editorials
Bad Timing
T he current Israeli coalition
government led by Prime Minister
Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister
Yair Lapid has exceeded everyone’s
expectations. But it is now on the brink
of collapse.

With just 60 seats in the Knesset
and threats of resignation from mem-
bers on both the right and left, the
government appears to be the weak-
est it has ever been. It is likely just
a matter of time before the govern-
ment falls and new elections are
held. That is why it is so strange that
the Biden administration chose this
moment of government instability
to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace
talks. And it is even more curious
that the suggestion was made since
— at least until now — solving the
Israeli-Palestinian confl ict did not
appear to be a lead priority for the
Biden administration. Add to that
the fact that everyone understands
that the eight-party Bennett-Lapid
coalition would likely implode over
peace issues.

And it is for that reason that no one
seriously seeks to raise them. On top
of all that, given the government’s
uncertain future, it is widely under-
stood that any agreement reached
by this government would immedi-
This suggestion came at the same
time as the Biden administration is
reportedly considering creating a
new senior diplomatic position within
the State Department for a special
representative for Palestinian aff airs.

Israel made clear that it is not
interested in a feel-good photo op
for a peace summit that has no
likelihood of success. We agree.

ately be subject to review and recon-
sideration if a new governing group
takes control.

Nonetheless, according to reports,
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State
Wendy Sherman recently suggested
to Israeli National Security Adviser
Eyal Hulata that Israel, the Palestinian
Authority, Jordan, Egypt and the U.S.

convene a full-blown peace summit
to address Israeli-Palestinian issues.

The administration’s moves
appear to be part of an attempt
to appease PA President Mahmoud
Abbas, who has voiced both frustra-
tion and anger with the lack of move-
ment on a peace process, and who
has threatened retaliatory actions if
nothing is done. The Israeli govern-
ment is reported to have rejected
the U.S. suggestion for a multiparty
summit. In light of current political
realities, that decision makes sense.

But it doesn’t explain why the Biden
administration made the suggestion
or why it felt that now was the right
time to raise it.

Perhaps the administration is seek-
ing to add substance and seriousness
of purpose to President Joe Biden’s
planned trip to the Middle East next
month. And maybe there was some
hope that an Israeli-Palestinian sum-
mit would draw attention away from
the politically uncomfortable rap-
prochement eff orts Biden will be
pursuing with Saudi Arabia.

Either way, the eff ort did not work.

Instead, Israel made clear that it is
not interested in a feel-good photo
op for a peace summit that has
no likelihood of success. We agree.

While we remain supportive of a
two-state solution for Israel and the
Palestinians, that eff ort needs to be
pursued at a time and with partici-
pants who not only support the eff ort
but are also capable of achieving a
lasting result. For a whole bunch of
reasons, that is not today’s reality. JE
P rimary election season is
underway in many parts of
the country. As Democrats and
Republicans vie for their party’s
endorsement for the general election,
the primary results give observers and
the parties insight into what voters
think about the performance of their
elected offi cials up to now, and what
they want from them going forward.

We can learn a lot from California. In
that state’s primary election on June
7, voters sent a clear message to their
elected offi cials — a message that the
Democratic Party should take to heart if
they want their candidates to compete
eff ectively in November’s midterms.

The most publicized race was in
San Francisco, where residents voted
on whether to recall District Attorney
Chesa Boudin. Boudin was elected
in November 2019 on a forceful, pro-
gressive criminal justice agenda. But
with violent crimes and car theft soar-
12 JUNE 16, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
ing in San Francisco, the voters in this
most liberal city chose to fi re their
progressive prosecutor. Sixty percent
of voters in San Francisco voted to
recall Boudin.

During his time in offi ce, Boudin
enacted a number of criminal justice
reforms, including the elimination of
cash bail, a reduction of the number
of San Franciscans, especially minors,
in state prisons, and charged a police
offi cer with committing manslaughter
while on duty.

On paper, many of Boudin’s reforms
made sense and are part of a move-
ment across the country that has been
pursued by a number of progressive
district attorneys. But at least based
upon the recall vote, it appears that
voters are rejecting those progressive
programs in favor of a more traditional
approach to law enforcement.

And then there was the Los
Angeles nonpartisan primary for
mayor. In that race, Rick Caruso, a
billionaire real estate developer and
former Republican who only recently
registered as a Democrat, faced off
against Democratic Rep. Karen Bass,
a progressive, who wants to be Los
Angeles’ fi rst Black woman mayor.

The race was close. Caruso won
40.5% of the vote and Bass won
38.8%. The two will head to a runoff
election in November.

For many cities in America, such
a tight race between a former
Republican and a progressive might
not be a big deal. But for Los Angeles,
it is a major red fl ag, as Democratic
voters refl ect their frustration with
progressive policy platforms and
enactments — especially when they
involve leniency toward rising crime
and tolerance for an increase in
homelessness. Both San Francisco
and Los Angeles face a homeless-
ness crisis with rampant drug use
and mental health emergencies over-
whelming city streets.

The San Francisco and Los Angeles
votes highlight the challenge of the
increasing infl uence of progressive
politics on the Democratic Party.

