‘No one will sell out Israel’

Enough of the “which candidate is better for Israel” stuff already. No one will sell out Israel. Israel is not now nor has it ever been a partisan issue in U.S. politics, and we need to work to keep it that way. The role of the United States in the Palestinian issue has varied, but the basic commitment has not. Harry Truman was the first major world leader to recognize Israel. Lyndon Johnson was critical to the Israeli victory in 1967. Henry Kissinger withheld weapons from Israel in the 1973 conflict. Jimmy Carter facilitated Anwar Sadat’s peace overtures that led to the Camp David accords. Bush 41 refused to provide loan guarantees because his administration opposed Israeli settlement policy. Bill Clinton brokered peace between Israel and Jordan and worked on a peace agreement up until the day he left office. Bush 43 was on the sidelines until 2007. The difference between the two parties is not their support but how they show it. Republicans and Democrats have been willing to arm the Israelis to assure military technology and weaponry superiority, but Democrats have pursued the peace process aggressively too. To my mind the Democratic approach is better than the GOP approach.

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