ד׳ לחודש העשירי תשע״ז
 |
U. S. President-Elect
Donald Trump |
Don't get me wrong.
The theoretically
better candidate won the recent U. S. Presidential election. What
bothers me is the insistence of Jews on the Left, as well as on the
Right, to place their focus on human powers, and even more so,
non-Jewish powers, for their salvation, instead of making an
intellectually honest examination of what
HaShem really wants from us, and then making it happen, to the best of our ability.
Halakhah
(Torah Law) is not the rocket science many "rabbis" want us to think it
is. This is not about different understandings and interpretations, and
me pushing the ones I happen to like on you. We simply need to examine
the [uncensored] sources, listen to refutations of them, and check which
point of view stands up to scrutiny.
If we do this, using uncensored sources, and freeing ourselves from
hashqafah (
in this case: preconceived notions) and distorted notions, based on our feelings, then I believe it will be revealed to you
The Torah touches every aspect of our lives, not just
"shabbos and kashrus shailos."
It covers everything from running a truly Jewish government, running a
Jewish military, fighting a war in a Jewish manner, and relating to
non-Jews, both in times of war and peace, whether Israeli politicians
and their State "religious" yes men, like it or not.
There is no separating any particular aspects of our lives from Torah. We cannot call one thing
halakhah, and another thing "politics," letting so-called "rabbis" off the hook from their responsibility to teach the truth.
So, what does this all have to do with the outcome of the recent U. S. Presidential elections?
U. S. President-Elect
Trump's 16 point position paper on Israel
was recently released, and it behooves us all to examine it, through
the only perspective a Jew should use, a Torah perspective.
If
you disagree with my understanding of this perspective, by all means,
you should say so. Just don't forget to support your position with
sources, so that we can have a discussion which enables us to discern
the truth, as opposed to simply throwing around our opinions, based on
nothing more than our feelings.
Here, I have addressed
Trump's 16 point position paper on Israel, point by point:
Jason
D. Greenblatt, EVP/Chief Legal Officer of The Trump Organization,
co-chairman of Mr. Trump's Israel Advisory Committee; Co-Founder of
InspireConversation.com - Nov 2, 2016
Joint Statement from Jason Dov Greenblatt and David Friedman, Co-Chairmen of the Israel Advisory Committee to Donald J. Trump
It
has been an exhilarating election cycle. Approximately seven months
ago, we were blessed to have been tapped by Donald J. Trump to be his
top advisors with respect to the State of Israel. We have been fortunate
to work with a talented team of people and have put together the below
positions. Each of these positions have been discussed with Mr. Trump
and the Trump campaign, and most have been stated, in one form or
another, by Mr. Trump in various interviews or speeches given by him or
on his social media accounts. For those of you who are true friends of
the State of Israel, and for those of you who believe that the State of
Israel and the United States of America have an unbreakable friendship,
we urge you to read the below. We would like to express our gratitude to
those individuals who have helped us over the past few months. We truly
appreciate your efforts, friendship and guidance. We would also like to
express our gratitude to our friend, a great friend of the State of
Israel, Donald J. Trump, who gave us the tremendous opportunity to serve
in this capacity. May God bless the United States of America and the
State of Israel.
1 - The unbreakable bond between the United
States and Israel is based upon shared values of democracy, freedom of
speech, respect for minorities, cherishing life, and the opportunity for
all citizens to pursue their dreams.
Unbreakable
bond? It would take too long to elaborate on all that is wrong with
this first point on the list, and so I will be brief. The bond between
the United States and Israel should have been broken long ago.
Unfortunately, those calling for Jews in Israel to be
"realistic" and
"practical" are simply covering up the lack of
emunah
(faith) in The Almighty being propagated. The only reason for this bond
not to be broken would be if Israel, a Torah-observant Israel, was
calling the shots. This hails back to that old canard, the artificial
notion of
"Judeo-Christian Values."
Who
said that the current manifestation of democracy in the world actually
has anything to do with Torah? And, even if it did, how on earth could
anyone mistake the State of Israel's system of governance for a
democracy, especially with the incessant legislation from the Bench by
the anti-Torah Israeli Supreme Court? It is not. Rather, it is a de
MOCKracy.
Furthermore, according to
halakhah, there are limits on speech, limits on respect for non-Jewish minorities, who are only allowed to reside within
Eretz Yisrael (the Land of Israel) under certain circumstances, and thus also limits on their
"opportunities....to pursue their dreams" here (See
Deut. 7:2; Mishneh Torah Laws of Foreign Worship and Non-Jews and Laws of Kings and their Wars).
2
- Israel is the state of the Jewish people, who have lived in that land
for 3,500 years. The State of Israel was founded with courage and
determination by great men and women against enormous odds and is an
inspiration to people everywhere who value freedom and human dignity.
