By Bruce S. Ticker
PHILADELPHIA, Pennsylvania — To save America, two Jewish defenders of Israel are willing to put Israel at a measure of risk – even while a Palestinian congresswoman is applying the old “dual loyalty” accusation to a convoluting situation in the Senate.
A far-reaching legislative plan to address Middle East concerns codifies $38 billion in defense assistance for Israel for the next 10 years and protects states that pass bills targeting Israel boycotters from being sued.
At least two Jewish senators – Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Ben Cardin of Maryland – would routinely vote for these provisions if it was not for Donald Trump’s government shutdown choking the livelihoods of 800,000 federal workers.
Both Schumer and Cardin are among Israel’s most firm and, yes, loyal supporters in Congress, yet they both sought to postpone a vote to protect Israel in order to shut down the government shutdown that is suffocating hundreds of thousands of Americans, most of them having no known stake in Israel’s existence.
So much for “dual loyalty” among two of the most loyal Jews in Congress.
Talking about dual loyalty, the drama over Israel for this past week commenced last Monday (Jan. 7) when Rashida Tlaib – who routinely chooses Ramallah over Detroit – waited five days after she was sworn in as a congresswoman to bash Israel.
According to The Washington Times, the first Palestinian-Muslim member of the House of Representatives condemned the legislation which would ensure that local and state governments can cease doing business with organizations or companies that boycott Israel. At least 26 states have passed resolutions against doing business with these organizations.
“They forgot what country they represent,” Tlaib tweeted, which most reasonable people would recognize as another way of accusing American Jews of dual loyalty.
Sen. Marco Rubio, whose state (Florida) is home to an estimated 800,000 Jews, swiftly retorted, “This ‘dual loyalty’ canard is a typical anti-Semitic line.”
Tlaib, who represents part of Detroit and its suburbs, disingenuously responded, “Sen. Rubio, it’s clear my earlier tweet was critical of U.S. Senators like yourself, who are seeking to strip Americans of their Constitutional right to free speech.”
Clear as mud, that is. She neglected to mention that pro-Israel groups probably lobbied for or approved of the legislation. True, not one Republican senator is Jewish, but some represent large Jewish population centers such as southern Florida, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas and Cleveland. Besides Philadelphia, Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania represents the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh where 11 Jews were massacred inside the Tree of Life synagogue on Oct. 28.
The legislation stems from the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign that is viewed as an economic war against Israel. BDS supporters argue the sanctions against these companies violate the First Amendment rights of government contractors.
By Tuesday, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported that Schumer and Cardin were butting heads with Republicans when they set out to filibuster the bill as leverage against the shutdown. Republicans still hold a majority in the Senate, but they nonetheless need 60 votes to pass legislation.
As lead Democratic champion for the bill, Cardin tweeted, “The government #shutdown is a crisis, impacting millions of Americans and our economy. We can’t simply proceed with business as usual. Reopening the govt must be our first priority.”
That attitude set off this retort from Matt Brooks, head of the Republican Jewish Coalition: “We might as well use the time to pass something that has unanimous support in the pro-Israel community.”
The Schumer-Cardin strategy may well trigger pressure on Trump that would be tough to resist. As Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has far more influence over Trump than most world leaders.
Whatever the merits of these competing arguments, two senators who must face their fellow Jews in their home communities consciously put America’s interests ahead of Israeli interests.
The question of dual loyalty is a legitimate concern, yet there is not one American citizen who cannot deny having dual loyalty. Every citizen has a place of origin to which they would feel a natural connection. Conflicts in their nation of heritage is what brought them here. Most of those from Germany, Italy and Japan were loyal to their adopted country during World War II, and some sacrificed their lives in the European and Pacific theaters.
Native Americans vehemently protested threats to their tribal lands from corporate interests backed by state and federal administrations. Puerto Ricans living on the mainland have been livid – along with millions of non-Puerto Ricans – over the Trump administration’s weak and bizarre response to the hurricane that ravaged Puerto Rico, which is an American territory.
Some dual loyalty concerns are more extensive than others, but periodic spats between America and Israel are not so serious as they might seem. It is doubtful that the two countries will ever face a severe crisis over differences. Both are democracies, and American Jews and Israelis have too much love and respect for each nation. Plus, America and Israel have close military, economic and diplomatic relations.
Yet “Palestine” – whatever that means – is divided between two regimes, undermines its own people and is not even a sovereign nation. Hamas in Gaza is openly hostile to Israel and Fatah on the West Bank tolerates a long list of offenses by its extremist factions.
If anyone must answer for “dual loyalty,” it is the dolt from Detroit.
AND ANOTHER THING…
Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minneapolis, a Muslim who along with Tlaib is another Israel-basher, affirmed her opposition to the bill during an MSNBC interview late Sunday afternoon (Jan. 13). Unlike sister Israel-bashers Tlaib and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of the Bronx, she does conduct herself in a mature, dignified manner.
What’s disturbing is her final phrasing: “…to oppose oppression wherever it might exist.”
If oppression exists in Israel, could she document it for us? Could oppression exist within the Palestinian leadership?