Former President Donald Trump is taking. a lot of heat in the Jewish and Israeli press for posting an attack on liberal Jews by JEXIT, a conservative Jewish group urging Jews to abandon the Democratic Party. The attack includes a list of Trump's accomplishments for Israel and the Jewish people, headed by the comment: "Wake Up Sheep. What Nazi / Anti Semite ever did this for the Jewish people or Israel?" The comment appears to be a response to the numerous attacks by liberal Jews against Trump -- and against Jews who voted for him -- that have accused him of being an antisemite, even a Nazi.
Included in Trump's post is the commentary: "Just a quick reminder for liberal Jews who voted to destroy America & Israel because you believed false narratives! Let's hope you learned from your mistake & make better choices moving forward! Happy New Year!" The context, of course, is the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah, on which Jews are meant to reflect on mistakes made in the past and repent for them, committing to improving in the year ahead.
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/111083021216078581
I don't think it's productive for a presidential candidate to talk this way, but it's not antisemitic. Trump is merely saying openly what some conservative Jews are saying, and have said, to liberal Jews.
Moreover, this is not a fight that Trump-supporting Jews started. For years, Jews who supported Trump -- or even who were deemed to have failed to oppose him loudly enough -- were accused of being accessories to antisemitism. I heard this from people who were formerly close to me; I heard it from anti-Trump Jews on Twitter, e.g.:
https://twitter.com/search?q=joelpollak%20from%3Ajpodhoretz&src=typed_query&f=top
And it didn't start with Trump. In 2008, comedian Sarah Silverman told liberal Jews to make "the Great Schlep" to Florida to canvas among elderly Jewish voters, whom she accused of being too racist to vote for Obama, whether they were Democrats or not.
https://theweek.com/articles/511720/sarah-silvermans-great-schlep
In addition: this is what Trump does: calling out uncomfortable truths. Maybe it's not the best role for a presidential candidate, but it also lets the bullies in the Jewish community know that he has their number.
Finally, it has to be said: Trump is right. No president has done more for the Jewish community, and received less acknowledgment, except from conservative groups like ZOA.
Jewish groups that have attacked Trump have treated it like a free punch, assuming there will be no long-term cost. But as Danny Danon, an Israeli conservative politician with a long history of diplomatic work in the U.S., put it last week in an interview with a Hebrew-language newspaper, leaders like Benjamin Netanyahu need to be more careful about giving Trump credit. For example, if there is to be a Saudi-Israeli peace deal, it must have support from Trump, who could be the next president -- which means that Trump must be given public credit for kicking off the process with the Abraham Accords. Continuing to treat Trump like a pariah, often on spurious grounds, could eventually have serious geopolitical implications.
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!
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