This one is a reminder of the trendy,
"Indigenous Argument." Whoever was here first has nothing to do with the Jewish People's claim to
Eretz Yisra'el.
Rather, our claim to the Land should be based solely on the decision of
the Holy One, Blessed Be He, and who he decides will conquer it, at any
given time. First, it was the Canaanites, then it was us, then it was
the Babylonians, then it was us again, and so on.
3
- Israel is a staunch ally of the U.S. and a key partner in the global
war against Islamic jihadism. Military cooperation and coordination
between Israel and the U.S. must continue to grow.
Four words:
American Troops on Israeli Soil.
4
- The American people value our close friendship and alliance with
Israel culturally, religiously, and politically. While other nations
have required U.S. troops to defend them, Israelis have always defended
their own country by themselves and only ask for military equipment
assistance and diplomatic support to do so. The U.S. does not need to
nation-build in Israel or send troops to defend Israel.
Culturally, religiously, and politically? Most Ashkenazy Jews from the U. S., both Torah observant and non Torah observant,
will agree that the U. S. and Israel have cultural similarities. They
may even be correct. But, they should not be. The feelings-oriented
"culture" of
Edom has most definitely infiltrated into Israel,
and it must be eliminated, or at least tempered and filtered. This goes
for the influence of the Christian conservatives, just as much as the
libertine, "progressives." I have already explained
"religiously" and
"politically" above.
5
- The Memorandum of Understanding signed by the American and Israeli
Governments is a good first step, but there is much more to be done. A
Trump Administration will ensure that Israel receives maximum military,
strategic and tactical cooperation from the United States, and the MOU
will not limit the support that we give. Further, Congress will not be
limited to give support greater than that provided by the MOU if it
chooses to do so. Israel and the United States benefit tremendously from
what each country brings to the table. The relationship is a two way
street.
Sure. Let's become even more financially dependent on the U. S.
(sigh)
6
- The U.S. should veto any United Nations votes that unfairly single
out Israel and will work in international institutions and forums,
including in our relations with the European Union, to oppose efforts to
delegitimize Israel, impose discriminatory double standards against
Israel, or to impose special labeling requirements on Israeli products
or boycotts on Israeli goods.
Good for the U. S. But, Israel should stop caring about what the non-Jewish, "International Community" thinks of us already.
7
- The U.S. should cut off funds for the UN Human Rights Council, a body
dominated by countries presently run by dictatorships that seems solely
devoted to slandering the Jewish State. UNESCO's attempt to disconnect
the State of Israel from Jerusalem is a one-sided attempt to ignore
Israel's 3,000-year bond to its capital city, and is further evidence of
the enormous anti-Israel bias of the United Nations.
OK. I agree.
8
- The U.S. should view the effort to boycott, divest from, and sanction
(BDS) Israel as inherently anti-Semitic and take strong measures, both
diplomatic and legislative, to thwart actions that are intended to limit
commercial relations with Israel, or persons or entities doing business
in Israeli areas, in a discriminatory manner. The BDS movement is just
another attempt by the Palestinians to avoid having to commit to a
peaceful co-existence with Israel. The false notion that Israel is an
occupier should be rejected.
It does not matter
what the so-called BDS movement's motivation is. The Arabs calling
themselves Palestinians have no interest in a peaceful co-existence with
Israel. See above, regarding a non-Jewish presence within
Eretz Yisra'el, under ideal circumstances. Meanwhile, Jews should be instituting their own Jewish BDS.
9
- The Trump administration will ask the Justice Department to
investigate coordinated attempts on college campuses to intimidate
students who support Israel.
As it should be.
However, we Jews need to ask ourselves why any Jews, and I assume that
some of these "students who support Israel" are Jewish, still remain on
U. S. college campuses. Most everything which needs to be learned in
university can be learned at Hebrew University, Tel-Aviv University,
Bar-Ilan University, the Technion, etc. There are even B. A. and
graduate programs, including three medical schools, where students may
study in English. Besides, whoever said that
Jews had to study in university??
10
- A two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians appears
impossible as long as the Palestinians are unwilling to renounce
violence against Israel or recognize Israel's right to exist as a Jewish
state. Additionally, the Palestinians are divided between PA rule in
the West Bank and Hamas rule in Gaza so there is not a united
Palestinian people who could control a second state. Hamas is a
US-designated terrorist organization that actively seeks Israel's
destruction. We will seek to assist the Israelis and the Palestinians in
reaching a comprehensive and lasting peace, to be freely and fairly
negotiated between those living in the region.
Well,
there are several other Arab groups I would add to that Department of
State's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations Abbas's
Fata"h, among them, which also believes in wiping Israel from the map
(see Fata"h's map of "Pseudostine," embedded in its emblem to the right).
