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Feb
14
Gary Rosenblatt, editor and publisher of The Jewish Week, tells us why in this editorial.
For starters (Eric, does this sound familiar?!):
What am I to say when people ask me, as they frequently do these days, which presidential candidate is best for Israel?
When I sometimes ask, in response, what they mean by “best for Israel,” they may think I’m being facetious or evasive, but I’m not.
I know exactly what he means.
Rosenblatt goes on to give a review of presidential machinations with the Middle East since 1992 through to now. Rosenblatt believes that Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John McCain differ little from each other and that only Rudy Giuliani had any appreciable difference in approach:
Only Rudy Giuliani among the leading ‘08 presidential candidates opposed that basic premise, writing in Foreign Affairs last fall that the Palestinians need good governance and an end to violence before negotiations could begin. But he’s no longer running.
His point, in the end, with which I completely agree:
My point is that it all depends on how much you want to convince yourself that the person you oppose for president would be a disaster for Israel. But the reality is that each of the three remaining frontrunners would approach the Mideast conflict with essentially the same outlook and intention, and with the premise that Israel-Palestinian negotiations should be encouraged and supported, much along the lines of the Clinton and now Bush efforts.
Upsetting? Comforting? That’s your call, but don’t come away believing one or the other will be dramatically different when it comes to Israel any more than you believe the long line of empty pledges to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
So base your choice on a host of other very real factors from personality to integrity to domestic issues to Iraq to a variety of foreign policy concerns, including acknowledging and identifying the very real threat of Islamic militancy.
But if you tell me you’re voting for one or the other based primarily on what he or she would do or not do for Israel, I’d say you’re only fooling yourself.
Exactly.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:25 pm February 14th, 2008 in Barack Obama, Foreign Affairs, Hillary Clinton, Jewish, John McCain, Judaism, Military, Politics, Primary, Religion, WH2008
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8 Responses to “Forget about Clinton, McCain or Obama stance on Israel, Jew or not, when you vote”
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DAMN RIGHT, YOUR IN AMERICA, AND ISRAELI POLITICS BELONG THERE! shaloam
Shalom Jill,
I have to say that I’m in basic agreement with Rosenblatt.
If the United States is to do anything at all to help find a path to an end of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, it must be as an honest broker.
No United States President has acted so since President Jimmy Carter.
In many ways I’ve grown to see the conflict as every divorce lawyer’s worst nightmare with Israel and Palestine fighting for sole custody of their child: Eretz Israel.
Maybe it’s time for some kind of radical solution. Maybe cutting the baby in half is not the answer.
What would Solomon do?
I wish I knew.
Shabbat shalom,
Jeff
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James, well – there’s Israeli politics and there’s foreign policy. Rosenblatt is speaking to foreign policy, from what I glean.
Jeff – I feel very similarly. It’s funny – when I read Rosenblatt’s recitation of Bill Clinton’s proposals I thought, hmm – that doesn’t sound so bad. But then Arafat died – what do you make of what’s happened since Arafat’s death? How much unrest can be attributed to that?
For the billions of $$$ that the U.S. gives Israel every year, what does the U.S. get in return???
I don’t know – what does the African continent give us? Or Iraq for that matter?
“JAMES RUGGIERO on February 15th, 2008 5:15 am
DAMN RIGHT, YOUR IN AMERICA, AND ISRAELI POLITICS BELONG THERE! shaloam”
My response to this is that I may be an American… but I am also a Jew, and I really dont think I could be a proud Jewish American if there is no Israel– and all Jews should feel the same way.
Also, you spelled Shalom wrong