The Republican field for 2012 is beginning to stretch its legs. Not surprisingly, presidential hopefuls have started to define themselves by what they are not: Barack Obama.
There are predictable swipes at Obama’s health care reform plan, his deficit spending, his climate-related regulations and his obsequious displays before foreign potentates. If you are looking to serve up red meat to the Republican troops, these are easy and effective stand-bys. In recent months, however, a new issue has emerged with which Republican contenders are trying to distinguish themselves: West Bank settlements.
In August, former Arkansas governor and television talk-show host Mike Huckabee made a high-profile visit to the West Bank. He compared efforts to restrict the growth of Jewish settlements to Jim Crow-era segregation: “To tell Jewish people they can’t live in certain neighborhoods is really to deny them not just their neighborhood, it’s to deny them their basic sense of liberty.”
More recently, Sarah Palin offered a more curious rationale for settlement expansion: “That population of Israel is going to grow. More and more Jewish people will be flocking to Israel in the days and weeks and months ahead. And I don’t think that the Obama administration has any right to tell Israel that the Jewish settlements cannot expand.”
In standing up to Obama on settlements, Palin and Huckabee have staked out positions significantly to the right of past Republican presidents. George W. Bush’s basic policy was: Build up, but don’t build out, and don’t permit illegal outposts. (Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush were even more hostile to settlements.) I don’t recall Palin and Huckabee complaining about the Bush White House’s stance on the issue.
It’s worth noting that other leading Republicans have found a way to take issue with the Obama administration’s stance on settlements without climbing out on the limb that Huckabee and Palin have. The House minority whip, Rep. Eric Cantor, has called the settlement issue “a distraction” from the bigger threat posed by Iran. “The status of the settlement blocks is something to be resolved in future agreements; it is not something we should begin pressuring Israel on now, when there really have not been adequate steps taken by the Arab states and the Palestinians,” Cantor told The Jerusalem Post.
So what explains the zeal on settlements from Huckabee and Palin? It could be that they sincerely believe what they say: America has no right to tell Israelis where to live. One can speculate that their religious convictions play a role shaping their views on this issue. Or maybe Huckabee and Palin simply don’t place much hope in the prospects for a two-state solution.
But their focus on settlements could also be seen as a calculated political move to distinguish themselves from the Republican pack. With virtually the entire Congress — Democrats and Republicans — reliably lining up to support Israel on the easy stuff, you can’t make your mark unless you take on the hard stuff and go further than anyone else.
And the settlement issue, of course, has particular appeal to Christian conservatives who believe God gave Israel to the Jewish people. Saying that settlements are Israel’s right is a way of telling Christian Zionists, “I’m with you.”
Some have argued that Palin’s remarks about settlements had an end-is-nigh feel, with prominent liberal blogger Spencer Ackerman suggesting that her words “sounded like some kind of dogwhistle to Christian Zionists, a cohort that promotes unconditional American support to Israel in order to bring about the end of the world and the return of Jesus Christ to earth.” (It’s an imposed reading, one not supported by Palin’s actual words. Either Palin is a simpleton, as her critics say, or she is crafty and sends intricately coded messages to her supporters. Both things can’t be true simultaneously.)
So what’s driving Palin and Huckabee — conviction or political expediency? The answer is probably at least a bit of both. I don’t doubt that they have both arrived at their positions on settlements in good faith, though it’s unlikely they have devoted serious study to 42 years of American foreign policy on the issue. And, in any case, they likely see the settlement issue as a cost-free way of scoring political points against an incumbent president who is seen by many as the least friendly president toward Israel since Jimmy Carter.
But I’d advise them to be careful.
Every Democratic candidate in the run-up to 2008 ran as far away from George W. Bush as they could. But such exercises in zagging when the incumbent administration is zigging can be dangerous: It cost candidate Obama nothing to say he was the anti-Bush on a range of issues. It’s not so easy now that he is governing and is actually carrying forward key Bush policies on Guantanamo, Iraq, tax relief for many American families and so on. Not surprisingly, Obama’s friends are often bitterly disappointed by these departures from his campaign promises.
On the campaign trail, you can say whatever you want. But people remember. And words, in the end, have consequences.
Noam Neusner is the principal of Neusner Communications, LLC. He served as a speechwriter and Jewish liaison for President George W. Bush.
