By Rabbi Dow Marmur
JERUSALEM –Prime Minister Netanyahu’s sympathies for the Republican Party are no secret, but the news of the massive $5 million donation by Sheldon Adelson to the campaign of Newt Gingrich for the Republican nomination invites speculations about the close link between Gingrich and Netanyahu, and its implications for the future ofIsrael.
Adelson is a staunch supporter of the current prime minister of Israel. The most effective way in which he shows it is though Yisrael Hayom, a popular daily newspaper that’s distributed free of charge. It’s said to have greatly contributed to Netanyahu’s success in the last elections and it’s likely to be even more important next time around.
The received wisdom in many circles in Israelis that Republicans are good for Israel, Democrats less so. Bush was better than Obama and, judging by his pronouncements during the campaign so far, Gingrich is likely to be much better than Bush. All that while, by all accounts – and despite the neocon sympathies among some Jewish journalists and intellectuals, especially around Commentary magazine – the majority of American Jews continue to support the Democrats.
As pro-Israel as they may be, Jews in the United Statesare first and foremost Americans and they vote according to what they deem to be good for their country, not forIsrael. In view of the strong liberal tradition in which they’ve been reared, many see themselves as Democrats. President Obama’s speech at the Biennial of the Union for Reform Judaism was an address to his Jewish supporters.
There have always been Jewish Republicans and there’re probably more today than before. Israel has no doubt a lot to do with it. In fact, even the late Yitzhak Rabin, a future Labour prime minister ofIsrael, when he was Israeli ambassador inWashington openly, and for some embarrassingly, endorsed Richard Nixon.
But the question must be asked: is a Republican administration really good forIsrael? Or is it that it’s more likely to be hawkish and therefore find sympathy in the right-of-centre political parties that are now driving Israel to isolation and worse?
A similar question could be asked inCanada. Its present Conservative government has shown unprecedented support for the Jewish state. It’s impossible to be Jewish and not to feel good about it, especially as there seem to be no hidden agenda in Prime Minister Harper’s endorsement of current Israeli policies. But is this really good forIsrael? (Of course, most Canadian Jews I know are convinced that it is.)
Behind it is, of course, the really important question: is the present government with Bibi Netanyahu at its helm good forIsrael? For a long time even those who felt otherwise might have kept quiet because there didn’t seem to be an alternative on the horizon. But now when Yair Lapid has officially announced that he’ll form a new political party and Sheli Yachimovitch is trying to resurrect the Labour Party (Noam Shalit, Gilad’s father, has just announced that he wants to stand for election to the Knesset on her list) the chances of a left-of-centre government have increased.
Should such a government be formed after the next Israeli elections, a more positive attitude to peace negotiations can be expected, perhaps even leading to a two-state solution. And that would be very good forIsrael! It’s, therefore, especially important for Obama, and not Gingrich, to be in the White House through 2016.
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Rabbi Marmur is spiritual leader emeritus of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. He now divides his time between Canada and Israel and may be reached at dow.marmur@sdjewishworld.com