Former US Senator, Jew, and ardent supporter of Israel Joseph Lieberman attempted to answer this question just this week at an event in Jerusalem among American and Canadian Jews.
According to an April 10 article in The Jerusalem Post by Greer Fay Cashman, Lieberman said, “Attitudes to Israel in American politics have changed. We all need to do more work.”
Lieberman was speaking at a panel discussion at the Cassia Hotel within the framework of a “Passover in Jerusalem” program organized by the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel.
Senator Lieberman, a Democrat, and long-standing bi-partisan advocate for Israel shared some disturbing thoughts this past week. Attitudes in American politics have changed and while traditionally support for Israel was always widely bi-partisan, past surveys indicated that support was stronger among Democrats and less so among Republicans. That trend, however, has reversed itself in the last 10 or more years.
Lieberman warned of the danger of losing bipartisan support, “We must not let that support go away.”
The panel also discussed anti-Zionism along with antisemitism, and the senator commented that he personally never experienced overt antisemitism, but he also knows it has always existed in America.
Lieberman ultimately advocated the point that the only way to combat antisemitism and anti-Zionism is “by uniting with non-Jewish allies to fight these phenomena.”
Also in attendance was Rabbi Aryeh Lightstone, who had worked closely with former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman under the Trump administration. The Cashman article noted that while it has been widely acknowledged that the Trump administration was more pro-Israel than any other US administration, Trump himself has been accused of making antisemitic remarks. Lightstone defended Trump noting that his “words were not elegant, but neither were they antisemitic”—but indeed a narrative or “myth” that Trump was antisemitic took hold in the public realm.
That said, one takeaway from Rabbi Lightstone’s remarks was that there is widespread antisemitism in America today, and he noted antisemitism was neither Republican nor Democrat. Lightstone declared, “A country that allows rampant antisemitism will fail.”
Danny Ayalon former Israeli Ambassador to the US also spoke at the event and noted that the UN is the “most antisemitic body on the world stage.”
Within the context of discussing antisemitism and anti-Zionism, former Danny Ayalon listed the United Nations as being, “the most antisemitic body on the world stage where Israel is frequently condemned.” Ayalon noted that children learn in school that the UN is good, so anything the UN says must be true, even when it’s not.
Ayalon explained that the Palestinians do well at the UN because 22 countries in the Arab League plus non-aligned countries, and those dependent on Arab oil, vote in support of Palestinian issues. He also listed occupations and atrocities committed by other nations including Turkey, Russia, and more, which are ignored by the UN. Ayalon praised Trump for having discredited the UN, saying: “One of our jobs today is to discredit the United Nations.”
Another notable speaker on the panel was former Member of Knesset Rabbi Dov Lipman who addressed facing antisemitism on college campuses.
Lipman spoke of the problems faced by Jewish students in combating antisemitism and anti-Zionism on college and university campuses across America. He said,
…that teaching them how to defend Judaism and Israel had to start much earlier. It’s too late by the time they get to college. It should start in grade school so that they will be better equipped by the time they get to college.
We at The Jerusalem Connection share the news about this event and its speakers’ commentary because it aligns closely with what we have been reporting on for over a decade via The Red Alert Report.
- Bi-partisan support in the US Congress is vital for the health and well-being of both Israelis and Americans.
- Antisemitism and its near twin, anti-Zionism, provide no value and often manifests as hostility against individual Jews trying to live their lives peacefully.
- The UN is a well-funded organization with international recognition and power, and yet it is one of the most antisemitic and anti-Zionist organizations in existence WHILE it allows its own member to commit great atrocities on various minority groups around the world, for which it turns a blind eye.
- Students (Jewish, Christian—all) of all ages must be taught the truth about Israel and Judaism, and not the lies of the UN, media bias, and CRT-type narratives that vilify the modern state of Israel, undermine its right to exist, and defend itself justly under the parameters of international law.
Our job, as the non-Jewish allies, is to continue to educate and work harder to allow truth to permeate every level of our society from our classrooms, Sunday School rooms, colleges, local governments, and to the halls of national and international houses of political power.
Shavua Tov, have a great week.