Just days before Netanyahu’s visit, Buchdahl delivered a Rosh Hashanah sermon that went viral. (One positive legacy of covid: Many synagogues stream services, allowing especially eloquent rabbis to find a national audience.) She told her congregants: “Most American Jews have been under-supporting our values in Israel. If you want to see change, fortify the protesters, support the Israeli reform movement, fund the NGOs and institutions that are building a more just, democratic, egalitarian, pluralistic Israel.” She continued, “This is not about trying to remake Israel in our American image. This is about helping Israel live up to its own foundational aspiration, as stated in the Declaration of Independence.”
Historically speaking, she is in good company. There is a long tradition in the Torah of prophets denouncing rulers’ corruption, abuse of power and fetishizing ritual at the expense of fidelity to values. They might have been the first figures speaking truth to power. And, as Buchdahl put it, support for a democratic Jewish state demands criticism from Israeli patriots and American friends when the state departs from its essential values.
Her and other rabbis’ messages urging outspokenness resonated. During Netanyahu’s visit, hundreds of demonstrations popped up “daily in locations ranging from Times Square to the United Nations to his hotel.”
The U.S. demonstrations echoed those that hundreds of thousands of Israelis have staged, usually on Saturday night, for months. They have challenged the government’s judicial reforms that erode an independent judiciary and respect for the rule of law, cornerstones of a democratic society.
Well before the demonstrations in the United States, some (but not all) American Jewish organizations were speaking with new candor about Netanyahu’s assault on the rule of law and democracy. In doing so, they strengthened their own moral credibility and reaffirmed that the unique American-Israeli relationship must be based on shared values. Certainly, not all American Jews or organizations agree. Many ultra-Orthodox Jews here, as in Israel, support the Netanyahu government and, shamefully, look the other way or even condone the racist outbursts from his coalition partners.
The most prominent political Jewish organization, AIPAC (the American Israel Public Affairs Committee), should heed the new attitude of candor or constructive criticism. Too often, AIPAC has sounded as though it must defend whatever the Israeli government says as opposed to defending the values that ensure a close U.S.-Israel relationship. In supporting congressional candidates who supported the 2021 insurrection, the group not only marred its own reputation but also sent the absolute wrong message to Israel, that defense of democracy is irrelevant to preserving a strong U.S.-Israel relationship. The way to maintain bipartisan support for Israel in the United States is to make crystal clear that Israel must uphold the democratic values on which the country was founded.
As the debate about how to sway Netanyahu rages across Israel and the United States, President Biden has handled the Israeli prime minister differently from the past two presidents, thereby avoiding some of their mistakes. Unlike then-President Barack Obama, he has not openly feuded with Netanyahu, which simply got his back up and engendered ill will with many American Jewish groups. And, unlike his immediate predecessor, Biden has not given Netanyahu a green light to expand settlements, nor encouraged the most radical elements in Israel.
Instead, Biden deftly deployed both carrots and stick. He promised — but did not set a date for — an invitation to the White House. (Implicit in that is the potential to delay the visit indefinitely if, for example, Netanyahu defies the Israeli Supreme Court that recently heard arguments on repeal of the “reasonableness” standard.) Biden has counseled Netanyahu to move by consensus and to respect democracy. Meanwhile, he also has held out the prospect (realistic or not) of an Israeli-Saudi deal that would boost Netanyahu’s standing but that would require concessions to the Palestinians.
The days of unqualified, uncritical support from most American Jews for whatever the present Israeli prime minister and his government cook up appear to have passed. When democracy is under assault in both Israel and the United States, democracy defenders need to speak up for common values, understanding that the preservation of the rule of law, democracy and judicial independence is essential to both democracies’ survival — and to the continued friendship between the two.
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