Charlottesville Reverberations

That Israel’s claim to being America’s closest ally comes with a cost is underscored by the impact the Charlottesville riot is having on the Israeli people. Looking past predictable political positions to the core of public debate and seeking differentials between opinions rapidly rising to the level of mantra in the US and Israelis’ own unique views, it is clear that President Trump’s utterings have brought anger and concern to a constituency that proved supportive during the election campaign – ex-patriate Americans living in Israel – and its ambient population which showed considerable respect to candidate Trump. Beyond the partisanism that necessarily replicates the key criticisms leveled at the president at home, Israelis – regardless of political affiliation — felt impact most consider uniquely offensive to the American president’s important ally: that of mitigating Nazi evil and the suggestion of moral equivalency. To this nation of heirs to the Holocaust, the idea of a “good” Nazi, white supremist or skinhead is an unspeakable obscenity. So, too, for Israelis is moral equivalency, the reflexive allegation that allocates shared responsibility to victim and terrorist. Few indictments so rankle the Israeli people to the point that those who sought to “grin and bear” backtracking on a series of campaign promises relative to the US-Israel relationship are now among the chorus of disappointment and outrage being directed toward President Trump. Interesting, too, is the level of accountability being assigned to those who fail to be heard on the issue. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been severely criticized for not being the first voice heard condemning the offensive rhetoric while another right-wing politician, Education Minister Naftali Bennett, has been acknowledged as the first voice to be heard in opposition to Trump’s remarks.