I Stand with ISRAEL – Period!
“Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.”
~ Matthew 10:32-33 ~
I have never felt more bullied and silenced, in my entire life, than I have over the election of 2016, in the United States. Nevertheless, as the clock ticks down, and January 20th fast approaches, I am going to give this piece, one more shot and try to say my peace – damned the torpedoes and full speed ahead!
Last year, when I was hopeful that one of my candidates would be standing on the podium to become the 45th President of the United States, I found myself walking down the street in Washington D.C., when I looked up and spotted the above sign. Until I got closer, what I read was: Trump Coming in 2016.
The sign was actually advertising a new hotel in the Trump empire; but the thought which crossed my mind, was my this man does have chutzpa. I had to stop and take this picture, thinking it would be a perfect View From the Road.
I had not believed Donald Trump would enter the election, I had not thought he would win the Republican Primary, and I never believed he would win the presidency – but folks, he did win.
When President Obama was elected, after a fair share of shock and grief, on my part, I thought about what he would be able to do, which no one else could do; though I was not asked, I concluded he will be able to assure hundreds of thousands of people, not only in America but across the world, that America is the land of opportunity!
As a child, I repeatedly heard the mantra: In America anyone can be president. It was and is such a hopeful thought, because whether one actually aspires to a seat in the Oval Office or not, what those words truly mean is that in America we are the ones who set our limits, not society, not a cast system, not which side of the tracks you were born on, or who you are born to, not your name or the color of your skin or your physical ability, or the religion you practice, or who you know or what others chose for you; but you.
President Obama was given eight years, by the American people, to show us his vision of our nation and to enact the changes he desired.
On January 20th President Obama’s term will come to an end and Americans will once again participate in the peaceful transition of power.
I will, however, not be witnessing a President elect Jeb Bush or a President elect Marco Rubio take the oath of office.
Neither of my top candidates made it out of the primaries, they were both defeated. Historians and journalist will eventually write reams of words, about the presidential election in the United States of 2016; and whatever else they conclude, at the end of the day, my candidates were beaten by Donald Trump, notice I did not write that they lost to Donald Trump – in my world words matter. Donald Trump not only defeated an entire slate of Republican candidates, but he also beat Hillary Clinton.
Hillary Clinton was defeated by Donald Trump; just like President Obama defeated Senator John McCain to assume the Presidency, and then Mr. Mitt Romney. I did not vote for President Obama; in no small part because of his wife. Forever seared in my mind will be his wife saying, at 44 that for the first time in her life, she was proud of America, in regard to our nation getting behind her husband’s candidacy – seriously – what about say . . . the polio vaccine, landing men on the moon, the defeat of Adolf Hitler, all of Edison’s inventions, the computer and internet, Jazz, Ernest Hemingway, the Golden Gate Bridge, Thomas Jefferson, yes that man wrote our Constitution despite the fact that he owned slaves, the Berlin air lift, Habitat for Humanity, New York City, the Marshall Plan, Baseball and her Hall of Fame, Movies, the St Louis Arch, freedom of speech, the Lincoln Memorial and the president it memorializes, Arches National Park, the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, Leonard’s malasadas, Pearl S. Buck, the assembly line, Hoover Dam, Hollywood and her Walk of Fame, the Redwoods, the Holocaust Memorial in Miami and Washington D.C. and throughout the country, the Mississippi River and New Orleans, the United States Postal Service, a separation of church and state, Kodak and Polaroid, the Everglades and Miami, Walt Disney, John Steinbeck, Lewis and Clark, the Jeep, White Castle and In-n-Out Burgers, the Interstate with all of her road side attractions and Highway 66, our ability to maintain a peaceful transition of power, and our support of Israel!
Despite me not voting or approving of President Obama, he ascended to the Presidency for not one term but two. He will leave the White House with a terrible relationship with Americas long term rival, Russia, and an even worse relationship with Americas long term ally, Israel; the Middle East has never been in a worst state, and Europe, including our longest ally England, is on the brink of complete chaos and the heated and volatile environment in Asia is also very disconcerting.
