{"id":86968,"date":"2016-02-01T07:22:57","date_gmt":"2016-02-01T15:22:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=86968"},"modified":"2016-02-01T07:22:57","modified_gmt":"2016-02-01T15:22:57","slug":"six-reasons-trump-would-be-disaster-for-u-s-jews-israel-and-the-middle-east","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lukeford.net\/blog\/?p=86968","title":{"rendered":"Six Reasons Trump Would Be Disaster for U.S. Jews, Israel and the Middle East"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Haaretz:<\/a><\/p>\n

He wants to take Israel\u2019s wall and run with it much much further<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n

Trump regularly cites Israeli policies that already divide the American Jewish community as being both successful and replicable for the United States. He cites \u201cthe [separation] wall\u201d in Israel as an example of why the United State should build a wall with Mexico, and has repeatedly called for \u201ctaking out the families of terrorists,\u201d one long step further from the Israeli policy of demolishing terrorists\u2019 homes. Israel certainly wouldn\u2019t gain reputationally from this emulation: As Ryan Lizza noted<\/a> in the New Yorker after attending a Trump rally, \u201cI had never previously been to a political event at which people cheered for the murder of women and children.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

There\u2019d be no anti-ISIS alliance<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n

Under Trump, there\u2019s no doubt the \u2018clash of civilizations\u2019 thesis would gain momentum, if not combustion. Many Trump\u2019s critics accuse him of doing ISIS\u2019 work for it by exploiting fear of terrorism and drumming up the kind of anti-Muslim sentiment radical Jihadists leverage to gain support. Trump as president would distance Arab world allies: the UAE and other Arab state billionaires have threatened to divest from the United States under his presidency. And we haven\u2019t started on the likely Trump – Muslim world relationship. As conservative pundit, Mona Charen slammed<\/a> him in in the National Review\u2019s anti-Trump manifesto: \u201cWhere is the center of gravity in a man who in May denounces those who \u2018needlessly provoke\u2019 Muslims and in December proposes that we (\u2018temporarily\u2019) close our borders to all non-resident Muslims?\u201d\n <\/p>\n

He\u2019d outsource Middle East policy to Putin<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s new foreign policy approach is based on the United States making \u2018good deals\u2019 and getting \u201cpaid back\u201d for protection or intervention abroad. This would end the U.S. \u201cgetting screwed over\u201d by having to do the rest of the world\u2019s work for them. It\u2019s several steps away from the familiar American traditions of neoconservative or liberal interventionist policy. As part of this U.S. Interests First approach, he has regularly called for letting Putin, Assad and ISIS fight it out in Syria. <\/span>\n <\/p>\n

While this line finds a ready audience among some war-weary Americans, U.S. military officials have warned that civilians are bearing the brunt of the over 5,000 airstrikes Russia has carried out since September, which is both further fueling the European refugee crisis and enhancing ISIS\u2019 recruitment message<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the more the United States gets pushed out of the region, the more Putin and his de-facto allies, especially Iran and Hezbollah, strengthen their position at Israel\u2019s doorstep.\n <\/p>\n

But is it good for Israel?<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n

Donald Trump likes to boast about his pro-Israel credentials. One of his favorite lines on the stump is, \u201cI was even the grand marshal for the [NYC] Israeli [sic] Day Parade.\u201d And if that doesn\u2019t sell you, rest assured, he has \u201cwon so many awards from Israel\u201d and has \u201cso many friends from Israel.\u201d He promises he \u201cwill be very good to Israel.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

When first pushed on whether or not Jerusalem should be Israel\u2019s capital and the U.S. Embassy should be moved there, he waffled and refused to give a clear answer. Last week, while locked in a close battle with Ted Cruz in the polls in Iowa, Trump in an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network, pledged to move the Embassy in a bid to poach Cruz\u2019s Evangelical support<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

Historically, the American leaders who have historically best served Israel\u2019s interests were fuelled by ideological motivations. Truman recognized Israel, against the urging of the advisor he believed to be the greatest man alive, George Marshall, because of his Christian faith and deep belief in spreading universal values. America\u2019s patronage of Israel has been based more on ideological and philosophical imperatives, with a dose of clear-sighted pragmatism, than any so-called \u201cJewish lobby.\u201d \n <\/p>\n

Donald Trump has shown no ideological underpinnings, other than \u201cmaking America great again,\u201d that would ensure he would support Israel in tough times. He\u2019s already shown little backbone in standing up for other states\u2019 independence against larger foes: When pressed on whether or not he believed Ukraine should be a part of NATO, he said he didn\u2019t care<\/a>. He feels no nostalgia for backing up strategic allies of half-a-century\u2019s standing: “If somebody attacks Japan, we have to immediately go and start World War III, OK? If we get attacked, Japan doesn’t have to help us. Somehow, that doesn’t sound so fair. Does that sound good?” Trump said<\/a>. Israel\u2019s fate in terms of its military and strategic dependence on the U.S. would be subject to a kind of erratic opportunism based on Donald Trump\u2019s whims and the latest subjects of his bunker mentality. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Haaretz: He wants to take Israel\u2019s wall and run with it much much further Trump regularly cites Israeli policies that already divide the American Jewish community as being both successful and replicable for the United States. He cites \u201cthe … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29752],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86968","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-donald-trump"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t