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Also see work of Max Blumenthal including: Video: "Rapture Ready: The Christians United for Israel Tour" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjMRgT5o-Ig
You left out a fairly rational and logical element of conviction that (a) the Arabs do not deserve another state and surely not in the area they were given a state [in 1947] but because they didn't want the Jews to have any state anywhere, they tried to destroy it - twice and terrorize it in-between; (b) that Israel's security needs require the retention of Judea and Samaria and given the post-disengagement behavior, incoming Qassams from Tul Karem and Jenin and Bethlehem won't help Israel, peace or even regional stability; and (c) the US requirment for a safe world demand that Islamic extremism be reined in - in Afghanistan, in Irqa, in Iran and in Gaza and in Nablus/Shchem.
And simply, Jews have justice and right on their side to be able to live in the heartland of their historical homeland.
“It’s an imposed reading, one not supported by Palin’s actual words. Either Palin is a simpleton, as her critics say, or she is crafty and sends intricately coded messages to her supporters. Both things can’t be true simultaneously.”
Intricately coded!? This presupposes that the narrative of the ingathering of the Jews as a necessary prerequisite for Jesus’ second coming has not already been repeated ad nauseam. Palin’s target audience is familiar with that narrative, and is conditioned to recognize even abbreviated references to Armageddon. For her part, all Palin needs to do is parrot buzzwords and key phrases, something she has already displayed an aptitude for. The result is that la Palin is still a simpleton but the message, though coded, is not that intricate.
As an Israeli, my feeling is that with friends like these, we don't need enemies.
Just as international law bars terrorism (and military action, for that matter) aimed at civilians, it bars settling territories won by force, without a peace agreement.
My parents taught me that two wrongs don't make a right. My Rabbis taught me that we are a people of laws -- that it distinguishes us.
What did Palestinian and Israeli parents teach their children?
You reap what you sow. Mainstream American Jewish organizations were building bridges with Zionist Christians back in the 1970's, so they probably shouldn't protest too much when their pets get a little out of hand.
Wow, Palin actually thinks that Iranian nukes are more of a problem then Jews in Gilo. Lets shoot her right. Meanwhile you have a guy in the White House who is tight with Rashid Khalidi and the rest of the Hitler should have finished the job crew. But he's OK because he is a black liberal democrat.
to Mr.Hymie Zoltsveis, where ever you are. As a Jew living in Israel I thank you for your kind thoughts and invite you to look for salvation elsewhere.
G-d, the supreme real estate agent, seems to have given the same land to a lot of people....
BTW, many Arab nations fear and have criticized Iran and support sanctions, including Saudi Arabia.
I am a very secular, non-religious man over 50 years of age.
Though I believe that anyone has the right to believe as they wish, I have come to loathe the practitioners of Islam and all that they stand for. They hate Jews, Christians, Hindus, Sikhs, and atheistic infidels like me, for no real reason other than sheer "religious" bigotry.
That said, I feel that the State of Israel CONQUERED the West Bank, defending themselves in a war in which they were ATTACKED for no damn reason other then hatred, and has every right to annex it for settlements.
Stand firm Israel, and keep Jerusalem too!
The picture of Beit El is misleading. Most of the residents of that community live in attractive stone houses - not temporary, shabby caravans. Beit El is not some Tobacco Road "settlement" - it has been built as a vibrant and permanent part of the landscape of the Land of Israel Evangelical Christians have their eschatalogical hopes, Jews have others - but political support for Jewish settlement of our land is based on both realism and a sense of historic justice. And no, settlements are not violations of international law. That was clearly point out decades ago by an expert in the field, Eugene Rostow.
Zionism is all about building a Jewish future in a world that can be hostile to Jews. Israel was built by secular as well as religious Jews. We should appreciate our supporters (even if some of their views make us uncomfortable)- and stop calling each other names.
Clearly, Huckabee and Palin understand Israel's needs. They see a hostile Arab population led by a thugocracy known as the Palestinian Authority bent on eradicating Israel. They also see that the real estate in question is the Holy Land. Now, quite apart from end-days scenarios embedded in the New Testament, the Holy Land is holy only to Jews and Christians. The Holy land of the Arabs is Saudi Arabia. When Arabs start to steal other peoples' holy lands, then it is time for conscientious politicians to stop them. All American Jews are required to support Huckabee, Palin and the Republican Party. Because the Democratic Party under Barack Obama has decided to cater to the interests of the Arab world. That is why it does not stop the Arab genocide in Darfur, Sudan. And that is why it does not stop the gender genocide against women in Saudi Arabia. And that is why it does not stop the torture regime in Syria. Those Jews in America who vote for Obama are stirring up antisemitism among the American Christian population. For who in his or her right mind would want to undermine Israel, the most righteous nation on the planet, to curry favor with a cheap political party?