Yes, I have heard the pundits say President Obama did not care about foreign affairs, that his interest was in domestic issues: Well, I never looked to the government to provide me with health care, so I do not find that a sufficient win to justifies what this man did through executive orders; I too have many friends who have suffered a true lack of health care because of the exorbitant premiums and deductions associated with the Affordable Health Care Act. As for the rest of his legacy, well the Police in our nation are under assault, black on black violence is all but at epidemic numbers, our infrastructure is crumbling, in general our public education system is bleeding out, and in real life, not someone’s ledger filled with statistics, but their actual bank balance, list of unpaid-bills, and the ability to put food on the table, normal, everyday, real people are hurting!
On a deeply personal note, President Obama has completely trampled on the graves of thousands upon thousands of Cubans whose lives have been lost fighting the late Fidel or trying to escape the clutches of his evil – this man, President Obama, actually took his wife, children, and mother-in-law to Cuba on vacation, among his many crimes, against the Cuban people, the last being an executive order against President Clinton’s so called wet foot dry foot policy.
So am I sad to see President Obama leave office, no. Did my man win, no. But we had an election, which despite all the racket and there has been plenty, produced a winning candidate who will be our next President, and just like his predecessor, he is not my ideal, but regardless of what is to come, just as what has passed, I believe America will survive, and I have hope, especially regarding Israel, which at the end of the day, is the issue that matters the most to me in terms of our Executive Leader; a hope which has not been present since President Obama came to power.
President Obama has treated Israel and her Prime Minister shamefully; proving by example that anti-Semitism is alive and thriving.
For the last eight years, I have held my tongue, truly. I have tried to respect the office and therefore the man in the office; perhaps I have failed, but I have tried. However, the recent debacle at the United Nations, on December 23, 2016, has not only left me with a sour taste in my mouth, but it has also left me with at least one less friend and more than a few people who have “unliked” this site– and as I write these words, I do have to wonder how many fewer readers this article will leave me with – anti-Semitism is indeed alive and thriving and that reality breaks my heart but not my will.
In my true shock, at the United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israel, where the United States breaking with tradition, decency, and morality abstained, allowing this vile document of hate to pass, at President Obama’s direction, according to him, as reported on 60 Minutes, I commented on social media that I was looking forward to having a President who was not anti-Semitic. For this comment, I lost a person who I had thought of as a true friend, not just a “friend” from the electronic world, where people who are all but strangers, share pictures of their children and hit like when you eat a nice meal or go on vacation. I mourn this loss on many levels, but I am unwilling to compromise my integrity for any person, regardless of what I thought we had shared.
I have a lot of issues with Mr. Trump, and in due course it may well be that I will have issues with President Trump, but at the end of the day folks, it is going to be President Trump – he won. My first, second, third, I guess he will be okay, and even I will settle for him candidate were all defeated by Mr. Trump, as were Senator Clinton and Senator Sanders, the Green Party and the Libertarians; Donald Trump won and we want to continue to be a nation with a peaceful transition of power, if you doubt this fact, may I urge you to pick up a history book or scroll through Wikipedia, the alternative to a peaceful transition is chaos.
But my interest in President Trump goes beyond my desire for a peace. I believe that he will stand with Israel. I believe that he supports Israel. I believe he will honor our historical relationship with Israel and show the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, the proper respect due the democratically elected head of a sovereign nation.
I understand that my former friend’s hatred of Mr. Trump overrode her perception of the value of our friendship. I understand that those who supported Senator Clinton are and have been in shock, since her loss and for many, anger and hatred now dominate their actions. I understand that we often choose to be blinded by our love or devotion to a person or a cause, and indeed we often must as imperfection abounds, and thus so much of what Americans are now saying, on either side of the aisle, is permeated by rancor for their opponents instead of an honest assessment of their beliefs. I also understand that we all have our Israel’s; for you it may be Social Security or affordable housing, or cost of living and job security, the environment and global warming, nuclear weapons and nuclear energy, or security at home and abroad. But for me, I stand with Israel.
Thus as I prepare to witness history, I also grieve the loss of a friend, who I very much doubt would think of herself as an anti-Semite. I will keep a close eye on President Trump’s interaction with Israel, and do my part to ensure that he honors all campaign promises in regard to Israel. Meanwhile, I will celebrate the hope of a President who has publically said that he too stands with Israel, for now and until I draw my last breath, if I stand for nothing else – I stand for Israel. That is all for now.
1 comment for “From the Editor”