editorials
Lessons From the Midterm Elections
I t wasn’t Armageddon. And it wasn’t a red
tsunami, either. Last Tuesday’s election
results reflected a thoughtful yet divided
electorate focused on issues and candidate
quality. In a historic departure from midterms
shellacking the incumbent president’s party
over the past several decades, Democrats
took a hit but were not knocked out. In January,
Americans will return to divided government
but just barely.

At a time when President Joe Biden’s pop-
ularity is low, inflation is high, and crime
and immigration issues worry voters, it was
expected that a Republican wave would grab
decisive control of the House and a shift in
control of the Senate. But that didn’t happen.

Instead, when all the votes are counted,
Democrats will control the White House and the
Senate, and Republicans will have a small major-
ity in the House. That’s not a bad thing. Whether
it translates into gridlock or a new focus on the
importance of legislating from the center, it will be
up to the men and women who have been elected
to begin to move forward.

Efforts to reach consensus will be particularly
important for Republican pragmatists who may
otherwise be stymied by their party’s hard-right
wing, known as the Freedom Caucus — a group
of House members who are elections deniers, and
bent on chaos and the destruction of those they
consider the enemy. Now, with only razor-thin
majorities in both houses of Congress, neither
party will be able to govern from the fringes.

Negotiation and some degree of compromise will
likely be the only way to get things done.

There will, of course, be investigations of the
Biden family and efforts to impeach the president.

But most of that will be background noise as more
serious efforts to run the country and serve the
American people will require careful legislative nav-
igation and execution. And if Republicans insist on
squandering valuable time on wasteful activity,
they will likely face further voter rejection —
particularly from independents — in the next
round. There is another significant takeaway from
last week’s results. When Donald Trump was
president, he promised his followers so many
victories that they’d get tired of winning. But
saying that didn’t make it so. And it hasn’t
happened. Republicans lost the House in
the midterm election in 2018. Trump lost
the presidency in 2020. His Republican Party
lost control of the Senate in 2021. And last
Tuesday showed Trump losing significant trac-
tion with voters as many of his hand-picked
candidates were rejected. At the same time,
Trump’s nemesis in Georgia, Brian Kemp, was
handily re-elected governor, while Trump-picked,
scandal-ridden Senate candidate Herschel Walker
has been forced into a runoff in a largely red state.

An increasing segment of the GOP is finally
beginning to recognize that Donald Trump is a
drag on the party. His narcissism and reflexive
bad judgment single-handedly cost Republicans
control of the Senate in last year’s Georgia elec-
tions and again this year. As many have observed,
elements of the electorate may support Trumpism,
but they have had enough of Trump himself.

There are alternatives. JE
L ast week, the Anti-Defamation League
announced that it was opening a new front in the
war against antisemitism through its “acquisition” of
an organization called JLens — a Jewish values-
based investor network that promotes socially
responsible investing while aggressively advocating
for Israel.

Through its JLens affiliation, ADL — the veteran
Jewish defense agency, known best for its leading
role in fighting antisemitism worldwide — plans
to join in efforts to fight the boycott, divestment
and sanctions movement against Israel (and con-
tinue with its efforts to combat antisemitism) from
the board rooms of corporations in which JLens-
associated funds have been invested.

JLens was established in 2012. It advises Jewish
donors and organizations on values-based investment
opportunities and impact investing — an approach
that considers environmental and social factors along
with a focus on financial returns. More than 30 North
American Jewish Institutions have invested nearly
$200 million in JLens’ Jewish Advocacy Strategy, an
investment option that advocates with companies for
10 NOVEMBER 17, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
Jewish communal concerns.

JLens has been at the forefront of exposing BDS
practices within the growing impact investing and
socially responsible investing fields. And it has
monitored anti-Israel bias in actions by corpora-
tions and companies that rate them. It was JLens
that helped lead the inquiry into the multibil-
lion-dollar financial-services company Morningstar,
which was accused of prejudice in its ratings
against Israeli companies, particularly through one
of its subsidiaries, Sustainalytics.

The JLens allegation was picked up by a number
of national Jewish organizations, including ADL and
Jewish Federations of North America, which joined
in discussion and negotiation with Morningstar
that led to its announcement earlier this month
that it will take a number of substantive steps to
address numerous aspects of anti-Israel bias in its
ratings process.

The affiliation between ADL and JLens promises
to be a win-win combination. The ADL connection
will help enhance JLens’ stature through the added
credibility of ADL’s anti-bias reputation. And JLens
will afford ADL access to high-level executives
and members of the board at some of the largest
companies in the world in order to address BDS and
antisemitism concerns.

Although ADL has been involved in pressuring
corporations like Facebook, Unilever and others
to address antisemitic activity within their compa-
nies, it has done so from the outside. Now, through
JLens, ADL hopes to be afforded the opportunity to
advocate from within. And given JLens’ experience
in the space, it can help ADL refine its approach to
corporate advocacy.

The recent decision by Adidas to separate from
Kanye West after his repeated antisemitic com-
ments highlights the potential value of the ADL-
JLens affiliation. Although Adidas ultimately cut its
ties with West, the move took a lot of time. With
increased corporate boardroom access through
JLens, it is very possible that the disengagement
process with West could have been accomplished
a lot sooner.

