Don't Desert the Democrats

The following is an op-ed that I wrote, which appears in the current edition of the Jewish Exponent, in which I note that despite some recent missteps by Democratic congressional candidates relative to Israel, it is important not to abandon the Democratic Party in light of the critical role that bipartisanship plays in the U.S.-Israel relationship:

Don’t Desert the Democrats

By: N. Aaron Troodler

As a Jewish American and an ardent Zionist, one of the political issues that is of paramount importance to me is the welfare of the state of Israel.

Throughout my lifetime, it has been heartening to know that the U.S.-Israel relationship is valued greatly by both nations. The U.S. and Israel have historically and continually worked collaboratively on issues of mutual concern, and Israel’s status as the sole democratic U.S. ally in the Middle East has helped bolster the undying bond that exists between the two countries.

That being said, it would be extraordinarily dangerous for us to become complacent and assume that the status quo we have come to know will live on in perpetuity. We cannot be so naïve as to presuppose that every federal U.S. official harbors the same pro-Israel sentiments American Jewry has come to expect.

Perhaps nothing highlights this issue better than the current election cycle, where we have several congressional candidates with views antithetical to the pro-Israel movement.

Let’s start with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive Democratic candidate who essentially came out of nowhere to unseat 10-term incumbent Joe Crowley in a shocking primary victory in New York’s 14th Congressional District. Ocasio-Cortez, a proud member of the Democratic Socialists of America, an organization that supports the anti-Israel BDS movement, is admittedly not an expert on Israel and it appears that she fails to grasp even the most fundamental aspects of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Yet, that has not stopped this soon-to-be member of Congress from calling Israel’s actions to defend the Gaza border and prevent Hamas terrorists from infiltrating Israel a “massacre,” nor has it prevented her from discussing “the occupation of Palestine.” Despite her purported ignorance on Israel, Ocasio-Cortez certainly seems to have formulated rather strident opinions about the Jewish state.

We also have Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat who won a primary election in Michigan’s 13th Congressional District and is running unopposed in November. Tlaib emphatically stated that as a member of Congress she will vote against any U.S. military aid to Israel. She has also made troubling statements regarding Israel.

“Americans should not be aiding any country that doesn’t support human rights. … I will not support racist countries that pick and choose who gets access to justice,” she said, as if to imply that Israel, a democratic nation, is “racist.” Tlaib also spoke about “Netanyahu’s apartheid policies” and proudly stated that, “I stand by the rights of people who support BDS.”

Finally, there is Ilhan Omar, who came out on top in the Democratic primary in Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District and has spoken about “the apartheid Israeli regime” and remarked several years ago that Israel had “hypnotized the world” to ignore its “evil doings.”

Does the rise of these incoming Democratic members of Congress with their disturbing views concerning Israel taint the entire Democratic Party on the issue of Israel? Sadly, it does. After all, the current trend in the Democratic Party where the liberal and progressive wing of the party has enjoyed a rapid rise and increased relevance does not bode well for Israel.

A recent study of the Pew Research Center found that the gap between Democrats and Republicans when it comes to sympathy for Israel or the Palestinians is larger now than it has been in 40 years. While 79 percent of Republicans sympathize more with Israel than with the Palestinians, only 27 percent of Democrats sympathize more with Israel.

Let us not forget the attempt by Bernie Sanders’ supporters in 2016 to amend the Democratic National Committee’s platform to include a reference to Israel’s “occupation” and “illegal settlements.” Although the measure was narrowly defeated, the mere attempt to include the anti-Israel language was disconcerting.

I would suggest that despite perturbing poll numbers and the unsettling sentiments of several isolated individuals, the Democratic Party has not abandoned Israel, nor will it do so in the future. For example, the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, which passed Congress with bipartisan support, earmarks substantial funds for Israel, including $500 million for Israel’s life-saving missile-defense systems and up to $50 million for efforts to combat the terror tunnels built by Hamas.

