I sighed with relief last Sunday when I learned that Democratic activist Mark Mellman told a Jewish Telegraphic Agency reporter that Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s presidential campaign does not involve a harsh critic of Israel on its staff in Israel policy or Jewish outreach.
On Monday, dread replaced any sense of relief when Warren sounded as if she was threatening Israel to withhold aid if it refused to halt settlement construction if she is elected president. Pointing to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s campaign pledges, Warren inflamed an already volatile issue with these words:
“Right now, Netanyahu says he is going to take Israel in a direction of increasing settlements…It is the official policy of the United States of America to support a two-state solution, and if is moving in the opposite direction, then everything is on the table.” She added with the effect of emphasis: “Everything is on the table.”
She issued this response when questioned about her position on aid to Israel and building Jewish settlements during a campaign event in Iowa, according to JTA. America supplies Israel with $3.8 billion in military assistance annually.
There may be more effective means of antagonizing American Jews, but this will do. If Warren is nominated by the Democrats to run for president, many Jews may well cringe at the thought of choosing between President Trump or another Republican and a candidate perceived as anti-Israel.
By all means, any member of Congress – not to mention all American citizens – has a right to criticize Israel and question any and all tax expenditures, and there is certainly room for legitimate criticism of Israel.
However, Warren is commenting on theory for the time being. Netanyahu could exit public service long before the presidential election. Israel is in the process of forming a new government, and nearly as soon as Warren uttered these words Netanyahu surrendered his attempt to form a government. That responsibility was handed to his rival Benny Gantz, leader of the Blue and White Party, on Wednesday night.
That means the question posed to her was speculative for now, so why bother to imply a stern response for a problem that does not exist?
We must also take notice that Warren issues no warnings to the Palestinians, whose actions are far worse. She has not questioned why the Palestinians rejected Israel’s offer of an independent state in 2000 and after 19 years have not bothered to revisit the proposal. Nothing said about periodic murders of Jews throughout the West Bank, including three incidents in their own homes.
In a bruising response, Zionist Organization of America leaders Morton A. Klein and Mark Levenson raise an interesting point in writing, “Allies are not issued diktats. Disagreement among allies are usually handled delicately and privately, not with grandstanding threats about withdrawing aid.”
Spotlighting Warren is essential because she is a top-tier candidate among Democrats who can readily be nominated next year. Warren, like most Democratic hopefuls, supports liberal domestic policies and could probably defeat Trump. While I wish some of the younger candidates polled as well as she does, her one advantage over former Vice President Joe Biden is that she is less likely to keel over during her first term.
Warren has been evenhanded in the past when discussing Israel, but she made us wonder a few months ago when her campaign hired Max Berger as the campaign’s director for progressive partnerships, but would not make him available for an interview. JTA reported that Berger has accused Israel of “apartheid” and noted his willingness to “totally be friends with Hamas.”
Mark Mellman, president and CEO of Democratic Majority for Israel, reported to a JTA reporter during the past week that Berger, a founder of IfNotNow, was not involved in any way on Israel policy or Jewish outreach. IfNotNow is a Jewish group that is highly critical of Israel.
Then Warren issued her warning to Israel.
Her kind of language would leave Jews with a horrid choice. Most Jews here are as disgusted as any other American voter with Trump’s disgraceful performance, but they cannot tolerate offensive attitudes. There is no reason to believe that Warren is anti-Semitic, but anyone familiar with Israel should understand that Jews feel an emotional pull to a country that is home to more than 6.5 million of our brethren.
When criticism transforms into Israel-bashing, that is equivalent to the effect of anti-Semitism. A President Warren should certainly resist Israeli leaders when they are wrong, and they have been at times, but last week she passed the point of belligerence.
It is hard enough to trust Warren now, but if she allows this course of action to become a pattern then Jewish voters will have reason to spurn her as a candidate. Warren must restore her credibility among Jews if she expects them to vote for her.
Jewish and other pro-Israel Democrats will need to counsel her as a candidate and chief executive, and challenge her if she does anything to threaten Israel.
Let us hope that Warren can find a proper balance in her approach to Israel, and Jewish voters will feel sufficient confidence to support her.
Republished from San Diego Jewish World