"Halie Soifer, the CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that Gallup’s question presents a false dichotomy and that the Democratic Party’s leadership is pro-Israel.
“Democrats – from President Biden on down – strongly support Israel’s safety and security,” she said. “There is no contradiction between being pro-Israel and supporting Palestinian rights, which is why Democrats continue to support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as security assistance for Israel and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a zero-sum game, and thus polling that presents it as a binary choice is inherently flawed.”
I think this is true.
With that being said there is this element on the left that equates material advantage with oppression. The logic goes that if Palestinians are worse off materially then they must be oppressed. This comes from Marxist ideology.
Similarly but not identical other people on the left believe that the way to achieve peace and a two state solution is for Palestinians to be empowered economically and that the source of the anger and violence is in the material shortcomings of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The other fact is that many on the left in the US don't exactly care about the conflict, and they see it through the partisan lens of US politics and it isn't on their mind much. The only thought they may have is that they don't like Netanyahu because he was friendly with Trump and not so friendly with Democratic candidates. The thinking does not go further than that. I would think that if an Israeli leader was friendly towards Democrats and actively against Republicans that would encite some reaction from people more vested in US partisan politics than geopolitics as well.
Overall I think that Gallup poll is something to keep an eye on as an indicator but it's not something that is really definitive due to the quote from the Times of Israel article.
There is anti-Semitism on the left. It's come up in the US a bit, and it actually became somewhat prevalent in the UK when the leftist Jeremy Corbyn became the leader of Labour.
Left-wing anti-semitism exists and is linked explicitly to Israel and that conflict with Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. However I think the vast majority polled by Gallup are just looking at the conflict as a tragedy band their sympathies lie with whomever they feel are suffering the most at any given point, hardly any are actually siding with the underlying ideology of say Hamas.
We do not need to explain ourselves anymore. True, there is a danger of losing the support of the U.S., but we would be amiss if we were not planning on a future wherein the U.S., by choice, no longer plays a leadership role in the world order. We need to concentrate on solidifying our relationship with India, Africa, the Gulf States and Saudia. Unlimited capital, and Jewish and reborn Arab and African genius working together to define a new center of cultural, economic, and spiritual vitality--a renewed Fertile Crescent--that will by sheer force of momentum breathe new life into the failed states of the Middle East, and provide a platform for African friends to reach their full potential.
Ehud, I wish I shared your apparently constitutional optimism; instead I see real dangers ahead. We always need to explain ourselves, and if we didn't do it even to the limited extent that we do, things would be much worse. I'm not saying we should count on US support forever, we shouldn't, but in the near future, we really don't want to be left facing Iran without their backing--but that's what's now happening.
"but that's what's now happening." And do you think that more and better explaining would have brought us to a different junction? I don't believe it. Israel is a litmus test. Tell me where you stand on Israel and I will know your world-view. The world-view of today's Democrats is not a result of failed Israeli public relations.
Today's Democrats' attitude toward Israel--still far from totally negative--would be considerably worse if we did no explaining, and the attitude of today's Republicans would be considerably less good than it is. Israel is the world's most lied-about country. Considerable numbers of Israelis, Diaspora Jews, and non-Jewish Israel supporters stick up for Israel in world media and counter the lies and distortions. You're saying they shouldn't bother, it achieves nothing?
Up until a few years ago I was totally in line with what you are saying here. Today, who do you see us convincing? It's even irrelevant. Iran is a few minutes away from a bomb. The US is either with us or not. We do not have a choice in the matter. It has to be done and soon.
For instance, Noa Tishby's pro-Israel book is a big seller and has almost 1400 comments/rankings on Amazon with an average ranking of 4.8 out of 5. She shouldn't have bothered?
She's a private enterprise, and probably because of that she is effective. She's in the ring fighting above her weight and is winning big. More power to her, and to Daniel Gordis too. The government should stay out of it.
From the linked Times of Israel article.
