanse them from their homes? Where do the Palestinians go? Do they go to the already established State of Jordan (as Arye Eldad of National Union proposes)?

What would doing that do the character of the State of Israel as a "light unto nations" or as a Modern Western Democracy as was envisioned by it's founders? Does that "light unto nations" mean driving millions of people out of their homes? OF COURSE NOT!

Not too mention that it would set off a regional war that would threaten to widen into World War III. The second Israel started to forcibly transfer population, the surrounding nations (and I believe Russia) would immediately take action. At BEST the E.U. would put full economic sanctions on Israel, and I cannot see how the U.S. population would tolerate this.

Should the population NOT be transferred but just decide to annex the territory and keep the population as less than citizens then the Republicans would be obligated to take action against Israel as this would run counter to their insistence that "One Law" would apply to all.

Oh and for those out there who really want to channel Rabbi Kahane and Kach... Jordan is not Palestine. It was recognized as a separate nation and NOT part of the mandate early on. And Jordan currently is really Israel's last friend in the region. Israeli and American Rightist calls to get Jordan recognized as the homeland of the Palestinians (which it is not) is the fastest way to completely destroy that peace treaty. A peace treaty that has greatly benefited both sides.

Here is a key passage from Israel's Declaration of Establishment:

THE STATE OF ISRAEL will be open for Jewish immigration and for the Ingathering of the Exiles; it will foster the development of the country for the benefit of all its inhabitants; it will be based on freedom, justice and peace as envisaged by the prophets of Israel; it will ensure complete equality of social and political rights to all its inhabitants irrespective of religion, race or sex; it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture; it will safeguard the Holy Places of all religions; and it will be faithful to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

ON THE OTHER SIDE.... President Barak Obama and the Democratic Party fully supports the traditional American position of Two States for Two Peoples (and rightly so). Both sides need to have their legitimate rights to self determination recognized. The Jewish People in Israel and the Palestinian people in Palestine. The Two State solution is the only possibly peaceful way forward (and that is not guaranteed with the level of militancy that exists on both sides at this time) and while it may not be ideal for either side it is the best option for both peoples.

Given this declaration by the Republicans anyone who thinks that voting for them is better for than voting for proven friend of the Jewish people and Israel, our President Barak Obama, needs to have their heads closely examined. This Republican declaration is a straight up call for the destruction of Israel and a blow to the soul of the Jewish people.