Palin and Huckabee have not a clue about the Israel/Palestinian crisis. If either become President, their policies may not get Jesus to return, but they certainly will have bring Armageddon to the Middle East.
When people are saying the right thing, what's the point of undercutting them by proposing that they are saying it for the wrong reasons? Especially by putting words in their mouths, especially when every politician from Bush to Obama uses public statements to send multi-layered messages to various constituencies.
Jews have a right to live anywhere and especially in their historic and spiritual homeland? Right on! Is that because they believe God gave Israel to the Jewish people? Not a problem as the religious and the social/political arguments are congruent.
Jews will or potentially will be coming to Israel in increasing numbers? Not a stretch, even without Christian Eschatology. Antisemitism including vandalism, violent attacks, kidnapping, torture and murder of Jews is at worldwide record levels and on the rise, especially in countries hosting increasing Muslim populations and/or left-wing dictatorships. Do they see this clearly because of Christian eschatology? What's the difference? God works in mysterious ways. It's better than being blind to the possibility because of a naive belief system that hopes that Jews are going to be ok without Israel.
They happen to be on the right side, the correct side, God's side, the historic, just and moral side, and ultimately tyhe winning side all at once. And it is a waste of time worrying about their motivations. I will take someone who is right for the wrong reasons over someone who is wrong for the right reasons...
Sign on to Camp David - Doh! Intifada!
Sign on to Oslo - Doh! Bombs on busses!
Allow Hezbollah into southern Lebanon - Doh! Kidnapped soldiers and Iranian Missiles.
Remove West bank checkpoints - Doh! Suicide bombers.
Disengage from Gaza - Doh! Kidnapped soldiers, sucicide bombers and missiles.
I wholeheartedly agree with Suzanne Weiss' comments above. Hers is one of the most perspicacious I have read in a long time. Your correspondent Noam Neusner really should drop his sarcastic treatment of Republican politicians. His digs at Palin and Huckabee are out of place. As a devout American Christian Protestant, I am amazed at how non-religious Jews constantly blacken their people's patrimony and heritage. For shame!
The hard truth that the left, including the Forward, cannot accept is that there is no peace partner and no prospect for one in the foreseeable future.Therefore concessions of any kind harm Israel without advancing peace. Nothing has changed since Abba Eban's famous statement "The Arabs never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity".
I agree with the commentator who said it is perfectly possible for Palin to be at once a simpleton and a believer in the Second Coming.
Religious tribalism tries to keep people seperate and at arms with other tribes. In the past this was necessary for survival, however, people of the Earth are now too inter-connected for most societies to remain isolated. Is it a sin to commiserate with other humans holding different views from our own? Is there a jew reading thhis that is wearing clothes made in Indonesia?(mmmmm..they might be supporting muslims.) Or if you are reading this you might want to put out your eyes,..I am, after all, an infidel. People criticize an 'eye for an eye' philosophy, forgetting that it was a great improvement to the existing 'you stole the pig we hunted so we will kill all your family' philosophy that predominated at the time. It seems to me that the Israeli leadership has given the Palestinians ample reason to poke a few eyes.
When we conservaive gentiles support israel what do we get.We get jews calling us stupid etc.No more aid for israel,no support for people who look down their nose at us.Christians should support christians not jews who think we are trash.
You call these people liberals. The last liberal died in the 1980's. These smucks are socialists, a product of eastern europe and Karl Marx. As such they cannot be reasoned with. There is no moral or ethical basis to their beliefs. Only the lies and propaganda that spews from their mouthes, and is repeated by their minions. They care nothing for the poor or the Palestinians, but only wish to use them to further the socialst cause. Look closely at their generousity, it all has strings attached to it. It is an invitation to slavery!!!
Question for those of you who think that Israel "conquered" the West Bank and now "own it: if Israel owns the West Bank, why hasn't it made the inhabitants of the West Bank into citizens or paid them to leave by now? The logical thing would be to do one or the other, right? Instead of holding onto the territories with a military presence for 42 years and spending billions of AMERICAN dollars to create separate roads and towns and keep them safe? Israel itself does not claim that the West Bank is "Israel," because if it did, the government would actually have to represent the population properly in the Knesset, because, as far as I can tell, Israel is still a democracy. I live here, in Jerusalem, where it's sometimes hard to tell that it's a democracy, but that's what they tell me in the paper. So? Why not annex the West Bank already?
