Which Candidate is Better for Israel?

By Moshe Feiglin, Chairman of Zehut



So who is better for Israel? Trump or Clinton?

The truth is that whoever is elected can be good or bad for Israel. It all depends on Israel.

For example:

Ronald Reagan, who opposed Israel’s bombing of the nuclear reactor in Iraq: Was he good for Israel? Probably. Why? Because Menachem Begin bombed the reactor despite America’s dissent. Begin based the US-Israel relationship on partnership more than on dependence and the US President was ultimately considered a good president for Israel.

Was Barack Obama, who opposed Israel’s bombing of the Iranian nuclear installations, good for Israel? It doesn’t look that way. Why not? Because PM Binyamin Netanyahu surrendered to American pressure, did not bomb Iran and based the US-Israel relationship on dependence.

The US reneged on its support for the Partition Plan, pressured Ben Gurion not to declare Israel a state and placed an embargo on weapons shipments (which were helpful mainly to the Jews) to the Middle East. From then until the Six Day War, American ‘aid’ to Israel was negligible.

So was Truman good for Israel or bad for Israel? The answer is that he was good because Ben Gurion ignored his opposition –and declared Israel a state nonetheless.

In 1956, the US forced Israel to retreat from Sinai, which had been captured by the IDF in response to the terror attacks perpetrated against Israel under Egyptian auspices. The US gave Israel its guarantee that if Egypt would ever block the strategic Straits of Tiran, the US Navy would intervene.

So was Eisenhower good for Israel or bad for Israel? The answer is that he was bad for Israel because Israel retreated.

When Egyptian President Naaser blockaded the Straits of Tiran prior to the Six Day War, Israeli PM Levi Eshkol called President Lyndon Johnson and reminded him of the American commitment to come to Israel’s aid. “I can’t find my copy,” the US president responded. So was Johnson good or bad for Israel?

He was good for Israel because Israel went to war and re-conquered the entire Sinai. It also ‘mistakenly’ bombed the US spy ship, Liberty, which was eavesdropping on Israel’s military communications. If Johnson had fulfilled the US commitment, Israel would have remained an inconsequential banana republic – the complete opposite of the status it merited when it was forced to defend itself.

Israel fought the Six Day War with French Mirage jets. When did all of that change? When Israel destroyed all of its enemies and conquered the Sinai, the Golan Heights, Jerusalem and all Israeli territory west of the Jordan River. Then Israel metamorphosed from a burden to a strategic partner and American weapons and military and civilian aid began to flow.

So the question is not which candidate will be good for Israel, but which candidate will be good for the US and the entire free world.

The answer is that a president who will restore the original American message of liberty to the US and American society will be better.

And any US president who will meet Israeli leadership that is good for Israel – will also be good for Israel.