It has been and remains my contention that only in an environment of American strength and security (and by that I mean more than the military variety), can Israel survive and prosper. The United States is the Jewish State’s primary (and sometimes only) friend and ally; without maintaining that relationship, she will be in trouble, especially over the long term.

Today, Israel’s political leadership, along with a majority of Israeli citizens, have decided that the path to attain security and prosperity is to adopt a hard-line, increasingly non-democratic path of action that has been endorsed by Trump and his Enablers. Unfortunately, too many American Jews have also decided that in the name of promoting   Israel’s security,  they are willing to forsake many of their own core values as Jews and as Americans.  Judaism values justice and compassion; this Trumpian segment of American Jewry shares a skewed perception of an Israel that they believe can flourish in a domestic environment that too often ignores injustice, intolerance and racism. For them, if a two state solution (i.e. a Palestinian state co-existing with a Jewish state), to the Israeli-Palestinian problem is abandoned in favor of a non-democratic, apartheid-like unitary state under sole Israeli (i.e. Jewish) control, it’s ok so long as it maintains American support. They have become willing Enablers of the policies of the Trump administration. Ironically, the People of the Book readily assist a man who proudly proclaims he has rarely read one.

Unfortunately, there are also those (and I am referring  to a small but influential segment of American Jewry), who publicly assert that it is Trump’s “strong” support for Israel that has earned their endorsement; they then use this argument to hide their real concerns: economics and/or race.  Many are relatively wealthy; many are uncomfortable with America’s liberal racial attitudes. Israel and Trump have become the perfect public excuse for helping enable the policies and practices of this administration. Sadly, such individuals may provide the dollars, rhetoric and access, but have diminished their Jewish values in the process.

Before we proceed to a Reality Check in this country, a brief look at the Israeli political scene is important in understanding the context in which all this plays out.

Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu is Israel’s longest serving Prime Minister. He leads a coalition government that is Orthodox in religiosity and intensely right-wing politically. Its support for a two-state solution is waning and Bibi plays Trump masterfully in securing basically everything he wants from the United States. The two countries’ foreign policies are largely in alignment, their economies are doing well, and Trump is in the high 70%-80% level in popularity among Jewish Israelis. But, both governments contain office-holders charged with corruption below and at the highest levels; they, in turn, preside over restive populations that are not afraid to vigorously express their dissent, especially when it comes to arguing core values.

Israel, in the past, has prided itself on  being labeled a “chaotic,” highly charged democracy.  People express their multiple opinions on issues, argue heatedly, and  generally adopt decisions guided by democratic and Jewish values. Today, that’s what is being put to the test.

And in the United States….