In the 1940s, when the Communists overran China, Americans wondered: “Who lost China?” Humbler diplomats replied: “China wasn’t ‘ours’ to ‘lose’?” Similarly, as Israelis and American Jews ask “who lost the Democratic Party,” let’s admit: it wasn’t “ours” to “lose.”
It’s alarming. Liberal Jews should assess “at what point do I break with this party – even without supporting Donald Trump?” On April 15, 40 out of 47 Democratic Senators tried and failed to block military sales to Israel, but Bernie Sanders succeeded. He now claims to represent the Democratic consensus on Israel, in condemning “Netanyahu and his horrific, illegal wars.”
Sanders may have a point – with the Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed saying: “Hamas: Evil, Israeli government: Evil,” as Democrats endorse Maine’s Senatorial contender Graham Platner. Worse than Platner’s SS Totentkopf tattooed chest is his salute to Hamas and libel that Israel committed “genocide.”
In targeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sanders feeds allegations that Netanyahu “lost” America, not just Democrats. This simplistic tale claims that if only Netanyahu had run this post-October 7 war more politely, 60% of Americans, including many young Republicans, wouldn’t currently disfavor Israel.
Pesky facts contradict this partisan spin. It’s like blaming the Civil War on Fort Sumter’s fall, not slavery’s evils.
I don’t support every Netanyahu move, and this war may be the spark, but the underlying, anti-American, anti-Israel, combustible hostility has been smoldering for years. Obsessive, Progressive, anti-Zionists, aided by a biased media, tapping a surprisingly virulent red, white, and blue Jew-hatred, systematically demonized Israel, criminalizing it for defending itself. They forget: Hamas invaded, forcing Israel to fight this multi-front war aggressively to survive.
Instantly, even as Hamas – and thousands of other Palestinians – were still torturing Israelis, these anti-Zionist sharks started shouting “genocide.” That accusation reflects their obsessive loathing of the Jewish State, not Israel’s actions or Netanyahu’s rhetoric.
People forget that the mainstream media indulged a battered, bleeding Jewish State for only ten days – before swallowing Palestinian propaganda, accusing Israel of imaginary war crimes.
Media narratives against Israel
On October 17, the Gaza Health Ministry claimed Israel bombed Gaza City’s al-Ahli Arab Hospital, killing over 500 Palestinians. Reporters echoed this poppycock instantly – ignoring how long it would take to count 500 bodies amid rubble.
When Israel proved that an errant Islamic Jihad rocket fell in the courtyard, the body count plummeted. Alas, the reputational damage lingered – and the narrative started calcifying – before Israel even invaded Gaza, on October 27.
These rabid anti-Zionists try to make Israel and Zionism radioactive – although they’re “not anti-Semitic,” of course, they just attack Jews too. Anti-Western, anti-capitalist, illiberal, anti-American, and nihilistic, these haters have mastered the oppressed-oppressor, settler-colonialist Woke-speak that seduced too many Democrats.
Riding the media’s addiction to imagery and simplistic narratives, these fanatics dominate social media, which rewards zealotry, letting extremists shape the conversation.
They’re also exploiting today’s partisan dynamics. First, thanks to primary politics and gerrymandering, achieving party “consensus” today often sacrifices the sane center to appease rigid ideologues quick to cancel candidates who don’t pass their litmus tests.
Second, they define the world as pro-Trump versus anti-Trump. Being anti-Trump makes these anti-Zionists acceptable allies – no matter how many American flags they burn – while Israel, justifiably grateful to Trump, becomes “evil” – no matter how much Israel defends America.
Anti-Zionists are sharks – predatory, destructive, single-minded, smelling blood in the water. Most Americans are foreign policy goldfish, usually voting based on domestic issues. Prone to forget – instantly – goldfish are opportunistic, change color rapidly to follow the mob, and easily join feeding frenzies.
Bullied by the sharks, today’s goldfish partake in the anti-Zionist feeding frenzy. The sharks deem this shift permanent. By not panicking and acting smart, blue-and-white dolphins can reverse the tide – especially once these headlines fade, or some Palestinian terrorist atrocity momentarily restores moral clarity to the world.
Honored by the Greeks as “sacred fish,” dolphins are noble, altruistic, consistent, and unafraid of sharks, especially when swimming together. And political echolocation can guide blue-and-white dolphins past murky media bias, while focusing on protecting the Jewish people, Israel, America, and the world from Jihadists.
The challenges multiply. But temporary shifts, due to evil hounding, disturbing images, and resentment of Trump and the Iran war, won’t yet break most Americans’ sacred covenant with Israel.
Most Americans remain instinctively Zionist, which means affirming the Jews’ rights to live freely, peacefully, in their ancestral homeland.
That’s why Sanders and El-Sayed target “Netanyahu” or the “government.” They see past today’s trends, denouncing Israel’s current behavior and leadership.
So even as keffiyeh-wearing anti-Zionists browbeat distracted Democrats, bundling Israel-bashing into the anti-Trump package Democrats buy wholesale, the pro-Israel community shouldn’t build a strategy assuming America is totally polarized.
Presidential elections still hinge on seven swing states, where moderates reign. A recent Washington Post poll “warns” Democrats that “53% of Americans” believe “the party is too liberal.” Similarly, 49% consider the Republican Party “too conservative.”
With a record 45% calling themselves “independent,” muscular moderates may still contain America’s crazies, left and right. To rebuild support for Israel, let’s feed our dolphins a high-quality Zionist diet, reinforcing their loyalty, preparing for the day when more goldfish, left and right, reject the sharks.
Eventually, most will come home to a more reasonable, nuanced, self-protective, pro-American worldview. That includes appreciating America’s most loyal friend and ally, whom, in my forthcoming “Essential Guide to the US-Israel Partnership,” I call the DIY and ROI ally: Israel keeps defending itself while giving America an astronomical Return on Investment.
The writer is an American presidential historian and Zionist activist born in Queens, living in Jerusalem. Last year he published, To Resist the Academic Intifada: Letters to My Students on Defending the Zionist Dream and The Essential Guide to October 7th and its Aftermath. His latest E-book, The Essential Guide to Zionism, Anti-Zionism, Antisemitism and Jew-hatred, can be downloaded on the website of JPPI – the Jewish People Policy Institute.
Source:
www.jpost.com
