Israel
The world laughed at Trump, but Iran and its enablers should not
Contempt for the president is widespread, but he is more likely to get the last laugh on this issue than his detractors.
By JONATHAN S. TOBIN (September 26, 2018 / JNS) The international community made no secret of its contempt for U.S. President Donald Trump when he spoke to the U.N. General Assembly in September. So it was little surprise that when the president uttered a typical piece of Trumpian braggadocio with a tenuous connection to the truth—“In less than two years, my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country”—the response was peals of laughter from the normally restrained audience of officials in the chamber.
For most of the media, this was a telling moment not just because it momentarily flummoxed the president, but because it also conformed to the way his opponents think of him. Trump’s critics see him in general as unworthy of the presidency, but his lack of knowledge about foreign affairs and respect for the post-World War II order has caused him to be regarded by the policy establishment as a hopeless ignoramus and a danger to the world.
But while that disdain resonated in the media coverage of the speech, those doing the chortling shouldn’t be too confident that they will have the last laugh. Trump’s willingness to challenge the establishment’s conventional wisdom and to rail at “globalists” may seem comical at the United Nations and on CNN. But those who think that the international community will be able to thwart his efforts to overturn the Iran nuclear deal are the ones who are playing the fool.
That Trump would think to brag at the world-body arena about his Middle East policies was inconceivable to his U.N. audience. They regard his willingness to drop the international community’s fiction about Jerusalem not being Israel’s capital as shocking. They feel just as strongly about Trump’s plans to finally hold the Palestinians accountable for their rejection of peace and support for terror. But on Jerusalem, as well as seeking the end of UNRWA—the U.N. agency that is devoted to perpetuating the Palestinian refugee problem rather than resolving it—Trump is merely showing common sense.
Though bereft of policy experience, he understands that the “experts” have spent the last few decades being consistently wrong about the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Yet even some who favor Israel worry that his support is meaningless since they view Trump as destroying American influence in the world.
It is in that context that his stance on Iran actually proves the opposite point.
Though the United Nations and America’s European allies think Trump is isolating the United States and diminishing its ability to influence events, it is they who are being unrealistic. Whether they like it or not, Trump is getting his way on Iran, and nothing his opponents are planning to do is likely to stop him.
The Europeans are adamant that the Iran deal is the best way to control Iran’s nuclear program. But it is figures like French President Emmanuel Macron, who denounced American policies at the United Nations, who are the fabulists in this debate, not Trump.
The Iran deal was an act of appeasement on the part of President Barack Obama that threw away the West’s leverage at the very moment when Iran was at its weakest. The pact enriched and empowered a rogue regime to the point where it is a greater threat to regional security than ever before, and knows it only has to have the patience to wait for the nuclear deal to expire within a decade before resuming its march to a bomb with the West unable and unwilling to do anything about it.
The assumption by the Europeans and Obama supporters was that it was irreversible because America’s allies would never consent to a return to sanctions on Iran. That argument was always flawed. It was always within the power of the United States to enact new sanctions and to deny the right to do business with American financial institutions to any entity that continued to operate in Iran. Enacting such sanctions would offend U.S. allies, as well as other nations like Russia and China.
In other words, it was the kind of thing that only a Trump would do.
But far from being ineffective, the reaction from the European Union and others shows that they know Trump is succeeding. The re-imposition of sanctions on Iran’s oil exports is already having . When new, more far-reaching sanctions are imposed in November, along with regulations that will give the Europeans a choice between economic ties with the United States or Iran, their problems will multiply. The brave talk from people like E.U. head Federica Mogherini that they will create a bank that will shield European companies from U.S. sanctions is as absurd as it is unworkable. Trump may not be respected, but the idea that the Europeans can afford to exist outside in isolation from the U.S. economy or that American sanctions can’t bring Iran to its knees is the real joke.
Too many Trump critics are still looking at his foreign policy through the lens of past conflicts. The “America First” slogan he has embraced has frightening historical baggage, and his skepticism about NATO remains troubling. But Trump’s push against the “globalists” is not anti-Semitic—and not just because it is part of a clear tilt towards Israel.
As long as key U.S. allies seem more concerned about defending their right to profit from commerce with Iran than in bringing to heal the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism or in holding the Palestinians accountable for their terrorist acts, America will need a leader who is willing to run roughshod over friends who act as Iran’s enablers. Seen from that perspective, Trump looks a lot smarter than his European counterparts, who have tied themselves to failed destructive policies that must be discarded to ensure the security of the West. They may think they can wait him out until he is replaced in 2021. But a U.S. campaign to stop Iran is likely to succeed before then. If so, it will be Trump who will be the one smiling.
Jonathan S. Tobin is editor in chief of JNS — Jewish News Syndicate. Follow him on Twitter at @jonathans_tobin.
Israel
Join the Masa Canadian Professionals Volunteers Program!
You are invited on a 4-week volunteer program in Israel from October 14th to November 10th. Help rebuild Israeli society post-October 7th over Canadian Thanksgiving, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah. Spend three weeks based in Tel Aviv and one week based in Eilat!
This program is exclusively for Jewish professionals aged 22-50, working at Jewish organizations or remotely in any field.
The cost of the program is $150 USD to the organizer and $50 USD to Masa. Participants will receive a Masa grant of $2650 USD that is applied to participation and to cover additional costs. The cost of the program includes housing, meals while volunteering, transportation on travel days, health insurance, leadership training, and more. Volunteers are required to commit to the volunteer schedule, with the understanding that there will be the flexibility to work remotely for 8 specific days during the program. Flights are not included but you get a 15% discount from El Al.
