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There's something crucial about Israel's place and hold in US politics that Americans IMO don't fully understand, and it can be illustrated through the sad example of none other than Trump himself and how he went from being "neutral" to being vehemently pro-Israel. /1
In a Republican primary debate in February 2016, the candidates were asked where they stood on Israel-Palestine. As expected, the two major candidates at the time, according to the pundits, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, fell over themselves to say how much they supported Israel. /2
Trump had previously said he'd be a "neutral broker" in the conflict. In the debate he said: "It's probably the toughest negotiation anywhere in the world of any kind. But it doesn't help if I start saying, 'I am very pro-Israel, very pro, more than anybody on this stage.'"/3
Both Rubio and Cruz both pounced on Trump's statement, accusing him of being anti-Israel and promising that they, as President, would always stand with Israel against the Palestinians no matter what. politico.com/story/2016/02/… /4
Did Cruz and Rubio make those promises because of a deep abiding care for the Jewish people, or the Israeli people? Of course not. Neither Cruz nor Rubio care one whit about that. What Cruz and Rubio have always cared about, and driven their politics, is campaign donations. /5
Specifically, in the case of Rubio for example, who is particularly corrupt, his campaigns were funded primarily by Norman Braman and Sheldon Adelson, two rightwing pro-Netanyahu billionaires. Rubio's words on Israel mirror precisely the Netanyahu line - an Adelson demand. /6
What happened to Trump, then? How did the "neutral broker" who didn't want to repeat GOP pieties, become a rabid pro-Netanyahu person who moved the embassy to Jerusalem, cut funding to UNWRA, appointed David Friedman his ambassador? Simple: Sheldon Adelson became HIS donor. /7
In the case of Trump, all the usual explanations for supporting Israel do not apply. He is not a religious man, has no ideological convictions, does not understand anything about the region or its history, has never been close to Israel or the Jewish community. /8
But while he is none of things, Trump is incredibly corrupt, and taking Adelson's money turned him into a rightwing person on Israel-Palestine within just a year, in the same way Cruz and Rubio and many other GOP politician (and some Democratic politicians) have long been. /END
I will add one thing, which is that as an Israeli Jew I can say these things and no one can credibly accuse me of anti-Semitism. This is a sad state of affairs, but here we are.
