Donald Trump Is Wrong . . . and Right . . . About Jewish Democrats
In recent weeks, politically liberal Jews from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to New York Times opinion columnist Thomas Friedman have attacked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin "Bibi" Netanyahu.
Sen. Schumer and Mr. Friedman both have ideological objections to Mr. Netanyahu’s conservatism.
Former President Donald Trump, a longtime friend of Mr. Netanyahu, defended him using tough and inartful language.
Mr. Trump recently enraged Jewish Democrats by saying that "Any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion. They hate everything about Israel, and they should be ashamed of themselves because Israel will be destroyed."
While Mr. Trump is wrong on this, he is also right.
This is not John Kerry State Department weasel-speak about voting for the war before voting against it.
With Trump, it's necessary to get past his awkward, if not terrible, turns of phrase to see the overall message. This has been true since he first came down the escalator in July, 2015.
In his first presidential announcement, Trump offered cringeworthy comments about Mexicans.
"When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you.
"They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.
"And some, I assume, are good people."
Democrats falsely claimed that Trump said all Mexicans are rapists.
On the other hand, Trump needlessly gave Democrats ammunition.
What Trump should have said is that most people coming to America are good people who want to work hard and have a better life.
Trump then could have pivoted to the remaining problematic one percent including several thousand criminals, drug dealers and rapists entering America.
While Trump phrased his policy concerns miserably, he was essentially right about the policy. Unchecked illegal immigration did cause more violent crime in America.
Unlimited illegal immigration is a national security threat.
Obsession with Trump’s words often obscures the bigger policy picture, where Trump is far from wrong.
Now Trump has angered Jewish Democrats.
He again used loaded phrases that detract from his message.
Liberal Jews get very angry when they are labeled self-loathing, self-hating, or anti-Israel.
Saying that they want to harm their own people is a bridge too far (Ironically, liberals frequently demonize conservative Republican blacks, gays and other minorities as self-hating).
Trump should have connected the dots with policy analysis.
Jewish Democrats did overwhelmingly vote for former Sens. Barack Obama and Joe Biden. The Obama-Biden administration did use political force to pass the Iran Nuclear Deal.
The Iran Nuclear Deal was one of the worst pieces of foreign policy legislation in American history.
The Iran Nuclear Deal did fund the mullahs with billions of dollars in cold hard cash.
Iran did then fund Hamas, Hezbollah, and other Islamist Jihadists.
Hamas did murder 1,200 innocent Jews in Israel. This chain goes beyond correlation into causation. Jewish Democrats voted for American presidents who financed antisemitic and genocidal Islamists.
Biden now faces heavy political pressure from Arab Muslim Michigan voters and young college leftists to further isolate Israel.
This pressure has him pushing more awful policies from a two-state solution to demanding Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spare Hamas’s final stronghold Rafah.
Netanyahu thankfully reminded Biden that Israel is a sovereign democratic nation, not a "banana republic."
Yes, Jewish Democrats still supporting Biden are absolutely voting for policies that would be catastrophic for Israel.
On policy consequences, Trump is as right as right can be.
Even many Trump supporters wish he would stop stepping on accurate policy beliefs with unforced errors.
Ignore Trump’s verbal insensitivity.
Flowery language is not his skill set. Observe his deeds, especially on policy.
Jewish Democrats must stop complaining about hurt feelings and refocus on existential threats to Jewish lives.
The policy divide is clear.
On Iran, Democrats desire rapprochement while Republicans seek to crack down.
Voting for Democrats strengthens Iran. Until this sad reality changes, voting for Democrats remains insane for anyone who passionately cares about Israel and Judaism.
Eric Golub is a comedian, author and retired stockbrokerage and oil professional living in Los Angeles. His interests include football, politics, Judaism, the stock market, and Angela Lansbury's "Murder, She Wrote."