As difficult as it is for a Republican like me to acknowledge a Democratic success, and as tough as it is to give credit to Democrats for a "bipartisan" approach to Israel when they have strayed so far into the anti-Israel camp, Biden seems to have placed the US-Israel relationship back on a bipartisan foundation. This is no small achievement, and deserves to be acknowledged.
Back in 2008, I had a public debate with my Harvard Law School professor, Alan Dershowitz, in the pages of the Jerusalem Post, about whether Barack Obama would be good for Israel or not. Dershowitz suggested that Obama could lead the left into the pro-Israel camp; I argued that Obama would do the opposite, given his close association with anti-Israel radicals in the past.
I was right about Obama. But Dershowitz anticipated the path that Biden seems to have taken. It took a Donald Trump in between those two, to place the US-Israel relationship back on the right path and to orient the region toward peace. Biden largely recapitulated Trump's policies on his visit to Israel, with a few perfunctory nods toward Palestinian aspirations, but no concessions.
I still think Biden is a poor president, and I would much rather have seen a second Trump term. But Biden's trip to Israel allowed Democrats to embrace the pro-Israel label. Remarkably, Biden defied the extreme left of his party on Israel, though he is otherwise running the most left-wing administration in U.S. history. He undid much -- not all -- of the damage done by Obama. Very good.
This is my first broadcast from the new office and studio in Washington, DC, where I'll be for a couple of years my neighborhood back in L.A. cleans up -- and as we follow the Trump administration from a little closer up than usual.
Topics:
- The anniversary of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump
- The escalating tariff battle with various different trading partners
- The future of the Middle East peace talks, and ongoing antisemitism
- The Jeffrey Epstein files and whether they mean anything at all
- The continued crisis of the Texas floods, and stories of heroism and survival
And more!
Special guests:
- James Rosen - Newsmax chief Washington correspondent
- Bob Price - Breitbart News Texas reporter, on the ongoing floods
- Robert Cahill - Trafalgar Polling, on a new alliance of reliable pollsters
- Rabbi Yaakov Menken - Coalition for Jewish Values - on Israel & antisemitism
Tune in: 7-10 p.m. ET, 4-7 p.m. PT
Call: 866-957-2874
This week’s portion tells the grand story of the prophet who tried to curse people of Israel and instead ended up blessing them.
I am reminded that these portions continue to be relevant anew, as this particular reading lent the title for Israel’s recent 12 Day War against Iran, “Operation Rising Lion.”
This week's portion includes the commandment of the red heifer -- one of the classic "irrational" commandments whose fulfillment is an expression of faith. It also includes the regrettable episode in which Moses strikes the rock.
I referred to this story in a wedding speech last night. Why was Moses punished for striking the rock in Numbers, when he struck the rock without incident in Exodus -- both for the purpose of providing water to the people?
The answer is that in the interim, the Jewish people had received the Torah, which is like the marriage contract between the people of Israel and God. In a marriage, you do not resolve things by breaking boundaries, but through love.
The additional reading, from Judges Chapter 11, is the story of Jephthah (Yiftach), a man whom the leaders spurn, but to whom they must turn to save the nation. The parallels to our present political circumstances are striking.
Shabbat Shalom and Happy Fourth of July!
...