Could it be possible that Huckabee and Palin have read their Bibles? In particular, Gensis 15:18--21, and Gen. 17:8 which clearly state that G-d gave the land to the Jews in an "eternal covenant." The boundaries were specified in Gen. 15, and labeled "eternal" in Gen. 17. When G-d says "forever" I have a feeling He means it! Anyone who wishes to check those boundaries needs simply to read the Scriptures. For me, the Scriptures are the highest authority and supercede any human political argument. Naturally, one can choose not to believe the Scriptures, but they do so at their own peril. The LORD has promised that those who "bless Israel" will in turn "be blessed." Though that's not why I love Israel and her people, I'm not stupid either. Israel's survival, thru it all, proves G-d's blessings and protection are on her--"the apple of His eye."
Greetings fellow readers, I keep hoping to hear more voices of reason among people who profess faith, but I keep hearing a greater barrage of venom against "the infidel"; the rhetoric is the same, whether it emanates from Fanatical Muslims, fanatical Christians or, fanatical Jews (Fanatical Hindus not excluded).
The rhetoric is the same, ignorance-driven, fear-filled, bigotry, there is really no daylight between the fanatical views of any. What drives MY fear is that the hate, exclusion and venom grows greater with each day, each week and each month...ratcheting (in the West) to a crescendo at each electoral cycle, not to subside afterwards.
Fanatical Muslims hate Jews and Christians, citing the Quran, but knowing nothing about Judaism or Christianity, or those who follow those faiths...or the vast differences that exist within each faith.
Fanatical Christians hate Muslims for much the same reasons, citing the Bible as their source of righteousness. In private, they hate Jews for the same reasons too, but bringing the Jews together first before destroying them is the greater vision, so Jews continue to be "blessed" with Christian "support".
Fanatical Jews hate Muslims for much the same reasons too, citing their scriptures as their basis of righteousness; for the most part, Fanatical Jewish contempt for Christians is superseded only by their relief that the(Christian) super powers are providing boundless support for Israel...worry about Judgment Day when it comes, they think.
I am Muslim. It breaks my heart to see how much emotion, effort and money we all invest in the pursuit of hate and how little we invest in exploring peace and brotherhood; how we absolve ourselves of independent inquiry, by blaming the "other" for intractably bestial behavior that can only be opposed by annihilating the Evil "other".
I am not foolish enough to believe the people of the three Abrahamic faiths can suddenly live with each other in boundless love and harmony; humanity is not designed for such perfection. I am sure we will have our differences based on philosophy, on politics and based on partisanship and I am sure there are many areas on which we can disagree with each other. I am, however, equally convinced that if we can have our differences without hating one another, then there is reason to hope; reason for our children to perhaps grow up in a more peaceful world...but ONLY if we take on the responsibility as individuals, without hanging our hate or brotherhood, on larger issues over which we, as individuals, have little control. Once we get to a larger number of people of goodwill who actually talk to one another, then perhaps, we can help resolve the larger issues.
I suppose I can live with some/most of you hating us because we are Muslims and because you infer evil to us and to our faith...it may hurt, but I can live with it. I would urge you however, to please ensure that your fear and your hate of Islam and Muslims is carefully researched and well-founded. Otherwise, your hate directed towards us, is no different from the hate directed towards Jews for millennia...based on ignorance, fear and hate.
I would urge you to read a truly educational book on Islam by Rabbi Reuven Firestone: "An Introduction to Islam for Jews". I have similarly urged many Muslims (and Christians) to read "an Introduction to Judaism for Muslims" by the same author. Rabbi Firestone is a true scholar of Judaism AND of Islam, his writing is easy to read, engaging and yet, deep.
If you still hate us Muslims after reading this book, at least you will be able to articulate your hatred in more rational terms. I the meantime, beware of irrational hate; it very nearly wiped Jews off the map. Don't adopt the same mindlessness.
The mud-slinging and vituperation by such commentators as "Hymie Zoltsveis" [doubt that he's a real person]and Leonard Eisenstein show not only shallow thinking, but the kind of extremism that can only be destructive. Writing of those they don't agree with as "traitors" and "scumbags" and "Marxist cowards" is no substitute for rational, knowledgeable discourse. And what can one infer about an individual who -- even if his writings are deliberate parody -- writes of dealing with Palestinians as Amalekites were in the bible, i.e., genocide?
Some individuals may find venting their spleen or expressing extremist views self-satisfying, but they can only impede resolution of serious problems, such as conflict between Israel and many (not all) Arabs.