While there are many elements of the
progressive agenda that are appeal-
ing and worthwhile, many of their
idealistic agenda items fail in the
real world and are being rejected by
voters. If the Democratic Party wants
to remain competitive in November,
it needs to get its arms around the
progressive agenda and make appro-
priate course adjustments. JE
gguy44 / iStock / Getty Images Plus
A Tale of Two California Cities



opinions & letters
In-person Beats Online
Israel and the US:
Danger Just Around
the Corner
BY SHUKI FRIEDMAN
Oleksii Liskonih / iStock / Getty Images Plus
A strong
U.S. relationship with
Israel depends on broad
support for the Jewish
state among American
citizens. At fi rst glance, a survey published a
few days ago by the Pew Research Center
shows that American support for Israel is
adequate and has even increased slightly.

A closer look, however, reveals a far less
rosy future. Support for Israel among the
younger generation of Americans is declin-
ing, and support for the Palestinians is on the
rise. To maintain the existentially necessary
strategic backing of the United States, Israel
must address the challenge of this eroding
support among young Americans before
they become tomorrow’s leaders and turn
their backs on the Jewish state.

The headline of the Pew survey —
“Modest Warming in U.S. Views on Israel and
Palestinians” — is gratifying, and the overall
picture presented by the survey is indeed
positive. The share of Americans who take
a favorable view of Israel (67%) and of the
Israeli government (48%) has climbed by
several percentage points over the past two
years. Among older Americans (65+), sup-
port for Israel is skyrocketing (78%). Another
piece of good news is that, although Israelis
often have the impression that the BDS
movement is a great success in the United
States, the survey shows that the over-
whelming majority of Americans (84%) have
heard nothing or very little about it. Only 5%
support the movement.

There are dark clouds on the horizon, how-
ever. The statistics show a dramatic split in
support for Israel based on party affi liation.

While 44% of Republicans support Israel and
take an unfavorable view of the Palestinians,
only 12% of Democrats feel the same.

Moreover, support for Israel over the
Palestinians decreases dramatically as one
moves down the age scale. While 37% of
those aged 65 and older prefer Israel, that
preference plunges to just 11% among those
in the 18-29 age range, while 17% support
the Palestinians and a signifi cant number
take an equally favorable view of both sides.

The younger generation shows similarly low
levels of support for the Israeli government.

Alongside, one fi nds increasingly favorable
views of the Palestinian government.

In other words, the younger generation
prefers the Palestinians over Israel.

This disparity between generations also
exists in the American Jewish community.

A comprehensive Pew survey of Jewish
Americans published a year ago revealed a
disturbing picture. Regarding attachment to
Israel, caring about Israel, a sense of partner-
ship with Israel and more, there are striking
disparities between the older and younger
generations. Among young Jews unaffi liated
with any Jewish denomination (40%), only a
third see Israel as important. Other surveys
published over the past year confi rmed this:
Young American Jews are more liberal and
less emotionally attached to Israel than their
older counterparts.

Some of the processes underway in
American society, including in the Jewish
community, are unrelated to Israel and its
policies, but nevertheless, aff ect it. Still,
Israeli policy is naturally an infl uential factor
in shaping attitudes toward the state.

Israel cannot change America, but engag-
ing with the younger generation there, and
making every eff ort to foster an attachment
to the Israeli story and the Jewish state, are
critical to maintaining the special closeness
between the United States and Israel, as well
as American support for the Jewish state
and its existence. JE
Shuki Friedman is vice president of the
Jewish People Policy Institute and a lecturer
in law at the Peres Academic Center.

No doubt, online education is the direction of the future
(“Gratz Refocuses, Ahead of the Curve with Online Classes,”
May 26), but call me old-fashioned. I am more attentive to
in-person classes and fi nd that personal interactions are a
critical component to learning.

I attended Gratz Hebrew High School decades ago and
still have strong memories of my teachers and classmates,
in addition to the content of many of my courses. It’s hard
to imagine that children learn as much in Hebrew schools of
today, with fewer hours and tests and more entertainment.

It will be interesting to measure the eff ectiveness of online
Hebrew school education at Gratz since in-person Hebrew
high school was eliminated years ago.

Ina Asher
Merion Second Amendment Argument Rings Hollow
Jonathan Tobin’s recent invitation to an “honest discussion”
about guns and the Second Amendment (“The Only Honest
Discussion About Guns Rests on the Second Amendment,”
June 2) feels rather hollow. In addition to declaring that no
gun restrictions could possibly reduce gun violence, he also
suggests that the liberal Jewish groups pushing gun control
are largely bicoastal urbanites who are out of touch with real
Americans and real American culture.

Rather than an honest labeling of those who demand
unfettered access to guns as right-wing or conservative,
Tobin repeatedly identifi es gun advocates and their position
simply as “American.” Not surprisingly, liberal Jews are never
described as equally American. This insinuation that liberal
Jews and their political activity are in some way un-Ameri-
can is reminiscent of ugly accusations that have been made
about Jews’ place in America.

If there is to be an honest debate, then the assumption
that guns are an integral part of “American culture” and
“American political tradition” needs to be critically evalu-
ated rather than blindly accepted. Respected historians of
Colonial America have challenged the idea that guns were
a major part of Colonial American culture. For example, it is
estimated that perhaps only one in 10 people even owned a
gun at that time, compared to nearly four in 10 today.

To suggest that a gun-saturated society is a necessary
feature of American culture, or that any regulation of guns is
an aff ront to all authentic Americans, represents a particular
interpretation of the Second Amendment that only became
popular in the last half-century. JE
Stuart Charme
Philadelphia Letters should be related to articles that have run in the
print or online editions of the JE, and may be edited for
space and clarity prior to publication. Please include your
first and last name, as well your town/neighborhood of
residence. Send letters to letters@jewishexponent.com.

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