Sign up here: https://www.masaisrael.org/go/canada-jp/ space is limited!
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to make a difference and connect with fellow professionals. For more information, contact Mahla Finkleman, National Manager of Partnerships and Outreach, Masa Canada, atmfinkleman@ujafed.org and/or Sam Goodman, Senior Manager of Israel Engagement, sgoodman@ujafed.org.
Save the Dates for Info Sessions:
- Thursday, September 5th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
- Wednesday, September 11th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
Join us in Israel for a meaningful and impactful experience with Masa!
weeks based in Tel Aviv and one week based in Eilat!
This program is exclusively for Jewish professionals aged 22-50, working at Jewish organizations or remotely in any field.
The cost of the program is $150 USD to the organizer and $50 USD to Masa. Participants will receive a Masa grant of $2650 USD that is applied to participation and to cover additional costs. The cost of the program includes housing, meals while volunteering, transportation on travel days, health insurance, leadership training, and more. Volunteers are required to commit to the volunteer schedule, with the understanding that there will be the flexibility to work remotely for 8 specific days during the program. Flights are not included but you get a 15% discount from El Al.
Sign up here: https://www.masaisrael.org/go/canada-jp/ space is limited!
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to make a difference and connect with fellow professionals. For more information, contact Mahla Finkleman, National Manager of Partnerships and Outreach, Masa Canada, atmfinkleman@ujafed.org and/or Sam Goodman, Senior Manager of Israel Engagement, sgoodman@ujafed.org.
Save the Dates for Info Sessions:
- Thursday, September 5th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
- Wednesday, September 11th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
Join us in Israel for a meaningful and impactful experience with Masa!
Features
New website for Israelis interested in moving to Canada
By BERNIE BELLAN (May 21, 2024) A new website, titled “Orvrim to Canada” (https://www.ovrimtocanada.com/ovrim-en) has been receiving hundreds of thousands of visits, according to Michal Harel, operator of the website.
In an email sent to jewishpostandnews.ca Michal explained the reasons for her having started the website:
“In response to the October 7th events, a group of friends and I, all Israeli-Canadian immigrants, came together to launch a new website supporting Israelis relocating to Canada. “Our website, https://www.ovrimtocanada.com/, offers a comprehensive platform featuring:
- Step-by-step guides for starting the immigration process
- Settlement support and guidance
- Community connections and networking opportunities
- Business relocation assistance and expert advice
- Personal blog sharing immigrants’ experiences and insights
“With over 200,000 visitors and media coverage from prominent Israeli TV channels and newspapers, our website has already made a significant impact in many lives.”
A quick look at the website shows that it contains a wealth of information, almost all in Hebrew, but with an English version that gives an overview of what the website is all about.
The English version also contains a link to a Jerusalem Post story, published this past February, titled “Tired of war? Canada grants multi-year visas to Israelis” (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-787914#google_vignette) That story not only explains the requirements involved for anyone interested in moving to Canada from Israel, it gives a detailed breakdown of the costs one should expect to encounter.
(Updated May 28)
We contacted Ms. Harel to ask whether she’s aware whether there has been an increase in the number of Israelis deciding to emigrate from Israel since October 7. (We want to make clear that we’re not advocating for Israelis to emigrate; we’re simply wanting to learn more about emigration figures – and whether there has been a change in the number of Israelis wanting to leave the country.)
Ms. Harel referred us to a website titled “Globes”: https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001471862
The website is in Hebrew, but we were able to translate it into English. There is a graph on the website showing both numbers of immigrants to Israel and emigrants.
The graph shows a fairly steady rate of emigration from 2015-2022, hovering in the 40,000 range, then in 2023 there’s a sudden increase in the number of emigrants to 60,000.
According to the website, the increase in emigrants is due more to a change in the methodology that Israel has been using to count immigrants and emigrants than it is to any sudden upsurge in emigration. (Apparently individuals who had formerly been living in Israel but who may have returned to Israel just once a year were being counted as having immigrated back to Israel. Now that they are no longer being counted as immigrants and instead are being treated as emigrants, the numbers have shifted radically.)
Yet, the website adds this warning: “The figures do not take into account the effects of the war, since it is still not possible to identify those who chose to emigrate following it. It is also difficult to estimate what Yalad Yom will produce – on the one hand, anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews and Israelis around the world reminds everyone where the Jewish home is. On the other hand, the bitter truth we discovered in October is that it was precisely in Israel, the safe fortress of the Jewish people, that a massacre took place reminding us of the horrors of the Holocaust. And if that’s not enough, the explosive social atmosphere and the difference in the state budget deficit, which will inevitably lead to a heavy burden of taxes and a reduction in public services, may convince Zionist Israelis that they don’t belong here.”
Thus, as much as many of us would be disappointed to learn that there is now an upsurge in Israelis wanting to move out of the country, once reliable figures begin to be produced for 2024, we shouldn’t be surprised to learn that is the case – which helps to explain the tremendous popularity of Ms. Harel’s website.
Features
Message from a Palestinian in Gaza to protesters: “You’re hurting the Palestinian cause”
A very brave Palestinian who was willing to put his name to paper and write an article for Newsweek Magazine has exposed the utter hypocrisy of all those students – and others, who have been setting up encampments across the U.S. – and now Canada, too.
You can read the article at https://www.newsweek.com/message-gazan-campus-protesters-youre-hurting-palestinian-cause-opinion-1894313
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