Troubling Trends

“Put not your trust in princes.”

The author of Psalm 146 must have known a thing or two about the potential deceitfulness of those who profess to be allies and friends. It is a stark warning against placing too much hope or reliance on human leaders.

At certain times, it was a reminder that alliances with other countries and seemingly sympathetic leaders can be fraught with danger and dire consequences.

It can also be seen as an admonition to be wary of those politicians who claim to be the sole repository of truth and who believe that they are irreplaceable.

What was true in the Biblical and ancient past is just as valid today as current events more than adequately prove.

The Jewish People have collectively and individually, over the millennia, been the main victims of fickle friendships and insincere solidarity.

How many times have so-called allies thrown Jews to the wolves when the opportunity presented itself?

How many times have Jews found themselves abandoned and betrayed?

How many times were solemn promises and guarantees nullified?

The examples are endless as decimated communities, destroyed synagogues and life-threatening pogroms prove.

We should have learnt from our bitter experiences, but unfortunately, memories are fickle, and the urge to repeat the same mistakes seems insatiable.

Donald Trump has been hailed as the “best friend in the White House” that Israel has ever seen. The lavish praise that has been and continues to be directed towards him makes one wary of questioning his credentials. He recognised Jerusalem as Israel’s Capital and shifted the US Embassy to the city. He recognised the Golan as part of Israel. He helped bomb Iran’s nuclear sites and he accomplished the release of all remaining living hostages from Hamas captivity.

These achievements certainly warrant the highest commendation, especially when compared with the dubious actions of many of his predecessors in Washington. However, in order to be brutally honest, you need to examine exactly where we are at present and analyse where current actions are leading.

Hamas is still calling the shots in Gaza and has no intention of disarming or surrendering. Not all dead hostages have been returned. What seemed to be a clear path forward is becoming mired in mixed messages.

Qatar and Turkey, two sponsors and supporters of Hamas, are being courted by Trump. Add in Saudi Arabia and you have a trio of countries which now shower him with “goodies” and which in return hope for his support. Deals are his specialty so what will it take for some of these to be made at Israel’s expense?

Once a supporter of Israel’s sovereignty in Judea and Samaria, he now “forbids” Israel from applying sovereignty in these Biblical areas. Will Trump, as a master of the “quick fix”, pressure Israel to release arch terrorist Barghouti and install him as the newfound “peace” leader of the fake Palestinians once Abbas departs from the scene?

For someone who “blows hot and cold” every day of the week, one wonders how long it will take for Trump to lose patience with the situation. His recent statement about Gaza could be an omen of things to come: “Gaza is close to perfected – its residents are safer than ever.”  This observation is as detached from reality as to be classified in the realms of fiction.

The reality is that Gaza is an unmitigated mess with the terror groups in place and still posing a threat to Israel and Israelis. Likewise, the situation in Lebanon where the Lebanese Government remains impotent and Hezbollah is striving to rebuild and rearm.

Iran defies the IAEA and is busy replacing its missile capabilities. Its nuclear material is hidden somewhere, and its ambitions to erase Israel remain as fervent as ever.

Trump’s demand for Israel to prematurely abort its campaigns against Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran has resulted in the mess we now face.

New York’s new anti-Zionist mayor accused Israel of genocide, and Trump did not challenge or contradict him.

A virulent anti-Israel/Jewish demonstration outside a New York synagogue hosting a Nefesh b’Nefesh gathering to promote aliyah was a classic example of what the near future portends. The inciting hate articulated by the mobs and tolerated by law enforcement authorities could have been taken straight out of the 1930s in Germany. The incoming mayor and his assistant issued the usual bland responses and then revealed their true thoughts. Their caveat that the meeting at the synagogue “violated a sacred space and international law” is patently outrageous. The silence from the White House was deafening.

Are these not yet more cases of crumbling solidarity in the face of unfulfilled promises? The dire consequences of “placing our trust in princes” become more self-evident.

The political landscape in the USA is changing, and it certainly is not looking positive for Israel and Jews. The Democratic Party is steadily becoming captive of the extreme socialist left, and anti Zionism/Israel policies are being embedded. The Republican Party is being infiltrated by right-wing extremists whose isolationist ideas and Jewish conspiracy theories threaten to sink solidarity with Israel. American Jews face a fraught future and unpalatable choices with only two parties to choose from.

The other major international crisis is the war raging between Ukraine and Russia. One would have thought that the situation was crystal clear. One country (Russia) attacked another (Ukraine) and violated the latter’s borders and sovereignty.

The same pathetic responses have been forthcoming in another eerie rerun of the failed appeasement policies of the 1930s.

The EU huffed and puffed and eventually provided some weapons to Ukraine. NATO condemned Russia and issued “stern warnings” which no doubt were consigned to the rubbish bin in Moscow. The UK provided some weaponry and plenty of stiff-upper-lip advice. Unable to defend its own borders against a torrent of illegal infiltrations, the UK’s verbal barrages sounded pathetically ineffective.

The Trump Administration, therefore, remained the last bastion of effective sanity in the face of naked aggression on the continent of Europe.

Unfortunately and shamefully, we are instead witness to a response more in the mode of Chamberlain rather than a robust Trumpian defence of democratic freedom.

Sanctions have rarely been a successful tool against aggressor countries, especially when there are plenty of others ready, willing and able to circumvent them.

If ceding territory to Russia and reducing the size of the Ukrainian military remain as final conditions, we can confidently surmise that appeasement has triumphed. Threats by the US to withhold weapons and intelligence unless Ukraine agrees to these demands should ring warning bells in Israel.

Germany, France and the UK have assured Ukraine that they “have its back.” Based on their past records, these assurances are not worth the paper they might be written on. Czechoslovakia was forced to cede territory to Germany in 1938 and then watched helplessly as the remainder of its country was extinguished. Poland had received guarantees from the UK & France to safeguard their independence. We all know how that ended.

Any security guarantees offered by Washington are very likely to be just as worthless given past failures.

Aggressors can always sense when there is weakness, vacillation and a reluctance to defend. It always ends with supposed allies and friends of the country being victimised, leaving them high and dry. With an upsurge in right-wing isolationist idiocy and left-wing infatuation with jihadist ideology, the prognosis for a robust US response to Russian, Chinese, North Korean and Iranian misadventures is dimming fast.

It is time for Israel and the Jewish people to remember the sage words of Psalm 146 once again.

Michael Kuttner is a Jewish New Zealander who for many years was actively involved with various communal organisations connected to Judaism and Israel. He now lives in Israel and is J-Wire’s correspondent in the region.