Israeli americans vote for McCain

Marc Zell and Abraham Katzman:

In a recent spate of op-ed pieces in the Jerusalem Post, Congressman Howard Berman (D-Cal), Clinton Ambassador Martin Indyk, Carter advisor Stuart Eizenstat and a who's who of other liberal Jewish Democrats claim Barack Obama is better for Israel than John McCain.

They are all friends of Israel, but their allegiance to the Democratic Party seemingly takes precedence over their concern for Israel's safety. For Americans who have chosen to live in Israel, the candidates' Israel positions are not matters of party loyalty or cheap rhetoric. They are matters of life and death. That may explain why, in spite of the onslaught of Editorials From Famous Jewish Obama Apologists, exit polls (themselves the subject of some controversy) showed that Americans in Israel (less than a quarter of whom were registered Republicans) voted for McCain over Obama by an overwhelming 76% to 24% margin.

Yet, these repetitive Obama-talking-point editorials deserve some refutation. Ignoring their sillier claims (e.g., Obama has a more "Jewish"/tikkun-olam outlook because he was raised by a single mother, or that he is qualified to single-handedly improve black-Jewish relations), even their more substantive statements don't stand up. For example, they make numerous claims under the umbrella theme that "Israel is Less Secure Now Than When President Bush took office."

Are they kidding? It's hard to believe this cockeyed claim gets repeated, especially with the implication that Israel's security issues are somehow the fault of President Bush. Let's set the record straight.

Intifada: When President Bush took office, Israel was in the midst of the "Second Intifada" uprising. We now know that this Intifada was premeditated by Yasser Arafat (who was extensively supported diplomatically and financially by the Clinton Administration) while engaged in Oslo "peace" negotiations. Suicide bombers terrorized all of Israel, murdering some 2000 Israeli civilians. We and our children were forced to risk our lives just boarding buses, attending weddings, synagogues, holiday festivals, or sitting in cafes.

By contrast, today this country has returned to a level of safety and normalcy. Israel's reining in that wave of terror (including building the security fence, opposed by Obama) would have been significantly more difficult without the diplomatic and moral support of the Bush Administration for the Sharon government's no-nonsense means of shutting down Arab terror.

Deep in their hearts, which candidate do these Obama supporters honestly think would be more supportive of the next round of Sharon-esque anti-terror measures that an Israeli government will again require?

Strategic Partnership: Israel remains the strongest military power and America's closest ally in the region due in part to technology and intelligence-sharing on an unprecedented level. This resulted from the special US-Israel strategic alliance created by the Bush Administration, cooperating more with Israel than any US administration in history. Just what does Obama/Biden want to "change" here?

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There is much more.

I don't think the Democrats come close to the Bush administration or McCain in support of Israel. You can bet that an Obama administration will attempt to force more concessions of Israel and will be coercive in doing so. The American Jews who argue otherwise are putting their Democrat party loyalty ahead of common sense and the facts.