A bipartisan Congress also ensures that the U.S. sends more than $3 billion in security assistance per year to Israel. Just as the current Republican administration has been extremely supportive of Israel, it is important to remember that the previous Democratic administration was also supportive of Israel in various ways, including allocating more than $20 billion in military aid and significant financial support for the Iron Dome.

In addition, there are numerous stalwart supporters of Israel in the Democratic Party, including prominent federal lawmakers who have proudly and publicly stood together with Israel on a myriad of critical issues. We should admire and respect these pro-Israel champions, not abandon and reject them. Turning our backs on the Democratic Party is an imprudent and shortsighted approach.

We need Democrats and Republicans alike in our corner in the pro-Israel camp. A strong and vibrant U.S.-Israel relationship has always required a bipartisan approach, and abandoning that bilateral attitude because of some trouble spots will backfire. Rather than maligning the Democratic Party, we should instead make a concerted effort to engage those Democrats who are misguided and misinformed on Israel and educate them about the importance of sustaining and strengthening the U.S.-Israel bond. If we fail to proactively trumpet the virtues of what we know to be an integral alliance between the two nations, we alone will bear the responsibility in the event that the bond begins to fray.

N. Aaron Troodler is the principal of Red Apple Strategies, LLC, a public relations and strategic communications firm.

Not a Regular Sunday

The following is my latest piece on The Times of Israel blog, in which I write about my thoughts on the tragic fate that befell Ari Fuld, who was murdered by a terrorist in Israel, and the lessons we can learn from this heartbreaking incident:

Not a Regular Sunday

By: N. Aaron Troodler

It was supposed to be a regular Sunday. It began with me taking my daughter to her soccer game. We then went to an opening event for my daughter’s school at a local bowling alley. In the afternoon, I began building our sukkah. We went out to dinner to celebrate my son’s birthday. It was supposed to be a typical Sunday, filled with family-related activities. However, the truth is that there was nothing regular or typical about it.

The news broke in the morning that Ari Fuld, a resident of Efrat, had been brutally murdered by a terrorist while standing outside a supermarket at the Gush Etzion Junction. In a final act of heroism, even after being stabbed in the back, Fuld briefly pursued the terrorist and shot at him before succumbing to his fatal wounds.

Although he was my contemporary, I did not know Ari Fuld, although I certainly felt like I knew him. He grew up in New York as did I, and he attended school with some of my friends. After making Aliyah and taking up residence in Israel, Ari became a larger than life figure. His work on behalf of soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces was legendary. He made it his mission in life to spread his infectious love of Israel and disseminate Torah thoughts to people far and wide. While many people use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to broadcast hate, Fuld used social media as a means to transmit messages of patriotism and hope to the masses. It was through his online presence that I, along with so many others, felt like we knew him. His posts were beacons of light in a sometimes dark and turbulent world, and his videos and written communications spoke to my heart and soul in a profound way.

As an individual who dedicated his life to defending the Jewish State online and on the ground, the horrific fate that befell Ari Fuld does not seem right. Another senseless act of terror in Israel and a man who held dual American-Israeli citizenship is now tragically gone, leaving a wife without her husband and four young children without their father.

It was supposed to be a regular Sunday, but after hearing the heartbreaking news about Ari Fuld, there was nothing regular about it. I went through the motions and tried to get through the day, but all I could think about was what happened outside the Rami Levy supermarket in Gush Etzion.

The 17-year-old terrorist who murdered Fuld is a symbol of a systemic problem that sadly continues to permeate Israel on a recurring basis. The hatred that a teenager must feel in order to draw a knife and cut short another human being’s life is not something that he is born with. That degree of animosity is the result of growing up in a society in which abhorrence of Israel is taught to children at a young age. It comes from living in a culture where acts of terror are glorified, terrorists and their families receive generous salaries, and murdering Israelis is met with celebration, rather than condemnation. The Palestinian Authority and Hamas are knowingly and willingly fostering a hate-filled environment that has led to the loss of too many innocent lives. It is time for the world to wake up and tell the Palestinian Authority that enough is enough. The international community must send a strong and clear message that these heinous acts of barbarism perpetrated against men, women and children need to end. The exaltation of terrorism has to stop before more lives are lost.

