By Larry Gordon
Americans love and support Israel. But because the media essentially refuses to communicate that story effectively, we are left with the opposite impression.
Congressman John Lewis believes he can go on the news and safely and confidently say that the Trump presidency is not legitimate. Why would he say that? Is he critical of Mr. Trump because he’s white or because he defeated Hillary Clinton? Some will not like that suggestion, but if Mr. Trump had defeated Barack Obama, there would most likely be little hesitation on Mr. Lewis’s part to claim that there was some kind of anti-African-American conspiracy or backlash at play.
For many of us, though, this kind of political bickering is the small stuff. The free world is about to hand the reins of power to a new leader with a refreshing and creative outlook. But representatives of 70 countries assembled in Paris last week to try to stop the State of Israel and specifically Jerusalem from being the beneficiary of the new outlook and thinking. And it would seem that there is currently nothing more urgent.
Their real priority and major goal in Paris was to present a consensus about the Trump promise to finally enact U.S. law by moving the American embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem. Is there no greater or more pressing issue for world leaders than whether the incoming ambassador, David Friedman, works from Jerusalem or Tel-Aviv?
It should be unnecessary and it is annoying to have to state it, but if Mr. Trump accomplishes anything by this move and other actions, it should be to get Israel’s leftist critics–even Islamists in the State Department and the European Union–to stop doubting that any part of Jerusalem is rightfully theirs and to acknowledge the valid and ancient connection between Jews and Jerusalem.
As silly and diplomatically pathetic as it may seem, there is international discomfort with the idea of a sovereign and successful Jewish state. The fear is out there that Mr. Trump is going to deal with this head-on.
There is evidently an additional fear out there that the combination of Trump and Netanyahu will simply prove too powerful for the weak and corrupt regimes out there that President Obama sought to befriend. The biggest losers at the hand of this dynamic duo will once again be the Palestinians and their supporters in Iran. That’s why you may have noticed that the left in Israel is making an all-out, no-holds-barred effort to depose Prime Minister Netanyahu.
If the left in Israel can somehow succeed in their efforts to dislodge Mr. Netanyahu from office just as Mr. Trump moves into the White House, it will be a great victory for those who support the objective of a weak and isolated Israel, which has been the prime focus of Obama’s eight years.
The outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Dan Shapiro, gave a farewell speech this week in which he insisted that during the Obama tenure, U.S.—Israel relations have become better and stronger than at any time in previous U.S. history. While that may be, it is not because of the Obama administration’s efforts.
The deceptive reality that we have written about more than several times over the last few years is that Shapiro has been representing an administration that firmly believes that a weaker and shrunken-in-size Israel is better for the Jewish state and that Obama’s desire to make that happen is indicative of his commitment to Israel. It’s pretzel logic, but for old-school Democrats it seems to work even though this philosophy makes little sense and never seems to contribute to advancing peace.
Donald Trump will no doubt restore pride in what it means to be an American. Unfortunately, intellectually dishonest people, like Congressman Lewis and the 50 or so Democratic Congress members joining him in boycotting Trump’s inauguration, want to bring America down. It’s important to note that no Republicans stayed away from either Obama inauguration even though he promised to and did his best to destroy so many American institutions.
The Democrats in Congress are either not big fans of democracy or just do not take to losing with any dignity. Especially disappointing was a press release received this morning from Queens Congresswoman Grace Meng’s office. In it, the congresswoman said she has decided not to attend the inauguration, in part because of Mr. Trump’s remarks about Mr. Lewis.
Congressman Lewis said on NBC News last week that he did not consider the Trump presidency legitimate. In no uncertain terms, that is a horrible and inflammatory thing to say. It may even be an awful and distasteful anti-white thing, as disturbing as it is to have to say that.
Congresswoman Meng has a large Jewish, pro-Israel constituency. Donald Trump is promising to be the greatest pro-Israel president ever. By staying away, she is sending the wrong message. And it is additionally important to note that Congressman Lewis also boycotted the George W. Bush inauguration in 2000. At the time, he said, the Bush presidency was not legitimate. At least he is consistent in his hostility for Republicans.
And what did Mr. Trump say about Mr. Lewis? That perhaps he should pay closer attention to his job in his district in Atlanta. The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that the Lewis district in Atlanta has one of the highest murder rates in the country and a 22% unemployment rate. So what was wrong with what the incoming president said? He was right on the mark.
There is little doubt that the Republicans will be aiming to unseat the boycotting Democrats in 2018, and unfortunately that includes members of Congress like Grace Meng and Jerrold Nadler. It’s the only right thing to do.
Comments for Larry Gordon are welcome at editor@5tjt.com.