We welcome the ADL-JLens affiliation and wish
their combined efforts much success. JE
PEXELS.com ADL Strengthens Corporate Advocacy



opinions & letters
Which Bibi Will We Get?
BY DAN SCHNUR
T wo weeks ago in this space, we asked the
then-seminal question, “To Bibi or Not to
Bibi?” Now we turn to an even more complicated
query: “Which Bibi?”
Now that Netanyahu has claimed a decisive
victory in the most recent Israeli elections, spec-
ulation turns to what type of government he will
form. Given his alliance with a bloc of religious
and far-right parties that was necessary to achieve
a majority in the Knesset, most observers assume
that the once and future prime minister will turn
over key cabinet positions to the leaders of those
partners and give them great leeway in fashioning
his government’s policy agenda. Netanyahu has
always been careful not to allow himself to be
outflanked to his right, and with polling that shows
the Israeli electorate continuing to move in that
direction, his most obvious next step would be to
cement those relationships.

surely recognizes that a unity government could
either exclude the religious bloc altogether or
at least limit their power within the govern-
ment. Their most extremist demands would be
less likely to sway Netanyahu if he knows he is
not completely reliant on their votes to remain
in office.

The question is what Netanyahu could offer
Gantz and Sa’ar and their followers in exchange for
their support, given their strong disapproval of his
efforts to avoid judicial consequences for his past
actions. But the additional sweetener of limiting
the RZP’s influence on Israeli society, combined
with significant policy concessions and political
opportunities for the two men themselves, could
create an opportunity for an implausible but mutu-
ally beneficial partnership.

The fork in the road for Netanyahu is not nearly
as dramatic as choosing between left and right.

For all practical purposes, with the failure of the
Meretz Party to win any seats in the new Knesset
and the near-irrelevance of the once-powerful
Netanyahu will ultimately make his decision
based on whether his long-term aspirations
outweigh his more immediate needs.

But Bibi has been here plenty of times before.

He knows that a government held hostage by the
Religious Zionist Party would not be a particularly
pleasant experience for him. It would be enough
to allow him to escape his legal difficulties —
and that might be all he needs or wants — but
Israeli voters have moved rightward primarily as
a reaction to the war with Hamas last year and
the subsequent upsurge in terrorism. It’s not clear
whether a voting majority is on board with some
of RZP’s other goals, and so it’s entirely possible
that Netanyahu will look elsewhere when forming
his governing coalition.

This is where Netanyahu’s former allies Benny
Gantz and Gideon Sa’ar may come back into
the picture. Both Gantz and Sa’ar parted ways
with Netanyahu, not over policy differences but
because of his legal troubles. They have already
announced that their National Unity Party will
stand in opposition to Netanyahu’s anticipated
alliance with the religious parties. But Netanyahu
Labor Party, there is no meaningful political left
remaining in Israel.

So the choice for Bibi is between center-right and
far-right. While the religious parties have brought
him to this position, their goals may not reflect the
thinking of the broader Israeli public. Centrists like
Gantz, Sa’ar, Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid may
not inspire as much passion from their supporters
as Itamar Ben-Gvir and his RZP colleagues, but
they might offer Netanyahu stability that would be
helpful to him going forward. Netanyahu knows
that he can still inspire, but the centrist establish-
ment offers him a sustainability that he might not
be able to achieve without them.

Netanyahu will ultimately make his decision
based on whether his long-term aspirations out-
weigh his more immediate needs. He is already
Israel’s longest-serving prime minister but has yet
to achieve the iconic status of some of his pre-
decessors. Part of him is very concerned with his
legacy, and he wants to be remembered as Israel’s
greatest leader rather than a polarizing figure.

But he also wants to avoid a conviction and stay
out of jail. This means the history books might have
to wait. JE
Dan Schnur is a professor at the University of
California-Berkeley, USC and Pepperdine. This article
was originally published by the Jewish Journal.

letters Ben-Gvir’s Words Seem Suspect
I read with interest the op-ed piece by Itamar Ben-
Gvir (“My Brethren on the Left, Give Me a Chance,”
Nov. 10) proclaiming his moderation and asking his
“brethren” to give him a “chance.”
Interestingly, the piece was published on the
same day that Ben-Gvir praised the late Rabbi
Meir Kahane at a memorial service — praise that
led State Department spokesman Ned Price to
call Ben-Gvir’s actions “abhorrent.” I hope the
Exponent follows up on the story.

Maynard Seider, Philadelphia
Afraid for the Future
When I read the columns from Jonathan Tobin
(“US Panic Surrounding Israel’s Next Government
Is About Politics, Not Values,” Nov. 10) and Itamar
Ben Gvir (“My Brethren on the Left, Give Me a
Chance,” Nov. 10), as well as the accompanying edi-
torial about the Israeli election (A Clear Victory for
Israel’s Right,” Nov. 10), all I could think was that
this is exactly what I am afraid of from the next
Israeli government.

Tobin’s column and the editorial in particular
were a complete dismissal of any Jew who does not
buy into the Netanyahu coalition’s vision of what a
true Jew is. Surprisingly, the most honest column
was from Itamar Ben-Gvir himself, even though his
long history of violent rhetoric speaks for itself.

However, he will most likely be a minister of the
government soon, so to hear from him directly had
some value. That said, his vision of a Judaism based
in supremacy over others is still pretty awful. JE
Len Zangwill, Glenside
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. JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
11