Who Would Be Better for Israel, Trump or Harris?

      Thanks to Dr. Steve Kaufman and Jonathan Wolf for valuable suggestions about this article.

Many Jews support former President Trump because he had some positive accomplishments for Israel, including recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, moving the US consulate there, recognizing Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, and helping form the Abraham Accords. However, these actions are outweighed by two ways that Trump’s actions have greatly endangered Israel and, indeed, the entire world and other Trump negatives..

First, he pulled the US out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which was working very well, according to professional inspectors and most nuclear and strategic experts. His unilateral decision enabled Iran to now be much closer to being able to create nuclear weapons and to be in a much better bargaining position for future negotiations.

Second,  Trump continues to call human-caused climate threats a hoax despite the overwhelming consensus of climate experts that the world is in great peril due to climate change and the recent significant increase in the frequency and severity of heat waves, wildfires, storms, floods, and other climate events. He would likely appoint other climate deniers to key environmental posts and make every effort to roll back regulations designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if reelected, as he did during his presidency. He told a meeting of fossil fuel executives that he would continue doing their bidding if they collectively donated a billion dollars to his election campaign.

Israelis should be especially concerned. It is heating up even faster than the world average, and the projected hotter and drier Israeli future increases the likelihood of instability, terrorism, and war. Also, Israel’s coastal plain, which contains much of our population and infrastructure, might be inundated by a rising Mediterranean Sea.

Trump became hostile to Prime Minister Netanyahu for merely congratulating President Biden on winning the 2020 US presidential election. He also publicly disclosed confidential details about Israeli security and personnel to Russia’s ambassador to the US and foreign minister while hosting them in the Oval Office. So, can he be counted on to be helpful to Israel if he is reelected?

Along with the vast majority of Democratic congressional members, including all its leaders, Harris has consistently supported arms and other aid to Israel. After meeting with PM Netanyahu in Washington, she expressed to the press, as she has many other times, “an unwavering commitment to the existence of the state of Israel, to its security, and to the people of Israel” and her support for our right to defend ourselves. As a senator, Harris supported funding for the Iron Dome, co-sponsored legislation condemning BDS, and frequently emphasized the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship, referring to Israel as a “steadfast” ally.

Trump hosted notorious antisemites for dinner at Mar-a-Lago, forwarded antisemitic posts from neo-Nazis and white supremacist groups, and called white supremacists shouting, ”Jews will not replace us,” “very fine people?” He also made antisemitic statements such as that US Jews care more about Israel than they do about the US and that Jews who do not support him are disloyal to Israel and Judaism. In sharp contrast, Vice President Harris and her Jewish husband are leading efforts to reduce antisemitism.

A strong US democracy is essential to Israel, but a Trump presidency would be a threat to it. He has stated that if he is reelected, he would like to be a dictator “on day one.” He told a Christian group that if they voted for him and he was elected, he would “fix it” so they would not have to vote again. He praises dictators, including Russia’s Vladimir Putin, China’s Xi Jinping, North Korea’s Kim Jung Un, and Hungary’s Viktor Orbán. He sparked a rebellion at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, aiming to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. He supports rioters who shouted “Hang Mike Pence” when his vice president defied him and certified the results of the 2020 presidential election. Trump now says he would pardon those convicted of participating in the insurrection.

Israel depends on the integrity of a US president, but Trump is a serial liar. He made over 30,000 false and misleading statements during his administration and about 30 more during the presidential debate. Also, he is still telling the big lie that he won the US 2020 presidential election despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. How can anyone believe anything that Trump says?

The character and values of a US president are important to Israel.   Throughout his adult life, including his four years as president, Trump has been unprincipled and unscrupulous. He has shown no loyalty to people, organizations, or values. In pursuit of self-gratification and self-aggrandizement, he has cheated countless people and institutions, including friends, wives, contractors, and banks. He has a massive legacy of sexual assault victims, ruined careers, and bankrupt corporations. There is no reason to believe that he has any concern for the welfare of Israeli citizens or the existence of Israel as a Jewish state beyond the degree to which those concerns affect his fortune. One should expect Trump to abandon Israel in a heartbeat if it suited his interests.

Trump is egotistical, erratic, and narcissistic. He never admits error and has shown little interest in facts, educating himself, or engaging in intelligent governance. His main focus has been to enrich himself through a wide range of scams and thinly veiled bribes. He only chooses advisers and administrators who express and maintain total loyalty to him, a recipe for disaster when difficult decisions must be made. He has sought to corrupt every component of the government department to make them serve his personal and/or political ambitions, from the justice department to the military, to the scientific establishment, and even to the postal service and the weather service.

Trump’s approach to alliances is similarly self-serving and one-sided

.He rails against NATO and praises Putin.  How can we have any confidence that Trump will not distance himself from Israel as he has from Ukraine if it suits his convenience and whim?

Jews depend on civil leadership to be sensible, thoughtful, decent, 

empathic, educated, visionary, and grounded. Trump is manifestly none of these. Chaos and disaster may well follow in his trail.

Trump is wrong for America, for Israel, for Jews, and for a human future of generosity and safety.  We must repudiate him and his selfish, destructive worldview. Given everything above, Harris would be far better for Israel than Trump.

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