T. Belman. Trump is so right.
In new audio from interview with Barak Ravid, Trump laments what he sees as dwindling support for Israel among many American Jews.
Former President Donald Trump, in newly released audio of a recent interview with Israeli journalist Barak Ravid said that “Jewish people in the United States either don’t like Israel or don’t care about Israel.”
“There’s people in this country that are Jewish who no longer love Israel. I’ll tell you the evangelical Christians love Israel more than the Jews in this country,” Trump said.
The excepts of the interview were released Friday on a new episode of the podcast “Unholy: Two Jews on the News.”
“It used to be that Israel had absolute power over Congress. And today I think it’s the exact opposite,” said Trump. “I think Obama and Biden did that. And yet in the election, they still get a lot of votes from Jewish people, which tells you that the Jewish people, and I’ve said this for a long time – the Jewish people in the United States either don’t like Israel or don’t care about Israel.”
Trump added: “I mean, you look at the New York Times – the New York Times hates Israel. And they’re Jewish people that run the New York Times, the Sulzberger family.”
Trump also spoke about his connection with the Jewish community growing up in New York City, where his real estate developer father Fred Trump was “was very close to many Jewish people, because it was Brooklyn real estate, Brooklyn and Queens.”
“Many Jewish friends, a great love of Israel, which has dissipated over the years for people in the United States,” Trump said. “I must be honest, it’s a very dangerous thing that’s happening.”
I think it is harmful to our understanding of what is going on to frame it in terms of a fight between strong personalities or Republicans and Democrats.
Both parties and, likely, most of the world governments have been bought by the very big business interests, e.g., as big or even bigger than Bill Gates, which was confirmed about 10 years ago for the US when the US Supreme Court allowed corporations to contribute unlimited amounts of money to the politicians’ political campaigns.
I think people should take a birds-eye view of things rather than viewing politics as a soccer match.
The American policy toward Israel would then be viewed more correctly as a continuous “carrots-and-sticks” policy aimed toward the two-state solution (and, as a result, Israel’s dissolution) rather than a Democrat/bad vs. Republican/good policy.
The habit of humans of glorifying certain individuals was known already in the 4th century BC:
I much prefer Trump and his imprecise language, attacking anyone who does not vote for him, cater to him, as opposed to the Biden administration which truly could be harmful to Israel in meaningful ways.
https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/318882
Typical left wing “Jewish” groups who continue their silence regarding the blatant anti-Semitism of the jihad squad of Omar, Tlaib et al. They are less about fighting anti-Semitism then about shilling for the democrat party. Sorry, but ADL, which started out as apolitical, has long since been turned into another democrat party PAC.
LOL
My disappointment is with the Jews who don’t support Israel or worse join the ranks of the anti-Israel crowd rather than with Trump who calls them out on it.
@Ted Belman
“I think in the context of what it said, it goes without saying that he didn’t mean all Jews”
What matters here is what non-Jews think he said.
And they think ALL JEWS, as usual.
“The Jewish people in the United States either don’t like Israel or don’t care about Israel,” means ALL AMERICAN JEWS.
ALL JEWS are ungrateful to him.
ALL JEWS (Israel) had absolute power over Congress.
It is not about how his Jewish supporters understand what he said, it’s about him willingly or not pushing the right “antisemitic” buttons.
Hi, Bear.
That’s fair enough. I’m convinced that you love Israel and the Jewish people, as much as the others here. Some things irritate us: It would be nice if we all agreed on everything (would it? not really). I’m concerned about Christians who support the Democrats, for whatever reason. It’s just a fact of life, that I have to deal with.
One Trump is to be applauded for all he did for Israel (recognizing Jerusalem & Golan as Israeli, plus moving the embassy to Jerusalem). Which does not mean he is not above critique.
Some of those who always vote Democratic actually care about Israel. Even though I think their vote is in error.
Example- I had a Great friend who just died. He was an American Citizen who moved to Israel as a young adult and married an Israeli woman. He served in the IDF. He was a social worker who worked in the Israeli Prison System. We forever argued about politics but always stayed great friends. He never once voted for the GOP. I thought I had him convinced to vote for Romney over Obama but in the end it did not happen. I know other people who did not vote for Trump but love Israel and are do things on behalf of Israel in the USA.
So I just do not like it when people like this are thrown in one basket of not caring about Israel just because they think differently political than conservatives like most of us who comment on this site.
@ Bear
Israel did use to have, for all intents and purposes, “absolute power over Congress.” That was when AIPAC reigned Supreme..
I am surprised that the article and you quote Jonathan Greenblatt,.who accused. Trump of “Insinuating that Israel or the Jews control Congress or the media is antisemitic, plain and simple,” Trump made no such insinuation.
He simply said, “it used to be”. Greenblatt is one of those Jews that Trump is referring to.
Finally Trump didn’t mean or say “all Jews”. I think in the context of what it said, it goes without saying that he didn’t mean all Jews.