In addition, Jewish groups should be removed from this list, which, I
believe, were only added because of their religious beliefs. So much
for
"freedom of religious expression." However, we Jews must also finally realize that gestures of "friendship" from
Esau (
Edom/The West) can be just as dangerous as the open hostility and aggression from
Yishma'el (Arabs/Muslims).
11
- The Palestinian leadership, including the PA, has undermined any
chance for peace with Israel by raising generations of Palestinian
children on an educational program of hatred of Israel and Jews. The
larger Palestinian society is regularly taught such hatred on
Palestinian television, in the Palestinian press, in entertainment
media, and in political and religious communications. The two major
Palestinian political parties, Hamas and Fatah, regularly promote
anti-Semitism and jihad.
No arguments here.
12
- The U.S. cannot support the creation of a new state where terrorism
is financially incentivized, terrorists are celebrated by political
parties and government institutions, and the corrupt diversion of
foreign aid is rampant. The U.S. should not support the creation of a
state that forbids the presence of Christian or Jewish citizens, or that
discriminates against people on the basis of religion.
If
the U. S. really wants to support up, then it will do everything in its
power to prevent any additional sovereign, or semi-sovereign, state to
be created anywhere within the borders of
Eretz Yisr'ael.
13
- The U.S. should support direct negotiations between Israel and the
Palestinians without preconditions, and will oppose all Palestinian,
European and other efforts to bypass direct negotiations between parties
in favor of an imposed settlement. Any solutions imposed on Israel by
outside parties including by the United Nations Security Council, should
be opposed. We support Israel's right and obligation to defend itself
against terror attacks upon its people and against alternative forms of
warfare being waged upon it legally, economically, culturally, and
otherwise.
Jews must recognize the hidden agenda
here, being pushed by the Christian-right. Christians (some of Esau's
spiritual descendants) have changed their strategy against the Jews.
Missionizing has been put on hold by an increasing number of Christian
groups, including Christian "friends" and "volunteers," in favor of
working toward gaining a foothold in the Land. Actions toward this goal
have included maintaining residences for volunteers within Jewish
communities, for employees of "pro-Israel," non-profit organizations,
interfaith events and activities, and even lobbying for rights to
immigrate and obtain citizenship. Read all about this in
The Kiss of Esau.
14
- Israel's maintenance of defensible borders that preserve peace and
promote stability in the region is a necessity. Pressure should not be
put on Israel to withdraw to borders that make attacks and conflict more
likely.
I suppose. See above for what I wrote about Israel's borders.
15
- The U.S. will recognize Jerusalem as the eternal and indivisible
capital of the Jewish state and Mr. Trump's Administration will move the
U.S. embassy to Jerusalem
Once again, I expect
that we Jews will hail the act of moving the U. S. Embassy as some sort
heroic act, but not one of propagating the truth. Rather, underneath all
of the "you did the right thing, Mr. Presidents," there will be a
plethora of slobbering over America, how much of a friend it is to us
The status of the State of Israel as the 51st state of the United States
will be solidified, and the majority of the Jewish People will be
reduced to the lowest form of co-dependence
16
- Despite the Iran Nuclear deal in 2015, the U.S. State Department
recently designated Iran, yet again, as the leading state sponsor of
terrorism, putting the Middle East particularly, but the whole world at
risk by financing, arming, and training terrorist groups operating
around the world including Hamas, Hezbollah, and forces loyal to Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad. The U.S. must counteract Iran's ongoing
violations of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action regarding Iran's
quest for nuclear weapons and their noncompliance with past and present
sanctions, as well as the agreements they signed, and implement tough,
new sanctions when needed to protect the world and Iran's neighbors from
its continuing nuclear and non-nuclear threats.
Sound
reasoning, right? The best lies are filled with mostly truth. Expect
closer ties and "friendship" to lead to more IDF deaths, fighting
America's proxy wars. We
WILL see U. S. troops in
Eretz Yisra'el, whether the U. S. views it as
Eretz Yisra'el, or not.
Jason D. Greenblatt
EVP/Chief
Legal Officer of The Trump Organization, co-chairman of Mr. Trump's
Israel Advisory Committee and Co-Founder of Inspire Conversation.com.
And so, before you start criticizing me for being
"unrealistic" and
"impractical"
--my two favorite criticisms-- I suggest that you read the above again.
Being wary of foreign influences is very realistic and practical. And,
protecting our status as a people, separate and distinct is very...
Torah. Of course, this will not do us in
Eretz Yisra'el, nor you, still living in the
golah
(exile) one darn bit of good, until you wake up to the fact that
American influence, financial, military, emotional, and otherwise,
IS foreign influence.
The better candidate for the U. S. Presidency may have won, but here in
Eretz Yisra'el the sky has, indeed, begun to fall.