As I contemplated what happened to Ari Fuld, I thought of all the heroes who came before him and whose lives were cut short by senseless acts of terror. I believe that we can best honor the memory of Ari Fuld and all the other victims of terror by committing to make certain that they did not die in vain. Despite the regularity with which these acts of terror occur, we cannot become complacent. We must not allow ourselves to become immune to the pain that they cause or resigned to the fact that they are just going to continue happening. When a human life is taken in such a brutal and heartless fashion, it cannot be business as usual. It is incumbent upon all of us to collectively speak out in a loud and forceful voice and combat terrorism. We must take a page out of Ari Fuld’s playbook and speak the truth about what is happening as a result of the terror.

I woke up on Sunday fully expecting that it would be a normal day. Alas, there was nothing normal about it. Amidst the grief and heartache, we need to keep the Fuld family in our tefillot and pray that G-d will grant them the strength and resolve to make it through this unmistakable tragedy. Their pain is our pain, and their loss is our loss. We must always remember that this was anything but a regular Sunday.

You Can’t Paint All Yeshivas With The Same Brush

The New York Times printed an editorial on August 23, 2018 entitled “New York’s Yeshiva Students Deserve Better” and noted that “Elected officials should require Orthodox Jewish schools to meet legal standards.”

Without debating the merits of the case involving the education in “Orthodox Jewish schools,” I take umbrage with the broad characterization being used to describe these institutions.

As someone who attended an Orthodox Jewish elementary school and a yeshiva high school in New York, I can attest to the superior secular education I received, which adequately prepared me for college and law school. As a parent whose children are enrolled in a yeshiva, I am constantly awed by the progressive pedagogy employed by the school and the first-rate education they receive through STEM, literature, art and music classes.

It is imperative that people recognize that there are hundreds of Orthodox Jewish schools and yeshivas in New York State that educate over 150,000 students, and to paint all of them with the same brush is unjust and injurious. The overgeneralization is an affront to the countless yeshivas that balance secular and Judaic studies and duly prepare their students to make meaningful contributions in the professional arena.

One Tweet Cannot Diminish Our Friend, Cory Booker

The following is an op-ed that I wrote regarding Senator Cory Booker, which appears in the current edition of The Jewish Standard, in which I examine the controversy surrounding a recent tweet where he was pictured holding a pro-Palestinian sign and his office’s subsequent explanation, and how that fits into his track record when it comes to Israel and the Jewish community:

One tweet cannot diminish our friend, Cory Booker

By: N. Aaron Troodler

August 9, 2018

Human beings are inherently imperfect, and people inevitably make mistakes. As we typically tend to be error-prone, it is important not to let the people’s gaffes come to define them and alter the way in which we perceive them.

Last week, Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.) was featured in a tweet from the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, a pro-Palestinian organization that supports the BDS movement and advocates for ending U.S. support of Israel. The tweet included a picture of the senator holding a sign bearing anti-Israel verbiage.

I, like many others, was deeply disturbed by the photo. Social media was abuzz with people criticizing Senator Booker and decrying him for holding the anti-Israel sign. However, as I thought about the Senator’s history relative to Israel and issues pertaining to the Jewish community, I was perplexed as to how this could have happened. Rather than rush to judgment, I contacted Senator Booker’s office and inquired about the photo, which appeared to be an aberration.

Within minutes, I received an explanation. After Senator Booker delivered a speech (at the progressive Netroots Conference in New Orleans), the crowd swarmed around him, clamoring to take photos with him. During the chaos, someone handed him a sign, and he did not realize that it was about Israel. Hence the photo, which appeared on Twitter. His office added that the senator “hopes for a day when there will be no need for security barriers in the State of Israel, but while active terrorist organizations threaten the safety of the people living in Israel, security barriers are unfortunate but necessary to protect human lives.”