"Halie Soifer, the CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that Gallup’s question presents a false dichotomy and that the Democratic Party’s leadership is pro-Israel.
“Democrats – from President Biden on down – strongly support Israel’s safety and security,” she said. “There is no contradiction between being pro-Israel and supporting Palestinian rights, which is why Democrats continue to support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as security assistance for Israel and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not a zero-sum game, and thus polling that presents it as a binary choice is inherently flawed.”
I think this is true.
With that being said there is this element on the left that equates material advantage with oppression. The logic goes that if Palestinians are worse off materially then they must be oppressed. This comes from Marxist ideology.
Similarly but not identical other people on the left believe that the way to achieve peace and a two state solution is for Palestinians to be empowered economically and that the source of the anger and violence is in the material shortcomings of the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
The other fact is that many on the left in the US don't exactly care about the conflict, and they see it through the partisan lens of US politics and it isn't on their mind much. The only thought they may have is that they don't like Netanyahu because he was friendly with Trump and not so friendly with Democratic candidates. The thinking does not go further than that. I would think that if an Israeli leader was friendly towards Democrats and actively against Republicans that would encite some reaction from people more vested in US partisan politics than geopolitics as well.
Overall I think that Gallup poll is something to keep an eye on as an indicator but it's not something that is really definitive due to the quote from the Times of Israel article.
There is anti-Semitism on the left. It's come up in the US a bit, and it actually became somewhat prevalent in the UK when the leftist Jeremy Corbyn became the leader of Labour.
Left-wing anti-semitism exists and is linked explicitly to Israel and that conflict with Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. However I think the vast majority polled by Gallup are just looking at the conflict as a tragedy band their sympathies lie with whomever they feel are suffering the most at any given point, hardly any are actually siding with the underlying ideology of say Hamas.
We do not need to explain ourselves anymore. True, there is a danger of losing the support of the U.S., but we would be amiss if we were not planning on a future wherein the U.S., by choice, no longer plays a leadership role in the world order. We need to concentrate on solidifying our relationship with India, Africa, the Gulf States and Saudia. Unlimited capital, and Jewish and reborn Arab and African genius working together to define a new center of cultural, economic, and spiritual vitality--a renewed Fertile Crescent--that will by sheer force of momentum breathe new life into the failed states of the Middle East, and provide a platform for African friends to reach their full potential.
Ehud, I wish I shared your apparently constitutional optimism; instead I see real dangers ahead. We always need to explain ourselves, and if we didn't do it even to the limited extent that we do, things would be much worse. I'm not saying we should count on US support forever, we shouldn't, but in the near future, we really don't want to be left facing Iran without their backing--but that's what's now happening.
"but that's what's now happening." And do you think that more and better explaining would have brought us to a different junction? I don't believe it. Israel is a litmus test. Tell me where you stand on Israel and I will know your world-view. The world-view of today's Democrats is not a result of failed Israeli public relations.
Today's Democrats' attitude toward Israel--still far from totally negative--would be considerably worse if we did no explaining, and the attitude of today's Republicans would be considerably less good than it is. Israel is the world's most lied-about country. Considerable numbers of Israelis, Diaspora Jews, and non-Jewish Israel supporters stick up for Israel in world media and counter the lies and distortions. You're saying they shouldn't bother, it achieves nothing?
Up until a few years ago I was totally in line with what you are saying here. Today, who do you see us convincing? It's even irrelevant. Iran is a few minutes away from a bomb. The US is either with us or not. We do not have a choice in the matter. It has to be done and soon.
For instance, Noa Tishby's pro-Israel book is a big seller and has almost 1400 comments/rankings on Amazon with an average ranking of 4.8 out of 5. She shouldn't have bothered?
She's a private enterprise, and probably because of that she is effective. She's in the ring fighting above her weight and is winning big. More power to her, and to Daniel Gordis too. The government should stay out of it.
She's not a private enterprise, she's been given a position to fight antisemitism by Israel.