Israel marks Obama’s legacy, Trump's naivety

I was not a fan of President Obama; however, kudos to his courageous decision not to veto the U.N. condemnation of Israel. America’s inefficacy and Israel’s arrogance regarding settlements goes back decades. In 1982, President Reagan's threat to withhold billions in aid was ignored.

President Trump correctly read the discontent within America: More than 65 percent felt we were headed in the wrong direction. But, he and most politicians err in their staunch support of Israel without considering the treatment of Palestinians or the pulse of Americans toward the Occupation. Furthermore, America is founded on “separation of church and state.”

Israel is not democratic, nor a republic, but theocratic. Leaders assigned by religious cabals are beholden to power brokers, not popular vote.

Israel does not treat its citizens equally: Orthodox Jews are of higher authority. All youths except Orthodox must serve in the military. In fact, the Orthodox need not work because studying the Torah is their life’s work. Talk about entitlements.

Israel is more a loadstone than ally. During Desert Storm, we avoided Israel’s participation, fearing it would inflame the Middle East. Currently, Israel’s official position is neutrality in the region obviating the need to assist in relieving tensions.

Why is the U.S. the odd-man-out in the world community? Other countries have tried to cajole Israel into being more humanitarian regarding its “occupation” of Gaza. Why is our Administration, our Congress, our Senate so committed to glossing over Israel’s tyrannical oversight of Gaza and the West Bank? Why are we jeopardizing our standing in the World Community? Is it because our allegiance is bought by Jewish power brokers using the very funds that our taxpayers have forked over?

Despite receiving over $140 billion since 1949, it demands more U.S. funding although being $20 trillion in debt and borrowing 40 percent of every dollar the U.S. spends. The U..S recently committed another $38 billion.

Time for a “reset.” Decades of U.S. support have not moved the resolution forward. We’ve enabled Israel to stonewall while it settled 570,000 Jews in contested land. Were Trump to cavalierly carry Israel’s water, he will be a one-term president. The American way is to be even-handed toward all.

Obama’s legacy (forcing America to rethink its relationships in the Middle East) is being undermined by Trump’s consideration to move our embassy to Jerusalem.

This story was originally published May 21, 2017 at 6:17 PM with the headline "Israel marks Obama’s legacy, Trump's naivety."