If there is a nation in the world that truly understands life under the threat of extremist Islamic terror—as it is forced to live with it “up close and personal” each and every day—it is the nation of Israel.
If you don’t quite get how much terrorism is a part of Israeli life, consider that during the month of October alone, Israel suffered 620 terrorist attacks. And consider that since the creation of Israel in 1948, there have been 3,549 killed and 14,227 injured as a result of terrorist attacks on Israeli soil, including at least 219 children killed and 233 injured.
That is a truly horrifying number in a country with a population of just 8 million people—a small fraction of the 300 plus million populating the United States.
Now add to the picture that approximately 15 percent of the Israeli population is Muslim compared to the United States where Muslims represent just 2 percent of the total population.
Finally, note that while some American politicians like to pretend that Muslims represent an existential threat to the United States (meaning they threaten our very existence as a nation), Israel truly does face such a threat as Muslim birth rates are such that Israeli Arabs are scheduled to overtake the Jewish population in Israel, thus permanently threatening the character of the nation and ending its status of being the Jewish State.
And yet, despite these challenges that so dramatically eclipse the dangers of radical Islamic terrorism in the United States, Israel has never banned Muslims from entering their country.
Why?
Because, unlike so many Americans, Israel understands the importance of staying true to their founding principles and not tossing the values that have made Israel a truly extraordinary nation into the fires of fear just because they face numerous, daily threats and challenges to their way of life and to the well-being of its citizens.
This is something that, according to a Bloomberg poll out today, 37 percent of Americans—including 65 percent of GOP primary voters and 18 percent of Democratic primary voters)—have clearly forgotten.
Israelis know better than most what it is like to be denied entry into so many nations in the world simply because of their religion or their nationality. Israelis are currently banned from entering seventeen countries while those holding a passport from other countries containing a stamp indicating they have visited Israel are banned from six countries.
And don’t even get me started on the history of the Jewish people which tells the story of how Jews have pretty much been kicked out of every decent country in the world.
Because of Israel's profound understanding of religious exclusion and the danger such behavior poses, they have chosen—despite their extraordinary exposure to radical Islamic terrorism and the suffering it has caused Israelis since their founding; despite a millennium's worth of history of exclusion based on religion; despite a true existential threat to their nation’s character and purpose for existence; and despite the fact that they are banned from a number of Muslim countries simply because they are Israelis—not to ban Muslims from entry.
If you are a supporter of the Trump Doctrine calling for excluding the entry of people to our country based on their religion, one would hope that you are now sufficiently embarrassed and finally realize that you have allowed fear to overwhelm your dedication to our country’s most important and basic principles.
Yesterday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—hardly someone that can be accused of being ‘soft’ on radical Islamic terrorism—expressed his disagreement with Donald Trump’s call for a total ban on Muslims seeking entry into the United States. That statement came in response to many Members of the Israeli Knesset expressing their desire that the scheduled visit by Trump to the nation of Israel be cancelled in light of Trump’s proposal that offends both Israeli and American values.
A tweet by Knesset Member Omer Bar-Lev, from the Zionist Union, summed it up rather nicely—
“As far as it depends on me, this racist @realDonaldTrump should not be welcome in the @knessetisrael.”
It is not just Israeli Jews who understand how wrong headed the Trump Doctrine is for America and the extraordinary problems it would create as we attempt to win an ideological war.
Jonathan Greenblatt, leader of the ADL (certainly one of the powerful organizations when it comes to the defense of Jewish rights in America and a critical supporter of the nation of Israel), noted—
“Mr. Trump’s plan to bar people from entry to the United States based on their religion is unacceptable and antithetical to American values. The US was founded as a place of refuge for those fleeing religious persecution, and religious pluralism is core to our national identity. A plan that singles out Muslims and denies them entry to the US based on their religion is deeply offensive and runs contrary to our nation’s deepest values.”
Israel’s position came into greater focus with the news that, while Netanyahu had previously said that he would go forward with the scheduled meeting with Trump in Israel, the visit has now been called off.
Of course, Trump is pretending this was his idea, suggesting that he did not want to interrupt his campaign. Never mind that he was willing to do so until Israel's reaction to his proposal. Never mind that the week prior to and following Christmas—Trump was scheduled to visit Israel immediately following Christmas day—are traditionally the slowest time for political campaigns on the calendar.
Trump also added that he did not want to add to the pressure on Netanyahu his proposal has caused.
If Mr. Trump is cognizant that Netanyahu is under this pressure—and he is—one might think Trump might wonder why the Israeli prime minister is being subjected to the same. When Israel has an allergic reaction to a proposal calling for banning all foreign Muslims from a country, this should be a clarion call to the Trump campaign that they are missing something rather important.
Of course, the Trump cancellation was not Donald's doing.
My sources indicate that it was politely suggested to Trump by Israeli officials that maybe this wouldn't be such a great time for his visit to their country. Clearly, the pressure was increased on Netanyahu to avoid Trump like the plague given the cold reception the American candidate would have received by both the Israeli public and the nation's elected officials.
Is it not time to ask ourselves why Trump devotees are so willing to cave to radical threats when the Israelis are willing to stand up to the greater and more numerous threats that so clearly eclipse the dangers we face in America?
If your answer to this question is that Trump's proposal will keep America from becoming as dangerous as Israel, do you not imagine that the Israelis would have considered that closing their own borders to Muslims would, to some degree, do the same for them?
Yet, Israelis continue to stand up for their beliefs and values.
While the fact that 38 percent of Americans—overwhelmingly Republicans—have revealed that their fear demands that they fall decidedly out of synch with our greatest American values, it is my sincere hope that those who have allowed themselves to fall into that trap will take a second look at the Trump Doctrine and find the ability to behave as our friends in Israel have chosen to behave.,,,
With courage and commitment to the important values that makes their nation great just as our values have long made our nation great.
Contact Rick at thepolicypage@gmail.com and follow me on Twitter and Facebook. Rick can be seen daily on on Newsmax TV and heard on Saturdays at 11am on his radio program, Steele&Ungar, with Michael Steele, on Sirius XM POTUS Channel 124.
