Intro: We hear a lot about how President Trump supports Israel more than any other U.S. President in history. But what does Israel think of Joe Biden?
In a recent New York Times editorial, contributing opinion writer Shmuel Rosner said, “Joe Biden is as good as it gets–for a Democrat.” But what does that look like?
The Israeli Voice Index for June 2020, prepared by the Guttman Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research of the Israel Democracy Institute, says. 56% prefer of Israelis think that from the standpoint of Israel’s interests, Donald Trump is the preferable presidential candidate while 16% would prefer Joe Biden. And 28% didn’t know which candidate prefer.
Joining us in this discussion is David Rubin, former mayor of Shiloh, Israel, and author of the book, “Trump and the Jews.”
Q&A:
- To say Joe Biden is the most popular Democrat candidate in the eyes of Israelis is a bit of a dubious distinction, is it not?
Answer: Correct. Joe is the lesser evil from his primary opponents. The U.S. Democratic Party that has drifted significantly to the Left in recent years and they are not friends of Israel.
- Years ago, Joe Biden made many pro-Israel public statements, didn’t he?
Answer: Yes, but the statements were in the realm of, “I strongly support Israel’s right to exist.” Very amorphic statements with no substance. Biden would be beholden to the hard-Left faction of his party, which has become increasingly dominant and is blatantly anti-Israel.
- Would it be an exaggeration to say that the Hard Left in the Democratic Party is vehemently opposed to sovereignty for Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria, otherwise known as The West Bank?
Answer: Unfortunately, they are opposed, and even so-called moderates like Biden, Schumer, and Pelosi have come out strongly against sovereignty for the Jewish communities, which shows that they do not understand Israel’s strong historic claim to those areas.
- Where does Joe Biden stand on the Palestinian state issue?
Answer: Joe Biden is on record as being in favor of establishing a Palestinian (terrorist) state in the historic biblical heartland of Israel. That would be a historic injustice and an existential danger to Israel and its citizens.
- In your book, “Trump and the Jews”, you described a conflict when Joe Biden visited Israel as Vice President during the Obama administration. What actually happened?
Answer: There was a serious blow-up with Israel. In that very week, the Jerusalem planning board (at a previously scheduled meeting) had approved tenders for a new building project in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem. VP Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were furious and expressed that anger during a very tense phone call with Prime Minister Netanyahu. That did not go over well in Israel. I should point out that a true friend would not vehemently complain about a housing project being approved in their friend’s capital city.
- Concluding remarks: Joe Biden: Friend or Foe of Israel?
Answer: Biden may be lukewarm friend in theory, but when it comes to content, he is basically an empty vessel that does not really understand the facts on the ground, and that brings us to the main danger, which is that he will have a lot of strongly anti-Israel advisors. An empty vessel with anti-Israel advisors is not exactly a recipe for friendship.
About Mayor David Rubin:
David Rubin, former Mayor of Shiloh Israel, is the author of the book, “Trump and the Jews” and five other books.
Rubin is the founder and president of Shiloh Israel Children’s Fund, established after he and his then three-year-old son were wounded in a terror attack.
He can be found at www.DavidRubinIsrael.com or at http://www.ShilohIsraelChildren.org
CONTACT: Rachel Ford rford.specialguests@gmail.com or Jerry McGlothlin 919-437-0001 jerry@specialguests.com