TRUMP is right, and when you consider that around 70% intermarriage makes the number of REAL Jews a lot less than the 5-7 million usually quoted, (it varies according to who’s saying it) you can figure that only the haredim, plus the ZOA members and maybe another million+ unaffiliated are really halachically Jews that cuts the real numbers more than half. THEY care about Israel, and most of them would vote Repub or more likely for Trump. THEY appreciate him. The 32% of the estimated 5-7 mill, is nearly 2 mill. and that takes up most of the real Jews.
Eating and/or talking about baigels and lox (smoked salmon) a Jew does not make.
And before I forget, Trump is right (again), Jews controlled Congress being part of the leadership, and Omar and gang control it now.. Fat Nadler makes a big noise when he’s snoring away at “hearings”. I recall Wexler, Nadler, Schumer always sat together years ago. There are 10 Jewish Senators, of whom 2 are “Jews” and they vote with the Democrats.
@Bear
I have to say I am not sure why people are so quick to attack a man who has proved himself again and again as a friend to Israel. His comments are not just defensible, they are both accurate and appropriately described.
In fairness, many of those individuals who you fairly applaud with your praise would likely support the generalization that you condemn, and which, as @Ted noted, Trump did not state.
Trump should be very strongly cheered for his comments here by all who love and support Israel, as his statement accurately portrays a reality that boggles reason. For whatever reason you care to ascribe it to, we can not, and we should not, pretend away the fact that American Jews overwhelmingly support their political allies as they smear, lie, belittle and boycott Israel at every opportunity. This is ignoring all the occasions in which they, themselves overwhelmingly act to smear, lie, belittle and boycott Israel of their own accord. This reality is exactly what Trump referenced in his statements here. Is it not better to address this unfortunate reality, directly, as Trump is doing here, rather than hide from the unpleasantness of it.
Trump has been, and continues to be, a very good and very strong friend to Israel, as well as the Jews in America and around the world. I believe it is completely inappropriate to stretch our imaginations simply to abuse such friendships as he has shown. It betrays a lack of fidelity to a close partner and ally, and poorly informs our other partners and allies, both current and future, of what they might expect from a similar partnership and alliance.
@Belman, since you are taking up the role of Trump’s Excuse maker in Chief, I am confident you will explain away the following which is being reported in the Times of Israel
https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-groups-pan-trump-antisemitic-tropes-after-remarks-on-israeli-jewish-control/
Ted, Trump did NOT say some American Jews do not care about Israel he said
. So you are rationalizing his words. He also said a whole bunch of other things which if quoted correctly border on Jewish stereotyping and actually sound anti-semitic (even though I do not believe he is anti-semitic).
So if you are comfortable with all that and want to cheer it on that is your choice. I personally think people should use their words more carefully. Trump has never been good about that. He clearly is trying to get back at those Jews who did not vote for him. You are applauding that wow!!!
@ Klein
Trump did not generalize. He didn’t say “all Jews”. Show me one quote that said otherwise.
We pro-Israel Jews complain about the same things.
Israel doesn’t want another big aliyah.
Israel purposely limits aliyah by, in fact, changing the Law of Return and applying different conditions depending on the potential olim’s country of birth, etc.
Israel limits the Jewish settlement and employment while encouraging Arab settlement and employment.
Israel’s liaison to the American Jewish communities is not even Jewish.
This is what should be ringing the alarm instead of the theoretical level of the Diaspora Jews attachment to Israel.
I think we are entering an era which resembles the one that ended up in the Holocaust.
How can anyone be in denial after what happened 90 years ago?
“Fool me once – shame on you, fool me twice – shame on me.”
When the numbers are saying that over 70% of Jews voted Democrats for Obama and Biden, it’s not all, but it’s alarming.
When the rate of assimilation if around 60% and formal Jewish education is only at the Orthodox camp with very few Conservative Day Schools,and after Bnei Mitzvah the offer is so…almost non existent…not even Sunday Schools that per se is under-education…how can Israel be important?
What I find is that many American Jews are willfully ignorant about Israel and its history. Their “progressivism” keeps them wedded to anti-Israel mainstream media, particularly the New York Times, which loves to bash Israel. I have a lengthy essay on this subject for anyone interested; http://www.lakesidepress.com/JewsWhoBlameIsrael.pdf
We have to admit that Israelis are not always easy to deal with.
“Hard on the outside, soft on the inside”: SABRA!
“The Lost XIVth tribe” (for ever)!
Not so different from what happened before, during and after the Holocaust.
I wonder how many American Jews have been to Israel or are/have been involved in any business with Israel.
The Pew Research Center could easily get the data.
Many American Jews do not care about Israel, that is factual.
However many American JEWS do CARE ABOUT ISRAEL so please do NOT put all the eggs into ONE basket with broad over generalizations.
Many 1000s are making Aliyah annually and many more are actively planning Aliyah. Their are those who work for organizations such as WIZO to raise funds plus help organizational in running Israeli daycare centers. There are those work for other organizations such as Hadasah which runs a couple of hospitals in Israel.
So cheering over generalizations that are not accurate and effectively smearing those who love Israel and work for it, is counter-productive and intellectually lazy.
Direct fire at those like Bernie Sanders who sides with our enemies. Trump should not be cheered for his comments here.