"I wish they wouldn’t choose us so often," my late mother used to say.
Well, they have chosen us again.
Antisemitism is ablaze all across western civilization, from American universities to Germany, and elsewhere.
What’s going on?
Yes, one could argue that antisemitism never really went away.
It just became quieter since the time of the Holocaust.
Well, it's silent no more.
October 7, 2023 will stand as Israel’s darkest day since it's statehood on May 14, 1948.
On Oct. 7, 2023 hundreds of Hamas terrorists dropped out of the sky onto Israeli unarmed picnickers and concertgoers.
The assault was instantaneously brutal.
Israelis were killed, raped, beheaded, and burned.
When the carnage stopped the death toll was over 1200 Israelis. The hostage total was over 100, including some Jewish-Americans.
Hamas, the de facto terrorist government of Gaza, proudly took responsibility for this mass atrocity.
To this day, there are still hostages.
Gaza is a self-governing, self-policing small country on Israel’s southwest border.
Prior to 2006, Israel occupied Gaza as a way of controlling terrorist activities.
In that same year, due to pressure from the West, Israel left Gaza.
The United States, and others, gave bloc grants to Gaza to help them develop and, hopefully, build a country for their children.
No such luck.
Immediately after the Israelis left Gaza in 2006, civilized structures were torn down.
There was no need for hothouses or drip farming in a terrorist society.
The billions "invested" in Gaza went to build tunnels, the better to plan for a future sneak attack on Israel.
The reaction of the Israeli government to the Oct. 7 massacre was quick and severe.
The Israeli government declared an end to Hamas in Gaza.
The Israelis rolled in on tanks and armored vehicles, beginning in northern Gaza, then working their way South.
On U.S. television we soon saw miles of sophisticated tunnels extending under Israel, to be used in a multifront sneak attack. We saw the Israelis destroying this extensive tunnel system and much of Gaza, north to south.
I'm not an historian. I'm a politician.
So, we now bring this war back to America and watch the politics play out. It’s not as simple as we all expected. The relationship between Israel and the United States is a very close one.
Israel keeps the peace in the Mideast and we write the checks and keep Israel armed.
What’s wrong with that?
That worked for a long time.
President Harry S. Truman recognized the State of Israel in 1948.
Presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and Donald J. Trump kept the pledges intact.
President Trump went even further, by moving the American embassy to Jerusalem.
Trump crafted the Abraham Accords, a regional economic and defense program designed to create a Middle Eastern trade bloc.
The idea was to counter Iran’s influence and threats in the region.
President Obama had other plans. He saw Iran; yes, that Iran, as the dominant country in the Mideast.
Obama saw Iran as a nuclear power and was willing to pay for this vision.
The world watched as pallets of cash (billions) were delivered to Iran, gangster-style, dedicated to increasing Iran’s terrorist outreach.
Trump would have no part of it.
He sanctioned Iran’s bank deposits and lowered the price of oil.
Thus, Iran was mostly neutered.
Joe Biden is Barack Obama on steroids.
Between raising the price of oil and releasing the sanctioned bank deposits, Biden gave Iran close to $100 billion. Iran and its client terrorist organizations promised unending Oct. 7ths. Biden committed to a two-state solution, Hamas on the Israeli border.
Biden threatened to limit arms sales to Israel. Israel held fast.
America exploded into a cacophony of anti-Semitism, centered around close to 50 major universities where Jews could no longer feel safe.
And, yet, as I tell my Republican friends, there are no undecided Jewish votes.
The 70% of American Jews who automatically vote for Democrats have seen no cracks in their bloc. That’s why Biden keeps feeding the terrorists.
There are no losses of Democratic votes and, most tellingly, no loss of Democratic-Jewish votes, or contributions. That’s why Biden keeps pandering to Dearborn, Michigan Democrats, fearing the loss of 100,000 Mulsim Michigan votes.
To those of us on the right, the Jewish Democrats have turned "Never Again" into "Whatever they Want."
I say: No more!
It’s time to turn the cards face up.
- I say that any Jew voting for Biden is enabling antisemitism.
- I say that Oct. 7 was not possible without Jewish-American votes.
They, the Jews on the left, say, "I don’t want to talk about it."
Too late.
Because that’s all we’re going to talk about, from May until November, and beyond.
No American Jew deserves a free pass on what amounts to their political support for Oct. 7. If you think Israel shouldn’t exist, say it. If you think Israel is worth defending, change your vote.
Your silence is no longer an option.
Yes, mom, they chose us again. But we will be equal to the challenge.
Sid Dinerstein is a former chairman of the Palm Beach County Republican Party. Read More — Here.