While I cannot condone what happened, I comprehend how it could have occurred. I have been in situations where people converge on an elected official and desperately seek a photo. It is absolute bedlam, and I certainly can understand how mistakes could be made in the midst of the mayhem. Personally, I found the explanation plausible, the acknowledgement of the blunder refreshing, and the reiteration of the senator’s support for Israel heartening. It is not my opinion that matters, however. It is the attitude of the greater Jewish community toward someone who historically has been in our corner that is paramount.

Senator Booker has stood with Israel throughout his tenure in the Senate. He co-sponsored the U.S.-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2018 and forcefully urged his colleagues to reject efforts to eliminate security assistance to Israel. He recently participated in briefings in Lebanon focused on efforts to ensure Israel’s security on its border and discussed the ongoing threat to Israel posed by Hezbollah. He co-authored a bipartisan resolution celebrating the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel and co-sponsored the Combating European Anti-Semitism Act. Senator Booker also co-wrote a bipartisan resolution condemning anti-Israel efforts at the United Nations and condemned “one-sided resolutions in the U.N. Security Council that isolate Israel in the international community.”

The senator received some criticism after he sought changes to the Taylor Force Act; his intent, however, was to augment the legislation by securing improvements that better ensured Israel’s security. Noting that the “Palestinian Authority’s prisoner payment system, which encourages horrific, unspeakable violence against the Israeli people is an inexcusable policy that must be changed,” Senator Booker took a principled stand in order to procure an amendment that he believed was necessary to prevent young Palestinians from becoming radicalized and endangering Israel further.

Senator Booker took a great deal of heat for his support of the Iran nuclear deal, but I know he grappled with an array of issues before arriving at his decision. He studied every aspect of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and carefully considered the agreement’s pros and cons. Recognizing the great need to prevent Iran from amassing nuclear weapons, he concluded that the benefits of the deal outweighed the risks, and he ultimately voted in favor of it. While I disagree with his vote, I respect him for the meticulous approach he took, and I appreciate that bolstering Israel’s qualitative military edge and being mindful of Israel’s safety were an important part of his deliberations.

With most elected officials, examining their voting record is the only barometer by which you can measure their support for Israel — or their lack of support. With Senator Booker, his legislative history is only the tip of the iceberg. It is his personal history and profound connection to the Jewish community that makes Cory Booker perhaps the most Jewish non-Jew in the U.S. Senate.

This is a man who once told me that he tries to study the weekly Torah portion, explained to me why Abraham and Moses are the two Bible heroes he admires most, and shared insights from the Torah with me. Senator Booker, the one-time president of the L’Chaim Society at Oxford University, also spoke with me about how the Jewish ideal of tikkun olam plays an essential role in his life, told me fondly how he views Judaism as “a religion that’s seeking to be a light unto nations of godliness and goodliness,” and described for me how his love of Israel comes not through his politics, but from knowing about the Jewish people, learning about the Torah, and visiting Israel. This is a man who was deeply affected by the horrific ordeal in the summer of 2014 that resulted in the tragic deaths of the three Israeli teens, and who grieved together with the Jewish community.

Is Cory Booker perfect? Of course not. None of us are. Are we going to agree with him on everything? No, certainly not. For us to allow an inadvertent error manifested in one troubling tweet to negate his robust track record on issues relating to Israel and the Jewish community, however, would be malpractice on our part. Senator Booker displays a passion and genuineness when discussing Israel and Jewish life that is palpable. We cannot be so fickle as to forsake a good friend who has been there for us the overwhelming majority of the time.

To err is human, to forgive divine.

N. Aaron Troodler is the principal of Red Apple Strategies, LLC, a public relations and strategic communications firm. He and his wife live in Philadelphia, but until recently they lived in Teaneck, which was their home for 20 years. Follow him on Twitter: @troodler