If You Support Israel, You Must Vote for Trump

by Lou Segal

I have never understood people who cast their votes based on a single issue. Obviously, we have seen this primarily on the issue of abortion, pro or con. To me, whatever you felt about abortion, there are so many other issues that deserve equal or greater consideration when deciding who to vote for. War and peace in the world or economic conditions in America seemed like worthy issues of equal import.

In the last few months, I have changed my mind. I now will refuse to vote for anyone who abandons Israel or espouses policies that don’t allow Israel to prevail over her evil enemies, even if I agree with them on many other issues. Congressmen Thomas Massie or Senator Paul Rand come to mind.

Because I am viscerally invested in Israel prevailing over their terrorist foes – who would like nothing more than to trigger another holocaust – I could never vote for Kamala Harris. Although she has said that she supports Israel, only a fool would believe her. Every time she is forced to say anything about Israel, she equivocates about whether her support is unconditional. Her position as far as I can tell is that Israel must agree to a ceasefire, which, in effect, doesn’t allow Israel to win the war against terror.

Rather than calling for a ceasefire every time Israel is on the precipice of destroying its enemies, she should encourage Israel to use its military might to vanquish the Jew-hating barbarians intent on committing genocide against Israel. Now she and Biden are urging Israel to refrain from responding to the egregious bombing of Israel by Iran. This is the country on the verge of obtaining nuclear weapons and would have no hesitation in using them. For a few thousand votes in Michigan, she is willing to sell the best ally we have in the Middle East – and maybe the world – down the river.

Trump Has Israel’s Best Interest at Heart

She has also refused to commit to never using our military aid as a lever to force Israel to take positions antithetical to its survival. The Biden Administration has already withheld critical armaments at the most dangerous time in Israel’s history. So far, I have never heard her disagree with this most cowardly stance.

On the other hand, no matter how I feel about Donald Trump personally, I believe he has Israel’s best interest at heart. He has consistently supported Israel whenever it mattered. For instance, he moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem, reaffirmed Israel’s annexation of the critically important Golan Heights and, most importantly, financially starved Iran by putting the most onerous sanctions we have ever seen on the Iranians. There has never been a president more supportive of Israel than Trump. Consequently, the Middle East during his time in office was a Garden of Eden compared to the chaotic mess we are dealing with today.

For this reason alone, I will vote for Trump.

Antisemitism Raises its Ugly Head

I should state I am not a religious Jew or one who necessarily identifies with my religion. I have always considered myself a quintessential American. I feel extremely fortunate to have been born and to have spent my entire life in the greatest country in the world. I can also say I have never been the victim of antisemitism, a situation that I attribute to the fair-mindedness and decency of most Americans.

However, I am witnessing for the first time in my life a degree of antisemitism on the left and, frankly, in the bowels of the Democrat Party that is deeply unsettling. For some reason many Democrats can’t seem to condemn the pro-Hamas protests on our college campuses and in the streets of our cities. How hard would it be to stand up to these mindless morons who support people who force women to cover their faces under the threat of physical punishment or who would imprison gays?

Democrats have lost their moral compass. That they can’t differentiate between good and evil in the Middle East is shameful, to say the least.

Loyalty To Today’s Democrat Party is Misplaced

Finally, I am at a loss to explain the allegiance many of my fellow Jews have to the Democrat Party today. It may have been understandable many years ago, but it is incomprehensible to me now. It’s not that one can’t be critical of Israel, but Jews should know that their liberalism is not going to save them if antisemitism takes root in the U.S.

The terrorists on Oct 7 didn’t ask their Jewish victims if they were sympathetic to their cause. No, they killed them regardless of how they felt. In the end, Israel’s survival should be just as important to Jews as it is now to many devout Christians in the U.S.

Recently, I have hung a facsimile of an Israeli flag on the tree in front of my house. I got the idea from seeing some homeowners in Manhattan Beach flying the Israeli flag in front of their homes. It’s too bad I had to go over a hundred miles from Santa Barbara to see this tangible support of America’s greatest ally fighting for its survival.

It would be great if the many patriots flying the American flag in front of their homes in Santa Barbara also displayed the Israeli flag alongside it, to demonstrate their support for Israel. America has always stood by Israel, even in the most precarious of times. As a Jew who loves my country, that has always been a source of pride for me.

God bless America and Israel.

List of casualties, both civilian and military, from Oct 7, 2023.

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