Only months after President Donald J Trump made the history books by assuming the status of the first US leader to actually fulfill the promise of moving the American embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, it now appears that the president is getting some pushback in a passive-aggressive manner by the very people he moved the embassy for.
According to published reports, the Jewish Federations of North America will be holding their upcoming general assembly conference in Tel Aviv, rather than Jerusalem. Every few years this conglomeration of “federations” displays their purported support for Israel by holding their conference there and (always in Jerusalem) as most organizations have accustomed themselves to do.
So, why the sudden change in venue? Well, let’s rule out the climactic conditions in Tel Aviv. No matter how warm and pleasant it may be for beach goers or how many cultural happenings take place there, or how much leisure aficionados cull from its ambiance, the diverse coastal city was not chosen because of these attributes.
Rather, this was the Federation’s way in sticking it to the hand that feeds them. This is the Federation’s manner in which they send their heartfelt thanks to a uniquely intrepid president, who had the temerity to defy the onerous onslaught of world opinion which weighed heavily against the embassy move. This is the Federation’s way of saying “No, we do not believe that Jerusalem is the eternal undivided capital of Israel” and that Jerusalem must be on the table for any future peace negotiations with the Palestinians.
The Federations across the US don’t like the idea that the US now defends Israel in the UN, or that Trump made the decision to slash funding of that cesspool of visceral hatred on Manhattan’s east side. The Federations don’t like the idea that the Trump administration has seen the light on the fraud that has become UNRWA. The Federations don’t like the idea that the US publicly stands up for Israel as the Jewish state protects itself from the calamities of a future war with Hezbollah in Lebanon by shooting down Iranian planes landing at Syrian airbases – and, it should be noted, that these planes just happen to be full of Iranian made rockets on their way to join the every growing stockpile in Lebanon for the use of the terror group, Hezbollah.
The Federation claims that the ultimate objective of this year’s conference as well as its predominant theme is to highlight the stark differences on perspective about the Trump administration between Israeli Jews and American Jews. They will also grapple with issues concerning the influence of the rabbinate, the prospects or lack thereof of long term peace with the Palestinians, the most efficacious modalities in dealing with the egregious scourge known as international terrorism as well as parsing through a veritable gamut of social, political and religious issues.
According to the Federation, the views of American Jews whom they claim are for the most part quite liberal and perhaps on the left as it pertains to political issues and see the world quite differently than their Israeli counterparts.
But then again, these revelations are nothing new. The real issue here is not whether American Jews feel comfortable with secular marriage and divorce in Israel or if major alterations are needed in the laws of conversion, but rather this is the way that the Federations are telling the Netanyahu government, the US and the world that they too have joined the battle against Donald Trump – (the greatest president for Israel’s interests that we have ever seen since 1948).
Yes, the Federations have officially joined the “resistance” as they continue to attend their Democratic fundraisers and incessantly vocalize their shock and horror over Trump’s new immigration policies. They recoil in horror every time they hear Trump reach out to Israel and show them his genuine and unwavering support for a strong government in Israel that cherishes right wing politics and traditions.
By titling their conference “Israel and the Diaspora, We Need to Talk” we can interpret that the Federations are saying that such disparities as “fifty percent of American Jews define themselves as liberal and only 8% of Israeli Jews define themselves as leftists” (which they place on their web site) should be a wake up call of sorts for Israel if they want continued monetary support from them.
With the BDS movement’s insidious propaganda machine firing up the embers of vile mendacity against Israel and the fact that most Jewish students and adults for that matter really do not care about its existential future, the Federations may think that they are in the driver’s seat. After all, they could be under the erroneous assumption that Israel is in desperate need of their aid and influence in order to shore up support at public events for Israel.
Nothing could be further from the truth. The Federations can spend days outlining the myriad differences between the views of American and Israeli Jews, but all the high-minded verbiage and exchange of thoughtful ideas won’t make move anything off the dime.
Unless and until Israel publicly breaks with Trump and stabs themselves in their own back as a lemming would do, then the Federations will keep fighting the new wave of strength and confidence that has been infused into Israel – all thanks to President Trump!!
Much ado about nothing? It says on their website the 2019 GA will be held in DC.